As a kid, one of my favorite times of the year was when my parents would fork out money for me to go back to school shopping. I would go with my mom to pick out the newest styles. Requirements were new shoes, a new backpack, and at least three new outfits, one for each day of the first week of school. My brother and I would always want to wear our new shoes right away, but were forced to wait until the first day of school.
Along with the back to school shopping came orientation. Mira Costa has their orientation this week as well as Manhattan Beach Middle School. This was always exciting because the students got to see which teachers they had, and also,more importantly, which friends made it in the same class.
Now that I am no longer in school I see more of an importance on the preparation academically rather than the outfits and classes. Students are starting to trickle into The Manhattan Beach Study Hut to get their mind in gear and ready for the whirl wind to begin. Most students need refreshers on math and Spanish. It is extremely important for the seventh graders to come in and review their foreign language. Spanish, French, Latin, and even Chinese are subjects the middle school offers. These are such new topics to the students that they often forget how to conjugate a verb. However, after a simple refresher they are ready for the school year. Moral of the story, don’t forget about tutoring when you are shopping for back to school. The Hut is open for appointments!
This summer I have been tutoring a lovely young girl named Hailey. She is the cutest little thing ever! Going into first grade her mom, a new mom to The Hut, called to see if she could get some reading help for her daughter. She explained that Hailey was not behind in her reading, but at the same time wasn’t in the upper level reading group. I explained how I am a credentialed teacher and used to teach 1st grade. Her mom heard what I had to say and got her into the Manhattan Beach Study Hut twice a week.
The first day I worked with Hailey I fell in love. She was shy at first, but that was not stopping her improvement in reading. Shen she came in at the beginning of the summer she had some trouble with even short vowel sounds. Each day we would go over a new sound and test her phonemic awareness, eventually getting into the more complex long vowel sounds. We then read a book together, followed by some writing, and then play sight words bingo. Of course we switch it up every now and then, but she tends to do really well with the structure.
This week we tried a book that she had tried to read in Kindergarden, but it was too hard for her. That book was the infamous Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. After about the 20th page she looks at me and goes, “wow, this book is pretty easy!” with the biggest smile on her face. My heart melted. She took the book home to read to her parents. They emailed me the next day saying they could not be happier.
Hailey is now reading at the same rate as a first grader at the end of their year. She has shown an incredible amount of improvement. Most importantly, she LOVES coming in here! I am so proud of her progress, motivation, and preparedness for the first grade!
It’s summer time! The much anticipated vacation time, where school becomes a distant memory, and the beach and the sun the relevant priority! While vacation time is extremely important in rejuvenating the academic soul, a total abandonment of study and study skill practice can prove harmful when the first day of school arrives. Over the summer, it is highly recommended that a basic study routine be established to keep up the academic brain. If you know you have a difficult subject encroaching the following school year such as chemistry or physics, setting a designated time aside each day to familiarize yourself with the content before class actually begins can give you a head start when school begins. Here at Study Hut we can help you maintain and continue developing your study skills through individual one on one sessions where one of our expert tutors can help design an introductory approach to any academic subject that will be taken the following school year. Summer time is also an excellent time to brush up on literacy skills, especially for those in the younger academic grades. Regular scheduled reading, as well as vocabulary cards, created to memorize and understand newly introduced Summer relaxation is important in maintaining a healthy balance in the pursuit of rigorous academic endeavors, however, it’s important to always keep the study mindset sharp!
Just a couple weeks ago, we were all waiting in anticipation for our long overdue summer break. Now, summer is at its peak, and while we do enjoy our vacations and coffee breaks, the academic semester is just around the corner, and it is time to start investing in what matters by taking initiative. Instead of waking up to a sluggish summer hangover, why not buckle up before the academic storm hits and start preparing for your semester courses? Study Hut’s tutors are not only available to help you cram for midterms and term papers. We are also here to help you gear up for SATs, APs, or even Geometry. Take advantage of the last couple weeks of summer to get ahead of your peers. When you go shopping for your back-to-school supplies, remember that learning is merely facilitated
by textbooks, paper, and pencil. — your actual success in school will depend on your attitude, preparation, and dedication to your studies.A couple of hours every week goes a long way in preparing you for the coming academic semester — choose to sacrifice a couple hours of this fading summer for a significant head start on your courses at school.
We at Study Hut call this ‘investing in education’.
It’s summer, and most kids cringe at the thought of spending their carefree days
in tutoring. However, a few hours here and there can help students stay sharp and
get one prepared for the coming year. This is especially true when it comes to reading
comprehension.
We live in a digital age, and many kids think anything over 140 characters seems
needlessly detailed. But reading comprehension is a skill that influences performance
in nearly every other subject. If your child is scoring low, it’s an issue better addressed
sooner than later.
We offer multiple approaches to reading comprehension for kids of all ages. Subjects/
topics include:
Identifying the main idea
Summarizing articles and passages
Paraphrasing
Making inferences and identifying faulty logic
Identifying unknown words and expanding vocabulary
Formulating summaries and responses
We have age-appropriate materials and can work with students of all levels.
Reading comprehension is important at all levels of schooling, but there are a few critical
ages to keep in mind. If your student is going into middle school or high school next year,
both curriculum and expectations are about to change dramatically.
It’s one thing to parrot the main points of an article, book or essay, but it’s quite another
to internalize and think critically about the material. Around middle school, essays
become as much about content as form, and your student will be consistently tested on
their ability to respond to a text in their own voice. Now is the time to prepare them for
that.
Call to schedule a session, and you’ll see the difference it makes to have an experienced
tutor working one-on-one with your student. Who knows – maybe they’ll even start
bringing current event articles to the dinner table or chatting with dad about The Great
Gatsby while they play Xbox. Dare to dream…
This summer, as manager, I have been presented with the opportunity to actually tutor! Normally, the hustle and bustle of the Hut prevents me from my real passion, teaching. One of my regular and favorite students in here over the summer is Adelia. She has diligently come in twice a week throughout the summer to study Spanish and Geometry. I admire her confidence and motivation to get ahead of the game and become prepared for the classes she will endure in the fall.
Starting out with Spanish 5/6 in the fall she went ahead and bought the book that her high school, Mira Costa, uses so that I can start teaching her the material. Once fall comes she will be prepared with the vocabulary and will be strong with the grammar. Throughout the course of these few weeks she has already improved in both her retention of vocabulary and her ability to speak and comprehend the language. Last year, I tutored another student in Spanish in preparation for Spanish 2. He excelled in his Spanish class receiving a high B opposed to D+ he received the semester prior. A little elbow grease in the summer goes a long way when it comes to learning a language. I have the confidence that Adelia will be able to start and finish this year strong.
Similarly, math skills are just as important to maintain during the summer. Adelia already has a solid understanding of the primary concepts in Geometry and will have gone through the first few chapters of the Mira Costa Geometry book by the time summer has ended.
Most kids are resistant to summer tutoring and believe that it will take up their entire summer. Adelia, however, is extremely active. She owns a horse is Palos Verdes and rides him every day. She is extremely happy with her progress she has made this summer at Study Hut.
Not only can we provide enrichment for math and Spanish, but also French, English, reading comprehension, physics, history, biology, chemistry and whatever else, you name it, we have a tutor for it! Bring it on fall semester!
Summer enrichment at Study Hut Manhattan Beach is filled with active, student-centered learning activities that get the kids out of their seats and thinking outside of the box. One of my elementary school students is entering first grade at Pacific this fall. Like most six year olds, he has an attention span of less than five minutes…maybe 30 seconds…so every few minutes we change up the routine! He practices his sight words by writing on a whiteboard, stamping the words with ink and a stamp pad, and even by jumping up and down as he spells the words out loud. For math practice he goes around to the Study Hut tutors taking polls so he can work on tally marks. This not only improves his math skills, but also gives him an opportunity to practice math in an applicable setting and see its importance to everyday life. These activities also help him to develop social skills. In addition to the social math activities, he also greets the Manhattan Crew every afternoon session using appropriate eye contact and asking follow up questions. Probably the highlight of the sessions for him is his sticker chart. He earns stickers throughout our study sessions and keeps track of them on a graph. Yesterday he told me, “I like Study Hut, it’s fun here!” I told him, “Yes, Study Hut is a lot of fun because learning is fun!” He smiled and walked out the door to show off the Star Student Award he had just earned during our session. At Study Hut, the students are at the center of everything of we do.
We’ve had lots of blog posts about how to prepare for finals and end the year on a high note. All week, students have been rushing in and out of the Hut, reciting geometry theorems and putting the final touches on Socratic seminars. But we’ve failed to mention the most important aspect of the end of the school year…
It’s the end of the school year! Yay!
In addition to playing Alice Cooper on loop, we’ve been doing a lot to prepare for summer. This mostly includes staring out the window and daydreaming about our plans. Between the tutors and the students, we’re a busy bunch!
Some are planning vacations and some are eagerly anticipating the London Olympics. Some have weddings for dear friends and others are just planning on soaking up as much sun as possible on the beaches of the South Bay. Here are a few responses from around the Hut to the most whimsical and challenging question: What’s your favorite thing about summer?
“Surf and work.”
-Alex, Tutor
“Sleep, surf and travel.”
-Codee, Sophomore
“I like not wearing socks when I’m wearing my shoes!”
-Amir, Tutor
“The sun not going down until 9pm.”
-Madison, Sophomore
“I like reading Robert Frost while sitting contemplatively under a tree in the summer breeze. Just kidding! Corn dogs.
-Amy, Tutor
“Not being at school.” -James Houston, Sophomore
“Music festivals, Vegas, and beach parties in the daytime.”
-Sam, Study Hut Manager
“I am really looking forward to sleeping, surfing, vacations, no school, playing with my dog, having free time and hanging out with my friends on the beach.”
-Matt, Freshman
No doubt about it, we’re a Hut about town. What are you looking forward to this summer? Let us know in the comments, and enjoy your time off!
To all of you Hutsters – congrats on another great year! We are all so, so proud of all of your efforts this year. Please enjoy a safe and responsible summer.
Sam, Justin, Taylor, Rob, and SP are headed to Catalina for some kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, and unwinding after another great year for the Hut. Thank you all for your love and support as we powered through another awesome year of academics in the South Bay.
After an entire year off from Algebra, students often need help getting reacquainted with the foundational math concepts that they will build on in Algebra II. Students who were geometry masters, may become flustered and embarrassed when, come September, they realize that they’ve since forgotten how to find and graph the equation of a line.
Don’t fret, though, there is hope! This summer, Study Hut Tutoring is bringing back its five-week Algebra II prep course, just in time for Fall!
Beginning Tuesday, July 24th and ending Thursday, August 23rd, this two-hour, twice weekly course will span the Algebra II coursework delineated by the California State Standards and will offer experiential and material support for students to bolster their mathematical comprehension before the start of the school year.
Algebra II expands the mathematical concepts learned in Algebra I and Geometry, such as: utilizing order of operations, solving equations and inequalities through computation and graphing, coordinate and trigonometric geometry, and manipulating functions and inequalities. This course’s content will serve as the basis for your student’s success in future mathematics courses – Precalculus, Statistics, Trigonometry, and Calculus alike – as well as on the SAT Exam’s quantitative reasoning section!
Hut’s Algebra II Summer Prep course will begin with a review of basic Algebra, including: solving systems of linear equations and inequalities by substitution, elimination and graphing; solving polynomials by factoring and long division; and review the most foundational mathematical concept: the order of operations.
In the span of just twenty hours, students will be introduced to the concepts of: quadratic, logarithmic, and exponential functions; complex numbers; and conics and radical expressions; long before their classmates have even heard of such mathematical monstrosities! And their enhanced ability to demonstrate a working knowledge of how these equations are related, both arithmetically and graphically, will give them a log up come Fall.
