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!
Adelia’s Summer Enrichment
July 25th, 2012Summer Enrichment
July 18th, 2012Summer 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.
Truly a Superior Hut… A Letter to the Editor
May 10th, 2012Editor:
I’m writing in regards to this “Study Hut” organization that I keep hearing so much about. I was told that all four “Huts” were basically the same, so I took the liberty of visiting them myself.
I have found that Hut 1, the Manhattan Beach Study Hut, is clearly, unequivocally superior to the other three, located in Redondo Beach, El Segundo, and Newport. I will now provide several reasons for my conclusion.
• When you walk in to Hut 1, your senses are treated to a comforting mix of botanical delights and earthy hues. The calming décor reminds one of a pleasant island retreat. It’s the most truly Hut-esque, is what I’m saying.
• However, the physical surroundings somehow pale in comparison to the explosion of aesthetic bliss also known as the Hut 1 staff. This is without a doubt the most collectively attractive group of people I have ever encountered.
• Additionally, the kids at Hut 1 are incredibly bright. Their studies range from mathematics, all the way up to calculus, to AP physics, to Chinese. I strolled past one table and heard a student and tutor discussing the complications with Kantian ethics. You can imagine my pleasant surprise when I discovered the student was in second grade and was also sporting a monocle. Clearly, this is an organization bursting with class and sophistication.
• When I was walking back to my Rolls, I noticed a tall freckled fellow attempting to grill burgers using nothing but small metal tongs and a pack of matches. I applaud your attempt to remain environmentally friendly.
I think you’ll agree that Hut 1 is simply an Eden. Hut 2, Hut 3, and Hut 4, while their efforts are commendable, simply cannot approach the talent and panache emanating from the original.
Good day,
Lord Rupert Everton
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
March 13th, 2012There are a few essentials a child needs in order to perform well in school. Not only do they have to have their homework done, their flashcards made, and their clothes in order, but they, first and foremost, need to have the basics taken care of. This is also known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Here are just a few examples of essentials your child needs in order to ensure your child is performing at his or her fullest potential!
Make sure your child is getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep!! This is so important so that they do not fall asleep in school and at tutoring! They need sleep to stay energized, alert, perform better on tests and quizzes, and focus. Tutors and teachers can tell when our students have not been getting enough sleep by their energy levels and in their body language. It’s crucial to repair the body and store information in order to process it throughout the day! Getting enough zzs will ensure your child will reinforce what they have learned throughout the day. Their smaller bodies just need some rest! Make sure the tv or video games get turned off!
Make sure your child is eating breakfast! This is the most important meal of the day and sets up the entire day! They need some protein in the morning (eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc) and complex carbs (fruit, veggies, whole grains) to power their brains and bodies, keep them full and fueled, maintain blood sugar levels, and so much more. Some cereals are just pure sugar and will not fuel them properly. Their blood sugar levels will spike and then 45 min later lead to a crash and burn without proper nutrients! In order to have your child stay focused and energized through out the day, please help them get a proper breakfast in.
Snacks! Make sure your kid is getting snacks throughout the day, especially if they are active in sports and other activities. And not fruit roll-ups and processed foods. Try and get them eating more fruits and veggies with protein to keep the brain and bodies fueled and full- ready to study at school and at Study Hut!
Water! Ensure your child is getting in 8 glasses of water a day. Developing this habit early is important and will help them in the long run. They need water, just like every body, to stay hydrated (especially on hot days, have them drink more!), run metabolic processes going on in their bodies and keep all their cells happy. Stay away from the sugary drinks that dehydrate them and spike the blood sugar levels again leading to crashes in energy. Gatorade and sugary juice drinks should be kept at a minimum or avoided at all costs!
Exercise! Most kids are getting exercise at school at recess or in their sport, but if not, make sure your child is getting a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity. It should really be more like an hour. Instead of allowing them to watch tv or play those video games, encourage them to go play outside for an hour with their neighbors and friends. This will be great for building social skills and getting the brain more active as well as the body!
Reading for fun! A great habit for kids to develop at a younger age! Kids that read for fun usually will become quicker readers in class, learn new vocabulary words, get new ideas they wouldn’t have thought of, think outside the box, and grow into adults that enjoy reading!
I hope these tips have helped! Definitely make sure they are getting enough sleep, eating breakfast, staying hydrated and staying active, which isn’t hard here in the beautiful South Bay! Happy March Study Hut family!!
Winter Update
December 13th, 2011The holiday season is upon as at the Hut! The place is spiffed up with holiday decorations, holiday treats, and good cheer to be found everywhere! The kiddos are having to learn to balance finishing schoolwork and the prospect of getting a break from learning! It’s holiday-itis! We tutors are doing everything we can to keep our kids in the ‘school” frame of mind until the holidays. We wouldn’t want all that hard work to leak away in a haze of candy and indulgent feasts!
The Study Hut is head and shoulders above “regular” tutoring places, we match our tutors with students on a one-to-one basis with experts in each field. We partner our efforts with each student’s school website, planner, etc, to provide exactly what each student needs to succeed in school! We welcome students of all levels. We even offer tutoring over the holiday break! This is a phenomenal time for our kiddos to catch up if they’re behind, or even get ahead! The improvement in a student’s work is measureable; we can actually see our students improving from session to session. As a tutor, it is extremely rewarding to see a student’s grades improve, especially if they come to us with little understanding of the material and/or poor grades. I have personally found, as a tutor at the Study Hut, that a student is more willing to open up and be themselves if they feel comfortable around their tutors. This is why students often get the same tutor each time they come in, so that we may build rapport with our kiddos and let them feel comfortable asking for help.
I think it’s fair to say that everyone at the Hut, both learned and learner, are enjoying the spirit of the season! We all look forward to a well-deserved break, and hitting the books again after the New Year!
What Sets Study Hut Apart
October 11th, 2011You sit, minding your own business. Suddenly, you feel a twinge of unease crawl up your spine. A feeling as if someone, or something, is watching you. You shake it off. Clearly, you’re just being paranoid right? You look back down at your desk. And then… IT HAPPENS. Suddenly, tiny Tialde, mild-mannered 2nd grader is throwing paper around the office, laughing hysterically, and running out of here as fast as he can!
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
You just found yourself victim to one of the Study Hut’s new competitions: who can keep their room the cleanest in exchange for pizza! Actually, you’ve found yourself victim to the inevitable aftermath of such a challenge: who can mess up everyone else’s room enough so they don’t get pizza! This, the first of many new challenges being formed around the Hut, is part of a new initiative starting up this semester. Now, at first glance, this may seem like meaningless prankerism (trust me, it’s a word) and time-wasting nonsense. But it’s actually a piece of what sets the Study Hut apart.
You’re children spend all day in a very ordered environment. They’re told where to sit, when to stand, how to speak, and what to do. To be fair, in a classroom of 30 children, such order is necessary. But the Hut doesn’t exist just to replicate school. We’re not here to just provide an environment that students just have to come to due to bad grades. We’re here to provide an environment that students want to come to (to help improve bad grades!) Initiatives like this promote better communication among tutors, which leads to better tutoring, and smarter students. And involving the students, like we did Tialde, promotes the idea that this is a place where that they can look forward to coming too. Most students here know most, if not all the tutors: not just the one they work with. They come here because the Hut is a place where people know you, get the work done, and have help in the process.
Plus, you get to occasionally throw paper around in exchange for pizza. That’s awesome.
