Update! May 6th

Hello everyone!  I have so many exciting updates!

I've been very focused on my new gymnastics coaching job.  This month I started working with the compulsory competitive team (levels 2-5) and also started working more hours!  Yay!

Our house has really been coming together.  I'm still working on some projects for the office (spray painted canvases, white board for tutoring), but hubby has done a lot of great work around the house making end tables, a coffee table, a cat castle, cutting boards, and a chalk board for the kitchen.  He's the best.  Theres still a lot to do, but it is starting to feel more like a home.

In March I passed $100 in Teachers Pay Teachers sales!  I'm currently up to $142.  I'm now thinking of purchasing a premium membership (since I've made enough to pay for it).  I think I may wait until I have a little more money in the bank.

My tutoring business has really slowed down since moving, but I'm taking everything one step at a time.  I made a summer tutoring flyer/coupon that you can print and add your phone number to for free.   Click the photo below to download for free from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

What are you planning to steady/improve your income over summer?  Any exciting plans?

Math Fact Friday: Multiplication Games and Centers

This morning while cuddling with my cat, drinking tea, and looking though pinterest on my phone I found a blog post by Wag More with some AMAZING math fact games!  I don't know about you, but I'm going to print out some multiplication tables and cut them into puzzles RIGHT NOW!  Head over to the blog post for inspiration and ideas.

8 Tips to Improve Parent Communication

Parent communication, the bane of every teacher's existence, or so they think!  Parent communication is the number one most effective tool to help students succeed in school.  

When tutoring, it is imperative that you keep consistent communication with your clients, the parents!  Always remember when tutoring, THE PARENT is your client, they search for you, hire you, pay you, and fire you!  Here are some tips to help with client communication.

Update February 24th

On Saturday I shared the exciting news that we've moved from San Diego to Port Hueneme in Ventura County.  It was a pretty quick move since we were moving from a one bedroom apartment.  We're now all settled in to our 3 bedroom house!

I'm so glad I have an office for all of my tutoring and teaching stuff now.  Some time next month I'll give a tour of the office once its all completed.  I still need to organize and file a lot of the paper work and add some art and pictures to the walls.  I plan on tutoring out of my office, so I'll also need to add some more furniture such as a card table and maybe an easel or a white board.

Tomorrow I'll be posting about parent communication.  What are some of the major difficulties you have when talking to parents?  If you have any specific questions, post them below and I'll be sure to address them tomorrow!

We've moved!

Now serving the Port Hueneme and Oxnard area!  Call today for a free consultation (619) 777-MATH.

FREE Tutor Resources Page Posted!

I've put together a large list (6+ pages typed!) of resources I like to use.  Thank you to Randall of The Learning Coach and Adrienne of The Tutor House Blog for your awesome suggestions!

Click the image below or the link in the navigation bar to see the full list of FREE tutor resources!

Don't forget to check out our Pinterest board for Education Printables!!

Don't see your favorite resource??  Comment below to have it added!

Word Problem Wednesday

Happy Word Problem Wednesday!!

Today's word problem comes from the Official SAT Practice Test 2012-2013

In a certain store, the regular price of a refrigerator is $600. How much money is saved by buying this refrigerator at 20 percent off the regular price rather than buying it on sale at 10 percent off the regular price with an additional discount of 10 percent off the sale price?

Comment if you know the answer!  The correct answer will be posted in the comments tomorrow if no one gets it.

Tutor Tip Tuesdays: What to Wear

Hello!  I remember starting out as a teacher and a tutor I had no idea what I should wear to my tutoring sessions.  Do I dress for work with dress pants and a blouse?  Or do I go more casual with jeans and a T-shirt?  Or should I dress cute with a sundress? 

What you wear says a lot about yourself, so make sure you are putting out the right message for your tutoring business.  You need to send the message that you are knowledgeable, but also that you are some one that they want their children to spend time with. 

Math is Real life: Weighted Averages

This is my first time joining in on the Math is Real Life Linky.  I really enjoy when students are able to make connections to real life, and I love it even more when the idea comes from the family! 

Why I Started a Tutor Blog

Today I am linking up with Adrianne of The Tutor House to share my story about why I tutor and why I started this tutor blog.

I started tutoring in college when the parent of my younger sister’s classmate (that’s a mouthful!) asked if I could help her son in pre-algebra.  I started tutoring him once a week at his house for $25.  He is now graduated and attending a community college and I have tutored both his younger brother and sister. 

How to Tackle a Word Problem

I hope everyone enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday!  Mine was filled with lots of sugary and salty snacks and a not so happy hubby.

Here are some steps to make sure tackling a word problem is not quite as painful as getting tackled by a football player!

Math Fact Friday: 3 Card Games

My students’ favorite Math Fact Fridays are always when we get to play games.  Any time I see playing cards (especially themed) in the Target “1-spot”, I buy them.  Something about that 1-spot has me addicted! (See what I do with the file folders here!)  I’ve also found plain playing cards and a set of six dice there!  I now have Hello Kitty, Cars, and plain playing cards.

Playing cards are easy resources for math games because they are so cheap and versatile.  You can write the directions on the board or print a hand out for each student to keep in their binder.  These math games can be used as a warm-up, a treat for the end of the day on Friday (which is what I usually did), or a station. 

4 Tips to Finish Your Math Homework Faster

Most students dread the time they have to spend to do their math homework.  What if I told you there are strategies you can follow to finish your homework in almost half the time?  If you follow these 4 strategies, you may be able to finish all of your homework at school and have the whole afternoon to yourself!!

Math Fact Friday: Lap books

Lap books have taken homeschooling by storm.  Just type in “Lap books” into Pinterest and you will see what I mean.  There are lap books for almost every topic and grade level.  The most handy pre-made math lap book is for math facts.

If you don’t know what a lap book is, it is basically a mini, interactive, presentation board.  The basic lap book is made from a file folder with foldables and graphic organizers glued on.  The students I’ve used them with LOVE them because it is theirs to keep.  I’ve used them with graphing, factoring, fraction operations, and math facts.

Online Tutoring

For those of you who don't know, I'm moving to Oxnard, California mid-February.  My husband is Navy; so moving is part of my job description as a "Navy Wife".  I have six tutoring students in San Diego that I work with and I was struggling to find a suitable replacement tutor for myself.  I have several friends that I trust to hand them off too; however, they were too busy to take on six tutoring students.  This led me to start to look into the world of online tutoring.

Wow!! There are a LOT of websites that offer online tutoring.  The initial research steps were extremely overwhelming as most of the sites that popped up were for students looking for online tutoring.  I'm not willing to work for another tutoring business since I already have a few steady clients. 

Math Fact Friday: Khan Academy

 If you would like to know more about why I do Math Fact Friday, please see my first post on it here.

Another great resource for Math Fact Friday is Khan Academy.  When I was in the classroom, I had a class set of netbooks and headphones (very important!) I could use and had students practice their Khan Academy for 5-10 minutes for Math Fact Friday.  It was great because students could practice lessons at THEIR LEVEL.  It was the definition of differentiation in the math class.  Khan Academy has practice lessons from basic adding all the way through calculus.  It also has videos and hints to help struggling students.  As a teacher it was great because from my teacher account I could see what the students were working on and how many problems they got right or wrong.  When I used Khan Academy for Math Fact Friday, I would let students choose any lesson they wanted to work on or math video they wanted to watch.  This fosters a curiosity about math for students instead of a fear of hard math.  You’ll notice the less confident students working on extremely easy problems, which in turn helps build their confidence.  You’ll also see confident students attempting calculus problems when they are in Algebra 1!