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A few weeks ago, MIT professor wrote this great article in the NY Times entitled “The Flight From Conversation.” In the article, she asserts that much of the digital communication and social networking has left our children less able to ahem, actually communicate. All of our conversations are now blips and blurps and little sips rather than meaningful conversations.

Over the past ten years, I have seen this transformation first hand in our office. When Green Ivy began in 2001, there was no Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Tumblr. Students emailed and e-chatted on one of several different mediums, but cell phones didn’t have cameras and wifi capabilities. In ten short years, we’ve come a long way – and many of our students are struggling when it comes to written communication and expression.

Over the past ten years, we’ve helped students develop their writing skills and confidence through our specially designed one-on-one writing workshops. We use previous samples of a student’s work, as well as parent and teacher feedback, to design an individualized curriculum that is robust, fun and informative. We help students learn grammar, sentence structure, argument organization and development, and self-editing skills.

Interested? Space is limited in our 8-to-10 session one-on-one writing workshops, and you can sign up by contacting our office at info at greenivyed.com or 650.472.0617. We do also offer this workshop virtually via Skype, and have students all over the world! Ask us for more details.

Our Intensive SAT Prep course is a fun, interactive introduction to the three sections of the SAT Reasoning test – Critical Reading, Math and Writing. With a maximum of SIX students per workshop, and we only have a few spots left in each workshop! Students learn the basic strategies for each section and then take a full-length practice test at the end of each week to determine their personal baseline. After the workshop, students can elect to continue to work with tutors one-on-one and focus on their own personal areas of growth. We have regularly seen determined students improve their scores by 3-400+ points through a combination of the workshop and one-on-one tutoring. For more information, and to sign up, click here to visit our website or contact our office. Here are the sessions offered:

Here is my latest article that was published in the Los Altos Town Crier on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 – Enjoy! Ana

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I received three emails last week from parents whose children I had worked with several years ago on their college admissions process. My former students are now college juniors, and their parents informed me of their progress and shared how their children were thriving.

I took a moment to reflect on my work with these particular students. They all had somewhat average grades and test scores, but their exceptional interpersonal skills and well-developed sense of self set each of them apart. They were fun, engaged and active, and they had each made an effort to identify their personal interests in light of their talents, strengths and challenges.

As an educational consultant and college adviser, I hear many stories about students who struggle academically, emotionally and socially. Receiving these positive emails made me think about how wonderfully these students had stepped up to blossom in their new environments. I started to think about the importance of what I call the “Five C’s.”

We – and by “we” I mean educators, parents and even students themselves – tend to become so hyperfocused on tests and scores that we brush aside the crucial social and emotional skills that are truly keys to happiness, authenticity and resiliency in college and beyond. As this school year winds down into summer, I encourage everyone to reflect on finding ways to promote the “Five C’s” for personal wellness among our children.

Courage

We tend to think of courage as the ability to take risks and step outside of our comfort zone, but it also takes courage to ask for help and admit when there is a problem. How well do your children react in new environments? How do they address problems that seem daunting? Do they look for solutions? Are they able to admit when they need assistance?

Collaboration

Researchers often note that knowing how to collaborate effectively can be key to achieving lifelong success in work and life. How do your children work with others – particularly those who are different from themselves? Are they able to adapt and work in situations that are less than ideal? Better yet, can they transform situations that are less than ideal into something worthwhile? There are many similarities in learning how to deal with classmates, roommates and co-workers.

Communication

What are your children’s communication styles – online and in person? Are they able to clearly and effectively convey their ideas in their writing and face-to-face communications? Technology has forever changed the way we interact, and that can pose challenges for children and adults alike. Are your children able to ask for what they want in an effective manner, that is, without being excessively demanding and/or effusive?

Creativity

Do your children have a creative outlet? Is there something they enjoy doing for sheer fun – without rhyme, rhythm or particular purpose? Do they engage in that creative endeavor regularly? Devoting time to our creativity affords us the opportunity to maintain our individuality. Even more importantly, creative outlets can provide useful coping mechanisms in the face of adversity.

Coping

How do your children deal with setbacks and disappointments? Do they have a productive way to address uncomfortable situations, or do they go into avoidance mode and rely on negative coping mechanisms? Do they have a network of people they can turn to (not necessarily parents) or a support system in place? Each child’s coping techniques should be unique to his or her personality, so helping children discover what works for them can be essential.

Ana Homayoun is founder and director of Los Altos-based Green Ivy Educational Consulting, 302 Main St., Suite 201. For more information, visit www.greenivyed.com.

In this interesting article in The Wall Street Journal, Pamela Druckerman, the author of the new book “Bringing Up Bebe” discusses her thoughts on why French children are better behaved than American children. Her book reminds me of a reactionary tale to the “Tiger Mom” approach that was last year’s Wall St. Journal uproar. In her experience living in France with her young children, she noticed that French parents have a different approach compared to American parents when it comes to things like discipline, teaching children patience, delayed gratification, and setting boundaries. According to Druckerman, their approach seems to be working and Americans should take note.

“They are zealous about talking to their kids, showing them nature and reading them lots of books. They take them to tennis lessons, painting classes and interactive science museums. Yet the French have managed to be involved with their families without becoming obsessive. They assume that even good parents aren’t at the constant service of their children, and that there is no need to feel guilty about this…”

What do you think? Can American parents learn something about raising children from their French counterparts?

The wait is over! Our Green Ivy Summer 2012 Workshop Schedule is now available to view on our website.  We offer many wonderful workshops for Middle School and High School Students in a range of different subjects.  Each workshop is done in small group setting to maximize the individualized experience for each student. Because space is limited in each workshop, they fill up fast; so if you are interested in signing your student up, don’t hesitate! Sign Up Today!

Weekly Workshop Highlight: Intensive SAT Prep Workshop

Mary Carskadon is a well known Brown University professor and researcher on sleep issues and adolescents. In this short clip from NBC Nightly News, she gives some insight on teenage sleep challenges, as well as some interesting suggestions. This clip is short and informative, and a great conversation starter about sleep with your pre-teen or adolescent.

Do your children have trouble sleeping? What are some things you have done to help improve your child’s sleep patterns?

Our office usually gets a few phone calls at the beginning of the semester from parents who are interested in knowing more about our services. Their students have struggled with executive functioning skills in the past, and the parents have heard about the success of students we work with and would like some more information. And then, sometimes, they say something like, “Well, Johnny is doing fine right now, but by mid-semester he usually has missing homework/ messy binders/stressed out parents/all of the above. He promises that this semester will be different, so we’ll let him try it out on his own and call if it doesn’t work out.”

Now, I am ALL for students figuring it out on their own, and becoming proactive agents of their own success, but there are two potential problems with this philosophy:

Same tune, same results. What is being changed behaviorally that will ensure that results will be differently this time? Most people want to be the best versions of themselves, and many pre-teens and teenagers who struggle with organization and time-management struggle with how to develop . Or don’t want to admit that their parents might know something. Either way, if you want your child try to do it on their own, make sure to have a collaborative meeting and come up with strategic ways that things will be different this time.

Making a mountain out of a molehill. When a student starts working with us at the beginning of the semester, they can get a fresh start with different tools or approaches. As new challenges appear (upcoming math test, biology project) we can work to come up with organizational solutions. When students come in mid-semester having already dug themselves a hole, and it becomes even more challenging to move forward.

If you know that your child has struggled with executive functioning skills in the past, treat a new semester as a new opportunity. We all need extra support sometimes, especially when trying to make behavioral changes, and that is okay. And before the semester reverts into old habits, see what you both can do to make positive changes.

Our Green Ivy Holiday Children’s Book Drive was a such an incredible success! As you can see we received many wonderful books for children of all ages from the generous and wonderful people in our community. We had fifth grade teachers and parents and individuals students go through their bookshelves and find wonderful books to donate. We are so excited and grateful for the outpouring of support, and know that these books will be given to the Children’s Book Project, which will re-distribute them to many deserving kids throughout the Bay Area.

We would like to thank all of the amazing people who took time out of their busy holiday schedules to donate books this year, and we appreciate all the parents, teachers and children in the community who spread the word.

Happy New Year from our Green Ivy family to yours – May 2012 be amazing for you and everyone around you!

So far, we have received many wonderful donations to our Green Ivy Holiday Book Drive benefiting The Children’s Book Project. The support from the community has been amazing!! Just today, we received books from a local 5th grade class 0 we could not be more excited that they wanted to get involved. We would like to say thank you to everyone who has taken time out of this busy holiday season to help out a great cause.

If you would like to get involved, there is still time to donate those new or gently used books that you may have around the house. To learn more about The Children’s Book Project and Green Ivy’s Book Drive, Click Here to read the recent article from the Los Altos Town Crier. We are accepting donations of new and gently used books from now until December 21, 2011!