Summer Travel tips

Ideas for Summer Family Vacations before the ISEE (or SSAT):
Many parents have asked how they can incorporate ISEE  studying in to their family vacation. Here are some ideas, based on the content of the ISEE.  As a refresher, ISEE contains five sections: vocabulary, reading comprehension, two math sections, and an essay.

Read. Have your child take a book or two of their choice and commit to reading an average of two or three hours a week. If they can bring the reading log that I provide, that would be great. I ask that each child read for one hour at a time. This not only prolongs the amount of time the reading and the amount of words their digesting, it conditions their attention span. I've noticed many teachers don't ask for such a thing, so I am. The overall reaction has been surprisingly positive. All of the kids moan and groan before they sit down to do it, but then report that it goes by quickly. A study showed that kids attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, so this is one way they can exercise how long they can pay attention, especially considering we are asking them to take a test that requires them to sit for at least three hours. If you are together in a museum or monument, read pamphlets or informational plaques together or separately and then discuss them. Maybe ask questions to see how much they actually absorbed or ask questions that require them to make logical assumptions, based on the text. If that goes well, challenge them to ask you questions along the same lines. It might be fun and make the moment more memorable.

Traveling is also a ripe opportunity to mix math into your conversations.  If you are in another country with a different currency, the possibilities are endless.  Even if you are using American dollars, there will be plenty of instances to discuss money and making change, especially if it involves your student buying something. Traveling time and time zone changes are also great ways to incorporate math in a fun, tangible way. Even quizzing kids on addition or multiplication facts is a fun way to pass the time in a plane, car, or train. Remember to turn the tables once in a while and let your student question you or other kids. No one wants to feel like they're being judged on their vacation.

Keeping a journal or writing letters is also a perfect activity that does double duty. It helps keep writing skills up and lets students process their trip in another format. This could be in a fun journal, postcards, emails, blog, etc. you might just ask them to write a couple sentences every day. Any sort of writing will do, and they'll be happy to have it when they are older to look back on.

All of these are just suggestions. Your kids deserve to explore the world with their family and not have this test hanging over their heads. If you ever feel too much resistance, let it go. The last thing we want is a kid with a bunch of negative feelings about this test. At the end of the day, this test is a game they need to play. It is not measure their intellect or creativity. It is an example of one of the many challenges in life that we are teaching our kids to meet with confidence and humility. Their score does not mean they any better or worse than anybody else. It is an uncomfortable challenge and my goal is to make them feel accomplished and proud of themselves. If things get tense as they study, let it go. It's my job to be their coach and I never want them to feel cornered or stressed by their parents.