Category:

Jodi Desautels Reminisces about a Great Teacher

5/28/2014

Hello everyone! Have you ever had a teacher/mentor who touched your heart in some way? If so, what is it about that person who touched your heart?
I have been blessed to have had quite a few wonderful teachers. I was shopping the other day and ran into one of them. It was such a nice surprise! I am still a little giddy about it.
So, what makes this teacher so memorable and special? He explained things until his students understood. It didn't matter how long it took out of his original lesson plans, he kept on explaining. Not only did he take time to explain things to his students in a way they would understand, but he was also very kind and approachable. One could talk to him both inside and outside of the classroom.
I can remember that our entire middle school went on various end of the year trips. This particular teacher and I were assigned to the same field trip. We were hiking up a local mountain and unlike most of the kids, I didn't have much energy. So, most of the trip I lagged behind. This teacher stayed behind to encourage me and help keep me going. It was wonderful. He showed himself to be more remarkable to me that day, than I already thought him to be.
Do you think this teacher could be a factor in education being one of my passions today? Could be! I hope he knows how much he has truly touched the lives of his students and how much he is appreciated!

I would love to hear your stories of remarkable and memorable teachers! Feel free to tell me about them and what makes them so great. You can write it in the comment section or contact me. If you want, I am also happy to consider letting you guest write a post to pay tribute to a teacher. Again, just contact me, so we can talk!

Oh, I wanted to share with you that I am running a sale for my online tutoring services. I didn't tell you ahead of time, because I decided this on a whim. Online tutoring is now only $20 per hour, if you sign up before June 15th.
Consider online tutoring so students won't lose any skills during the months they are not in school. Another possible use is for college students brushing up on skills before they go to college. How about individualized work with students who need extra work in learning the skills they need? You can also use this service as an aspiring children's author who wants a little one on one help and encouragement.

0 Comments

A Shout Out to Homeschoolers from DUO Education

5/7/2014

0 Comments

Hello everyone! I would like to give a great big shout out to all the homeschoolers out there. Most homeschooling parents are the most dedicated and most creative teachers out there.
Homeschooling parents chose to teach their children at home for a variety of reasons. Some parents do it for religious and spiritual reasons, whereas others homeschool because they do not feel that their children will get the same level of education in a school as they would at home.
I have homeschooled in the past. I know the kind of passion and care that goes into teaching your own child. I feel it is more of a natural education. Homeschoolers can take more field trips and do more hands on learning. If a child has a particular interest, a homeschooler can use that interest to develop an awe of learning and individual learning habits. As a homeschooler, there are no set times or set way in which a child has to be taught. The latter may be one of the reasons why some parents are choosing to homeschool now, whereas they may not have in the past.
More and more parents are choosing to homeschool because of the new Common Core State Standards. Parents may not like the rigid rules of how students are taught and graded. They may not like some of the content being taught with the new Common Core.
No matter what the reason for homeschooling, homeschoolers are often misunderstood or put down. I know that I have been put down while I was homeschooling years ago.
People tend to feel that parents are not trained educators, so they are not able to give children the same quality of education that certified teachers could provide. However, most of the homeschooled students that I know, get better grades and learn more at home than the average child in school. The children also have a greater passion for learning and put a high value on family.
So, again, I want to give a shout out to all the homeschoolers! I understand and I admire what you are doing! You are appreciated! If there is anything I can do to help a homeschooler out there, please let me know! I also want homeschoolers to know that I appreciate at your support and that you have my support.
And, if you are interested in learning more about homeschooling, there are plenty of information out there. There are quite a few groups on Facebook and other social media sites. I am also happy to help you find a group for you. Please, feel free to contact me. Thank you.

0 Comments

Your Chance to Win One Hour of FREE Online Tutoring with DUO Education

4/2/2014

0 Comments

Hi everyone! I am happy to announce that I have revamped the tutoring page. It is more colorful and more appealing. Not only that, but it is more compact and easier to see at a glance. I hope you will check it out, if you get a chance. Doesn’t it just make you want to sign up for tutoring?

     Why choose DUO Education over other online tutors? My style of tutoring is geared towards YOU! I want YOU to learn. I do what I can to not only help you learn, but to make it fun! Yes, you heard me correctly! I do what I can to make learning fun! I also individualize instruction. That means I don’t try to teach skills the same way to everyone. I teach a skill in the way that is best for YOU to learn it!

     Online tutoring or distance learning seems to be the trending thing in education. However, DUO Education is not just a trend. It is teaching and learning with heart. Each person is treated with respect, understanding, and kindness. I am friendly and easily build a rapport with my students.

     Who can benefit from online tutoring with DUO Education? Just about anyone who has an educational need. He could be a child struggling to pass a class in school. She could be an adult who needs to brush up on basic skills in order to pass an entrance exam of some sort. He could be an English language learner who needs extra practice in learning English and other basic skills. She could be an adult who wants to write a children’s book and wants some mentoring, feedback, and extra ideas. Does this include people with learning disabilities? Yes! I have had some experience working with special education students.

     What is involved with online tutoring? How does it work? The short answer is, “We will work it out together!” It is different for each person. You may want to be able to chat face-to-face in a virtual classroom type environment. You may want premade activities and assignments that are sent back and forth through email. You may want occasional homework help or you may want something on a regular basis.

Here is a fantastic deal for you in celebration of the newly formatted online tutoring page:

I will give away one hour of free tutoring to one lucky person who comments and/or shares this post! (If you do not need tutoring, you are more than welcome to give the free hour to someone who does.)

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like to get started with online tutoring today. Thank you! And… good luck!

0 Comments

Presenting "Mixed Multiplication Practice"... and Me as a Life-long Learner and an Educational Resource

10/2/2013

4 Comments

Hello everyone! I have been asked by a homeschooling mom to come up with a teaching aid for various basic math skills. Here is a presentation, called "Mixed Multiplication Practice," that is meant to allow people to practice multiplication facts. This would be great as homework, morning work at school, and part of a homeschooling curriculum.
I hope you like it! It has taken me a while to be able to get it to the point where I could put it on the website. I started off with a PowerPoint presentation, but that wouldn't upload correctly. So, I am using a program called Keynote. I thought I would be able to embed it with code, but couldn't figure that out. I ended up calling Apple who said that I could upload it as a movie. I was concerned that it might lose some of the animations as it did with PowerPoint. But.... it didn't.
Why am I telling you all this? I am telling you, because I am a persistent life-long learner. I worked and worked until I learned something. Now... I know two presentation programs and which is good for uploading to this site. It is also a good example of how someone who knows very little about something, can learn quite well with persistence and an individualized plan to succeed. (You will get that with DUO Education!)
Just a note.... I hope other homeschooling people will contact me. I would be happy to be a resource for you! Right now, if I can fit it in, I will develop tools for free...well... in exchange for promoting my site. I am trying to build a huge inventory of teaching aids and learning activities. Some day, I hope to have a variety of activities and aids to sell. I am happy to hear from anyone with your comments, ideas, questions, and educational needs. Thank you!

4 Comments

Kidtales Summer Reading Spectacular

7/3/2013

4 Comments

Hi everyone. I would like to introduce you to my guest blogger for the week, Candice Simpson. She has an announcement about a wonderful summer program! I am happy to have Candice introduce you to this program, because I feel it is so important for children to have some sort of summer time learning! Welcome Candice!

**** Hi there! Thank you Jodi for this opportunity! I'm Candice and I am a Personal Assistant to Author, Wendy Nystrom. I work on several pages, one being Kidtales.

First-lets talk about Kidtales! Kidtales is a Facebook page that owner, Wendy Nystrom came up with back in 1999. Wendy is a children's author, currently published with Anchor Group Publishing, and she felt there needed to be an outlet to get children's authors together, for readers! Wendy created the page, and has sense shared millions of children's authors and books, along with her own, and her publishing sisters/brothers -Lil'Anchors of Anchor Group.

Wendy felt a strong desire to help children live in a book, have some imagination, and some character. In her books you escape to Iceland and take a journey through a young boys eyes. Friendship, challenges, discoveries, imagination, and secrets are all unlocked. Its something children don't often get anymore. Wendy knew there were hundreds of thousands of other authors out there, starting out right where she was, and Kidtales was the way to get those amazing, imaginative, creative, and fun books into children's hands.

I became an admin not long ago. Wendy and I met through another dear author friend- Christy Sloat (also an Anchor Group published YA/Teen author). I worked for and with Christy for about a year, and I was branching out into learning more about the assistant world and how I could do more for others. I adopted an author- the ever talented, amazingly creative Jodi Stone - and from there, in that group, my friendship grew with Wendy.

While working on Kidtales we brought about Coloring pages for the kids to find and color, some fun new ideas like sharing a kids video once in a while, sharing amazing book tales, and adventures-and ….now the EPIC idea… A KIDS Summer Reading Spectacular!

The spectacular was an idea I was thinking over and over. I work with several authors-both adult and children's writers. I wanted to do something for children to remember to read this summer. Summer reading is something that often falls to the way side with the pool, bikes, games, nights by the fire, and more. I wanted the kids to remember-authors care and education is critical. I have a background in education and I firmly think every child needs an author they love, a book they cherish, and deserve to feel the escape a book can offer!

After speaking to Wendy I started to slowly round up some authors. I knew the Anchor Group authors would all be so generous in donating-they always are. But I was unsure if I had other children's authors who would step forward, want to donate, and help the kids!

To my great surprise, I have many authors, including the ever amazing Jodi Desautels, who've stepped forward.

Here is the layout of what we're doing!

Children sign up for the event on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/538333619558426/

Parents make the commitment to help the children read, document what they are reading and the times they read, and then help teach the children about the importance of a book review!

For every 30 minutes a child reads they earn 1 point. At the end of the event prizes will be distributed, via age category (they are broken down into specific readers), for the most amount of points-but everyone will earn something!

Each week the children report on a Friday how much reading they have done, and post their reviews. Once the children do-Saturday I record the hours, and Sunday I pick a winner for a bookmark, or an ebook, or a bracelet, pencil, something SIMPLE. This allows a child to win every week JUST for reading-not in point order.

The prizes ALL come from donated items from authors and friends of children reading! We are very blessed. What do the authors get, promotion! They get their stories out there, their pages known to families (we have over 70 attending so far), and a weekly feature on each author where we dedicate time and information to them about their book(s) or pages or events, blogs, and things going on for the author! Every author gets featured on Kidtales event, as well as other pages that I belong to and can share on. They also get GREAT joy in helping children read, share, and have fun! We will be offering preferred reading to the kids every week in the age ranges, but the children are free to read anything! If an author is having a sale-we will promote that, and potentially host a giveaway we purchase. It is all about connecting Indie/Small Press Children's Book Authors to amazing children who love to read!

We are still accepting sponsors from authors or people who just want to donate bookmarks, swag, character related toys/stuffed animals, and especially books- e-format or paperback. Please message Kidtales page for more details on how you can help and join in giving back to the children!
https://www.facebook.com/Kidtales

A huge thanks to our Sponsors so far:
The amazing Jodi Desautels (whose hosting me on her blog-YAY-THANK YOU!!!)
Wendy Nystrom
Lil'Anchors
Emily Fogle
Anchor Group
Brandy Herr
Jimmy D (JD Gordon)
Vickie Johnstone
Kelly Preston
Lakshmi Gosyne
Mitzy Tait-Zeller
Brenda Lochinger
Ayana Baugh
Scott Prussing
PJ LaRue
Saoirse O'Mara
Lindsey Parsons
HJ Daly
Author Mary Lee
M.C. Arvanitis
Lori R Lopez
Maureen Larter
Karen Pokras Toz

…………………………….We would LOVE LOVE to add your name to our list!

If your willing to give a little to get a lot, share the love of reading with a child, and have some great summer adventures-please come join us at the Kidtales Summer Reading Spectacular!

**Note: Thank you Jodi for your incredible kindness and sharing this event, and the help we could use, and being there to support the children! Much Lubs from the Kidtales admins!

Kidtales Summer Reading SpectacularJune 20 at 8:00am
Kid tales

I would like to thank you, Candice, for posting today! I wish you, and Wendy, and all involved in the Kidtales Summer Reading Spectacular well! I hope many children have fun with their reading this summer! Reading can be quite an adventure! I am glad I could help in some small way! Please come back and visit again!

Is your child having trouble with summertime reading? Let me help. I provide individualized, online tutoring. Not sure if it is the right tutoring program for you? Contact me. I would be happy to talk with you. Together we can create a tutoring program that is just right for your child, one that caters to his or her learning style!
Are you an adult who would love to read better? Not a problem! I have worked with people of all ages! Just contact me. Take that first step!

4 Comments

The Importance of Summer Time Learning

5/29/2013

6 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I announced that DUO Education is now offering online tutoring in math, reading, writing, and study skills. Okay, you may be thinking, "Yep. That is what you did. You announced that DUO Education was now offering online tutoring in math, reading, writing, and study skills. But why now? School is getting out soon. Aren't educators gearing up to enjoy a nice summer vacation just like all their students?"
Well, I like my summer time fun as much as the next person. Picnics, long motorcycle rides, kayaking trips, and picture taking sounds like a blast to me. Yet, I know summer time learning is just as important.
According to an article by NBC Today, students lose an average of "2.6 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation during summer months." That is just under a third of a school year. The same articles states that, "research shows that teachers typically spend between 4-6 weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer." As a former classroom teacher, that is quite a bit of time to take reteaching something that wouldn't be necessary if students practiced math and reading skills during the summer months. However, educators happily do it, so as to make sure students thoroughly understand the material.
The statistic that I enjoyed the most is that, "56% of students want to be involved in a summer program that 'helps kids keep up with schoolwork or prepare for the next grade.'" I love seeing that children WANT to learn!

What to do about it?

The NBC Today article gives a few suggestions: going to the library, zoo, or museum are among the top choices. However, there is another option that the article did not list: online tutoring.
That's right. From the comfort of your own home, your child could get online tutoring that is individualized and geared directly to your child's learning needs.
To sign up today or for more information, just contact me. I am happy to help. And, there will still be time for plenty of summer time fun! Also, just think of all the time you will save in not having to play "catch up" with your child's skills once school starts again in the fall.

6 Comments

Jodi Desautels Reminisces about a Great Teacher

A Shout Out to Homeschoolers from DUO Education

Your Chance to Win One Hour of FREE Online Tutoring with DUO Education

Presenting "Mixed Multiplication Practice"... and Me as a Life-long Learner and an Educational Resource

Kidtales Summer Reading Spectacular

The Importance of Summer Time Learning

What to do about it?

Jodi Desautels

Archives

Categories