Last Friday we celebrated International Literacy Day at Oseta Jolly Primary School. Mrs Guilmise and Mrs. Lorna were invited to Oseta Jolly Primary School to have a Read Aloud session with Grade 5 students. The team shared one of our favorite books, "Christopher, Clean Your Room!" by Itah Sadu. They also spoke on the importance of reading and how much fun it can be. The event was a success! Students were very engaged in the story by making predictions and drawing conclusions about the character. A big thank you to all the teachers and students of Oseta Jolly for a job well done for your commitment on promoting reading!

This week has been a treat, because I have gotten to facilitate one of my favorite education workshops two days in a row! Yesterday I worked with the staff at the International School of Precious Treasures. In addition to having a little team building fun, we explored creating inclusive classrooms.

• Laying the Groundwork - Maslow before Bloom 
• The Terminology of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Understanding Stereotypes and Bias
• Breaking Down Barriers
• Strategies for Equity in the Classroom

We wish the teachers at ISTCI an awesome academic year!

Yesterday we spent our morning with Precious Treasures International School exploring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Education. Our session was filled with lots of learning and ah-ha moments!

DEI in Education is a powerful workshop that explores the awareness of topics such as inclusion, ethnocentrism, stereotypes, unconscious bias, micro aggressions in the classroom and more.

We wish the teachers at PTIS an awesome academic year!

Earlier this week we made a quick trip over to the Nation's Capital to run a small group session with the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force. We had a great time learning, discussing, debating and role-playing performance management techniques. The objectives of our Continuous Performance Management workshop are:

•  Define and understand performance management
• Set goals, measure performance and get results
• Gain tools to provide feedback and assessment
• Recognize the Importance of Motivation
• Develop a Performance Journal and Performance Plan. 

This week we joined the teens at Edward Gartland Youth Center for 3 sessions. The themes covered in these sessions included:

1. Discovering our Super Power: Encouraging camp participants to recognize and harness their unique strengths, talents, and abilities.
2. Championing Diversity: Promoting inclusivity, empathy, and understanding among campers, and celebrating the diverse backgrounds and perspectives within our community.
3. Charting our Leadership Journey: Inspiring campers to become confident leaders by exploring leadership qualities, effective communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

As always, we enjoyed our time at the Edward Gartland Youth Center.
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This week we finished up a 12-session program with a group of eager employees from the Pool and Beach Department at Grace Bay Club. We had so much fun working with them and were constantly amazed by their enthusiasm, effort and gratitude!

Our overall aim over the 12 sessions was to provide these employees with the instruction and support needed to improve their language skills in a way that will positively impact their performance in the workplace. We focused on empowering each employee to become more competent in their understanding, reading, listening, speaking and writing of the English language.

Program Objectives are as follows:

• Improve listening and spoken vocabulary.
• Improve oral comprehension skills.
• Improve spoken grammar skills.
• Improve conversational English.
• Answer questions appropriately.
• Ask clarifying questions.
• Complete everyday reading and writing tasks.

​Congratulations Gentleman!

I cannot count the number of times that I have been told by a parent that their child just doesn’t seem to be able to remember their multiplication tables. Memorizing multiplication tables has been causing problems for decades, or dare I even say centuries.

The challenge with not learning our basic facts is that it severely slows down math as they get older. Being unable to have that information at your fingertips, makes adds extra steps and extra frustrations as a child gets older.

Learning multiplication facts, in most cases, must be an intentional act. There are a handful of children that will see them, learn them, and remember them immediately. In my experience, this is not the norm. So, I suggest, be intentional about teaching and aiding your child in memorizing them, and if you happen to have one of those children with a photographic memory that can look at them and remember them, well then, nothing is lost because the end goal is simply for them to know, understand and retain their multiplication tables.

Firstly, it’s important to ensure that your child understands that multiplication means ‘groups of.’ Start by choosing a few facts to review. Perhaps 2 x 5 and 5 x 2. Clearly outline that 2 x 5 means 2 groups of 5. 5 x 2 means 5 groups of 2. This basic understanding is important. In some cases, we may think, “oh my child knows that for sure!” But, if they have been simply memorizing facts of singing a multiplication rhyme, this piece may not have processed as well as we would like.
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If your child is new to multiplication tables, get some paper and some tokens and practice creating groups of. Dried peas, pennies, or any other easily countable item can be used tokens. Once you believe that your child does truly understand the concept of multiplication, there are a few things you can try to help them retain the information.
 
Here are my top 6 suggestions.

1. Use manipulatives. As already suggested, ensuring your child understands their tables is important. Use practical tools, like counters, buttons, or pennies, to have your child ‘show’ and ‘tell’ you the answers to the facts that you ask them.  Arranging items on a flat service allows them to use their tactile learning styles.
2. Write and memorize. This is the most traditional suggestion that shouldn’t be thrown out the window. Have your child write out their facts, one set of facts at a time, and read, write, and review them. They can write them on paper, on a white board, on a computer…wherever they like writing. You can also add a twist and have them write it in the sand or with any other sensory tools. It can sometimes be difficult to memorize all 12 facts of a table at once. Perhaps do up to x 6 initially and then do the next 6 once the first 6 have been masters. For example, begin with 6 x 1 – 6 x 6 and once those are masters, tackle 6 x 7 – 6 x 12.
3. Use a Hundred Chart – Print out a hundreds chart from the internet. Decide on the facts that you want to review. If we continue with the 6 x tables, have your child highlight all the answers to the 6 x tables. Therefore, the numbers on their hundreds chart that are highlighted will be 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54, 60, 66 and 72. In highlighting these numbers, you are activating the visual memory as they see the pattern of the highlighted numbers, but you are also providing them with a way to review. Have them count by 6’s several times. This techniques makes it easier for them to know when  they are giving an incorrect answer. For example,  if they answer 37 to the questions 6 x 6, they will immediately know that something is ‘off,’ and will reflect on what more likely to is be the answer of 6 x 6.
4. Eraser game. This one is a favorite at the center. Write down all the answers to the times table you are working on. Therefore, if you are working on the 4 times tables, you will randomly write 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44 and 48. You then ask your child facts and have them erase the answer. For example, if you say 4 x 6, they should then erase 24.
5. Calculator Support. Children love to use calculators. Chances are they may have one on their tablet. You can also use a regular calculator. Explain to your child that calculators are tools that can also help us check our answers. Ask them a basic fact, have them give their answer, and then allow them to double check it on their calculator. The goal is to match the calculator answer, but of course, the ongoing practice will be improving their likelihood of remembering their facts.
6. Use Flash Cards. Once your child has a grasp of their facts, practice accuracy and speed with flash cards. Perhaps put on a time for 1 – 2 minutes and see how many flash cards that can answer correctly. Record that score. Repeat this regularly and encourage them to beat their score from the day before. 

Yesterday we finished up The Business Writer, our 5-session coaching program. This program allows for participants to review essential concepts that are the building blocks to being an effective business writer. This group of participants from Grace Bay Resorts, enjoyed working together to improve their skills. We with them all the best!

Yesterday I had a full day with the executive management of the TCI Sports Commission. Participants appreciated diving deep into the ideas of equity and conclusion. They also appreciated learning about generational gaps and pairing that with a discussion about the history of the TCI and how a countries history and defining moments can shift generational characteristics. 

This week were excited for the re-launch of Lit for Birth which was a program started by Jamell and me in 2017. As owners of Learn and Lead, and as parents us, we saw how easily language development and early literacy could fall through the cracks. We wanted to raise awareness on the importance of early steps that you can take to ensure your child has the best start possible.

Literacy from Birth, which we referred to as Lit from Birth, was a program that was launched in conjunction with InterHealth Canada. The nurses and midwives at IHC were trained on how to explain early language and literacy concepts to moms and provide them with a board book and a list of tips at the time of discharge. This program ran from June 2017 (the period of birth of our youngest) until April 2020 when we had to adjust to the challenges of COVID 19. In that period hundreds of books were given to moms and little ones in Providenciales and Grand Turk.

The Youth Help Foundation and United Way, with a little support from us, has taken over the reins of this program. We are grateful to see this program come to life again and want to encourage parents and caregivers to be intentional about stimulating language and literacy from birth.  90% of brain development occurs in the first 5 years of life, and we want to make sure we are creating environments where our little ones can thrive to their potential.

For more about the program, contact the Youth Help Organization. info@youthhelpfoundation.org

"My advice for young people is, study what you love and intern in what you want to do. And I think it’s okay to pivot as many times as you need to." - Eva Chen

Earlier this week we made a quick trip over to Grand Turk to work with some of the students taking part in the National Internship Program. The goal of this workshop was to address some of the concerns raised in the National Skills Audit…particularly, critical thinking.

In ‘The Analytical Mind,’ participants are encouraged to be intentional about the way they are team players, the way they learn information, the way they apply critical thinking to their work surroundings, and how to reach their personal and professional potential.
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"Inclusivity means not ‘just we’re allowed to be there,’ but we are valued. I’ve always said: smart teams will do amazing things, but truly diverse teams will do impossible things."
~ Claudia Brind-Woody

On Friday we continued our DEI training with the Royal Turks and Caicos Police force. We had great learning, great discussion and great debate. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training challenges participants to look inward before looking outward. 

Congrats to these two employees from British Caribbean Bank for completing 'The Business Writer.' This coaching program provides an opportunity for employees to brush up on their writing skills and increase their confidence in everyday business writing.

I have taught many of children in my career and have met so many different personalities. Every child really is unique. I have always been extremely fascinated with strong willed children. Their confidence, their decisiveness, their sense of justice and their ability to stand alone! I know that parenting strong willed children can be exhausting, but I also know that strong willed children also grow up to not only do great things, but to make incredible contributions to our society.

Compliance is something that we like to see as adults. Some children are naturally more compliant than others, and although we can shape compliance in many ways, we do need to take the personalities of our children into consideration.

Strong willed children are generally spirited and courageous. The don’t fit well into the ‘seen’ but not ‘heard’ box. They thrive on independence. They are experiential learners that excel when they feel as though they are in charge of themselves. This sometimes creates power struggles in the household. Especially if your child has their heart set on something and needs to switch gears. Power struggles, as simple as which pajamas need to be worn, can create frustration for parents, and therefore it’s important to take your child’s personality into account when parenting.

Before I give you some strategies for strong willed children, I want to remind you parents, that there are some amazing long-term benefits for our strong-willed children. As they mature, they are often driven and extremely self-motivated. They are less likely to give into peer pressure and they are not afraid to stand up for their rights or the rights of others. In my books, these are important reasons to be intentional about the way you parent your strong-willed children, and to be mindful of the impulse to 'put them in their place' or show them who is the boss.
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Here are some tips when parenting strong-willed children:

1. Have predictable routines and rituals. This is important during school time and when your children are on weekends and holidays. Stick to your routines. When brushing teeth occurs at the same spot in the routine nightly, it’s a lot less likely to create a challenge.
2. Give Choices. Strong willed children thrive on independence. Give simple choices such as … “You can either wear this or that.” This avoids opening the entire closet to them, but still gives them to choose of one or the other. You can do your reading time at 6 pm or 7 pm. What is your preference?
3. Solve problems together. Strong willed children are often motivated by mastery. When a challenge or problem occurs, take it to them for their opinion and consideration.
4. Reframe obedience. I don’t think there is a parent in this word that doesn’t want their child to comply to their demands or instructions. Power struggles with strong willed children can get ugly. But wouldn’t you rather your child behaves because he or she trusts what you are saying. One of your relationship goals with your child should be that they understand that you cannot always say yes, but that you have their best interest at heart.  This type of relationship takes time to build. It takes intentional efforts and often takes more willingness to discuss matters with your child.

The techniques described above would be described as 'Positive Parenting Techniques.' Positive parenting techniques often sound fabulous but are not always the easier choice. Just remember, that the groundwork laid for our children in childhood creates the pathway for their behaviors and the way they interact with you and others in adolescence and adulthood.

Earlier this week we continued our DEI training with the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force. DEI training is about awareness and provides an opportunity for teams to dive deep into how to manage the complexities that can arise with a diverse staff. Diversity, goes beyond race, ethnicity, nationality and culture, and includes aspects such as age, generations, education, experiences etc. We look forward to our continued training in this area with RTCPF.

Over the last little while I have had the opportunity to work with the Health Professionals Authority.  We had such a great time learning and growing personally and professionally. Soft Skills development is essential in today's workplace and in order to truly improve, the principles must be embodied in all areas of your life. The Essential Soft Skills that HPA decided to work on are:

• Building Our Team Dynamic
• Customer Service
• Reaching Your Potential as a Leader
• Personal Productivity

I look forward to working with HPA in the future!

Writing is a key method of communication for most people, and it's one that many people struggle with. The Business Writer provides a great opportunity for professionals to brush up on their skills and review the basic concepts that make someone a confident and effective business writer. For more on The Business Writer Coaching Program, visit our Coaching Page.

Just about every summer learning post will discuss the importance of summer reading. This one will as well! Summer reading is not only fun but yields great benefits for our children. However, to provide a twist, I want to highlight the benefits of audiobooks.

I’m often asked, “Do audiobooks really have much benefit?” My answer: Yes! Yes! Yes! Audiobooks are a great way to boost your child’s literacy skills. Many children don’t have an interest in regular reading, so it makes summer reading a challenge. Audiobooks provide way to have your child to engage with stories in a different way. This allows for the listener’s imagination to step in, picture the scenes, picture the characters, and connect with the story.

Here are my Top 5 benefits for listening to audio books.

1. Audiobooks improve attention and focus. When your child is listening to audiobooks there are a lot of details to remember. There are the characters, the plot lines and the little details required to have a full picture of what is occurring. The narrators voice often captivates the listener and it helps to shape their attention and focus.
2. Audiobooks build critical thinking and comprehension skills. There is a lot of processing going on with audiobooks. Especially as we get into young adult literature. The listener has to be listening and simultaneously processing details in order to make a mental picture and gain a proper understanding of what is occurring.
3. Audiobooks improve vocabulary. Audiobooks, especially those that are above a child’s reading level, but not their level of understanding, introduce them to more mature vocabulary that can then be added to their speaking and writing vocabulary.
4. Audiobooks help in the understanding of emotions. When narrators read audiobooks, you can sense the emotion in their tones. Whether it be their depiction of empathy or humor, it adds meaning for our young ones, and helps them to understand and in future recognize emotion and mood in literature.
5. Audiobooks are fun and great for the mood. Audiobooks can be calming and reduce stress in our children and in us! They provide an opportunity to get lost in another world, to have a laugh, to learn something new, or just enjoy a good story.

​Children can listen to audiobooks everywhere. Facilitate your child’s listening by adding an audiobook player to their tablet or phone. Happy Listening!
 

“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” - Brad Henry

This year we had a staggered start to our Summer Enrichment Program. We are excited to function at full force this week and look forward to seeing awesome growth in our students this summer! Don't forget to check out this space for Summer Learning Tips!

Whether you call it ‘The Summer Slide’ or ‘Summer Brain Drain,’ we know that when our children take 2 months off school, we risk some learning loss. Spending just 15 minutes daily and being intentional about highlighting the learning around them can reduce the likelihood of learning loss tremendously!

As you plan what your summer learning will look like, don’t forget to include math! It’s not uncommon to have more learning loss in math than it is in literacy. We certainly hear about bedtime reading routines more often than bedtime math routines!

The summertime is a great time to improve math skill, confidence, and success. These three concepts are strongly linked. As a child begins to improve their skill in math, they start to feel more confident. This increased confidence will bring more success, and the success then drives the desire to learn more skill and gain more confidence and so on. It is a beautiful cycle to see.
Math curriculums can move quickly during the academic year, and reviewing concepts already learned or getting a sneak peek at concepts to come allow your children to enter the new math year with greater confidence and ease.
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Here are my top 5 tips to remember about Summer Math Learning.

1. Math is everywhere. Look for opportunities to highlight math in your environment. Numbers are everywhere. Point them out and look for opportunities to find patterns, such as even number on one side of the street and odd on the other. Cooking provides a great opportunity to gain a deeper and real life understanding of topics such as capacity and fractions.
2. Play games. Puzzles, blocks, and board games all have their part to play in math learning. Whether counting, strategizing, categorizing, or following patterns, games provide a fun way for children to expand their special knowledge, their computation skills, their reasoning skills, and more. Ex. Monopoly, Yahtzee, Battleship, Dominoes etc.
3. Understand and Use Money. Understanding and using money is an essential skill. Deciding what to purchase on a menu with a specific budget or making decisions in the grocery store based on cost per quantity are two activities that make math come alive.
4. Develop an Awareness of Numbers. Look for things to count and to estimate. This is especially important with your little ones. Try discussing how many steps you think it is from your house to your car. Check your estimation by counting the number of steps.
5. Research. It’s important to remember that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. A quick google search of ‘summer math fun,’ or ‘summer math activities,’ will provide you with tons of activities, everyday math ideas, virtual resources and printable. You can also refine your search by including your child’s grade level.

In conclusion, it’s helpful to think of the time you spend on math as ‘priming the math brain.’ Math is easier when the brain is ready for it. Look for opportunities throughout the summer to increase math readiness, regardless of age or grade level.
 

​Exams and tests are done, and our children are just about ready to pack away their supplies until next year. Or… in the case of many of us, the supplies have been so ‘well used,’ that we are beginning to think of our ‘back to school budget!’

Summer is a great time for our children to relax, but it is also a time where we can have learning loss, escalated behavioral challenges and other things most parents would like to avoid. Stepping into summer with intention can help create stability, lower learning loss and of course, ensure you have fun!

What do you want the summer holidays to look like for your children? This goes beyond camp registrations, or flight bookings, and gets to a deeper level of what do you want your child to accomplish daily.

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some summer learning tips, but for today, I thought I’d get you going on my top 5 Summer Tips.

1. Play! Your children have been longing for time to play and relax. Structured activities are great, but also remember to allow your children unstructured play time to explore.
2. Read. Whether you are reading to them, or they are at the stage that they are reading independently, make reading part of your daily routine.
3. Visit. Whether visiting family members, a new beach, or other countries, look for opportunities to explore and create new experiences.
4. Talk. Look for opportunities to have conversation. Whether your child is a toddler or a teenager, conversation expands vocabulary and expands the mind.
5. Create. There are lot of mediums that your children can use to create. Paper and crayons are an easily accessible one, but don’t forget about blocks, logo, playdough, paint, glue, scissors, and trash to treasure items like shoe boxes, egg cartons and fancy packaging. The summer is a great time to allow them to get lost in their creations.

Stay tuned for more!

I absolutely love working with small groups. It gives us an opportunity to dive deep into discussions on the topic area. Earlier this week we met with 3 team members from the Turks Head Brewery, and we discussed Customer Service.  We focused on the following:

• Who We Are and What We Do
  
• Establishing Your Attitude
  
• Understanding the Customer's Needs and Situation
  
• Dealing with Recovering Difficult Customers
  

We look forward to working with them again very soon!

Last week I finished off the week with the Health Professionals Authority. They reminded me of important it is to get in alignment when problem solving. Often when problems occur, it is tempting to jump right into solving them. It's important to take the time to know and understand the challenges and its intricacies and assure all team members are on the same page. This same page doesn't just include what the problem is, but what the solutions will look like. This is alignment. 

On Friday, June 23 we were happy to support Mrs. Melisha Williams on her grand opening of Oasis ABA Consultancy. Oasis ABA consultancy will provide specialized therapy services for children and young adults with learning and behavioral challenges. It will also provide parent training and support for many families in the islands. Congratulations Mrs. Williams on this enormous achievement. We wish you all the success with your future endeavors.

Connect with Oasis ABA Consultancy at 649 343 5534   or oasisabatci@gmail.com