Start NNAT Preparation for Next Year Now!

It may seem early to be starting NNAT preparation for the next school year, but parents know that its better to start preparing for the NNAT too early than too late! You might be asking yourself what exactly you can do to prepare a child for the NNAT test 6 months in advance! There are a lot of different ways you can help prepare your child for the NNAT test and a lot of them do not involve practice questions!

The best way for a child to learn is through fun activities, the power of play, and so the more NNAT prep you have that is outdoors or a game, the more your child will learn without knowing they are learning! I suggest telling your children you are going to do brain games, or mind play, instead of NNAT test prep. First, children do not understand that they are not supposed to prepare for the NNAT test, and do not understand the distinction between learning how the NNAT is formed versus practicing the NNAT test. Second, your child might be resistant to the very phrase “NNAT test prep”. A lot of children like to do brain games or mind puzzles. If your child does not respond well to those phrases, you can even call it “mommy/daddy and me time”.

This is time that you should be focused on your child, and many children want as much mommy and daddy time as possible. So that can be a good course of action if your child is resistant to NNAT test prep. You want to start at least 6 months is advance to prepare your child for the test. You want to only do about fifteen minutes of NNAT prep a day so that you do not overwhelm your child. You can find tons of resources on this site for NNAT prep! Good luck on the NNAT!

iPad Apps to Help Children Read

It can be confusing as a parent to know how much you should allow your child to play with computers, whether it’s a phone, iPad, or laptop. Too much screen time can inhibit a child’s cognitive and social development. Playing on the iPad too much can make it harder for children to learn about sympathy and other ways of relating to other children. However, there are a lot of good apps out there for children. Some of them teach math or reading. I have gathered a list of some of my favorite reading apps on the app store for your child.

• abc PocketPhonics: This app is only $2.99 on the app store and is great for your super young learners! This app teaches your child about 170 popularly used words. Your child learns how to spell the word by hearing a recording of a letter, then picking that letter out of a group of 8 letters. Once they click the correct letter, they get an affirmation and are moved to the next letter. Your child can also practice how to form letters by tracing the word in the app.
• Reading For Kids: 100 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Read: This is a great app for parents, and even better because it is free! The app is exactly what the title would lead you to believe. You have 100 tips and resources to help your child learn to love to read. For example, one of the tips is go with your child to get their first library card and show them how to use the library!
• Word Magic: This is a spelling app that is very interactive for children. Your child is shown an object on the screen along with some of the letters that make up the name of the object. Then they are able to choose the rest of the letters to finish the word. The great aspect of this app is that you can choose between different levels of difficulty, so its great for mother’s of multiple children!

You can also find reading skill resources on this site. Good luck on the NNAT!

Everyone Thinks We Are Crazy

We are the crazy ones. The parents that are starting to prepare their children for their NNAT tests months in advance. The parents that heard their children were taking their NNAT tests and started preparing them for those NNAT tests as well. A lot of parents think that their child’s natural intelligence will shine through during these NNAT tests. What they do not realize is that a lot of the NNAT test formats their children may not have seen before. Your child’s natural intelligence does shine through when they know how to take the NNAT test. A lot of parents think that their child’s school prepares them for their state standards testing. They rely wholly on their child’s school and school district to prepare their children for the rest of their academic lives.

But we are the crazy ones. We buy extra workbooks or subscribe to fun school enrichment websites. When our children get home from school, we go over the lesson they learned that day in math and in history and in science to ensure they understood everything they learned. Children can fall through the cracks at school because teachers have 30 plus students in their classroom. But parents have a much more focused attention they can give their children. Also, children who have higher levels of parental involvement in their lives, such as helping with homework and having a daily family dinner, have a higher success rate in school.

We know how important it is to our children to be involved with their lives. Once your child knows how important school is to you, they will begin to understand why school is important in their own lives. You can lead your child by example and be personally involved in their education. Some parents may think you are crazy, but you know that this involvement in your child’s life will benefit their lifelong success. Go to this site to get more resources for the NNAT! Good luck on the NNAT!

More Springtime Activities for NNAT Kids

This warm weather made me want to post another blog post about warm weather NNAT activities to do with your child. Since it has been so cold and dreary out all winter long, I have put together another list of fun outdoor activities. You can use these as just fun reasons to get our of your house, or you can turn them into NNAT skill building activities.

• Fly a kite: This is one of my favorite suggestions because you and your child can make the kite before you fly it! During the winter months when you are cooped inside, you can help design the kite with your child and then help them construct it. They will be learning valuable NNAT skills and also have a sense of ownership in their work! Once they get out to fly the kite, they will really be proud of themselves and what they can accomplish.
• Visit the zoo: Zoo animals are always a little more reluctant to be out and playing during the winter months, and I understand why! But with the spring coming around the corner the animals are going to be much more active and out during your visit to the zoo. You can ask your child questions about classification of animals, and their similarities and differences for some NNAT test prep.
• Go down to DC: Washington DC is not only the capitol of our country, but home to one of the prettiest cherry blossoming across the country! I have been in Washington DC at this time of the year, and the cherry trees blossoming is beautiful, definitely an experience for your young ones. You can also take them around to all of the government buildings in DC. You can teach your little one how the government works, take them to congress and have them see politics being shaped in real time. They can go to the Supreme Court building and learn about justice. You can also take them to the Smithsonian have them see American History!

Get resources on the NNAT that you can do from the car or train from this site. Good luck on the NNAT!

Spring Time Activities for NNAT Kids

Winter is finally over and spring is just around the corner, and you want to get your NNAT child outside! The winter months can be very challenging to children who cannot get out their energy by playing outside in the sun! It can also be challenging to parents who need to keep their children entertained but also educated and doing NNAT test prep. Thankfully spring is just around the corner and that means there are a whole new category of activities you can do with your child for fun and NNAT test prep. I have a list of NNAT spring activities below:

• Plant flowers: This is a great activity because it gets your children out of the house and a little dirty! You can teach them about the life cycle of a plant and how to best take care of their little plant. It will teach your kids responsibility and also patience, as it takes weeks for plants to grow. Your little one will love this activity!
• Take a hike: Depending on the age of your child, this might be a hike or a stroll. But try and find a national park or mountain near your house that you can go on a hike in. Try and have it be a place your children haven’t been to before. Ask them what they see that is different on the trail than around their house. Great for on the go NNAT test prep.
• Visit a farm: This can be a very fun activity in the spring, because sometimes there are baby farm animals for your children to see. You can take them to a farm and teach them about cows, chickens, pigs, lambs, and other farm animals. Often you can also have your child milk a cow or pet a lamb, something they will not forget for a long time.

Check out your local youth center for fun group sprint time activities. Get some more resources on the NNAT from this site. Good luck on the NNAT!

Are You One of These Parents?

There are a lot of different kinds of parents out there. There are the Tiger parents, who push their children to always be working to succeed. There are the Extra-Curricular parents, who sign their children up for every extra-curricular activity possible, Scouting, Soccer, Piano. Then there are the NNAT NNAT test prep parents. These parents spend their time and their children’s spare time on NNAT test prep and school enrichment. These parents know how involved they need to be in their children’s lives in order to foster lifelong success in their children. These parents know that regular family dinners and helping tutor their children encourage learning outside the family helps children stay focused on school and education.

NNAT test Prep parents know that teachers and schools can only help prepare their child so much. These parents know that if they want their children in top tier colleges, they need to push their children academically. When their child has a big standardized NNAT test coming up, they start preparing with their child 3 months in advance. They know what subjects their children struggle with, and introduce fun activities to help inspire their children to do better in that subject. They know that the best way to support their children is by supporting their education as much as they can.

These parents may not have always been NNAT test prep parents. But once they discovered resources to help them teach their child, they did know how to be positively involved in their child’s life. It can take as little as an extra half an hour a day to help keep your child academically competitive. Once you start helping your child with NNAT test prep and school enrichment, you will wonder why you didn’t start sooner. Your child will thank you in the long run for helping them stay at the top of their educational game. Your pride in your child will swell, knowing they are doing as well in school as they can. Help your child and become a NNAT test Prep parent today!

You can find more NNAT test prep on this site! Good luck on the NNAT!

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Parents have to get our of their comfort zone a lot when they are raising their children. Especially for first time parents, a lot of what you need to do for your child, you have never done before! Or you haven’t done it for a long time. But your children depends on you and so no matter what it is, you are going to come through for your child.

A lot of parents feel far out of their comfort zone when they start doing NNAT test prep or school enrichment for their child. They think that a NNAT tutor would be a better solution, because they know the materials better or because it is their job to teach children. But parents, it is your job to teach your children the NNAT too. You are the ones who taught them how to walk, how to say “Momma” or “Dadda” and you are the best person in their lives to tutor them in the NNAT. Your children may not appreciate it now, but studies have shown that parents that are more involved with their children have more engaged and active children.

It can be scary to begin working with your child on their school subjects or the NNAT, especially if it is a subject they are struggling in. You haven’t taken those classes for a long time and you want to make sure your child does the best they can. But you can do this! You just need to read their textbook, gather some outside resources on that subject, and then ask your child what they know. Just by talking to your child, they can tell you exactly what they do and do not understand.

Parenting works best when the parents are as involved as they can be. That may mean stepping out of your comfort zone and helping your child with their long division or their reading comprehension skills or the NNAT. But your children will thank you for it years down the road.

You can find resources to help you tutor your child in any subject or on the NNAT from this site. Good luck on the NNAT!

More TV Shows that Will Educate your NNAT Child

Earlier this week I posted about shows that will help prepare your child for the NNAT, and will also educate them. That was a list of oldie-but-goodies shows. This week I’m going to focus on more contemporary shows that will help prepare your child for the NNAT and inspire them to be life long learners.

• Bill Nye the Science Guy” This show is great because I’m sure your children already know who Bill Nye the Science Guy is! They will be super excited to see the original show that Bill Nye the Science Guy starred in, and they will gain valuable lessons in science and general NNAT test prep!
• Wishbone: This was my favorite show because it teaches children about classics in literature at a level they can understand. You want your child to understand Ivanhoe or Great Expectations? Sit them down with an episode of Wishbone. Again, this show will not explicitly teach your child NNAT skills, but it will help instill a lifelong reading passion!
• Zoboomafoo: This show has the advantage of still being in syndication on air! Your child can watch this show, about a lemur nicknamed Zoboo, and learn all about different animals and plants from all over the world! This show is great for kids that love to go to the zoo.
• Dora the Explorer: This show still airing on television now and can help introduce another language to your child’s life! I know that watching it as an adult, it can help me with my day to day Spanish and kids love the repetition and the ability to participate with the tv show. This show also helps build NNAT skills.

There is a list of 4 television shows that will educate your child and help prepare them for the NNAT, all the while being entertained. You can find more resources on NNAT test prep on this site. Good luck on the NNAT!

TV Shows that Will Educate your NNAT Child

You know that children, especially ones with extra NNAT homework, want to watch TV. But you do not want them to watch TV that isn’t educational. You want to make sure you limit their screen time to less than 2 hours a day! That is not just for the TV but includes other screens like computers or iPads. How do you know that the TV show your child finds will be educational or help them with the NNAT? I have compiled a list of TV shows that are educational below. That way your child can watch TV and still prepare for the NNAT!

• Sesame Street: This may be an obvious choice, since a lot of us watched this when we were growing up! But Sesame Street remains one of the best educational shows on the air, maybe even teaching your child NNAT skills. You do not need to worry about what your children are watching if its Sesame Street!
• Mister Roger’s Neighborhood: Another oldie but a goodie! Your children will not only learn and grow skills for the NNAT, but will also learn valuable life lessons like how to share and the best way to make friends!
• Schoolhouse Rock: This show is great, not necessarily for NNAT test prep, but for general school enrichment for your children! You will get a kick out of listening to all of the songs you could sing along to when you were a child and your children will love this new show.
• Reading Rainbow: This was my favorite show growing up! I got to learn how to hone my reading skills and was shown that reading is important! You want your child to enjoy reading and learning new information, and the Reading Rainbow is a great show to do that with!

These are all of my classic TV shows that are actually educational. I’ll be posting more modern shows in my next addition. To get more NNAT resources, you can check out this site. Good luck on the NNAT!

A Child’s Best NNAT Teacher: Mom & Dad

You know that your child needs you for certain things. When they are a baby, they rely on you, their parents, for everything, including NNAT prep! Feeding, changing, and, most importantly, teaching them. You are your child’s first NNAT teacher and also their most important one. You may think that once your child goes to school, that their teachers will take care of everything in their education. You may think that because they have their advanced teaching degrees that you can rely on them to properly educate your child. But teachers have disadvantages that parents do not have in NNAT teaching children.

Teachers have a whole classroom of children to teach, and they need to make sure that they give each child the attention they deserve. You only have your child to pay attention to. That means that while you are teaching them a lesson on fractions or the civil war, you can pay attention to how well they are absorbing the materials. You can read their faces and see if they are truly paying attention or just sitting and nodding. Teachers cannot be focused that intently on every child in their classroom. If your child does not speak up about not understanding a lesson, then they can fall through the cracks and not learn.

Another advantage is that your child wants to spend time with you. Parental

involvement is so important in a child’s life, even if the children themselves do not understand that when they are young. Just by being present in your child’s education, you can help them get better scores in class and generally succeed in their education. By going over your child’s homework and tutoring them on the concepts they do not understand, you show your child that you care about their education. By spending time outside the classroom teaching your child the NNAT, you show them that education is a lifelong journey, not just restricted to the classroom, and that their parents care about their education.

            Give your child the gift of your involvement in their education, and see them succeed not only in the classroom but in their lives. You can find resources on the NNAT and how to teach your child on this site. Good luck on the NNAT!