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PeoriaTimes.com /PeoriaTimes Sylvan Learning launches free online minicamps
BY BREE FLORENCE Peoria Times Contributing Writer
Parents self-isolated for long hours with their kids might be looking for ways to keep them entertained, motivated to learn or even just relaxed.
So, Sylvan Learning has launched a series of fun, online minicamps through Friday, April 24. The minicamps are designed to keep students in a community of like-minded peers. They address anything from vocabulary, math and poetry to yoga, “getting a handle on germs” and relaxation.
While Sylvan Learning’s personalized tutoring can cost anywhere from $40 to $100 an hour, families can sign up for these group Zoom activities for free by creating an account at sylvannation.com.
Sylvan Learning is an educational center that provides personal academic coaching for kids grades K-12. The national tutoring service has been operating exclusively online since early March, utilizing Zoom to provide students with all its same services, as well as its new minicamps.
But the online platform is difficult for younger kids who are just learning to read and who benefit most from tactile learning, said Jenny Dunnavent, director of Sylvan Learning’s Goodyear center.
To supplement online learning, she encourages families with kindergarten-age kids to use physical learning techniques with their kids at home, like using jumping jacks; hopping on one foot; writing letters with playdough; or counting salt, beans, pennies or Matchbox cars to learn letters, numbers and basic math.
For instructors like Kristin O’Leary at the Goodyear center, the most difficult part of teaching online is judging her student’s engagement and comprehension.
“Their world at home is very different and distracting than in the classroom,” O’Leary said.
Virtual tutoring sessions can be more personalized. “When you’re online with a student, you really need the time to work one on one with a student,” Dunnavent said
Giving kids this individual attention also allows Sylvan Learning to support kids emotionally in uncertain times.
“Kids are stressed out right now, too,” Dunnavent said. “They don’t understand what’s going on, why they can’t see their friends or why things are closed.”
O’Leary takes a few minutes at the start of each session to check in with her students, especially younger kids.
“We want to let the kids know that there is a community outside of home that supports them and can’t wait to have them back,” O’Leary said. Answers
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