Our Most Popular Blogs of 2020

No matter how prepared you may have felt at the start of 2020, armed with New Year’s resolutions and a fresh planner, there’s no doubt this year was nothing like you expected. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it new parenting and educational challenges for all of us.

As you’ve come to us with your questions about virtual and at-home learning, we’ve done our best to answer them and provide the support you needed in this trying year. In this special end-of-the-year blog post, we’re looking back at our most-read blog posts of 2020.

Read on to see what advice resonated with parents like you and maybe even find some helpful tidbits to prepare you for whatever 2021 may hold (hopefully, some peace, calm, and in-person learning, right?!).

Post #1: Why Kids Struggle with Virtual Math (And What Parents Can Do About It!)

Even in a typical year, we get a lot of requests for our math tutoring services. Math is abstract and challenging. Plus, it’s cumulative. Each new skill builds on the last, so failure to master one unit can make future units even harder.

In a traditional classroom, teachers can at least monitor the room for signs of confusion or overwhelm, but as learning moved online, it was easy for students to fall through the cracks and fall behind. Many concerned parents reached out to us for advice, especially when their children pushed back at their efforts to help along the way. 

In this blog, Ann Dolin addresses those frustrations and outlines practical tips for helping your child succeed with virtual math (without ruining your relationship along the way).

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Post #2: How to Ask a Teacher for Help When You’re Virtual

Teachers want their students to succeed. That means they want and expect students to ask for help. In the physical classroom, they encourage students to seek out that help by looking for physical signs of confusion and making themselves available after class and during lunch. 

In a virtual classroom, however, teachers’ ability to monitor the class is limited. It’s up to kids to speak up when they’re struggling or need clarification. For students who are reserved, nervous, or shy, this is a big ask. Many choose to stay silent instead and quickly fall behind.

In this popular post, Ann Dolin shares quick tips for families who need to ask for extra help within the virtual learning environment. Check it out to discover the best time to ask for help, specific questions to pose to the teacher, and more.

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Post #3: What does it take to be a tutor at Educational Connections?

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a tutor at Educational Connections? Do we hire high school students? College students? Teachers? Who exactly will be supporting your child in their academic journey?

It’s a good question, and this blog post from Ann Dolin will clear things up. At Educational Connections, we’re proud of our high standards and unique process because we’ve seen how well it works. In the past 21 years, the families of over 10,000 DC students have trusted us to support their child’s academic journey!

Check this popular post out to discover what exactly we expect from our tutors and how we sift through our extremely skilled team to match each student with the best possible tutor for them.

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Post #4: 3 Tricks to Keep Kids from Interrupting While You Work from Home

Supporting your kids through the transition to online learning is tough. Balancing it with your own full-time job? Well, that can feel impossible.

Ann Dolin wrote this post to encourage parents that working from home with kids isn’t easy, but it is possible—as long as you have a few strategies to keep you sane!

In this popular post, you’ll find three hacks to help you set and keep boundaries so that you and your children can focus and get things done (without all the tension or yelling). Hang in there, working parents! This one’s for you.

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Thank you for trusting us to provide you with advice and support in this challenging year. It’s an honor we don’t take lightly, and we’re glad to hear these posts have helped parents like you.

Did you know we post and email out one or two new blogs just like these each and every month? They always feature tips, tricks, and strategies for guiding your child throughout their K-12 journey. Click below to subscribe, and you can receive every update straight to your inbox! You’ll never miss a post and can unsubscribe at any time.

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