"What Langsford is About": According to Lindsey

Miss Lindsey

Recently we've had the pleasure of working with this delightful 3rd grader 

who wrote the following about Langsford:

What Langsford is About

by Lindsey

Langsford is a place where kids go to get better at school work that is tricky for them.  I really like Langsford because I can learn in fun ways.  I can read interesting books while playing the Jewel Game. 

I also do spelling.  If I get a word wrong, I have a list that the word goes on.  If I get the word correct 5 days in a row the word gets checked off.  I also get to write sentences on the white board with a dry erase marker.  My favorite color is purple.

If I read 20 minutes a day I get to put a check on the reading board.  If I get checks all the way across the board, I get to get a prize out of Rhonda's special basket.  

I have a different teacher every hour I am here.  At the end of each hour, I get stickers to put on my sticker sheet.  Langsford is a good place to go to!

Thanks Lindsey!  We think you're pretty special too!!

Looking for Some Fun Summer Reading for Your "Wimpy Kid" Fan?

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has taken the elementary schools by storm. One mother recently likened being able to read it to a "rite of passage." The kids LOVE these books!

But what about after they've been read? What about the kids who can't quite handle the series' reading level yet? What other books can you get to entice your reluctant reader?

Here's a suggestion: another diary-format series called Nate's Journal. This series chronicles the trials and tribulations of Nate's grade 8 year. However, each book is a stand-alone story so they don't have to be read in order.

They'll remind your son or daughter of the Wimpy Kid books. They are written in journal fashion, complete with quirky line drawings accompanying the text.

Best of all-they're an easy read! While they were written to attract 4th to 6th grade readers, the easy to decode text is written at a grade 3 level.

Sometimes the key to getting your child to begin to enjoy reading is finding the right series to "hook" them. The Nate's Journal series might be just the "bait" you need to catch the interest of your young reader!

Look for them online or at your local booksellers. Happy Reading!

"You signed me up for what?!"

This is for all you kids out there who have just been told by your parents that they have signed you up to come to Langsford.

I know what you must be thinking. "What a bummer--working on my summer break, " or, "oh man, I have to go there everyday AND after school?!" But I think you'll be very surprised once you get here. We will be doing things that are very different from what you've done at school.

All of our work is one-on-one and we have some really fun instructors. Some are women and some are guys. They've been taught some special stuff so that they know how to teach you in a way you can learn. Their goal is always to make whatever is hard for you-reading, spelling, comprehension-easier. If it's easier, you'll like it better and you won't have to spend so much time laboring over homework at night!

Most kids come every day, for 2 hours. Don't panic! It's not that bad. You'll have two 55 minute sessions with a 5 minute break in between. During the break, kids socialize in the lobby, eat a snack, or talk to some of their instructors. We even have some cool puzzles and games you can play with during the breaks.

In sessions, a lot of the tasks you do will feel like games. Our thinking is that learning should be fun! You'll have different instructors for different hours, so you'll get a chance to work with several really interesting people while you are here.

We're going to do some activities with you that will help develop your brain's ability to process information. We'll also teach you some cool rules and strategies that will make reading and understanding what you read easier.

While you're here you'll have a Learning Coordinator that will figure out the best ways to teach you to make things easier. They're really easy to talk to and you can tell them if something feels hard or if you think you're ready for a challenge.

The time will go by really quickly while you are in sessions, and we won't be sending home a pile of homework with you! Usually we just ask that you read 20 or 30 minutes a day outside of Langsford. We've got some really cool books and we'll help you pick out some that you'll enjoy.

Most kids really like coming here! We've had kids come from all over, as far away as Dubai and Africa! How cool is that?!

Remember: We're going to make learning easier for you, and we plan to have a good time with you while we're doing it!

We can't wait to start working with you!

Failure Is Necessary for Success

For some reason our society often teaches that failure is something to be avoided at all costs. We fear failure.

To avoid failing, many of us simply stop trying. We stop taking risks. We play it safe and never go outside of our predefined boundaries. Even worse, we may let others define these boundaries for us.

When we put all of our energy into avoiding failure, we are missing out on the best opportunity we have to reach success.

Failure is simply a natural part of the learning process. We try, we fail. We learn from the failure and try again. As this process continues, we learn and we grow...

And we succeed.

The video below clearly demonstrates how several successful and famous people were not just born that way. They had to fail. And fail. And fail again.



Here's another video describing Michael Jordan's success through the perspective of his failures.



Finally, take a look at this video of Michael Jordan talking about failure and our inclination to make excuses rather than continue trying.



Failure deserves more respect.

So go ahead, be inspired by failure.