Tag Archives: tuition

The Greedy Snail – Abbie (aged 10)

Red SnailIn the winter snow many Russian people were working.  The red snail was watching them.  Just then a loud scream came when one of the workers found a giant golden nugget.  The red snail was so amused he wanted to get that golden nugget.  So off he went to get it.  When he got there the red snail found the worker had put in on the ground.  The red snail tried to move the nugget but he could not move it fast enough.  He knew he would not be able to get away without anybody looking, but he tried anyway.  When he did move it, it rolled away with him.  The man did not know where the nugget was but he finally found it beside a dizzy snail.

Abbie – aged 10

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LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I’M A KINAESTETHIC LEARNER

mechanicTYPES OF LEARNERS – 

Type ‘student’ into clipart and you have fifty-one pages of cartoon pupils sitting quietly at their desk diligently working away.  DREAM ON.  We know all students are not alike because all children are not alike.  In a (teacher’s) perfect world all students would be just so, but …

Approximately 15% of the population are kinaesthetic learners and that means there will be no such thing as a quiet classroom.  Kinaesthetic learners just want to touch and feel everything.  Their friends are bruised because these learners just have to thump their mates.  Their homes are a mess because they have to pull everything apart, just to see how it works.  Does that sound like someone you married?

You can picture this in your husband, but how about your little one?  How do you know you have a kinaesthetic learner on your hands?  Well for starters their teacher will probably be calling you in to complain about how disruptive they are in class.  This student finds it difficult to learn through reading and writing.  They need the hands on approach so they do better in chemistry experiments, sports and acting.  They may not even be aware of their own movement and are easily distracted by the movements of others.

By the age of 6½ they are generally classed as under-achievers or worse still hyperactive.

What can you do with this learner?  For starters accept them for who they are. There is nothing wrong with them rather it is our education system that is not geared to accept 15% of the population.  As a parent, give them down time after an active session, and reward them for the tasks they perform.  These guys may be reward driven.  Kinaesthetics learn best with images so paint them a picture of what you want from them. (For more information visit www.educ.uvic.ca )

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The Black Mouse – Jack (aged 10)

Black MouseOn a deserted island in the middle of the world lived an old and curious black mouse.  He loved to explore but because of his age he was limited from going many places.  Determined to put aside his age, he was going to climb the mountain.  On his journey up to mountain he knew he was to face many challenges.  His first challenge was to climb the staggered ridges, followed by the evil wizard.  This mouse had faced all the challenges and for now, his journey was over, as he reached the village.
Jack (aged 10)

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The man who beat the world record – Robby (aged 12)

LamborghiniBack in the 1990’s, a man drove a yellow Lamborghini all around the world to beat a world record.  The young man, who wore a yellow beany, was a millionaire because he won the lottery.

Starting at Townsville, he drove to Cape York, then went north to Russia on a private ferry which crossed the Arafura Sea, the Banda Sea, the Celebes Sea, the South China Sea, the Philippine Sea and Sea of Okhotsk.  The stop at Okhotsk ferry station was where he drove back onto land before going through Russia to Finland in his yellow Lamborghini on the bumpy roads to beat the world record.  The man, back in the 1990’s, broke the world record and destroyed the yellow Lamborghini.

Robby (aged 12)

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The Lizard – Angus (aged 8)

Lizard

In the morning there was a lizard in the jungle.  He had a very long tongue and he could change colours.  He went up a tree and he changed to brown.  He changed to brown because he wanted to be that colour. He hopped down on the grass and changed to green.

Angus (aged 8)

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Nelly’s and Lucya’s adventure to Mongolia – by Robby (Aged 12)

(Our writing tutor enjoys stretching the abilities of our young writers.  Robby is new to these writing exercises and it is surprising how well the young lads take to these tasks once their confidence is up.  Today they worked on making complex sentences.  How do you think he went?)

Nelly’s and Lucya’s adventure to Mongolia

BridgeThirty years ago, back in the 1980s, in the border between Russia and Mongolia, two sisters had a snow ball fight.  Winter made fifteen year old Nelly and thirteen year old Lucya so happy because they both had fun having snow ball fights and building snow men. One day the sisters went on an adventure and crossed the border into Mongolia at the town of Tashanta in an old white truck on the rough rocky track. When girls’ father Olag told them about the Bridge of Death he was smiling but when they got there, they screamed all the way over the old broken bamboo poles that stretched across the river where it had ripped a big hole in the road. When they arrived in Mongolia they told all their new friends about the Bridge of Death and how to fight with snow balls.

Robbie (Aged 12)

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The Mystery – by Oscar (aged 8)

hikerA boy named Dean was walking in the morning on a steep mountain because he was trying to get away from thinking about money. While he walked, he met Major Walnut.

Dean asked Major Walnut ‘Is money good or bad?’

Major Walnut said ‘Money is the main thing.’

Dean and major Walnut saw a pretty girl who was in trouble.  She was in danger.  Dean said to Major Walnut “What is going on around here? I just met you and now a pretty girl is in trouble and now the bad men are holding on to her?”

The girl was smiling.  She had pink cheeks which were very bright.  Silently she said “Thank you very much.” She hugged the two blokes, Dean and Major Walnut.

‘We are a pair of heroes!’ laughed the two friends as they said ‘good bye’ to the girl.

Oscar (aged 8)

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The Giant Trap! – by Abbie (aged 10)

little girlGeorgina rushed into the veterinary surgery when the sun was rising. The grand-daughter of Uncle Tom, she was a pretty girl but she was always into mischief.  Uncle Tom was a good old man who loved his grand-daughter but he had many secrets that he never told people.

With a wild yell, Uncle Tom rushed into the veterinary surgery but he could not see Georgina anywhere. He got out his blue phone and started to call her but he couldn’t get hold of her.

“Thump! Thump! Thump” heard Uncle Tom. He looked behind him and ‘Bang!” he was gone!  A little while later he found himself in a black dark room where he found Georgina.

“How did you find me?” said Georgina.

“Well, I heard you scream because I was next door at the sports shop,” he replied. Uncle Tom had something secret in his mind.

Two hours later…

“Who were those people who made me scream?” asked Georgina.

“My boss, the man I work for,” said Uncle Tom.

‘So you knew all along and you did not tell me,” said Georgina in surprise.

“Well I saw you running along the fields and I rang up my boss and said that we should frighten you so I did,” said Uncle Tom, being proud of himself.  Just then ‘bang!” Uncle Tom was hit by a frying pan. The person who threw it was Georgina’s mother!  Georgina was so proud to see her. Her mother put down the pan and they all went home to bed.

Abbie (aged 10)

This story was the result of a creative writing game played at our tuition room during the school holidays.  The process for the game may be located under Creative Writing Game on our Study Tools page.  Our maths Tutor participated with Abbie on this exercise.  You can read his story – Caught! 

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Caught!

This was the result of a creative writing game we ran at our tuition room.  You can see how the game was run on the Study Tools page under Creative Writing Game.  The following result was the final product of our maths tutor, Peter.

Neither Uncle Tom nor Georgina were ever able to explain how they got themselves locked in the Veterinary Surgery overnight.

old_manUncle Tom was a confusing old man who wore round spectacles on a round face on top of a round body.  A lot of him moved when he laughed at his own jokes.  Georgina had known him all her life and at five years old that was a long time.  Her short fuzzy red hair and chubby pink cheeks made them look like a pair of clowns when they walked down the street.

In total terror she now clung to her uncle’s large leg while all around dogs howled, cats hissed and parrots screeched.  The room was totally black and smelled of anti-septic.  The noise was deafening and would surely wake the dead thought Georgina.  Now she had something else to worry about.  She squeezed tighter on her uncle’s leg.

‘This is going to be a long night’ thought Uncle Tom, holding Georgina close to him as they huddled under the Vet’s table.  This adventure was not going as he had planned.  All night long they huddled and shivered and the animals screeched and cried.  Not once did they or the animals sleep.  Georgina kept vigilant in case any of the dead were also awake.

From somewhere outside the safety of the vet’s table came a loud thump, and the darkness disappeared.  Victor the Vet stood in the doorway, ‘That should teach you a lesson not to sneak into the animals sleeping room again Tom!’

‘So you knew all the time!’ cried Tom in amazement.

‘Yes we did.’ Bellowed Margaret, Tom’s wife and Georgina’s aunt.  ‘That should cure both of you of sneaking out at night.  How do you feel now Thomas?’

‘You better get out a bottle of your parsnip wine mother, I’m going to need it.’

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Lizard Wrangler – by Dardo (aged 7)

LizardAt school in my play time I caught a lizard in the garden.  Today I caught a lizard that was as big as a goanna with a blue tongue and a giant brown tail.  He bit me on the thumb as I was holding him tightly.  I jumped and dropped him and he got away.  In time I will become a better lizard wrangler.

Dardo (aged 7); (art work by Dardo)

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