Eolas Tutoring Services

It's been awhile since I last posted! Things have been rather busy...

I've started a small business offering guidance to families and individuals following identification of autism or giftedness (high IQ). As a mum to three sons on the spectrum, and as someone who is autistic myself, I'm passionate about helping people navigate the information, resources, and services after diagnosis. My boys are also twice-exceptional (2e), meaning they have a ridiculously high IQ alongside their additional needs. I'm working through postgraduate studies in gifted education, and am excited to offer guidance to families wondering what a high IQ may mean for their child.

I would love it if you joined me for this new journey.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560480326889

www.navigatingneurodivergence.net

Navigating Neurodivergence | Post Diagnosis Support and Family Services Navigating Neurodivergence - Providing online guidance and support for autism and giftedness after diagnosis

Ever wondered what Eolas might mean?

Eolas (pronouced "oh-las") is a Gaelic word that means knowledge or wisdom, especially that which comes through experience or practice. In Gaelic, it's also used in the same way that the suffix -ology is used in English - to mean the study/knowledge of a particular topic or area.

Try as I might, I couldn't think of a better word to describe what I aim for when working with a student. I love seeing children, who previously just "didn't get it", gradually grow in their knowledge and confidence through supported practice and experience.

That's the reason behind the name.

I’ve worked with a number of kids whose struggles with Mathematics started in their middle to upper primary years. Their families report that their Maths grades were fine until then. What happened?

Place value (or the value of each digit in a number) is gradually taught in the early primary school years. Some kids get the concept; some kids don’t.

And for those who don’t get it? Well, they usually cruise along, generally managing other areas of Maths - until their middle primary school years. This is where fractions, decimals, and percentages come in, where multiplying two-and-three digit numbers happens.

If a child doesn’t have a good understanding of tens, hundreds, and thousands, they can’t understand tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. If a student has been told to “just add a zero” when they start multiplying by two-digit numbers, they have little concept of how our base-10 numerical system works. If fractions have been taught as “cutting things up into bits”, there won’t be a good grasp of partial numbers.

If you have a child in middle or upper primary who, out of the blue, seems to struggle with Maths, this may very well be what’s causing all their dramas!

Feel free to contact me if you’d like to see how I can help your child in this area.

Eolas Tutoring Services is registered as an Associate Member of the Australian Tutoring Association (ATA).

So, what does this actually mean?

-I am fully committed to ensuring the safety of the students I tutor. Following the ATA Code of Conduct (https://ata.edu.au/about-us/member-code-of-conduct/) is just one way I follow best-practice principles for child protection.

-I provide quality tutoring. I assess/observe a student's existing skills, before creating and carrying out an intervention or extension program. I discuss this with the child and their parents, each step of the way.

- Communication is central to my practice! Parents have access to a customised tutoring overview planned for their child, and receive a short written report each term detailing their child's progress. Students set their own learning goals, and are aware of how each activity helps them achieve their aims.

If you're looking for a professional, qualified teacher/tutor to help your child with their learning, get in touch today!

(Midland, Mundaring, Kalamunda, and surrounding suburbs)

Today, while we were w**ding the garden, one of my boys asked what it was that made a plant a w**d. He didn’t like my answer – plants that grow where we don’t want them growing - because it meant that “those yellow flowers” were also w**ds.

“Don’t pull up all the yellow flowers! They look nice there!”

I paused, and looked at the bees buzzing in and out of the yellow stems. He had a point.

And so, after a bit of negotiation, we kept some space aside for “the yellow flowers.”

These children who see the world differently might need more time, more space, to learn what others expect them to learn. They might need more support, more explanation, more exploration to grasp certain ideas and concepts.

But these same children are the ones who remind us to slow down, to break down the big ideas, to see the beauty in the process of their learning.

These are our four feathered friends who eat our kitchen scraps and give us eggs (when they feel like it). Looking at them here, it’s hard to believe that the black chook wasn’t accepted easily into the flock only a few weeks ago. She was new to us, and uncertain about her place with her feathered companions.

Sometimes, something similar can happen with our kids. Someone might feel left out because she finds it tricky to read the same books her friends enjoy. Some else might feel lost in the middle of a maths class, because the number patterns just don’t make sense to him yet.

Tutoring can help. Having someone sit down with a child and help them make sense of the words, the numbers, the concepts that might seem so overwhelming, can make a world of difference. Often, these kids just need to have things explained a little differently, have the opportunity to play with ideas, and have a safe space to ask all the questions they need.

Seeing a child have that “light-bulb” moment where the overwhelming concept suddenly clicks into place, when they are able to understand it for themselves? That’s pure magic. That’s why I love teaching.

Bringing fun and play into learning is so important for all of us – but especially for little learners.

Some things, like sounds, need to be explicitly taught. That doesn’t mean there can’t be some play involved!

Making words out of play-dough is a great activity for playing with and learning about sounds. We’ve already sounded out the word and identified each sound together. Physically making each letter from play-dough strengthens the mind’s link between the sound and its letter. This activity supports the development of fine motor skills that are needed for writing. It’s also fantastic for mindfulness and emotional regulation – especially for those kids that need a bit (or a lot!) of movement!