Word Catcher Learning Academy

18/06/2023

Kinda crazy that it's been almost two years since this photo was taken.

In September 2021, I was a few months back into working after my daughter (then 1, now almost 3) had started daycare. Things at this point in time seemed calm - but I know now that was a false sense of calm, because I'd never truly known what calm was up until recently

04/10/2022

This!!!

Many people mistakenly believe that people are born learners, or they're not. However, a growing body of research shows that learning is a learned behavior. Through the deliberate use of dedicated strategies, we can all develop expertise faster and more...

23/08/2022

💞💞

REPOST:

Way better than "Jack of all trades" or renaissance man although that sounds appropriate in these times 🙃😅

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multipotentiality

Advantages available to these people who have developed skills in multiple fields:

rapid learning and fast skill acquisition (learn how to learn)
idea synthesis
adaptability
translating between modes of thought
concocting new solutions
contextual thinking
enthusiasm
novelty and variety
fit well into leadership roles
empathize with a broader set of people and cultures

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Finding common language to better describe our experience instead of it always being a deficit - I really like this word. Sure I lose interest in stuff quickly, I drop careers, studies and really got no idea what will catch my attention next but what I do know is that I know _a lot_ about any sub-niche my hyper fixation has taken fancy to. It might not be something I can claim academic record or would bother to write a thesis about - but I could... and that is how my mind works. I think we should claim words like this that gives power and value to the part that ADHD does have to play as integral parts of our identity. I am not 'broken', many parts of myself I do not want to fix, I wouldn't even wish it if I lived in a world that had granted me language for my own autonomy!

10/08/2022

🥰🥰

Love this display idea for a classroom! ❤️

https://www.instagram.com/p/6TJG59iha4/

01/07/2022

More than ANYTHING - you know what will make a difference to our ability to learn?

Our mental health.

So, so often, the blocks that students have around achieving the level they want to with their studies is actually more to do with anxiety and attitude than it is to do with intellectual capacity.

Sure, we teach students specific writing skills. Sure, we are grammar nerds and history buffs. But - our main point of difference is that the strategies we teach are centred on developing sustainable habits that student scan apply to their academic pursuits (as well as hopefully any learning situation, from personal to professional).

Don't be surprised if as part of your tutoring with us, we also talk to you about your sleep habits the night before a big test, ask you if you need to eat during our sessions (we're very pro snacking while learning), and encourage you to study in more focused, shorter bursts than long, draining sessions.

Our goal is to help you to learn how YOU learn best, and the biggest part of that puzzle is getting to know your particular brain and its quirks so that you can work with it instead of against it.

"Mental health…is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going." — Noam Shpancer, PhD

Save this for later!

30/06/2022

A casual 6 months later... our socials are active again! 😆

The Word Catcher business as a whole has been growing very steadily, and this branch has always been the most self-sustaining one (which is amazing, and thank you to all our supporters).

The big change to this side of things is that we do have two other incredible tutors on board. Where Tara has formal tertiary level experience, as well as years of tutoring students from 10 years old to 50 years old, Helen and James bring a wealth of training and experience that also now cover all levels of primary school.

Stay tuned! We'll be back with as much edutaining content that we can publish, around our tutoring work with our wonderful students.

Team Word Catcher

14/05/2022

Hello, everyone!

I have been a bit quiet on this channel as we have all been absolutely swamped.

We have open spots for tutoring with Helen and James - send us a message to tee up a good time!

We also do small group tutoring :)

Happy studying, Perth!

26/02/2022

Like many of you, I'm seeing what's unfolding in the Ukraine in disbelief and horror. I'm not sure what each of us can do to make a difference - but I know I have to try something, anything.

For now, all I can do is share this link to encourage donations to NGO's and relief organisations via the UN crisis relief fund.

I'm going to keep thinking about what more I can do, and I hope you do, too 💗

United Nations Crisis Relief connects people who care to people in crisis, providing support where it matters most.

18/01/2022

Term 1 is less than TWO WEEKS AWAY!!

Things are about to get hectic, so we want to keep you in the loop as we go.

We are increasingly busy (yay!) and we're always thinking of ways that we can try to help more students with the time and resources we have. So, we're envisioning that group classes will become one of our more common offerings.

Individual tutoring remains available and it is currently our main tutoring mode - but we also want to be able to offer tutoring sessions to more students, including those who appreciate the support of a group setup.

We guarantee to keep the tutoring quality SUPREMELY high by making sure group classes remain small (between 2 to 8 students at most), and each student will still get their work/questions individually reviewed outside of session by one of our expert tutors.

We're taking expressions of interest for Group Classes via the following questionnaire:

https://forms.gle/yDuCfhTYae9R5jsD7

If you're keen to get started and to stay ahead of the stress this year, let us know! We'd love to help you for your academic goals.

We wish you happy studying!

- Tara, Helen & James

14/01/2022

Encouraging student-led exploration and performance can help make Shakespeare’s plays accessible and fun for middle schoolers.

28/12/2021

The task of good writing is to formulate ideas!

24/12/2021

Sending you all the most heartfelt Seasons Greetings, no matter where you are and how you celebrate the festive season 💗

With much love,

Team Word Catcher