The Mindful Tutor

25/08/2026

Support, support, support.
It takes more time to stop, explain, demonstrate, teach but oh my goodness how much more supportive than taking over and doing it for them. Even 5 minutes counts.
My own personal mantra I have to keep coming back to this year is "she's going to be just fine. Different is ok."
Grade 12 is a lot. Teenagers are a lot. But what we keep putting in now will compound over and over again in the future.

This. A good reminder for the start of a new school year!

21/08/2026

What a fantastic local opportunity

🎓 BIG PLANS FOR 2027? THIS ONE’S FOR YOU.

Applications are officially OPEN for the 2027 Community Bank Woombye Secondary School & TAFE Scholarship Program!

We know education can open some pretty incredible doors - and sometimes a little extra support can make a very big difference.

Our scholarships are designed to support local students heading into Years 11 or 12, or eligible TAFE study, helping with expenses like textbooks, course costs, equipment, tutoring, accommodation and education-related travel.

Successful recipients can receive up to $1,000 per year for two years. 🙌

We’re looking for great local students who are keen to keep learning, work towards their goals and could use a little extra support along the way.

And parents or guardians - you can complete an application on behalf of a student too!

Applications close 11pm Wednesday 30 September 2026.

Know a young person with big plans for 2027? Tag them, send this their way or encourage them to apply.

For more information and to apply visit this link: https://communitybankwoombye.smartygrants.com.au/2027scholarships

Because backing local young people is a pretty great investment in our community’s future.

17/08/2026

I am super excited to be part of this program Tuning into Teens with Solaura Wellness. I'll be offering a bonus session at the end the course, sharing how you can support your teen student at home with practical planning and organisation tools. More info to come soon!

✨ NEW TO SOLAURA WELLNESS — TUNING INTO TEENS® ✨

I’m so excited to now be offering Tuning into Teens® — a practical, evidence-based 6-week parenting program designed to help you understand your teen or tween, reduce conflict, communicate with more confidence and strengthen your connection. 🤍

🌿 Small, supportive groups
🌿 6 weekly in-person sessions
🌿 Peregian Beach location
🌿 Practical resources
🌿 BONUS workshop - The Mindful Tutor

For parents of teens + pre-teens who want more connection, calmer communication and practical tools for the tricky moments.

Bookings are now open. 🤍

DM me for details or visit the website to learn more.

solaurawellness.com.au/wellbeing-programs-tuningintoteens

09/08/2026

What a great idea and opportunity 👍

22/06/2026

Week 10 tutoring looks a bit different!
I decided to use two truths in an afternoon session today:
1. Repetition + Variation = Learn Anything.
2. The brain loves to process information through movement.

So we rode around the lake doing times tables. What a success!

So successful, and so important for Maths to learn them, that I'm considering offering an afternoon 'Times Tables Ride Club' every (dry) afternoon through the holidays in Parklakes. Thinking Grade 5+ and approx 30 mins riding.

Anyone local keen?
Or please steal the idea, and do with your kids yourselves - you'll be amazed at how much easier it is whilst moving outdoors!

12/06/2026

Are you a busy Mum trying to work through a course, but you never seem to get the time to get it done?
I get it!
Did you know I also offer supportive, flexible 'mature student' support during the day when the kids are at school?
I am passionate about learning, and once children are at school it is often a time we as women decide to look for new career pathways and retrain. But the mental load is already so big, it is HARD to carve out the time to get through the modules, prepare for pracs. If you would like support to work through modules, or just sit down together and make a realistic and effective plan to get you going please get in contact, I would love to help.

08/06/2026

Exam Stress is real.
I have been inside HUNDREDS of exam rooms; the pressure is real and the stress is tangible. I hate it, and it cannot help but affect even the most carefree of students.

One of the hardest parts of external exams is this:

Even students who KNOW the content can struggle to access it once stress takes over. Did you know that stress can actually kick out all the revision from the working memory?

This is why emotional regulation matters.

Students need practical tools they can actually practise:

during revision when the topic list is enormous
the night before when emotions run high
outside the exam room waiting to go in
in exams when panic rises at a hard question

But these skills need practise.
They can’t be learned the night before an exam.

In my Grade 12 Study Skills & Exam Preparation Program, students will learn:

how stress impacts recall and the basic science of learning and memory to ensure revision is stored in long term memory not working memory
practical calming strategies
how to study in a way that builds confidence, not panic

The goal is not perfection.

The goal is helping students feel calmer, more prepared, and more capable heading into external exams.

06/06/2026

This week a mum reached out to me about her Grade 12 student interstate who was in crisis; a 'good student' falling apart.
After a 45 minute zoom session, 3 people were feeling better:

- the student; her key takeaway of what she learnt was that this is the brain reacting to stress, not her falling apart. And there are many, many ways to support the brain once you understand that this is biological - this is a point that you can move forward from, instead of falling further and further into the chaos.

- the mum; because as hard as we try, as much as we want to help, as much as we can support and help, they don't always want it. The urge for independence is also biological. I do this for a living, and my daughter doesn't always want to hear it, and even when she does there is still that faint tinge of surprise when she tries a new tool - "Oh mum, that actually worked." Yeh, it does!!!!

- the study coach - me - because there are hundreds of students all around the country feeling like this, and I know I can help.

Overwhelm is real.
Struggling to find motivation is real.
Avoidance because it's all just too much is real.

Did she sign up to work with me? Yes. And I know I can help, with tools, confidence and of course in the end, academic results.
If you have a Grade 12 student who is struggling, please get in touch.

04/06/2026

One of the biggest struggles for students is simply getting started.
As parents we see:

avoidance
procrastination
scrolling
messy rooms
“I’ll do it later”

Surely most of us recognise at least one of these in our senior students.

But what we can't see is the overwhelm, the not knowing how or where to start, and motivation is pretty hard to find when you don't know HOW to do something.
When students don’t know where to start, what to focus on, how long tasks will take or whether they’re even studying effectively…the brain naturally avoids the task. And let's face it, there's plenty of dopamine activities to easily distract instead, located right in their pocket.

This is why students need A SYSTEM.
1. reduces cognitive overload
2. breaks up work into manageable steps
3. creates realistic routines students can actually stick to
4. builds motivation and then momentum and in the end, just makes them feel BETTER for actually getting it DONE.

01/06/2026

What does 'studying' even MEAN? It's so vague, it doesn't give any instructions to follow, and students generally just resort back to:

“If I spend enough hours looking at my notes, I’ll remember it.”

Unfortunately, that’s not how the brain works. Especially not under pressure/stress, like in an exam.

The most common 'study' methods students use are:
rereading notes
highlighting
copying information
looking over flashcards passively or even worse, getting AI to make them. Nooooooooo!!!!

These methods FEEL productive, students feel like they are 'studying', but in reality they create very little long-term memory. And guess what, long term memory is crucial under stress.

So students need to learn how memory actually works - the basic science of study (there's a LOT of studies done on this, but understanding the basics helps them to know:
how to actively retrieve information
how to identify gaps in understanding
how to study smarter, not endlessly longer

Most students are never explicitly taught this.

That’s something I’ll be teaching in my upcoming Grade 12 program running in Term 3. I cannot WAIT to share this with you all.....

Comment yes below for more info or follow me for launch info coming soon.