Learn Smarter Podcast

Reading comprehension is critical–even if your student is the most fluid out loud reader…are they really understanding what they’re reading? Reading comprehension weaknesses can be sneaky because it can be difficult to identify. In this episode, Rachel & Steph dig in to why students can pretend they understand what they’re reading (when they don’t) and give you some of their favori...

  Rachel & Steph do a deep dive on backpacks in this episode. They talk about why backpacks become a black hole of papers, broken pencils and old food (yuck), what kind of backpacks actually help children NOT lose things, what should be in a backpack (and what shouldn’t) and backpack maps. They also talk about their system for “pruning the backpack” and why it is an essential component of...

What Rachel and Stephanie have to say about school supplies may shock you–they both firmly believe in a “less is more” approach. Students do not need 50 pencils hidden in different parts of their backpack or 20 erasers scattered about. In this episode, Rachel & Steph get extremely specific about what school supplies are needed–and how little students actually need to be successful....

Today, Rachel & Steph walk you through how to prepare for going back to school. It’s the beginning of August, which means you and your student are holding onto those last vestiges of summer with all your might–or you may have already started school. It also means that you may be feeling the anxiety that the unknown of a new year brings. Today, they talk about partnership with your child’...

Today, Rachel & Steph walk you through how to prepare for going back to school. It’s the end of July which means you and your student are holding onto those last vestiges of summer with all your might. It also means that you may be feeling the anxiety that the unknown of a new year brings. In this episode, Rachel & Steph talk about how to prevent “academic emergencies” by properly preparin...

We want all kids to love reading. In this episode, Stephanie does a deep dive on how she works with students who find reading challenging. She teaches us about how reading is comprised of two main components (fluency and comprehension). She gives a million ideas on how to support struggling early readers and students who struggle with reading in middle school and high school. Steph also provides a...

We know how students (and parents) feel about math. We get it and there are also some real reasons why students dislike math. This episode is full of simple and easy to implement suggestions about how to make math more manageable. Rachel gives away a ton of her math secrets. Don’t forget to visit our website www.learnsmarterpodcast.com for the freebie that lists all the suggestions and tips from t...

Rachel & Steph do a deep dive on ADHD and how ADHD and executive functioning are connected. This episode is completely applicable to parents of all students this episode is totally applicable to your child and you will absolutely learn tips, tricks, and strategies on how to partner with your child in reading, writing, and math. They also discuss how executive functioning itself can be strength...

For a lot of people, summer is the best time of year. It is a time for fun and vacations. It is also a time to catch up on those things that were avoided during the school year such as cleaning out your closet. Summer is a time to relax, slow down the pace, and build some skills. We are going to discuss what you can do with your child over the summer. We understand that summer can become difficult...

Show Notes One of the most common questions we get is “what happens in a session?” This is very difficult for us to answer because every session is so individualized and so specific to the age, gender, interests, developmental abilities and psychoeducational goals of each student. In this episode, we “sample” what a typical session is like AND we learn from each other! This is a fun one and we hop...

We are frequently asked questions regarding the difference between educational therapy and tutoring. This is a hugely important topic for us. We are going to dig into the differences between the two, how the two can work in tandem, and how sometimes tutoring can work against the goals of educational therapy. This is the second post of our educational therapy series. Be sure to go back to blog 06 w...

Homework is definitely something that is hard for a lot of families. We know how much of a burden it can be. We, as educational therapists, have to maintain clear boundaries on homework. We are not homework helpers. We are not homework coaches. We teach skills and strategies. If needed, refer back to blog 00 in order to better understand how education therapy is different from tutoring. We justify...

Executive Function (EF) We talk about executive functioning so frequently because it affects everything that a child (or adult) does all day, every day. We have a few disclaimers that we would like you to know when it comes to executive functioning. The first is don’t get overwhelmed. We are going to continue to break down the topic and go further into it later down the road. Our second disclaimer...

The most important part of studying actually occurs before you even start to relearn (or learn) the material. Today, we break down how to create a study plan that is mindful, achievable, and flexible.  We will also explore the reasons why a study plan might fail and what to do . This may seem aspirational for some of you. Your students may inform you of about a test the night before; maybe you don...

One of the more common things we hear from parents is that their student studied “for hours” but still didn’t do well on a quiz, test or exam. Listen to this episode to hear how Rachel & Steph think about studying: they break down what studying should be, how to maximize study time, how there isn’t necessarily a correlation between time spent studying and outcomes and the differences between activ...

Calendaring is hated by so many of the students we work with–and it’s the first thing we do with them. It is so critical and so important. If you do not keep track of what is going on in your life, nothing else can get done. Having a calendar is the starting point that greatly reduces anxiety in students because once you are in control of your time, you are in control of your life . You cann...

It’s a narrative we hear all too often. A parent will call us regarding their child’s learning difficulty and low self-esteem in school–and the parent is unsure of how to help. Parents often feel isolated because there is no sense of community when they are going through these challenges with their learners in the academic setting. One of our main objectives when creating this community was...

Learn Smarter: the Educational Therapy Podcast is your go-to resource for the parents and teachers of students with different learning needs. Rachel & Stephanie are two educational therapists who are committed to helping parents and educators find easy, simple and FUN ways of supporting learners. This podcast will be covering how learning impacts the whole child: we’ll talk about everything fr...