Summer Foods and Learning

TORONTO, ON, July 01, 2011 (Press-News.org) With the school year long gone and summer officially here, the learning momentum from the last math test taken might come to a complete halt for some students. It's easy to let the mass of intelligence built upon from the school year wash away like the summer sand castles, but it does not have to be an issue when parents take a look at all the knowledge that can be consumed, both literally and figuratively, in the summer months.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are abundant at local farmer's markets, within home gardens and in the supermarket. What many parents don't realize is that summer is a prime time to use those sweet blueberries and plump tomatoes to keep the brain in tip-top shape. The brain accounts for two percent of our body weight and requires roughly 20 percent of our daily calories, and the right foods can keep cognitive function at its highest.

Along with consuming the brain-boosting foods, a lot can be learned from complex plants as we sow them in the soil, see them in nature and prepare them for dinner. Everything from growth patterns to leaf shapes of fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers can help with memory function, vocabulary and science comprehension.

Here are a few ideas from Tutor Doctor, the nation's leading one-on-one, in-home, private tutoring franchise, to incorporate summer foods into learning:
• Brain foods - Eat delicious summer foods with your children. Fruits and veggies from every color of the rainbow such as blueberries, strawberries, avocados, pomegranates, spinach and sweet potatoes are packed with antioxidants that improve memory and increase alertness. For example, blueberries and avocados improve learning capacity, motor skills and cognitive function which will help your children in all aspects of their education.
• Eat and Talk - Talking about about fruits and veggies as you eat them, such as, their origins, where they grow, how they grow, and what they look like can be valuable teaching moments to learn about history and science. For instance, did you know Gregor Mendel was able to learn about modern genetics through cross-pollinating the pea plant? Grab a bag of sugar snap peas to gnash on while talking about Mendel's inheritance experiments and make snack time a science discussion.
• Plant - Set up a garden space for your student to grow a fruit, veggie or herb of their choice. Help them plant and teach them how to take care of their garden by setting up a watering and pruning calendar while tracking the plant's growth. This will teach your children to keep a schedule and reinforce math skills necessary to measure the plant and track the calendars.
• Cook - Visit the local farmer's market and have your children pick out what they'd like to eat for dinner. Practice writing and reading capabilities by having them make a list of fruits and veggies and picking out recipes. Cook the dish together and incorporate measurement skills and equivalents by having them measure out cups, ounces and spoon sizes.

These activities will keep cognitive function at its peak, while reinforcing reading, writing, science, math, history, problem-solving and organizational skills.
Tutor Doctor in offers one-on-one, in-home tutoring services designed to help students from ages 3.5 to 95 by offering the community and students a private, easy way to catch-up or get ahead in their education. Frank Milner, president of Tutor Doctor understands how important it is to keep student's brains active during the summer months and knows that the season's foods can play a great role in learning.

"Vacation months can put students behind if they don't stay on top of studying habits," said Milner. "There are plenty of learning tools to keep your children learning. Particularly, summer foods can fuel a healthy, high-performing brain, and can also serve as a learning tool to practice reading, writing, math, science and history. There is so much to learn from summer fruits and vegetables that most parents probably never considered."

In addition to seasonal foods, students can take advantage of Tutor Doctor tutoring services for supplemental learning activities throughout the summer. Tutor Doctor uses a variety of well-known books and educational materials to supplement customized programs, but the franchise primarily leverages the curriculum and text the student is currently working with to ensure the most relevant tutoring is provided. Tutor Doctor also works with the students' current teacher to ensure that they are meeting both the student's and teacher's expectations.

About Tutor Doctor
Tutor Doctor was founded in 1999 as an alternative to the "one-to-many" teaching model most extra-curricular learning centers offer by providing a personalized one-on-one, in-home tutoring service to students. The company quickly grew and in 2003 turned to franchising as a way of expanding the company's impact and meeting the vast market demand. Now with offices internationally in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, the Tutor Doctor vision is becoming a reality as the lives of students and their families are being positively impacted throughout the world. Tutor Doctor is affiliated with the National Tutor Association (NTA) whose mission is to foster the advancement of professional and peer tutoring, support research into best practices and standards for all tutors, support tutor training, advocate for tutor certification, and uphold the NTA Code of Ethics. For more information about Tutor Doctor visit the web site at http://www.tutordoctor.com.