When adults reflect on their schooling, it is not uncommon to hear someone say “I was never any good at math.” Frequently, a statement such as this goes unquestioned, as if to signify that an adult not knowing how to implement basic mathematical skills is a natural occurrence. The mathematics continuum designed by the Ontario Board of Education begins by teaching students mathematical facts and then building on them. If a student doesn’t properly comprehend a portion of these facts, the gap in their learning gets bigger every year. The truth is that students cannot afford to let any part of their mathematical learning go unchecked.

The IVY ED math programs are designed to focus on the major concepts and establish sound basic skills through active learning. The programs are based on the Ontario curriculum and focus on the following strands:

• Number Sense and Numeration
• Measurement
• Probability and Data Management
• Geometry and Spatial Sense
• Patterning and Algebra

IVY ED targets specific skill gaps within these strands. Our teachers are able to assist our students with the questions that they are directly facing each day because we work alongside them through each and every question. When a student hits a roadblock, our teachers are aptly prepared to deconstruct the problem in ways that will make sense as well as provide a few more similar problems to ensure understanding and, ultimately, future success.

Math Fundamentals (J.K. to Grade 8)

The best way to address the challenge of the Ontario math curriculum is to be proactive. IVY ED builds the fundamental numeracy skills by using the overall expectations in the Ontario math curriculum as the framework in establishing solid core knowledge of math facts in the Number Sense and Numeration, Geometry and Spatial Sense and Patterning and Algebra strands. The Math Fundamentals Program can be layered into any program being done at IVY ED, or it can be addressed as an individual program itself. Students will be expected to work on activities at home between their sessions to practice and reinforce the skills learned.

Math Master Program (Grade 3 to 7)

IVY ED’s Math Master Program is an enrichment math program that is​​ customized to meet the math needs of your child. Your child is not limited to learning according to the pre-determined requirements of their grade, allowing them to learn above-grade math concepts whenever they are ready. Culminating math problems will target “outside the box” thinking, ensuring that the Math Masters enrichment program will keep your child motivated and academically stimulated inside and outside the classroom.

High School (Intermediate) Math Prep

Parents who have experienced a child going from elementary to secondary math programs will generally all agree that there is a significant gap in expectations of students going into secondary math courses. The objectives of the IVY ED High School Math Prep program are to:

• Make the transition between elementary math and high school math as smooth as possible by working on integers, fractions, percentages, and algebra as well as word problems incorporating these topics.

• Address the process of mathematics as much as the outcome. Students are trained to pay attention to the steps taken in problem solving and how to effectively communicate those steps.

Students who move efficiently through the program can actually begin to work on the Grade 9 math curriculum.

Our extensive reading program begins at the primary level with particular attention paid to phonemic awareness and phonics. IVY ED takes the time to work with and assess your child to determine an effective starting point. Once a starting point is established, our teachers work directly with your child as they begin sounding out and learn meanings of words, thus taking the initial steps toward reading comprehension.

Reading comprehension is one of the most difficult hurdles a student faces in their education. The shift from translating the words they read to understanding these words in groups can be complicated. The latest research proves that strong reading comprehension skills are achieved when students are able to retell, relate, and reflect upon the stories they read. IVY ED’s reading comprehension strategies not only focus on having appropriate-leveled reading books but also on complimentary assessment questions that challenge students to predict, make connections to personal experiences and other texts, and effectively express why they enjoyed or disliked a particular part of a book. Developing a greater understanding of the books they read is a powerful tool in comprehension efficiency as well as in establishing a love of reading.

Reading Fundamentals (J.K. to Grade 3)

Inarguably, literacy is the most important facet of learning. Achievement throughout the school years is founded on success in reading. We believe that every child can learn to read. The IVY ED reading program targets the students’ needs and maximizes the opportunities for learning.

The reading program is structured, purposeful, and effective in helping students acquire basic reading skills, such as word recognition, phonics, and comprehension.

The intention of this program is to help students acquire basic reading skills such as word recognition, phonics, and comprehension. The children are carefully tracked and given level-appropriate tasks and reading materials as they progress. We will build their confidence as readers and help make reading an enjoyable experience.

Whether your child is an emergent, early, or fluent reader, the IVY ED reading program will provide them with the opportunities to practice their skills and acquire essential new skills to ensure reading proficiency and confidence.

Junior/Intermediate Reading (Grades 3 to 8)

Building on the fundamentals, this program focuses on applying comprehension and higher-level thinking skills. Students receive explicit instruction in how to develop comprehension and thinking skills, thus enabling them to locate and remember important information from the text.

Students will learn and practice:

• Activating relevant information before, during, and after reading
• Asking appropriate and timely questions
• Making connections between old and new information
• Determining the most important ideas
• Drawing information and inferences
• Synthesizing and retelling what they have read
• Creating sensory images of the text before, during, and after reading

Writing is a fundamental part of engaging in all activities. Students should develop a strong foundation in writing so they can communicate their ideas effectively and efficiently. Tutoring can help even the most frustrated writer organize their thoughts and build the skills needed to write clear and concise descriptions, narratives, and informative sentences and paragraphs.

IVY ED can help remove the roadblocks to success and build skills to help your child learn to communicate well through writing. Children will learn to convey ideas effectively, concisely, and with proper grammar and usage conventions. Whether your child is struggling to build writing skills or wants to build on the strong skills they already have, our individualized tutoring programs are the perfect solution to help them become a strong writer.

We’ll begin with a comprehensive academic evaluation that will pinpoint your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Then we’ll tailor a tutoring program to meet your child’s specific needs and help them learn at their own pace. We will help students organize their thoughts and express themselves clearly on paper while boosting their skills, confidence, and ultimately, their grades. Whether your child is in a primary, junior, or intermediate grade, IVY ED will be able to help them reach their full writing potential.

Power Writing (Grades 3 to 6)

Power writing is a program focused on building students’ writing skills and abilities, ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 8. Students will be introduced to different types of writing varying from the creation of simple and complex sentences and building to the many types of structured paragraphs. Depending on their current level, students will be brought through the various parts of the program so that they can build upon what they already know and continually move forward. Through this program, students will master the features of power writing:

• Pre-writing (brainstorming)
• Drafting
• Writing
• Revising/Editing
• Publishing

Students will leave with the proper resources and skills to excel in future writing activities.

High School Prep Writing (Intro to Essay Writing: Grades 7 to 8)

As we at IVY ED strives to achieve greatness with student writing, we offer a program dedicated to those who are entering secondary school and may have concerns about what secondary level writing should look like. Students will be guided through the essay writing process using various appropriately leveled texts. This will include detailed instruction on how to properly formulate a thesis, along with creating an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. As the child’s writing progresses, they will learn a wide variety of writing formats and styles:

• Illustrative and Descriptive essays
• Compare and Contrast essays
• Persuasive and Expository writing

To support their writing skills, your child will complete exercises in grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. With practice, comes perfection, therefore the final step in this program is practising the different concepts at hand and implementing this form of writing into the texts provided.

French is a required course throughout elementary school in order to give children more exposure to the broad expanse of Canada’s cultural history. At IVY ED, we provide general language instructions, reviews of prior class work, conversation and pronunciation practice, and assistance with assignments for French studies. The ultimate goal is to help students improve their grades as well as the confidence and attitude they display with the French language. In doing so, a more positive relationship with the tongue can be fostered and help open more doors in the future.

Learning French is not just about knowing Oui and Non. Developing additional language skills has very real and noticeable influences on other aspects of education and development. Building bilingual skills, even without full proficiency, helps support a child’s attention span and ability to identify and express key concepts from materials. These skills have countless applications throughout further education and in the world beyond.

IVY ED tutoring is done on a one-on-one basis in order to provide students with the focused and individualized attention that can serve them best. All of our French tutors have extensive educational and language backgrounds and are fully Ontario-certified. Focus is given not only to helping students improve their comprehension levels but also for the expectations of the Grade 9 French course.

IVY ED’s French tutors are available for French immersion students as well. Since these children use French for all their primary subjects, our educators can help tutor on a number of topics through French communication.

At first glance, the objective of a program listed as Homework Help may seem simple. But the purpose of homework is to reinforce concepts and skills learned during the school day. Doing homework to simply finish the designated task vs. doing homework to get of sense of what was learned during the school day are completely different processes. No matter what the subject or strand within a subject, IVY ED teachers will coach and mentor students as they complete what has been assigned. Teachers will take advantage of key teaching opportunities to ensure that students are understanding the relevant concepts and skills that the homework is trying to address.

Learning in the early years is the key to lifelong success!

IVY ED has the formula for ensuring that our youngest are ready for school expectations. Our Little Scholars half day morning program uses a teacher to student ratio of 1 to 4 and it focuses on introductory reading, writing and numeracy. The small group structure ensures that the individual needs of each child are attended to. For further information please contact us at 905-652-6000.

• Enriched Academic Curriculum
• Cognitive Skills Development
• Individualized Programs
• Small Class Size
• Half Day Program
• Children ages 4 to 5