Mallorca rivate Tutor
Mallorca Private Tutor is an elite tutoring service that offers you educational expertise and outstanding learning experiences.
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Our philosophy is to value and include parents and children in their education- allowing everyone to participate in the design and implementation of the curriculum. Our personalised quality program, is therefore not only based on your child(s) interests and hobbies and who they are, but means that we are also able to respond to children in the moment & adapt the lesson based on their mood & concentration; maximising their full potential under any circumstance.
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About Us
A British, qualified primary teacher and ex headteacher, with 20 years of experience in education- the founder of Mallorca Private Tutor has taught extensively across the globe.
However, having lived and taught in Mallorca for over a decade, she has dedicated the last 5 years to providing high quality education, in the form of bespoke tutoring in order to help meet the specific needs of every unique family. Whether you live in Mallorca or are simply passing by, we can provide you with tailored education that fits you and your family like a glove.
See our expansive remit, specialised services and diverse clientele profile below. All services are available both presential and online.
Alternative
Making homeschooling possible for families that don't want or believe in mainstream education but rather prefer to homeschool/ worldschool/ unschool their children.
Travellers/ Yachties
Families from abroad travelling the world, sailing the seas or on an extended holiday in Mallorca, or elsewhere in Europe- we can come to you!
Convenience
Parents looking for flexibility and practicality... why drive to school at 8am when it can come to you at whatever time you choose?
S.E.N
Children struggling with Special Educational Needs,(such as dyslexia and dysgraphia) in need of focused 1:1 support and specialiased interventions.
Personalisation
Children that aren't realising their full potential at school that need guidance and greater attention to their individual academic experiences.
Sickness
Children with a broken leg, recovering from a serious operation or with long term health issues that want to go to school but can't....
Catch up
Parents that want to ensure that their children don't fall behind at school or fill gaps in learning' by giving them an extra reinforcement.
Actors
Children working in the entertainment industry, in need of tutoring on/off set. To date, we have colloborated on productions with the BBC and Netflix.
Languages
Families that want to expand their linguistic skills, learning English or Spanish as a foreign language from beginners to advanced.
New beginnings
The Thorson famliy
Case Study: Homeschooling
The Thorsons found me in January 2021 through the Facebook group 'Mallorca Homeschoolers¨. After moving to Mallorca from Texas, USA, they opted for a Private International School for their 3 Primary aged children. However after several months of schooling, with struggles to adapt to the language, curriculum and school commiunity little by little their once bright lights ´started to dim´.
In February 2021 we thus embarked on our tailored prgramme of tutoring in English and Maths for Max and Marlee (twins, year 6) and Harper (year 3). The children, who had previously always attended public school in the States, swiftly took a liking to their new personalised classes and classroom which they offically named ´Too cool for School´.
Personalisation personified!
Make your dreams come true
Enabling childrens personal hobbies, loves and interests to guide their learning is our most trusted tutoring tool, as it places each child at the center of their education. However, sometimes life gives you lemons and you have to know what to do with
them! Turns out... the twins, were such huge Greek mythology buffs that they wanted to teach us all about it!
During classes, we therefore planned, prepared and rehearsed an entire, exciting 'Greek Day´ together, for the whole family to attend.
The twins (Apollo and Artemis) were
not only able to divulge in their utmost passion, but also confidence build and develop other new skills such as teaching, presenting and acting. The day was a blast- we all adorned our best Grecian garb and enjoyed delicious, homemade Moussaka and typical Greek snacks for our luscious lunch banquet. Opa!
When children are homeschooled, we not only ensure that they dont miss out on anything that they would have at school, normally but go one step further and (try to ) realise whatever dream they may have,... after all it is your school! As such for their end of year school trip Harper chose to make a wave at Aqualand and we decided that the twins deserved to mark not only the end of an awesome academic year, but their last year of Primary School, with an epic field trip to London (mom and pops were not invitited!) Barely containing their excitement and oozing in motivation, together they researched, organised and booked tickets for their 5 day Summer trip. At the top of the bucket list; visitng the Science and Natural History Museum, Westminister Abbey, as well as the musical Wicked, Big Ben and classic British cuisine at Greggs!
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´Dreams came true´. Alex Thorson.
Before and after.
In 6 short months, we packed in alot of fun and learnt even more; completing the entire year 6 curriculum for English and Maths in under 2 terms! However, this kind of rapid progress is not possible without first building a strong, mutual friendship in which the children felt confident again to offer their ideas and see their value. Day by day, some damage was undone and soon slumping shoulders were upright and proud! School had now become, easy, enjoyable and above all-all about them. The children thrived and waited eagerly for our tutor to arrive every morning. Max transitioned from the typical 'anti school', pre- teen to asking his parents for extra days!
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'They make more progress in just one day with you than they made at school in a week'. Emily Thorson.
Top teaching tips
One size fit does NOT fit all!
Scrap the textbooks and get online... where youll find a plethora of interesting material that you can even further edit and personalise without all the work of starting from scratch. Get your child to pick and choose with you. Why do a random reading comprehension, when you can read all about Unicorns and Pandas!?
For abstract concepts like teaching the time, try interactive resources (as in the picture), where children can manipulate and physically interact with a clock itself so they can understand what each component represents.
Spellings
Spellings...theres no getting around them. Without practice they wont stick. BUT as always, find fun ways for it! Something as simple as changing the medium from pencil and paper to whiteboard and pen can make all the difference! Other more exciting ways include using a water/ paint brush to write them out on the floor or wall, using a sand tray for a sensory experience or practising on that sketch board thats been forgotten about at the bottom of the bed! if you're not worried about getting mucky try painitng, icing or even dribbling spelling words with a bit of yummy melted chocolate! For mess free spelling, try fridge magnets (letters), alphabet puzzle pieces (as pictured) and spelling games like scrabble.
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Ten Step times tables TRICKS!
Children should know all their times tables from 1-12 by heart, by the time they finsih year 3 (according to the British National Curriculum). Getting them to stick can be a real challenge, so you need to find a foolproof method that works
all 12 times!
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1. Sometimes you cant move forward until you go backwards first. Do they know what 'multiply' means?
Use cubes, pens, spoons, sweets or whatever you have to demonstrate the process and outcome of multiplication.
2. Write your chosen timetable out in bright colours on A4 or A5 paper.
3. Get on your glasses! What patterns can you see in the multiples? (e.g in the 4 times table even numbers repeat in the same order, in the 9's they increase and decrease by one digit each time.)
4. Learn the multiples/ table by heart using the patterns to help you remember them. Say them loud and proud!
5. Practice with a time table booklet (commit pen to paper- repititon is the key!)
6. Play games online- can you beat your own score in 1 minute!? There's nothing like competition and gaining a personal high score to encourage greater fluidity and faster recall.
7. Play a game with a ball- throw it back and forth whilst asking 1x7? First test them in order then mix it up to see how well they really know them! Throw some foam numbers into the pool and have them fetch the answer to 9x9. No pool? Write out the multiples with chalk on the stairs/floor and have them hop to/ jump on the answer to 4x7, 7 x8.....
Play balloon pop, by writing the multiples out on balloons and popping the right answer to the question!
Can they invent a game...? Playing and having fun is the key!
8. Know them inside out now? The 1 minute time table test will tell you- complete it all correctly in under 1 minute and
you've passed with flying colours and are ready to move onto the next one! If not try again the following day after repeating the steps above.
9. Now your secure with multiplication lets look at the division facts, remember each fact is a family- the numbers never change! E.g. .6 x 5= 30 so 30/ 5 =6
10. Dont stop asking or revising! Play/ test in the car or whenever you have a second. Can a sibling test them? Its just AS IMPORTANT to make sure they DON'T forget a table they've just learnt, as learning it from scratch.
* Times tables should not be learnt in numerical order/ from 1-12. Always start with the 10's, 2's and 5's.
Marc and Laia Vazques,
11 & 13, Spain
“Our English classes with Salma are perfect! Every lesson we do super fun and interactive things, from treasure hunts in the forest to making delicious Christmas cookies...we leave a little bit fatter each week;)
I like that she motivates us in class with reward points and prizes which make it fun. Thanks to her, we have made some English friends with her other students for language exchange by hanging out at the beach or a cool day out trampolining together.
Muchas gracias Salma."
Sky Stump, 6, NZ
Stephanie Stump,
September 2023
“My 6 & 8 year old were lucky enough to have Salma tutor them over a 7 week period while we were visiting Mallorca. They instantly adored her and never wanted to miss a session or have a day off. They enjoyed everything so much they often sat in on each others allotted time and did additional work. By teaching outside with various resources or learning maths and the times tables in the pool - half the time they didn’t realise that it wasn’t play! However - the proof is in the pudding; After returning to their classrooms both children were testing and tracking above where they had left and found new confidence in the classroom. With Salmas patient & versatile attitude the kids thrived. Her ability to read the children & adapt the lesson based on their mood & concentration, tailoring lessons to their interests all helped the kids advance their learning. I could go on, but we’re so pleased we found her & she was a pleasure to have in the house & she is regularly spoken about in our household fondly. "
Mallorca Private Tutor knows what a difficult challenge it is as a parent to make the best decisions about your childrens education and how the options can be very limited here. Perhaps you are looking for small groups for your children to join, or specialist teachers for Secondary school subjects? In which case The Mallorca Tutoring Academy, who we have had the pleasure of working with in the past would be an excellent and highly recommendable option for you.
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We hope that you'll find the perfect solution for you and your famliy....wherever that may be. All the best.
