Our Mission
Our mission at Motivating Minds is to provide children with an opportunity to learn in a way that accommodates their specific learning style. We believe in developing the child as whole, thus developing self-confidence, critical thinking skills, and real-world relationships.
Educational Options
As we all know, children are not just students, but complex individuals with unique needs and experiences. Therefore, it is essential to take a whole child approach to education that honors the humanity of students. Creating a safe and supportive school environment is a crucial first step in developing the child as a whole. When students feel a sense of belonging and connection, they are more likely to engage and thrive. To develop the child-as-a-whole, it is important to consider the different domains of child development which include cognitive, social-emotional, and physical. By supporting each of these domains, we can help children reach their full potential. We recognize the individuality in each student and aim to reinforce their strengths while improving areas that need support.
Motivating Minds Academy
We believe in providing our students with a new way of learning. This encompasses an individualized, hands-on approach that offers families small learning groups, flexibility, reading intervention programs, and project-based learning while following Florida Standards.
Motivating Minds Academy aims to create a non-traditional way of schooling. We believe that each child is unique, thus we understand the importance of encouraging their strengths while nurturing areas that need more support.
We have provided links below to provide families with more in depth details about Motivating Minds Academy.
Small Learning Groups
Project Based Learning
Morning Motivation
Small Learning Groups
In small groups, participants often feel more comfortable contributing their ideas, asking questions, and engaging in discussions. This increased participation can lead to deeper learning and understanding of the material.
It provides personalized attention, collaborative activities, increased motivation and opportunities for peer teaching. Instructors can adjust the pace, content and activities to accommodate different learning preferences and abilities with the group.
Overall, small learning groups offer a conducive environment for active learning, collaboration, and personal growth, contributing to a richer and more fulfilling educational experience for students.
Project Based Learning
Project Based Learning is a form of hands-on learning that engages students in real world projects.
- Shifts the emphasis from rote learning to active engagement.
- Students collaborate on projects that are significant and pertinent to their lives. These initiatives include the social sciences, the humanities, engineering, and the natural sciences.
- Students exercise their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills in authentic contexts.
- Student-centered strategy that encourages critical thinking, and equips students with the skills they need to face difficulties in the real world
Morning Motivation
Our morning brain exercise class is intended to stimulate the mind and improve brain function. These activities include:
- Meditation
- Bilateral Brain Stimulation
- Executive Functioning skills
- Social/Emotional Learning
- Memory Recall
- NeuroNet Stepup to Learning: a learning readiness program that links gross motor skills with activities to develop fluency in literacy, math, and handwriting.
Orton-Gillingham Reading Intervention
Other Services
Orton-Gillingham Reading Intervention
Orton-gillingham is a multi-sensory approach to teach reading and spelling. This means that instructors use sight, hearing, touch and movement to help students connect language with letters and words. Orton-Gillingham is a structured literacy approach used to teach children with Dyslexia and struggling readers. Provides direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, and prescriptive way to teach literacy in reading, writing, and spelling.
- The teaching of new concepts incorporates a multi-sensory approach such as, visual (seeing), auditory (listening), and kinesthetic (movement) pathways.
Tutoring
Our tutoring is tailored to match each child’s specific learning needs. We offer tutoring for grades PreK through 12th grade. We meet with each family to determine the best option, from there we match the child with one of our tutors. Many of our tutors are certified teachers.
Orton-Gillingham Reading Intervention
Subject Specific Tutoring
Florida Virtual School – FVLS
Orton-Gillingham Reading Intervention
The reading intervention program that we use is Orton-Gillingham. Orton-Gillingham is a structured literacy approach used to teach children with Dyslexia and struggling readers. This multi-sensory approach uses sight, hearing, touch, and movement strategies with systematic, sequential lessons focused on phonics. We provide our students with an initial assessment and then create a tailored plan for their reading program.
Subject Specific Tutoring
The reading intervention program that we use is Orton-Gillingham. Orton-Gillingham is a structured literacy approach used to teach children with Dyslexia and struggling readers. This multi-sensory approach uses sight, hearing, touch, and movement strategies with systematic, sequential lessons focused on phonics. We provide our students with an initial assessment and then create a tailored plan for their reading program.
Florida Virtual School – FVLS
We offer tutoring for grades PreK4 through 8th grade in all subject areas. 1:1 tutoring reinforces skills, enriches conceptual understanding, and introduces multiple learning strategies. Our tutors use a hands-on approach and tailor their instruction to the individual needs of each student.
Day Camps Summer Camps
A series of themed weeks to explore games and activities with math, reading, science, art, movement, and tons of fun.
Contact Us
Testimonials
As he completed the middle school curriculum, we decided that Cushman High School was the perfect place to transition into. Motivating Minds prepared our son for high school like we never imagined. He went on to graduate with Honor Roll merits all four years. He was inducted into the National Honors Society and received his diploma with Magna Cum Laude. And to top it all off, he was admitted into his first choice - Rollins College, among many other universities he applied to. It is unquestionable that without his experience at Motivating Minds, our son would have continued to struggle through middle school and high school. He did not become a different student. It is clear that the environment he was in made all the difference! We are so grateful for Christine and all her staff!