A World of Learning

 Hi everyone! I hope things are going well as we enjoy the last bit of summer and head back to school! In any case, I thought I'd tell you about one of the boys I tutor. He's been reading about different men who have accomplished great things. Thomas Jefferson, MLK jr., and so on. During his most recent session, he read about Stephen Hawking. But this boy is accomplishing great things too! He's a nine-year-old boy, going into 4th grade, and I have to look up 6th grade words to go on his monthly word list! I really have to be choosy too, because I think that some of them would be too easy for him! He's learning words like appearance, audience, capacity, and concentration. He recently found out that he's going to have a baby brother. I don't know if this little boy will be advance in learning like the boy I tutor, but I hope he won't feel like he's been compared to his brother when it comes to learning. 

 When my mom made the gold medals for the kids I tutor, I wasn't sure how interested they would be in them. When I gave one to one of the boys, he said, "Can I keep it forever?" So he must have really liked it. Another boy was wearing his again the week after I'd given it to him when I came to tutor him again. This really made me happy!  Also, I saw the boy out and about one day and he came over and gave me a hug! Even though I make him do math (which he hates) as well as reading, he must really like me to want to give me a hug! It really makes a person feel rewarded when the kids show their appreciation for them.  Enjoy life's simple pleasure! Make someone smile today! It will make you want to smile too!

 The cup game is one of the kids' favorite learning activities! I tape a word from the list they are memorizing inside each cup, plus one that says ZONK! The goal is to pick a cup, see the word, and be able to say it. They need to get three words correct. Then the cups get mixed back into the rest, and they try to do it again. If they get a ZONK, they have to start that round over. They need to get three correct rounds in order to earn a piece of candy. This game works for all ages, as I've played it with letters for the three-year old I tutor, all the way up to the nine-year-old. I usually use six or seven cups. It's a lot of fun! We don't stack the cups for the game, we just arrange them all flat on the table. I just stacked them for the picture so I could get them all in. 😄

 I love watching the Olympics! So I thought I'd encorporate it into my tutoring sessions this week. I took all of the learning games that each child has been using, and, after having them read their word list (list of words they're learning), we played the games together. The games help with word or letter recognition, and sometimes spelling as well. We kept points whenever someone won a game (I tried to rig some of them so the student would win). My mom, ever the crafty one, helped me make gold medals out of soup can lids spray painted gold, sparkly gold stars, and gold buttons. Then we just added a big loop of blue ribbon to put in over the kids' heads when their session was over and they won! I also gave them a little bag of Skittles instead of just one piece of candy like I usually do. They had fun with it, especially when they got the medals. They had to go and show their moms!

 Doesn't it seem like you go somewhere and always forget something you needed? Well, I do that too, when I'm tutoring. I usually have all of the papers and books and games that I need for the specific lesson, but there are little things that I need no matter who I'm tutoring. So, I put them in a zippered pouch that I could just grab and throw in my tutoring bag. (I have a different bag for each student.) The items that I keep in my pouch are: pens, pencils, a large eraser, a pencil sharpener, scissors, dice, and a sharpie. Not pictured, and what I bring that doesn't fit in the bag is Scotch tape. I use the dice for math games - there are so many math activities that kids can play and learn from at the same time that involve dice. Most of the games I've tried with my math students have been a hit!  What do you think is something essential for teaching? I welcome any suggestions!

 First of all, I'd like to say Happy July! I hope you get a chance to enjoy the 4th.  Now, on with the story. I am now tutoring two six-year-old girls. One I've been tutoring for at least 6 months, and the other one I just started today. I'm doing the same program for the new girl that I did for my other student. We always start with identifying the letters of the alphabet and what sounds they make. Then we read the Bob Book "What can I see?" When I read this with the first girl, she caught on to "see" and "bee" right away. The word "see" is repeated many times in this little book. The word that took her FOREVER to learn by heart was "can." This new girl I'm working with caught on the the word "can" even faster than she did "see" and "bee!" What a change! I think this new girl is going to catch on to things quickly. Both girls are great learners, and very well-behaved even having to do readi...

 Wow! Now that it's summer, I have three new students! One girl, six years old, another girl, ten years old, and a boy, nine years old, in math. So now I have five students in reading, one in reading and math, and another in math. Now, math is not one of my strengths, but these kids are young enough that I can work with them. I'm filling up my schedule, not only with tutoring, but also with pet sitting. So much pet sitting! I need to remind myself that I am still a college student and need to keep up with my own assignments!  I do love my jobs, helping students learn one-on-one, and I love watching people's dogs and cats. It sort of fills the void of having to put down my dog three years ago. Anyway, I've got my first session with my new math student in an hour, so I've got to get going on plans! Have a happy day!