Tutoring

I had my 2nd tutoring session yesterday and I would have to say it is going well. The first session was to get to know her, what she is doing and to find out what we will work on. Then she did some reading out loud to me so I could see where her fluency is. That went well and I discovered that she does need some help, mostly with decoding words (which slows her reading down and causes her to loose comprehension) So I left with my information and went to think about activities I could do to help her reading improve-in case she didn't have specific homework to work on the next time.

Last night was session number 2. She was having a science test today, so we studied for that. I quized her from her study guide, had her read aloud some passages from the book for confusing topics, and had her do some sample questions from the end of the chapter. All in all, I think she is ready for the test. I was also able to see, again, areas of decoding that need work. Looking at her study guide I could also see that spelling might be an area to work on (or she was just writing in a hurry)

So, I am waiting to hear how she does on the test. Mom and I are hoping for an A!!!

I will not have another session until the new year, due to break and days she spends with her dad, so I have plenty of time to find more activities we can do (since I am not sure how much homework she will have 2 days after returning from break)

Out of my comfort zone

Since this was one of my 10 in 2010 goals, I decided to dedicate a post to it. I have technically already accomplished this goal back in May when I volunteered at food pantry in Milwaukee, with Rae Ann (I was able to help others, help Rae Ann meet one of her goals for the year, and meet one of mine)

Well, there are a few other things that I am starting that I would classify as out of MY comfort zone. Those of you who know me well, know that I am pretty shy and will not necessarily go out of my way to start a conversation with someone I don't know. Well, Brian is the complete opposite. So he was talking to someone at work and they mentioned that their daughter could use some help in school. Brian told her that I was a teacher and would possibly be interested in tutoring her daughter. So on Tuesday the mom and I talked and I am going to meet them on Monday and see if this is something that will work for me. I think that it will, it is just a matter of figuring out a schedule that will work with my Sylvan one as well. So I will post more about this out of my comfort zone experience later.

I have also decided to start writing a story, loosely based on some things that happened leading up to my leaving my last full time teaching position. I am not sure how good it is going to be or how long it will be. And I do not know what I plan to do with it when it is done. But I have been saying for a long time that I should write a book (mostly about my neighbors or in-laws, which may come next), so I have decided to just go ahead and see what happens.

So I would have to say that I have met my goal of doing something out of my comfort zone. This may be something I will have to include again on my list for 2011.