You Are Your Child's Hero: How to Tutor at Home

How do you have fun with your children or grandchildren while engaging them in educational activities? Twenty years in the classroom and ten years of tutoring and substitute teaching have taught me many lessons. First and foremost is ownership. If a child feels that he or she has input and worth, then learning is a natural byproduct of learning activities or educational games. When I used to tutor students, the first thing I would do is start a dialog to draw out their area of interest in their daily lives. One high school student I tutored had a hatred for writing until he shared with me his love of snowboarding. After spending time at our local library, we read through every publication and book we could find on snowboarding. He really enjoyed researching and choosing which facts to include in his paper on snowboarding which was an assignment in his Literature and Writing class. Several weeks later after a few more tutoring sessions, his dad phoned me to say that his son told him that he loved writing and enjoyed school more now. His father asked how tutoring had changed his son's attitude. I assured him that there was nothing magic that I had done, but rather the hard work the student was WILLING to invest once he had taken ownership of his own learning. Of course, it helps to have a plan and a forum usable for your child to express his interests. In my book you will find tried and true methods and activities for you and your child to do together AND have fun in the process. I have provided a table of contents for easier access to your child's area of interest. You are your child's hero every time you do a new activity together! You can easily adapt these lesson plans to many subjects. I pray that my book and these ideas will bring many hours of learning and entertainment for you and the students in your life!