Over the past couple of years, I have had the honor and
delight of spending most of my time with junior high and high school-aged
students, tutoring them through a variety of their classes. I have enjoyed sharing my
enthusiasm for many subjects with them, but the subject that the majority of
students want assistance with is math. I am aware of how math builds through the
years, and I know the skills the students will need as they continue their
studies. That knowledge has made it all the more fun to be tutoring a first
grader this summer.
Every week I get to pull out math manipulatives, pattern
blocks and games and use them to prepare this young boy to think well, enjoy
the math process and be prepared for what comes next. I realize that the
patterning skills he is using will be helpful when he begins algebra years down
the road. Understanding shapes and how they work together will help with
geometry. But most of all, he is finding out
that learning is fun, and that will
carry him down the road best of all.
