I had to pay for summer tutoring all through grade school even though Marie was in special education. Marie requires much repetition to maintain where she is in a particular subject. Remembering and recalling information are part of her difficulties.
To help Marie not feel ostracized from the family, I incorporated a study program for all five of my children throughout the summer. For about an hour, five days most weeks, the children worked on academics. This time did not include when I would read to the children or when the other children would read on their own. I allowed the children to choose morning or afternoon as the time to work, and then kept it the same throughout the summer. They chose mornings as they were early birds and their friends were not.
Each child had a notebook and would work on grade level math and English [spelling/writing skills] with me. I’d be the one who spent the hours reading, checking, and writing comments on their pages. If they made mathematical errors, they needed to redo the problem. Grade-level misspellings in their essays required repetition of correct spellings. Then they just had to choose fancy stickers—after they read my comments—to place on their notebooks.
Marie worked with a tutor about three times per week. When she worked with the tutor, Marie did not do my notebook work. I ask the tutor to review grade-level math especially and science/social studies with Marie. I usually focused on reading and writing with the children.
Marie worked better with the tutor. She wouldn’t fight as much about doing the work. And she always wanted to know what her brother and sisters did while she was being tutored. Hence the need for me to work with her siblings while Marie was being tutored.
Now that Marie’s a part of the high school special education program, she is entitled to free tutoring, one on one, with a special education teacher about three times a week for a few hours with no homework involved. So far, so good.
Victoria Marie Lees graduated from the University of Pennsylvania cum laude in 2009 with a B.A. in English and writes children’s short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir. She blogs about camping with children at http://campingwithfivekids.blogspot.com/ and substitute teaching at http://subbinginschools.blogspot.com/.
