Intervention and Rest(oration)!

One of my students today is a beginning 2nd grader. Her mother had been helping her with math skills. Despite Mom's best efforts, this student had not been keeping up with the pace of her class, and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. As for Mom, the stress of trying to teach her daughter was mounting. It was taking a toll on their relationship.

When Mom first called, she was concerned about her daughter's grasp on certain skills, and wanted me to look out for that. I did just that. However, in my first session with her today, I discovered something different than expected. The student was proficient in the basic skills Mom was worried about. She began slowly, but it was not long before she was answering questions with confidence. The more answers she got right, the more self-assured she became. We worked through all of the skills Mom had mentioned. The student was comfortable with them all! When we were done, I encouraged Mom that all of the hard work she had been doing had not been in vain. Her daughter has a great understanding of math. As relieved as she was to hear that, she was much more relieved to know that we would be back to tutor her daughter in math and reading on a regular basis. The course of action going forward is to be there to help her complete homework, so that Mom can wear one less hat!