Our Own Tutor

I count myself fortunate to have Mama Teacher as a friend for a variety of reasons. Most recently, however, I have been grateful for her professional expertise as a first-grade teacher. See, I always have questions. "Is this developmentally appropriate?" (See how I didn't use the word "normal" there?) "How do you know the age level of a book?" And today's--"Is summer homework stupid?"

For thirty minutes, we talked on that last one. As a mom, she said yes; as a teacher, she said no. Which means she hasn't had her son do his yet either but feels immensely guilty about it (in fact, she's lost the math packet! Okay, I'm not laughing at you, Mama Teacher. I'm just glad to know teachers are like the rest of us about homework.) She had some suggestions for getting through homework. Give them a break after school and do the homework later. Divide and conquer, having Mama take one child and me the other. Or, separate them spatially or sequentially. She also breaks worksheets into thirds, using a divided file folder that flips open, and lets her son take breaks in between sections. Clever. She also assured me that as a teacher she would not judge our summer homework efforts too harshly; indeed, she admitted that homework tests the parents as much as it does the child. (I'm not sure that made me feel better, exactly.)

The other day when she visited, she even sat and read with Sis, who was thrilled to have a new listener (anyone but her moms). I picked up so many tips on how to instruct a beginning reader--how to slide through the syllables of unfamiliar words, how to suggest sounding out syllables (ooops, forgot the teacher lingo for letter groupings), how to encourage and support gently, even how to know if a book is too hard (5 finger rule: if they don't know 1-2 words on a page, it's the right level; if they don't know 3-5 words, it's too hard) . Interestingly, she said Sis is almost a purely sight word reader, meaning she just doesn't read phonetically despite that being the focus in school. We could tell that because she sees the first letter of a word and guesses based on textual and illustrated context. And once she sees a word once or twice, she usually has it memorized. (Bud, on the other hand, is almost purely a phonetic reader.) Such insights really help. Especially as I balance being a straight-A, Phi Beta Kappa, Ivy League grad with being a more laid back, well-rounded, encouraging mom.

Which is why I not half-jokingly offered to hire her as a tutor . . . so someone else has to deal with homework!!

(By the way, just when summer homework has me again considering home or unschooling, I read a quote on a blog that said they were a "life-learning family, supplementing our experiences with public school." I like it.)