Preparing for Tutoring Sessions

For a long time I didn't want to tutor because honestly...I was nervous. I know it's crazy, you're probably thinking, You're a teacher...what could be so hard about it! The thing is, I never knew what I should do, how much to charge and what was expected of me. After years of hearing about all the fun and MONEY my friend was making I finally agreed to tutor. After doing it I cannot believe I waited so long!

I will admit though when I first started I wasn't as organized as I am now. In hopes to encourage others to jump into the tutoring world I have included some steps I take to help me prepare for the long summer of tutoring.

Before you advertise to tutor: Make sure you figure out what day(s), how long you want each session to be, where you will tutor, and how much you are going to charge. These things are all questions parents are going to ask. If your classroom isn't available to use during the summer you could try tutoring at the library, renting out a small space in another school building, going to your clients house or if you are really comfortable inviting them all to your house. Once you have all of that figured out it's time to start advertising.

Getting the word out: This part is easy for me because my district sends out a tutor list to all parents in the district. We simply fill out a form with our name, grades/subjects we can tutor and our contact information. If you are not so lucky you can make up a flier and send it out to your parents, pass it out in your neighborhood and post your fliers in businesses around town. Click on the picture below to download the flier image for FREE! All you have to do is pull the image into PowerPoint or Keynote, send it back and then add your text boxes on top!

   

Finding out about your "student": Before I meet with the families I make sure to send out a google form. It helps me know where the student is and what the parents are expecting out of the sessions. What is so cool about Google Forms (if you have never used them) is that all of the information compiles into one document. I ask basic questions like, what is their reading level, strengths and weakness of reading, writing and math, what is the main thing they [parent] want out of the sessions. Once parents fill out the form I feel like I have a good understanding of what they are expecting me to do during the sessions. If it is available it is also beneficial to ask for a copy of their report card.

Planning for the first session: Now that you have all of your info and you are headed into the first session it is important to get some baseline data. This doesn't have to be formal, just something that helps you gauge where they are. One of my favorite things to do for reading is the Quick Phonics Screener. I use it all of the time in my classroom and it is a quick and easy way to assess basic phonics areas. For reading comprehension I use Raz-Kids. For writing I like to use my Picture Prompt Writing Activities. For my more advanced writers I jump right into writing a personal narrative using my graphic organizer pack. When it comes to math I usually just write some problems on a white board and have them solve them. I like doing this because it is quick and easy to make them harder or simpler without having to rummage through stacks of papers.

Planning for future sessions: If you don't feel that you got enough data/information out of the first session by all means take one more to truly pinpoint the students needs. If you were able to get everything you needed in the first session pinpoint the areas of need by examining the data. Find activities that correspond to the area they need most practice with and BAM!! you have just prepared your tutoring lesson!!! (worksheet in picture is from The Moffatt Girls)

Extra info:
How much do you charge?-  This is a gray area but certified teachers should charge anywhere from $25-$75 an hour depending on experience and type of tutoring.

How long do you tutor?-  I think 45-60 minutes is plenty of time. Anything more than that the student starts to become fidgety and unfocused. I also tutor students 2 times a week.

If you need more assistance/ideas please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to help you prepare for your first session :).





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TPT Seller Challenge # 2: Dare to Dream!

This weeks TPT Seller Challenge was all about dreaming big! I work hard to make quality products for my students and followers but other than the obvious why do I do it? I first started selling on TPT because I found it fun. Now that I have been doing it for awhile I still find it fun but it is so much more than that. Every month the possibilities of this business keep growing and my Big Dreams don't seem so far out of reach anymore. Here are my dreams for my growing business:

#1: Being able to pay off my student loans would mean I could start saving for my future children's education fund. This is my biggest dream because it will be the hardest/longest to achieve.

#2: Being able to bless others abundantly would bring so much joy to my life. I would love to pay for someones groceries every time I go shopping just because, or buy someone's dinner. I would love to be able to give another education major money towards their education, I would love to be able to give more to my church and other charities.

#3: Being able to inspire others would be the ultimate goal. Sharing knowledge, experiences and inspiring others would mean together we could reach hundreds, thousands even millions of students across the world!

So every time I make a product, post something to social media or help a fellow teacher I will think about my dreams and know that if you want to succeed you have to DREAM BIG!!

Thanks Third in Hollywood, Sparkling in Second, Teach Create Motivate, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista for the inspiring weekly challenge.

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TPT Seller Challenge #1: Makeover Madness!

This summer my goal was to kick it into gear! I did so many amazing things last year and didn't do one blog post, NOT ONE!! I also didn't focus much on my store and really missed it. When school ended last week I wasn't sure where to start. That's when I came across Emily's post from Third in Hollywood. The TPT Seller Challenge is exactly what I needed to jump start the summer.

The first weeks challenge was called, Makeover Madness. We had to makeover something in our store. It could be the cover, a couple pages or an entire product. I wanted to start small but ended up doing a complete overhaul on my #1 selling Literary Essay product. Here is what the product looked like before:

As you can see I didn't really spend the time the first go around to make it cute. I had all of the content there but it needed to be better. I have used this product in my classroom for 2 years and each time I use it I wrote down the things that I didn't like....or really just needed to be improved.

So....I got a little carried away and am so in love with the revised version. There are so many additional pages added. Here is the after:

This Literary Essay pack now has 67 PAGES!!! It is jam packed with color and b&w versions of graphic organizers and anchor charts that are sure to keep your kids organized. What is so cool about these digital anchor charts are that they are the perfect size for your kids to store in their writing folders.

Revamping this product was so much fun! I cannot wait for the future TPT seller challenges. Make sure to grab it now while it is on SALE!!

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GIVEAWAY!!

I know I have not posted in forever but, I am ready to do a giveaway to celebrate 300 likes on Facebook! I am so grateful to have so many wonderful educators, parents and fans who are interested in what I am doing in the classroom. To thank you I am giving away our entire A-Z Alphabet Clip Art Bundle...it's a $75 value! Enter in the Rafflecopter giveaway below!


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Wowza!

Wowza! It has been along time since I last posted. So many wonderful things have happened. New classroom, new students, new principal and to top it off my husband and I are selling our house. I have been so busy and unfortunately my camera/phone has been broken and I have not been able to take any pictures to attach to my blog posts. But along with all of the "new" stuff in my life I just got the new iPhone 6 and LOVE IT!!! I look forward to using it to take classroom actions shots to accompany all of the new tips and tricks I have been trying out this year. For now I leave you with this...it basically describes my life :)

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Special Education Blog Hop

I am so excited about the linky Jamie from Tales of a Carolina Girl is hosting. Blogging is something I have really gotten into this past year and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE finding other special ed. bloggers. Networking is a huge part of my success and I love hearing from those who do what I do day in and day out. With that said here is a little information about me:

Any teaching job, gen. ed or special ed., can be stressful at times. Getting advice from those who are in the same situations as you can be one of the most helpful and comforting things for me. My advice for anyone in the special education field is just to be patient and not give up. Our students are creatures of habit. If they have eaten lunch before recess for the past 4 years and now are expected to have recess before lunch a problem will more than likely arise. It is important to take the time to help your student understand the change in routine and show them that it will be ok. This may take 1 time (lucky you) but in my case it took me about 1 month to get this under control this year.

Another thing is to be consistent. Kids are smart! They know how to push our buttons and manipulate situations. Don't let up on your directive. Keep pushing yourself to stand firm and your students will learn. Again be patient, but they will learn.

I would also say to make sure to celebrate accomplishments. One of my students during melt downs last year was very destructive. At the beginning of the year we were tearing down book shelves, ripping bulletin boards down, breaking baskets and at sometimes getting physical. I worked very hard to educate my staff on using common language. After meltdowns, when the student was back to a rational state, I would talk to them about what happened. I would then teach the replacement behavior. I would want this particular student to say "I'm angry". We worked long and hard at this. The destructive behaviors continued to get smaller and smaller until one day (8 months into the school year) my little guy said "I'm angry" and noting was destroyed. I am not kidding you when I say I was so happy I cried. It was that moment that told me everything I did, the countless hours of preparation, reading up on interventions, finding dinosaur materials etc. was totally worth it. No accomplishment, big or small, should be passed up. Celebrate and share what you and your students are doing.

My final note is to have fun and laugh. Our jobs are tough. If we don't make ourselves enjoy them we will get burnt out. I laugh daily and teach my kids it's ok to make mistakes and laugh at ourselves.

I am so excited to do some blog hoppin' and meet up with some other SPED's!! Make sure to get in on the action too, just click here!

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Start of Summer School (+ Freebie)

Today was the first day of summer school. I had know idea what to expect. We had a roster with 16 names on it...that's it!! We didn't know what grade they were in, what (if any) disability they had, if they required a para professional...nothing! Oh and to top it off the teacher I run the program with couldn't be there because she had to be at a class of her own. So here I am with 16 students (per class), 3 volunteers and my lifesaver best friend who stepped in to co-teach with me while my counter part was gone. Having my bestie there was the best thing that could ever happen. We are pretty much the same person and know what the other person wants just my looking at each other. She was able to follow my lesson plans, my bullet points, my 3 minute oral directions at the beginning of the 3 hour class to a tee!

Our summer program "Explore" focuses on reading, writing and math improvement for students with an IEP or who are considered at-risk, grades K-5. I love working in the summer because I get a chance to work with the "littles". They are just so stinkin' cute! Don't get me wrong, I love working with my drama filled, boy crazy, sport loving 4th and 5th graders. But it's just something about the littles that makes my heart melt. Maybe it's the pure innocence of everything in life. Every moment is a teachable one.

Alright, alright enough of that...let's get onto what we did. It was a jammed packed 3 hours but it couldn't have ran more smooth. Someone was a little shy to enter the room, he sat out there for a good 50 minutes until he got enough courage the come in...or until he couldn't wait any longer to eat the goodies we had laying out for him.

For math we started off by having students make the number they selected 10 different ways. We had the older students make sure to include at least 2 number sentences for an added challenge. The younger students had pre-made tally marks, ten frames and number words to choose from. The differentiation for this task was perfect and allowed all of the students to achieve the same objective in the same room.

It was then time for a tasty snack so we pulled out some M&M's. For this activity we had the older students go to our other room, since this task required more direct instruction. I had the littles sort their M&M's on sorting mats.

We then made a graph together. I called the students up 1 by 1 and had them color as many spaces as they needed. This was a great task because it required the students to count up from a specific number instead of always starting at one. Some of our kiddos were even able to add 10 quickly. I was so impressed.

The older students completed the same task but they had their own graph and answered questions about their graph individually instead of whole group like the littles.

Once we finished with a color they were allowed to eat those candies....they said we were torturing them by making them wait soooo long to eat them.


For reading we focused our day on Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes. I absolutely adore his stories and couldn't have selected a better story to start off the summer. I started off by introducing a pink paper heart. I told the students that throughout the story they would hear some hurtful words. We were going to take turns passing the heart around and every time they heard a hurtful word they would have to crinkle up the heart. As I read the story the students did a nice job passing the heart around and only crinkling at the correct times. I asked questions and did some partner shares during the read aloud to keep them moving and engaged. At the end of the story we tried to "iron" out the wrinkles but no matter how hard we tried it still wasn't perfectly smooth/mended. This was a lot of fun because it allowed a visual representation of how someone's heart may feel after being hurt. Visuals are soo important for our little fellows, especially those with autism.

After reading the story we filled out our anchor chart together. I was very interested to see how this went but surprisingly the older students allowed some think time and gave the littles a chance to respond.

Once we had an understanding of feelings, worries, kind words and traits, we went on to creating our own, About Me pages. Most of the K-2 students required adult support to complete this activity but they did a nice job.

And I had to slip this one in here because apparently he has no worries in life :)

During writing we talked about bucket lists. We made a giant list of all of the things we would like to accomplish before we "got old" together.

 I then told the students that we were going to make a summer bucket list. I showed them an example of mine. I created 3 different size paper templates for our varying ability levels. Instead of sharing my summer bucket list as a whole, I split the kids up by ability levels and shared my "just write paper" story with each group. I thought sharing it in small groups would allow the students to focus on exactly what they were supposed to do instead of seeing all of the examples and ask why they couldn't write less.

They worked hard creating their bucket lists and then colored these cute bucket and shovel pictures (available here in the clip art pack). We cut them out and pasted them to a large piece of construction paper next to our summer bucket list stories. These will be great to have on their wall during the summer. We thought about putting a sticker next to their item if they completed it. Get your very own FREE copy of our bucket list activity here!

All in all I would say our first day of summer school went great! I am looking forward to 6 more weeks of fun filled, jammed packed days! What summer activities do you do if you teach during the summer?

***Just for fun, who doesn't like cowboy boots, in Michigan, on a humid day with basketball shorts?

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