Hi, I´m Jenny and I´m a July tutor. It´s already been more than 2 weeks since we´ve been working with the kids here and the days fly by faster and faster. As for the type of tutoring we do with the kids, it´s pretty relaxed since it´s summer vacation for them, too. We´re mixing a bit of studying time with playing time everyday before they drink their coladas, brush their teeth, take a vitamin and put on some aloe vera for their skin. We´ve divided the kids into grade levels and one or two tutors are in charge of each group. Adriana, the host´s daughter and director of the tutoring program, gives us specific work for each of the groups. For example, the past week the older children (the groups ositos, mariposas, conejos and estrellas) did ¨dictado,¨which is writing what they hear, the 3rd level kids (los gatitos) learned the abc´s, and the 1st and 2nd level kids (los elefantes, los tiburones) learned the color red and number one. The past week we´ve been working on reading comprehension and next week we´ll be starting on mathematics. The children are taking an exam at the end of the summer that they need to pass in order to advance to the next grade, so Adriana wants to make sure they learn and review all that they need to do that. If the kids don´t pass, they have to repeat the grade. Adriana has told us that the parents won´t pay for their children´s education if they have to repeat the grade so that would be the end of schooling for the kids.
The kids are adorable and loving. Some become very attached to us, and we can tell that all they want is some attention. When we move from the project area where we study to the soccer field where we play, they always want to hold our hands. They love it when we carry them, make them ¨fly¨(the Chango boys always shout ¨haceme volar!¨), and play hand slapping games with them. They´re very cute but sometimes it´s hard to keep them all focused for a stretch of time (for example, when we read them the stories for reading comp) and they can get out of hand when they´re in line to get their coladas. I think we´ve been getting better at keeping them in order though :)
Some of the kids that were shy have been opening up to us more recently, and it´s kind of sad that we´ll be leaving in less than two weeks. I just hope that we can make the most of it during the rest of the month and that the transition to the August tutors will be smooth. It´s been an amazing experience so far...I´d love to come back next summer and see how the kids have grown!