Mangoes and Multiplication

Now that the New Hope team is gone (all the kids are asking where you all are, by the way), I am working with certain students as both counselor and tutor. There are lots of kids who could really use a personal tutor all the time. For instance, there are some who are still learning the alphabet, the sounds letters make, and basic counting skills. 

So, I sit in the middle of the school with a desk and some plastic chairs and pull kids out of class for tutoring sessions. The second grade teacher sent me the three boys in her class that are the trouble-makers. (Side note: There are kids in second grade who are 11 and 12 years old. It all depends on their level of education, not their age). She told me that once they were out of the class, she was finally able to get some teaching done. After working with these boys I fully understood why. But that just meant I had to change my teaching tactic. Multiplication was making no sense to them because order and graph paper and numbers made no sense to them. Luckily, all those things make little sense to me, too. Pictures and patterns- that's what made sense. Two groups of seven mangoes is how many mangoes? 14. "Easy," they told me. Then I let them in on the little secret: You just did multiplication. For the next 30 minutes we drew pictures and multiplied. Trouble-makers they may be. But they're smart. They're craving attention and a challenge. So by Monday they will all have their multiplication tables 1-5 memorized. And if they get stuck, they can always draw me a picture. :)

In between tutoring sessions, kids stop by my table to talk about life. Their families and friends and struggles and joys. And that's when I get to love on them and tell them that there is a Father in Heaven who cares so deeply for them. 

Here are some of the faces I get to see everyday: 

They truly are such blessings. 

Grace and Peace, 

Micaiah