not so fun again....

I am pretty sure I did not have fun the last time I did it, and can already feel confident that this go 'round will not be much different. I found myself volunteering again to do the thing with the Literacy Alliance where adults go into the elementary schools and spend thirty minutes with a kid helping them with pre-reading skills. I think the funding comes from some non-profit, maybe with some grant money, backing by people who hope to improve the basic skills of the kids. Over the years I have been involved, the students seem to have all come from low-income neighborhoods and schools.  I'm not sure how the little people are chosen to participate in the program, assume a request is made to (or possibly by) the teacher. And she will identify which two children in her pre-school classroom need the most help with the things they need to help them learn to learn to read.

I've done this several times before, apparently forgetting in between that it is not something I enjoy doing, as the kids do not have the ability to appreciate the fact that I am volunteering my time for their benefit. Even though they have been in the classroom since last August, it is always surprising how little they have acquired. I know that the pre-K program is designed to see that kids entering Kindergarten have the skills they need to begin the educational process. But it is alarming to see that these little folk are so limited in motor skills, and basic literacy.

I had one little boy and one little girl. If I had tried to work with the little boy first, I would have been really frustrated. But the little girl, E., seemed eager to learn, much more able to focus that the little boy.  That little guy J., was so wiggly, and unable to pay attention to the book and what I was trying to help him with: just looking at the illustrations, seeing the scene there on the page and talking about what was going on in the pictures, without even reading the printed words. We (I) read the book twice, and did a little coloring, on a page that was supplied with the materials: "Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm". She lives out in the country, in a house, with clothesline full of wash. On the farm, complete with a big red barn and green tractor, a goat, herd of sheep, pond with ducks, chickens, etc., and washes her animals in a big tin tub. Some of them, the cow, duck and pig run off to the city, only to find that life is much better 'down on the farm', even though they sort of revolted, wanted to escape all that bath business.

Maybe the tutoring experience will get better, once we get to know each other, or I might acclimate to the limitations of these little kids who have had so little exposure to the world of books, language and the written word. I don' think I have ever been so clearly reminded of the joy and blessing that comes with the ability to read, but where would we be without it? You certainly would not be reading this! And thankful too for adult daughters who are literate, enjoy reading and all the richness and rewards/benefits that being able to read brings into their lives.