Hope's Happy Memory!

Hope and I have our reading sessions every Tuesday. They are a lot of fun. She has come along really nicely and we decided it was time to read a chapter book. She is only in Grade 1, so it is a big deal. I picked the book for her and it was "Snow Monsters Do Drink Hot Chocolate". We started reading last Tuesday and we finished reading it today.

Today, while she read and I listened, Hope paused to say this to me..."Do you know what I am remembering?" A 6-7 year old little girl could be remembering a lot of stuff; how would I know?! I drew a blank and she proceeded to remind me about the time I took her out for hot chocolate.

Before I opened my home to Hope, I would meet with her in the library near my home for our reading sessions. One day, I asked her mom if we could do a session at Starbucks. Her mom was a little surprised, but luckily she is very accommodating of me. So, we went to the Starbucks at Chapters one Tuesday evening in early December. Hope and I had a stack of books and we were able to find a table. We plopped the books down and got ourselves some hot chocolate. We did some reading while we sipped our hot chocolate. Hope was the only child that evening. We were surrounded by adults...some were reading and some were on laptops and some were chatting. Hope absolutely loved that session. I talked to her about reading being a passion - reading books because you want to read books; because you can't wait to read books! We talked about finding a quiet corner to read or a comfy chair or a Chapters/Starbucks! Hope loved being all "grown up" and her mom confessed that she would have loved to have given that experience to her daughter; however, she has a toddler who keeps her busy. Didn't matter who gave Hope the experience as long as the child got to have one!

I did not realize that it had become such a strong and positive memory for Hope! Today, when she mentioned it, she had a happy look. So, I decided to make us both some hot chocolate. After all, I have my whole kitchen at my disposal. Hope was pleasantly surprised. As she sipped from her cup, she remarked wistfully that she missed the cream on the top from last time. Then she saw my face and quickly remarked that the cream didn't matter as the hot chocolate was homemade and nothing is better than homemade! Atta girl! I thought to myself.

I really enjoy my one on one sessions. As much as it feels like I am imparting knowledge, I feel like I am learning so much each time. I have students who are in different age groups and who have different needs. I have to tailor sessions to make it interesting for each one of them and to make sure their needs are being met; no cookie cutter methods! Some days, it feels like I am losing money. But then again, money can't buy happiness and I am so happy after each of my sessions!

 

A related "aside" follows...

I feel like I have been writing too much "heavy stuff". So, here is something light related to my opening my home to my students. It has been a little tough on all the boys. ASid and Hans have learnt to be quiet and have become very mindful. Hans even refuses to play after school on Tuesdays; he wants me to get home and get ready for Hope. The boys are amazing. The only "boy" who is not with the program is Craigley! Today, he was working from home. Hope and I were interrupted 3 times. Twice it was super loud yawns and then, a merry whistling session. Both Hope and I decided to go and remind Craigley that we are in session. All he did was look at us like we are making a fuss over nothing!

I can always count on Craigley to put things in perspective so I can actually appreciate the boys more than I usually do!