When I first told Luke this would be my next blog title he said, “Well, what do you mean? I need you!” (Insert “Aww’s” or eye rolls here.) J
I will explain. After agonizing months of missing teaching, students, having a job, and just the day to day fun of working with children, I was given the opportunity to tutor four American children who are moving back to the States for the past couple of weeks. I even got asked to help with the girls’ going away party one evening with 40 little screaming 5-8 year olds! It was such a great time!!!
Those of you who know me well know that any opportunity I get to babysit, spend time with my friends’ kids, or spend time with my nephews is always a major plus for me. I am having some major withdrawal with that part of back home very much, too. So when I was asked to tutor I was a little beside myself! I was able to bring over several of my teaching necessities for tutoring but once I started going through it all, I was missing many key items. A very big thank you to Trudy for scanning and emailing me several of the things we like to use and to Nicole for some good 6th grade info. I wanted to get the kids all set with learning American money, some basic history, measuring in inches, miles, and pounds, and then just an overview of many other basics and reviewing. The funny thing is that I thought of all of the things I am trying to learn myself over here and so it made it a little easier to think of what to concentrate on.
When the time came for me to start tutoring I was excited but also very nervous. I tutored the girls together- a kindergartener and 2nd grader and the boys together – a 5th grader and 7th grader. I had a new challenge of tutoring two kids at a time, who are different ages, and who are siblings! I always prefer tutoring one students at a time at the library or anywhere except in their own home because they behave accordingly. We made it work at their kitchen table, but I had to really keep things moving so the distractions of “home” didn’t interfere.
I did some major planning and it consumed any “free” time I had during the days and nights for days straight. I wanted to make sure I was challenging enough but also adding some fun in the mix so they were learning and not always realizing it! Each day I would learn more about each of them and know a little more about what they could do and what else we needed to work on so I spent more time each night tweaking my lessons. I would leave extra early to go make copies and be sure I could catch a bus into the city. Then I would have another 25 minute or so walk to get to their apartment. After 2 hours of tutoring, a follow-up with the mom, and then walking back to catch a bus during the peak time, I was exhausted!! But you know what? It felt so great to be so busy and to COMPLAIN about being busy and to just be NEEDED for something important! J
On the last day of our tutoring I made a big Jeopardy game so they could all play together except they each had their own board of questions. They had no clue what “Jeopardy” even was so I just said, “Nevermind, it’s a fun question game!” We had a good time and then I had made plans to spend the rest of the day with them to do something fun before their move back.
After speaking to their mom, we decided I would take them on the Sydney Sightseeing Double Decker bus. The kids were very excited! We sat on the top part of the bus and went around the city to all of the major sights. I had done this by myself back in August when we came over for our initial visit but it was a lot better knowing all of these places this time around! The bus lets you “hop on and hop off” so that you can spend as much time as you’d like at any location. We got off the bus and had lunch in the “Rocks.” After trying to encourage them to choose a type of food they may miss when they move back, they still chose Subway! The oldest and I had takeaway sushi at the little place next door, though. I like a lot of wasabi and soy sauce when I’m eating sushi. When I started to squeeze some out onto my container, the kids gasped and said, “You know that’s not avocado, right??” Something tells me that they learned that the wrong way!
Next, we decided to go to the Sydney Tower which is located in the middle of the city. They had passes and had not made it there yet in the time living over here so they were really looking forward to going. It is an amazing view of the whole city and surrounding areas. You can also see the Blue Mountains and the area beaches in the distance. It reminded me of being up in the St. Louis Arch and being able to look out at everything.
These are four really neat kids. They are polite and fun to be around. They each even wrote me a very nice thank you card for teaching them “American things.” If you had asked me a few months ago if I would be up for walking around this massive city being responsible for four children, I’m not sure I would have felt very confident. But it was great! They were also loving that they could share some of their favorites (favourites) and some new things I hadn’t yet explored. They knew that you have to wait at the crosswalk or you’ll get run over, you have to stay together on the busy sidewalks or you’ll get separated, and that if you are wasting time arguing you must not be having fun. There was very little arguing all day! J The girls both held my hands as we walked around and gave me numerous hugs and thank you’s throughout the day. Being NEEDED felt pretty awesome those several days! ;)
This is in Hyde Park. The kids said they love this area because it looks like you are walking through a fairy tale by how the trees look. 
This is a bird I've seen a lot but the kids told me it is called an "Ibis" (I- biss). 
This was a view from the Sydney Tower and you can see the Harbour Bridge in the distance. 
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