Ask Micki: Mom wants to get involved

© ilco

Question: Hi, Micki.  I have a rare sighting that I want to share with you today.  It's a sighting that I rarely see when tutoring kids of the 21st century...

A mom who wants to get involved without being a total helicopter parent about it! :)

All joking aside, it is pretty refreshing, but I am stuck.  How can I get her involved with my tutee's math tutoring (2nd grader working on fractions right now)?

Thanks a lot!
Becca from FL

Answer: Hi, Becca, thanks for the chuckle!  It's great to hear that you have a tutee whose parent is enthusiastic, and wants to bet involved without helicopter parenting the lessons and tutoring. 

There are a definitely a few things that you can do to get Mom in on the math tutoring so that she can help your student throughout the week, between tutoring sessions.

1. Playtime
Have Mom play some fraction type games with her son.  I know, they sound boring, but trust me when I say that they can be made fun.  Paper crafted pizzas, cakes, and pies can easily be turned into a restaurant game - tons of fun!  Mom can order different combinations of foods, and have her son put the order together before delivering it to her.  She can even "tip" her waiter according to how correct her order was!

These paper fraction foods can also be used in a bakery or grocery store games, and Mom can place orders for various food combinations, just like with the restaurant game.  

2. Interim Tutoring
Have Mom supervise, and support, during her son's homework.  Something tells me this Mom already does this, but just in case she doesn't, get her involved.  Make sure she knows how important it is for her to check over her son's homework, and make sure that she feels comfortable stepping in as an interim tutor if he is having trouble with fractions between tutoring sessions. 

3. Question and Answer
Have Mom ask questions that get her son talking about his studies (in this instance, fractions).  Have you ever noticed that when you talk to someone else about concepts, they tend to stick in your brain?  By getting her son to talk about fractions, Mom will be able to help her son understand and verbalize his new subject matter.

4. Learning Everywhere
Make every day, and every event, a learning opportunity.  If the family heads out to a pizza parlor (yes, I love pizza!), Mom can have her son talk about the fractions involved for each whole pie.  If they go to a store, a baseball game, an arcade...wherever they go, have Mom keeping an eye out for fraction lessons that can be casually worked in to the event.

Good luck, and enjoy the great tutoring environment you have there.  Say thanks to his Mom for me, too - she sounds like a good parent!

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