Ask Micki: Free or cheap math tutoring supplies?

© RAWKU5

Question: Hi, Micki. I have a quick question for you. I have just started tutoring really recently, as in a few days ago, and I was wondering if you could help me figure out what supplies to get.

I tutor math to elementary school children, and I am looking for some fun math supplies to get that will make tutoring a little more exciting for my tutees. 

The thing is, I am also on an extremely tight budget.  I'm a single mom to 2 kids, and don't have much expendable income after bills, food, and everyday life expenses.

Any ideas that won't cost anything, but will be fun (and educational) for my little math tutees?
Thanks for your help, Micki,
Angie (ITA tutor from CA) 

Answer: Hi, Angie! Good for you, wanting to make math more fun for the kids while still teaching them what they need to know - your tutees will love you for it! 

The good news is, it doesn't have to cost a fortune to have fun math learning tools on hand for your tutees.  In fact, it can range from free to only a few cents in printing costs.

Your first stop should be right here at ITA!
Check out the resources that we have just for math tutors:
http://www.scribd.com/collections/2907423/Mathematics

Some of these will obviously be a bit out of range for your elementary school math needs, but a lot of them will work great for your tutees.  Best of all, they are free!

There are also some free resources out there for math tutors that can be found online.  Head to your favorite search engine, type in, "printable free math resources," "printable math tutor worksheets free" or something along those lines, and take your pick of some good resources for math tutors.  A word of caution: the majority of these resources will be for personal use only.  In other words, you can't reproduce these and sell them, claim them as your own, etc.  But they should be just fine for what you will be using them for - tutoring your math tutees. 

Last but not least, don't overlook your own creativity! Try your hand at making paper (or clay) pizzas and pies for fraction work, colorful worksheets for addition, fun little quizzes for subtraction, math games, flashcards, etc.  Get creative, keep it colorful, have fun, and ask about what types of things your tutee kids would like to see (Dinosaurs, Cowboys, Sharks, Horses, etc.).  Not sure what age your own children are, but if they are about the same age as your tutees, try running some ideas past them. 

Good luck, and stop by when you get a chance to let us know how things worked out for you!

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Photo Credit: © sxc.hu/RAWKU5

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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Photo Credit: © sxc.hu/ilco
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ilco

Ask Micki: How to Spark Math Enthusiasm.

© thegnome54

Question: Hi, Micki. I am working with a really great young kid who is just starting out in the world of mathematics.

We have just started working on the basics of addition and subtraction, but my tutee is kind of losing focus and excitement.  I think he's finding this a little tougher than it was at first, and his enthusiasm is waning a little.

Any idea how I can add some spark to the tutoring sessions, and make boring addition and subtraction more entertaining?

This will be his first year of school, and I am trying to get him started off on the right foot without boring him in the process - Thanks!
Pete W., WI

Answer: Hey, Pete, thanks for the great question! It's nice to know that there are tutors like you out there who are willing to go the extra mile to make math fun for kids!

The really good news is that addition and subtraction can both be made much more fun, for both you and your young tutee, by adding a few colorful games and puzzles into the mix. 

For example, maybe you can cut out some of his favorite shapes and work with those to physically show the results of adding and subtracting numbers.  If he loves dinosaurs, cut out 10 Triceratops, 10 T-Rex, 10 Pterodactyl, 10 Stegosaurus, 10 Plesiosaur...you get the idea.  Then, you two can take some time adding together each of the dinosaur types.

If we take away two Stegosauruses, how many do we have left?
Or: If we add three T-Rexes to five Triceratops, how many dinosaurs are there total?

You can also reach for some dice to add a gaming element to the math tutoring.  Dice have numbers (a necessity for adding and subtracting!), they are fun to roll, and (thanks to the dynamics of rolling the dice) they offer you an ever changing array of math possibilities.

Another popular method is to put together games and worksheets that look like tests or homework, but much more fun.  Brighten up boring black and white equations with some stickers and pictures.  Make up fun scenarios about why these equations have to be worked out - one tutor I knew created a whole scenario about a time machine, and how working out 10 equations would allow the time machine to take the tutee anywhere in time he wanted to go.

These fun versions of tests and homework sheets are also good, because they will help your tutee get used to the format of the tests and homework sheets he will see in school for the next several years.

And don't forget to check out the ITA resources for some addition and subtraction games that are sure to add some zest to your math tutoring!

Good luck and happy tutoring!
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Photo credits: © sxc.hu/thegnome54
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/thegnome54

Ask Micki: How to help a young tutor get excited about fractions

After answering my most recent question about getting a tutee more enthusiastic about math sessions, I was inspired to keep the positive vibes going and answer this question that deals with the same sort of topic...enjoy!

Question: Hi, Micki. I am working with a really bright little girl who just started the first grade and is working with fractions for the first time. We're going to be going over them during our next few sessions and I was hoping you might have some suggestions for how to make them more fun than they are right now. I'm thinking black print on a boring white page is just not as exciting as it could be. Thanks!

Answer: Thanks for the great question! I love fractions for kids because there are so many great ways to make them a lot more fun.

Pizza, for example, is a great way to work with fractions. Having a mathematical pizza party is always a winner - just get a few pictures of different pizzas and cut them up into various fraction pieces. Then, have your tutee mix and match how much of each type of pizza he or she wants.

This exercise also works for slightly older tutees as they begin adding or subtracting fractions - the tutee takes various slices and adds them up as he or she "orders."

Technically even multiplication or division works. For division, give your tutee a set number of pizza slices and determine how many party goers need to be fed. For multiplication, determine the number of "guests" and figure out how much pizza you'll need if each person wants one slice, two slices, etc.

You could do the same with cake, pie, or anything else that is bright, fun, and can be segmented into pieces.

Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!