The Power of High Expectations: Literacy One-on-One Tutoring

I had the opportunity to volunteer at GiGi’s Playhouse in Annapolis as a literacy tutor this summer and it was a remarkable experience. I had previously volunteered for GiGi’s Playhouse in Utah, and have such fond memories of watching the children relish their successes. So, after moving to Maryland for school, I gravitated towards the welcoming and positive GiGi’s Playhouse community again.

During the Literacy Pilot summer session, I tutored Sierra, which was initially very challenging. Sierra was anxious about her new surroundings and retreated to a hiding place. After a couple sessions, she became much more comfortable with me and coming to GiGi’s Playhouse for the one-on-one literacy tutoring with her Mom. She became an eager learner and reader over the six weeks meeting with me. Watching her excitement as she read books was so rewarding. In such a short time, Sierra accomplished so much and improved greatly.

Over the six weeks, Sierra became more confident about her environment and chose to sit in the little chairs in the Learning Lab and accepted mom observing the session from an I-Pad in an adjoining room. In two weeks, Sierra progressed from not wanting to speak, to verbalizing and identifying only uppercase letters when asked, and working for 30 minutes straight. Her mom started working with her daily on tutoring “homework.” By the third session, she identified upper and lowercase letters and read an AA level book, even with the pictures covered! By the end of the Pilot program, Sierra wrote words from the AA-level books, identified sight words and proudly read aloud 5 AA-level books and wanted to be on video! Her mom was so pleased, as was Sierra! We all can’t wait to see how she progresses in the future. Sierra demonstrated our participant “Best of All” this month! – Reflection by Brysen

At the conclusion of the Literacy Pilot Program, Sherry, Sierra’s mom, wrote, “I want you to know that I am so grateful to GiGi’s Playhouse for this Literacy Program and to you, Karen (Tollestrup, the Literacy Coordinator), and Brysen (her tutor) for all of the work you are doing with my daughter Sierra. My heart was overflowing today watching the excitement and determination in my daughter’s face while reading book after book. Not only was I proud of her but more importantly, she was proud of herself! I can’t wait to see what the future of this program holds.”

Here’s what others are saying:

I recommend volunteering at GiGi’s Playhouse to anyone who would like to make a difference in their community. The children at GiGi’s Playhouse are so loving and grow in their enthusiasm to learn. I can honestly say, from my perspective, Sierra benefited me more than I did her. – Brysen (Tutor)

I felt an immediate connection to Sean with his bright smile, heaps of energy and enthusiasm. After the first session I left feeling on top of the world. The experience remained positive for me over the pilot program. Sean and I bonded over rhyming-focused educational board games and reading books with rhyming words. I especially enjoyed interacting with him while matching the names of his family members in his family book. His lovely mom Tressa was actively helpful during our sessions and Sean loved having her by his side. The overall experience of tutoring at GiGi’s has been enriching and has given me the balance I needed in my life. – Jill (Tutor) 

We are thrilled to see the progress our participants made in a short time. As we believe at GiGi’s Playhouse, “It is a daily challenge to do a little better than you did the day before, and it’s always celebrated.” Sierra’s positive progression from being anxious to ultimately fully engaging in the one-on-one tutoring experience was rewarding. We know that each child develops at his or her own pace and Brysen had high expectations and encouraged her to reach for her personal “Best of All” at each tutoring session. – Judy (Site Coordinator)

GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis One-on-One Literacy Tutoring applications are open until September 15th for children and adults with Down syndrome and for people interested in becoming trained as a tutor for the Fall session running from October 1^st through December 15^th, 2018.