#Bestofall – Virtual Tutoring

Summer Session of 1-1 Tutoring begins

Our first week of summer session is complete and it has begun with some amazing #bestofall moments. Today we will highlight the tutors.

Firstly, we have 15 tutors and 7 of those are new to this program. As this program is currently being taught virtually, the tutors have much more flexibility. We have tutors currently in Mexico, California, Syracuse and Connecticut. All of our tutors have gone above and beyond to learn our new virtual program and to begin to create their own activities and presentations for our students to be able to provide a truly individualized program for all our wonderful participants. One tutor who had previously tutored in the Playhouse before the pandemic said “wow- I love the new tracker, so much easier” and one of our new tutors who was really nervous that the technology would let her down commented “it went great, we had so much fun!” 

Some of our tutors have been with us from the beginning, trying to navigate the world of virtual tutoring. You have been amazing and have helped us make this program bigger and better – thank you for persevering with the different virtual platforms we have thrown at you and the technical issues we have encountered along the way!

Julianna and her student share a book together.

Each of our tutors were provided with as much information about their student as possible. All our tutors used this to create materials to initially entice them in the first session and to begin to build up a relationship. One tutor read that her 19-year-old student had a love for WWE, the tutor also likes WWE, so she was able to incorporate pictures of wrestlers into her math activity. This sparked an amazing conversation between tutor and student discussing who their favorite wrestler was. This made Matthew relaxed and immediately engaged him in the session. #bestofall

Maria, one of our experienced math tutors, called me to check that her presentations were ok. As I left the call, I said thanks so much for your time and Maria responded – “no – thank you – this is so much fun! It’s just weird not being with them, so I want to make it different, engaging and fun. I have enjoyed creating these.” Maria remembered that her student, Kacie, liked using the pattern tiles in the playhouse, so she created a presentation to allow her to move and match shapes to make a flower! #bestofall

Brianna- one of our tutors who had been tutoring her student for 3 sessions now (2 at the playhouse and one virtually) emailed me to say that they wouldn’t be tutoring this week as Jacob’s mum had invited her to attend his graduation from elementary school. Brianna knew that Jacob’s favorite movie is Toy Story, so she painted him this brilliant gift. Being a tutor can be immensely rewarding and those relationships are most certainly built. Congratulations to Jacob on your graduation! #bestofall

Brianna with her student, Jacob.

Another Tutor, Virginia has incorporated her students love of Frozen to their math sessions, there is often a guest appearance from Olaf to tell Jude how awesome he has been, learning his addition facts!

Whether we are meeting our students for the first time virtually or continuing to build an already established relationship, using the computer can be a little challenging but our resourceful tutors are trying to make it fun, purposeful and engaging. Demonstrating their #bestofall always.

We also need to give a big shout out to all the parents who are there to help with technical issues, to let us know what the students are pointing to and for being their cheerleaders. #Bestofall

It’s only the first week and we are most certainly #strongertogether.

Are you interested in becoming a part of this amazing tutor team? Please complete the volunteer interest form and we can get you trained and orientated before the Fall session – you will be able to choose to tutor virtually or possibly in person if we are given the go ahead to re-open!

Recent Posts

A Volunteer’s Determination, Love, and Commitment

Carol Altomare, our incredible GiGi's Kitchen Program Leader, always goes above and beyond. During the dark days of the Pandemic, Carol and her daughter, Christine,...
IMG_0422-1

Being Part of This Family

As the holiday season starts, I reflect on my one-year anniversary at GiGi’s Playhouse. I am grateful for the connections made and the valuable experiences...

GiGi’s, Friends, Connect, and Family

Each month, we host a family group on the first Saturday at 10:00 am. All families are welcome, but we typically welcome families with children...

Leave a Comment