Elias

The past few weeks have been quite the experience. Tyler, Josh, Katherine, and I have committed to working with the SAY yes after-school tutoring program at New Life Covenant Church. It is here that we spend our afternoons (3-6pm)  working one-on-one with a child from the neighborhood. 

I've had the pleasure of working with a second grade boy named Elias. Elias is a great kid. He's definitely a handful, but it has been really fun getting to know him and working out creative ways to help him with his homework. 

Our first afternoon together we spent going over his science homework… Elias LOVES science. He knew every answer and was anxious to learn more about the planets and solar system. When he was done with his homework, we went to find a book to read and he immediately grabbed a book called “1000 facts about space.” Although the book was way above his reading level, he thumbed through the pages and told me everything he knew about mars, satellites, and spaceships. At one point, he transitioned from space to super powers. He told me: “I wish we had super powers, but God doesn’t give them to us cuz he knows we wouldn’t use ‘em right. But if I had super powers, I would just fly around and have chains and rope to tie up the bad guys for the police, and then I would just fly and stuff!” He stopped and thought for a few seconds, then continued saying “If my brother had super powers though, he would probably explode the world!!!!” I laughed in appreciation of his innocent outlook.

Yesterday, we worked on learning the value of coins and adding them together to make purchases. I found a game online where he was given the price of an item. He was then tasked with finding the correct combination of coins to help him buy the item. I couldn't stop laughing as he stood up and did a victory dance after every correct answer (wish I could have videotaped it!). Later we worked on reading and comprehension. While he was stubborn at first and refused to read, I was finally able to convince him that he was the teacher and I was the student. The idea of reading the story to me as I pretended to be a little kid seemed to please him. He ended up putting a sticker on his chin and pretending it was a loooong beard. He then proceeded to read in the deepest voice he could muster as he called me "young lady" and told me to sit down so he could show me the pictures :P. (It was pretty entertaining to listen to him, it was totally worth dealing with the frustration and stubborn attitude just prior to reading)

Elias brings a lot of frustration and a lot of joy into my life on a daily basis; however, I'm very excited to working with him in the weeks and months to come. I keep forgetting to take my camera to SAY yes! with me, but I promise to upload pictures of the kids there soon!