You get a break from vacation stories today because I started tutoring a new student. His name is Thomas and he's in 2nd grade. His mother emailed me last week asking if I could tutor him three days a week in reading and math. Three days? He's in 2nd grade! I suggested we start with two and see how it goes, mainly because Friday is my dinner social day, so that's just not happening.

His dad brought him this afternoon and waited in the car with the other son during our hour session. I invited them in, but he said it would be better if both boys weren't together. Turns out he was right. First of all he was terrified by the dogs. Granted they come on too strong, but I assured him they wouldn't hurt him and they would settle down quickly. I put them outside till they calmed down, then brought them back in, and he was fine. Hopefully we won't have to go through that every time.

And what to say about Thomas? Keeping him on task was incredibly hard, but I managed with a few time outs for conversation. He asked several times if I could invite his family over for dinner and all I could say was, "Maybe sometime." He went to a private school for the last two years and is way behind now. Once I asked him what 99 + 1 is and he answered, "I'm only in 2nd grade!" By the end of the session he could do it, but whether he remembers it tomorrow or not is totally up in the air.

Afterwards I visited with his dad for a few minutes and he said that his kindergarten teacher said he was autistic as well as ADHD and needed medication, which they were skeptical of. They had him tested, he was neither, so they moved him to the private school. He's definitely behind but I think possibly because of the private school, so we'll see how it goes. This will certainly be a challenge, but I'm up for it!

Now don't you wish we were still talking about my vacation?