5 Tutoring Tips

5 Tutoring Tips

I recently completed my first year as a Classical Conversations tutor for a Foundations class, held on Monday mornings for 24 weeks of the school year.  My students were in the 6-9 year old range and my daughter was in the class.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know other CC children and their families, and serving as their tutor.  It also helped me create a routine for teaching myself the grammar and being prepared to work with my own children at home the rest of the week.

Here are some helpful tips for first year (or returning) Foundations tutors!


1.  Plan ahead You never know when the plan will change, but if you at least have a plan, you will be prepared and you will be able to spend all of your class time helping the students to really learn and enjoy learning.  I usually set aside time on Saturday mornings to read through the new Foundations grammar for the next week, plan out my lessons, and look for helpful resources in the things that I have at home or on C3.  I also did all of this on my computer, so that I could later go back and copy and paste new things into my basic lesson plan each week, but not have to re-type the entire document.

2.  Organize your information
I took this advice from another Foundations tutor at our practicum last summer. Before we began each semester, I took some time to print off all of the History Highlights and Science Snippets on card stock.  Then I placed them in page protectors, in order, and in a binder.  I used them each week while I tutored and at home.  Before our CC year began, I also organized file folders on my computer.  I made weekly folders and was able to find things on C3 and "file" them away where I could find them when I needed them.

3.  Assign seats
I know, this may not seem important to some of you.  However, if you start with assigned seats, then later you can relax about it, but the reverse is always harder.  I made nametags for each student and laminated them before we began.  I used them every week and after getting to know the kids, it was helpful to place their nametags at the tables each week. I didn't keep it the same every week, either, but I could make adjustments this way throughout the year.  As my class became more comfortable with each other, I began assigning them seats in a "boy, girl" pattern when there was too much talking going on.

4.  Behavior Guidelines
I also used some behavior guidelines and scripture verses on a laminated poster to promote positive behavior in our class.  We talked about it for about 5 minutes at the beginning of class during the first quarter and I gave them a short reminder after that of just reading through the headings and verses (about 3 minutes)  later in the year.  I had a great class, but this helped some of the children to improve their listening skills, work in a group, and be generally respectful to others.

5.  Have fun!
Yes, learning can be FUN!  We sang songs, made up rhymes and chants, did jumping jacks, obstacle courses, and other games while practicing our memory work.  We did not do all of these every week, but I did try to add some active movement or fun into parts of our class each week.  Keeping the children busy and learning at the same time created a positive atmosphere for everyone!

Playing "Scrambled States of America" for Geography review time

Blessings to you, tutors, as you serve other homeschooling families and learn more about God's world for yourself!
Rachel