I Can't Stop Thinking about Spinning

Maizie was having a bit of a "moment" in regards to tutoring. She was feeling overwhelmed with math and a bit down on herself. Maizie works pretty hard on her tutoring work but math for her is so difficult that on some days she,"can't take it anymore".

I was so proud of the talk Maizie and I had about tutoring. I called her tutor, Jeannie and left a message that Maizie was feeling some intense math stress. I spent the rest of the morning obsessing about tutoring and whether or not it would continue to go well. We have had struggles before where it all just gets to be too much for Maizie. We have never given up but the work that goes on between Jeannie and me to make things work is pretty remarkable.

At tutoring Maizie sits across from the tutor on a chair that has wheels and can spin. Maizie has sat on this chair since we first began tutoring back in kindergarten. Maizie tells me, "When I am in the chair I just can't stop thinking about spinning! Spinning around and around!" We decided we better use a different chair from now on.

At this point Maizie had been crying and was getting tired so we had an "alternative" school day and played almost every board game we have, including Life...which takes F O R E V E R. I am a firm believer that games are a great learning tool and they put Maizie back into a happy, positive mood.

Once there Maizie immediately said, "We need to switch this chair to a no spin chair please." I was stunned. This showed such maturity and communication for Maizie. I was so proud of her. Jeannie brought in a 'no spin' chair and in between various math exercises they read riddles. Jeannie is amazing when it comes to devising new and creative ways to teach Maizie. Considering Maizie's attention span and sensitivities she is always having to "shake it up a bit". Maizie worked hard and did great. What a relief.