Journal Entry #3 - April 12th 2005

Oh my gosh, we made a mess.

Today I brought in a T-shirt for my Mentee to paint. I've got four large packing boxes of fabric paint, so since I didn't have to buy anything but the shirt it was no big deal for an activity. I also brought in some brushes, glitter, and a ton of newspaper to cover the table with. The newspaper was the best idea I've ever had, seriously. We got paint everywhere. By the time we were done, she had managed to completely cover her forearms in paint, from setting them down on the shirt by accident.

It was really fun though. She decorated her shirt with her name, and then a ton of glow -in-the-dark stars and flowers. She says she's going to put it up on her wall, because it will match her room.

I also had her fill out the new mentoring contract, and we talked a bit while we painted. She didn't "pass" the standardized math test thing that they make students take, to judge where the school is and where the students are. This was one more thing to make me think that a good goal for this term with her will be to help her find ways to raise her math grade, and be more comfortable and confidant doing math. I am not so great at math myself, so I definitely understand the yuckyness of it.

Maybe some good ways to start would be having her think about what exactly does she have the most trouble with, and relaying that to her math teacher. Maybe her math teacher might know some good things to do or even tutors to help her develop better math skills.

It was a good meeting. I completely enjoyed myself, and I think she did too, because she kept asking me if she could stay later and miss some of her next class. I think next week we'll start on trying to figure out how to develop the math thing, that sounds like a good plan to me.