Tutoring Breakthrough

I had a breakthrough yesterday when I was tutoring my elementary student in math.  We've been working on multiplication/division and large number addition/subtraction for months, but it just didn't seem to "stick".  I've known all this time about his love for literature, WWII, Italy, and history in general.

Yesterday, I decided to use real facts and figures from WWII to create addition/subtraction/multiplication/division problems for our tutoring session.  And......(drum roll)......IT WORKED!  He had a blast because it was all centered around his love for WWII AND he was thinking critically about what multiplication REALLY means and how it can be applied in real life! (YAY!)

Why didn't I do this before?  DUH! I've tried all sorts of other games (computer games, card games, games I made up myself) to practice these concepts, and they were all fun in the moment, but didn't really become a long term solution.  I'm so excited about this new teaching method and can't wait to have him over for his math tutoring session next week so we can keep practicing.

He's SO smart and such a unique and fun kid, I really hope that I can make a difference in his life (even if it's just tricks to help him learn his times tables), and make learning math more fun in the future! :)

Here's to a new breakthrough and to more fun and exciting tutoring time!