Going beyond the boundries.....

Yesterday, I visited a new family. A mother and her two boys had been attending our group library sessions, but I have not been able to get to their home yet. What a privalege to be welcomed into the home of people who are not always welcoming to people who are not of their beliefs. Our session went wonderfully, we focused on ESL skills involving farm and farm animals. We had great fun, sang songs, counted, practiced colors, read stories, played with puppets and played a dice game called Ten-zie. There was something new about this day, the Mother approached me with a Gr 2 Study Guide for her older son. She could not understand it. It was written very simply, but the problem was the the context. She had no idea what the words meant (igloo, tents with animal skins, kayaks, dog sled, all terrain vehicles.) These families have no reference to vocabulary like this. They have just moved here from Mexico, they do not watch tv. She had no clue what these words meant. I was thrilled that she approached me with this, as this is what our program is all about. I first showed her pictures of these things on my iphone, so she could at least put a picture to the word. Later that day, I put together a simple study sheet for her to use with her son, which included pictures and large, simple writing. This will make her process of trying to help her son so much easier. Her son's teacher simply does not realize that these families cannot understand the things they are sending home. They don't know, what they don't know. I am pleased that our program could provide this support for this family and I can see more of this type of assistance being needed in the future.