I just thought I'd give the future families a heads up about school work. You get so focused on adopting your child, then helping them transition and then life starts to happen. Dima seems to be settling into school well and is now bringing home schoolwork. We are discovering that it's not as easy as we expected. Fortunately, Dusty is better at Algebra than me so his job is to help Dima with that homework. We have some great friends that have been able to help us out since it's been so long since we've had Algebra. I think it looks different from when we did it so long ago. It's hard enough to figure out Algebra problems and then it's even harder to try and explain it to Dima somehow. It takes a while to do a few problems, but they are figuring the problems out. We haven't been able to find of if the problems are correct, watch us find out we are teaching him incorrectly! I have been helping Dima with Google Translating questions in his other subjects and helping him find the answers. It is still a little overwhelming, but he is really handling it well. We have to be patient with him. If we start to get impatient, he picks up on that and gets upset.
He loves his Earth Science class and luckily has learned some of the material before. The difficult thing now is learning it in English. It is time consuming to type up the questions in English and then try to have Dima find the answers in his book, but it seems to help him. He is actually starting to help read the questions to me where as before he seemed embarrassed to read out loud. For those that are adopting an older child, expect it to take some time at first trying to translate, but it is worth it.
Dima was not expected to do all the work that the others kids are doing, but he didn't want to just sit in class. He still has some classes where he is not able to do the work, but the teachers have been great in including him but not putting too much pressure on him. He seems to be responding well to that and looks forward to going to school. He is starting to talk about other kids in his class and we've heard that he is more comfortable in talking with other kids now. I am sure it will take some time until he can actually gain the courage to speak in class, but for now we are very happy with how he is progressing!
This past weekend, Dima finally got to Skype his good friend Artyr from Ukraine. His soon to be parents from Pleasant Gap, Pa are currently in Ukraine going through the adoption process. Dima was very happy to see his friend as were we. In just another month Artyr will be an American citizen! We are praying for them and can't wait for them to come home safely!
Viktor's teachers are very patient and helpful with him. He is allowed to have test questions read out loud and he can answer verbally rather than written. He can also use classroom aids. For example he had a test on the different parts of a microscope. He was allowed to point to the parts and name them out loud rather than a paper test. He also only does a few of the math problems and has a shorter test. The reading out loud has been VERY helpful as I can tell fairly easily when he doesn't know a word. And then I can ask him questions about what he read to see if he is comprehending the meaning. We were told that math is the toughest for ESL kids. There has been a significant amount of research on that I guess. I don't know why but it is very common that this is their biggest challenge for years to come.
ReplyDeleteViktor goes to a tutoring program 2 times a week, one hour of math/one hour of reading each time. It is expensive but it has REALLY increased his confidence. We are also looking at hiring a teacher for tutoring for the summer. I'd like to get Viktor in a few hours of math, reading, grammar, and writing each day to get him closer to 'caught up'. He has made remarkable strides but Viktor arrived not knowing the times tables at 12 years old. And some math concepts on addition and subtraction were even missing. Sylvan tested him at a 2nd grade level. We've been starting at the beginning and working our way forward. Is it costly? Yes. Is he worth it? YES! Building this foundation is a requirement for him to suceed in life.
Keep telling Dima that other kids go through this too. It is normal. But it is hard. And it will come. Viktor used to ask me 'When it come?'. Poor baby. I couldn't answer that! He used to feel so alone and isolated. And he used to be jealous of his brother who was born here. Just keep loving on him, it's a good opportunity for you to provide love and comfort when he's frustrated. Keep showing him that he IS making progress. Even though he can't see it, you can. And his teachers can. Keep that in front of him. If he ever wants to talk to my Viktor, I'm sure he'd be happy to provide some words of encouragement.
God Bless!
Janis