With a quick search on YouTube and Netflix, we often find a film or documentary to complement our lesson for the day. Today, even though it's Saturday, I suggested we watch Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Trevor was enjoying the film until Dave walked in and said, "Why are you doing school on a Saturday?"

Hey Dad -- it was just a movie until you called it "school"!

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This month we had the opportunity to test out WeTutor -- an online tutoring service that's just launching. Not surprisingly, when I let Trevor know we were going to try tutoring, he was horrified. "But I'm doing well in school!" he protested. I assured him it would just be a few sessions, and that everyone can use a little work in some area.

And if you (like Trevor) are sitting there thinking, "My kid does great in school -- he doesn't need a tutor!" Let me mention that Trevor is an A-student in the 5th grade who is taking 6th grade math, 7th grade spelling, and reads at a high school level. Even he has areas he can work on. I guarantee that your child would benefit from an in-depth look at one area of study.

Trev's trouble spots are in math and writing. I spoke with Trev's teacher to get specifics on what we could work on, and he lent us a copy of their classroom math workbook. Don't overlook this step if you use WeTutor; it's very helpful to work jointly on the same topics at home and at school.

In total, we had four WeTutor sessions over two weeks. Despite his protests, all of the meetings ended with Trevor feeling energized about his work and smiling about his progress. After the first writing session, he asked when they would get to meet again. What a turnaround!

Signup is simple. Create an account for your child (there are slots for multiple children) and choose a tutor from the listings. You can drill down by grade, subject, topics within a subject, and keywords. This is where it helps to know where your child's teacher wants you to focus. It's much easier to find a good tutoring fit if you know to look for help in pre-algebra or geometry, versus simply "math." And every tutor appreciates being aware of specific trouble spots like strategy, memorization, or visualization.

Every tutor's profile page has grade levels, areas of expertise, qualifications, and availability listed. It's very easy to find a teacher to fit your schedule, as well as your subject needs. Hourly fees are also listed on profiles. Choose someone within your budget without the awkward, "How much do you charge?" conversation. Immediately after ending the tutoring session, parents click thorugh and pay via PalPal. I was relieved to be able to take care of payment instantly and electronically -- and I'm sure the tutors appreciate being paid right away without waiting for a check.

After picking two tutors, we wrote each a quick email via the message box on their profile. We requested a meeting time and heard back from both within a day. It's important to communicate with your tutor from the start to determine a few details so you aren't scrambling for supplies at the last minute and using up your teaching time. Some things to work out beforehand:

-- The time, date, and length of your meeting. Sessions default to an hour, but if your child needs more or less time, let you tutor know beforehand. If you know you only need one session for pre-test prep, now would be a good time to let the tutor know. Likewise, if you're hoping for weekly sessions at a set day and time, arrange that early in the process.

-- What items should you have on hand before the session starts? Paper and pencil are basics, but you may also need a calculator, workbook, textbook, etc.

-- How will you be communicating? WeTutor offers the option of calling your tutor and speaking via phone, text chatting in the Virtual Classroom, and audio/video within the Virtual Classroom. It's important to know which combination you'll be using beforehand to ensure you have the phone number, microphone, or webcam ready.

The two tutors we selected were both excellent. All tutors are qualified classroom teachers -- and it shows. They were keyed in to where Trevor should be for his grade and had a great handle on how to relay material in an understandable manner. I recall my high-school geometry tutor who was barely a year older than me. She tried, for sure, but without classroom experience, her lessons jumped around the topic and never really sunk in.

Our reading tutor zeroed in on Trevor's trouble spots within minutes of speaking with him. She noticed that he had great creative writing ideas, but his lack of speed with writing and typing made him dread writing assignments. She recommended a voice recorder for speaking his essays and typing them afterwards. She also suggested he keep a journal at home to practice the flow of writing -- which has since turned into a novel about a medieval knight who is a "mall cop" at the local marketplace. Whose kid didn't like writing?

Our math tutor also clicked instantly with Trevor. He was quick to praise good work and patient when Trev got stuck. His tone was casual and approachable, and once he found out they shared a similar interest in science fiction, he created some Artemis Fowl and video game-based math problems for our second meeting. You should have seen the dawning of comprehension on Trev's face when the tutor explained that magical resistances in Diablo II are actually complex percentage problems. It was one of those, "I've been doing this math in my head all along!" moments.

We were so impressed by our tutors, that I would love to share our findings in a recommendations/comments area on teacher profiles. We gave our tutors positive ratings, but it would be great to be able to convey their strengths to other parents. As a parent searching for a tutor, those subjective comments would go a long way toward informing our decision.

With our math tutor, we used a speakerphone and the Virtual Classroom. With our writing tutor, we tried chat-only and audio within the Virtual Classroom. The audio and phone worked seamlessly, but we were unable to see webcam images. It was easy enough to proceed without video, and I'm sure with a little practice we could have gotten it up and running.

The only session in which commnuication was a little difficult was the typing-only meeting. Trevor is a quick reader, but an excruciatingly slow typist. After a few frustrating minutes of him hunting and pecking, I took over and typed his verbal responses. Teachers have access to a practice classroom -- the same kind of practice area might be helpful to students and parents who are trying to set up audio and get used to the teaching environment.

During our second writing session, we made extensive use of the Virtual Classroom whiteboard. Our tutor walked us through a PowerPoint presentation, then did a brainstorming exercise using free-form shapes and text. Using the drawing and shape tools within the classroom, we created a brainstorming web very easily, then flipped between our web and a text document to write a short essay. We figured out the tools quickly, and appreciated the ease with which we could copy text from the brainstorming page to the paragraph page instead of retyping it.

We did find that the tutor's pointer didn't always match up with where we saw it. Our writing tutor pointed to a spot on the page and asked, "Can you put a better word here?" Trevor would move his cursor over hers and she'd say, "Not there... here," though to us it looked like the same spot. It wasn't a huge inconvenience, we just changed to more specific directions instead of relying on the cursors.

Overall, WeTutor was a very positive experience. Trevor enjoyed having one-on-one time with a new teacher, and in just a few hours he had some new strategies and tools for approaching his work. Dave was home for a couple of the sessions and was very impressed at the enthusiasm of the teachers and Trevor's exciement for the material. We'll be keeping our tutors bookmarked for future sessions and test-prep!

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Trevor and I have been learning about medieval times this summer. Last week, he and a friend prepared a feast for their parents at our house with authentic medieval dishes.

There were a lot of things to be cooked, so I prepped anything that needed chopping, boiling, or other prep work before the kids arrived. Each plate held the ingredients for one recipe. It's amazing how similar a glass of honey (right) looks to a glass of beef stock (left).

Clockwise from the top left:
Tart of Ryce (rice pudding) - orange juice, butter, egg yolks, sugar, rice, cinnamon, ginger
Meat Pyes (meat hand pies) - raisins, dates, prunes, vinegar, salt, pepper
Pyneade (pine nut candy) - honey, pine nuts, spices
Ember Day Tart (quiche) - grated mozarella, sage leaves, onion, raisins, eggs, spices
Almondegas (meatballs in soup) - beef broth, butter, spices, egg yolk, wheat flour, green onions



It took two hours for me to prep everything and the kids and I finished cooking 30 minutes before the parents were due. All in all, the decision to do a little mise en place was a good one.



The Ember Day Tart was good, a sweet and savory mix of raisins and onions. The pyneade, though it reached hard crack stage, didn't stay solid at room temperature. The meatballs in sauce were good, but most other things were overcooked, even though we followed the directions to a tee. And the kids had fun making fruits and vegetables out of marzipan.

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A couple of months ago, Trevor created a little terrarium in a mason jar for a scouting project. His parsley, oregano, and basil have been growing happily (if leggy) in there ever since. A few weeks later, he found a woolly bear caterpillar defying winter hibernation with a walk in the field and put him inside as well.

I fully expected the little guy to die in there -- who knew if woolly bears ate pizza herbs? But sure enough, we came downstairs one day to find that Barry the Caterpillar had spun himself a little brown cocoon in the warm corner of the jar nearest the candle I keep burning in the kitchen.

The other day, I saw a flutter in my peripheral vision. Barry had emerged as a lovely orange-ish Isabella Tiger Moth. He stayed inside for 24-hours to wait out a cold, rainy day, then we released him into the backyard.

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After school one day this week, Trevor came home to a plain brown envelope marked "Challenge" on his place at the kitchen table. Pinned to the back of the envelope was an index card that read, "Build a bridge that can hold three Lego people at least six inches off the ground using only the materials in this envelope."

Inside the envelope was a stack of flimsy paper strips, paperclips, scotch tape, and a glue stick. The first two bridge attempts ended in frustration. You can see the span that finally worked in the photo -- it took about 45 minutes to finally win the challenge.

All that fun from a stack of paper strips leftover from trimming direction cards with a paper cutter.

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