Real World Tutoring

A child’s drawing of a green monster with long eyelashes, antennae, and a heart on its chest. There are small black and white hearts all around the creature.

Art by Fishy

There is no one on earth quite like your child.

What are their unique gifts? How can we use their joys and obsessions to motivate them, while also challenging them to grow outside their comfort zone? How can we structure sessions to meet their physical, emotional, and neurological needs?

I love asking these questions! As a special education teacher, making individualized education plans is my passion.

All life is intelligent.

There are a million ways to be smart, inspired, creative, and successful. That’s why you won’t see me assigning grades. Instead, I give detailed, actionable feedback on your child’s strengths and areas to work on.

I respect your child’s autonomy and intrinsic motivation - that is, their inner drive to grow and succeed. I have years of experience as a DIR / Floortime therapist, so I always think about your child as a whole person, while working to make the most of your family dynamics.

I don’t do arbitrary academics “because you have to!” Instead, I find ways to situate learning in real world contexts and build real life skills.

An older child’s drawing of a cuttlefish with bright colors like aqua, orange, yellow, turquoise, and hot pink.

Art by Fishy

Let’s create something meaningful.

I bring lots of tips and tricks from 15 years in education and developmental therapy - but I’m always learning more. You are the expert on your child. So I’ll listen and consult with you before I design a custom plan for balanced learning and skills development.

A few examples of what we might work on:

  • Boosting your child’s reading with phonemic awareness, word study practice, and fun books, poems, and songs.

  • Holistic writing support to practice essential mechanics and nourish the creative elements that give stories their spark.

  • Math incorporating music, movement, hands-on materials, and reflective discussion on real world problems.

  • Positive behavior plans, graphic organizers, scheduling support, and other tools to maximize your child’s agency and executive functioning.

  • High-level support for older students in language arts and writing. I have a master’s degree in Creative Writing and I’m an award-winning writer and public speaker - I love helping you bring your creative vision to life!

  • Family homeschooling support - I’ll help you design a balanced curriculum and schedule for less resistance and more momentum.

I have a proven track record of success.

When I taught special education in Chicago Public Schools, my students met or exceeded more than 95% of their IEP goals.

When I worked as a developmental therapist managing a family education program, 100% of parents reported that my program made their children more prepared for school.

I’ll assess your child’s skills early on and take data along the way so we can measure your child’s growth. I constantly assess my teaching as well, adjusting and adapting interventions to create the most successful outcome for your child.

Collage of images and writing from 2 young children. They stand at a white board pointing at a rocket, use a spoon as a catapult, and play with sensory “snow.” A child’s writing reads, “I’m shooting the spoon into the moon but it fell in the water."

Writing is a highly complex skill! I worked with two first graders who hated it - so we focused first on storytelling, boosting speaking and sequencing skills by retelling Frank Asch’s masterpiece MOONCAKE. My friends laughed and squealed with joy as they re-told the story, recorded their own audiobook, acted scenes out with props, made “snow,” and moved their bodies with “reading rocket” skills drills. Amid this excitement, I snuck in lessons on planning, revision, word study, developmental spelling, and punctuation. My friends made major progress in their writing skills - and had so much fun, they forgot they hated writing.

Fun is essential.

An image of a game board for two children using a ten-frame for math. The children’s photos are covered by smiley faces. There are emojis of dice, music symbols, and a party popper with confetti.

I don't do tutoring without at least a little fun. Fun motivates us to get through the hard parts and builds stronger connections across the brain. Whether we use games, songs, skill drills to get the body moving, or silly stories, I always look for developmentally appropriate ways to infuse our work with joy.

🎶Agua de limón, vamos a jugar…🎶 I love using low-stakes, high-fun games, music, and movement to help kids strengthen skills in real-life contexts while forgetting that they’re working hard.

My rates are reasonable.

I charge on a sliding scale - from $100 to $40 per one hour session. Keep in mind that a session can take up to two hours of work on my end. I offer discounts for packages!

Each session includes notes or a mini-conference with you with tips on how to follow up and help your child retain the learning.

If you’re able to meet your food and housing needs comfortably, please give generously so I can serve more families who need the lower end of the scale. Visit the pay page for more sliding scale guidance.

What’s on your mind?

What’s unique and amazing about your child? What’s feeling unmanageable? What are you hoping for, dreaming about, or concerned about?

Click the button below to schedule a free phone or Zoom consultation via Calendly. I’d love to meet you and learn more about you and your family.

Schedule a free consultation. Click for Calendly link.
A child’s drawing of a smiling yellow axolotl wearing an orange sweater with a purple collar.

Art by Fishy

“Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.”

Albert Einstein