On to tens and ones!

We got odds and evens! We got odds and evens! We got odds and evens hey hey hey hey!

After about four weeks of explaining the same thing, my first grader (Clarification: my tutee. I don't have any kids that I know of) FINALLY got odds and evens. For those of you who care, I drew lines of ants walking two by two. Then we played a variation on the game war. Whoever had the even number won the hand. We verified even numbers by looking at the ant conga-line. I was very giddy.

(Side note: CentroNia is still looking for tutors. Get a first grader of your very own!)

We also read "Olivia saves the circus" and "Duck for President" which I totally recommend along with "Click, Clack, Moo", "Why animals should definitely not wear clothing" and of course anything by Sandra Boynton. I also read "Dinosaurios de Danny."

This whole bilingual thing is fascinating. For example, my first grader speaks Spanish at home and attends a bilingual school. Yesterday his teacher, in Spanish, asked him to do something and then asked that he repeat it back to her. He did but in English. I had an entire conversation with another tutor (in English) who said "pero" instead of "but." She switches back and forth for no apparent reason (unless talking to an obvious gringo like myself) ...even her 3 year old daughter does it!

It seems like a mindset thing to me. Sometimes, I have absolutely no problem speaking, reading, or thinking in Spanish. But if I get distracted I switch back to English. Although, this is a little different because I am by no means bilingual.

I may have to embrace my geekdom and read up on this. Speaking of geekdom, I'm writing another article. What do we think -- California condors or a snail threatened by coal mining?