I still tutor a day a week at our county jail. I have had many students trying to improve their English. I have had Karen ( Burma), Hmong, Somali, and Mexicans. Sometimes the problem is with their pronunciation and other times it is building vocabulary. I have had 2 "illegal" Mexicans recently and theirs are sad stories. Both were discharged from the jail and then go to detention somewhere else to be deported to just over the border. How does one survive with no money and still very far from home in Mexico for each? One leaves behind a 4 year old daughter.
I have also had young adults who do not read. not at all. They are severely dyslexic. I wish I knew more about how to help them. I did some research and watched a video from one program but it's a lot of guess work and trial and error for me. I do enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out what would work.
I entered two pattern review contests and then did nothing! nada! zip! But I am trying again with the "UFO" , unfinished object contest. I have a whole lot of them. I started taking photos and organizing them. Then when I tried to install Microsoft security essentials, a free anti virus program I used previously, it infected my system with a lot of garbage I didn't want. I tried to remove it and still had a redirect out of my home page on yahoo, and more. I had to reinstall everything on the computer and lost all the photos I had taken, and also all the music I spent about 10 hours uploading to my laptop! alas!
My mother had open heart surgery two mornings ago. They don't want us visiting today so I am home catching up on chores. Maybe I can start over taking those photos and get some momentum going! They are baby clothes using Burda patterns. I cut out and started sewing about 30 pieces probably over 10 years ago. I can't just plan and make ONE baby outfit you know. I think,, oh it wouldn't be that much longer to make THIRTY! Then I get busy and overwhelmed and it sits in a basket for 10 years.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
another July 4th gone by
Not one blog post in an entire year! Something was wrong that people couldn't seem to comment and I felt I was talking to myself. I think this is the case!
I did teach sewing classes to Karen children aged 10 up and Karen women with another woman. She is from First Baptist in St. Paul and we taught at Christ Lutheran which used to have a large Hmong sewing program and craft shop. It was exciting, but frustrating. The other woman's husband was dying of cancer and often there was little to no communication with her. We had machines quit working. I bought machines on craigslist and ebay and lugged them back and forth. We needed larger pieces of fabric for the girls to move on to making a garment. I went around picking up donations of fabric and organizing them and then lugging to class where even the adults unfolded and tossed pieces aside until I stopped them.
Another woman came forward to help me teach at the end. Both of the women were set up to sew at home at the end, with a floor lamp, a machine and the basics needed. This is really my goal. I can't make polar fleece hats etc for every needy person. I want to teach others to make them for themselves and others.
This summer I am attempting to do a "camp" type class once a week for these kids, when they aren't in summer school. I thought I'd request $1 to cover supplies and give them a chance to earn tickets by picking up trash they throw on the ground around their apartments. I let them use the tickets to purchase shoes I bought at yard sales, thrift stores and online. Well when the class came away all but one child claimed not to have $1 or one ticket! Also my plan of separating age groups and having a group for 1 1/2 hours really didn't work. I have still had several different activities for them to choose from but let them choose, do one, and go back to playing with their friends.
Finding helpers was very frustrating. My co teacher for sewing said she didn't want to help me. The other woman who taught at the end had rotator cuff surgery. I had 2 teen siblings forced by their mother to "try it" . hah! Lucky me! Another didn't show up at all nor let me know. The 9th grader and his mother were great but he's been at camp himself since the first time. It's very time consuming to plan activities and figure out each needed item, and lug it over there.
I did teach sewing classes to Karen children aged 10 up and Karen women with another woman. She is from First Baptist in St. Paul and we taught at Christ Lutheran which used to have a large Hmong sewing program and craft shop. It was exciting, but frustrating. The other woman's husband was dying of cancer and often there was little to no communication with her. We had machines quit working. I bought machines on craigslist and ebay and lugged them back and forth. We needed larger pieces of fabric for the girls to move on to making a garment. I went around picking up donations of fabric and organizing them and then lugging to class where even the adults unfolded and tossed pieces aside until I stopped them.
Another woman came forward to help me teach at the end. Both of the women were set up to sew at home at the end, with a floor lamp, a machine and the basics needed. This is really my goal. I can't make polar fleece hats etc for every needy person. I want to teach others to make them for themselves and others.
This summer I am attempting to do a "camp" type class once a week for these kids, when they aren't in summer school. I thought I'd request $1 to cover supplies and give them a chance to earn tickets by picking up trash they throw on the ground around their apartments. I let them use the tickets to purchase shoes I bought at yard sales, thrift stores and online. Well when the class came away all but one child claimed not to have $1 or one ticket! Also my plan of separating age groups and having a group for 1 1/2 hours really didn't work. I have still had several different activities for them to choose from but let them choose, do one, and go back to playing with their friends.
Finding helpers was very frustrating. My co teacher for sewing said she didn't want to help me. The other woman who taught at the end had rotator cuff surgery. I had 2 teen siblings forced by their mother to "try it" . hah! Lucky me! Another didn't show up at all nor let me know. The 9th grader and his mother were great but he's been at camp himself since the first time. It's very time consuming to plan activities and figure out each needed item, and lug it over there.
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