Most of the time, at the beginning of the school year, mentors seek advice from their students’ teachers about how to use the time with their student in positive ways. In the case of Mike and Trevin, the teacher suggested reading a chapter book together, because it seemed like Trevin’s love of reading was lagging this fall.
Before their next session, Mike stopped by the library and checked out a few Roald Dahl books. Dahl’s stories are a little bit quirky and different, just the kind Trevin might like. The idea of reading a chapter book together didn’t go well at all. Trevin was clearly not interested in any of the three choices. So, Mike set them aside temporarily, planning to come back to the idea after they played a game. After some fun with the game ‘Rush Hour’, Mike suggested they go outside, sit on the benches in front of the school and Trevin could eat a snack, while they started one of the books. He agreed with some hesitation, but just a few pages into the book, he was hooked!
When Mike got to school the next week, Trevin asked right away about the book. “Did you bring it?” “Yup!” Mike said, “Shall we start with reading today?” Trevin smiled, “Let’s go back outside and read it first.” Happily, they finished the book just as the hour wrapped up and Trevin was beaming. As they walked back to his classroom he asked, “Could you bring another book by the same author next week?” Success!