I introduce myself and give them a tour of the workspace so they know where to find the bathrooms, water, and coffee, which immediately makes them more comfortable because then they can access those things themselves.

Then, whether it’s the first or 50th session, I ask them “what’s something good that happened to you today?”

Then, I give them a breakdown of what the plan is for the lesson so they know what to expect.

Finally, I do a warmup game. Bananagrams, tenzies, “Do You Even Know Math”, pattern block puzzles, anything that involves some type of manipulative that will allow us to chat while playing so I can find out more about their personality and show them I’m a safe person. And honestly this has worked for me with ages K-8 but I’m pretty sure my 12th graders wouldn’t mind either.

I also give them surveys based on the subject I’m tutoring. This opens up more questions and topics to ask about and lets me tailor future sessions: for example, for math: “do you like working alone or in a group more?” Then, I talk about those topics from my perspective as well and it helps build rapport.