Been asked to teach a traveller child to understand numbers and letters

I work on the sea front at blackpool and we have a few Irish travellers selling heather and "lucky" charms outside the arcade I work at. They bring their children with them and they play in the arcade all day on ticket redemption machines. No matter how many tickets they win, they can't read the numbers of how many tickets they have to redeem. I've been asked (by their parents) to try and teach them basics as they seem to have latched on to me (which I don't mind cause they are really just cheeky monkeys who need something to keep them occupied) They are 5 and 8 years old. I started teaching my son from a very early age, so do i revert to that teaching and presume they know nothing?? Believe me, i don't want to upset anything but they both are happy to learn if i teach them. I don't want to treat them like babies if you know what I mean.

Rain, this is a great opportunity for you. Traveller kids do want to learn and they won´t feel like you are treating them like kids. My dad worked for many years with traveller and adult with learning problems and he said they are great people and very easy to work with and they were very grateful to him for the work he did.. Best of luck Rain but as these kids seemed to have latched on to you, you will have no problems teaching them

A teacher friend of mine has said she sometimes wishes that the other kids would be as eager to learn as the traveller kids, she is full of admiration for them. I am sure you will find the right way to teach them, Rain, just follow your instincts :)