Ideas for Improvement: January 30th

When discussion ended, I asked my professor about my little and her reading and writing abilities. I told her about the journals we keep and explained the difficulties I see in my little's handwriting and spelling. She offered some helpful ideas, which will soon follow.

Each time I meet my little, we exchange our journals; she reads mine and I read hers. I have noticed that there is rarely any space between her words, and though her writing is very neat, her spelling is not very accurate. She does try, however, because the words are spelled phonetically. Also, for her latest entry, she wrote approximately three paragraphs, which shows that she puts a lot of effort into her work. It was quite an improvement from before break, but there is still much she can improve on.

One helpful idea my professor offered is to "capture" or write down words that I have difficulty reading. Before reading her journal entry, for instance, I can tell her that I have some difficulty reading her words because they are close together. Then I can proceed to read a few lines and show her where I have the trouble. I could even have her read it outloud to me so she notices the problem as well. For spelling, I can tell her before I read that I am going to "capture" the words that I notice are not spelled right. When finished reading, I can show her the list, and from here there are a couple of more options:

1.) Have her fix the spelling problems on her own if they are easy for her
2.) Make a game out of the words, maybe writing down every other letter for a word and having her fill in the blank letters to complete a properly spelled word

To continue with this activity, she could then read my entry and "capture" big words or hard to spell words. From here we could do the same thing as #2 from above.

Maybe this will help with her writing and spelling. I am also planning on contacting her teacher to talk about the progress she is making in class. I will ask:

What are her strenghths? Weaknesses?
How does she best communicate within the classroom?
Are there any worksheets or games we could work on together outside of the classroom to enhance her learning?

I am hoping to find ways to connect with my little not only socially but academically. I feel like her attitude towards school is somewhat apathetic. When I ask her how her day went at school, she usually answers with a simple "good" and looks for an activitiy to start. I want her to become passionate about learning and talking out in the open.

It is difficult some days to greet my little and to say goodbye; she is often not very personable, especially during these times. I must say, however, that there is a huge improvement from last semester. Today she brought in some pictures of her brother, sister, and cousin (without me asking!) and told me a story about what she does after school when she goes home. I noticed today how much more communicative she is while playing a game. Next week she wants to paint, so I hope this is another opportunity to learn more about her. I also cannot wait until it gets warmer outside! My little is VERY active and loves playing dodgeball, soccer, and other games with the group.