February 6th

Today I was greeted by my little by surprise! She jumped out from around the corner and tried to scare me, but ended up scaring the person in front of me instead!

My goal for today was to do some homework if she had any. I asked her right away if she had anything in her bag. She said, "Yep! I have my journal and some books to read." We started by going through our journals. She wanted to read mine first again. In my journal, I put a list of fun questions that I encouraged her to answer for next time. She asked, "what if I do not know the answers to all of them?" I told her to do her best and to not worry if she does not know some of the answers.

Something surprised me about her journal. Last time I was concerned about the spacing between her words and her spelling. In her most current entry, she wrote one page in a messy format where the words were all connected. On the next page, the writing was much more neat and was spaced correctly. I pointed out this difference and asked her if she could also notice it. She said that one was very messy and one was much better. Although some of the words were spelled incorrectly, I praised her for the improvement and decided we would focus on spelling for next time.

Today was a another GREAT day of progress. I showed her some pictures I had brought of my sister and my new baby nephew. She said I looked nothing like my sister! She also really liked the picture of the baby; I think she related in that she has a younger brother.

We also painted flowers for a short time, and then went to find the teachers lounge where puppy chow was being made! While eating it, we played "hi-ho Cherry-o!" Later we read part of a book and played volleyball and tag with the larger group. I feel like she is trusting me more and more each time and is learning to appreciate the time she has with me, as I am with her. There aren't really any words to explain this type of friendship. I am most thankful for the opportunity to help her discover her passions and goals.

My little's sister is now part of the program. I am hoping she is also gaining a lot from this experience, and maybe it will provide more ground for them to bond as well.

My goals for the remainder of the semester:

* Learn more about my little's academic abilities and find avenues to help
* Learn more about her family life and thoughts about school
* Develop more effective ESL strategies through my ED 330 class and find ways to apply them to my mentoring.
* Look at ways to embrace her Spanish language and culture.

What I hope to do next week:

* Make a game about improving her spelling in her journal.
* Bring a variety of Valentine's Day activities to choose from.
* Bring some fun quizes I found as well as some fun worksheets that develop greater critical thinking skills and knowledge of random facts.