It was amazing seeing my little again after two weeks! I surprised her today by picking her up at her classroom door; she was not expecting me to be standing there!
We first read our journals, which she remembered to bring and even wrote four detailed entries. She really likes reading mine first, and I noticed that when she can find someway to relate with my experiences, she speaks up more and asks questions. Often she has trouble with some of the words, and when this happens, I usually wait a few seconds for her to figure it out on her own before I help her. Today, after a few difficult words, asked me to not help her. She wanted to do it all on her own! And the amazing thing is that she was almost always correct. This is tremendous progress not only in her reading skills but also in her self-confidence. Maybe this will lead to more reading when we are together because of her greater comfort level.
After this we went outside to play tag with some of the afterschool kids. This was the first time I ever really met her school friends. It was a good experience to see how she interacted with them and how I was just like one of them. It is critical for kids to have someone that is consistent and trustworthy in their lives.
Next we went back inside and spent some time with Amanda and her little. Amanda and I are both taking a literacy for ELL students course, and we wanted to do a little "experiment" with our littles. We went to the library and each wrote about our favorite dream vacation, and this helped both Amanda and I observe how each of them feel about and approach open-ended writing. My little was very insistent that she included everything she was supposed to and that she filled up the entire page. Amanda and I also wrote about our dream vacations, which I think gave them more incentive to stay focused and keep writing. I really liked how my little wrote about going to Miami and spending time at the beach. I have told her a lot about the beach, and she commented on how she would see the ocean and lots of "star shells." If either of them started to lose interest or did not know what else to write about, I asked them where they would after they went to their dream vacation spot. This opened many more doors and questions! I loved how we did not just write; we talked with each other, asking questions and sharing stories.
Amanda's little and mine are in the same ESL class. I was told today that my little had made the most artistic rabbit, which must have been an activity they were working on. I asked her to draw it in her next journal entry so I could see it.
We wanted to play Apples to Apples - her favorite board game - but we ran out of time!
I also did not have a moment to talk to her about becoming a "community little." I will have to set aside time to do that next week.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
March 12th
Today Monica did not bring her journal. I was a little disappointed because it has been two weeks since we last met. Instead of asking her why she forgot it, I just told her that I miss reading what she has to say and that I would love to share my journal with her. I wrote all about my vacation and also brought some seashells from the beach. She has never been to the beach, so looking through about twenty shells and also looking at some pictures that I brought amazed her! This was a great way for her to learn more about the world and also about my friends and what I do outside of school. After she looked at pictures of the beach and touched every shell, I let her choose a shell to bring home. She chose the biggest one, and I told her she could hear the ocean if she listened carefully!
We then went outside to play on the playground. As we were walking out, she was telling about her ESL test she took in the morning. I asked her how she thought it went, and she said it was really hard. Maybe I could talk to her ESL teacher and find out the results or what she needs more help on. I am also interested in how the ESL program works at St. Charles Elementary. One of the other littles just started in the program and his big told me that it lasts most of the morning at school. I am interested in what strategies they use to improve literacy during this time and how their progress is monitored.
After playing outside we came back in and played Jenga. This was an amazing bonding experience because we laughed and felt completely comfortable around each other. I could tell through her mannerisms and joking personality, which only happens occasionally. The suspense of the game also added to the excitement of the moment. She then wanted to play basketball, but she said she would only play if I played with her. That was a reassuring comment; I didn’t know she felt that comfortable around me. For the remainder of the time we played knockout, went outside to play Frisbee, and also played a tag game with other bigs and littles.
I noticed today that she instigated a lot of the activities. It was her idea to go outside, her idea to play Jenga, and her idea to race me outside before she was picked up. This is a definite change since the beginning of the year; there is a great increase in her confidence and comfort levels.
For my ED 330 class, Literacy for English Language Learners, we are to present on a special interest topic. Amanda and I hope to involve our littles somehow, maybe by comparing and contrasting their reading, writing, and speaking skills. This could be done through samples of their writing and an audio recording of them reading. I will have to ask Dawn about this to make sure it complies with BBBS rules.
We then went outside to play on the playground. As we were walking out, she was telling about her ESL test she took in the morning. I asked her how she thought it went, and she said it was really hard. Maybe I could talk to her ESL teacher and find out the results or what she needs more help on. I am also interested in how the ESL program works at St. Charles Elementary. One of the other littles just started in the program and his big told me that it lasts most of the morning at school. I am interested in what strategies they use to improve literacy during this time and how their progress is monitored.
After playing outside we came back in and played Jenga. This was an amazing bonding experience because we laughed and felt completely comfortable around each other. I could tell through her mannerisms and joking personality, which only happens occasionally. The suspense of the game also added to the excitement of the moment. She then wanted to play basketball, but she said she would only play if I played with her. That was a reassuring comment; I didn’t know she felt that comfortable around me. For the remainder of the time we played knockout, went outside to play Frisbee, and also played a tag game with other bigs and littles.
I noticed today that she instigated a lot of the activities. It was her idea to go outside, her idea to play Jenga, and her idea to race me outside before she was picked up. This is a definite change since the beginning of the year; there is a great increase in her confidence and comfort levels.
For my ED 330 class, Literacy for English Language Learners, we are to present on a special interest topic. Amanda and I hope to involve our littles somehow, maybe by comparing and contrasting their reading, writing, and speaking skills. This could be done through samples of their writing and an audio recording of them reading. I will have to ask Dawn about this to make sure it complies with BBBS rules.
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