We enjoyed a very productive and enriching session this afternoon. We began with Avelina practicing her 4 times table, requiring only an initial minimal prompt to elicit concurrent successful outcomes when answering problems. We then progressed to the 5 times table, and Avelina answered all correctly. I also worked in some word problems which I took from the novel we're reading. Avelina was afforded strategies to solve them and used them effectively to arrive at the correct answers. She was then asked to recall the meaning of previously acquired vocabulary words and to summarize where we left off in our novel. We discussed her diorama and Avelina explained what each component represented; we decided against getting sand to add to it today since she was outfitted in a beautiful dress and going to a party after her tutoring session. Next, we finished reading Chapter 7 in 'The Trumpet of the Swan'. Avelina successfully decoded several words and answered comprehension questions indicating excellent understanding. She also was asked what she thought the author's intent was by addressing the swan's "deficit," - not having a voice, and Avelina's comments were insightful and sensitive regardng the swan's challenges. I pointed out the italicized words and how to emphasize them when reading, and Avelina caught on quickly and read with enthusiasm and emphasis. She looked ahead to see the title of the next chapter and Avelina was excited to read that it was entitled, "Love," and she made predictions about what would happen in that chapter and in successive chapters. She enjoyed skimming the book to preview the illustrations and is looking forward to reading the next chapter, 'Love,' when we meet next week.