We read 'Are You My Mother?' Jack enjoyed predicting what would happen next and recalling what happened. He did well identifying letter names. We played a game that involved reading the letter name and finding a picture on the board that began with that sound. Jack completed his 'All About Me' book and was very excited to show it to his mother. He enjoyed a cut and paste activity in which he cut out pictures of animals and pasted them into groups based on their body covering (feathers, fur/hair, scales/skin). We took a short, recess break in the middle of the hour.

Santino was prepared to work on some activities in the classroom today. He was in a very vocal mood and interactive with me. We worked on puzzle assembly, matching activities, sang some songs, and played with musical instruments. Santino asked for the guitar, verbalizing the word at the appropriate time, and was given high fives and verbal praise for doing so. I imitated the rhythmic patterns he initiated, using a variety of instruments to do so. Santino then became intrigued with a set of wooden striped sticks, so we counted them, produced sounds with them, and arranged them in different patterns. I identified the letters they resembled and attempted to get Santino to identify the letter. Although several prompts were needed, Santino occasionally repeated the letter and was reinforced for doing so. He presented me with his bottle and drank the contents of the juice I poured into it. As there was little remaining time left in the session, I read Santino a short story and described the illustrations that accompanied the text. I finished reading the story until Ingrid arrived to take him home.

Jack enjoyed the story 'Peek-a-boo Penguins'. He did well recalling the story and sequencing the events. Jack completed the next two pages of his 'Book About Me'. We worked on pencil grip a little bit. We will continue to gently work on the proper pencil grip which will which give Jack more control of his writing. Jack did well with number activities. He correctly matched the numeral to the picture of the correct number of objects. He also was able to add to a set of objects until the set had the number of objects written above the set. We did a listening activity in which Jack was given directions on what to write on or near different shapes. Jack enjoyed a brief recess outside midway through the hour.

Today's activities revolved around matching and sorting, and tracing letters. We used plastic food items to sort by color, and then watched a video that Santino favors which reinforces the colors and names the fruits. I next had Santino trace the letters of his name while seated alongside me at the table. After tracing two letters independently, Santino was afforded physical prompts to finish the task. Aimed with the knowledge that Santino is very responsive to tactile stimuli, I used kinesthetic-tactile alphabet tracing cards in efforts to engage him, facilitate his tracing skills, and increase his awareness and ability of letter formation. The molded grooves in each of the letter cards enable him to feel each letter, and directional arrows teach him their correct formation. Santino handed me his bottle, lay on the floor and took off his shoes and socks. I poured juice into the bottle and he listened to a story as he drank it and waited for his next teacher to arrive. As I left, I said, “Bye Santino’ and waved. He replied bye back, in a clear articulate voice and smiled coyly when I gave him a high five and thumbs up sign.

Santino requested his bottle of Pediasure, via gestures, as soon as his mom brought him into the classroom. He lay down on the rug, took off his shoes and socks, and quickly finished the bottle his mom gave him before she left. When finished, he was refreshed and ready to explore some classroom activities. He was quite vocal and in good spirits, so I echoed many of his melodic verbalizations and he repeated them back in a harmonious rapport. We used rhythm instruments to produce sounds and to feel the reverberations made. Santino favors the guitar of late, so he plucked a few strings but was most interested in the vibrations and structure of the instrument. Next, we worked on 2, 8, and 10 piece puzzles together after which we ordered magnetized letters in columns on a board. Santino and I finished off the session engaged in indoor motor activities. He followed my actions, giggling, as we skipped around the room, and he promptly listened to me when I asked him to get down off a chair on which he had climbed, repeating "get down" in a clear, articulate voice. Santino is most responsive to directives when issued in a firm manner. He also allowed me to take a glue stick away from him without protesting, all of which represent improvements we’ve seen over the year. As we had only minutes left to the session after putting away all our activities and materials, I read Santino a book that I saw he was eyeing. He listened attentively and contentedly as I read him "I Love You Mommy" while we awaited his next tutor to arrive.

With guidance, Santino placed his book bag in its proper place. He was in good spirits and eagerly gathered his current favorite objects within his reach. Seated at the table, Santino was given a puzzle activity requiring him to match pairs of objects based on their relationship to one another. This is an activity that can be completed based on visual perceptual abilities or knowledge of objects and their associations. We worked on assembling the puzzle sets together as I narrated how they were associated (e.g., the bird goes with the nest, the baseball goes with the mitt). Occasionally, Santino repeated a word after me, but his repetitions were mostly spontaneous and self-directed. My overall objective was to have him seated in the chair and focused on the activity on hand. Santino was somewhat interested initially, but turned his attention to some musical instruments and picked up a guitar. He verbalized the word 'guitar,' and examined the instrument carefully from all angles, occasionally plucking a string. I echoed the sounds he made on a tambourine, and we engaged in a back and forth exchange of rhythmic sound patterns. Santino then handed me his bottle and proceeded to sit on the floor, watching as I filled it with Pediasure. He took off his shoes, lay back, and drank his bottle as I read a book to him. He was very relaxed, vocalized contentedly, and was refreshed and alert when his next teacher arrived to teach the next class.

We started the session with reading, 'Miles & Miles of Reptiles'. Jack was engaged in the book, made comments and did well answering questions about the text. We are making a book about Jack. Today, he drew his face with the correct color hair, eyes and skin color. He also completed the page, 'My Eyes Are'. Jack enjoyed a cut and paste activity which involved sorting animals by how they move (run/walk, hop, swim, fly). He did well with letter visual discrimination, easily choosing the letter that was different. We took a short break and played outside, which Jack loved. He also enjoyed making patterns with connecting circles.

Santino was carried in by his mom today as he had gotten up very early and had a rough morning, starting to sleep in the car as they went to pick his brother up first. He quickly calmed down once in the classroom. I gave him his bottle and took off his shoes and socks so he would be more comfortable. He was vocalizing a lot, so I tried having him sit quietly on the alphabet carpet as I read him some books and played with letters. Piggybacking on a goal started at home, I turned to Santino and asked him for a hug with outstretched arms. He hugged me. He then got 5 pillows, positioned them just so on the floor, lay down and quickly fell asleep.

Santino was in a good mood today. After outlining activities on the visual communication board, we began with a matching activity. I narrated as Santino looked from one piece to another and matched objects with their corresponding parts, guided with physical and verbal prompts. We then examined a magnet set, and I showed Santino how one side could pick up various metallic objects. Santino next balanced objects on a scale. He enjoyed putting different objects on one side and watching that side dip down due to the weight. I showed him that by dispersing the weight, the scale would balance, but Santino preferred to explore on his own and resisted my efforts to disrupt his self-guided efforts. After this, Santino grabbed my hand, led me to the door, and we proceeded outside for the last quarter of the hour. Santino enjoyed going in the car as I sang "The Wheels on the Bus" song, and he turned the wheel as I sang. He also went on the seesaw with me as I narrated our up and down movements. Finally, he enjoyed climbing on some of the equipment and sliding down the sliding pond. When we went inside, Santino washed his hands, given some guidance, and relaxed the remaining few minutes until Miss Ingrid arrived.

Today's session was spent building a relationship with Jack and getting a sense of his behavior and academic level. He readily separated from his mother and came with me to the room. I read a story about dinosaurs. Jack was engaged in the story, commenting on the pictures and correctly answering questions. He did well completing a 1 to 9 follow the dot activity and then enjoyed coloring the picture. Jack proudly wrote his name on the whiteboard and self-corrected the letter a. He repeatedly asked to play outside. We went outside where Jack played on the equipment and engaged in make-believe play. He needed some encouragement to return to the classroom. Jack was able to sing the alphabet. He also identified magnetic letters and put them in ABC order.