Today's session was very productive. We reviewed the prior work Nicholas has in his folder, and Nicholas explained the letters and the sounds they make using his own work from several activities compiled for him. We sang the 'N' song, which is sung to the tune of 'Skip to my Lou,' and both acted out the parts, emphasizing the "n" sound, followed by a rousing rendition of the 'Sing Sing Sing' song, which was sung to the tune of 'Row, Row, Row your Boat.' Nicholas was encouraged to trace letters as a means by which to facilitate his recognition of the letter using visual perceptual and tactile sensory modalities; he also used chalk to draw the letters on various surfaces to further consolidate gains. Alphabet cards were used next and Nicholas told me the name of each shown, although he intermittently asked me to act as the student as he wished to be the teacher and relay instructions. He had a bit of difficulty correctly identifying the stretch sounds ( the letters N,S,L,A) but was able to identify 'P' as a bounce sound, given visual and verbal prompts and using a pumpkin worksheet obtained from his prior work. Environmental pictures were used for the letters N, L, S, P, and A, while stretching and bouncing the word on each card after reading it aloud. Foam letters were used to address letter recognition, and Nicholas punched out the capital letter "T" and the lower case letter 't' and then matched each with its "best friend" when it was mixed in with 10 other letters while reviewing the sound each letter made. We used songs to emphasize letter sounds and Nicholas was happy to sing me the Paradise Song he created and volunteered information about why he chose those lyrics. It appear that music is a good modality by which to connect with Nicholas and engage him in task-oriented activities. It is recommended as a way by which to engage and sustain his attention as well. Before it was time to leave, Nicholas asked to create a project using two paper plates and writing several letters in marker that he knows. We stapled the plates together to form a tambourine, and Nicholas was proud to present it to his mother upon leaving. We walked out to the car together, singing one of the favored songs of the day, alternating lines and making stretching and bouncing sounds where indicated. Nicholas is looking forward to returning on Friday and working on a paint activity, where letters magically appear after water is applied to the paper, which will likely be on the agenda.

Nicholas was excited when informed we would be moving to a new location and told that he could decorate his new "office" with the Thanksgiving stickers he received today. He then proceeded to get settled and reviewed the skills learned in Wednesday's session, with Nicholas identifying 4 different letters and the different stretch and bounce sounds they make when spoken. Nicholas required a few additional prompts during today's session to elicit and engage his attention; he shared that he had eaten a lot during the day and had two slices of pie at school - apple and pumpkin, which may have contributed to increased motoric activity, greater distractibility, and a bit of an upset stomach. Today's session focused on identifying the letter 't'. We first began by using green play dough to make the lower and upper case letter. Nicholas then completed an arts and crafts activity designed to reinforce and consolidate letter recognition, identification, and visual discrimination skills. Using varying materials including construction paper, googly eyes, assorted feathers, scissors, crayons and a glue stick, Nicholas cut out varying shapes resembling letters and created an artsy and colorful Thanksgiving turkey. He noted that when he made and cut out the feet to the turkey after writing the letter 'w,' it resembled the letter 'm' when viewed upside down - which was viewed from both below the table and by turning the paper around. Nicholas was able to discriminate between the two letters, but he required prompts to make the connection between the letter 'N' and the first letter of his first name. Nicholas ended the session by coloring upper and lower case 't's on his Thanksgiving turkey and identifying different foods that began with the letter when prompted. He was excited that he was going to see his dad who was home for this holiday and left in a spirited mood, clutching his Thanksgiving turkey, stickers, lollipop, and sporting a huge smile.

Today Kelcy and I discussed the main problems about the water shortage in Africa. He came up with: the water is too dirty, the water is too far away. Then we spent time brainstorming ways to solve the problem. He came up with some great ideas! I will share a picture of his work today with you!

Today Kelcy finished up his Thankful Book as a gift for his family. He really took to heart that we are thankful for things that we have and others might not have. Some of his pages included family, clothes, bed, water, etc.

Because he was thankful for water and stated that some people might not have it, I decided to research The Water Project with him to learn more about people who live with a water shortage and see how different their lives may compared to ours. He had lots of questions and I would like to expand on that as a passion project if he so chooses! Kelcy has a great heart. <3

Nicholas began the session by identifying the letter and pictures on 4 alphabet cards, concentrating on the letters 'n', 's', 'l', and 'p' The letter 't'was introduced later on in the session. Nicholas was able to accurately identify the sound of each of the letters shown to him. We reinforced the stretch sound of the letters 'n', 's', and 'l' (i.e.; noisy noise) and practiced the 'p' as a bounce sound (i.e.; playful penguin). Nicholas then matched corresponding take-home cards to the alphabet cards and stated the name of the letter out loud. Environmental print pictures were used to stimulate his interest and consolidate gains. A bit later in the session, he reviewed the letter 't' and practiced the corresponding bounce sound it makes. Nicholas used a dry erase marker to write his name on the whiteboard. He did this with careful deliberation, prompting himself to recall each of the subsequent letters by recalling their visual shape to facilitate success. He also enjoyed the Teddy Bear poem, which we made into a sing-song verse. The poem was helpful in reinforcing the bounce 't' sound. Nicholas particularly enjoyed filling in the rhyming words at the end of each line. This activity engaged his attention and elicited sustained eye-contact and attention to the task at hand. Using the whiteboard to model the letter 's', Nicholas was able to print the letter after it was modeled by the tutor. He was encouraged to do likewise with the other letters that were reviewed during the session, and he enjoyed making pictures out of the letters (i.e.; he made a snake out of the letter 's', and added rattles for detail). Finally, we ended the session using green play dough to make lower and uppercase 't's. Nicholas initially had some difficulty accurately distinguishing between the upper and lower case letters, but his performance was facilitated after we placed the play dough at various parts of his body to reinforce the concept of upper and lower. Nicholas was in a spirited mood and responded favorably to the high-fives received for the productive work and successful outcomes that he demonstrated throughout the session.

Today Kelcy officially earned his Flying High Super Writer Award!!! I have been so proud of how he hears sounds in words and puts them on his paper. He used his finger to make spaces between words and he even adds sight words he is learning with Ms. Pat into his writing.

We worked on finishing his "fortune-teller" thankfulness game today! We also began working on a special Thankful Book to give to Mom and Dad on Friday!

Today Kelcy finished his leaf symmetry portraits and we spent time identifying lines of symmetry on different types of 2D shapes.

While working on symmetry, we began the process of creating a "fortune-teller" foldable about things Kelcy is thankful for. LOTS of writing and fine motor skills went into creating this little project - we will finish it tomorrow!

Today Kelcy and I took a nature walk to collect different types of leaves. We brought them back to organize, classify, compare/contrast. We asked questions about what we saw and did some research about the parts of the plant/leaf to get answers.

We finished the session by beginning a symmetry leaf portrait. We will finish the portrait and observe if/how our leaves look different on Monday!

Today we studied the book The Reasons for Seasons to learn about the sun/Earth relationship, Earth's tilt, and how the seasons occur. We went outside to work on some diagrams (what the Earth/sun look like in autumn/ what the trees up north look like in autumn).

We finished our session with a couple new, fun read alouds (Pete the Cat - I Love My White Shoes and It's Not Easy Being a Bunny).

Today Kelcy finished creating and assembling the skeleton from the week of Halloween! He put the bones together like a puzzle twice, we attached each piece, and labeled as well.

We read aloud the book Feast for 10, talked about Thanksgiving and activities that happen around that day. Kelcy also chose to journal about his upcoming trip to Washington D.C. :)