Begin with review of stage 4 - use right pointer finger to "reach" for y - left pointer finger to "reach" for the t. Complete exercises in stage 4. Introduce Lesson 2 - Stage 5 - letters w & o. Move the left "ring" finger from s up to w and the right "ring" finger from the l up to o. Complete practice exercises in stage 5. Ayden really enjoys the typing exercises...he is an enthusiastic learner.

Today Ayden reviewed his homework and completed his fact drill. His 3x tables are becoming committed to memory, now. He is very prepared for his 3X table test tomorrow. In math, Ayden took theTopic 3 test and received a perfect score. We are both so proud!! Congrats, Ayden. This took a little longer and ran into some of his FF time. He completed two of three modules in FF. He completed Chicken Dog and Scrap Cat.

Today we reviewed George Washington, both as commander of the Continental Army and as the first President, the 13 colonies, and Washington, DC as the nation's capital, including the idea that the District of Columbia is not a state. We then moved to the Declaration of Independence, its purpose, its authorship by Thomas Jefferson, and some of its key phrases ("all men are created equal," and "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"), along with the significance of July 4, 1776. Ayden was shown a list of the signers and the colonies whom they represented, so he could see that each of the colonies had its own representatives. Ayden was instructed to write the following items on paper: Washington, DC, District of Columbia, 13 colonies, and Declaration of Independence. He did so. We had a good day.

Combining closed and v-e syllables.

Ayden is working very hard! Reading and spelling words with v-e.

Worked on using vocabulary words in a sentence. Sorted spelling words by vowel combination.

Ayden began math with a 5X table drill. Then we reviewed his homework and began Lesson 3-6 and 3-7. Topic 3-6 was an easy topic for Ayden, since it involved working with factors 10, 11, and 12. He used the distributive property to solve problems. He used patterns as aids to mastery of fact and multiples of 10, 11, and 12. He has worked on this "breaking apart" method with all other single digit factors. Then Ayden worked on drawing a picture and writing an equation in Topic 3-7. Ayden has learned to create bar diagrams in order to provide another visual cue, and another strategy to solve math problems. Ayden continued his Fast ForWord program. He needs constant reminders to prevent him from choosing the incorrect answer when playing Hog Hat Zone- a cloze passage brain game. I believe he does this because it is a little frustrating for him. He must put forth such strong focus on decoding at times, that he loses sight of the semantics. I remind him that I would rather him to take his time and answer correctly. In Chicken Dog, I have been quite impressed with his improvement in the ability to fill in the blanks with the correct letters (ex s--p, answer oa, to make the word soap.) Here is attention is on decoding and phonemic awareness only. I enjoy working with Ayden, and I know his perseverance will pay off.

design fundamentals. using analogous colors

Using what we know about 3 string chords to expand chords to all 6 strings. Introduce full C and D chords.

What bodies of water contain fresh water or salt? Does glaciers contain fresh water or salt water? Why? Are icebergs made of fresh water or salt water? Discuss more about iceberg. Discuss: rivers, lakes, ponds, ice caps, swamps, marshes, glaciers, estuary.