Analise began the session by writing an apology letter to me for accidentally forgetting to return a bracelet I had let her wear during yesterday's class session She said she had meant to give it back to me and didn't mean to leave with it. I told her I didn’t think she meant to leave school with it but that it was a good thing I remembered and got it before Martha, her nanny, had pulled out of the parking space in front of the school. I told her I thought it was an accident, which turned into a teachable moment focusing on letter-writing, formatting and capitalization. We also discussed the character traits of trustworthiness, responsibility and sincerity. We did not dwell on this for too long but I did want to comply with mom's request to have Analise write me the apology to insure she understood the importance of returning any items she asks to borrow.

Anaise was then asked to tell me the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. She re-told the story in an animated way and I called her attention to the descriptive adjectives she had used to consolidate prior learning gains evidenced in earlier sessions. We then watched a short animated clip of the story and Analise was asked to re-tell it on paper, using or one or two sentences for the beginning, middle and end. She enjoyed illustrating the sections, adding pointy teeth to the troll and attention to detail on the goats. Analise demonstrated a good understanding and recall of the events and the correct order in which they occurred. The book afforded us a good opportunity to review the consonant blend "tr"...the story used such sentences as, "trip trap, trip trap... across the bridge traipsed the troll." Analise enjoyed the video and making predictions, although she opted not to color the pictures as it appeared that she had grown tired from all the writing, so we moved onto a review of contractions and learned about base words in the Mack Skill text booklet. Analise was told that a base word is a word that can have a beginning (prefix) or ending (suffix) added to it which changes the meaning when a new word is formed. She appeared to grasp this concept well and correctly identified base words in a series of three examples. The Language Arts session concluded with having Analise complete sentences correctly using contextual clues to select the correct option from a choice of three in a word bank. She wrote them in the boxes provided and completed the activity just as lunch was starting. Overall, it was a most productive session.

In arts and crafts today, Analise made herself a beaded necklace. She used her fine motor skills to string a pattern of blue and green glow in the dark beads onto a piece of stretchy cord. Using turquoise cardstock, we cut out a large circle to make a pendant for the necklace. Analise glued on turquoise sequins and glitter to give her pendant sparkle. She finished it with white feathers which she glued on to hang from the necklace.

Analise began the session by reviewing facts we had learned about butterflies from previous sessions and reading a new book about butterflies entitled "The Butterfly Cafe." It is a Level H fiction book, by Karen Mackler, and Analise demonstrated a good ability to sound out words in the primer. Analise read the book well, sounding out the more challenging words with determination and tenacity. She was then asked to answer comprehension questions and complete 2 sequencing activities requiring her to order events in the correct sequence they occurred in the story. We reviewed a glossary of terms, including, cafe, shelter, nectar, customers, milkweed and monarch - and Analise demonstrated a good understanding of the vocabulary words from contextual cues - as well as excellent recall and sequencing of events. We also read "Mack and the String" from the Merrill Reading Skilltext Series,(p. 30 in the workbook), and completed the exercises required that Analise fill in two (2) vowel sounds and circling the word that rhymed with the first word in each row, given three (3) options, Next, we constructed sentences using beginning digraph sounds; Analise was able to identify the words and sounds from examples given. As part of a subsequent writing exercise, Analise was asked to write a few sentences using descriptive words. She chose to write about her Barbie doll, Spark. She did well incorporating adjectives in the story to describe the doll's hair and dress. Analise then wanted to turn the tables and act in the role of a teacher to her students. She used the world map and globe as a teaching tool and told her class where she was born and where she lived pointing out the states on the map and globe appropriately. This led to a good review of cardinal points, and a lesson on how to use a map key or legend. To consolidate gains, Analise was asked to follow directions using a legend as her guide to identify, circle or otherwise make notations on a map of a playground. She seemed to enjoy this activity and spent a bit of time trying to draw an upright triangle, as she has previously only been able to draw it with its point, or apex, facing down. Analise completed 2 pages in her workbook and concluded the session by completing word sorting activities, using 'ug' and 'ut' word families. She has shown that she learns and retains material quickly and is able to transfer the gains both within and across several domain areas, demonstrating understanding and acquisition gains.

Explain/give examples showing how to identify finding patterns in numbers and shapes. Complete handouts using money...color "heads" red and "tails" blue - 2 heads, 2 blues, or 1 head, 1 blue, etc. Next, each shape represents either a penny, nickel, or dime...complete the pattern three times. Count the money for each shape (50 cents), then tell how you could make the amount using the fewest number of coins (2 quarters).

Math - complete handouts...identify odd/even numbers, count coins (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters), draw time on clock for half and quarter hour, and identify pattern and complete the pattern, for example, plus 4 or minus 6, etc.
Science - identify the life cycle of a ladybug; make a poster showing the different stages.

Analise did a lesson on the life cycle of the butterfly today. We discussed the different stages of the butterfly life from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly. We got a microscope and observed a butterfly egg as well as a baby caterpillar that was eating a leaf. She also looked at them close up with a hand lens. She observed the chrysalis and the other bigger caterpillars in the butterfly habitat. We discussed how the transformation from chrysalis to butterfly is called a metamorphosis and she watched a time lapse video on the butterfly life cycle.

Analise spent 30 minutes with me this morning. We went over some handwriting and talked about some Spanish words. She was a joy to have this morning.

We began today's session by reading "Looking for Zippy" - a passage out of the Mack workbook. Analise was asked to review final consonant sounds after identifying a series of pictures in the book. We spent time reviewing the sound of the letter 'O'. Analise named each picture and wrote the vowels 'o' and 'e' where indicated. Finally, we assessed her ability to draw conclusions, and Analise circled the phrase that made the most sense in the examples given in the workbook exercises. Next, we reviewed the consonant digraph 'th' and Analise correctly placed an X on the picture that didn't begin with the 'th' sound. Following that exercise, we worked on sentence completion and a sequencing activity. After the first hour, we took a short break to stretch our legs and use the rest room. When we returned, we read from a passage about the "Butterfly Life Cycle" and discussed the different stages in the life cycle of butterflies. Analise answered focus questions pertaining to the story out of a book from which we read called "Butterflies" by Emily Neye (Lexile level 18, 1.9 J). She was curious about the different types of butterflies and asked me which one I thought was the prettiest one from the book. We then completed a sequencing activity and Analise correctly put the stages in their correct order. The session ended with a glue and stick-on sequencing activity that demonstrated that Analise understood the four different life cycle stages of the butterfly and the order in which they occur. Analise was commended for her attention to detail and for the work she produced during today's hour-long session.

Because of the weather today We played in indoors and had a great time! We played twister and a fun game called Hullubaloo that challenges your listening, coordination, memory, shapes, colors and categories! We also played Simon Says.

design fundamentals. Analise finished her "mosaic" of a turtle today. She then started a new painting using the element of "monochromatic." She chose to do a painting of a horse.