After a brief tour of The Batt School, Quinn picked an office, and we got to work. I assessed Quinn's reading and writing skills using the Quick Phonics Screener (QPS) and a diagnostic spelling test. To determine reading fluency and comprehension, Quinn read a second-grade passage from ReadWorks and answered comprehension questions. Quinn generally reads, spells, and writes well, but I noticed several phonics concepts and spelling patterns with room for growth.

First, we reviewed Reid's school folder. We reviewed his spelling words, and Reid sorted the list into one-, two-, and three-syllable words. We went outside and practiced his spelling words while throwing a football. To conclude, we co-read a chapter of Stuart Little and practiced reading comprehension strategies (asking questions while reading, making predictions, etc.)

After a brief tour of The Batt School, Sydney picked a location, and we got to work. Schoolwork from Sydney's mom indicated that she had been introduced to the letters c, o, a, and d. We reviewed the letters and the sounds that the letters make, and Sydney practiced writing each letter. I emphasized the importance of proper letter formation (precisely where to start each letter). Sydney was eager to write, using both pencil and markers. I read her a book, Dr. Seuss's ABCs. To conclude, we played a board game, Phonics Dice.

Today, Chris worked on a Current Events assignment.

Today, Pierce was accompanied to after-school tutoring by his mom, au pair and 2 other brothers. They all got a tour of the school and Pierce was given the option of picking the room in which he wanted to work. Pierce did not initiate much conversation but responded to questions succinctly. -His favorite subject is science and he wrote his name clearly with his right hand. Once in the classroom, Pierce was curious about, although distracted by some of the items in the room, reaching for a fidget spinner which he was permitted to examine while I got out materials. He was responsive to directives and proceeded to work on the materials and exercises selected. When given various passages to read, Pierce read fluently. He was was asked to read two articles and answer questions about the content; some involved inferential reasoning skills, and others, comprehension/main ideas. Pierce hesitated on some of the questions and changed one or two after reflecting on the options. I encouraged reflective thought as he answered a few of the other questions more impulsively which affected his score. I explained some of the other choices and the reason why they were better suited as answers. A few questions involved simple math, and Pierce answered those correctly and explained his answers. I would like to obtain a writing sample to better assess his ability to express himself on paper, and his ability to write a cohesive paragraph. This includes being comfortable with punctuation marks, having a solid subject/predicate sentence structure, familiarity with grammar, and the rules of syntax. I plan to address this in our next session.

To begin, Reid and I went through his school folder and determined what was "to do," what was to "stay at home," and what was "to return to school." Once organized, we tackled a worksheet about chapters 7 and 8 of Stuart Little by E.B. White. Reid wrote the titles of the chapters, summarized each chapter, and recounted his favorite moment from the text. He wrote five vocabulary words that he learned and drew a picture to depict a moment from what he read. Next, we co-read two chapters from his free reading book and recorded the pages on his reading log. We reviewed his spelling words and made flashcards to attach to his backpack. To conclude, we went outside and practiced his spelling words while tossing a football.

I was happy to reconnect with Reid after the summer break. After catching up on his adventures and the new school year, we picked a book from the Batt School library and co-read it for 15 minutes to fulfill his reading log assignment. Reid filled out the reading log with my assistance. Next, we reviewed his spelling words, made flashcards, and went outside to practice the words. Reid works well when active; we alternated punching the exercise bag and kicking a soccer ball while spelling. Reid benefits from first syllabicating and then spelling each word. The list is challenging, and I encouraged Reid to study his flashcards every day in the car on the way to school (the flashcards are on a ring attached to his backpack).

Jack worked on his morning work assignment.

Today he played the game Seusville. He had to click the bricks with the word that rhymed with the Fox's word to help Knox get down.

This afternoon, Aiden and I researched information about his favorite movie, 'Lord of the Rings.' He knew it was a sequel to 'The Hobbit,' and was familiar with the lead actress in it, Miranda Otto, who played Éowyn in the original movie. We discussed and analyzed her response to the question about why she didn't watch herself in the one of the movies in its trilogy, 'Rings of Power,' when she was quoted as stating, "It’s a funny thing for me because the experience for me was so special that it kind of sits contained for me in that moment." We interpreted Otto's quote as her desire to keep, or preserve, the experience in its purest form. Aiden loves the movie and listened to it in its audio book version. Aiden spent part of today's fun Friday class cordially inviting his friends, teachers, and staff to listen to his speech about the Renaissance. I am looking forward to hearing it as well!