Fall Term, Week Five, Day One

Madison working her blocks to solve a basic algebra problem: ? + 2 = 5

In the lower left corner of the picture you will see Madison’s notebook with her reading and school work schedule for the week. Every week I outline the pages of each book they are to read and narrate, the math lessons they are to complete, and the activities we plan to do. The girls highlight each item as they complete it. There are also dividers for each subject they are studying where I keep a record of the books we read and include samples of their narrations. This will be the book we take for our evaluations at the end of the school year.

Makenna uses her notebook quite independently at this point. This morning she chose to do her work in the morning, as we had no activities planned. By the afternoon, when Charlie was napping and the others were beginning their school work, she enjoyed her free reading snuggled on the couch (which is nice, because I was able to give all my attention to Madison and Maya—a ratio of 2 to 1 isn’t half bad!)

Additionally, I have seen some real growth in Madison over the last week or so. She is building her attention span, and able to refocus during times when she tends to drift away (which would be every time she turns a page, or I switch books). And today I got a legitimate narration from her—she didn’t embellish, make up her own story, or repeat back the last sentence I read. Wahoo! She's getting it!