School Time 9/13 - Letters Check

Today I explained to Becca that I wanted to see what she knew with her letters. I didn't know if she already knew how to read letters and what sounds they made or not, so I wanted to try and see. I asked her if that was ok and she said yes. She was very engaged and responsive in general today. First I said I wanted to see if she knew what a B was. I asked her if she knew the letter B. She said yes. I help up two letters (I was using fridge magnet letters), B and M. I asked her which one was a B, and the looked at it and back at me. I said yes, that was a B as in Becca. I told her the other letter was an M as in Mommy. Then I asked if she knew what the letter E was. She said yes. I held up an E and a P and she picked E correctly. I said that was an E as in Elephant. I asked if she knew what a C was and she wouldn't say yes. I held up a C and an M and she looked back and forth for a little while, then picked the M. I said that was an M, and Mommy or Monkey. We traced the M. Then we traced the C and I said it was a C as in Cat. Next I asked her to find the letter P. I held up a B and a P. She picked the B. I said those two did sound a lot alike, but that a B has two bumps and a P has one bump. B as in Becca and P as in Piano.

After that we went over the five letters a couple times, tracing them and talking about the sounds they made. 

Next I held up a couple pictures and asked what letter they started with. I held up a box and asked her if she knew what it was. She said yes, and I said it was a box. I asked if she knew what letter it started with and she said yes. I held up a B and an M and asked which letter it started with and she picked the B. Then I held up a picture of a piano and asked if it started with a P or an M. She got bored at this point and wouldn't look at the letters anymore, so we stopped and sang a silly song with actions. We sang it twice and she really liked it. After that she was engaged again. She picked a P as the first letter for piano.

Then I started quizzing her again on which of two options was the letter I was saying. This time she picked correctly for all five letters, B, E, C, M and P.

Then we started practicing sounds in general. We went through all five letters. I would hold up the letter and ask her to think in her head what sound it made. Then we would try to come up with words that started with that sound. Becca's sister helped her come up with some. Then I pulled out some pictures. I would ask Becca if she knew what each picture was. When she said yes then I would say what the picture was (snowman, piano, box, dog). Then I would ask her to think of the starting sound for the word. When she looked at me I would say the sound out loud.

Last we went over each of the five letters one more time, tracing them and making the letter sounds.

School Time 9/12 - Seasons and Weather

I asked Becca if she wanted to do school time and she said yes. I put her in her chair and asked if we could talk about the seasons. She said yes. I asked if she'd already talked about the seasons at school and she said yes, so I said good, this should be a review.

I had printed off four big colored boxes with the name of each season and a small picture representing the season. I took each season one by one and talked about what the weather was like, the temperature, fun holidays, etc. Then I'd stick them to her clear plastic board. After that I told her I wanted to hold up some things and have her tell me which season she thought they'd fit in.

I had a mix of pictures. Some were activities (playing in the pool, a snowman, planting a garden, etc.), some were holidays (a Christmas present, an Easter basket, a Jack-O-Lantern) and some were types of weather (rain, wind, snow, hail). About a third of the images she would get quickly on her own (pool, snowman, snowy weather, jack-o-lantern). If she didn't get them right away then I'd point out something else about the season that was related (i.e. we celebrate Easter about the same time we plant a garden, when it's not too cold anymore), and then she would look at the season and then at me. On a couple she would look at the wrong season and then back at me. I would acknowledge her guess, then say that the thing didn't usually happen in that season. I'd give her another hint and she eventually got it. I think only once she had more than one incorrect guess. School bus and school starting in the fall she got so quickly and so confidently, I was really impressed.

The first couple picture questions she would look around at all four of the seasons a lot of times before she would pick, but after a few times she wouldn't look around at all the seasons anymore, she would look right to the one she wanted to guess, or look away from the board like she does when she's not answer (not sure if that's disengaged, thinking, etc.).

On the weather questions there wasn't a single right answer other than for snow, and she picked all of them in a season that worked. When I showed her the picture of hail and talked about what hail was she got a smile on her face and laughed a little bit. I think she thought hail was silly.

School Time 9/10 - Days of the Week Review

I asked Becca if she wanted to do school time and she wouldn't look at me. I guess she wasn't in the mood today. Then when it was time for dinner we were waiting just a little bit, so I pulled out the days of the week and we sang through them again. I asked her what day it was today and she looked right at Tuesday. Then I asked if she remembered where Saturday was and she looked at it for a short second then back at me, then around at the other days. I mentioned that she seemed to look at it very quickly, then she looked over at Friday for a little while. I pointed back up to Saturday and she looked at it.

School Time 9/9 - Finishing the Creative Story (with pictures!)

I asked Becca if she wanted to do school time and she looked at me to say yes. I asked if she would be willing to finish her story with me and after a minute she said yes. We read through what we'd written and drawn already, and I asked her what she wanted to do next. I came up with four options now that Harold and Sarah had gotten it to rain, and she picked to have too much water. I actually thought she'd want to wrap up the story, but she seemed to want to continue it. I asked if we should draw Harold and Susan above the water or under the water. She wouldn't pick. I reminded her that it was her story, I wasn't going to pick for her. Then when I asked again she picked not above the water, but yes to under the water. I asked if we should draw the sun or some clouds above the water, and she picked the sun. I asked if we should draw it orange or yellow and she picked orange (even though her sister wanted yellow). We drew everything under water and she agreed on some phrasing.

Then I asked how she wanted them to get rid of the water. Should they wait for it to dry up, maybe the sun would shine bright and dry it, maybe the dragon could drink it… she didn't like any of those. I said maybe they could have a friend come help them, and she liked that one.

I asked what kind of animal the friend should be. Should it be a fish, a dolphin, a frog, a shark, a dog, a cat, a cow -- she picked a cow. I asked what the cow's name should be. Mat? She said yes right away, but then looked away. I wasn't sure if maybe she just didn't care about the name. I listed seven or eight more names before she picked Michael. t asked what color Michael the Cow should be, brown or black or red. She looked at all three colors, then she looked at red and back at me. I confirmed she wanted to have a red cow, and she said yes. So we drew the water, and a red cow under the water. I asked if she wanted to draw the castle next to the cow and she wouldn't say yes. I asked if she wanted to draw some fish instead and she said yes. I asked if the fish should be green or orange, and she picked green. We drew some green fish. Then I suggested we could draw some seaweed as well and she said yes. I asked if we should make it purple or green and she picked purple.

Next I asked what we should have Michael do to get rid of the all the water. I listed some options for her, including him drinking it all, using magic to get rid of it, and making a big splash. She wouldn't pick one and I reminded her again that it was her story. Then when I went through them again she picked to have him drink it all. I said that should be funny because then he'll have a big tummy full of water and she liked that idea.

So we wrote some words, then on the next page we drew Michael with a big tummy and the castle no longer under the water. I asked if we should draw a tree next to the castle and she said yes. I asked if we should have the trunk be brown or blue, and she picked brown. Then I asked if we should have the leaves be yellow or green, since leaves can be either color, and she picked green. I asked if she wanted to put some fruit in the tree and she wouldn't say yes.

Then I asked if she wanted to draw a magic tree on the other side of the castle and she said yes. I asked if we should draw the trunk to be purple or red and she picked red. Then I asked if we should draw the leaves blue or orange, and she picked orange. I asked what color to have the fruit be and she picked that as well. She was starting to get tired and not responding as well, so I suggested we have that be the last page, but she wouldn't say yes.

I asked what she wanted to have happen next, should the adventure keep going on or should it be over. She picked to have it be over. I said we could have Harold walk home, or Harold and Sarah could walk away, or Harold could just be happy. I said it seemed like it made sense to end with Harold since the story started about him. She wouldn't pick for a little while so I reminded her the story was her choice, then after a little longer she picked to have Harold go home, so we drew that and ended it.

Then we talked about how to make it into a book. I said each page needed a page number, and we needed a title page. I went through each page and put the page number on. I'd say the numbers that came before, then look to Becca to see what number came next. I'd wait for her to look at me before saying and drawing the number. 

Then we got out a sheet for the title page. I asked her what she wanted the title to be, Harold Goes on an Adventure, Harold Meets a Dragon, Harold and the Dragon, Harold Fixes a Castle… she didn't like any of them. I asked if she wanted to be done but she wouldn't say yes. I went through them again and this time she said yes to Harold Meets a Dragon. So we wrote that, then I had her help me write her name on the byline. Then we stapled it together so she could show it off.

School Time 9/6 - Days of the Week

I asked Becca if she wanted to have "school time" and she said yes. I said we were going to work on the days of the week. I'd printed out the seven days of the week each with a slightly different color. We sang a song Becca's sister learned in school listing the days of the week. Then we'd take each day, one at a time, and try to come up with something special that happens that day. We'd tape them up on a plastic board and sing the song again. Sunday I asked if she wanted to draw a church and she said yes. Monday I said was her first day of school, so I asked if she wanted to draw a school bus and she said yes. I asked what day came after Monday, Tuesday or Saturday? She looked quickly at Tuesday and then back at me. I said Tuesday is the day grandma comes to visit, and asked if she wanted to draw a picture of grandma. She said yes after a minute. I asked what came after Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. She picked Thursday. We sang the song to check, then realized Wednesday came next. I told her to remember that Thursday was the next one so she'd be sure to get that one right. We had a hard time coming up with something for Wednesday. I suggested a tub since she usually has a bath on Wednesday, but she didn't want that. I suggested a show, or a piano since I play music sometimes for her -- she liked that. Then we had a big distraction with her siblings for a few minutes. 

After that I asked what came after Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday. She looked at Saturday and then at me. I said. I restated her choice like I always do, and she then quickly looked at Thursday and then back at me instead. Maybe she was remembering what I'd said and going back for the right answer. We had a hard time with Thursday too. I suggested her shoes -- she liked her shoes. After we drew her shoes I asked if she liked it and she wouldn't say yes. I asked if we should draw something else too and she said yes. I asked if we should draw food or a car or maybe outside -- she liked outside. I asked if we should draw grass -- yes. And maybe some flowers, or clouds, or the sun -- yes to the sun. Then we sang the song again.

I asked which came after Thursday, Friday or Saturday. She looked at Saturday and then back at me. I said Saturday was definitely the last day of the week. We sang the song again and saw that Friday comes first. For Friday I mentioned that she swims at school and asked if she wanted to draw the pool. She said yes immediately. For Saturday I said we get to spend the day at home as a family, does she want to draw our family. She said yes.

Then I said I wanted to see if she remembered which day was which. Did she want to try showing me? She said yes.

I asked which day we go to church. She looked right at Sunday and then back at me. I asked which day was the last day of the week. She would only look at the first four days of the week, and she wan't picking any. I finally pointed her up to Saturday and she looked at it. I asked which day of the week was Tuesday and she looked right at Tuesday and back at me. I asked what was Friday. She would only look at the first four again. I eventually pointed to Friday and she looked over there. I asked which day was the first day of the week she went to school and she looked right at Monday and back at me. I asked her why she wasn't wanting to look at one side of the plastic board. I asked her which day she got to wear her shoes and she looked right at Thursday and back at me. That's the first time she would pick from that side of the board. I asked which day we spend as a whole family and she looked all over the board except at Saturday. I eventually pointed to Saturday and she looked at it.

I could tell she was starting to get tired so I let her have a turn. I'd hold the board backwards with her face in the middle and ask a question in a silly voice, then turn around and answer it.

School Time 9/5 - Comparing Snowmen

I asked Becca if she wanted to have "school time" with me again today. She said yes. We sat up at the kitchen table again, and I told her I wanted to make three snowmen with her. I asked if that sounded fun and she said yes. We had to pick different colors for the bodies, the eyes nose and mouth, the buttons, the hats and the arms and legs. Each time I would hold up two colors and ask Becca which she wanted. She wasn't super enthusiastic, but she would pick each time after a little while. Becca's sister was there watching and wanting to participate, and one time when I asked Becca looked right at her sister. I asked Becca if she wanted to let her sister pick the color this time and she said yes. Partway through I noticed that a couple times in a row Becca was picking whatever color was closer in her field of vision to my head (to "pick" a color I waited for Becca to look at a marker and then at me), so I started holding the markers one on each side of my head in her field of vision. After that she picked some from each side again.

Then I cut out the three snowmen and stuck them on a large flat board. There was one that was tall and skinny, a short fat female one (Becca's sister really wanted it to have girl hair) and a small one. Becca's sister called them a mommy, daddy and kid snowman. I asked Becca which one was the tallest. She looked at the mommy snowman and then at me. I said that one was tall, but the daddy one was even taller. I held her arm up to measure each snowman and see which one was the tallest. Then I asked her which one she thought was the happiest. She looked for a second or two at each of them, then at the mommy one and then at me with a big smile on her face. She would smile a lot for the mommy one, I think because it was pretty goofy-looking. The mommy one did have a big smile, incidentally it was a bigger smile than the other two. I then asked Becca which one was the smallest. She looked at the daddy one for a minute, then at the little kid one and back at me. I said it looked like she was picking the kid one, and that one was the smallest. We measured them all again. I asked Becca which one looked the hungriest and after a minute she looked at the daddy one and back at me. I said he was pretty tall and skinny, so he was probably pretty hungry. Then I asked Becca which one was the fattest. She looked right at the mommy one and at me with another smile. I asked her which one was looked the coldest to her. She looked right at the daddy then the daddy, then at me. I said she picked the daddy one, and that he probably was cold because he was so skinny, so even though he had a scarf it probably wasn't doing him much good. Then I asked which one had his arms up instead of down. She looked at the mommy for a minute, then the kid for a split second, then at the daddy and back at me. The daddy was the only snowman that had his arms up instead of down, and we traced all their arms. I asked if she wanted to be done and she said yes. We showed the snowmen to our mommy and Becca kept looking at the mommy snowman and smiling. It really was pretty silly-looking.

School Time 9/4 - More Creative Story

Asked Becca if she wanted to work on her book today. She didn't respond. I asked if she wanted to lay down on the floor instead, she didn't respond. I explained that it was almost time for bed so we could work on her book for a little bit or just get ready for bed. Then when I asked if she wanted to work on her book she said yes.

Side note: I think it's going to be hard for Becca to start communicating more because it seems like she wants to say exactly what's in her head, but she's so limited to the words we put in her mouth that she's getting frustrated. I don't know exactly what to do about this, hopefully we'll be able to get her more words soon, and hopefully she'll be patient enough to work with me.

We re-read the pages we'd already written about Harold. I asked Becca what color she would like her dragon to be, blue, green or purple. She paused for a little while, then looked right at blue. So we drew a blue dragon together. I told Becca we could make the dragon a nice dragon or a mean dragon, whichever she wanted. She didn't pick either one the first time. I told her I wasn't going to pick for her, but we could be done if she wanted, then I asked again. This time she picked to have a nice dragon. I said if the dragon is nice then we should come up with a name for it. I started suggesting some names, Tom, David, Susan -- she picked Susan. So we had Susan and Harold introduce themselves in the story. Then I asked Becca what we should have them do. They could go for another walk, they could fly around, they could try to fix the castle -- she wanted them to try to fix the castle.

I started throwing out ideas for how they could fix the castle. They could try to make it rain, they could use magic, they could find a river to water the plants, they could suck up some water and have the dragon spit it out. She didn't respond to any of those ideas. I told her I was having a hard time coming up with any more ideas. I suggested maybe they could cry and their tears would water the ground -- she might have reacted to that one but I wasn't sure, and when I asked again she said no. So I went through the list again, and this time when I said they could make it rain I also said they could fly into the clouds to make it rain and she reacted to that. So we drew Harold on Susan up in the clouds making it rain. I asked if she wanted the clouds to be blue or black and she picked blue, which was the color we used for clouds last time too. We drew the clouds. I asked if she wanted to be done for the day and she said yes. I asked if she liked doing this and she said yes. I talked about how it's probably hard having to only choose from what I say, and that sometimes learning and doing school stuff isn't necessarily fun, but it's still good and important and it will help her be able to communicate better in the future.

Then we played a colors game with Becca and her siblings. I would hold out two colored markers and ask whether something matched either of the colors (i.e. is water blue or orange). Becca's siblings both went first. I asked Becca if grass is orange or green. She wouldn't pick, then she might have picked orange, so I said grass is green. Next time around I asked Becca if the sky is orange or blue. She wouldn't pick for a while, then she picked blue. Last time around I asked Becca if tomatoes are red or purple. She wouldn't pick, and ended up staring at the tomatoes on the counter instead of looking at the colors. I said those tomatoes were red, obviously, and we called it good.