Second Day, Feb 8, 2011

Today we decided to switch things around a bit and tried out studying in my room. They each wanted to study next to a window so Nick set up a little table next to the big desk and Brooke sat on the bed with an eating tray for her desk. I wasn't sure how it would work but they both did pretty well.


Since last time we focused on math I decided, this time, to start with reading. We began at 4:20. Nick first wanted to complete his school homework (telling time...it took him about 5-10 minutes) and then he began reading his chapter book while Brooke read her "Beginning Books" by Dr. Seuss. She did a great job and rarely paused on any of the words. I would stop her every once in a while and ask questions and she answered them with no problem. She read for 20 minutes.


After reading his book for about 5 minutes, Nick asked how long he had to go. I asked him if we wanted to continue reading and if he liked his book. He said, "Naa...I'm ready to do the next thing." I asked him if he knew what he'd read and he said, "Well, I just read it to read." So! I suggested I'd read a few pages and then ask him questions to check his comprehension. He did a great job with that. He also said there is another book he really likes...I don't remember the name, but he'll probably remember.


For the first 15 minutes I had mostly been helping Brooke, listening to her read and asking questions about the story. Every once in a while I would move over to help Nick. By about 4:35, I switched, leaving Brooke to work on her "sight words" flashcards while Nick and I read his reading comprehension book. This was our first time with this book so I asked Nick to show it to me, showing what he'd done and where he'd like to begin. He ended up choosing a page about veterinarians. He seems to also be a great reader - he had no difficulty reading nor answering the questions I asked about the reading. 


By that time it was about 4:50 and they were ready for a break. Nick did some math games on the computer while I did a quick "quiz" of Brooke's flashcards. They were cake. She only had about 10 that she had to think on. Next time we'll move onto the next list of "sight words". 


And that was pretty much it! Next time we will probably start with the math - doing about 30-40 minutes and then taking a 5-10 minute break and then doing about 30 minutes of reading and finishing off with some games.