A World of Learning

 I have been noticing lately that my students' folders were tearing along the spine, even after I had taped them. Also, the pencil bag (makeup bag?) that I was using to carry pens, a big eraser, a pencil sharpener, and a pair of scissors was just a little bit too small. I also used to have a Scotch tape dispenser in there, but it no longer fit. I recently started getting teaching booklets from Hooked on Phonics, which are great for my six-year-olds!  Anyway, I knew I needed to get some new things, but I can't afford to spend a lot of extra money right now. So I started a "GoFundMe" with a goal of $300. I met my goal in two days!! Many thanks to the generous donators!!  As you can see, I was able to get new folders- plastic ones, not cardboard! I also purchased more construction paper, which I use a lot of, the Hooked on Phonics workbook and stories, a new pencil and supplies bag (my tape will fit now, along with new pencils, which wouldn't fit in the other bag. I

 Well, I'm guessing that all of your kiddos are back in school, in their varying grades! No matter what grade you're in, there's always those worries - will my teachers like me? Will my friends be in my classes? Will I remember where all of my classes are, in the right order? I remember worrying about that when I started middle school. I still have dreams about that. Do you? Anyway, getting to the point... I've had to rearrage my schedule with my tutoring kids a bit since they're back in school. Three of them are homeschooled, so my Mondays were going to stay the same. Then my Tuesday girl had to be moved to Monday. Then my Saturday boy had to be moved to Sunday because of football practice and games. (His team is so far undefeated!) Then one of my little Monday kids started preschool, so it's kind of up in the air if he'll have the attention span or desire to do any more work with me after school. Then there's my Friday student. We're still not sure

 Howdy, folks! It's been a while! I've honestly been so busy pet sitting, tutoring, studying to get my B.A., and working on one of my latest novels to think about my blog. (Actually, I'd forgotten all about it!) But then it hit me - I haven't posted in forever! So, I have a new topic today. I subscribes to Hooked on Phonics. Now I get an istruction book to help kids sound out letter blends (nd, nt) along with two short stories for the kids to read. I will be able to use parts of the instruction book for two of my beginning readers, but for now I think the stories are a little too advanced for them. They're still reading Bob Books. But I'm looking forward to having a new curriculum to work with! Here's a picture of the books I just got! By the way, it's a little late to be saying this, but happy September! Any back-to school stories you want to share? 

 Hi everyone! I hope things are going well as we enjoy the last bit of summer and head back to school! In any case, I thought I'd tell you about one of the boys I tutor. He's been reading about different men who have accomplished great things. Thomas Jefferson, MLK jr., and so on. During his most recent session, he read about Stephen Hawking. But this boy is accomplishing great things too! He's a nine-year-old boy, going into 4th grade, and I have to look up 6th grade words to go on his monthly word list! I really have to be choosy too, because I think that some of them would be too easy for him! He's learning words like appearance, audience, capacity, and concentration. He recently found out that he's going to have a baby brother. I don't know if this little boy will be advance in learning like the boy I tutor, but I hope he won't feel like he's been compared to his brother when it comes to learning. 

 When my mom made the gold medals for the kids I tutor, I wasn't sure how interested they would be in them. When I gave one to one of the boys, he said, "Can I keep it forever?" So he must have really liked it. Another boy was wearing his again the week after I'd given it to him when I came to tutor him again. This really made me happy!  Also, I saw the boy out and about one day and he came over and gave me a hug! Even though I make him do math (which he hates) as well as reading, he must really like me to want to give me a hug! It really makes a person feel rewarded when the kids show their appreciation for them.  Enjoy life's simple pleasure! Make someone smile today! It will make you want to smile too!

 The cup game is one of the kids' favorite learning activities! I tape a word from the list they are memorizing inside each cup, plus one that says ZONK! The goal is to pick a cup, see the word, and be able to say it. They need to get three words correct. Then the cups get mixed back into the rest, and they try to do it again. If they get a ZONK, they have to start that round over. They need to get three correct rounds in order to earn a piece of candy. This game works for all ages, as I've played it with letters for the three-year old I tutor, all the way up to the nine-year-old. I usually use six or seven cups. It's a lot of fun! We don't stack the cups for the game, we just arrange them all flat on the table. I just stacked them for the picture so I could get them all in. 😄