A World of Learning

 I was just working with the second-grader that I tutor, and her task was to figure out which words fit into five given sentences. We are using a workbook that I don't let any of the kids write in, because they need to share. So I told her just to read the sentences and point to and say the words that go in the blanks. But she asked me for a piece of paper, so I gave her one. She started out by writing the words that would go in the blanks. Then she started writing the sentences, blanks included. I told her that she didn't need to do all of that, all she needed to do was to read. But she told me that she was in second grade and never got any homework, only with her mom and me. So she wanted to write the sentences out.  I thought it was cute of her to say that. I noticed that she was crowding the lines as she wrote, though, and leaving letters out of words. So I found myself thinking that she does need practice writing sentences. It's good to see what areas she needs practic...

 I've been working with a three-year-old girl and a dry erase book, in which she is learning to trace lines, shapes, and the letters of the alphabet. The most recent page was an alphabet maze that threw a trick into it. The point was to follow the maze from A to Z in alphabetical order, but here and there were places where they put two of the same letter, one leading to a dead end and the other allowing her to continue following the letters of the alphabet. I helped her out quite a bit with this, so I think I will have her do it again, with less help, to see if she notices whether or not she's going in alphabetical order and not following the wrong path! 

 Well, I don't remember if I already posted that I recently gained two new tutoring students or not, but prior to that, I had five resuable grocery bags full of learning activities, books, and notebooks, one for each student. Now I have seven, and they're all piled in my bedroom! I think I'm going to need to start keeping them in the back of my car again, as I did previously. But I need to remember to take all of the bags of reward candy out of each student's bag, otherwise it might melt or freeze, both of which have happened in the past! It's a good thing each candy bag has the students' names on them!  There is one reason I prefer to keep the learning bags in my room rather than in the car: the students need to share some of the items depending on what learning game they are going to play. If I get the bag for the next student that I need to plan for, and discover that I need a certain item, if the other bags are in my room, it's easy to go and get the ite...

 The Hooked on Phonics program that I've been using for the different age levels has short stories with fun illustrations that go along with specific lessons. One, for example, is called "Pop! Pop! Pop!" and is for the beginning readers. I read the story to them, but when I point to the words of the title in the story, they look at them and say them aloud.  Another book that goes along with a lesson for a third grader that I tutor is called "This Book is Broken." Some of the pages are intentionally out of order or upside down, funny things like that. Some of the page numbers are mixed up, or there might be two page numbers on one page. The learning factor of this story is using the "th" sounds that the lesson focused on. But the girl I read this story with loves the book!  Hooked on Phonics has sent me many of these little books, and I'm looking forward to seeing the kids interact with them as they acquire more reading skills. 

 I enjoy giving birthday gifts to the kids I tutor, and another one just came today! I found myself thinking, "What can I get an eight year old girl in our small town?" We don't have a toy store. Well, I was in Walgreens in line to make a purchase when I saw the perfect thing: a plush toy of Stitch's girlfriend! I think her name is Rose, but don't quote me on that. 😉 But what made this toy special is that it's just her head, and it bounces really high off a hardwood floor! She and her brother both liked it, and so did their mom. I'm always spelling out words by tossing a bean bag back and forth with the child, so the girl's mom got her to bounce her new toy with her and spell out "Thank you!" 

 Hey! It's been a while! Happy 2026! I hope the year is starting off well for you! Things are good here, other than having covid once and a cold today!  Anyway, I found a new game for the kids I tutor to play! I noticed a checkerboard pattern on the back of the cereal box, of the cereal I was eating one morning. I thought "hmmm. . . I think I could turn that into a good game for tutoring." So I drew in some lines and made a path for our players to follow, how far we go each team determined by saying the word correctly, then rolling the die. Whoever gets to Finish first wins! It's quite a success, as I can use it for being able to recognize words, spell words (without seeing them), identifying letters of the alphabet, or correctly completing math equations. It's very versatile. Game ideas can be found just about everywhere you look - you just need to think creatively!