Week 4 -- Plans

Progress Update:

Composition and Reading Aidan has really gone to town with story writing. He loves it so much that I get tired before he does. Even though his choice of topics and words are limited he has made progress in fluency, maybe because of the repetition, in fact. I'd like to extend his choice of topics and maybe try to get him to journal or narrate. But right now he's so happy I want to encourage that part of it. I think he's finally reading at a mid-first-grade level or something of the kind.

He has started to try to copy out some of the stories either by hand or on the computer. He is getting better at handwriting -- more decisive and functional.

Math Aidan has been doing addition on the abacus. He can count to the answer but I don't think it really makes sense to him because it's not grounded in concrete circumstances. If he had to add in real life I think he would pick it up a lot faster.

Reading: Aidan was able to read (with help) the first page of the Little Red Hen (Harriette Treadwell's Literary Primer on the sidebar. He also read the first short sentences in the Christian Brothers Primer.

Physical Therapy: The PT has been working on training Aidan to lead with his left knee, and also to loosen up his upper body. Once his left trunk and leg and arm are "recruited" and engaged individually and in cooperation rather than as a stiff unit, he does so much better with his stride than he's done in the past.

Occupational Therapy: The OT has been working on stretching the muscles and tendons in his left hand. She also has him work with his pincer grip. I have some massaging work to do with him at home.

She gave him a coloring book with vehicles in it for his birthday and he was very occupied with it for days and took great pride in working on it.

Daily Life: We have been going to the beach most days and I think walking in the water and on the sand is helping retrain his gait and develop core strength. Also we are trying to walk most days and pushing his wheelchair uphill is quite heavy work and good for strengthening.

I'd like to modify some of the stretching and stability exercises I'm doing to suit him.
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Now that it is summer we probably won't do too much school for a while. I'd like to try some of the Catholic readers around the house on him. Also, I think it would be good to work through some of the arithmetic primers online with him.

Week 3 -- Resources

Resources And Activites for This Week:

Math


Addition Generator -- you can program in maximum and minimum numbers
Use with counters

Addition flashcards

Here's something Aidan will probably like -- Dice Addition (since he likes dice). You can design and print out PDFs. I could even make them into cards. Domino Addition worksheets -- same sort of concept but largerr.

Here's the Ambleweb Addition Machine.


Comparing Numbers and Quantities
Another comparison site where you can generate parameters
More Games Here


Reading Words

• CB Lesson 4
• CB Lesson 3
• CB Lesson 2
• LMR 1 -- Words

Add extra practice for the ones he has trouble with.

Reading and Writing Sentences

Revisit Story 1
LMR sentences

• Write some more stories.
• Start giving him topics for variety.

Religion

God loves us.
We love God
(master the Sign of the Cross)
God can see us


Going Further

CB Lesson 5
CB Lesson 6
CB LEsson 7
CB Lesson 8
CB Lesson 9
CB Lesson 10
Recapitulation

Literature

Little Red Hen vocabulary
Little Red Hen story p 1

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Week 3 -- Plans

I seem to do best with planning in narrative. So bear with me. I am counting this as Week 3.

Progress Update:

Aidan had an easy time with letter/sound correspondence and number recognition up to 100.

He also surprised me by mastering easily the words for the numbers up to ten. Since it was new and also a lot of fun for him, we should continue to practice occasionally.

Addition is a big struggle -- not doing it, but getting the concept. I am thinking of moving past the beginner ones since he can count them so easily. I'll just advance as if he were a regular primary schooler and let him use manipulatives to reinforce until he gets it down by repeated exposure.

Another possibility for addition is to have him construct his own addition sentences.

Reading is progressing. We'll continue the way we're going, with word lists on the computer and lessons from Starfall. I may make some cards for him, since he loves those.

Another possibility is to make little books for him with nursery rhymes and simple poems since he loves rhymes.

With the word cards he could do word families. This may be good for Paddy's spelling, as well.

Also I may have him cut out the words from one of his invented sentences, then arrange the words in the sentence order using a model at first, then fade to doing it on his own.


With religion, I'm a bit at a loss. The Christian Brothers say that prayers are the essence of beginning faith. He memorizes well. I could associate pictures with the concepts in the prayers and explain them very simply.

It might help with Paddy, too. The concepts I explain to Aidan are the core concepts of the lessons I am teaching Paddy.

Also, Aidan may enjoy the Catholic Treasure Box series.... especially if we just browse through the pictures together.

I would like to make a preschool notebook with him.

As usual, Aidan does great at any life skill. And as usual we don't get therapy homework done regularly. That is his mom's fault.

Some general notes:

I'm going to postdate these plans so they show up at the top of the blog all week. Then at the end of the week, I can tell what actually got done.

I may put a brief daily log at the Learning Notes blog and then link to them on Friday by day, then archive them on here.

Like this:

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• overview (overview would be on here).

Week 1 -- Things to Do, Goals

Italics indicate things that haven't been introduced yet and may take time.

Preparation

• Notebook or paper
• Pens of different colors
• Teach "Quiet Hands" and "Aidan" to direct attention. Practice it a few times.
• Variety and Repetition -- Cycles.

Goals for Reading;

1. Aidan knows sight words on lists 1 and 2 fluently (read and recognize)
2. Aidan can decode the CVC short A words in the first 2 lessons (guide him, then fade prompts)
3. Aidan can spell 30% of the words on the first lists orally or in writing.
   
4. Aidan can read the known words in a made up story or in a book.

Goals for Math

1. Aidan recognizes numbers up to 100 and can say them.
2. Aidan knows what comes after random numbers from 1 to 100.
3. Aidan understands concept of adding and can add easy numbers using counters.
   

Goals for Theme:

1. Aidan knows the months of the year
2. Aidan can say what comes after a given month.
3. Aidan can read months.
4. Aidan can say what day of the week a given date falls on (looking at a chart)

Goals for Therapy

1. Aidan obeys "quiet hands" signal and phrase (guide, then fade prompt).
2. Aidan walks backwards striking with heel.
3. Aidan makes eye contact when teacher says his name.

Goals for Theme:

1. Aidan knows the days of the week in order
2. Aidan knows the months of the year in order
3. Aidan knows the months and dates for major holidays, family birthdays, etc.
4. Aidan can plan out and read a schedule
5. Aidan understands hours and minutes.
6. Aidan can read a clock
7. Aidan recognizes and reads number words up to ten.