When I went for my walk with Elsa this morning, it was freezing. I slipped the sleeves of my sweatshirt over my hands. That's cold, folks. When I left for Bikram an hour later, the car thermometer read 660. That may not sound cold to you for outdoor temperature, but we live heat-free. The inside of my house offers me shelter from the sun and rain but not from the cold. Every window and door is open to the outside. It's a wonderful way to live. I have become a Hawaiian convert. Lucky to Live in Hawaii!! It's all over my heart now too.
When I got in the car to go to Bikram, I found an envelope from Yvette. We have been doing much better and thanking each other for being the type of person who will work on a relationship. I am very grateful to her. We have better and better shared moments.
In yoga today, I did most of the exercises, standing rather than lying down for most of the class when Sandi was teaching. It's not her; it just that I had PT the day before, and my muscles had had it. I did have to get up in the middle of the class and do a bathroom run. Sandi came over to help me. She stood in front of me, offered me her right arm to lean on, and used her left to push on my ribs. My immediate thought is that she has had training on how to help the elderly. I forgot to ask when the class was over. I have to remember to pass this hint on to Heather; it will be easier on her body to do it that way.
After class, I stopped off at Island Naturals to buy some ginger. After class, I told everyone what Katie had told me about the soothing effects of ginger on body aches. Deborah, who suffers from terrible pain after a car accident, said she knew and used ginger for just about anything. Cut it lengthwise to rub it on the body; cut it so you get some ragged pieces, soak them in water, and you get a great rinse to help with sore throats.
I dropped off one more bag of donations at Goodwill and then continued on home. I worked on writing a letter to someone I have some disagreements with. It is a long, long letter. I don't know if I will send it. Will it cause more harm than good? Would I be better off letting sleeping dogs lie? I don't know. I'm not the best judge. When Mike was alive, these situations were often avoided because he was terrified of conflict. I find that conflict, if it can be resolved, always is worthwhile. Not because 'I get my way,' but because the relationship gets deeper.
I went to school. In Mrs. D.'s class, the kids had free time. I told her this would be an excellent time to quietly play the audio file in the background. She said yes and didn't do it. I don't know if there is a risk in playing it that she is aware of that I am not, or she is just wary of trying something new that she hasn't been required to do by the school. It could be either one. It's frustrating. But on the other hand, there is a chance, a good chance, that there are kids in the room that will hate the audio file as I. hates it. It's a good sign of an auditory processing problem and an invitation for me to help the student fix it.
I worked with N. first. He brought out an N level book, which is the beginning level for 3rd grade. I asked Mrs. D. if he was continuing to improve and reading on grade level yet. She said no, he wasn't. I brought her the N book he had brought out. She said that was right for him. I reminded her that was grade level. She said it was more about his writing. My guess it was more his verbal expression skills in general. He shares the minimum amount of information when you ask him a question, and it is usually awkwardly phrased. This may be one reason that she believes his reading is also below grade level. He is hardly an enthusiastic participant in a group.
I told her that it is time to work on his writing. The whole class was working on writing a persuasive letter. N chose "There Should Be Pogs at School." I managed to pull information out of him and write something coherent, but it was tough. At this stage, I get the information from the student and write it pretty much in my own words. As this continues, the student becomes more competent, and the written piece becomes more of a reflection of their level of writing. I call it cowriting.
I first started using it in the early 80s with a student who was reading well below grade level. I figured if he was reading what he had written, he might read and reread it and learn the words. His mother called me after we had done three or four of these stories to tell me how much his writing had improved. Fearing I would have to disappoint her, I told her that the writing was mostly my work. She said, "No, you don't understand. He is speaking better." What!!? This procedure works on helping students with all forms of verbal expression. I help them put their thoughts in a coherent form. They learn as I model expressing their idea.
When people first hear what I am doing in the cowriting, they tell me that I'm not helping the students because I'm doing most of the work. I understand. That's how I thought when I first started this method. However, over and over and over, I have people saying to me, "You won't believe it, but he/she is speaking more and writing more." By this point, I know to expect that result.
The next student to come out was R. She was squirrelly today. She wanted to read a book on a G level. She couldn't decode the wordplay. I tried to guide her through the crossbody blending exercise. She was not listening to me. I told her if she was not up for doing what I want her to do today, she should go inside. She is usually better than this.
I worked with B. next. As he came out, Mrs. D. told me she is seeing significant improvements in his reading. Spelling is a way of approaching word decoding and recognition skills. The spelling lesson for the week was on homophones. He struggled with the first two words, sail and sail. He started writing seal. He remembered the rule that both of these words the a came after the s. I asked him if he was looking for patterns with his mom. He said no. My guess is mom isn't a skilled academic. Looking for patterns and memory tricks is what experienced academics are good at, besides a few other things.
He got stuck on road, rowed, and rowed. I remembered that I thought of working kinesthetically with him in a dream. It should have been obvious, but as I said the other day, I have learned to forgive myself for not applying solutions that I know sooner. Sometimes the student isn't ready. I don't always know why, but I learned to trust my instincts.
I had B. write the words on the desktop with his finger. That didn't last too long. He complained of being tired, so he sat, and I stood over him. I had my right hand on top of his right hand. I had him write the word when he could; when he couldn't, I would move his hand and write the word. While he was writing, I could detect an error and correct it immediately. We practiced the homophones, rode, road, and rowed several times. I asked him if he wanted to work on the next set of homophones. He said no. I let him go inside.
I went off to work with the students in Mrs. B.'s class. When I went into the room, the class was involved in an art project. Mrs. B. used to be an art teacher and offers the students wonderful art lessons. She's a remarkably organized teacher. Neither I. nor D. wanted to leave the activity. Mrs. B. insisted that I. come out with me. He complained of being tired. This is a good kid. Mrs. B. told me he had just listened to the audio file. I asked him how he felt about it. He made a little smirk, not rudely, to tell me he still didn't. I told him I wanted to know because it gave me information about him. I told him to put his head down on the desk, and I modeled phonemic production using the first Carpenter story he had been working on. Despite himself, he participated. Yep, I've seen that before. There is something irresistible about responding for many students, just mentally, if not verbally. After only a few sentences, he asked to go back inside. I let him go. Those few minutes were worth their weight in gold as it was.
I went home, changed my clothes, and went down for a lovely two-hour nap. Have I mentioned how much I love to sleep?
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