Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Brian A. came over to put my new battery into my Apple computer. For $100, I got the battery itself the installation within an hour with home service. Had I gone to the local store, I would have had to leave the computer there for three days while they did 'diagnostic' work, which they would charge me for; I would have had to pay $129 for the battery plus the installation. Plus, did I mention Brian is a friend.
I finally went after a thick branch on one of the shrubs with a saw while I talked to Judy on the phone. I thought to spray the saw with WD 40 first. That worked like a charm. As the shrubs grow high, the lower branches are bare. I cut it, so the branches on the south side of the plant are shorter than those on the north side. That way, every branch will get sunshine without the lower limbs blocking the taller ones. Also, the lower branches will create a fullness closer to the ground.
I had a session with A this afternoon. I did it half an hour earlier because I wanted to participate in the LA United School District's workshop session offered through the Step Up program. I asked A if he was listening to the audio file. He said yes. His dad was making him listen. The stats showed the tracks listened to 32 times. I can't figure out from those stats if any one person had listened. I also asked him if he was reading by figuring out the sounds before working with me. He said yes to that too. I was surprised. I will ask his mom how much improvement she feels he has made. There is some, but it may not be as much as I thought.
He said he wanted to work on the story we wrote t. No, he did not want to make changes to the story; he just wanted to read it. Okay. About 30 minutes in, he looked like he was struggling. I proposed listening to the audio file. I started it and then thought to ask him if he would prefer to read the coded Carpenter material I prepared for beginning readers. He said the latter. I tried to bring up the first story, the 'easiest,' but opened the fourth by mistake. He zoomed through it. I will have to make more stories available soon. This boy looks strange. At first thought, you might think he was 'retarded’, but he learns quickly. I don't know what his actual problem is.
I met with A early because I wanted to participate in the Step Up Tutoring Program workshop at 3 my time, 5 theirs. I clicked on what I thought was the link. No, go. Then I realized I had to RSVP before they sent me the link. I tried to do that but couldn't. It rejected my Step Up email address and password. Maybe it was too late to RSVP because the workshop was already in session. It was on how to connect with tutoring students. I generally do well with this, but there is always more to learn.
I asked Laura Whipple, a fellow volunteer tutor with the Step-Up Program, to check out the PowerPoint presentation change. I dropped a slide where the participants gave me challenge words before they tried the processes for themselves. I decided to let them try it independently and then ask how I dealt with the words.
Laura and I planned to talk again today. I called her. She said she was on the Freeway and would contact me in 45 minutes. An hour and a half later, I called her, worried. It had taken her that long to get home- LA traffic. She had seen the presentation with the activity I was considering deleting. She said it sounded fine. When I first proposed doing the video, I planned an informal presentation with no prep. It became this polished PowerPoint presentation with a well-rehearsed speech.
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