We've got warm weather, above freezing, and it's raining. It's been a while since I saw rain. All the precipitation has been snow all winter.
I went to the barn and groomed Penny and put her lightest blanket on. Not the rain sheet, one just a bit warmer than that, since she's had her heaviest one on till now, and I didn't want to make too big a change. Even though it's warm, she still didn't want to lift that hind foot till I rubbed the leg. But then it wasn't too much of a problem. So she hasn't totally recovered from whatever it is.
I went to the library today. I got a Magic Tree House book, which my brother said was popular with his kids. Every Sunday, I read the kids I tutor something and then have them write something about it. They are really behind in writing compared to reading and vocabulary and grammar. I've noticed that they can fill in the blanks and choose the correct answer from a multiple choice question, but when it comes to writing or speaking, they still make grammatical errors. I told them they need to make the grammar a part of them, not just have it down on paper. Of course, I correct them -- especially the little girl -- when she says "He don't." That's still a problem for her.
I've been tutoring the littlest one, too, a 4-year-old boy. He knows very little English, just about what I know of any foreign language -- a word here and there. Still, I speak to him in English and demonstrate, and his sister is there to translate when he really doesn't understand. He's working now on writing the letters. I do a couple each lesson, and print out worksheets where he traces them. I also have him do an exercise I like where he has to circle a certain letter in a row. They have a capital A, for instance, then other A's as well as other letters. He has to find the A's and circle them, but not the other letters. The girl just got over problems distinguishing b and d, and the little guy has that problem, too. I think it's hard for kids to see the details instead of a general shape, and those lowercase letters do look alike, except for the direction they face.
I'll tutor tomorrow, and I'll ask them if they have read the Magic Tree House book, #1, which I have for Sunday. If they've heard the story, then I may have to rethink Sunday's reading. If they haven't read any of the books, and they like #1, I'll get #2 for next time.
Last Sunday, instead of reading, I tried a computer game I just got. Here's the scenario. You inherit an old house from your uncle. It needs fixing up, especially the garden. You need money for that. So you have a jumble sale (a yard sale, but in the house itself) to make money to fix up the garden and get rid of lots of extra stuff. So you go to the house, and there are various rooms with a very cluttered assortment of stuff. People come to
buy a certain item, and you have to find it and get money for it. My thought was, if you were looking for an object, like a washboard, then you had to know what it is, so it would teach the kids some words, plus it sharpens observational skills. Some of the objects are hard to find! So I took my computer there and had them look for stuff. The girl liked the game, but the boy got bored very quickly. Then I had them write about whether they liked the game or not and why. I only got a few sentences out of each of them. How can I get them to write more? My dream is about half a notebook page.
No Nite Picture . . . 
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