summer speech-session #5

Last week, SJ had his last summer speech appointment.  He should have had one the week before, but his appointment was cancelled due to a scheduling snafu.  We will continue with evening speech appointments in September.

The first thing his therapist worked on was Opinions.  She explained to him that eventhough he may like things or not like certain things other people may not feel the same way he does.  

She had him look at a paper and he had to place an X on the items he doesn't like.  She did this activity as well, so that SJ could see they may not dislike the same things.  His X's are in blue ink and hers are in red ink.  See the following worksheet.

She was able to use this visual to show him that he doesn't like salads, but she does.  They both don't like casts.

Next, she worked on Main Ideas.  She showed him a picture without any words.  He had to write down what was the most important thing in the picture.  SJ sometimes struggles with this concept, since he tends to focus on the small details.  

In the first picture, he wrote that she slipped and her food fell on the ground.  In the second picture, he wrote that the man gives a check to the cashier.  He did very well with this activity.

summer reading session #6

Last Wednesday, SJ had his last summer session with Mrs. Banks.  He was again very difficult to get up, but I somehow managed.  

They read two more chapters of Flush.  She said he is enjoying it.  She was very pleased with the effort he gave her considering that he was "so tired".  

Mrs. Banks said she would continue this novel with SJ when their sessions continue on September 15th.  I am hoping his new reading teacher, Mrs. Page, will approve this novel for his first book report.  I will keep you posted.

visiting aunt jojo for gabe's birthday

Last Thursday, we went on a road trip to my sister, Jojo's, house for the weekend.  Pappy went with us as well.  We picked up my dad around 10:30 and drove 3 1/2 hours to Jojo's. We stopped halfway for a restroom break and to buy some snacks.  

After we arrived at Jojo's house, the boys started playing with their cousins.  They played soccer in the backyard and on their pogo sticks in the driveway.  They played until dinnertime and continued to play outside until dark.  

On Friday, we hung out at her house until after lunchtime.  After lunch, we went to their pool. My boys love the diving area.  They have a diving board there and that is different from our pool.  SJ was in the diving area the entire time we were at the pool.  He was working on doing flips.  He is getting pretty good at them.

After we returned to her house, the boys played outside with Gabe, Cedar and Laurel.  It was Gabe's 14th birthday.  He was having some friends over to celebrate.  They had pizza, played baby World Cup soccer, ate cupcakes and played Manhunt when it got dark.

After the party guests left, the boys got ready for bed.  They went to bed, but I heard lots of giggling for hours.

On Saturday, Jojo's in-laws came to visit.  

They wanted to take Laurel shopping.  While they were shopping, Jojo and I took the boys back to her pool.  All four boys spent most of our pool time at the diving area.  Cedar was nervous to do flips, so SJ kept showing him what to do.  Cedar did eventually do a front flip. Bob was trying to get SJ to do a back flip. He did try it once, but he only managed to hit the water hard on his back.  

After we left the pool, I picked up lunch for the boys.  SJ, Gabe and Cedar had McDonalds and Bob had Subway.  They all enjoyed their lunch.  They continued to play outside after lunch.

We had yummy grilled chicken, fresh corn and baked potatoes for dinner.  Jojo's in-laws left after dinner.  The boys watched a movie with my dad and my brother-in-law while Jojo, Laurel and I played Life.  

On Sunday, we left shortly after the boys woke up.  My dad was golfing with my uncle in the afternoon, so we had to get rolling.  It was a great visit with Jojo's family!

summer reading session #5

Last Wednesday, SJ had his weekly reading session with Mrs. Banks.   I had A LOT of trouble getting SJ out of bed that morning.  He was complaining about being SO tired!  

He got up so late that he didn't have time for breakfast.  I told him that I would make him breakfast after we returned home.  

They continued to read Flush.  Mrs. Banks said they read a few chapters.  They were working on the comprehension questions when I returned.  I overheard him saying that I returned too soon.  That was surprising, since he wasn't eager to go in the first place.

He will have one more summer session.  Mrs. Banks has to return to work.  He will have a few weeks off and then his tutoring sessions will continue in September.  

summer speech-session 4

Last Friday, SJ had his weekly speech therapy session.  She spent most of the session working on comprehension. SJ had to read two short paragraphs.  She had him answer a few questions about the passage.  This is the passage.

Seeing blood when we get scratched or cut can be really scary.  Some people even faint when they see blood.  The truth is that blood is an amazing substance that keeps us alive. The heart pumps blood throughout the body. During its trip, blood passes by the lungs where red blood cells absorb oxygen.  The oxygen is then carried to other parts of the body.  Blood also carries glucose, which is a kind of sugar.  Glucose is the food our cells need to produce energy.

Blood also contains white blood cells which are the body's police officers.  These cells defend the body against diseases by removing foreign materials.  Platelets are cells in blood which serve as the body's Band-Aid.  When a person is injured, platelets bond together to stop the bleeding and protect the body.  Blood makes up about 7% of our body weight.  It's easy to see how important blood is for keeping the body healthy.  It's just better when it is on the inside!

His therapist said SJ did very well with the 7 questions.  She then had SJ retell the story with picture cards.  He had a little more difficulty with that.  She asked me to have SJ reread the passage and use the picture cards to retell the passage to me for homework.  Here are the picture cards.

summer reading session #4

Last Wednesday, SJ was back at reading tutoring since Mrs. Banks had returned from her beach vacation.  She started a new book with him.  She selected Flush by Carl Hiaasen.  

Mrs. Banks selected this novel, because it is seventh grade level. It is a mystery novel that has some humor in it.  The book is about a gambling boat that is illegally dumping sewage into the waterways.  One of the characters tries to sink the ship, but the boat is back in business despite the attempted sinking.

Noah's dad, one of the character's, is in jail and Noah tries to get the owner to stop polluting the sea with his raw sewage.  

Mrs. Banks and SJ read two chapters.  SJ had a lot of questions on vocabulary words or they would have gotten farther. 

Mrs. Banks said they would continue to work on this book for the remaining summer sessions.  I asked her if he would be able to use it for one of his book reports in 7th grade.  She said he would be able to use it, so that is one worry off my mind.