entirelysonja

This afternoon Erika and I did lesson 97 in the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and lesson 34 in the Mathematics Enhancement Programme.

Earlier in the day, we'd reviewed the exercise at the end of lesson 33 using a new teaching method and some Cuisenaire rods -- the exercise was to color every second ball in a series one color, and every third ball another color. Erika didn't really understand what "every second ball" and "every third ball" meant, so I got out some Cuisenaire rods and showed her how to count 'one-two, one-two, one-two" for every second block, and "one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three" for every third block. Then I laid out a row of white Cuisenaire blocks, and had her put a red one next to every second block, and a green one next to every third block. That seems to have worked for her, so hopefully this idea will be less confusing in the future.

Anyway, our lessons this afternoon were just lovely. The reading lesson was short and easy, and the math lesson was exactly right in terms of challenge. Erika was really receptive to my suggestions on how she might think about the problems, and it was just a totally pleasant experience.

Here's hoping our "official" school days next year go mostly this way!