Tuesday Tidbits

Little Caitlyn tidbit:
Caitlyn decided this month she is brave enough to go to class at church. She has gone 2x now and had fun. She was all smiles both times her daddy took her in, however she tells us she cried for just a minute at some time during class but that the teacher said don't worry your daddy will be back soon and that then she was ok. She reenacts these moments for us, word for word so we can see what happened;)
She also explained to everyone there, she is from China. She seems to think this makes her VERY special;), and expects royal treatment. She is indeed our Hunan Princess 100 percent!;)

school report for this week:
Caitlyn has surprised me and been spending around an hour everyday on the computer with PBS kids or Starfall. I have been very surprised at her attention span as well as her eagerness. I much prefer book learning, to be honest. I LOVE books... I love the smell of a book store, I love books arriving at my doorstep from Amazon,or CBD... I love shopping for books on line and can search and browse hours... I love snuggling and reading with the Treasures... Caitlyn is such a busy girl however, that I haven't felt like I have accomplished much with her as far as ABC'and 123's. Not that I am in a particular hurry... There is so much repeat of things for PreK ,K, first GR ... I just wanted her to use some of that amazing energy and intelligence she has on something constructive, like learning productive things versus tearing the house apart;) The happy update of the week is Caitlyn is spending some time independently; increasing her knowledge plus having fun and it has helped Jacob, Chloe and I to be more productive with our sit down together and learn time. I have several Melissa and Doug learning toys...puzzles, blocks sorters etc. for busy time for her; but she really prefers Chloe do those type things with her, so they were not helping as far as keeping her busy independently.
I also ordered a product I am happy with for all 3 this week through the Homebuyers co-op that is computer related as well
Lets go learn Reading. The program gives each child an individual assessment and then creates an individualized lesson plan based on that child's score. It has reading levels from pre K up to 5th gr level so it is something we won't out grow for a while. I purchased a 1 year plan for 33% off and it allows for up to 5 children. It was more expensive than click n read and around the same price as a headsprout subscription. I made my final decision based upon a few low reviews of click n read and the fact that this program goes beyond headsprout. I can re test the students at anytime to see if they are increasing in their abilities and to get new suggestions of what to work on with our independent work, It is a very thorough assessment. It tests phonetic ability, vocabulary, reading comprehension, spelling, sight words, to give you an example of hat they are tested on... I am pleased so far and each child has enjoyed their time playing a couple of short lessons a day. They did not really enjoy the assessment/but didn't balk at it; but that is kind of understandable. It has to ask some things you don't know to figure out where you are academically. The lessons are much more fun and short compared to the assessment. Jacob had to do his assessment in 3 intervals and Chloe took hers in 2. A break definitely helped.

This product is something I can send one to do while working individually with another.

some school fun: