The following is an actual word-for-word re-enactment of the phonics lesson I had this morning with an unnamed ADD student. And my husband wonders why I don't have time to homeschool AND cook dinner on the same day!
(Our conversation is in parantheses and are not part of the scripted lesson.)
Joe (except, unnamed student said Jue, and when corrected said, "Good, because that's not a very good name for a boy...Jue...but they did call Jesus that, right?")
starting over...
Joe and Sue cruise ("Hey, didn't the Barnards go on a cruise?) slowly ("and the band director went on a cruise, too. What's his name? Is today the day for band? When will I be old enough to be in band?")
starting over....
Joe and Sue cruise slowly on a road ("Why don't you and Daddy ever go on a cruise?
Who would keep us if you went? Millie kept the Barnards when they went. Would you ever let Mary-Faith watch us while you went on a cruise. I hope not.")
starting over...
Joe and Sue cruise slowly on a road ("That's ridiculous. You can't go on a cruise on a road. It would mess up the boat, right?")
starting over....
Joe (unnamed student says Jue again - and through gritted teeth, but still smiling...slightly...which is not that easy to do because it hurts your jaw - and your lips....I correct her AGAIN and point out the big O in the word JOe)
starting over....
Joe and Sue cruise slowly on a road and spy ("Oh! They are spying! Are they spies? I don't think they will make very good spies with that boat on a road" ...which leads to a lesson on the two uses of the word spy, where I mistakenly use the example of the game I SPY to explain how 'spy' can be an antonym for 'see'. For the next 10 minutes he/she is trying to figure out what I spied that was green...but I didn't really spy ANYTHING because I was just trying to be a good mother-teacher and help her understand the Doggone English Language, but this is what I get, and at this moment I think it might be easier on my sanity if I just let 'the student' grow up illiterate!!!)
starting over...
Jue and Sue (I guess she just likes the way they sound together..) cruise slowly on a road and spy a shadow ("I can still say the poem My Shadow..Want to hear it, Mommy?"...and I kind of do, but I insist that we proceed so we can finish before nightfall.)
starting over...
Jue and Sue cruise slowly on a road ("Can I just say ocean? I feel stupid talking about people cruising on a ROAD." I briefly consider explaining the different ways the word cruise can be used, but I love the sound of her giggle every time she reads that part. Surely she must be envisioning the Barnards and the band director in a big boat going slowly down the street :)) I now find myself caught in that twilight zone between laughing and crying. I choose to smile, and ungrit my teeth....and I secretly applaud myself for being such a patient Mommy...this time.)
starting over...
Jue and Sue cruise slowly on a road and spy a shadow under the blue moon. ("Is the moon really blue, Mom? Could we go out tonight and look through the binoculars and see if the moon is blue? Oh, no, we can't- because Daniel broke the binoculars. I TOLD him he shouldn't touch them, but he wouldn't listen. Now we don't have any binoculars and so we can't see if the moon is ...." She stops only because she's having a hard time talking with my hand over her mouth.)
starting over....
Jue and Sue cruise slowly on a road and spy a shadow stooping under the blue moon.
It has been 25 minutes, and I only had 5 minutes scheduled (because after all, it was ONLY TWO SENTENCES) but when I look down and see that in the next sentence the shadow is a "shy moose chewing fruit" I decide we will wait and tackle that tomorrow...or the next day.
On days like this, and with God as my witness, we have more days like this than not-I know without a doubt that this unnamed student, and her unnamed siblings, with all thier quirks and learning struggles are better off with me for a teacher than in a classroom somewhere. Because no one loves them like I do. And if I didn't love them, I would Cruise on Down the Road :)
10 comments:
Too funny! And I thought Ariel was driving ME insane!
That was hilarious- and I have NO idea which "she" it could be who might still be at home learning phonics. ;)
Oh my, that was great! Well, not great for you, I guess...but thanks for sharing it so the rest of us could laugh--and then count our blessings that we haven't had THAT particular hurdle to deal with today!!! :)
HAHA " I wonder who SHE is??
thats one thing i don't miss from being away from home.
MF
But Deb, will you cruise in a boat on the road?
Wow, that was hilarious! :D
Funny and inspiring as well!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I love Pleasant View Schoolhouse too. She has a marvelous, beautiful blog.
I have a sister who is ADD so I 'get' this!! ;)
i know you have been busy reading my blog, but certainly you have something to write about to make me laugh!!!! come on girl, how is the house hunting going? the packing? you have to give me something...
AH, comforting to know that it's the kids and not the teachers! I posted the exact same scenario on my blog a couple of weeks ago.
Kelly L
i am trying to stop the uncontrollable laughter so I can type quickly enough to tell you, that this little glimpse into your reality was greatly appreciated by me. Sometimes I wonder how there really can be a parallel universe.... the same type of dialogue is a common occurrence in our home
much love :)
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