Notebooks

Reading and Writing are two essential elements to learning.

Yes, Gabi reads. She's been reading since she was four. Taught her sister to read a month later, and reads almost anything she can get her hands on. That doesn't mean that she always understands what she's reading. She just doesn't have the life experience - and sometimes the vocabulary - to fully grasp the story. So my focus is on comprehension.

Trying to find the best way to do this for us, I've done things from writing down questions which she has to answer to just talking about it. I feel that I get the best results when we do both. So, she has a reading journal (a simple notebook) where I can write questions for her to consider and then answer about the book as she reads, or where she can also just write the things she reads about. This second way allows me to see how much she comprehends without guided questions. We also talk about the things she reads. That's not a problem for her... like her mom, she loves to talk!

The second notebook we picked up is for writing... more specifically for creative writing. Gabi loves to write, but I don't want us to keep loosing her work... mostly because she'll do something of her own choosing and then we don't know about it. This will give her a place to write. I also plan to give her "writing prompts" designed to work along side the grammar and writing lessons which I use. (My main guide is free - found online at Scott Foreman Reading. It's not a complete set of lessons and practice, it's only the basic lesson. You do have to supplement yourself. But if you don't mind doing that (which I don't) then it's one way to go and saves you a bunch of money.) The notebook will also help to keep all this writing together as well!