Date

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1998-02-04

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1998-2-05

Good Morning. Kat greeted me this morning with a big smile and a "Hello, L." before I could even say a word.

Gym: Kat was really wonderful in gym today. They played the snowball game. Kat really joined in and seemed to have a great time. I only prompted her to run (She needs a little encouragement) to exhert herself! She cued alot from her teamates and attented nicely to Mrs. B.. Oh, Kat really has a great arm! Mrs. B. showed Kat the proper way to throw, extending her left leg and putting all her energy into her right arm and just letting the ball "fly"! Kat did it perfectly following Mrs. B's physical prompt. Even more exciting she threw the "snowballs" just as she had been shown the rest of the game- all on her own! C., a classmate, was very attentive to Kat. She left her team to explain and prompt Kat throughout the games, being supportive, smiling and talking to her and encouraging Kat and "urging her on"! C. initiated this all on her own without suggestion from Mrs. B. nor myself. It was wonderful to see. Kat was very resposive to C..

Science: Kat is really attending to Mrs. D today. I let her know she would be rewarded. She continued to listen wiith very few prompts for attention! Awesome Kat! She really seems "on the ball" this morning. I think all the running around in P.E. helped alot. The class is learning about all kinds of forces - friction, magnetic, gravity, electrical. Mrs. D is really holding Kat's attention. Kat just read very nicely with prompts for volume and difficult words. (Mrs. D prompts Kat now.)

A fun class today, we did some little experiments (in between reading to demonstrate types of pressure! Now Kat is doing her Chapter 12 vocabulary... We are now watching a movie for social studies. Kat is very intrested and paying attention. Kat just made a beautiful Valentine card out of construction paper and glitter. It will be sent to a senior citizens home, as part of February's "Random Acts of Kindness"!

Mrs. R.: Kat is studying for her spelling pre- test. I quizzed her to see which words she needs to focus on. She is concentrating on those words now. I had to take two dimes for silly talk and constant singing (stim is up right now, first time today). Very silly! But she got a 92 A on her spelling. Oh, funny thing - I just found out who Meesha is! I didn't know you got another dog. I hope Jenny is alright. Do the 2 dogs get along well together? I've been wondering and kept meaning to ask you- one day Kat said "My dog is Meesha" and I said "No,Kat, your dog is Jenny". Sorry I did not know. I meant to ask about Meesha. I saw Kat's description of Meesha (for M.N.) in her homework folder, then it made sense. I asked Kat all about Meesha. She did a nice job describing her with alot of details. I was worried something had happened to Jenny, so I asked Kat if "she still had Jenny"? I was happy to hear her say "yes"! So anyway, I know I'm a little late but "Congratulations on your new dog!"

Lunch/Recess: D. (student) prompted conversation with Kat. Kat gave some short answers and smiled a couple of times. - alot of nice eye contact today by the way. I had to prompt play during indoor recess. (D. was at the Book Nest") I had Kat run a few laps around the gym and she chose to jump rope after running. A lot of excerise today. Great!

Mrs R.: Kat is watching the movie along with other students who earned enough blue feathers for good behavior! Walt Disney's "Ruby Bridges". Kat is attendting very nicely to the movie, only a few prompts for attention towards the middle of the film - Kat got a little restless but she seem to genuinely interested in the story.

Math with Mrs. B.: very fidgety, had to take two dimes for singing and silly stim. ( I had asked her if she wanted to lose a dime? She said "No" "No silly talk" ) but continued singing - told her I had to take dimes. Kat is learning fractions. Lots of prompts for attention (playing with her clothing).

I am very sorry I missed clinic on Monday night- my dog Shiera, my heart, was dying. We have been inseparable for 22 years. I felt like I was dying too. I don't know how I am going to live without her- she was my heart. Thank you for your understanding. Have a good night and tell Meesha and Jenny "hello" for me.

P. S. "Kat did not want to hold the purse?!

L

Hi, L.

Sorry, Jenny died suddenly few weeks ago, that's why we have Meesha.

DH

This weekend we will be putting study cards together for Chapter 11 in Social Studies and Chapter 12 in Science. Please verify that these are correct and should we focus heavier on Social Studies or Science at this point. Thanks!!!

TH

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1998-2-06

Hello, Oh I am so very sorry about Jenny, Sorry I didn't know. (So sad)

Homeroom- A good morning so far, Kat greeted me nicely this morning but I had to prompt for eye contact.

Art - Kat finished her "Chinese opera mask," She was very creative! She chose the gold crown for the head and put a pretty blue feather in the crown! Kat worked fairly first, prompts for attention at times and I had to consequate her for verbal stim up (While coloring) but overall, she did really nice work. She really seems to enjoy art! She does need prompts and encouragement to "follow through" at times and to see possbilities for projects.

Mrs. R.'s-(still needs initial prompts to get started on seat work)

Kat did very well on her seat work! She already got three feathers today! She did especially well on a story ditto (choosing the right word to fill in the sentence). I went over the first story with her and let her do the rest of the stories all on her own, she did well with choosing from the multiple choice words to complete the sentences but she had trouble putting the events of the story in sequential order. She struggled a bit with her math seat work, she still seems a little unsure of herself with fractions. Kat did excellent with contractions, and attended very nicely to Mrs. R. during her reading group. In reading, we talked about categories- Kat did great! Mrs. R. had to tell Kat to stop singing three times during reading so I took dimes. (After reading the class practiced singing "Hero" with microphones) to get ready for the video they will be making for the little boy (Alex) who has cancer and is recovering from a bone marrow transplant.

Kat rushed through her fraction seat work assignment and missed alot. I went back over fractions with her and had her do the assignment over again. This time taking her time and focusing on what she is doing- just like the other kids, She wants to speed through fractions (like she does with multiplication) and gets frustrated when she gets them wrong. She can get fractions-if she slows down and looks at what she is doing. She seemed a little angry with me when I made her "re-do" her assignment- but it really did help and she was happy when she got the answers right!

Oh, I wanted to mention how wonderful the girls are at Kat's table in art! All the girls, not just D., are very supportive of Kat- They always make a point to talk to her (not just to prompt) and they always compliment her work and encourage her!

Kat always volunteers to hold the door for recess now-as soon as Mrs. B. asks for door holders. Kat raises her hand! Great Kat! During recess D. and I tried to prompt Kat into conversation. We talked about our plans for the weekend, Etc.- It was not too sucessful without more prompting. Kat did asked me to push her on the swing and to help her "fix the hair" ( She asked very sweetly!)

She rushed through an assignment and made alot of mistakes with three digit subtraction (with borrowing)- once we went over her mistakes she did see what she did wrong and was eager to fix her mistakes! Now on to fractions. Prompts for attention, not as silly today, "singing has subsided- she is working nicely with some prompts to stay on task, her understanding of fractions is getting much better already! She just volunteered a correct answer and now she is really "catching on"- doing great with her class work problems! (On the board)

Mrs. B. is really impressed-Kat is getting so quick with her fraction problems.(not rushing but understanding!) She is so great at math! We went over science vocabulary today in Mrs. D's class (Haven't been doing Social Studies alot when I 'm here with Kat lately) Then watched a movie.

Yes, It is Chapter 11 Social Studies and Chapter 12 for Science.

I would say about the same concentration on both Science and Social Studies.

Note: A little bit of Pica today- all day Kat has been fidgety, scratching and picking your at her dry skin. (face,back of neck and her back)- I caught her puting it in her mouth.

Hey, having wonderful weekend! ( There is no homework) And again, I' m very sorry about Jenny, take care,(see you at clinic on Monday!) L.

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1989-2-09

Hello! This morning, There is a bit of schedule change, because on Thursday, they will be watching "Johnny Tremain" because the fifth grade does not have Valentine's Day Parties. They skipped Health and went right to Social Studies. They will also be having science this p.m., so we will come back for it.

They read page 258- to 261 (Lesson 3) and then did page 69 in the workbook. Kat initialy had a bit of trouble paying attention, but then did a little better. She had trouble answering the questions on page 69, so I change the questions a little.

In Health, there are three classes in the all purpose room listening to the teacher talk about the circulatory system. It is very loud, it's even hard for me to pay attention. Now they are watching a film. They will work on a worksheet when the video is over. There wasn't much time after the video. They read the worksheet to review a few points and class was over.

In reading, there were parents reading as part of the enrichment program. Kat was making silly noises and was very wiggly. She usually loves it when Mrs. H. reads. It was hard to hear the parent because of the heater and she did not have a dynamic voice like Mrs. H

Kat improved her behavior when I took away few dimes and then gave her dimes for sitting quietly w/ no excessive movement or sounds. The 1st story was about a noble and a serf wedding. The next reading selection was about castles. Kat sat quietly and payed attention very well.

When we got into Mrs. R's room Ms. L was teaching about contractions Kat raised her hand and read one of the words, even though she wasn't looking for volunteers. It was a good try. Then, they played contraction memory game. Kat looked while the other kids had their turns and when she went, she didn't keep turning over the same once. When the fourth graders went to lunch, She turn to the assignment board and started her spelling Kat only needed a little bit of help on first page. The second one was about creating compound sentences. She needed bit of prompting for that.

After spelling, we went to the gym. It was supposed to be empty, but there was class in there, so we couldn't play basketball. I had told Kat earlier that we would play. Kat rode the stationary bike instead, but she kept requesting basketball.

When we came back from lunch, Kat did her language packet, She did okay on some pages and not so well on others.

The worksheets were about various types of verbs. As her reward, we went to the gym and played basketball for five minutes. Kat was very happy.

Then, we went back to Mrs. R's and Kat did her reading seat work we went to Mrs. D's and they were watching a Social Studies video. There is a list of events on the board to be put on the timeline on page 67 in the workbook I copied it well Kat wrote in her journal because it was hard to see. They had cupcakes Because it was Katie's birthday. As I was leaving, they were getting ready to go. They maybe going outside to see aphysics experiment. D. is interested in coming over on Friday or Monday since they don't have school. Just a reminder that clinic is tomorrow. See you then!

AB

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Hi, M., A.B. was gone all this time so I did not send her anything yet. Tom is not going to be there tonight but I do not want to postpone it anymore. Her "silly talk" is up lately. I'll see you tonight.

P.S. Can you bring Kat home today or else we can't make it to 4 p.m. meeting if you can't, please call me and I will pick her up.

Danuta

Good morning! P.E. first thing but first a short chat with Mrs. D. This is a wonderful time because the two make a personal connection when it happens. While they were face to face, Kat started making very strange faces. It was a golden opportunity to point out to Mrs. D what is inappropirate so she can remind Kat directly. Mrs. D is a very warm person but she also has a direct, forthright manner- Kat pays attention to this type of teacher!

In P.E. the small bit of chatter heard first thing has ceased! Took away one dime-and told her she must not silly talk in school. However, right after that she told me her barrette hurt. A good sign that she knows the difference between silly talk and acceptable talk. I gave her money! Now During the "snowball" game, I am amazed how quickly Kat has learned how to play. She is even running to get the ball with speed.

A few minutes available between P.E. and science so we went to the library to get two new books and do some research on Poland. Kat has made the Polish flag and written a short paragraph describing the country. This was assignment for International Foods Day.

Science is focusing on physics. They must take notes down in their science notebook. I would use this info as well as bold faced words in the book to make her cards. (Newton's laws of motion)

Mrs. D just announced that the test is next Wednesday on Chapter 12. Kat is mainly copying notes from the board. Now she is following along with the class in the book. She read the lesson goals at the beginning- Wow!

Her reading is really showing improvement. She just needs to practice even volume now. Once again, The class clapped and I think Kat really enjoys this kind of reinforcement. We have moved to reading in Mrs. R's room and the student teacher, Ms. L. is teaching. She also has her supervisior here so it is nerve-wracking for her! Kat is doing fine and Ms. L. is doing fine teaching Kat and the group. They read an entire story about a boa constrictor.

Finished her seat work (She is much more independent now) and couldn't wait to read "the book about cake" She is referring to the story of "Thunder Cake" which she read last year and still likes to go back to- a good reinforcer.

Off to International Foods Day at Lunch. This is always exciting but the choice is pretty overwhelming for anyone. Well, It's all over now and Kat ate everything on her plate. She certainly loves chicken and rice! Only had a minute to go out and play and then back inside for music.

Music involved learning a new song and a dance to go with it. Kat clearly loves these days when any dancing is involved. (Ask her about Shadow Dance)

The last order of the day is math. Kat is learning fractions now and is lapping it up! I am hardly involved at all during math time. Maybe time to discuss having Kat stay alone for this now. See you at home...M.

Sorry we did not get a chance towork on homework much since A. came in after clinic. I was happy with the changes A. agreed to and I am looking forward to the implementation! Danuta

Hi, Danuta!

A busy, happy morning at school- Kat in a wonderful mood and alert. In art, She was done all of her work, so she chose to color another intricate design. However, When another girl (M.) invited her to play a game, She said "I don't wanna play a game!" I was flabberghasted! So I let her continue you to color a bit Then said " Let's go play a game with M." She was resistant at first but then once into the game (Reinforced big time!) She had fun- and interacted with others.

On to Mrs. R.'s room for reading These group activities are getting more the familar to her and she knows what is expected. We do have to keep prompting for participation, hand raising, etc... Now Mrs. K. is here for Circle of Friends. They are making a circle and completing it with names a people in their lives, Discussing their significance.

Took sometime to talk to Mrs.R. who was very helpful finding the teacher's mannuals you requested I packed all of them in Kat's backpack (Hope is not too heavy) and the only one that needs to be return before years end is Social Studies. Also enclosed are some worksheets- workbooks J. requested for down time. I'm excited about the new plan too!

Let me know what else I can do to make this work well for Kat and for you. It's a new beginning!

We just had chocolate cake and soda to celebrate Mrs.K. getting her degree and I've noticed a difference in Kat almost immediately. Her stims started going up and she is having trouble controlling them.

Sugar really does make a difference!

After lunch, the kids watched an assembly put on by an improvisational theater group. They really were loud, colorful and fun- and of course, Kat was spellbound. She even got up with the other kids and danced. When it was over, it was a little hard to calm down but it was for the others, too.

Now Kat is writing away in her journal, telling about the assembly. She chooses to write in script now which is wonderful!

There is a little Valentine's bag for Kat from me and she can open when she gets home. She is already spotted the book about fish and tried to read it! It might be a little young looking but I think she'll like the content. Have a great weekend!

MN

Hello!

We started full speed ahead with the new program. Kat had a tiring but great night. Have a great day! A.

Hi! First after A.'s session Kat went to the kitchen while A. and I were talking. After A. left I went to the kitchen too. Kat's backpack was unpacked and she was doing her math homework. I asked if anyone told her to do it and no one did, She initiated it all on her own!

Good morning! I got a half- hearted greeting, had to prompt a nicer one with eye contact. When I arrived this morning Kat was engrossed in coloring a Valentine picture given to her by Mrs. D. She is really concentrating and doing a beautiful job- She is really enjoying herself and taking her time choosing a variety of colors and being careful to (stay) color in the lines. She sung The National Anthem very nicely and smiled!

We are watching a video tape of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and talking about all "The Firsts" that are happening in the Olympics this year (woman's ice hockey, snowboarding, NHL hockey players aloud to play in the Olympics.) After they played the snowball ski patrol-game. Kat was awesome! Needed a little prompting to run harder during the game to keep her hands out of her pockets. She did play hard and hit alot of the opposing team's players- Excellent! She really had fun and even got a chance to ride on the scooter- stretcher and get rescued by the ski patrol when someone "got her out"! She was smiling and laughing appropriately- I gave her a quarter for doing her best and really staying in the game and for all her great running!

We read pages to 262-267 ( Attention is up and no silliness) Kat is really paying attention to Mrs. D as she talks to the class. Very few prompts- just a couple to follow along in the book. We then listened to a recorded story of "Paul Revere's Ride" Kat is listening intently and very quietly to the recording, She is really tuned-in today in Social Studies. She really enjoyed the recording of Patrick Henry's- "give me Liberty or give me Death" Speech- she is listening so quietly and so interested! Awesome Kat! Told her she will get dimes (for listening so great and paying attention!)

-Did a little science, Chapter 12 review.

Mrs.R.: Kat appeared in the video for her sick classmate Alex (singing "Hero" by Mariah Carrey) She smiled alot and started to dance a little in the video. The class looked and sounded so sweet. Then Mrs. B. showed the class pictures of the castles she saw during her trip to England (In college), Kat liked the pictures.

Then Kat did very well on a listening exercise in language- She had to listen to sentences on a tape, Then decide if the verb tense is correct or wrong. She needed an initial prompt and restated the directions to make sure she understood but after I left her on her own and she did pretty good with it!

After- Kat initiated her seat work on her own and turned to look at the board on unprompted, then announced that she would do language page 329, Great Kat! The class got a late start on things due to singing for the video so I don't think we will have time to go to the gym for some excercise today ( But I did get her to run alot in gym class today) Kat is now studying her spelling words ( I will quiz her before her test.)

Hey, Kat got a 100 on her spelling test (quiz) that I gave her so she does not have to take it again- way to go Kat! She is great with spelling.

Kat ate one of her Valentine candies to celebrate.

With initial prompt Kat started her math seatwork and "wizzed" right through it! She is not waiting for her feathers.

12:30 time for lunch! Pepperoni pizza!

Kat chose to go to the booknest with D. and she came to me and said very confidently and nicely "I want this book" I asked her if she wanted to buy it with the money in her red purse she said "Yes" She had five cents in her purse and the remaining five cents I gave Kat.

Happy Valentine's Day! ( I would have liked to have treated but I didn't have my purse- Only had change in my pocket.) I think it was reinforcing for Kat to buy it with the money she earned today. She was so excited when she came up to me with the book and was so sure it was how she wanted to spend her money. It's great too- now she really takes the time to truly browse. "The Booknest" and looks at every book before for she chooses one.

When we returned to the classroom The room was clear- all the desks were pushed against the walls (they are showing the movie "Johnny Tremaine") for the whole fifth grade in Mrs.K's room- Kat appeared confused when she entered the room, Mrs. K. asked Kat if the room looks silly?

Kat said "yes, that's silly!" We got back about two minutes early from "The Booknest." R. was the only student in the class. He was sitting on the floor reading a book. He asked Kat if she wanted to look at the book with him? Kat sat on the floor with R. and R. then had Kat read the book out loud to him. (prompting her to read louder. It was a very sweet exchange between them ( And it got R. out of reading- pretty slick R.!)

When it was time for the movie to begin and kids from the other fifth grade classes started to arrive, Kat went with R., stayed with him and choose to sit with him during the movie. Mrs. K. said she thinks Kat likes R. because he is bossy. She is making friends! They looked sweet sitting together. R. "shhhed" Kat during the movie. The entire fifth grade during intermission mingled and Kat sat in the hallway and drank juice and ate soft pretzels with her classmates. I sat with them and asked Kat about the movie. I asked her if she remembered reading about the "Boston Tea Party" in Social Studies. She said "yes," she said "liked the movie." (bk to the movie)

Kat is beginning to get restless ( making silly faces) "Sugar catching up with her ?" ( took a dime) overall- a very easy festive day for Kat and me. Kat got a lot of Valentine's and chocolate sweets! She was surprisingly not very "stimmy" from all the sugar today. Nice attention during the film, very quiet (no verbal stim) A little wiggly and some pouting faces ( later in the movie. ) A lot of the kids attention down too, a lot of talking and restlessness- silliness in other classes. Not too bad Kat. Have a good night! See you tomorrow. I can't wait to meet Meesha!

L.

Hello! Kat is in P.E. is having a great time with the snowball game. M. is prompting her to run after the balls and to stay behind the line when throwing them. She is having a bit of trouble with that Kat is smiling and running quickly! Kat was choosen for the ski patrol. D. and another girl are helping her and Mrs. B. is directing them. She is absolutely elated.

We had a few minutes so we went to the library and grabbed two books. Kat hates to be rushed, But I pushed her to be quick about it and she did fine. No faces or silly talk.

In Science Mrs. D lectured for a few minutes and then they watched a movie. Then, They did seatwork, page 238, Science words and lesson review. M. helped her with the science words. She prompted her to look in the summary for the answers, she did the last two on her own.

A.

M. is reporting now. A. and I are here together this morning, comparing notes are thinking of ways to improve our methods of working with Kat A. watched me work during science and I am watching her work with Kat during a language- listening activity. Poor Kat doesn't have a chance to misbehave. She was very chatty first thing today, But with all the monitoring she has quieted down.

A. is now working on spelling and is doing a nice job teaching Kat the difference between the or sound in work and fork. All the spelling words this week are based on this.

Kat cashed in her feathers for a snack. Then, She did the second half of her spelling by herself. She needed prompting to get back to work a few times. When she was finished, she was supposed to tell me. She didn't so I tapped her on the shoulder. When she was done with spelling, she went right to the language packet. After telling us she was done and having us check it, she went on to math with no prompts. We checked over math and then Kat asked Mrs. R to check her seatwork so she could get feathers.

At recess, the kids stayed in, because of the weather. Kat jumped rope. D. was not very happy about staying in, so we ( Kat and I) watched everyone else when Kat got tired.

In music they practiced the songs for the play. They will be doing that and watching a movie for the next few weeks. Kat followed along and sang along once in a while. She is slowly learning the words and songs, the ones she recognizes. The school play is the Monday after they get back from spring vacation. The movie they will be starting next week is "Amadeus."

Mrs. D gave Kat a physics practice test. It's not the one she is going to take on Friday, but it's good practice.

In math they are doing fractions and divding by fractions. Then, they did a little bit of equivalent fractions. Homework is a ditto on equivalent fractions. Kat has the right idea, but makes up her own fractions.

Please fill out the time spent reading for enrichment.

See you tonight at clinic at 5:00 p.m. A.

Good Morning!

A nice unprompted "Good Morning" from Kat today- but still lacks that EC(eye contact) I love ! We'll work on it. In art, they are finishing up projects which Kat has completed. She has chosen to trace different varieties of fish from a sea creatures book. She has developed such an interest with tropical fish which I'm sure is a result of your fish tank. She even talks about fish occasionally. Yesterday, she was looking at her library fish books and said "turkey fish" That is silly! Enclosed in front of this book are her tracings.

They had about 20 minutes in the gym as reward at the end of art. Kat is playing the snowball game very well now and truly enjoys it. She even moves fast to get the ball now.

Stayed in Mrs. D. class after art Because she wanted to complete some Social Studies work. We corrected the work packet and did the timeline in the workbook. Also completed the last page of the work packet .

Now in reading Ms. L. ( Student teacher) completing a workbook page on reading comprehension, Specifically word reference. This is tough concept for her but with only a little instruction from me, she started to get them on her own. She is so smart! It is wonderful to see her rejoice when she gets a difficult concept and starts to answer independently. She feel so happy about it.

They are now having a language lesson. They must listen to lessons on tape (one sentence at a time) and indicate by thumbs up or down whether it is right or wrong. She is very attentive and quite, often the first one to indicate correctly. She is so happy and the teacher is giving her lots of reniforcement. Now their heads or down so no one can see what the other is indicating. She is still getting them correct. Her listening skills have improved tremendously.

Just spent a lot of time helping Kat with math. Lot of tears because she got several wrong when doing three digit subtraction with borrowing. She doesn't remember to borrow correctly. We went over it, copied the problems on a separate sheet and then did them slowly and carefully. Fractions were also challenging today but we worked through it. She is now very happy, writing in her journal before lunch and munching on a few pretzels that I gave her. She is writing beautifully with lots of detail-has she begun cursive capitals yet with Mrs. F. ?

After a good lunch time ( some conversation with D., K. and T.-students) went to the gym for P.E. and some activity. Kat chose the monkey bars and jumping rope. I have noticed that she is trying to do this faster now. When I do it with her, It's amazing. She follows my rhythm and can do so many more. However, she is tired after only ten or twelve repetitions. It will be good to start working on building up her endurance a bit more by having her exercise more vigorously five to ten minutes a day. Jumping rope or jogging would be easy.

The last subject of the day was math. They are learning fractions practicing with manipulatives and then transferring that knowledge to paper I can't remember if you told me that Kat has started fractions at home. She is very uncertain of herself when it is presented in class (Looked a bit weepy) But I don't think she is familar with them and once to get them right- You know Kat!

I'll be in on Friday morning to work along side L. as I did on Tuesday with A.. Will be anxious to hearhow things are progressing at home till next week...

MN

Hi! It was a pretty long night at home. We did a lot of work. Kat is not to used to working more than three and a half hours on drills, So the last half hour was tough. There were alot of tears. Kat did great overall, though! Have a great day! A.

Good morning! Kat said "Good Morning" very nicely- She was looking for something in her desk and stopped and popped her head up to greet me! She sang National Anthem wonderfully this morning- nice appropriate volume. Lots of smiles !

P.E.- Kat was awesome in gym today. They had asubstitute and "played bowling," Kat "creamed" the boys on her team. She won beating J. and T. Way to go Kat! She really seemed to enjoy herself, I gave her some pointers and told her to watch how J. and T. threw the ball-nice form Kat!

Social Studies- Mrs. D. was absent today (Another substitute). They switched papers grading the Social Studies homework packet it. C. graded Kat's- She got a one hundred. Kat is now taking her Social Studies test, She is working so quietly- no stim at all! The majority of the test is multiple choice, so far Kat is doing fine. Does not seem to be struggling at all.

I restated the instructions for her on the next sections, She needed an initial prompt to read the selection from the chapter and then answer questions about the reading, This seemed a little harder for her. There was another section were the directions were to refer to a timeline with the years and a description of their events. I prompted her to look at the timeline and read events but then let her answer the questions. The essay section was (as always) a struggle for Kat. She did her "listing" method for the first essay question. I tried to prompt full sentences for the rest- It was still very hard for Kat. I definitely think this would be a great thing to address in her "Writing paragraphs" program. Maybe have her write paragraphs about the current Social Studies Chapter instead of always from reading stories. It will help alot to better prepare her for these essays. She has a hard time answering question in this format- Doesn't always "Make the connections" between what she has studied. I don't think she did very well on the essays, I tried prompt her- ask her leading questions to get details- It was not to successful. She really worked hard on her test, tried her best.

Mrs. R-went a few minutes late today, did a quick science project with a "Newtons Three Laws."

Kat is working on her seat work (needed initial prompting to "get started") I have been asking Kat if she needs to go to the bathroom between classes- It's working out well. Kat did very well on her language and spelling seat work, She is still struggling with her math- gets very confused and flustered when she has to "borrow/regroup twice in a problem, She only got a couple problems write on her own, so she did assignment over again with a review from Mrs. R.

Mrs. B. said "not to worry," we will be working on "Regrouping" this afternoon (All the kids having trouble) I quiz Kat on her spelling words to target her "trouble once"- Super! Kat got a one hundred on her spelling.

Lunch, prompted some conversation between Danielle and Kat, try to get Kat to tell D.about the "Tittanic," D. hasn't seen it yet. Then D. told us about "Mouse Hunt." D. asked for the "Day Off" from the booknest so she could join Kat on this swings at recess.

Kat was very happy that D. surprised her at the swings. Kat asked me very sweetly to push her on the swings.

Mrs. R- Kat is doing a practice math packet that Mrs. R. suggested she worked on (a mix of Simple subtraction.) and some single regrouping problems. She is rolling right along- I think this review will really help her by refreshing and buy sharpening her skills. (And will build confidence.)

We are now watching a video from the Olympics- figure skating. Kat is very interested. She is watching very quietly and intensely.

Kat raised her hand with prompting when Mrs. R asked the class if anyone watch the Olympics- Mrs. R tried to converse with Kat about what she saw on the Olympics- not real successful- alot of prompts. She really loved watching the ice skating though- very quiet, no stim. They showed a scene were a skier crashed on the down hill- Kat and E. both laughed. Oh- E. is now sitting next to Kat. Mrs. R. moved E.'s desk. Kat really loves the dramatic musical pieces that the skaters are dancing to- She is "all smiley" as her eyes are glued to the T.V.

Math-with Mrs. B.

practice with subtraction, Kat has been doing very well today-barely any stim or "silly talk" at all. She is attending very nicely in math and working quietly! She is doing great with fractions today. She needed a few prompts with "shading" two thirds of a block but is starting to "catch on" with practice.

Great day for Kat !

Just study for Science (maybe some math)Have a good night. I am really looking forward to working along with M.N. tomorrow

Was difficult to find time to study science note cards. Hopefully she does OK on test but I'm not too confident.

Kat started last night between homework, tracing fish pictures, something new

Tom

Good Morning! Nice friendly greeting this morning with slight eye contact-unprompted. I will fine time to go through notecards with Kat before the science test.(Where are the note cards?)

Art-Wonderful day- Kat did a beautiful job coloring designs- Today she chose a "peacock" that when turned upside down looks like a dragon. beautiful coloring, some prompting to choose the next color and ideas- no stim at all in art today while coloring- Great! Verbal stim is usually high in art especially during coloring.

M. joined me and Kat this morning, We talked about a lot of things, She was able to answer questions. I had to clarify some things- It was really great to have a little time to talk- and again to get a chance to see M.N. with Kat- She gave me some pointers and different techniques that work for Kat. I enjoy watching M.N. with Kat and I can always learn so much from M. She knows Kat so well.

Kat did very well in reading, She answered questions from Ms. L. with some prompting. She needed a intial prompt to initiate her seat work but did great is especially on her spelling (puting her words in ABC order) M. gave a few strategies- looking at an numbering the words, then copying the alphabetized order on paper- This was no problem for her at all. Mrs. K gave her a language pretest on verbs- She prompted her and wrote definitions of different verbs- She did very well, Mrs. K went over the test after with Kat. I wanted to quiz Kat for her science test after our walk to the library but I could not fine the flashcards so I Kat read the chapter- section summaries an reviewed definitions.

After lunch- recess Kat got some more practice with fractions, She did really great! She is working so hard and quietly, no stim at all this afternoon. Awesome!

She is really attending today. We are now playing the math game After Kat will take her science test. Cupcakes for R.s are going away party and K.'s birthday. A quick review from the book, Chapter summaries before Kat takes her test. Science test very hard- fill in the blanks, short answer extremely difficult for her (a lot of prompts) tried to get her to write out definitions by rephrasing and asking questions. She got mutiple choice on her own. She even attempted the extra credit. Did not have much time to write with M. I did not write a lot of details of Kat's day- did a lot more interacting all day and watching and learning along side M.N. I usually write when Kat is working on seat work but stay close if she needs help and during lunch. Very busy day- in the furture I will attempt to shorten my notes for you. Have a terffic weekend. See you at clinic.

Kat did her best on the science test, It was very hard. I prompted where I thought she needed it.

Kat had a good weekend. She went to see K's All State Band Concert. Sat very well through two hours of concert music. We put her on the treadmill this morning.

Danuta

Good Morning!

Kat was looking at her Social Studies book when I came in. Her classmates were reading reports on countries. A nice unprompted "Hello" before I even got to her- nice and loud too !

Mrs. D told me that Kat did very well on her science test. I can't wait to see it !

Kat started taking notes very nicely she only needed one prompt because she missed the topic header. They went over all of the body systems. Kat was a little lost because the teacher was going really fast. They went over nutrtion ver quickly. Next week they will start on the immune system.

In science they began a new section on machines. Mrs. D explained the defintion of machines (simple and complex) a.k.a. tools. She gave many examples and had the kids give examples as well. Kat is paying attention very nicely while Mrs. D is lecturing. no silly talking silly faces or even chewing on her nails ! Wow !

Kat read the lesson goals. She needed prompting for volume. They read page 240-244. They got interupted by a fire drill. Kat was really quiet and exhibited no posing ! Great !

Reading- They watched a video. The book fair is next week. The video was about books and their authors ( I think they will be available at the book fair.) Kat sat still and watched the video. She has been impressing me all day long. Maybe the treadmill is the answer to get red of the wiggles.

After the reading video, They took notes for science. Kat was a little confused at first because she had to get the definiton from the book before copying from the board. In Mrs. R's we went straight into language. They were discussing the past tense of irregular verbs. I ran to the restroom and when I came back, She had her hands in her jeans. I took five dimes for that. She was not happy after that. She sat quietly and participated when requested.

Kat started looking at her reading workbook. I asked her what she should be doing and she took out her spelling book. She needed prompts to do the crossword puzzle. After I helped her with the across, she did the down by herself. Wow ! Nice and quick too. She went on to language and kept working straight through when I was gone for about two minutes. Kat did her seat work quietly and quickly. She was finished with all of her seat work fifteen minutes before lunch. Wow !

During recess, Kat jumped rope and played on the monkey bars. I had her jump rope with me, So that she would keep going. Kat laughed and giggled. We had fun !

Since Kat was done with her seat work, She sat in the science class with the fifth graders. She read and followed along nicely. Then she went to hereseat and worked on the extra language packet. I looked through Kat's desk and found a speech and math packet. I also found and orange folder with extra work. I'll leave it in her desk. Oops, The math packet is just something she accidently grabbed. She can work on it anyway when she has time. I left it in her orange folder with the other extra work.

Kat was ahead in math, So I had her to do more subtraction with borrowing. They started comparing fractions with a review of greater than and less than of whole numbers beforehand. Kat had lots of problems with this. They have a subtraction ditto for homework. Kat was excellent today ! I have never seen her like this before ! Wow and Wow again ! See you tonight at clinic. A.

Hi, M., I got back and realized that they are doing place, person and thing at school, that should help. Danuta

In gym with a substitute teacher with out any prompts Kat joined the group and is following instructions (or most likely following the other kids) This is Miss C.'s class and there are several girls who are just great with Kat-They talked to her, prompt her if necessary and interact with her beautifully. Even some of the boys do, too ! Well, P.E. is almost over and through an entire, noisy, wild kickball game, Kat has been quiert and attentive. This is probably the best I have seen in P.E. class.

In science class they are going over their science test. I'm amazed at how well Kat did- Mrs. D was ecstatic. Did she had help with this ? Since there is a mix of multiple choice and short answers, It was not the easiest of tests. Kat just read a paragraph taking almost all her direction from Mrs. D (That is finding the correct place,volume, etc...) Mrs. D continues to speak directly to Kat and has she is lecturing to find proper place, etc...) and is also prasing her when she is on task. This is terffic as she responds well. It is now eleven o' clock and through basic physics, no silly talk. A few minutes of TPE and then on to Mrs. R.'s class.

In Mrs. R's the student teacher taught a lesson on adjectives. Although Kat does not always understand, She is getting better with "describing words." This work on parts of speech is starting to click. Can you believe the packet that the speech teacher gave them on person, place, and thing ? She must have read our minds.

Well in only one half hour Kat caught up on all her seat work assignments from the board. It was quite a bit of work, (4 topics) but she had no problem. Gave her five minutes free time to read with she really likes. She even wrote several sentences in her journal and very quiet most of the morning.

At lunch time we stayed in for recess and Kat said "I want to go to the gym."- so off we went. She said "jog" When I asked her what she wanted to do but after three laps she said "I'm tired I want to go to Mrs. R.'s room." She is getting muchmore expressive about what she wants to do.

Poor Kat- We are now in music about to begin "Amadeus" which Ms. M. says, could take 8 weeks to see. (She saw it all last year) Oh well at least she doesn't have music two times per week anymore. One thing to note- in the opening scene of Amadeus Kat saw a very bloody scene. She looked at me and said "Oh my God !" and she looked very upset. She started to stim with facial contortions, etc...- It may have been a flashback from "Poltergeist"- and it went on a while until I took away dimes. She is very sensitive to gory, bloody scenes.

Ended the day with math where they are learning fraction still. She has been having a bit of trouble with greater than and less than comparing fractions such as one third and one half. They are coloring in sections in order to compare size. Saw some tention and clinched fists so I intervened and she immediately acquiesced. Still needs some help in handling her emotions at times like these but really not more than a hand on her shoulder and a view words to the wise. She is now getting it and quite happy with herself, but I'm sure they will be times in the furture when her frustration will rise again. This will be something we can work on for middle school. That's all for today but I'll be back tomorrow as usual. talk with you more, then.

MN

Hi, M., I will try to get some more paper today for clinic notes. I played with her with the legos again, She is generating new language each time a bit more. maybe we could keep track of new language she generates at clinic. In math we are working on time "After" and "to" concept. Fractions we have not done so all she is learning is at school!

Danuta

Wow ! This is great news. She is picking up some pretty difficult concepts through school instruction only.

Not much art in arttoday. They walked around and looked at all things up for the art show. No silly talk except for one "Comment" when looking at the pictures. Not sure exactly what was said. To end the period they had a game in the gym- The ski patrol- snowball game which Kat loves. She is really running faster than ever to retrieve- and then joy on her face is worth a million dollars ! She is truly having fun.

In reading with Mrs. R. they are reading aloud a dinosaur story. I have noticed that her volume is still up ( to loud) and then too soft. Even though she is more fluent and can read more difficult words, She is still not maintaining an even volume.

On to language where they are learning about adjectives. Kat is definitely catching on to this concept. After the lesson, she did her language seatwork for the day in which she had to select the adjective from each sentence. (The noun was underlined.) She did them all on her own without prompting. She is really learning from her school lessons.

To end the morning, She took a language test to see how well she could remember info that has been taught over the last month. This covered present- past time forms of verbs, etc... She is doing quite well on it as I watch her but I have noticed the key to success is hearing the correct form as reads it aloud to herself. you know, as I look at this and remember how her language was a few years ago- I am thrilled with her progress.

At recess, Kat's spotted the school store on her way out the door. She hasn't bought anything there in awhile but she saw some markers, picked them up and headed out the door. I grabbed her and said- okay Kat, If you want the markers, you have to buy them. made her go through the whole process of asking for the money, counting it asking the lady for the markers and paying for them- a good experience.

Outside, she set the markers down far away from where she was playing. I was sure she'd forget to pick them up when the bell rang. She went straight for them when she heared the bell. In so many ways, She is more aware, more alert.

Just got her test back in language, She got an eighty nine, B+ ! take a good look at what she had to do- It is her homework folder. Not as good a result in social studies testing but looking at the test, I am not surprised. There is alot of language (complex) both in the questions and the answers.

To finish the day, reading from the science book pages 248-252, about levers. Mrs. D said the test will probably by the end of next week. Hope you have a good day at the Middle School tomorrow. Anxious to hear what you find out.

MN

1998-2-26

Hey, Good Morning, Sorry I had to miss clinic- I got page to cover a therapy session from 2: 45 p.m.- 7:00 p.m. with another child. I have been reading over the notes- Wow ! What a week so far, Kat is doing great ! Got a big smile an unprompted "Hi !" this morning. Kat was dellgently copying her science notes from the board when she stopped to greet me.

Awesome running during the snowball- snow patrol game. She is very "on the ball" with this game now, genuinely beginning to enjoy herself- running, looking around for snowballs to throw. She did great as part of the ski patrol. Lots of smiles and laughter and only one pose during P.E.- Excellent !

In science we watched a video on "Levers" and went over the homework dittos, Kat did very well, nice attention.

Social Studies- struggled a bit- needed prompts to transition from reading along- following in the textbook to looking back up at Mrs. D and listening as lectured- nice attention just had trouble keeping up, Mrs. D would read a few sections then stop and talk about it. Kat needed her with the "switch." She is leaning about the Declaration of Independence and the events surrounding its creation.

Mrs.R.- Kat is really on the ball today. Very independent with seatwork, Started on her own today- looked to me for "reassurance" So I asked her what she was going to do and she told me as she open to her first assignment "Great."

In language Ms. L. went over adjectives that describe " How many" Kat did very well needed some prompting to choose the appropriate number adjective but did great with the concept of more and most. She had to read some sentences aloud to hear the right answer which is fine. She is really doing wonderful today almost no silliness at all. A little bit of posing but she would quickly say "No posing, that's silly." She got an A+ on her spelling pre-test- Excellent ! Only missed a couple "Reach out" words. After spelling, Since Kat had completed all of her seatwork- I asked her if she would like to go to the gym, She said "Yes" very happily ! I had her run a few laps around the gym, to get her to run faster I had her chase me. She ran after me laughing- We had a great time together !

We were both breathless so we took turns shooting basketball hoops. Kat really had fun. She laughed alot ! After lunch- Recess Mrs. K prompted some conversation between Kat and her classmates- asked Kat her favorite song- Kat sang a little of the "Spice Girls" is a "No Doubt" song for Mrs. K (when she asked her to sing) Then prompted Kat to ask T. and L. and E. their favorite songs- After we asked Kat to tell us T.'s favorite song, L.'s, etc... She remembered L.'s because it was "My Heart Goes On" from Titantic. Mrs. K said we will do this with Kat now- everyday after lunch- to encourage interaction between Kat and the kids- Great! A fun activity- we learning about Totem Poles. Kat is a little "dreamy"- Prompts for attention Mrs. K asked her some questions about the totem pole to get her attention a little better now, She is coloring her own totem pole. Tomorrow the class will begin to create their own "Life-Size" totem pole to tell the story of the class ! Kat is completeing a worksheet on greater than- less than. She missed quite a few- Mrs. B. had her correct the problems she missed. (Verbal Stims) crepped up during math- took a dime. She is still struggling a little with greater than or less than or equal to with fractions- but Mrs. B. sees alot of improvements since the start of the lesson. She did great with her fraction word problems, though. Overall, a really great day. Kat was very independent an alert all morning, a little "dreamy" in the afternoon but no real silliness- great work Kat ! Oh a lot of nice teacher greatings with her teachers- Eye contact still needs some prompting, But reponses are sounding alot more natural and friendly! Have a great night ! L.

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1998-2-27

February 27, 1998

Good Morning ! I got another nice greating this morning- unprompted.

Art- We took a tour around the school to look at all the art projects for the "Art Fair" and then the art class went to the gym for a game of ski patrol- snowball. Kat was truly awesome ! She was laughing and smiling and really running her heart out after intial prompting. She really loves this game. It's great to see her having so much fun.

A really fun day so far in Mrs. R's class. Kat painted pictures for the class "totem pole." She really did a beautiful job. She had to draw a picture for herself, Favorite animal (She chose a bird), Symbol (type of job, want to be when you grow up), and something important to you. Kat painted wonderful self- portait. and she choose the bird for her favorite animal, and for a career- Want she wants to be- She drew and painted herself in a dance costume, Dancing to her color light. and she painted Messha. I only prompted her with questions to get the ideas out of her but all the ideas were her own. She was so creative ! Her painting turned out awesome. She loves art ! With some prompting to find the correct information from the story- Kat wrote a great paragraph about "Totem Poles." She is really awesome today. Great work we are having a fun day- Kat is really enjoying herself. Took a walk to the library before lunch- Awesome recess- So warm and sunny likes Springtime. Prompting a lot of conversation.

Math with Mrs. B.- did a couple of worksheets dealing with addition and subtraction word problems with fraction and dollars and cents. Kat had a little trouble- Still very insecure with her borrowing- neat prompting to get through problems- getting single and double borrowing confused. She is very insecure and looks for a reassurance before completeing a problem on her own.

Only took one dime today for silly talk. Awesome today, Inticated a lot of on her own and interacted nicely with her teachers, Eye Contact a lot better than usual. Kat attented to her teachers very well today and responded to their directions with out additional prompts for me. Excellent !

In Social Studies, this afternoon, Kat independently began copying notes from the board into her notebook. Needed some help completeing Social Studies workbook pages 72 and 74. ( can finish for homework) Kat was very "on the ball" today an excellent week for her ! All on her own, as I was leaving, She took out her journal independently and wrote about her day. So awesome ! What initiative.

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