Week 2, Friday

It's already Friday again.  The week went by so quickly.  This morning started out simple enough: rhythmic writing and Spanish homework and then math.  We are still working on the improper fractions unit.  We started doing a worksheet converting mixed numbers into improper fractions.  I asked Ciara a question, and she just refused to answer or even try.  I tried to break the question down, but she hit a mental wall and could not get past it.  She was getting frustrated and I was getting frustrated.  Since we were getting nowhere, I told her to take a break.

About 15 minutes later, I went up to speak with her and encourage her to continue the lesson.  She had calmed down, and was willing to come down and try the problems again.   I told her that I would show her how to do the questions and she could just watch.  We went to the chalkboard and I wrote down the mixed number.  Then I explained step by step how to convert the mixed number into an improper fraction.  After the first question, she was able to do all the rest with very little prompting.  We both felt like we had accomplished something.

This is one of the advantages of homeschooling for Ciara.  When she is frustrated or angry, she just shuts down.  The only thing to do at that point is take a break from the situation and then come back a little later.  This is possible at home, but not so much at school.  If she is feeling stressed or frustrated during a class, she cannot ask for a 15 break.

Friday during lunch period is going to be our cooking class.  This time, Ciara wanted to make rainbow cupcakes.  She went on the Internet and found this video tutorial.  Here is what ours look like:

Not exactly like the video, but they still tasted fine.  Ciara was very excited to have Hideyo try one of the cupcakes.  Hideyo came over in the afternoon to work with Ciara.  Here is a picture of Hideyo timing Ciara as she practices doing mental addition as quickly as possible.

Hideyo is working with Ciara to try and help her to process and respond to information faster.  A lot of the activities they do together also help Ciara to develop a better working memory.  I am very happy that Ciara really wants to do her best when she is with Hideyo.