Each week this summer Noah and I have taken about 30 minutes out of each day to do a little "school". We are writing, spelling, reading, making letter sounds, drawing, creating, adding and subtracting, matching and anything else we can think of to do that involves learning! Each week there is a different word we learn together. I introduce the word, spell it, say it, sound it out and write it in yellow crayon. Then Noah does exactly what I just modeled except he uses a dark color crayon to cover over my yellow letters, a tip I learned from Ms. Abby at Noah's real school. Every day we start with writing his full name -Noah Everett Goodnight. Then we move on to reviewing the words Noah has already learned. We either write or spell those words. Then we spend some time learning the new word. We spell it out loud in funny ways using our loud or soft voice. We act it out while we spell it. We sing it as we spell it. We hold our nose or close our eyes as we spell it, too. The teacher in me knows you have to interact with a word at least 7 times before it is stored in your long term memory. If you can connect that word to music or movement, you increase your chances of retaining the new information. So those silly things really help Noah remember it. So far, he has learned "NOAH", "DAD", "CODY", "MOM", "BOY", "STAR" and "TREE". He's so sharp. His writing (or tracing) has already improved. He's one smart cookie!! He must get it from his mom and dad. Speaking of school, I've gone back to get my Master's in Education Leadership. I hope to be a principal someday. I'm getting my degree through UCO. It is a two-year program that is very flexible with my job. Cody plans to pick up studying for the driver's test so he can promote. We are just a little family of learners! I love it!
Self portrait: He looked in a mirror as he drew.
