Teaching with TWitte: Five for Friday - 1st Week of "Vacation"

Finally, my first official week of vacation buuuuut, this post is now going to be all about the summer reading clinic that I am working at. Vacation won't really be vacation until 12:00 on Friday, August 2nd.

Also, I know there isn't really a Five for Friday this week, but I actually composed this post on a Friday for once, so I am posting is anyway!

So...the reading clinic began on Monday. I was expecting to have 7 students ranging in grades from a repeating first grader to third graders. These are students who come from a low-income, inner-city school. Although this is my third summer with this program, this is first summer working in this specific location. I was warned that attendance at this location is typically pretty sporadic. I quickly learned just how true that is. On Monday, I met 3 of my 7 students. All entering 2nd grade; one of which, I quickly learned, is not yet confident identifying all letters of the alphabet. The other read at about a beginning 1st grade level. All three are sweet kiddos!

At noon, when it was time to leave, the skies opened up, just in time for my drive home. This was the WORST weather that I have ever driven in. Being from New England, I have driven in my fair share of nasty winter weather and a little rain has surely never hurt anyone. This was more than just a little rain. At times it seemed as though I couldn't even see the front of my own car. YIKES! I am working just about 15 minutes from home, a couple of cities over. When I arrived in my own town, it was a wreck. I couldn't believe the trees that were down and broken. When I finally got home, and the power was finally restored, I came to learn that just over the border in Connecticut, they had been hit by a tornado, and the opposite side of my own street had had a micro burst. Pretty scary!

This huge tree came down on this poor truck - within walking distance from my house.

On Tuesday, I returned to the reading clinic, to have 4 students! The 4th, also entering 2nd grade, is very unsure of the alphabet. The positive is that I can group these kiddos by ability into pairs to work with them. I also quickly called my kindergarten genius of a friend for some tips because I wasn't expecting these kiddos to be quite so low. This week we do lots of assessing on the kiddos, no fun lessons quite yet.

On Wednesday, I met a fifth student! Yippee! This little lady is entering 4th grade, but reading at approximately a 1st grade level.

Thursday we were off for the 4th of July and I finally spent the whole day relaxing at the pool. And by at, I should say IN, because it was too hot to anywhere but IN the pool...but I am not complaining because it was a beautifully sunny day and I am finally looking tan again!

Today is Friday and I had a whopping TWO kiddos at the clinic! From clinic, I headed over to my kindergarten genius friend's house to get some materials and more advice. I only wish that I had more time to spend with these kiddos, I feel like the next 4 weeks, for 2 hours a day, is not going to be nearly enough to help them as much as I would like to.