Day Two at the Gray School

Here are some notes from our second day:

1. Choosing. Modeling my own choosing strategy seemed to help the Lark. I used "self-talk" to share my thought process: "I think I'll choose a black top to match my black socks." Then we went to the Lark's room, and he was much more focused than I've ever seen him about getting dressed. He chose some grey underwear and then, without hesitation, chose a grey top. (Usually he pulls out three or four different tops and then wanders off without putting one on.) After putting on the top, he stayed focused and chose some pants right away.

2. Narrative Comprehension. I read Strega Nona and the Lark was very interested. He especially liked all the different pictures of Strega Nona and Big Anthony wiggling their fingers over the magic pot. This reminded him of a bit in a Wiggles video in which they do some magic by wiggling their fingers and saying, "wiggle waggle." The Lark made the association. The Lark often resists reading or even looking at new books, so this is good progress.

3. Imitation. We walked around the room, each with our own clipboard, tallying up cerain things. The Lark did a great job observing and imitating me, so he learned to do this without having to be "taught." We also did some act-outs, but the Lark wasn't as enthusiastic as he was yesterday.

4. Mindfulness. Here's one example: we did a puzzle, and the Lark was much more focused than I've ever seen him be with a puzzle. He dumped out the pieces, turned them all over, and began to work on it without any encouragement. I think the difference was precisely that I didn't provide any encouragement (or pressure). I tried to make a friendly comment now and than to show that I was interested, but otherwise I just waited and let him figure it out. Eventually he did need some help, but he stayed motivated until the end.