The Audiblox Diary of Kori Mitchell

April 2002

Hi! Hope you all had a great Easter. We had a very busy Spring Break this last week. We did Audiblox mostly at night due to our holiday schedule and visitors from out of town. I feel it wasn't too productive in the evenings. We did do one of the reading comprehension sheets in the book we ordered. The story was only half a page. It took her 8 and 1/2 minutes to read it and 11 minutes for the questions. She scored 59 percent.

Well here's the audiblox update.
Sequencing exercise - 20 correct
Pattern exercise - 20
Arrows - still not perfect but very few errors.
Spatial - Good, no errors
Reading - 29 in one pile and 28 in the other.
Counting - She is working on 71 - 100.
Logical Thinking 1 - Working on M and reviewing. She seems to do well with this exercise so far.
Logical Thinking 3 - Working on I and reviewing. She seems to do well on this also but might need to work on verbal explainations.
Auditory Exercise - still trying for the 8 correct.

Benetta, I really feel that this week was slow because of our busy schedule, staying up late and doing the exercises later in the evening. We will be back on schedule starting Monday, April 1st. The Reading exercise wasn't to difficult but I feel she does much better on a regular schedule and in the morning.

Thanks for your latest update! My sincere apologies for not responding sooner, but with the Easter break and all, it has been very hectic at the office. I did have a lovely Easter break though and I hope you are all well.

Kori, I was extremely impressed with your first comprehension test! To score 59% after only 3 months on Audiblox, is FANTASTIC! Thank you once again for your commitment and hard work. Michelle, please continue to inform me on her performance for the comprehension tests.

Concerning the Sequencing exercise, she is really doing very well with this exercise. 30 blocks!! Please change the practice target as indicated in my personal e-mail to you. Time for a change with the Arrows exercise as well. When doing Step 2, i.e. reading the arrows when marching on the left leg, please go back to the yellow arrows chart that you received as part of your initial equipment. Do the nomination and replacement by clapping of the hands, as described in my personal e-mail to you.

When doing the Reading exercise, continue using only one of the 2 piles per session. For both piles, throw down the words 4-4 at a time, covering the fourth word with your hand and she must then read all 4 words. If she manages to do all the words from a pile correctly, add 4 new words to that pile.

When doing the program for day 2, please replace the Bean bags exercise with the Tables exercise. Study the Tables exercise from the video and from "The Right to Read," page 231. Only do the 2x-tables, up to 15x2 and drill it with blocks.

Michelle and Kori, these are all the changes for now. I shall speak to you again soon! Hope you enjoy the weekend!
Benetta.

Hi! I wasn't expecting to post again so soon but this morning Kori had done such a great job that I thought you'd want to know about it. She managed 30 on the sequencing! Boy do I feel like last week was a waste! She does so much better in the morning than at night. She did much better on the arrows this morning and the reading she was much quicker at the 4 cards than she had been doing but I did not add more.

Well, thats it for now!
Have a great day.
Michelle

Doing the Audiblox late at night does make it harder for the learners. By that time, they normally are very tired and this affects their concentration. Michelle, I can see from Kori's performance that it was a bit of an uphill battle trying to cope with the Audiblox at night, but I am still happy with her progress.

Kori, you are a big star and I am so proud of you!
Enjoy the day!

Hi! Sorry I have been slow to post. Seems the minute I feel my schedule is going to let up something else comes up. Kori is still working hard with her Audiblox. We are still very comitted to this program and hope that my lack of posts don't reflect that we've given up. I have recently seen changes in Kori's abilities that I find remarkable. She is enjoying trying to read and is doing much better. She is also making more of an effort in spelling words on her own. Sometimes we'll be in the car and she'll pop up and ask, "Mom, is f-l-o-w-e-r how you spell flower?". This has never happened before. I'm very pleased with progress. Please forgive me for not posting regularly. Anyway, here's the update on Kori's progress:

Sequencing 30 correct! This is on the latest change Benetta!
Pattern 24 correct.
Auditory Pattern she finally got the 8 blocks correct.
Arrows - She has been doing very well with this lately. She seems to enjoy the latest change and is making very few errors.
Spatial still doing good no errors.
Reading 32 in one stack and 29 in the other
Counting She has completed all of the groups up to 100 and has reviewed them several times.
Logical thinking 1 We are working on group N and I couldn't even figure this one out! We are still working it and reviewing the others.
Bean bags are going good! We can actually last about 6 - 10 tosses before making a mistake.
Logical thinking 3 Working on group I. So far this isn't a big problem. She usually gets it pretty quick.

Her latest reading comprehension she got 30%. The one before that she got 44%.
Even though her first score was higher, I think she is stilling reading better. The first story was so much simpler than the last 2.

Well thats it for now! I'll be posting again before the end of the week. Again, sorry I've not posted sooner.

Thanks for your latest update! Michelle, do not worry about posting a bit later than usually, I guess we are all just very anxious to hear from you and Kori, as we all love to find out how she is progressing. Luckily, it is almost time for the summer break…

Kori, I was very impressed to hear that you are starting to spell words on your own, and spell them correctly. Keep up the hard work, you are really starting to perform well! Michelle, her score on the comprehension test was good, especially if you consider that it was a more difficult story.

Concerning the Sequencing exercise, Wow! 30 blocks again with such a practice target is marvellous! Please change the practice target as indicated to you in my personal e-mail. I am also changing the practice target for Pattern exercise 2, as she is doing very well with this exercise too. Concerning the Arrows exercise, use nomination and replacement by clapping of the hands for both steps, as described in my personal e-mail to you.

Kori, I was so proud to hear that you have managed 8 blocks with the Auditory exercise! Well done! Michelle, I am adding a new step to the Counting exercises, as she has now mastered all the steps of counting in ones. Also sending a new version of the Logical thinking exercises and adding the Tables exercise for the first time!

Michelle, thanks again for your continued commitment! I am so proud of you, Kori, you are doing well!

I am so excited about the progress Kori is making. Sometimes when using the program it seems like there is little progress for awhile. But when we persevere a little longer, all of a sudden the student takes off again and it is so exciting! It is so worth the many days of patient diligence.

Hi! Well, we've got more progress to report.

Kori is doing well. She's still motivated and working hard.

Sequencing exercise, she managed 30 today!
Pattern exercise 2, she managed 25 today!
Spatial, still doing good no errors.
Reading exercise, we added 8 cards today. This made her happy because it has been awhile since adding any.
The other stack is still the same though.
Counting, she is doing well on her 2's but still is slow and loses her place now and then.
Logical thinking 1, Kori figured out "N". I had no clue! I couldn't believe she out did me on this. She also did "O". She spent a few extra minutes on this. She was determined to not ask you, Benetta!
Still working on the Bean Bags.
Arrows are doing good but still needs practice.
Auditory exercise, She has not gotten 9 correct yet but came very close.
Logical thinking 3, she is working on "L".
Logical thinking 1b, haven't started this yet. We will do it tomorrow and let you know how she does.
Tables exercise, She does very well with the two's. I think she has it down with no problem.

Reading Comprehension sheet, She read her story in 7 minutes, answered her questions in 9 minutes with a score of 30%.

Dear Michelle and Kori,

Hi there! Thanks for your latest update! Wow, Kori, you are doing so well! Michelle, I was especially impressed with your comments on the Logical thinking exercise! I am happy to hear that her confidence is growing so much…

Again, her score on the comprehension test was a good achievement, especially if we consider that at the beginning of January, her reading was more than two years below her chronological age. Keep up the good work, Kori!

I am going to make a change to the Tables exercise. Michelle, please make flash cards with all the different combinations of the 2x- and 3x-tables. The 2x-table should be drilled up to 20x2, and the 3x-table up to 10x3. The tables must all be mixed. Do the new exercise with the flash cards, as explained in my personal e-mail to you.

Sequencing exercise, she continues to get 30 correct everytime.
Pattern exercise, 25 correct
Auditory, Still working on the 9 blocks
Arrows, good but not mastered yet
Spatial, same, no errors
Reading, 40 in one stack and 36 in the other.
Counting, she's working on the 2's still and is doing good but hesitates often.
Logical thinking 1, she is working on P and reviewing the old ones.
Logical thinking 1b, Kori has worked Group a,b & c with no problems.
Logical thinking 3, She has worked through group J.
Tables exercise, good no problems with the 2's.

Dear Michelle and Kori,

Hi again! Michelle, I am very happy with Kori's progress, her performance is becoming more and more consistent.

Concerning the Sequencing and Pattern exercises, wow! Do you still have enough blocks? Kori, I am sure that a lot of the learners are envying you for working so hard! Please change the practice targets of both of these exercises, as indicated in my personal e-mail to you.

Concerning the Reading exercise, she is doing very well and I think that it is time for a small change again! Please divide the words into 5 piles, using ONLY one of the 5 piles per session, and throwing the words down 4-4 at a time, covering the fourth word with your hand and she must then read all 4 words. If she manages to do all the words from a pile correctly, add 4 new words to that pile.

Michelle, these are all the changes for now. Kori, keep up the good work, girl! I am so proud of you!

Sequencing exercise 3, Today Kori managed her goal of 33 blocks correct! .
Pattern 2, 22 correct

Reading, she is doing great. We added 4 cards to our Thursday stack. I haven't added new ones to the others even though she did well because I felt that she wasn't saying them quick enough so I had her work on speeding up some. Today she was quick and accurate so I added the 4. Most of the stacks have about 15 and todays now has 19.

Counting, she is doing good at the 2's but still hesitates now and then.
Logical thinking 1, She is working on Q, she came up with the correct answer but was very confused as to why.
Logical thinking 3, We've been reviewing.
Logical thinking 1b, She is working on Group D.
Arrows, same, I think she still needs to work on this.
Auditory Pattern, Still trying to accomplish 9 blocks.
Tables, She knows these tables but is very slow to call them. We need to focus on the speed.

Thats it for now.
Michelle

Posted by Benetta on April 26, 2002, 3:34 pm , in reply to "Kori's Diary"

Dear Michelle and Kori,

WOW!!! What is happening? I am just so excited, as is everybody here at Audiblox! Michelle, what a pleasure to read your feedback nowadays as there is some form of major progress every week. This week, I really got excited about the Sequencing and Reading exercises. Keep up the good work, Kori!

Concerning the Sequencing exercise, achieving 33 blocks is sheer brilliance! Time for a small change again! Please change the practice target as indicated in my personal e-mail to you. Concerning the Arrows exercise, I shall add a new step to this exercise next week.

Michelle, Kori is doing very well with the Reading exercise. It was a good idea to divide the words into smaller piles, as the added repetitions of just a few words at a time definitely proved to be valuable. Small change to one of the piles. Please take the pile for Monday and when drilling these words, throw the words down 5-5 at a time. Do not add any new words to this pile, even if she manages to read all the words 100% correctly!

Concerning the Bean bags exercise, please give me an update on this exercise. How many times out of 10 is she able to catch it properly?

Michelle, these are all the changes for now. Do keep up the good work! Kori, Susan and Dr. Jan say they think you are the cleverest girl we have in Audiblox!

Have a good weekend!

Posted by Susan on April 27, 2002, 4:58 pm , in reply to "Kori's Diary"

Michelle, you are doing an awesome job!! Kori, it is clear that you are trying your best!

Kori, the day you get 80% for your reading comprehension we are going to have a HUGE celebration party at the office. In fact, on that day we shall phone you (Dr. Jan, Benetta and I) to personally congratulate you.

I am soooo excited about Kori's progress!!

Posted by Kori Mitchelle on April 29, 2002, 7:16 pm , in reply to "YES!!"

Dear Benetta and Susan,

Thank you for keeping me on track. I am having a good time on the reading exercise because we are doing 4 and 5 cards now. It's challenging. I like that.

Now, at church, my class reads 2 chapters from the Bible. We get 10 minutes to finish. I used to not be able to read it but now I can read almost the whole thing. I usually have any only four or five verses left when time is up. I still have trouble with the big words but I'm happy that I can read most of it.

Hi! Here's another update. I meant to send this earlier but we have been very busy this weekend.

Sequencing, Kori managed 30. She came so close to 36 this morning! She loves knowing the goal you have set Benetta. When I tell her that you want her to get a certain amount she gets very determined to do it. Without a goal she seems to move slower.

Pattern 2, She managed 27 this morning.

Posted by Benetta on May 1, 2002, 6:45 pm , in reply to "Kori's Diary"

Dear Michelle and Kori,

Thanks for the latest update!

Michelle, concerning the comprehension test, the score is still good, but as the tests are becoming more difficult, I want to suggest that we do not do a comprehension test for the following three weeks, thereby allowing her reading ability to take another leap forward before testing again. Remember that the aim of the comprehension test is to measure her progress, and by checking the scores on the comprehension test, I can also get a good idea whether or not a parent is doing the exercise at the appropriate speed, as it is not the number of words that is important, but the speed at which the words are drilled. For the next two weeks, we shall also not add any new words to any of the piles, again to give her reading ability a further boost. Setting goals for a child is always a good idea, as long as the goals are within reach.

Concerning the Pattern exercise, to achieve 27 blocks with this exercise is superb! Michelle, please change the practice target as indicated in my personal e-mail to you.

Concerning the Arrows exercise, even though I said I shall make change to this exercise, I am a bit cautious, as she is still struggling here and there. Let us rather play it safe. When doing Steps 2 and 3, continue as is, i.e. using the yellow arrows chart and replacing one of the arrows by clapping the hands. Hopefully by next week, I shall be able to add a new step.

Concerning the Bean bags exercise, time for a change! This exercise is really fun to do! Please study Bean bags exercise 4 from the video and from "The Right to Read," as you must now do this exercise with Kori. Remember to indicate the number of times out of 10 she is able to catch it properly.

Michelle, these are all the changes for now. Thank you both for your continued hard work, it is such a pleasure to customize the program for you and Kori!

I shall speak to you again shortly.

Hi!

Just wanted to update a few things.

Benetta, sorry I forgot to mention the flash cards. She is working on 10 now.
Sequencing, Today she got the 36!
Auditory Pattern, Today she did 9 correct!

Everything else is the same.
Michelle

Posted by Benetta on May 1, 2002, 6:43 pm , in reply to "Kori's Diary"

Dear Michelle and Kori,

Thanks for the latest update! , I am very happy about Kori's progress! Michelle, you have no idea, I had to jump for joy when I saw her score on the Sequencing exercise. If I think back to February, when this was one of her weakest exercises, the progress is simply remarkable!

Please adjust the practice target for the Sequencing exercise, as indicated in my personal e-mail to you. Also, when doing the Auditory exercise, when starting with this exercise, do not start with 8 any more, but start with 9 blocks now and work it up towards 10 blocks.

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