February Assessment

Today we began an assessment of Helana’s basic concepts.  She has struggled with these for years and we still need to work on what I would call pre-k concepts.  I decided to take an assessment because her understanding of these seem to fluctuate.  I also assessed her ability to listen to and follow through on spoken direction.

Guessing Game

Helana loved this activity.

I blindfolded her.

Then I placed an object inside a pillowcase.  I described the object to her, asking her to repeat the clues and try to guess what object I was describing.  I then allowed her to feel inside the pillowcase.  While still blindfolded, she held the object in her hands and repeated the clues until she was able to guess the object.

She was able to guess the object within seconds of holding it in her hands.  Here are the objects:

For glue, I used descriptive clues such as “It is white.  It is gooey. You use it to stick pictures on paper”.  She hesitated the longest on tissue: “It is soft. You use it to wipe your nose”.

What we accomplished with this activity:  practice in descriptive language, problem solving skills, listening skills, practice using senses other than sight, deduction

 

Long/Tall/Short

With this exercise, we used a curtain rod and a marker to explain long and short.  We then used a Barbie and a small plastic doll to explain tall and short.  Helana was quick to identify each.

 

Sorting Into Groups

We took objects from around the house and sorted them into groups based on their common purpose.  Our groups were: Things we use to eat; Things we read; Things we play with; Things we wear.  Helana had a bit of a struggle with this.  I am unsure if she just had difficulty focusing or simply did not grasp the concept.  We will make an effort to do similar activities daily.

 

Listening to and following directions

With this assessment, she did a worksheet that required following “complicated” directions.

She had to color all circles blue, all squares red etc.  She did fine except I needed to repeat directions several times.  Then she had to listen to complicated directions such as: “Draw a line under the small blue circle above the bird”.  I had to repeat and help.

Sorting Coins

The title says it all.  We sorted coins onto designated paper.  She had a very difficult time visually discerning the different coins.  She did not seem to grasp that a penny is not a quarter, though she could see the quarter was bigger.  I would show her the coin, have her hold it and feel it then place it in the proper place.  I then asked her to find all the quarters in the pile of coins.  She continuously handed me a penny.

What Comes Next

In this game, we had to put the puzzle pieces together in the correct sequence of events.  Such as washing a car: started with a dirty car, then a pic of a girl washing the car, then a pic of the clean car.  Helana had difficulty with this as well.  The others included building a snowman and milking a cow.  She did not seem to grasp which step came first and what came next.

 

Tomorrow she meets with the school psychologist at the local public school to continue her comprehensive evaluation.  This week I hope to complete my assessment so we may know how to best proceed from now until the end of our school year, which will be in June.