Back home again in Indiana

Well, we had a whopper of a trip, visiting friends in WV, taking a three-day field trip to Washington, DC, and spending some time with Mom in PA. I'll write more about the trip later, but tonight, I wanted to pass along some Madeline news and a great site for all elementary students.

LISA S.* gave me some flashcards for Madeline--touch and feel animals that Maddy likes a lot. Today, I kept showing her the dog flashcard and saying and signing dog over and over. Then I introduced bear with the sign. Then I started asking, "Where's the dog?" and over and over, Maddy would pick the right one, even after I'd mix them up. Ok, I know most of you are thinking that I'm being overly excited about something so small, but for us this is huge! I'm so excited to see Maddy catching up slowly but surely. It's like watching a flower blossom, and I love it.

In other news, LISA B.** gave me a great website for spelling fun. It's www.spellingcity.com, and you can type in the spelling list and they can play games or take practice tests with them. Carli loved it. Her first time on tonight, she just played "Which one?", choosing the right word to complete the sentences. Now that she's reading quickly and without a lot of help, I don't have to stand over her shoulder to help her, and even though it's basically the same thing she does on her worksheets, she likes the diversity of using the computer.

*Lisa Myers Sommers, in WV, friend dating back to teenage years.

**Lisa Bryant, in IN, who is a new friend who never lets me live it down that I once put Lisa Sommers' name in CAPS on FB. Hence, so as not to hurt any feelings, every Lisa gets equal-opportunity CAPS. :)

***I should clarify that Lisa B is not really that sensitive, but a great tease for someone so old. HeeHeeHeeHee.