This session with Jeffrey was, as usual, really fun. We met the Saturday before Easter, so I came in expecting to teach like an Easter-themed lesson. Jeffrey was happy to talk about Easter for about 5 seconds before he subtly changed subjects to what was apparently to be our topic for the day: vampires. Jeffrey I guess really likes scaring himself to death, so he picked out this honestly disturbing 'guide' to vampires. There were some pretty graphic pictures in there and even I felt a little spooked, so I asked him if he would like to make his own book about vampires. This approach worked fantastically last time, and this time met with no less success. Jeffrey was eager to express himself creatively, though was a bit over-concerned with the drawing aspect. He drew a wicked vampire and did some really creative stuff with the title font - talented for such a young kid. To get him back on track, I proposed an activity where Jeffrey would dictate to me for a bit then we would switch roles, so we could collaborate and make the best vampire story possible (I still let him have full writing credits though - that's just the kind of humble guy I am). This worked well, and despite Jeffrey's selective attention, we were able to produce a grammatically complex story that surpassed even the terrifying heights of his last thriller "The Zombie."
In the end, Saturday's lesson was productive and amusing. Jeffrey's skills are improving visibly with each meeting, which I guess is one advantage of working with such a bright young language learner
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