Spring

Oh boy, how I am looking forward to spring! I yearn to see the sun shining more often and feel the warmer air temperatures envelope my body. I can’t wait for the grayness of the landscape to turn green once again. Spring is God’s promise to me that all things bloom in due time and new life is available for all of us.

Even though it is still the dead of winter, I had the privilege of working with an adorable 7 year-old, who showed me a “sneak peek” of spring. I say that because over the course of 30 hours of intervention with The Davis Method, I witnessed blooming. Just like a bud opening up, Olivia displayed “change” in her own right.

When I met Olivia, she was delightful but a bit immature for her age. During her instructional time with me, she became more determined and responsible for her own learning. She wholeheartedly embraced the tools and strategies I gave her and just went for it! When Olivia discovered that she was able to not only spell words accurately and explain the meanings, boy did she celebrate! She grabbed my hand and her Mom’s hand in hers and raised them high. She did a little shuffle with her feet and sang a little song of victory.

Just like a flower growing, Olivia was standing a bit straighter as our time together progressed. Her new found confidence displayed itself in physical change as well as how she viewed herself in relation to her talents and abilities. Before starting the Davis Program, Olivia was most confident speaking to me and others about her love of art, specifically drawing. She made me a picture and I must say she is talented way beyond her years! However, now she shares how she can read and comprehend stories one grade level above her current one. Letters no longer confuse her and she can even see the letters of the alphabet in order starting from the “Z” side.

Our work together is not done. We have goals set to improve comprehension of the interrogative type words i.e. (who, what, where, when why and how), work on synonyms, antonyms, homonyms and heteronyms, understand figurative language, know how to compare and contrast information and the like. The list is long but Olivia can take it in stride because she believes in her tools and believes in herself. She has experienced the coming of SPRING