Mrs. Echols

This is an email from Josh's teacher, Mrs. Echols, in response to one of mine.

Joshua is a great kid! I love having him in my class. He has a great smile. And, he has done much better at his new table than last week. It helps that I am continually getting to know the kids better so I can take care of their individual needs. Josh seems to be happy and making plenty of friends!

Joshua does struggle with focusing on an assignment and getting it done. We have set up our own little reward system where he gets a sticker for every assignment he completes. After he gets 6 stars he gets a small prize. This seems to be working for now, however I don't want him to only rely on extrinsic motivation for such a life skill. I have also kept Josh in from recess twice to finish his work before he can go play. He seems to work much more quickly when that is on the line! But I hate to keep him in too often. So, for now we will keep with the stickers. Reinforcement at home is priceless. I will start sending his chart home so that you can see completed ones and even just asking how many stars he has or how many he earned today can really help him to realize that you are "in on it" too. Hopefully we can move him away from that eventually and see if it made a difference.

One more suggestion: I am going to start encouraging Josh when he completes is work by saying things like, "Doesn't it make you feel good to get your work done?" , "Don't you like that feeling?". This will help him to realize that it really does feel good! and hopefully this will help when we move away from the extrinsic motivation towards an intrinsic.

Joshua really is a great kid. Every child has their challenges and I am here to help them move past those challenges. I truly want the best for Josh and I believe that as the three of us work as a team we can do that.

Thanks!
Rebecca