Alexas and I are in the process of finishing the book. We have edited it a few times and now it is typed up and in the ending stages of illustration. After initially writing the book, every week Alexas would mention details in the book she wanted to change. Sometimes I would make suggestions about altering certain aspects of the story and she would take them and run, adding in her own details after that. Writing her About the Author section was fun because she got to talk about things she found important. One part of her About the Author, which she sadly asked me to take out in a later session, was about wanting to be a hula girl when she grows up. She talked about how she has a “hula girl” skirt at home.
Alexas feels very comfortable at reading buddies now. She openly talks to the other kids, sometimes helping them find a certain color marker or joining in a conversation. However, she does tend to forget the rules. She has a lot of energy and will sometimes run around the library. However, she always listens when asked to stop. I have found it very difficult to get Alexas to do things she do not want to do. She refused to illustrate her book unless I helped her. I tried to help for a bit on the first few and wean her onto doing them herself. She reluctantly did and the process was very slow. Eventually, though, Alexas did do some very nice drawings.
Working with Alexas has been a lot of fun. Learning more about her personality every week is one of the best parts. It has been a long time since I was in first grade but Alexas has reminded me what a transformative time of life it is. She is very observant and keen. I am looking forward to practicing reading our story and seeing how she handles the new challenge.
