Williamsburg Trip Part 1

In February, Williamsburg was having a special discounted price for homeschoolers.  We headed up that way for about 5 days.  The first day we got our bearings as best we could on the area and decided to head to the beach (about an hour and a half away) just to see and smell the ocean.  It's been a while since I've been to the ocean.  That is one thing I miss about Florida.  I wouldn't return to the beaches in this area of Norfolk because you hear the military jets flying overhead about every 3 minutes.  Not the most relaxing place.  They do have a great boardwalk though.

One thing you may not know about Pooh is that he loves dogs.  He loves all dogs but especially Huskies, German Shepherds and wolves.  He takes the initiative to approach people with dogs to ask if he can pet them and will ask the breed and the name of the dog, etc.  It's one nice way he interacts with people.  

The only downfall in all of it is that he gets seriously offended if a dog either doesn't like him, is afraid of him, etc.  He gets very mad.  He takes it personally and then blames the dog, the owner, me and anyone else who may get in his line of verbal fire.  

Thankfully that dog loved him just as most do and he had a great day playing with Tigger and a cousin at the beach.  Somehow they did manage to NOT get wet.  It was a miracle.

Pooh loves water and watching water move.

They played 'run away from the waves'.

'Draw and destroy'.

It was a great, relaxing day!

A Real Conversation

My autistic son, Pooh, talks a lot.  He talks a lot about movies and history.  So it was a momentous occasion recently when he initiated a Real Conversation. (said with fanfare--flag waving and jesters jesting) 

This month I started working an evening job cleaning an office.  So about a week after I started, he and I are entering Harris Teeter when I hear, "So, how's work going?"  It didn't register at first as I was thinking about what I had to get at the store and since he talks AT me all the time, I tend to tune him out.  But after a few seconds I looked at him and said "Are you talking to me?"  "Well, yeah." was the response.

I picked my lower jaw up off the floor and said the job was fine.  Also that I have to clean the toilets and vacuum and mop and stuff like that.  He got this funny grin on his face and then said "So what's the worst thing you don't like to do?"  Another shocker.  He's continuing the conversation with another question!!!

So I replied with "Hmmmm, I think vacuuming is the worst thing."  I then get, "Yeah, I don't like vacuuming either."

That was the end but WOW!  I never really talked to him about my working except to tell both boys they would be assigned things to do while I was gone each evening.  So he came up with all of that on his own.  The whole kit and caboodle.  I hope this means there will be more coming.

Pooh has definitely changed in the last year.  He's become interested in some very teenagery type stuff that I wasn't thinking he'd pay attention to.  He wants the radio on when we're driving and he has specific song preferences.  I made him a cd which he was happy with. It has some of the songs he really likes-Rascal Flatts, Bruno Mars (only the ones previewed and selected by me-ahem), Coldplay.  It's typical boy preferred type music.  He groans when the new Adele song comes on that I like.  LOL  "Not that again!"

He's also more aware of clothing than what I thought.  He told me he'd wear shorts this summer if they were like his cousin's (who dresses very fashionably).  I was able to convince him that most of the jean shorts he owns came from said cousin and so they are 'cool'.

He's got very hairy legs, hairy armpits, body odor, a tiny mustache and a VERY deep voice.  For a while when his voice changed, I'd freak that some stranger had come in the house.  Then my brain would finally process that no, that's my son!  I just bought him shoes in a men's size 9.  He's already around 5'1".  I'm only 5'3" so he's thrilled.  LOL

He uses words like 'lame' and tells me he can't watch PBS shows because he's not a 'baby' anymore.  He does still like Spongebob and Phineas and Ferb but I know adults who like those shows too so that's not saying a whole lot.  ;D

He's maturing and it's wonderful to see.  There are still a lot of areas to work on but they come at HIS pace, no one else's.  That's always been his way--from learning to tie his shoes to learning to ride his bike to learning to read.  He does it when he's ready.  Patience is required on the part of the parents-read ME.  It's not easy. 

So until I update my photo the the side, here's what my teenager looks like.

A Thousand Words

Trouble shooting having to vacuum. Pooh thinks it's a little too noisy so he finds some ear muffs. LOL

Explaining Autism to the Autistic

About a year to a year and a half ago, I mentioned to Pooh that he had autism. He asked "What is autism?" and my reply was something to the effect "It's when something is different about your brain that makes it hard for you to do/understand certain things." I mentioned it twice and after the second time he said: "No, I don't have autism." I left it at that.

At the beginning of August, we went with another family on a hike at a nearby mountain. While we were at the Welcome Center, I noticed another father there with his son. There were two reasons I noticed them. I heard loud, repetitive noises coming from the son, and I saw the father wearing some type of autism awareness t-shirt. Right after my noticing them, I heard Pooh say: "There's something wrong with that kid." He said it to me in a quiet way. It didn't reach the ears of said kid or parent, which I thought was significant on Pooh's part. He had enough awareness to just quietly tell me.

What an opportunity! I immediately explained to Pooh that "No, he has autism just like you do." I again got the "What's autism?" Now, my replies aren't exactly tactful. They aren't sugar coated. They just are what they are. Especially since I wasn't exactly prepared to have a 'conversation' about it. So I said "It's when something in your brain doesn't work right. For him, autism makes him make those noises. For you, it makes it hard to control your anger." Pooh accepted that.

And this was really sweet--I mentioned that I know sometimes those noises can be annoying. Pooh said, "No, they don't annoy me. I can just ignore them." Purple Puddles! as FLYLADY would say!

I know that different families have different ways of looking at Autism. Some would say it's not a disability. Some say it's just a different way of living. Some use the expression disABILITY. I'm all for looking for the positive as you'll see later in what we ended up doing. However, I want Pooh to understand that for him, it IS a disability. This is not the norm. It isn't how we're supposed to be made. This will be a challenge in his life. There are obstacles to overcome. I believe it's the first step in him seeing why he needs to work on certain things. To me it's no different than someone born without a leg or with diabetes. It's ok to say "I have a disability. I was born without a leg. These are the ways I deal with that challenge." I want Pooh to be able to say "I have autism. It makes it hard to do (fill in the blank). These are the ways I can cope/deal with that challenge." I want him to understand why it looks easy for his friends to do certain things while it's harder for him. I think acknowledgment needs to be made (if possible) for self-esteem purposes and for life in general. People with auto-immune illnesses tend to talk about wanting 'validation'. I think the same applies for understanding autism. Validate their difficulties by explaining it is a problem that has to be overcome/dealt with.

Anyway, for about a week and a half, we had a few conversations with Pooh on autism and how it affects him. The first few times he would try to remember the name of it and instead say "You know, that thing with my brain?" One time Tigger piped up, "OH! You mean Asthma!" Noooooo! It's not asthma! LOL It's Autism. "Oh yeah, autism."

We explained to Pooh that when he was little he would scream A LOT and he stopped talking. We decided to take him to the doctor and that's what the doctor told us, he has autism. He replied, "You mean I was born with it?!?" Yes, Pooh, you were born with it. That was quite a revelation to him.

We explained that autism is the reason that he wants to talk about history all the time. The reason he gets angry so much. The reason that he doesn't always understand what people are talking about.

He asked a few questions about it. He looked like he was going to cry and said he was worried his friends wouldn't like him because he had autism. We reassured him that his friends already know and that they still like him. He asked if I had it, if Dad had it, if Tigger had it. No to all of those. That bothered him a bit. I then explained that even though Tigger doesn't have autism he has a dairy allergy and he can't have cow milk. That even though Mom and Dad don't have autism, our brains make us forget stuff all the time, because we're getting old. ;D He grinned at that. We talked about how lots of people have different problems and that we (people with problems) have to learn how to deal with them.

As a family we sat and made a chart. On one side it lists Qualities and on the other Challenges. We all started by naming qualities that we liked about Pooh (he joined in). We also mentioned his challenges. At the end Tigger piped up and said "Mommy, there are more good things than bad things!" Pooh smiled, nodded yes and hugged his Dad.

Pooh has even already started using it as an excuse, much to our amazement. Reason for not listening: "That thing with my brain." After a bit of frustration on my part I say to him, "I don't understand what the deal is. You were fine all day and now all of a sudden you're all grumpy! What is the deal?!?" Pooh responds in his best teenager voice, "You know, I have auuuu-tismmmm." Choke back the laughter. I had to. :D

We've also discussed not using it as an excuse but instead working on those things that cause difficulties. Like anger, movie line quoting, etc.

We discussed our bible based hope for the future when "No resident will say 'I am sick.'" Is. 33:24. It was very comforting to him.

I consider this Phase 1 in our autism conversations. I am very satisfied with how they went. Hopefully, Phase 2 will go as smoothly.

Death of a Bee

We take this opportunity to commemorate the life of a dear friend, the honeybee. He lived a short but busy life. His favorite activity was collecting nectar from the little white clover blossoms growing amongst the grass.



Sadly, he was stepped upon by a gentle giant. Pooh was innocently walking in his yard when he was surprised to find he had stepped on his dear friend. The pain in his foot took precedence for a short time.

However, soon he remembered his friend, the honeybee, and went to look for him. He was much saddened by his friend's demise. The honeybee was laid to rest upon the sidewalk.



Pooh's brother, Tigger, happily took great care to shoo away the looters, also known as ants.




Kind words were spoken by all. We remembered him fondly and spoke of his hard work and short life. Pooh even spoke on how his friend had given up his life to defend himself against an unknown enemy. Eventually, he was left in peace.

The Slug Dilemma

Pooh: "There's a slug in the house!"
Mom: "Well, get it out."
Pooh: "Oh, no. I don't want to get slimy."

Minutes pass...

Pooh: "Daddy, aren't you going to get that slug?"
Mom: "How's he going to get it? He's on the toilet!"
Pooh: "Well, what about you, Mommy?"
Mom: "I'm in the bath."

More minutes pass...

Tigger: (reporting) "It's just a little slug."
Mom: "You better watch out he doesn't eat you while you sleep." (yes, I actually said that)
Tigger: "What? He can't eat me?"
Mom: "He could if he grew to be a giant."
Tigger: "Well, he can't do that."
Mom: "I know. I'm just kidding."

More reporting...

Tigger: "Pooh's getting it with the chopsticks."
Mom: "Really? You're serious?"

Tick Tock...

Pooh: "I got it?"
Mom: "Did you use the chopsticks?"
Pooh: giggles "Yeah."

What resourcefulness!!!

Brotherly Bickering

This time it revolves around a pamphlet for Revolutionary War events. There's yelling going on in the kitchen. Mainly from Pooh. Tigger holds onto the pamphlet as if it means his life.

Pooh comes up the stairs and starts telling me how Tigger needs to learn to share. "You know, Mommy, like on Dragon Tales. Ord had to learn to share his things." Uh-huh. I was just agreeing-trying not to get too involved. I want them to work things out. Pooh expresses more thoughts, "If he doesn't share, I'm not going to be around him. You know, if somebody bothers you, you should just walk away."

Good thinking, Pooh! "Thanks." LOL

Pooh is happy that he expressed himself and Tigger is walking around with some headphones on that look like they belong to an air traffic controller on the strip. "I don't want to hear all this yelling." Little instigator.

Kids' Gardens-Starting Seeds

Last week we had a seed planting day. I got things set up for Pooh and Tigger. They each had a tray and some newspaper cups. I had presoaked the seed starting medium so it would be ready.

We then discussed the seeds they wanted to start. Tigger was pretty much set with what he wanted:
2 Sugar Pie Pumpkin, 2 Ali Baba watermelon, 9 Country Gentleman corn. He wanted carrots too but it won't work quite right with the other stuff he's growing. I may convince him to plant some beans seeds around the corn once it gets going. Then he'll have the 3 Sisters (corn, beans, squash).


He ended up filling some cups that I used later.


Pooh had me read off some of the seeds I had and decided from there. He picked some things that "I'll grow it but I won't eat it." 5 spinach, 2 eggplant, 2 zucchini, 2 cucumbers and 6 nasturtium. I'm going to show him that you can eat the flowers of this one. Won't he be surprised!



The way we worked it was:

1. They told me what seed they wanted to plant next.
2. I asked them how many.
3. As they were putting the planting medium into their cups, I marked the required amount of Popsicle sticks with the name of the seed.
4. They placed their markers in.
5. I then either game them the correct number of seeds (more for Tigger) or gave them the packet to plant their seeds (Pooh). They placed 2 seeds in each cup. I did that because these are older seeds and I wanted to make sure they got something to sprout.

See! It wasn't as horrific as you expected, Pooh! ;D


The seed tray is now in the greenhouse. They have a small soda bottle with a special sprinkle top on it so they can water their seeds each morning. The fun part will be when the little green shoots start popping up.

In my tray I planted, yellow squash, pumpkin, petunia, moss rose, african daisy, hyssop, impatiens, nasturtium, scallop squash, 4 o'clocks, hollyhocks, marjoram, zinnias and winter squash. The zinnias are already coming up!

Late Readers

On one of the AO yahoo groups, there's been a recent discussion on early reading skills. I thought I would post here my response as it may help some of you with late readers.

I just want to share an experience on not stressing about the reading. I know there are some children out there who are quite eager to be reading at 3. However, for a lot of kids, this is a completely unreasonable expectation. Before finding CM, I had unreasonable expectations.


My oldest son has autism. He's what many would refer to as high functioning. I had been working with him on learning his letters since he was about 4. We worked on letter sounds. We spent a whole year just doing ma, me, mi, mo, mu type nonsense. (which it did help eventually, but anyway...) I finally, through doing some online research, discovered Better Late Than Early. I believe that book does discuss some researched negatives on early reading, but I'm not positive as it's been a few years since I've looked at it.


From that book I learned to relax. We even took a whole year off doing 'school' when my son was about 8-9. I was a little freaked out about doing that, but it helped in so many ways. We learned to relax with each other. I learned it wasn't the end of the world that he wasn't reading yet.


After the year off, we picked up on some simple reading again. Cvc words. We spent another year on cat, hat, mat, etc. Again before CM. I was muddling my way through.

My son learned to read when he was 10. He now reads beautifully. More than that, he understands what he reads. He reads for fun. I have to force him to leave books in the van when we go in stores. He chooses books that I would think are above his reading level, but he reads them anyway. He would really love it if he could read Treasure Island, but it looks too overwhelming to him right now (and rightly so for his developmental level). We were walking through goodwill the other week and he was reading aloud from a book he found there about Pearl Harbor. A lady stopped me and asked what grade he was and then stated that her granddaughter (2 years ahead of him) can't read that well. He also reads by changing voices with the characters. You should hear his Pharaoh voice! (we're reading Exodus right now)


My point in all this is to assure you that it will come. There's no medal that one gets for learning to read by a certain age. One should learn to enjoy reading, not because it's one more chore on the list of life achievements.


We still have a lot of things to work on. Spelling, writing, etc. but I've seen that time has nothing to do with it. Children will learn when they are ready and then they will learn it well. I've even seen this happen in other areas like learning to tie shoes or riding a bike.


That's the take of this mother of a special needs child. I wish I had known about CM all those years ago. I do know now and as we continue to work through the AO years, I will continue to enjoy the progress my son makes as he's ready.


And just fyi, we started Year 1 this past year at age 10.

What is your conscience?

According to Pooh:

"It's a good little guy that looks like me on this side (left shoulder) and a bad little guy that looks like me on this side (right shoulder)."

How We're Doing AO Free Reads

We're actually just starting to work through AO Year 1 Free Reads. I've been reading Pinocchio for a while now, but it's slow going. Having to do readings for both of them everyday leaves me with a lot less motivation to do other readings again later. We only have about 6 chapters left of Pinocchio, then I'll start reading Peter Pan.

I had tried getting Pooh interested in reading some of them on his own but was unsuccessful until recently. I've been having him read Stuart Little to me. I think a big obstacle with Pooh was that he would come across words he didn't know and if I'm not there to ask, he'd prefer not to read it. Also, there is the interest factor. It's not as exciting to him as history is so he feels he has to work harder. He had already read part of Stuart Little months ago but never finished it. Thankfully, the day we started back on it was a day where we were reading about Stuart at the dentist's office. Pooh giggled all the way through that part because of the man in the chair trying to talk. I was reading that part and made sure to make it just as if I were in that chair and the dentist's tools were in my mouth. Very funny indeed!

I'm assigning Pooh his free reads from now on. His next assignment will be Little House in the Big Woods. I'm hoping that eventually he'll get to the point where I start the book with him, but then he follows up with it in his own time. Although, I've never read any of the Little House books so I'm anxious to hear the stories. LOL

I found a copy of The Tale of Despereaux the other day and he started reading that book all on his own! He reads everything out loud. Everything. Exactly when does the silent reading start in child development? I've been curious about that. One nice thing about him reading aloud is that it keeps Tigger entertained!

I plan on us being 'behind' on free reads. That, to me, is perfectly ok. I want to take them slowly, not only for my sake as regards time, but for Pooh's sake with his readiness to read them. I've got two boys to read to and myriads of things going on all the time, so it's good for Pooh to be able to work on some of the easier free reads himself. I'll continue to tackle the heavier duty ones myself. Some books I know he'd take one look at and completely freak at the thought of reading them. Pinocchio was one and Peter Pan, while catching his interest, looks quite a bit wordier than Stuart Little. Pooh still likes pictures here and there in his books too. Really, who doesn't appreciate a well drawn picture to go along with a great story?

Some of the other free reads like Charlotte's Web and King of the Golden River I'm still hunting down. I keep hoping they'll turn up in the used book shop I frequent, but so far, nary a sight of them. We have a home school conference coming up and I plan on hitting the book fair so maybe I'll find a few treasures while I'm there.

Well, that's how we've been handling things so far. Got questions/tips? Leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Changes

A couple of significant things happened this week. Significant in the world of Pooh.

The first you see here:


I had already prepared dinner and was upstairs on the computer while waiting for the King to come home. Pooh decided he was going to make the table "fancy". He started all on his own getting out my champagne glasses and filling them with Coke. LOL Meanwhile, I was ordered to stay upstairs and when the King came home he was ordered to stay out of the kitchen. He even let Tigger help.

When we sat down, he pretended to be a chef and Tigger was the waiter. They got our orders and filled them. Pooh even suggested to Tigger: "Ask them if they want to talk to the chef." We, of course, decided that we'd love to talk with the chef! It was a wonderful conversation. Chef Pooh told us he had learned to cook some things from his mother who had gone to Italy at one time. (yes, I've been there. ;D) We complimented the chef on his great service and the waiter too.

There were so proud that they did it again the next night. In fact, the table was set all the way with plates, napkins and anything else we needed.

They are such a hoot!


The second significant thing is here:




This is a boy with autism eating a sloppy joe and not freaking out about it. I saw a look on his face somewhere around the beginning of him trying to eat it and so I started reminding him why it was called a sloppy joe. (I had discussed with him before that this is a 'sloppy' or 'messy' joe.) So when I saw him look at the meat falling out onto his plate and then look at me, I just smiled real big and said, "That's why they call it a sloppy joe!" He smiled real big and said, "Yep, it's a sloppy joe." He then repeated that a couple of times while eating dinner.

The other significant thing about him eating this is that it had diced onions and peppers in it and he ate it all without picking them out!!! This is the boy who begs for lasagna and then takes it apart layer by layer and picks the veggies out. Whoo Hoo for sloppy joes!!!

Change comes to those who wait (and sometimes wait and wait and wait) :D

A Candid Review of AO Year 1 Books...So Far (Part 3)

This is a review by Pooh. I asked him what he thought about each book separately and these are his responses. If I had let him, he would have told you a story from each book, but I really just wanted you to get an idea of what he thinks about each book in general. These are written exactly as Pooh talks so you have an idea of that as well.

An Island Story: It's a great book because it has history of Britain. The part of Britain which is now called England.

Parables from Nature: Weeeeell, it talks about nature. A lot about animals. I hate it because it's boring.

James Herriot's Treasury for Children: I like that one because he takes care of animals like Moses, the kitten.

50 Famous Stories: That's a good book. They have sometimes about ships and artists and heroes and different leaders.

Just So Stories: I like the part of how the Alphabet was made because Taffy was funny. I like it because it has the whale who swallowed the man.

Burgess Bird: I like that one because it has cardinals and the downy woodpecker and Bully, the English sparrow.

Paddle to the Sea: I like that. It's about an Indian in a canoe and it had to get through some lakes to get to the sea. It even went through Canada and the United States.

Ben Franklin: I like it because he was a great American. He was trying to tell the government to have peace with America but they wouldn't listen. He even met King Louis.

George Washington: It's cool!

Pinocchio: It's great! He has cool adventures. He has to see his Papa.

Stuart Little: It's cool. I like the part where he does the sailboat race on the schooner called The Wasp.

Aesop: It's cool because it has some wolves in it. I love wolves.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare: I like the stories like The Midsummer Night's Dream.

Poetry: I like Robert Louis Stevenson. There are some ships on his poem books and castles.

There you have it. It looks as if the only book on Pooh's black list is Parables from Nature. Not a big surprise.

Waiting

When the King got home yesterday, we decided to go for a walk while the boys rode their bikes. We were outside and Tigger was asking where the King was. I told him what the King was doing and said we'd just wait for him to finish.

Pooh says: "Mommy, we're waiting just like the cricket had to wait, right?"

See, even though he 'hates' that book, he's still learning from it. Amazing.

(He was referencing our latest story from Parables from Nature.)

A Candid Review of AO Year 1 Books...So Far (Part 2)

Well, I got the hard part over with. Now onto some lighter material.

What we've discovered this year is that Pooh. Loves. History. He really, really, really, really, loves it. LOL His reading took off a few months ago, we started some Year 1 books such as An Island Story and 50 Famous Stories, and now he's taken over the history aspect of his learning.

He checks out history books (with a little dinos and pirates mixed in. ;D). A lot of them are centered around colonial times. He will talk about bible history too. He draws the city of Jerusalem with the biblical beasts that attack (representing world powers). He wants to know who was governor of Rome when and what part. And he'll remember it. He helps me remember stuff I never would without him.

Needless to say, the aforementioned books are his favorites of the year. He's even taken to carrying them around and re-reading chapters that we've already read. I do allow him to do that. Once we've read it as part of our school day and he's given his narration, he can re-read those chapters. He's very good about sticking to that rule. also, Pooh loves anything to do with England, so studying the history through An Island Story is thrilling for him!

This love does lead him to some static conversations. I use several different 'tactics' to deal with that. Ignoring it. Asking him to stop and continue later. Throwing him curve balls with misinformation. Singing a silly ditty that one of the words reminded me of. (Ex: He was reading a Step into Reading book about the ship Endurance getting stuck in the South Pole (i think--you'll have to ask Pooh for the details because I don't remember) and he mentioned something about the 15 men. I started singing the ditty from Treasure Island-15 men and the Dead Men's Chest... "Mommy, what are you doing?" "You said 15 men!" ) Ok, I know, I'm weird, but it keeps Pooh on his toes. ;D

So, the history readings are going very well. He can focus on listening and narrates beautifully.

The Burgess Bird Book: Not a favorite, but not horrific either. Pooh has good and bad moments with this book. I have a feeling that the Burgess Animal Book will go better. I don't think that the bird stories really captivate his interest. His favorite is still one of the first ones we read. He really likes hearing about Bully, The English Sparrow. sigh

Just So Stories: This writing style is soooo different. I never heard these until this year. I like them but wasn't really sure how it would go over with Pooh. This is another so-so book. He finds parts of it amusing and parts of it just don't interest him. He's getting a kick now over the stories of The First Letter and Alphabet because of the little girl in it. Her nickname is Taffy, but her whole name stands for something along the lines of "little girl with no manners who ought to be spanked". He had me say that several times and would just laugh! LOL I did manage to watch a film recently on pbs about Rudyard Kipling. It was the one where his son goes off to war and dies. In it there are a couple of scenes where the actor is reading bits and pieces of Just So Stories for some neighbor children. Listening to him, I understood more of the grandeur behind the stories. How richly they can be told aloud. I always use voices in my readings. For Taffy, I try to sound like the little girl she is. It's nothing compared to the actor's readings but the boys enjoy it.

James Herriot's Animal Stories for Children: The first one we read did not go well. At all. However, each story has gotten progressively easier and better. Pooh is enjoying each one more. He loves dogs and so receives a special treat when we're reading about one of the dog stories.

Paddle to the Sea: This is a really good book. We're enjoying using the map in the book to track Paddle's adventures. Pooh and I both learned that Lake Michigan is shaped like a wolf's head. Thrilled him to no end to understand that! ;D These chapters are only one page and the book is loaded with pictures.

Pooh also loves the Du'laire biographies recommended for Year 1. Big surprise. :P

Next I'll post Pooh's responses when asked about his different books and I'll also do a post on how the free reads have gone.

A Candid Review of AO Year 1 Books...So Far (Part 1)

Last month I almost threw out one of the books we use for our AO Year 1 schedule. Almost. I even said, "That's it! We're not doing this one anymore." Any of you who've used AO Year probably know which one it was.



Say it with me: Parables of Nature. Yep, week 24 of our schedule and I'm ready to hurl the thing across the room. Why haven't I given it up altogether you ask? Replace it with Among the ______ People? I can be a little stubborn at times. (cough, cough!) That's part of it. The other part is realizing that all the stress is coming from HELLO!, ME!!!

I've read on the AO Yahoo boards that this book is a difficult one for many kids to get used to. For a child with autism, it is extremely hard. A huge part of it is the language. Pooh has language delays and CAPD (central auditory processing disorder). He doesn't always know what is going on or he'll get things backwards (who is talking to who(m)?). At other times, he can give me a very good rough narration.

One chapter we've read is called Training and Restraining. It's basically about the wisdom behind being guided by principles and rules. It is illustrated through a story of flowers in a garden who are tied up and guided to grow certain was being tricked by the Wind. The Wind convinces them that they don't need these restraints, that they can be 'free'. Of course, the Wind then blows hard enough to completely destroy many plants, making a complete mess of the garden.

I like this book. When I'm not trying to help Pooh narrate from it. LOL I like how the author uses nature stories to teach us life lessons. It reminds me of some of Jesus parables from the bible. It will make you think. Which is the whole point really.

I've stuck with this book for several reasons. There is the usual 'finish what I start' mentality I've got going. I like the book. Pooh has been able to narrate small portions of it without help, so I know the potential is there. It is challenging for him. (a good thing--I'll explain why soon.) It's stretching his thinking and narration skills.

What I've discovered is that:

1. I need to take this book in small sections on a more regular basis. I can't do one story in 1-2 days like many. It's too much. The stories are too long. The both of us get stressed about it. What I'm doing now is taking 2-4 pages at a time (with several stops for narrations) and just doing it every day until the chapter is done.

2. I need to remember to let Pooh read this to me more. He seems to pay better attention on this book when he reads it aloud himself. Because the book is harder for him, it's too easy for Pooh to allow his mind to wander when trying to 'listen'. Reading himself helps keep his focus. Today I saw a big difference when I did that. He still got a little confused over some details, but he was able to give a narration instead of saying "I forgot to listen. I'm sorry!"

3. I have to do some narrating myself with this book. It helps Pooh to get the story a bit better.

4. Keep him on track. Today's story had a paragraph that mentioned a volcano. That was all it took for him to start going off about the volcanoes in Hawaii. A gentle "Ok, but we need to narrate what's happening in this story right now." is all it took for him to refocus.

5. Accept that what he does get out of the story is 'enough'. He may or may not get all the deeper meanings behind these stories. He may sorta get it. One thing about Pooh is that one little tidbit will sometimes connect with another tidbit a lot later on and then he gathers enough to come to some excellent conclusions. I have to learn to wait for that. (Incidentally, today we finished the story about Waiting. How appropriate!!! ;D)

6. Explain some of the unfamiliar words. Today as he was reading, Pooh asked me what a crone was. "An old lady" I said. Let us hope that that word stays in our literary world. I can just hear it now "Mommy, is grandma a crone?" Within earshot of said Grandma, of course. LOL

I'm glad that I have so far persevered with this book. Do I think that Tigger will get much more out of it when it's his turn? Yes. However, I like that Pooh is getting his 'tidbit' and maybe when he hears it again for Tigger, he'll pick up some more 'tidbits' and it'll help connect some missing pieces for him. Today ended well. He told me that "mole had good advice" and "the crickets had to wait just like we have to wait". Those were two of his own observations just from what he understood. Even though he didn't capture many other points, he captured two important things and that was wonderful. (Whew! Somebody have a towel?? I can wipe the beads of sweat, I mean glow, off my forehead. ;P)

Access to this book online is here. You can also find it on Amazon.

I started this with our hardest book first. I have seen a lot of progress and wonderful things since beginning this journey with a CM education. I'll share how the other books are going soon.

Pampering the Boys

I told the boys they were going to have a treat. "It's called a manicure." They thought it was something to eat! LOL I had both of them sitting at the kitchen table with a towel under their hands. First came the liquid cuticle remover. Then they each soaked their hands in a warm water solution of honey and lemon juice for 5 minutes. After drying their nails, I pushed back cuticles, did some very minor shaping and gave them a clear gloss topcoat. They were so proud of their shiny nails! ;D

I did have an ulterior motive. Pooh's nails are terrible. He's been a nail biter for a couple of years now. It's gotten to where he bites them down to the almost bleeding stage. He picks at the skin around all his nails, along the sides and the top part which should be under a nail. He's never messed with the cuticles and they looked like they were starting to take over what nail he does have. I've read before about providing manicures to nail biters in the hopes that it will motivate them to take care of their nails.

Usually Pooh bites and picks when we are at our Sunday meetings. However, today all he did was pick out dirt from under his nails. When I looked at him he said "I'm just getting the dirt out." He never bit or picked at them. Has it worked??? Only time will tell. I hope to give him a little manicure every week or two if it motivates him to leave his poor nails alone. Maybe I'll actually get to clip them! I haven't been able to do that in years.

These pictures were taken a couple of days later, but at least you can see the present state of their nails after the manicure. Yup, there's dirt again. The one with some length on the nail is Tigger. The ones down to the quick are Pooh's.

Math Ladder

Pooh has been having a rough time learning the addition math facts. We've actually finished his Alpha work from Math U See and he still doesn't know all of them. He'll know some of them for a while and then it disappears. He was always able to get through the material for the simple reason that he loved using the manipulatives. He's very adept at using them and after a little trouble in the beginning became very good at 'solving for the unknown'.

However, I think that he became a bit lazy with using them. He uses the manipulatives without really thinking too much about it. As soon as he comes to a problem he doesn't know, he just uses the blocks. There are a few he would get without them but most of the time he took the easy way. That, of course, is my fault. If I had made him stop and we had discussed each time why 4+5=9 (doubles plus one), then I think he may have been learning to do more in his head. He's keeping the math external instead of trying to internalize it and that's where we'll be getting into trouble if we don't get it corrected.

Anyway, I've borrowed the book Games for Math by Peggy Kaye from the library. The other day I found a simple game we could try together. I liked this plan because it will help him learn the addition facts in a fun way and yet doesn't require massive index card preparation. (Preparation for stuff like that almost always make it impossible for me to follow through. I admit it. So there! ;D)


The game is Math Ladder. Basically, you take one sheet of paper. Draw a ladder on it giving enough rungs so that you can write 0-10 one on each rung in random order. The game is played using one die. If I roll a 3, I then take the die, keeping the 3 up, and put it beside each rung starting from the bottom. I must then solve the addition problem of bottom rung number + 3 = (blank). If I solve the bottom rung, I move up one level. I keep going until I get a wrong answer or reach the top.

Pooh and I have played it for two days now. We play after doing some flashcards. Due to that, I make sure that we only go through two or three cycles of tossing the die. I also make sure that I get things wrong. Who wants to play with someone who's always right and wins?

This is a great referencing activity because both ways can be used for referencing. When it's my turn, I'll say 4+3=7 and wait for Pooh to nod his head yes or no. Sometimes he'll say he doesn't know the answer, sometimes he says "let me think" and a couple of times he's said the answer before me. ;D The same type of referencing can be done when it's Pooh's turn.

If I find any other simple, easy prep games in the book (or anywhere else) that work for us, I'll post them.

Gestures

It really is amazing the little things that can happen from time to time. This evening we were having a family bible study and when Pooh was giving his narration of events, he used gestures. Ok. I have to admit I vaguely noticed this. I was actually concentrating on what he was saying more than on what he was doing with his hands.

He wasn't going to let it go unnoticed though. He says to us, "Did you see me?" "What?" I reply. "I was using my hands when I was talking." said Pooh. Me-"Oh yeeaaahhh. Hey, who taught you that?" Pooh grins and shrugs his shoulders, then says "I just want to be like my Daddy."

First, that is so sweet! I love when the boys look at what things (hopefully, good stuff! LOL) that we're doing and say they want to be like us.

Second, HOLY COW! He's realizing that Dad uses gestures and he doesn't. THEN he's correcting himself.

Third, He's making sure we know about it! I gave him a high five. LOL

Fourth, I guess that means I can work on using more gestures and see if he picks up on some different ones. I can tell he's not quite sure the right way to use them, but he gets an A++++++ for effort. AND, it's been a while since I even thought of working on gestures. Go Figure!

Fifth, you have to laugh at the fact he chose to imitate the King in gestures. After all, he's the Latin King right? And what do you know about Latinos? Watch Out when they're talking! he he If you're unfamiliar with that concept, think Italians and you'll get a great picture in your mind.

Snoopy Dance with Me!

Buddy Reading

In the AmblesideOnline World, it is generally recommended that the students start taking responsibility for reading their material in Year 3 and be reading it all on their own by Year 4. When we started this past summer with Year 1, Pooh was 10 and could read very simple stuff. He was just getting into Frog and Toad style books. Now his reading has taken off. So, even though we're still in Year 1, I'm starting to turn some simple reading responsibilities over to him. (I also feel this is appropriate due to his age. He's starting AO late due to his developmental delays, but once I see an area he takes off in, I may quickly bring him up to age appropriate material. Example: I'm considering starting with very easy dictation to work on spelling and writing. I'll post about that when I decide to start it.)

Buddy reading is a great way to start the process of turning reading over to your student. For those new to the term, buddy reading is simply sitting beside your child and the two of you taking turns reading. It can be as easy as having your child read a word here and there in a sentence (holding your finger under the words for reference). Then you can move onto taking turns with sentences, paragraphs and short chapters. This is where you as the parent need to key in to the 'zone of proximal development' that your child is at. You want to slowly bring them along with their skills, challenging them little by little. Only you know your child's breaking point. You DO NOT want to reach the breaking point. I'm a firm believer in 'any lesson ending in tears will be remembered negatively'. So make sure you offer enough challenge to move them along but are still able to end on a successful note.

Pooh and I are up to buddy reading sections of our bible reading, paragraphs in stories etc. With our Year 1 book Paddle to the Sea, I let him read the chapter but I'm still there to help with difficult words. Last week when we were behind on things for the day, I actually had him read a chapter of Genesis to me while I was getting dinner ready. That way any difficult words were also taken care of by my simply going over to have a look. Another thing I'm teaching Pooh, is when he wants me to help him with a word, to let me know the beginning of it by either sounding out the beginning or giving me the beginning letters. A lot of the time I can tell him what the word is without having to look at it because of the sentence it's in. There are some words he'll sound out in reading that are done incorrectly and I can correct those immediately when we buddy read. Charlotte Mason advised that a child always be corrected right away so that a bad habit of spelling/reading isn't ingrained in the brain. Buddy reading is great for that.

It always helps me to know some of the 'in-between' things you do to get to the next level, so I hope this helps some others who aren't quite sure how you get from A. Reading all the material of Year 1 to your student to B. Your student reading all the material. It's great that we have this blogworld to help one another scaffold these tasks.

Happy Reading Everyone!