Recent Creations

Here are some photos of creations from the MyGym Art & Learning class that we attend on Wednesday afternoons:



Clockwise from top left: Elephant (pastels); Butterfly (pointilism); Japanese cherry blossom (tissue)/ Sea stars (water colors and crayon rubbing)


This week we made a "stained glass" heart (and learned a bit about Italy):



We also got a jump start on some Kwanzaa crafts at home this week (JC is ALL about the winter holidays this year, and he seems fascinated by the similarities between them, especially Hanukkah and Kwanzaa (the candles and the multi-day celebrations). We happened to have a single straw placemat that was perfect for transforming into the Kwanzaa mat (Mkeka) with some crayons, and we found the idea for the candle holder (kinara) on the Nickjr website. LOVE it when we actually have all of the items necessary and no shopping is required!




Last, but certainly not least, JC rediscovered an old book on his bookshelf this week and was eager to read it . . . and even more eager to be recorded while doing so! :) (The main video (Part 1) was too large, which is really a shame, but here is Part 2, the very end of the story)

Rambling Thoughts

1. I'm pooped. Overall, today balanced out to be a pretty good day (glass half full), but the ups and downs of emotions when observing my sweet boy, and thinking about his needs and his future, across various settings and throughout a given day, can be exhausting. Still wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world, though.


2. I'm also pooped from staying up too late again to print materials and plan for next week. Then I had to rework our schedule (again!) due to a change in our therapy schedule. I actually found myself feeling sympathetic toward school staff with all they have to fit into a day for so many children, with so many changes and variables. And of course because I struggle with executive functioning AND tend to be a perfectionist about such things, I over-think it and spend way too much time on it . . . and waste paper because I missed a type-o and cannot settle for a printed copy with a mistake .

3. Trying to join a social group of homeschoolers (or any new group of typically developing kids and their parents, frankly) with an "enthusiastic" boy like mine is not comfortable. Nope. But we're trying anyway. He approached the group this afternoon by yelling out at the top of his voice, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I WANT CAKE!!!" (giggle, wiggle, jump, skip, run around, giggle, wiggle, skip, run) Always a GRAND entrance. No chance of slipping in quietly and being discrete with this kiddo when he's excited. And he is OBSESSED with the nice young man (whose 13th b-day it was) so I have to watch him like a hawk and intervene so he doesn't try to monopolize the young man's time with questions about how many zip-up jackets he has or why he isn't wearing a belt. ;)

4. He did have a very nice 5-minute exchange with an imaginitive and quiet little girl who led the way pretending to take a trip to the moon. When she asked if he'd like to go to the moon, he squealed with delight: "YES!"
What kind of adventure-loving boy wouldn't want to go to the moon??

5. We'll be wrapping up our study (and celebration) of Hanukkah next week. It's really been quite fun and JC has enjoyed it. We made our first (very basic and slightly unattractive) lapbook about Hanukkah, which provided many opportunties for cutting and pasting (fine motor practice). He wasn't quite as excited about the idea as I was initially, but I'm thinking that as we make more and he is able to refer back to his collection (he's all about collections!), he'll enjoy them. Let's hope so. I did catch him looking at it earlier, and he seemed excited to pull the blessings cards out of the little envelope as we lit the menorah on the first night. :) If Santa brings me a new camera, I'll get some pics up one of these days.

6. OH! The really good news of the week (saving the best for last) is that we've had a bit of a handwriting breakthrough! JC is a strong reader (all things considered), but handwriting development has been a long, challenging process. Through using the Handwriting Without Tears program he did learn to form his letters in fun ways. And has been able to write most letters and numbers and write/copy for a while now, but he has struggled with placement and alignment. Getting words them to fit neatly within the lines of paper has been a real challenge, to put it mildly. It seems that in addition to coordination problems it could be a perceptual problem as well. I usually have to guide his hand back to the starting position and give many verbal cues to walk him through it if I'm expecting him to write within a limited space/on a small surface. With the exception of the HWT (Handwriting Without Tears) gray block paper (generally used for capital letters) or drawing "buildings" (blocks for each letter)- that he can do independently.

But FINALLY, earlier this week (or was it last week?), something clicked. I have been making it a point to state a purpose for each activity we do in advance, so I told him that since he already knew how to write his letters and could copy words & sentences, we now wanted to practice getting them to fit JUST RIGHT between the lines. It worked! Somehow it clicked for him. OF all the jumping through hoops, and all the ways we have tried to support him and instruct him, something that simple seemed to help. Perhaps it was just time. (This is using the double lined HWT paper vs. the traditional 3 line paper for young children - love it!)

7. Happy Hanukkah! God Bless us! Good night!