hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

I found these two articles a few months back, and they were really really helpful in validating some of what I already knew about my kiddos, as well as reinforcing the path we were on with them. And they turned some new lights on for me as well. Just like it's important to know our child's best learning style, we should also get to know how they best understand rules. This may seem straightforward, and in many ways it is. Rules are rules right?  But when working (and especially, living) with individuals on the Autism Spectrum, rules and rule following can get a little bit more complicated. For example we have some hard and fast rules in areas where many families probably get by with fairly simple reminders. Such as? Here are a few of areas I never envisioned having to "lay down the law" in: You WILL shower at minimum on Tuesdays and Saturdays, no later than 4:30 pm. (Zak still pushes this rule nearly every week! Just this past Tuesday, he ended up owin...

Well, we are finally done with all the evaluations and paper work getting ready for Kit's transition out of Early Steps and into the services of the school district. She will not be going to school, but when a child turns three, the school district takes over responsibility for further intervention. With a catch, of sorts. Early Intervention's aim is to provide assistance in any area that the child has an assessed need, and in any part of their daily routine from sleeping, to dressing, to bathing, to daycare, to interacting with family members to strangers, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc. in which they have difficulty. Though the amount and intensity differs drastically from child to child. When the school district takes over, their aim is to assist a child to cope in an educational setting . All of their determinations are based on how the child behaves, interacts, and attends to tasks and people in an educational environment. When a child i...

Here is a more challenging variation of yesterday's Busy Bag. More, larger, and greater variety of shapes give more options and challenge.  Again I took pictures of some arrangements I made to act as ideas or a template, but with this combo of shapes there are nearly endless possibilities of combinations. Two circles, four small squares, four small long rectangles, one large rectangle, and one medium rectangle make up this Busy Bag.

This Busy Bag can be a matching game and free play. Two circles, a triangle, a rectangle, and four small squares. Arrange in different combinations to make animals and bugs! I took pictures in order to put them in the bag to act as a guide or matching game, but for the kiddos whose imagination wanders, they are free to arrange their very own masterpieces! This one is good for younger kids or those who need a lighter challenge.

I would love to say with great conviction that a weekly round-up of our homeschool week is going to be a regular feature here, but all I can say with any real firmness is "I'll try". I am very pleased that the start of this school year has been anticipated with much more energy and joy on my part than last year. While we are still juggling a great many demands on our time, and especially, our energy, we have a much firmer grip on what we are doing. This is especially so in regard to Kit. Last August, I was a complete mess. I was operating on basically no sleep. I had so much stress and anxiety over Kit. I was deep in the void of depression. We had just, yet what felt like, finally, recieved Kit's official Autism diagnosis. And I was completely burnt out.  But stopping wasn't possible because no matter how exhausted I might have been, and no matter how supportive and helpful Victor was (which he was, enormously, and still is), the demands are still...

Monday was our first day of school! Even though we do school all year, I like to make the start of a new school year "official". The last couple years did not lend themselves to anything big, but this year things have been much smoother all around, and I am really excited about how many of our friends have started homeschooling either last year or this year! So I wanted to do something a little more special this year. Monday afternoon we had a First Day of Homeschool Science Party! Not all of our homeschooling buddies could make it, but we ended up with 10 "students" ranging in age from 2-15. The science nerd in me was completely geeked out! And I loved it! I set up science stations around the house for the kids to check out, build, play with, and eat! I made fact sheets about each one and supplies for them to play with. There were six stations:  what makes popcorn pop  mad science fizzy drinks (pop rocks in Hawaiian Punch and Sprite) ...

Yay! We finally finished the chicken coop! We built the framework, and the hen house over a month ago. But due to schedules and weather, hadn't finished fencing in the run. But we finally were able to get a load of sand, much of which went down on the floor of the run. Then put up the hardware cloth around the walls and installed the door to the run. Now our chickies can freely go between their house and the run. They can exercise and visit and claw without worry of one slipping out of the yard. We still let them out in the yard, nearly every day. But this way they have much more room for the days and times when they need to be more confined. It came out so nice! Can't wait till they start laying! Looking forward to going to visit my girlies and collecting our daily eggs!

Bubble wrap and toy trucks. That's all this one is. Except it's tons more as well! For little kids like Kit, they might need help learning to push the trucks hard enough to pop the bubbles. But this is a great activity to promote large muscle building, to satisfy deep pressure input, to satisfy sound seekers, and to vent some frustrations as well. I discovered that the matchbox cars don't seem to have enough clearance needed to get the wheels to pop the bubbles. But the trucks did much better. We are going to try monster trucks and our play dough rolling pins as well! 

Scene: Grace is explaining to Kit what a hobo is... "Hobos are people who put themselves in boxes and mail themselves to places like Hollywood. Then they become famous for their ideas. And that's what a hobo is!" I like that definition. :)

Our school supplies arrived yesterday! That is always one of the best days of the year! We are not talking about four dozen pencils and six boxes of tissue. No, our school supplies are way more exciting! We are talking about full color Graphic Novels about Historic Disasters, chemistry sets, Flubber, puzzles, games, a Laser Maze, and more. And of course workbooks, textbooks, and all the bubble wrap that came with it! And this year holds even more excitement as we officially have a 7th grader, 3rd grader, and Preschooler!! Yup, we are doing an organized schedule with specific activities, even with Kitty Bitty.  Her need for a more regimented schedule has been increasing for a while. And quite frankly I think plain old boredom has been a big contributor to her less pleasant outbursts, biting episodes, and control issues. She is constantly hungry for new academic and cognitive challenges and she has mastered pretty much all the casual learning th...

Time has a way of moving forward whether we are ready or not. The other day I was folding clothes and realized that at least six of the t-shirts that my soon-to-be three year old wears are shirts that I bought when I was pregnant with, or shortly thereafter, for my nearly twelve year old. When I bought them, they seemed huge compared to the tiny baby he was at the time and they seemed like they would never fit him. Not only did he grow into, play, sleep, and live in them, but so did my second, and now my third toddler! But that was exactly why I bought them! On purpose to be worn and loved and then outgrown and passed on to successive siblings (and a few cousins in between as well!). And that is part of what makes them so special. The stories they could tell. The adventures they have lived through. Their battle scars. They are just regular cotton t-shirts, and yet they are much more as well. I have a much deeper appreciation for old fashioned home made quilts. Pieced together, ...

So this is a very easy, basically no cost, reusable activity for kids of varying ages. It requires only 3-4 basic supplies. 1. Any kind of liquid/school glue. I used white Elmer's, but gel glue probably works just as well, and I've read many posts about using hot glue as well. But this was really simple and I didn't have to dig out my hot glue gun. 2. Card-stock, index cards, or cardboard. (This is optional, but much more durable than putting the glue on plain paper.) 3. Crayons 4. Paper Draw a design on the card-stock, keeping in mind that glue spreads, so keep it simple and roomy.  Then go over outline with glue. I did this myself to save time and because my kids were all sleeping. But this can easily be done by big kids with decent motor skills, especially if the patterns are simple.  I let them dry overnight, and even then a few places has run together and weren't quite dry by morning, but after a few more hours they were ready...