hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

Welcome back for a few more tidbits about Play Therapy! I love good ideas, and some of the best sources for good ideas come from other family's trial and errors. I can't even count how many inspirations I've gotten from reading blogs by other moms, from experiences of friends, and many other nifty suggestions from different ones. Often we tweak these and tailor them specifically to our own family's needs. Sometimes they work awesome, sometimes only so so, others not so well, or we put it on our maybe later list. Below is an idea I got from another mom, whose daughter is autistic, from  her post  about using our kids stims to help them learn new skills. Kitty Bitty loves things that spin so I loved this idea as soon as I saw it. I liked the simplicity of this set, and figured it might be a good way to encourage her to let the big kids help, and eventually she might enjoy it more independently. She has fun telling me which gears to add, though she...

I'm very happy about this mess! I'm happy because it meant she was doing this... Playing with her toys! The way they are meant to be played with, mostly! She still loves her beloved circles most and loves to stack them and line them up and organize the rest by color! But now... She is finally interested in other things as well! Like nesting her buckets. A very age appropriate activity, even if she insists on separating them by color. More circles. But... She loves to play with the dishes now. ALL the dishes, not just the lids. She pretends to cook! And serve! And eat! She still loves to line things up and count them. But now she's also willing to... Match pairs instead of only lining them up! She is a little less frustrated when things don't go exactly her way, like when the train tracks come apart.  She still loves to sort thi...

A year ago today, I nervously hit the publish button for the first time. I don't know if my writing here has helped anyone else out there, but being able to organize the events of the past year and sharing them here has helped me. At the very least, I hope that some of you out there have been able to glimpse into our chaos from time to time and maybe feel like you're not the only ones! I honestly did not expect things to be this hard this year. I expected lots of challenges. But a year ago, I felt invigorated, ready to work for my children and my family. I still work. Very hard for them. But the events and stresses of this year truly have drained me of every sort of energy. I feel like my fire has snuffed to a barely glowing ember. It's still there, but it's harder to get it sparking again. It has been literally an avalanche of stress. With the hits getting heavier and harder as the year progressed, and my ability to block the punches, weaker and weaker. Yet, life ...

    This, is my baby girl.             She's getting bigger everyday, but we still call her Baby.   She's, amazing!     She loves animals...       Petting a horsey for the first time.     She can climb on practically anything, the more precarious the better!           She loves dolls, and is a very good little mama...             As long as they don't wear any clothes.               She has the wispiest curls ever!           She LOVES water! She can literally play in it for hours.        That makes her a very good helper with the dishes!     She also LOVES to play outside! Swinging is her favorite, but sliding and digging for burie...