I hope I don't sound negative or self-pitying in this post, I'm just sharing what life has been like the last few weeks.
It has been a big adjustment going from one student at home to three. I'm still doing my best to look over all their work every day and to lay out some kind of schedule each day. This then gives me something to look back at to track my progress and the kids' progress. I'm having a hard time keeping up with it, and all that needs to be taken care of around the house. I had hoped that while I was going through the process this fall of discovering what Samuel really knows, that I could also be looking into additional consultant help and checking out alternative teaching materials. I've been surprised at how much I have to alter the materials I use to teach Samuel. I had thought the layout of the first grade materials I am using would appeal to him. He likes the pictures in the workbooks I have, but he just cannot seem to work on the pages. I don't know if there's just too much on the page, or maybe he has a vision problem. He does much better when I type his lessons in a large font on Writing With Symbols. Anyways, I'm so busy during the day that I keep forgetting to try to call potential consultants. I also haven't put as much into planning a social skills curriculum.. though I'm sure we're doing just fine with what I've put together at the last minute so far.
So far the subjects that appeal to Samuel the most are Religion, spelling, and reading(he likes th reader we use). One of my in-home helpers has noticed that Samuel doesn't react well when we try to count money ( I usually make up worksheets, so he's counting pictures of coins on paper). Now that we're up to the 7th week of doing this I'm trying to notice patterns as well.
Samuel's attention span has been very short and it was particularly bad last week. My strategy is to wait him out when he is not paying attention. So far he has been a bit better this week. Yesterday, however, I had to wait him out for almost an hour before he cooperated with working. This was around the time a favorite TV show of his was on. I made him work in a different area away from the TV. He didn't give in until after the TV show was over. We started working a good half hour before it was due to start! I'm so thankful that our in-home helper was able to keep a good eye on him during this time so I could keep the day going for the other kids! Once Samuel decided he was going to do his work, he finished up in less than fifteen minutes!
I'm finding I have a new appreciation for Samuel's former teacher and his aids. Sometimes it is not easy to get Samuel to communicate what he knows. I understand a bit better now just how much effort can sometimes go into teaching him. Not only that, but so much of his performance depends on his willingness to cooperate.
There's lots more I could say, but I am tired and need to get to sleep. Even though I'm exhausted now, I know this transition phase won't last forever. I still think I have done the right thing by deciding to keep all my sons at home for their education. Now I can understand the advice I've heard from others who have started homeschooling a special needs child; to know that a good part of the first school year might just be getting used to working together and "deschooling."
Showing posts with label Mom's Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mom's Marathon. Show all posts
Friday, October 19, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Aahhh..Saturday Morning!
It's 7am and it's quiet in the house. The boys were up pretty late last night, well past 10:00, so I'm almost guaranteed they'll be asleep until 9:00. Baby girl woke up at dawn and I fed her so she should sleep in even later than the boys. I could conceivably have 2 more hours of peace and quiet!
In a moment here I'll be typing up some lessons for Samuel. I received some information from Samuel's teachers about what he is working on in Math and Science. I got some library books yesterday that cover what he is learning in Social Studies (Ancient China and Egypt). I need to get back on track with his Religion lessons. It's good to sit down and feel like I have something to work with! My oldest son has a Science exam to take today. My youngest son is learning to write the upper case letters of the alphabet. I've been printing out pictures from Writing With Symbols that correspond to the particular letter he is working on. It's time to print out more pictures, we've worked up to the letter "O".
Later today we'll be going to the library, something Samuel is eagerly anticipating. Tomorrow we are going to visit some friends who live an hour away. They have 5 children, so with our 4 plus the 4 grownups our visits are quite lively. I expect it could get downright chaotic tomorrow because we will most likely have to stay indoors, rain and snow are forecasted. I am going to type up a social story for our visit to remind Samuel that he should not invade their collection of videos and that he should play where the other children play. The daughter of our friends has a dollhouse that Samuel likes to play with. It's fragile and delicate and my friends have made attempts to hide it and one time he found it. The children of our friends, without them knowing it, are helpful in giving me the hint about what I need to watch for with Samuel. The daughter complained about him getting into it and I wouldn't have known about it if she hadn't said anything.
Time to get to work!
In a moment here I'll be typing up some lessons for Samuel. I received some information from Samuel's teachers about what he is working on in Math and Science. I got some library books yesterday that cover what he is learning in Social Studies (Ancient China and Egypt). I need to get back on track with his Religion lessons. It's good to sit down and feel like I have something to work with! My oldest son has a Science exam to take today. My youngest son is learning to write the upper case letters of the alphabet. I've been printing out pictures from Writing With Symbols that correspond to the particular letter he is working on. It's time to print out more pictures, we've worked up to the letter "O".
Later today we'll be going to the library, something Samuel is eagerly anticipating. Tomorrow we are going to visit some friends who live an hour away. They have 5 children, so with our 4 plus the 4 grownups our visits are quite lively. I expect it could get downright chaotic tomorrow because we will most likely have to stay indoors, rain and snow are forecasted. I am going to type up a social story for our visit to remind Samuel that he should not invade their collection of videos and that he should play where the other children play. The daughter of our friends has a dollhouse that Samuel likes to play with. It's fragile and delicate and my friends have made attempts to hide it and one time he found it. The children of our friends, without them knowing it, are helpful in giving me the hint about what I need to watch for with Samuel. The daughter complained about him getting into it and I wouldn't have known about it if she hadn't said anything.
Time to get to work!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Late Night Again!
The timing of dinner and getting Samuel's homework done was about the same last night as it was Tuesday night! My excuse for last night was that we had our in-home services person here until 6:30, and I didn't get a good start on making dinner (I had to finish up a math lesson with my oldest son). Good things about running late are:
- I'm able to get the baby to sleep for the night soon after dinner and then it's easier to focus on Samuel's homework. When baby is awake it's just a matter of getting either my husband or oldest son to watch her, but by that time of the evening she is usually fussy and she makes it her mission to find me, which means husband and big brother either have to chase her or confine her in the playpen!
- Samuel's internal clock just seems to run later into the evening than a neurotypical child, so a late bed-time isn't all bad for him.
Samuel has been getting quite cranky late in the afternoon. This has been happening both on days that our in-home person is here and days that she's not here. We're trying to teach Samuel to "take a break" when he has trouble controlling his temper. The challenge is that his break area is up a flight of stairs to his bedroom and he often fights getting up the stairs. We have to try to keep his pathway up there free of things that he can push down or throw and younger siblings have to steer clear as well! We have to prompt him to take the breaks right now. While he is working with the in-home services person he often asks to take a break but sometimes he has to be prompted then as well. Samuel is going to be big and tall someday so we want to teach him as many ways to regulate his temper while he is still a cute lil' youngun!
I only bothered with a 2-question worksheet about Abraham Lincoln for homework last night since it was so late and Samuel complied very quickly!Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Late Night
I was a little tired and running behind this afternoon, which just snowballed all evening so that I did not get the boys to bed until 10pm!
Samuel got his hair cut this afternoon. I took all 4 children in, and a family with 3 boys was before us! I was worried about Samuel waiting patiently. It was hard for him at first, but he found some books to look at so that kept him happy. For the first time ever he agreed to wear a cape as he got his haircut. Usually he won't let it be put on and he ends up getting hair all over himself.
When we got home I took a few minutes to type some lessons for Samuel and then I decided that before I could prepare dinner I HAD TO clean up the kitchen! Of course I was interrupted by everyone numerous times, and dinner ultimately was not ready until 7:30pm. My poor husband, who isn't feeling all that well anyways, was a bit overwhelmed by all the whining hungry children, plus he was rather hungry himself!
Samuel and I started his homework, which I ended up reducing in quantity because of the late hour, at about 8:45pm. At least he finished pretty quickly! He went through his usual after-school grumpies today, but tonight he was quite jovial
Samuel got his hair cut this afternoon. I took all 4 children in, and a family with 3 boys was before us! I was worried about Samuel waiting patiently. It was hard for him at first, but he found some books to look at so that kept him happy. For the first time ever he agreed to wear a cape as he got his haircut. Usually he won't let it be put on and he ends up getting hair all over himself.
When we got home I took a few minutes to type some lessons for Samuel and then I decided that before I could prepare dinner I HAD TO clean up the kitchen! Of course I was interrupted by everyone numerous times, and dinner ultimately was not ready until 7:30pm. My poor husband, who isn't feeling all that well anyways, was a bit overwhelmed by all the whining hungry children, plus he was rather hungry himself!
Samuel and I started his homework, which I ended up reducing in quantity because of the late hour, at about 8:45pm. At least he finished pretty quickly! He went through his usual after-school grumpies today, but tonight he was quite jovial
Yet Another Snow Day Yesterday
We had a lovely snowfall very early this past Sunday morning. Weather forecasts for our area had mentioned freezing rain changing into rain, so we were quite surprised to wake up that morning with three inches of snow on the ground! This after the ice-encrusted snowfall from a few weeks ago had just melted a few days earlier. Another three inches of snow fell by late Sunday morning. Then we got a bit of rain and freezing rain that afternoon, but the temperature was into the lower 40s so everything was kind of mushy. It was easy to clear the snow away, but school was still closed yesterday.
Samuel knew even Sunday morning when he saw the snow that he would not have school Monday. I prepared a few short lessons for him, which we did late in the morning. He hasn't been in a very good mood the past few days. He seems to be in his own little world of "The Upside Down Show." He has also been very territorial with the television. He doesn't want to watch anything but when the other boys or my husband watch television (do you think that I ever get to even think of watching the television during the day??? That is an activity I indulge in only at the "edges" of the day when noone else is awake to make demands of me!) he gets quite perturbed when they want to change the channel. Changing the channel time would be a good time to use the technique of "counting down" we were taught by our in-home service providers, but the boys and my husband don't usually think of things like that (I'm still learning too!).
I had hoped to clean, organize, and just have a nice relaxing day yesterday, but I was on edge the whole day because I was preparing to go to a parents support group meeting last night. That meant anticipating and planning all my required chores so that I could make my getaway in time for the meeting. As usual, I was late and , as usual, quite stressed out!
We have a small support group that meets at our church. It is for parents of children with special needs. We don't have a regular showing at these meetings; heck, I probably only attend one every three or four months. Most of the people who attend are moms and most of them are mothers of autistic children. The group is open to anyone, not just members of our church. One mom attending last night just found out her daughter has Rett Syndrome. I knew enough that it was an autistic spectrum disorder but I don't know much more than that. Another thing to add to the "things to be researched" list!
It's hard for order to be maintained at our meetings because we have (God bless them!) some rather talkative people. That's okay, in a way, because that is good therapy for us. I do think however, that our group could benefit from some basic meeting structure. I should talk to the group organizer about taking on a "facilitator" type function. I'd offer to do it, but I just don't attend regularly enough. An upcoming project for our group is to get together a directory of resources for each other. We're going to share our most useful websites, people, and phone numbers with each other.
I wouldn't call the area I live in rural, but we are just "over the mountains" from the Greater Northern Virginia area so we don't have anything like an autism society chapter out here, yet anyways. I suspect that will change in the next few years. I could travel about 15-20 miles to another town where they have an autism support group, but I haven't done so yet. I think I need to be here at home where I am needed while the baby is so young and Samuel needs the consistency in his evening routine. I do, however, take one or two evenings each month to get out: either to a support group meeting, a Special Education Advisory Committee meeting, or perhaps to go out for coffee with a friend (I am finding my best friends these days are other moms with special needs children). For right now baby girl has to come with me when I go out, mainly because I'm still breastfeeding her. My husband has kept her a few times though and I'll definitely leave her at home when the breastfeeding stops. I'm finding the group of people I'm getting to know through blogging to be a great support group as well!
My homeschool student (oldest son) is sick today, which is why I've had the luxury of time on the computer like this during the day. Now time to get back to work!
Samuel knew even Sunday morning when he saw the snow that he would not have school Monday. I prepared a few short lessons for him, which we did late in the morning. He hasn't been in a very good mood the past few days. He seems to be in his own little world of "The Upside Down Show." He has also been very territorial with the television. He doesn't want to watch anything but when the other boys or my husband watch television (do you think that I ever get to even think of watching the television during the day??? That is an activity I indulge in only at the "edges" of the day when noone else is awake to make demands of me!) he gets quite perturbed when they want to change the channel. Changing the channel time would be a good time to use the technique of "counting down" we were taught by our in-home service providers, but the boys and my husband don't usually think of things like that (I'm still learning too!).
I had hoped to clean, organize, and just have a nice relaxing day yesterday, but I was on edge the whole day because I was preparing to go to a parents support group meeting last night. That meant anticipating and planning all my required chores so that I could make my getaway in time for the meeting. As usual, I was late and , as usual, quite stressed out!
We have a small support group that meets at our church. It is for parents of children with special needs. We don't have a regular showing at these meetings; heck, I probably only attend one every three or four months. Most of the people who attend are moms and most of them are mothers of autistic children. The group is open to anyone, not just members of our church. One mom attending last night just found out her daughter has Rett Syndrome. I knew enough that it was an autistic spectrum disorder but I don't know much more than that. Another thing to add to the "things to be researched" list!
It's hard for order to be maintained at our meetings because we have (God bless them!) some rather talkative people. That's okay, in a way, because that is good therapy for us. I do think however, that our group could benefit from some basic meeting structure. I should talk to the group organizer about taking on a "facilitator" type function. I'd offer to do it, but I just don't attend regularly enough. An upcoming project for our group is to get together a directory of resources for each other. We're going to share our most useful websites, people, and phone numbers with each other.
I wouldn't call the area I live in rural, but we are just "over the mountains" from the Greater Northern Virginia area so we don't have anything like an autism society chapter out here, yet anyways. I suspect that will change in the next few years. I could travel about 15-20 miles to another town where they have an autism support group, but I haven't done so yet. I think I need to be here at home where I am needed while the baby is so young and Samuel needs the consistency in his evening routine. I do, however, take one or two evenings each month to get out: either to a support group meeting, a Special Education Advisory Committee meeting, or perhaps to go out for coffee with a friend (I am finding my best friends these days are other moms with special needs children). For right now baby girl has to come with me when I go out, mainly because I'm still breastfeeding her. My husband has kept her a few times though and I'll definitely leave her at home when the breastfeeding stops. I'm finding the group of people I'm getting to know through blogging to be a great support group as well!
My homeschool student (oldest son) is sick today, which is why I've had the luxury of time on the computer like this during the day. Now time to get back to work!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Calm Before the Storm
Saturday morning... I woke up hours ago and came downstairs to read "Unstrange Minds." I just got it in the mail a few days ago and am finding it fascinating. Finally, someone who is saying something sensible about the increase in cases of autism! I was too tired to read, however, so I only got a few pages read and fell asleep in the chair.
The boys woke up way too early so they are now starting to run around the house and I just heard my husband get up. Samuel has been very emotional the past few days so I'm wondering what today will hold for everyone. I am hoping my husband takes him for a haircut this morning (that is a story in and of itself!). I have grocery shopping to fit in between the baby's nap and dropping one of the boys off for a birthday party. Oh, two of the kids are sick as well.
I was hoping for a good bit of time alone this morning but I guess it won't happen! I better get my shower and start the laundry train (it is just endless!). It's only a matter of time before everyone finds me hiding by the computer!
The boys woke up way too early so they are now starting to run around the house and I just heard my husband get up. Samuel has been very emotional the past few days so I'm wondering what today will hold for everyone. I am hoping my husband takes him for a haircut this morning (that is a story in and of itself!). I have grocery shopping to fit in between the baby's nap and dropping one of the boys off for a birthday party. Oh, two of the kids are sick as well.
I was hoping for a good bit of time alone this morning but I guess it won't happen! I better get my shower and start the laundry train (it is just endless!). It's only a matter of time before everyone finds me hiding by the computer!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Mom's Marathon
From the time I made my post yesterday morning I was not able to pause until about 3:00. I had the luxury of a short nap because my baby's nap coincided with my being able to take a break. Then, after about 45 minutes it was another mad dash until 10pm. Probably nothing out of the ordinary for having 4 children, I guess it's maddening in that we are out of our normal routine. We are fortunate in that we can depend on Samuel to play on his own for short periods of time without having to worry about his safety. I know some families that cannot do that, their children get into trouble or are self-injurious. I'm sure we'll face some spells where he will be up to some mischief and will keep us on our toes, but things are pretty calm with him right now.
I was able to work with Samuel two different times: the first at about 1pm (which I had hoped to do at about 10:30!). He was not very cooperative, but I waited him out a bit, used the token board with some mini-marshmallows, and we got through some Reading and a Math exercise. It took us 20 minutes. Then he got to play Playstation.
Our second "Work Time" was just before dinner, 6pm. He was much more cooperative this time and it only took us 13 minutes to work on some Social Studies, Science, and Religion. Then he got to play on the computer until it was dinner time.
Did I ever get to do anything fun with the boys yesterday? Not like I had hoped to. However, while his brothers were out playing in the snow with a neighbor, I spent some time "playing" with Samuel in the play room. We tortuously worked a farm jigsaw puzzle (he had to go jump on the mini-tramp after setting down just about every piece, which I had to show him) and then we sang "Old McDonald" He joined in quite nicely! My oldest son seemed happy that I read to him before bedtime last night. We just started a new novel, from a series about boys at a boarding school written by a priest in the late 19th century. The language is very different, but the stories are so appealling to my 9 year old!
As I was getting his baby sister to sleep last night Samuel came and found me in her room and asked "Mom, can I do more school work at home tomorrow?" I'm sure this question stems from not wanting to go to school, but I wonder if it means he is actually starting to enjoy our "Work Times"? Samuel will get his wish today, school is closed again! I just finished typing lessons for all the same subjects that we did yesterday.
Samuel just came in and said "Mommy, there's snow today. No school today!" He has the biggest smile on his face and has gone prancing out of the room!
It's shower time!
I was able to work with Samuel two different times: the first at about 1pm (which I had hoped to do at about 10:30!). He was not very cooperative, but I waited him out a bit, used the token board with some mini-marshmallows, and we got through some Reading and a Math exercise. It took us 20 minutes. Then he got to play Playstation.
Our second "Work Time" was just before dinner, 6pm. He was much more cooperative this time and it only took us 13 minutes to work on some Social Studies, Science, and Religion. Then he got to play on the computer until it was dinner time.
Did I ever get to do anything fun with the boys yesterday? Not like I had hoped to. However, while his brothers were out playing in the snow with a neighbor, I spent some time "playing" with Samuel in the play room. We tortuously worked a farm jigsaw puzzle (he had to go jump on the mini-tramp after setting down just about every piece, which I had to show him) and then we sang "Old McDonald" He joined in quite nicely! My oldest son seemed happy that I read to him before bedtime last night. We just started a new novel, from a series about boys at a boarding school written by a priest in the late 19th century. The language is very different, but the stories are so appealling to my 9 year old!
As I was getting his baby sister to sleep last night Samuel came and found me in her room and asked "Mom, can I do more school work at home tomorrow?" I'm sure this question stems from not wanting to go to school, but I wonder if it means he is actually starting to enjoy our "Work Times"? Samuel will get his wish today, school is closed again! I just finished typing lessons for all the same subjects that we did yesterday.
Samuel just came in and said "Mommy, there's snow today. No school today!" He has the biggest smile on his face and has gone prancing out of the room!
It's shower time!
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