Masterly Inactivity

Yesterday, because of the storms in the area, we couldn't go to the pool. So Riley got out her sewing bag and began to stitch. She ended up making this beautiful pillow with her name on it!

Today, we were faced with more storms. Reece was lamenting the fact that she doesn't have any clothes for Knuffle Bunny! Riley asked for my sewing box, and got to work. When she was finished, Knuffle Bunny had a beautiful new dress!

She even sewed on velcro closures in the back!

She even sewed on velcro closures in the back!

A very happy little sister holding beautiful Knuffle Bunny who is wearing her new dress!

Happy Independence Day!

A family rhapsody

Yesterday was a really great day with the big kids while Reece was at her last day of art camp. And speaking of art camp, her picture was featured on the front page of our local newspaper when they did an article about the camp. You can read the article and see her picture here. Austin and Riley and I went to IHOP for brunch, and then went to the bowling alley to use our free game coupons from kidsbowlfree.com. I decided to bowl with the kids, which no longer made it a cheap event, but was a lot of fun!

I was amazed at the differences in Austin since the last time I took him bowling. He doesn't like to use the bumpers, because he thinks that's too young for him. But that means that he gets some gutter balls. And that used to provoke tantrum behaviors, which is pretty embarrassing when it's a kid whose voice while having the tantrum is deeper than mom's voice. It was stressful, to say the least.

But yesterday, he handled his gutter balls with ease, and when he knocked down all pins but one for the 3rd time in a row, he didn't lose control... but joked that he must be cursed! I claimed that the pin must have glue on it, because it was the same pin each time. Finally, towards the end of our 2nd game, he finally knocked them all down! He was pleased, especially since Riley and I had already had strikes ourselves! Bowling was fun, relaxing, and enjoyable... like it's supposed to be with a 10 year old and a 13 year old!

Then he continued to shock me while we were in line to pick up Reece from camp. We like to listen to classic rock in the car. Austin's a huge fan of the music that I listened to as a young girl, and even the stuff that his Nana and Papa listened to. One of our favorites, is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It takes all sorts of twists and turns, or like I always say: it takes you on a musical journey. As the song began, I quickly whipped out whatever I could find to use as microphones (drinking straws, a toothbrush, a hairbrush - not sure what some of those were doing in my van but oh well! LOL), and we all started jamming along.

Including Austin. The guy who doesn't like to sing was singing at the top of his lungs! The guy who usually claims embarrassment when Riley and I break into random song was having a blast with both of us! It was pretty exciting not only from an autism standpoint but from a teenager standpoint! ;) How many teen boys do you know who wouldn't mind jamming in public with their mom and younger sister?

I told the kids that we needed to video ourselves doing it and putting it on YouTube! Maybe we'll work on that next week! For now, I leave you with the real version from Queen! :) Rock on!

Our Academic Plans 2009-2010

I've agonized over this post for much of the last two weeks. That's why I've been quiet on my blog - didn't feel the need to put those of you who are nice enough to read my blog through my waffling! :) In the end, however, I decided to stick with the plan I originally designed a couple of months ago, which is Charlotte Mason/Ambleside inspired.

Austin will be using a modified Year 4/5, which will cover the early modern time period up through about the Civil War. His literature reading will include Treasure Island, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Captains Courageous. His biography reading will include Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, Johnny Tremain, and Of Courage Undaunted. Science biographies will be Isaac Newton, Alexander Graham Bell, and George Washington Carver. Geography will be reading A Child's Geography of the World by Hillyer, and then comparing the locations on modern maps and the globe. For science, he will use Apologia's General Science curriculum. He will begin Analytical Grammar. In math, he will finish Math U See Epsilon and work in Zeta at his pace. For a fun introduction to logic, he will use Logic Countdown. Copywork, Dictation, and Oral and Written narration will round out Language Arts.

Riley will be using a modified Year 4, which will cover the colonial/revolutionary period of American History. Her literature reading will include Robinson Crusoe, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle. Her biography reading will include Poor Richard and Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution. She will read the same science biographies as Austin. Geography will include reading Minn of the Mississippi, and using maps and the globe. For science, she will learn about chemistry through reading Exploring the World of Chemistry and The Mystery of the Periodic Table. She will also complete experiments using a middle grades experiment kit. In math, she will complete Singapore Math 4B/5A, and perhaps begin 5B. She'll begin critical thinking using Mindbenders puzzles. Copywork, Dictation, and Oral and Written narration will round out Language Arts.

Reece will be using Year 1 as written, but I will adjust the pace to meet her needs. Her focus will be on biographies and famous legends. I will read all of her literature aloud. For reading, she will read from the Sonlight readers lists, Pathways readers, and anything else she wants to. For math, we will continue to work through Math U See Alpha and hopefully will begin Beta. Copywork will round out her language arts.

We will still do several subjects as a family. Our composer study will include Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven. Our artist study is driven by the local art museum, and will include Monet, DaVinci, and Michaelangelo. I plan to supplement artist study with readings from A History of Art: Painting by Hillyer. Our nature study will focus on reptiles, fish/amphibians, and mammals. Hymn study will continue by working through the WOW! Hymns CD. Character building will be with the book Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. Poetry will use the book Favorite Poems Old and New for the big kids, and A Child's Garden of Verses/Favorite Poems of Childhood for Reece.

I am planning to begin our study of Plutarch's Lives, using a children's version. And we will tackle Shakespeare through Reece's readings in Tales from Shakespeare. I will also read aloud a more difficult book from Riley's year called Age of Fable, which includes tales from mythology (a favorite in our home!).

We will continue in our Latin studies, though I haven't finalized those plans yet.

I think I covered it all! Leave a comment if I've left something off! :)

Deep thoughts for a summer day!

It's a dangerous thing indeed when I begin to discuss autism remediation theory. It's also dangerous when I attempt to discuss theology. Today, I'm going to attempt to do both, which might prove to be highly embarrassing or completely hysterical, or both! But what the heck! Come along for the ride!

On Sunday, our pastor continued his sermon series titled, Armed and Dangerous. This week he was teaching about the Full Armor of God, and specifically the "breastplate of righteousness". One point he made about the righteousness of the believer is that it does not come from ourselves. He referenced Matthew 5:20 "But I warn you - unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can't enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all!" Pastor Bob went on to explain how the members of those two groups had lots of rules for doing all the "right" things. They were extremely focused on outward behaviors. But that is not where our righteousness comes from. It comes from that inner life change, which then produces the behaviors. The behaviors are absolutely meaningless without the inner life change, without Jesus!

At that point, a little light bulb went off in my head, and I heard a DING DING DING DING DING!

Autism. The most popular therapies focus on outward behaviors: eye contact, sitting still in class, good grades, articulation, etc. There are lists of behaviors that are deemed to be crucial for autistic children to learn. And that's all well and good. But it's all meaningless unless you get to the bottom of it all and work on what's inside (in this case, the brain). You can teach eye contact and rote social skills, but unless there is motivation to interact fed by positive episodic memories of interactions with others, and the development of competence in those interactions, it's meaningless.

I've been reflecting on this for a day or two, and it has been wonderful to dwell on the comparisons. The struggles I deal with in faith mirror the struggles I deal with in autism remediation. Being a good Christian? Great! Tell me what I need to do! Pray? OK, how do I do that? Is there a list? What sort of schedule do I keep? Prayer journal! I can do that! Read the Bible? Excellent! I can google all sorts of reading schedules for my Bible reading! Check that box off!! Trust in the Lord? How? Is there a list for that? No? Hmmm...

Remediate autism? I'm all over it! Read this book? Check! Watch that DVD? Sure! Slow down my pace? Hmmm, that's tricky but I think I can do it. Less language? OK! I can do that... painfully! Interact without having a "performance goal" in mind for the kids? Whoa.

What God wants is to have a real relationship with us. He doesn't care about our behaviors unless they are a reflection of our real and genuine desire to have a relationship with Him! And what we want for our children with autism is to have a real relationship with us and with others, and with God as well!

Last week's busy week in pictures

4 All-Star games... 3 trips to the pool... visit from Nana... fishing/camping trip for the guys... girls weekend at home...

What a couple of days!!

I love to blog experiences like we've had the last couple of days! I like to note these developmental milestones, and it's encouraging to read it when the days get hard!

Yesterday we went to the pool with some friends. That's not unusual for this time of year, but this was the pool where Austin had his first seizure last summer. And we haven't been back there since. And we hadn't seen these particular friends since that day, either. Austin was a little apprehensive. He'd also had a big night the day before (back-to-back games in the All Star tournament!) and we hadn't gotten home until 11:30 PM. He did hang out by himself a good bit, but that was OK. Riley kept the other "big kid" sufficiently busy! And Austin did play the "shark" in the game of Shark.

When it was almost time to go, the other family invited us to get Frosty's from Wendy's with them. I had already mentioned to Austin that we could stay for 30 more minutes. But the girls wanted to leave now and get Frosty's. Over a couple of minutes, Riley and Austin worked out a compromise of 15 more minutes of swim and then Frosty's. No meltdowns... lots of flexibility!

Then as we were walking into Wendy's, Austin says, "You know, Mom, I don't actually like Frosty's." I was shocked! For one thing, I get us Frosty's all the time because they are cheap! No wonder Austin never finishes his!! LOL And for another thing... my gosh, he told me that he didn't like something! I told him he could always get something else. "Fries?" he asks. "Sure," I reply, "Want a Dr. Pepper to go with that?" He did!! I was SO proud of him!!

Today, as if all the excitment of yesterday wasn't enough, Austin decided to surprise us again: he asked to go to Youth Group!!! He went, and he had a blast! They played Whiffle Ball, and his first at-bat he hit a homerun over the Youth Pastor's house!!

Not to be outdone, Reece had a great day at the pool yesterday, too. The little sister in the family we met is only a few weeks younger than Reece, but she's incredibly advanced socially/academically. She's always been very kind to Reece, but she's had to do most of the work. Yesterday, Reece really stayed "with" her at this noisy water-park-like pool, for at least 90 minutes. I watched with glee as Reece and F enjoyed a snack together and talked to each other. And then I was positively giddy when the girls were going back into the pool. Reece ran in once, and came back when she realized that F hadn't followed. This happened 2 more times - F was having goggles issues. Then as they were finally going in, Reece wanted to show F the geysers and how fun they are. But F didn't like the geysers and motioned to come on. (It's so loud there that talking doesn't do much good! LOL) Reece was fascinated with the geysers, but left them to go play with F again!! And thankfully F's mom has listened to me talk about RDI enough so she "got" the significance! It wasn't until the last 20 minues or so that the other girl had a harder time getting Reece to respond. But I think that was really good, considering the outside sensory stimuli that was surrounding her!

It's so nice to get a couple of days like these! It also serves as a reminder to me to be actively looking for these moments!