Urg! I Cannot Get This To Work!

I have no idea what is going on with this blog. I am having problems getting images to download onto this blog. It is so strange because I am not having any problems with my other blogs. It is so frustrating. My attempts have caused me to get quite agitated and not post anything on here! I will share quickly what we have been up to.

I have continued the kids on the computer working on all of their topics. Our main focus has been phonics and helping the boys get to the next level in reading and becoming familiar with words. Punctuation and other sentence structures. They have been creative with Pokémon, Lego’s, and Heroscape. As well, pretend play with their stuffed animals and puppets.

We have had several field trips. We went to get them caught up on their vaccines and I went through each detail with them to prepare. We watched a BrainPopJr. Video to help and I had them use their pretend play medical kits to act out what was going to happen. We had to go two weeks in a row because we wanted to split up the shots. We went to get ice cream and to see the river and the boats downtown.

We have spent several days at the beach – spending as much time with Grammy as possible before we leave. I have continued to prepare them for the move, and currently they are very excited to be leaving soon. We will see how it goes when the time actually comes. Right now, they are spending time on ZacBrowser. It has a ton of resources, activities, movies, just all kinds of stuff.

We have been reading many books about the body, and health. They got very interested because they wanted to know what vaccines were for. We spent time on vaccines, explaining them and why they are important.

This is all I can write at the moment because I am so frustrated and I need pictures to help me remember all that we have done. However, not being able to upload them has derailed me so I will take a break and try later.

We did have a great day at the beach today with Grammy. Daniel drank out of a spout bottle for the first time ever today! He has only used straws since I got him off the bottle. Huge for him! He also ate a fish. Yes, he told me when he got to the car that he ate one of the little fish that were in the ocean. He gave details of chewing it and said that it tasted like sand. Yikes! I am rather impressed being he refuses to eat meat, and has an incredibly limited diet. He has serious sensory issues with his mouth. Textures and tastes are a huge problem for him. The way I see it this was a big accomplishment for him… I wish he would eat things at home though instead of poor little fish in the ocean.

 

Homeschooling and Moving

In a flash, our lives are changing. We are moving at the end of June about 760 miles away. Home school has turned into mostly computer curriculum and lots of reading books. We have spent a large portion of time working on math, science, reading, and phonics. I will continue this until our move. I am planning to register the kids for Connections Academy. I am doing this for the move to help prepare us all for structure, and direction.  Also, to save money on curriculum. I will supplement and look for gifted classes in the new area if need be, but I think this will be a proactive slide into adjusting to the big move.

All three children need to have structure and solid plans – this move will require great efforts for a smooth transition for all of us. So I am excited to move forward in this area. I also look forward to learning from the teachers that will be assisting us. They will either love me for all of my questions, and investigative ways, or hate me. It does not matter I will be learning and so will the kids!

For the move, I have made a time line for the kids to help ease their anxiety and anticipation. We are still waiting on a house. I have used that to help their minds prepare.

The timeline:

1. We find a house.
2. We start to pack.
3. We clean the rooms.
4. We give away what we no longer need/want.
5. We plan for the truck.
6. We have Joshua’s birthday party.
7. We are leaving at the end of June.

(Other things to help us all prepare.) We pretty much have a house set, but we have not signed the lease so nothing is finalized. However, I did start showing them pictures of the house and explaining the layout. I have explained where the rooms will be and how it is different from this house. I have explained the different colors and appliances that will be there. I have been showing them pictures of the area, pointing out landmarks, and showing them places that I plan to take them to. I have also been talking about the family members that are there, and showing them pictures.

Another factor is the drive. We have been going over the length of the drive, the states that we will be traveling through, and kind of a game plan for how we drive out there. Right now, that is still up in the air, but I am doing my best to prepare them as much as possible. They are feeling excited and sad – I know I feel the same way. I think this may be a pretty smooth transition for the most part. We are trying to keep everything as stable and familiar as possible. I plan to use the trip as a learning opportunity as well. Hopefully, we can get some pictures, and discuss geography. Who knows what our minds will run wild with on our learning adventures!

That is what we are up to at the moment. We did go to the park, and had an awesome playdate this past weekend. There has been a lot of building, and imaginative play going on around here. The floor is covered with Heroscape surroundings and Daniel and Joshua are building a huge city together. Ariel is doing reading comprehension on the computer.

Oh! I almost forgot we tried making stories at www.storybird.com . They boys were kind of into it for about two seconds. Ha ha ha They tried and are going to try again for me on another day. Ariel created a story about friendship and a bully. They all did fabulous.

Silly Santa Stuff

Woo! The Bat.

The Mouse Nose

I cannot get all of my pictures to download – I will try later. One of their grandma’s sent them cards and I got a few pictures in there of them opening them. Hopefully, I can get them all in later.

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Hanging Out With Nature

The online schooling help that I have been using lately is Internet4Classrooms. This has been a resource that I use off and on. It is packed full of awesomeness! Joshua and Daniel spent a large portion of time in the Kindergarten Language Arts and Kindergarten Math Skill Builders.These boys LOVE math! Ariel spent a large portion in 1st Grade Language Arts Skill Builders, but she got bored so she went to 1st Grade Science Skills. This girl LOVES science! I will start her in the second grade section of the language arts and see how that goes maybe she won’t get bored.

When you click on the “Skills” section it consists of links, in those links are more links, which contain a multitude of other resource links. Online games, quizzes, and printable worksheets. It also has a section for special needs. It is just an all around wonderful site.

This morning we headed off to the grocery store, and had a wonderful experience. No meltdowns/sensory overloaded incidents/or potty issues. Yea! We went to the park after lunch and went on a nature walk. On the trail, they had plaques or signs labeling certain types of vegetation so we made a game of finding the signs and saying the name of the plant or tree. They loved it and had a fabulous time. We took a ton of pictures and talked about all of the different things we could find and see. We were hoping for more critters, but no such luck.

After our nature walk, we went back to the park for a while and then, walked to the river and enjoyed the breeze. It was a very hot day. There were not many people at the park and that was nice, but there was a little girl who was four years old and her grandma. We talked with them and later another woman came who wanted to swing. She was fishing and needed a break from her friends, plus she was bored because no fish were biting. We talked to her for a while and then, came home and had strawberry fruit popsicles. It was a lovely afternoon!

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Computer Week!

We have been on the computer all week. Every day we spent time working through Aha! Math and EasyTech. Ariel got data bases down this week! Woot! I love www.learning.com. We also have Aha! Science. (I do not get anything for saying this — I just really like it so do the kids.) We do it in spurts though. Like everything, we tend to go in cycles and cluster a whole bunch of things in at once then, move on to another cycle. I am also crazy about TED-Ed lessons my guys are visual learners so video learning and interactive learning tools work best for them. They all have a natural draw toward computers so it all works out.

I found a new site that has some great resources that I will snooping around with. Some I already knew about, others I am excited to see. Free Technology for Teachers

I also use YouTube Education.

For some hands-on fun and taking breaks, we played with Model Magic®. They made monkeys, panda’s, Daniel and Joshua made worms, and Joshua created a pod racer, skunk, Tatooine, and a spider. Daniel only wanted to make balls. Ariel made a spider, cobra, and an owl. She painted a tiger and a panther the other day also…still drawing thousands of Pokémon.

We had another play date on Wednesday that went well and today we are going to the park. I have tried to keep school as calming as possible because socializing like this is new for everyone and it needs to be as smooth as possible. It’s all good, just new.

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Creating And Being Artsy

We had fun last week creating Goth Girls. Ariel, Joshua, and I spent some time drawing and painting girls.  I shared with them some artists that I like one of them being Suzi Blu and many, many others. Here was another fun link Dark Steampunk Goth Girl Art. Daniel did not want to draw any girls; instead, he played with math manipulatives.

While the boys played Pokémon adventures the other day, Ariel and I spent a little time on her blog. Wild Dragons & Wild Cats She was SO excited to receive comments and learn how to check her “stats”. I think obsessing over how many people read your blog is a genetic trait in this household.   I am much better now at not “obsessing”, but Ariel went straight for “How many people did I have yesterday? And today?” It was too cute.

They have been very focused on reading and drawing Pokémon. I decided to get the each of them a binder, and plastic sleeves to hold their drawings in. I was hesitant getting Daniel one because I was not sure if he would want to or not. In the end, I opted to do so because I didn’t want him to feel left out, and I thought he might just want to start drawing more Pokémon. I am so glad I did — he was excited to get his own book, and draw his own Pokémon to put in the binder. He has been trying to draw every day. This is a big deal since he is usually so apprehensive with drawing many times.

I captured some of the books we have been reading, but Ariel has been reading non-stop every morning at least 10 or more books a day. She is reading like mad! I hope the boys catch her enthusiasm for reading one day. They have a little harder time with reading, but I am sure the more we practice the more they may enjoy it.

Since April is National Poetry Month I do plan on doing things with that this week. I am going in search of lessons and such to see what I find. I did that last year, but have no idea what I did with all of the links I found. :-/ I love April just as much as I love March! It has special birthdays, Autism Awareness Month, and Poetry! Actually, there are a lot more you can read here.

I have used this link before The Teachers Guide –Poetry, but I will be in search of more…Of Course!

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Some Answers From AS Book

We are still going through The Autism Acceptance Book. We had to take it slow for everyone to process, and think about what we were reading. I wanted them to really think about what these things mean to each one of them personally. They got as deep as they can for being ages 7 and 5.

The First sets of questions were about how they are different.

What are you good at?

Daniel: I am good at my toy math game, but it is broken.

Ariel: I am good at drawing Pokémon.

Joshua: I am good at building Lego’s.

One thing you think is hard, how does it make you feel when you cannot do it?

Daniel: Drawing Pokémon like Ariel does. It makes me mad. (I do not think he is frustrated, but doesn’t understand how to express it.)

Ariel: Building Lego’s. I wish I could do what Joshua can do. It feels like I need help.

Joshua: Drawing like Ariel. It makes me feel sad.

How are you different? (skin, height, age, hair, etc..)

Daniel: I think I look the same. I ‘m taller, but we still have the same hair and eyes, but not the same age.

Ariel: I have different color skin.

Joshua: I am smaller than others.

One thing that sometimes makes you feel afraid.

Daniel: Ghosts, but they are not real.

Ariel: Spiders and when it’s dark.

Joshua: The dark.

When you are upset what do you do?

Daniel: I just want to be alone.

Ariel: I plop on my bed and then read.

Joshua: Scream and cry.

Sensory questions.

How do you feel when someone shines a flashlight in your eyes? Other bothersome sights?

Daniel: It hurts my eyes as the sun. All light hurts my eyes as the sun, not really flashing lights though.

Ariel: It hurts my eyes a lot. The sun, lights in the kitchen, bright lights, bright things that shine and bounce off into my eyes.

Joshua: It’s kind of like when I look at the sun. When I look around I see all kinds of color.

Three noises that make you want to cover your ears.

Daniel: Blender, dryer buzzer, and garage door.

Ariel: Daniel’s scream. It bounces back to my ears, it is hurting my eardrums in my ears. Dryer buzzer, Joshua yelling. I don’t like the blender on, but I got used to pretending it’s not on.

Joshua: Daniel eating, all of us eating at the table, when someone yells.

Least favorite smell/what do you do? Touch and food.

Daniel: Poop or pee, I wrinkle my face. I don’t like to touch hot things, burners, pans, and smoke. Noodles that are cooling down. The sun I don’t like to touch the sun at all! It’s hotter than burners. I don’t like to eat gluten, or meat.

Ariel:  Peanut butter, peach yogurt, and stink in the bathroom. I scrunch up my face and try to get away from it. I do not like to touch slimy bugs like worms, but caterpillars are fine. I have a lot fun with them. I don’t like to eat carrots, sunflower seeds, or apples that are bad.

Joshua: Banana chocolate I make an icky face. I don’t like to touch broccoli or eat celery.

How would you feel if a fire engine came and it got louder and louder. Sit and listen share all the different noise you hear.

Daniel: It would be too loud for me and I would cover my ears. I hear the computer fans, refrigerator, somebody playing, somebody eating, talking, and crunching. I do not like loud stuff only when they are not turned on loud.

Ariel:  I would cover my ears and want it to stop. I feel (she didn’t use the word hear.) Daniel and Joshua talking, a play pig oink, the dryer going, daddy opening the door upstairs.

Joshua: Cover my ears and run to my room. I hear daddy’s door, Daniel’s pig, and me walking.

Routines (must do’s everyday)

Daniel: Play Pokémon game, eat some pretzels, turn upside down all the time, I want hugs at night.

Ariel: Come to the living room to put my cup away and see what is going on. I want to know what everyone is up to. I will go back to my room to draw on a good day. If no one looks happy I don’t want to draw. I eat pretzels, get hugs before bed, if no one does it I would feel very disappointed.

Joshua: Usually I just want to play Pokémon a little, then I eat some pretzels, then I play again, that is all I do.

That is all for now.

We have a few more things to read and additional questions then we will get into the group activities and scrapbook part. I think it has helped them to see things with more awareness. I will read them the questions and read their answers to them when I review everything. It will be interesting if they change their minds or have new thoughts.