Table Work!!!

I cannot describe to you the struggle this has been for me. Simonne isn't a fan of writing so anything that is done sitting at a table (maybe except painting) is seen as a chore. She has a phonics workbook that has been like torture, and a math workbook that I am on the verge of throwing out (except maybe Zachary might...). Do I force the issue to teach discipline and increase the torture? Do I bribe them with computer time to get writing done? Do I hope to access their motivations and tie them into writing? On good days, I'm calm, no need to force the issue, I say. Don't we create motivating games in Jaedon's program that tie in his educational goals? "I can do that for the typical children!", I say, to encourage myself, then promptly sit and do nothing but worry.

Well, I have no idea what happened today! No, that's not true, I was just surprised at what happened. Zachary has a coloring fetish and will do anything in a workbook. His fine motor is exceptional for his age and writing is fun for him. He's just not required to do 'table work', he's 4! Anyway, he got a new book with some activities for drawing, pictures to look at and discuss with someone. When I sat with him to talk about his book, Simonne announced she wanted to do a workbook! I hurried to get her one, and she worked easily through 3 pages, the entire section on l-blends! (on the inside, my jaw is dropped). Zach moves on, she loses motivation, we argue about finishing what we start, I threaten, etc. Later that evening, Zach picks up his book again, she also picks up hers. She does 2 more pages - starting r-blends! A month's worth of workbook pages in a day!

There's Simonne in the picture proudly displaying the sentence she made up with l-blend words.

So now I just have to keep Zach motivated.... there I go again? Why do I feel it is my job to motivate?

Turtles Teach Condensation!

We've been pet-sitting 2 Red-Eared Sliders (Tumble and Mumble) for the past 2 weeks. Watching them has taught us many things, including this concept - I hate changing the water! I think we will either get a tank with all the filters so that the water stays clean all the time, or else no aquatic animals until the children can do EVERYTHING themselves.

Anyway, the question was asked today, "How come the water in the tank looks less than it did a few days ago? Are the turtles getting bigger?" "That's because of evaporation", I said. "What's evaporation?" I was busy with the computer, so it took me a few minutes to hear the lesson in the making. Given my constant cry that we don't do exciting stuff in our homeschool, I tore myself away and hurriedly set up....A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT! You can tell I'm excited. Preparation isn't one of my strong points. Any setup that requires more than a minute doesn't get done. I ran to the stove, put a pot of water on to boil, and started to talk about evaporation. As we watched the water disappear from the pot, I put ice in a cup and talked about condensation. Put the cup of ice over the pot on the stove and showed condensation almost immediately (I know, I am a genius). It was exciting to hear Simonne speculate that the water in turtle tank was evaporating slowly because the air isn't as hot as the stove. 15 minutes of science, I love it!

By the way, watching the turtles taught us many things:

• The bottom of the turtle shell is black and yellow.
• They wipe their faces and each others faces
• They sleep with their legs both in and out of their shells
• They love to climb onto each other and will stay like that for hours!
• They have no teeth
• We wash our hands after handling them
• They close their eyes by bringing the bottom lids up
• They stretch their necks and legs
• If the turtle falls and lands on it's back (as they have done many times), it can flip itself back over with ease.
• They make a sound like air escaping when they are not happy
• They have claws
• They look like they yawn

just to name a few.

Step Up and Make a Difference!!!

You’re invited to join us and be part of this move to change the autism world for the better. You will make a difference in our children’s lives and recharge your own sense of life and well-being. We are now interviewing people with a variety of skills and interests, who want to participate with us and learn the Son-Rise program (www.son-rise.org) in depth. No previous experience is required, as all training will be provided. Days and times are flexible, but commitment is required.

You can work in any combination of the following three areas, as your time and interests allow:
· Work with a child on a one-to-one basis. You will work as a part of the child’s team, receiving regular training and feedback about how to build an effective and meaningful relationship with the child and how to tap into his core motivations and use those to help him accomplish important goals. You will attend regular goal setting and brainstorming meetings with the team and his parent.
· Work with development on fundraising projects. You will help to fundraise for additional training for interns and families running Son-rise programs.
· Helping spread the word through the media. You will help to contact appropriate media sources, write articles and letters to spread the word about our work and to attract other interns and families to our program.

If you are interested, contact Faith Clarke at faithisaiah@msn.com to receive an info packet and to find out when the next informational session will be held.