At breakfast this morning, Matt & I were discussing Instagram. (I'm keowdie, by the way.) We both love to share photos there, and were talking about some of the people we follow. The word "follow" was said quite a lot during this conversation (e.g. "Do you follow her? You should follow her," "I also follow him on Twitter. He's funny," and "who is that? Did they follow you back?")
All at once, Riley (my three year old preschooler) jumps into the conversation and says,"We learned about that at school."
We stopped and looked at him, and I said, "You learned about what at school? Instagram? Taking pictures?"
"No," he said. "We learned about following. We learned to follow God."
Good Heavens, I love talking with my kids!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, December 12, 2011
How We Study
Now that Ty is in third grade, they have tests. Real tests. Over subjects like science and social studies. For a kid with ADHD, this is tough. He actually learns very little during the day at his public school. Most of what he learns is what we study at home.
I like to call it "Home Schooling in an Hour a Day."
(Yeah... don't get me started. That is a topic for another post.)
We use a multisensory approach to learning around here. I thought I would share some of the things we do to assist in learning.
Movies. I make movies and PowerPoint (or KeyNote, since we are a Mac family) presentations that cover the content of the current unit. I usually download images using Google Image Search. I also include narration as well as print. I use text to emphasize the most important words. Sometimes I draw my own diagrams or pictures to illustrate a concept. I use the computer's built in camera or my iPhone camera to snap a photo of the drawing. This simulates a direct teaching session without me actually having to cover the material daily. He can watch the movie on his own, an then we do one of the following activities together.
Little Questions: We do this for all subjects. I leave a little question or math problem written on the bathroom mirror/sliding glass door/window in his room in dry erase marker. The next time Ty passes by, he sees it and solves the problem or answers the question. Then I check it and either write a happy response (if he got it right), or I call him in to discuss the error (if he got it wrong). We also have a small white board that I put questions or problems on and leave in the most peculiar places. He might find it tucked into his underwear drawer, in the refrigerator, rubber banded to the box of cereal, on the shelf where he keeps his Nintendo DS, etc. He writes his answer and brings it to me to check. Usually, when I put it where a leisure or fun item is stored, I have confiscated the fun item so that he must answer the question and bring it to me in order to get that item. He gets it as long as he answers the question to the best of his ability and with a good attitude.
Quiz cards: Ty's teacher sends home a study guide for all science and social studies tests. I make flash cards with a question on one side & the answer on the other. He will look through them on his own and then I quiz him aloud. To make this a more sensory friendly activity, we usually do the quizzing while taking a walk, or while Ty fidgets on his rocker board, etc.
Jokes and Examples: People learn best when learning is fun. People also learn best when concepts can be related back to real life. In all of the materials I make for Ty, I try to include examples that he can easily relate to, and things that make him smile. For example, in a recent science test, he had to name three living things and three nonliving things. The examples I put on the flash card for nonliving things was "rock, paper, scissors."
Games: I make lots of games up for curriculum content. It goes back to that whole "learning should be fun" thing. Currently, we are using a game I call "Jump To" for science. This unit covers carnivores, herbivores, consumers, producers, etc. I took several sheets of scrap paper and wrote the name of one animal on each one. Then I spread them out on the floor of our living room and give instructions like, "Jump to a carnivore," or "Tippytoe to an omnivore." when he starts to learn the information, we play in rounds, where I take turns following his directions, too. He tells me if I'm right or wrong. I purposely get some of them wrong, and when I do, he has to tell me why I'm wrong and what the correct answer would have been in order to "steal" that point from me.
When these aren't enough: I add an extra layer of sensory input. Tyson is what we in the special education community might call a "pressure junkie." He fidgets, jumps, crashes into my [poor] furniture, etc. in an attempt to gain pressure sensations into his nerves. So, adding support objects such as weighted blankets or lap pads, rolling him up tightly in a big blanket, sitting on a big fitness ball, etc. help him stop fidgeting enough to focus. We also do things like "pushes," where we stand facing each other, touch hands in front and he pushes on me. He gets these as a reinforcer for working hard or getting a really tough question right. His goal is to push on my hands with enough force to make me step backwards. He also recently learned to stand on his head (while leaning against a wall) so I will often quiz him or take dictation for a writing assignment while he's upside down. I know it sounds crazy, but he is so calm and still, and he just seems to focus and think better that way.
Of course, sometimes I can do all this and he's still climbing the walls. When this happens, I just go with it. My dad just about had a heart attack when he saw the picture below, but as the mother of a child with ADHD, I have to be
Flexible-Go-With-The-Flow-And-Do-Whatever-We-Need-To-Get-The-Task-Done-Mom.
So, this is how Tyson studied for his science test last week. I quizzed him, and he pretty much stayed this way the whole time.
So, how do you help your kids study for tests?
I like to call it "Home Schooling in an Hour a Day."
(Yeah... don't get me started. That is a topic for another post.)
We use a multisensory approach to learning around here. I thought I would share some of the things we do to assist in learning.
Movies. I make movies and PowerPoint (or KeyNote, since we are a Mac family) presentations that cover the content of the current unit. I usually download images using Google Image Search. I also include narration as well as print. I use text to emphasize the most important words. Sometimes I draw my own diagrams or pictures to illustrate a concept. I use the computer's built in camera or my iPhone camera to snap a photo of the drawing. This simulates a direct teaching session without me actually having to cover the material daily. He can watch the movie on his own, an then we do one of the following activities together.
Little Questions: We do this for all subjects. I leave a little question or math problem written on the bathroom mirror/sliding glass door/window in his room in dry erase marker. The next time Ty passes by, he sees it and solves the problem or answers the question. Then I check it and either write a happy response (if he got it right), or I call him in to discuss the error (if he got it wrong). We also have a small white board that I put questions or problems on and leave in the most peculiar places. He might find it tucked into his underwear drawer, in the refrigerator, rubber banded to the box of cereal, on the shelf where he keeps his Nintendo DS, etc. He writes his answer and brings it to me to check. Usually, when I put it where a leisure or fun item is stored, I have confiscated the fun item so that he must answer the question and bring it to me in order to get that item. He gets it as long as he answers the question to the best of his ability and with a good attitude.
Quiz cards: Ty's teacher sends home a study guide for all science and social studies tests. I make flash cards with a question on one side & the answer on the other. He will look through them on his own and then I quiz him aloud. To make this a more sensory friendly activity, we usually do the quizzing while taking a walk, or while Ty fidgets on his rocker board, etc.
Jokes and Examples: People learn best when learning is fun. People also learn best when concepts can be related back to real life. In all of the materials I make for Ty, I try to include examples that he can easily relate to, and things that make him smile. For example, in a recent science test, he had to name three living things and three nonliving things. The examples I put on the flash card for nonliving things was "rock, paper, scissors."
Games: I make lots of games up for curriculum content. It goes back to that whole "learning should be fun" thing. Currently, we are using a game I call "Jump To" for science. This unit covers carnivores, herbivores, consumers, producers, etc. I took several sheets of scrap paper and wrote the name of one animal on each one. Then I spread them out on the floor of our living room and give instructions like, "Jump to a carnivore," or "Tippytoe to an omnivore." when he starts to learn the information, we play in rounds, where I take turns following his directions, too. He tells me if I'm right or wrong. I purposely get some of them wrong, and when I do, he has to tell me why I'm wrong and what the correct answer would have been in order to "steal" that point from me.
When these aren't enough: I add an extra layer of sensory input. Tyson is what we in the special education community might call a "pressure junkie." He fidgets, jumps, crashes into my [poor] furniture, etc. in an attempt to gain pressure sensations into his nerves. So, adding support objects such as weighted blankets or lap pads, rolling him up tightly in a big blanket, sitting on a big fitness ball, etc. help him stop fidgeting enough to focus. We also do things like "pushes," where we stand facing each other, touch hands in front and he pushes on me. He gets these as a reinforcer for working hard or getting a really tough question right. His goal is to push on my hands with enough force to make me step backwards. He also recently learned to stand on his head (while leaning against a wall) so I will often quiz him or take dictation for a writing assignment while he's upside down. I know it sounds crazy, but he is so calm and still, and he just seems to focus and think better that way.
Of course, sometimes I can do all this and he's still climbing the walls. When this happens, I just go with it. My dad just about had a heart attack when he saw the picture below, but as the mother of a child with ADHD, I have to be
Flexible-Go-With-The-Flow-And-Do-Whatever-We-Need-To-Get-The-Task-Done-Mom.
So, this is how Tyson studied for his science test last week. I quizzed him, and he pretty much stayed this way the whole time.
So, how do you help your kids study for tests?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
How to...
...make mostly useful stuff from things you might normally throw out.
This week we are talking about fire starters. We enjoy pausing on our journey down the purple brick road to enjoy family camping trips and hunting seasons. One of the most important parts of camping is the camp fire, but sometimes its the most difficult part to get going. This is especially true when kindling is scarce or the wood is damp.
There are lots of different ways to make fire starters, and this one uses something that you normally throw in the trash:
That's right! It's your dryer lint!!! (And in our case a bit of dog hair. Sorry about that.) It's largely made up of cotton fibers. If you're a mom, it probably also includes shredded tissues, Legos, silly putty, paper clips, bugs and playground pea gravel. That's okay. Just do your best to pick the big stuff out.
WARNING:
Now, I should tell you that this project requires a stove, and involves the pouring of hot wax. Like, really hot, melted wax. In these situations, I find that a little common sense goes a long way, so please be very careful and keep kids at a safe distance for the more dangerous parts.
We used a cardboard egg carton, dryer lint and some candle wax. This wax was given to me (read: it was free), but you could also use the stuff that's left over from burnt up candles. Just scrape it out and save it.
I melted the wax in a soup can, using theredneck hoosier do-it-yourself double boiler method.
Meanwhile, the boys rolled pieces of lint into little balls. They placed these in each space of the egg carton.
I placed the linted egg carton onto a foil-covered cookie sheet, then poured the hot wax over the lint and into each little cup. (The wax is really hot, so the boys did not get to help with this step.)
I set them aside to let them cool for a good, long while.
All that's left to do is cut the sections apart and pack them away for our next several camping trips. If you are a super-prepared-for-anything type of person, you could also put a couple of these in a water tight bag with some matches in your 72 hour pack.
When it comes time to light the campfire, you just put one under your pile of kindling and light the cardboard. the lint acts like a wick and the wax gives you a flame that burns long enough to get a fire going.
Please always use caution around fires. You should only light a camp fire outdoors inside a cleared and ringed area with sand/water nearby. Never allow children to run or play around fires, and never, ever leave kids unattended around a fire. Especially if they are creative and adventurous boys with a unique curiosity and ability to challenge the laws of physics.
Remember the old commercial: "Smokey the Bear says only YOU can prevent forest fires."
This week we are talking about fire starters. We enjoy pausing on our journey down the purple brick road to enjoy family camping trips and hunting seasons. One of the most important parts of camping is the camp fire, but sometimes its the most difficult part to get going. This is especially true when kindling is scarce or the wood is damp.
There are lots of different ways to make fire starters, and this one uses something that you normally throw in the trash:
WARNING:
Now, I should tell you that this project requires a stove, and involves the pouring of hot wax. Like, really hot, melted wax. In these situations, I find that a little common sense goes a long way, so please be very careful and keep kids at a safe distance for the more dangerous parts.
We used a cardboard egg carton, dryer lint and some candle wax. This wax was given to me (read: it was free), but you could also use the stuff that's left over from burnt up candles. Just scrape it out and save it.
I melted the wax in a soup can, using the
Meanwhile, the boys rolled pieces of lint into little balls. They placed these in each space of the egg carton.
I placed the linted egg carton onto a foil-covered cookie sheet, then poured the hot wax over the lint and into each little cup. (The wax is really hot, so the boys did not get to help with this step.)
I set them aside to let them cool for a good, long while.
When it comes time to light the campfire, you just put one under your pile of kindling and light the cardboard. the lint acts like a wick and the wax gives you a flame that burns long enough to get a fire going.
Please always use caution around fires. You should only light a camp fire outdoors inside a cleared and ringed area with sand/water nearby. Never allow children to run or play around fires, and never, ever leave kids unattended around a fire. Especially if they are creative and adventurous boys with a unique curiosity and ability to challenge the laws of physics.
Remember the old commercial: "Smokey the Bear says only YOU can prevent forest fires."
Saturday, July 16, 2011
A Visitor!
We have a visitor currently residing in our kitchen!
Can you tell what it is?
It looks like a little stick or piece of wood. It used to be a greenish-brown caterpillar. And soon it will (hopefully) be a beautiful butterfly!
The boys named it Mrs. Magnificent. Although its been 10 days of waiting. and waiting. and waiting.
It's very hard to wait. I thought this type of caterpillar would pupate in a week, but now I'm thinking maybe its the variety that pupates for a month. So we could have more waiting in our near future. and waiting.
and waiting...
The boys named it Mrs. Magnificent. Although its been 10 days of waiting. and waiting. and waiting.
It's very hard to wait. I thought this type of caterpillar would pupate in a week, but now I'm thinking maybe its the variety that pupates for a month. So we could have more waiting in our near future. and waiting.
and waiting...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
How to...
...make useful items out of ordinary household byproducts.
I am all about saving money. I clip coupons; I shop sales; I insist that my family eat leftovers before they spoil; I enjoy garage sales and consignment shops; and I am all about reusing/re-purposing stuff. To me, one of the most important steps to saving money is to make use of what you already have, and to avoid waste whenever possible.
We here on the Purple Brick Road have been looking for new and interesting ways to reuse household byproducts that might normally be thrown out. Now, I'm not talking about going so far as to compost using human waste, or to stuff my sagging couch cushions with crinkly newspaper. But, I think I've got enough to make an interesting series, so this will be the first of several.
Today I'm talking air fresheners.
A couple of weeks ago, I cleaned out my spice cabinet. I ended up with a depressing amount of expired spices. And I don't mean "This expired last month," either. I'm talking about, "Ohmygosh, this container of cloves is older than my firstborn child!"
I absolutely hated the idea of just tossing all of those little plastic spice containers. So, I decided to re-purpose the them. (Confession time: I might have atotally freakish and very serious problem slight obsession with containers.) These are great little containers with different kinds of lids, perfect for bathtub and sandbox play, as well as sprinkling/containing glitter, small stickers, etc.
In order to make the emptying process faster, I got out my trusty trash bowl (read: a re-purposed margarine container) and started dumping. By the end of the project, I had lots of little containers for the boys... and a big bowl of yummy smelling spices that I couldn't cook with.
Coincidentally, I also recently cleaned out the boys' sock drawers, and I had a pile of mismatched and too-small socks.
So, I combined the two items and made sachets. I simply put a couple of large spoonfuls of the spices into each sock, then sewed the top closed just below the cuff. Then just to make them pretty, I tied the top of each with some ribbon remnants that I've been collecting pretty much forever.
I got a good number of sachets, and all it cost me was 45 minutes at my sewing machine.
These sachets were pretty potent, so I put one in each of my plastic shoe boxes, which I store in the garage, and which tend to acquire a certain aroma during summer months. I also dropped about four of them into Hubby's hockey bag, which wreaks so badly that it could probably be weaponized by the military and used as a weapon of mass destruction.
Not a bad use of items I almost threw in the trash. Stay tuned for some other money saving, re-purposing projects!
I am all about saving money. I clip coupons; I shop sales; I insist that my family eat leftovers before they spoil; I enjoy garage sales and consignment shops; and I am all about reusing/re-purposing stuff. To me, one of the most important steps to saving money is to make use of what you already have, and to avoid waste whenever possible.
We here on the Purple Brick Road have been looking for new and interesting ways to reuse household byproducts that might normally be thrown out. Now, I'm not talking about going so far as to compost using human waste, or to stuff my sagging couch cushions with crinkly newspaper. But, I think I've got enough to make an interesting series, so this will be the first of several.
Today I'm talking air fresheners.
A couple of weeks ago, I cleaned out my spice cabinet. I ended up with a depressing amount of expired spices. And I don't mean "This expired last month," either. I'm talking about, "Ohmygosh, this container of cloves is older than my firstborn child!"
I absolutely hated the idea of just tossing all of those little plastic spice containers. So, I decided to re-purpose the them. (Confession time: I might have a
In order to make the emptying process faster, I got out my trusty trash bowl (read: a re-purposed margarine container) and started dumping. By the end of the project, I had lots of little containers for the boys... and a big bowl of yummy smelling spices that I couldn't cook with.
Coincidentally, I also recently cleaned out the boys' sock drawers, and I had a pile of mismatched and too-small socks.
So, I combined the two items and made sachets. I simply put a couple of large spoonfuls of the spices into each sock, then sewed the top closed just below the cuff. Then just to make them pretty, I tied the top of each with some ribbon remnants that I've been collecting pretty much forever.
I got a good number of sachets, and all it cost me was 45 minutes at my sewing machine.
These sachets were pretty potent, so I put one in each of my plastic shoe boxes, which I store in the garage, and which tend to acquire a certain aroma during summer months. I also dropped about four of them into Hubby's hockey bag, which wreaks so badly that it could probably be weaponized by the military and used as a weapon of mass destruction.
Not a bad use of items I almost threw in the trash. Stay tuned for some other money saving, re-purposing projects!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Bye-Bye Tonsils!
Well, Riley is short two tonsils & some adenoids now. But he gained two tubes in his ears. His procedure was this morning at 10:00, and we are now hanging out in his room. His tonsils were HUGEMONGOUS and he has sleep apnea, so we'll be staying overnight.
So far, he is taking this like a champ! He's been munching all day and so far he's had two slushees, most of a PB&J, some trail mix, apple juice, a little macaroni & cheese, a couple of chocolate covered pretzels, and some of his dad's chips. He's now scarfing down some pudding and fruit (with a couple more chocolate pretzels). He has watched Batman Begins and an entire DVD of vintage Tom & Jerry cartoons, and he's now watching Scooby Doo. Oh, and he took a nice, long nap earlier.
He wants his IV out and wants to go home now; his throat is a little sore; and his voice sounds funny. But he's doing really well.
I have to say a HUGE thank you to all of our family and friends, both near and far. All day I've received phone calls, tweets and Facebook comments expressing support and love, and telling us that the people we love have been praying for us. Thank you all for your prayers.
We love you!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Things I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say
Have you ever heard yourself say something at the same time that everyone else in the room heard you say it? And have you ever been surprised to hear the words that came out of your mouth?
The most popular example I can think of is that moment when you say something and then realize that you sound exactly like your mother/father/grandparent/caretaker. Sometimes that moment comes with an inner groan of, "Oh dear. I really have become my mother/father/grandparent/caretaker. I'm talking about that moment when you realize that you just gave the old, "I will turn this car around if you do not stop touching your brother," or "Because I said so," or, "Don't make me come up there!"
I do that often, as I'm sure anyone who is a parent, step-parent, foster-parent, guardian, etc. does.
And then sometimes there are those things I say that come flying in from left field. I have no idea where they come from, but they are often dictated by whatever is going on with the people around me (the usual suspects include my husband and kids, of course).
Over the last week, I've said some amazing things. Things I never thought I would say in a million years. Here are some of my most shining moments from the week:
Is it me, or is there a running theme of private parts and bathroom-related comments? Such has my life become... just a string of bathroom-related comments.
The most popular example I can think of is that moment when you say something and then realize that you sound exactly like your mother/father/grandparent/caretaker. Sometimes that moment comes with an inner groan of, "Oh dear. I really have become my mother/father/grandparent/caretaker. I'm talking about that moment when you realize that you just gave the old, "I will turn this car around if you do not stop touching your brother," or "Because I said so," or, "Don't make me come up there!"
I do that often, as I'm sure anyone who is a parent, step-parent, foster-parent, guardian, etc. does.
And then sometimes there are those things I say that come flying in from left field. I have no idea where they come from, but they are often dictated by whatever is going on with the people around me (the usual suspects include my husband and kids, of course).
Over the last week, I've said some amazing things. Things I never thought I would say in a million years. Here are some of my most shining moments from the week:
- "Dude. We do not put our penises on other people. It's rude." (This was followed by, "Yeah! And really weird," from my other son.)
- "Please stop flogging my refrigerator with a rubber snake."
- "Did you seriously just bonk my kid in the head with a butter bottle?"
- "Why did you pee in the middle of your bedroom floor? Batman does not pee in the middle of his bedroom floor."
- "Please do not lick the caterpillar. No, he does not like to be licked. It makes him sad."
- "Oh, it's okay, Sweet Pea. Everyone falls into the toilet every now and then."
Is it me, or is there a running theme of private parts and bathroom-related comments? Such has my life become... just a string of bathroom-related comments.
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