- I am so impressed with how Shmoo's and Loo's reading and comprehension skills are coming along. They absolutely love books (and so does Beanie, for that matter). Shmoo and Loo usually wake about 1-1.5 hours before the rest of us and we often find find them drawing or reading (still in their PJs and night nappy no matter how many times I tell them to get changed first LOL). But I'm so glad that they all have a love of reading, especially as boys aren't supposed to as good at or as interested in reading as girls. Yesterday we went to the library and Shmoo chose about a dozen books on astronomy, the ocean and inventions. Loo chose a few books about robots and cleared the entire junior non-fiction section of dinosaur books (of course!). They are in heaven with all the new reading material (plus the 15-odd fiction books that I chose for them to read).
- Loo has been able to write his name for a while and now he is attempting to write other words. He is so proud of himself when he shows us the words that he's written.
- Beanie always amazes me with how advanced he seems in a lot of areas compared with the other two at the same age. He is clumsy as anything but geez he's clever! I've done baby signing (Auslan) with all the boys and they've all picked up on the signs relatively quickly and easily. But Beanie's just awesome at it, he's even started putting 2 signs together. Like this morning in bed I was doing up my PJ top and he started tugging at it, obviously wanting booby. I wanted to get up so I did the signs for 'finished' and 'breastfeed'. Beanie then shook his head, put on a really cute expression and did the sign for 'please' and 'breastfeed'. Adorable!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Random
- Now that Shmoo looks older we often get people asking him if he's at school. When I tell them that we homeschool we inevitably get some comment like 'wow, you're brave', like it's something incredibly difficult. I guess they probably picture something like school-at-home rather than natural learning. I reckon it would be a lot more difficult juggling all the kids' different needs whilst doing school drop-offs and pick-ups, worrying about getting the kids up/dressed/breakfasted in time, uniforms, lunches, homework etc :)
- The boys are doing pretty well at swimming, especially Shmoo. Today the other 2 kids weren't there so it was just our 2. The instructor stayed out of the pool so that she could see and guide what they were doing better. And the boys did great, doing laps of the entire length of the pool holding on to a kickboard, practicing their freestyle arm strokes and backstroke.
- I had to use my hand to clean the invisible dirt off the shower floor at the pool today so that Shmoo would get in. He didn't want to touch any dirt and he was worried that any dirt would feel rough on his feet. Part of the changeroom floor was too cold apparently so I had to hold his hand and help him jump over it into the shower. And he didn't like the feel of the towel again. *sigh*
- Beanie worries me sometimes. I don't know if there's something genuinely there or if I'm just reading too much into it because of the other ASD stuff. But... he freaks out over people he doesn't know, even kids and babies. He's very particular about things being clean and flat/straight/smooth (I am sooo not like that, a bit of mess doesn't bother me!). If a poster has slipped a little he insists it's straightened. If one of the other boys drops food on the floor during a meal Beanie will point and get upset if I don't pick it up straight away. If little droplets of milk from his sippy cup get onto the table he wants it wiped up ASAP. He gets upset if something he's unsure of gets on his hands. He got upset today at the pool because he saw a few little bits of something on the floor near where we were sitting and I kept telling him it didn't matter and they could stay there. He goes around the house and points out all the bits of fluff etc on the floor and sooks until someone comes and picks it up or gets him to pick it up and takes him to the bin. He cleans (yes, at 17 months!). He will grab a face washer or hanky off the bench or clothes airer and wipe down the floor/tables/walls. And the face washer/hanky must be flat and not folded over. He gets very distressed if it doesn't sit perfectly flat or if it bumps up against anything and a corner folds over. Same with books/magazines/paper. If a book or page won't sit flat he gets really upset. Same if he crumples a page when he turns it. And if he's drawing and we fold the piece of paper in half he will try to smooth the crease out and cry when he realises that it's not working. Things like clothing tags and zippers also bother him. Tonight he kept whinging and tugging at one of his sleeves like there was something hurting him. Couldn't see anything but it was probably a seam or thread annoying him. He was only happy when the shirt was taken off. And he doesn't like changes in routine. Even small things bother him. Like, when putting him into his sleeping bag for naps, I always used to put his arms in first but he would then kick me with his legs. I figured out a month or 2 ago that if I put his legs in first he doesn't kick me. But he gets really upset that his arms haven't gone in first! I think I'll mention it next time he has a health check. I feel bad that I never thought Shmoo's issues were anything serious and that he has potentially missed out on some critical early intervention. I don't want to make the same mistake with Beanie.
- The boys are doing pretty well at swimming, especially Shmoo. Today the other 2 kids weren't there so it was just our 2. The instructor stayed out of the pool so that she could see and guide what they were doing better. And the boys did great, doing laps of the entire length of the pool holding on to a kickboard, practicing their freestyle arm strokes and backstroke.
- I had to use my hand to clean the invisible dirt off the shower floor at the pool today so that Shmoo would get in. He didn't want to touch any dirt and he was worried that any dirt would feel rough on his feet. Part of the changeroom floor was too cold apparently so I had to hold his hand and help him jump over it into the shower. And he didn't like the feel of the towel again. *sigh*
- Beanie worries me sometimes. I don't know if there's something genuinely there or if I'm just reading too much into it because of the other ASD stuff. But... he freaks out over people he doesn't know, even kids and babies. He's very particular about things being clean and flat/straight/smooth (I am sooo not like that, a bit of mess doesn't bother me!). If a poster has slipped a little he insists it's straightened. If one of the other boys drops food on the floor during a meal Beanie will point and get upset if I don't pick it up straight away. If little droplets of milk from his sippy cup get onto the table he wants it wiped up ASAP. He gets upset if something he's unsure of gets on his hands. He got upset today at the pool because he saw a few little bits of something on the floor near where we were sitting and I kept telling him it didn't matter and they could stay there. He goes around the house and points out all the bits of fluff etc on the floor and sooks until someone comes and picks it up or gets him to pick it up and takes him to the bin. He cleans (yes, at 17 months!). He will grab a face washer or hanky off the bench or clothes airer and wipe down the floor/tables/walls. And the face washer/hanky must be flat and not folded over. He gets very distressed if it doesn't sit perfectly flat or if it bumps up against anything and a corner folds over. Same with books/magazines/paper. If a book or page won't sit flat he gets really upset. Same if he crumples a page when he turns it. And if he's drawing and we fold the piece of paper in half he will try to smooth the crease out and cry when he realises that it's not working. Things like clothing tags and zippers also bother him. Tonight he kept whinging and tugging at one of his sleeves like there was something hurting him. Couldn't see anything but it was probably a seam or thread annoying him. He was only happy when the shirt was taken off. And he doesn't like changes in routine. Even small things bother him. Like, when putting him into his sleeping bag for naps, I always used to put his arms in first but he would then kick me with his legs. I figured out a month or 2 ago that if I put his legs in first he doesn't kick me. But he gets really upset that his arms haven't gone in first! I think I'll mention it next time he has a health check. I feel bad that I never thought Shmoo's issues were anything serious and that he has potentially missed out on some critical early intervention. I don't want to make the same mistake with Beanie.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
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