We are teaching the boys some independence and it's wonderful!
This morning the kids all came in to our room to lay in bed with us for a little. DH leaves so early in the morning during the week and didn't get back last night until after they were all asleep so they ended up not seeing him at all Friday - they were THRILLED to see him in bed!
After cuddling together for about fifteen minutes, we sent them downstairs. On the weekend they are allowed to have "picnic breakfasts" which means they can stay in their pjs and watch tv while they eat breakfast. It was my turn to get up with them and help them with breakfast and dressing, but this morning I stayed in bed with DH and we got to actually talk. A got the tivo remote and put on a show for everyone to watch and they were content to do that for about half an hour (sweet!) which gave me extra time in bed. We quickly got up when J ratted out her brother about putting a waffle in the toaster oven by himself, but when I came downstairs I discovered that he had set it all up perfectly and safely. We were so impressed! DH and I decided to give both boys lessons on how to use the toaster on their own and supervised as A took his waffle out and B put his in (of course they HAD to both do it on their own). What a blessing it will be to somewhat sleep in on Saturdays now and send them down to watch tv and get breakfast on their own.
A few of you sent me e-mails asking more about A (you know, you guys COULD all leave COMMENTS on the blog!) so let me tell you what's going on. At home A is having a really hard time following verbal commands, becoming distracted by anything in writing around him. He has also regressed with using the potty at home, yesterday having three accidents between 2 and 6. The boys are in school for less than three hours. Within those three hours A was pulled out to see THREE specialists (OT, Speech, and Guidance). That seems like a LOT for one day. He is aware that he is missing stuff in his classroom, especially when B tells us about something he did in class, and A is getting quite upset about that. And then when B was pulled yesterday to do a mini friendship group, A was beside himself that he didn't get to go with him, even though he was going at the same time to see his Asperger's teacher. AARGH! His assistant wrote on his communication sheet that at library he broke away from the group and began pushing buttons on the computer. Hello! Like this is a big surprise? I warned you this would happen - he has no impulse control when it comes to computers! He's been flipping out in class (freaking out the other kids) when he does not get to play on the classroom computers for center time. I am trying to piece together what his specialist schedule is so I can have a better sense of who he's seeing and when. It's so different from last year when I actually SAW the specialists each day and got to hear how he was doing directly from them and tell them about any problems he's having. I know it's all doable; I know right now he's really ahead academically so it's okay for him to miss the classroom stuff; I know I have to contact all of these specialists if I'm concerned. I just have to stay on top of it all. Sure, no problem.
And some of you contacted me to find out about my ankle. Right now, right this second, it feels okay. Teaching two year olds all morning did NOT make it feel good, and staying on my feet for another two hours teaching my Shabbat parent and me group didn't help. By the time I left the synagogue yesterday I was not smiling at all, and for those of you who know me in real life know, it takes a lot for me to break that facade. I know I have to rest it and ice it whenever I can, but that's kind of tough to do with three young kids!
A friend of mine is throwing a yard sale today to raise money for a charity that directly affects her family, so I'm taking the kids to that. Other than that, I'm hoping I can get them to play nicely outside for a lot of the day so I can clean and catch up. I was able to do some stuff around the house on Thursday since J and I had off from school, but my ankle was throbbing so bad by the time I got home yesterday I couldn't do any more.
I think I'll let the kids watch one more show and I'll take a little nap (yep, still tired, nope don't have the results from my sleep study yet). Then we'll all get dressed and head to the yard sale.
1 comment:
I hate to say it, but this is the real reason we kept Bug Boy in school for full day. It wasn't that he academically NEEDED to do what they were doing in the reg ed class, but that he SOCIALLY needed to feel included and that for self esteem reasons needed to feel like he belonged. We insisted that he needed to be in that Extended day class (which I know for a fact your district has, even if they won't admit it to you!) so that his speech and OT and PT could be done then, that way, he was with other kids who received those same services in the afternoon and the morning was smoother. The transition (even if you don't think he has an issue with it) is much more difficult. The fact that he has to leave those safe confines and that none of the other children are leaving (well, maybe one or two) is so upsetting!
This year Bug boy is pulled for an hour a week but it is easier for him because he is there full time (first grade). They go INTO his class to work with him everyday, reducing the amount of time out of the class. When he does NEED to leave, it is for a sensory break, like a walk up and down the hall, a trip to the nurse to rest or a drink at the water fountain (they take the long way there).It is also his choice to leave, as they have worked hard on him identifying when HE needs to go...
I hear you on the computer thing. Bug Boy is having a tough time with the fact that other kids get to use the classroom computers or that the computer lab in the libary is off limits. He'd rather be there than checking out books since he pretty much read them all anyways...
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