Taking the Scenic Route

Linking to a video that ROCKO used at their recent fundraising event.  This organization has had a  major positive impact on our lives.  There are some weeks we feel like we are living for the upcoming respite event and the chance to spend time together with just the two of us.  The kids also look forward to it.

The family signing in at the very beginning is us (I am signing paperwork), and both of the kids are featured throughout.

Both kids are doing a great job at swimming lessons.  Tonight we had a comment from Zane’s latest teacher (for the last month or so) when they handed out the report card things.  Zane is very, very close to passing the first level and moving on.  (he just needs to remember to continue to kick his legs while he is swimming).  The teacher commented that Zane is a “very hard worker” and that if he has somebody that pushes him, he should be able to make it to the next level this next time.  (classes are month long).  I hope we get this guy again because he does a good job of pushing him.  I was really happy with the first lady we had because she did a good job of teaching him when he was at the biggest safety risk, but I think this guy does an excellent job of pushing just the right amount, something I have a lot of respect for.  One particularly cool thing was that when they did the “diving for the ring” (retrieve a ring at the bottom of the pool), the other kids were hesitant and the teacher told Zane to go first.  He did.  The girls cheered as he retrieved the ring from the bottom too.  It was neat, and it was an especially exciting moment for us watching him because he did it on verbal instructions, without watching another kid do it first, a rather big deal for him.  We are so proud of him.

Zora is close too…she just needs to get more comfortable with floating on her back.  She is doing really well though and is nearly fearless.  She attempted to swim in deeper water today, from me to Zach, but she couldn’t quite do it, but was very close to being able to do it.  I was proud of her for trying it.  It is fun to watch her jump in the water in utter abandon and joy.

These were taken when we got back home. (hence the dampish hair)

And Zora.  You can see the “bangs” she cut into her hair.  I think I am going to need to even them up tomorrow, but she is cute anyway.

Zora was stoked.  The fire department came by the preschool and gave all the kids a ride.  The fireman even gave out hats, which has been played with nearly every day since at our house.

On a “bad mom” note, I noticed the jacket she was wearing.  It isn’t ours.  I am guessing that she didn’t wear her jacket to school, and they gave her one that they had sitting around for such occasions.  The really embarrassing part?  I think Zane wore the same one years before, at the same preschool, for the fire trucks coming.  At least I am consistent.  (we are all warm blooded and since both kids reject coats, we only push the issue when it is cold enough for frostbite risk or, in situations like this, when we know that we will get a stink eye from people who get cold much faster.  I just didn’t pay attention when she and Zach left for school)

At Speech Therapy/Friendship group they did a sensory/science experiment with cornstarch and water.  Of all the kids that had done it that day, apparently Zane was about the only one who thought the resulting substance was cool, and, being the nerd I am, I mentioned that we should make some when we got home to see if we could do the Big Bang Theory speaker experiment, and they gave me all their goop to take home.  (I must be crazy to have been excited about it…if you can imagine me carefully driving home to avoid spilling it all over the car).

Well, the experiment didn’t work, probably because our subwoofer isn’t powerful enough, but we did manage to contain our mess enough not to ruin the speaker (truly an accomplishment for us).  The goop was then banished outdoors for further experimentation, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.

I did have a moment of panic the next day when I was putting Zane’s hair back for gymnastics and discovered what I thought was some horrible skin/scalp condition, called Zach over, and after some worry suddenly realizing it was dried cornstarch caked onto his head.  Duh.

I don’t generally have my camera with me at the grocery store, but since I was already carrying it (didn’t want to leave it in the car), I decided to embarrass myself by taking pictures. 

One of the neat things about this store is that there is often a little shopping cart available.  Zora loves to use it, and it makes me happy to see her enjoying it because it brings back memories to me of pushing a similar cart around Buhler Market when I was her age.  (and those are books in the cart.  This Dillons has a public library branch attached to it.  I needed to return one book, and as per usual, we came back out with more than we took in there.  We are book hounds around here).  The balloons were a bonus this trip…the florist offered one to each kid, and they were really excited about it.

Even though she knows she won’t get it, she still has to ask.

and ask…

I don’t want to mislead you…although I am making an effort to change us to a more healthy diet as a family, there was a bottle of juice and some macaroni and cheese in the cart under all that broccoli, spinach and cauliflower.  lol  (but there were no bakery items other than the bread, simply because the smell of them drives me crazy)

We met my folks at the MCC sale again this year.  After some yummy sausage, vernike and cheese curds, they took the kids to the inflatable playground area and Zach and I got to wander around by ourselves and look at all the neat stuff.  It was almost like a date.  lol.   Even had some people stop me who read the blog (Hi out there!).

As the sale neared it’s close we went back to the kid’s area to find that Zora had made an instant best friend (not much of a surprise. lol) and both kids had a lot of fun.  Zane was starting to zone out, so the timing was good.  (had fun, but he was about done).

Zora and her new friend

And, since I didn’t have one photo where everybody looked good, I will ask you to use your imagination and combine these two photos.  Mom is good in both, but take Dad and Zora from this one…

and my Mom and Zane from this one…

…and you have one good photo of my folks and their grandkids. 

While Zach and I sat in a comfy corner booth at the local IHOP, reading books and drinking coffee (something we used to do all the time before kids), the kids had fun at ROCKO.  The highlight was Bubble Man stopping by.

(photos taken by ROCKO people)

Sequencing is an important language and pre-literacy skill.  We have done a lot of sequencing work with Zane, and now Zora needs help in that area too.  She was having problems with the sequencing activities using more abstract pictures, so we decided to take a step backwards and make it something that was very concrete for her by taking pictures of “real life” sequences that are relevant to her.  This is something that is easy to replicate by parents, so I thought I would share the concept.

As you can see, the pictures aren’t all great quality, but it is functional, is working, and it is easy.  Take a series of pictures, print them up (doesn’t have to be on photopaper for this), cut them into individual cards, and have her put them in order and “tell the story”.  I took longer series of photos that allows for growth.  The first time she does this, just use 3 from each batch, and later you can build the sequence by adding more photos from the set.  When taking pictures, try to take pictures that have some clues in them to help her determine the sequence.

(click on pictures if you want to see bigger images)

Drawing a picture

Making a PB sandwich a note here: with a super literal autistic kiddo, I would have been more precise…use a proper plate, the most used brand of PB, etc, because you are inadvertently setting “rules” in place when you do stuff like this with a child who is super literal.  I didn’t bother with Zora because she doesn’t think like that (although she is amused by the lack of a plate).  I also wouldn’t have taken pictures of her destroying the sandwich afterward because then it would have permanently been part of the sequence, but, again, she doesn’t think that way and it amuses her, so it is actually more effective for her (because it is engaging), but would be a real problem for Zane.

Swimming Lessons

Brushing Teeth

So, you can see the pictures aren’t fabulous or anything (and you could easily use even a phone camera), but it is simple to do, very cheap (especially compared to the board games/puzzles that target this skill) and effective.  Going back to concrete pictures is good because you can teach them how to look for “clues” within the pictures to determine the order, and that skill can be generalized as the sequences get more abstract.

Carrie, Zane’s first Speech Therapist, gave us tickets for the Shriner’s Circus (Rainbow’s United gives out passes to SN families).  She ended up having enough leftovers for us to take Robert’s family with us.

I have some reservations about circuses in general (treatment of animals, et cetera), but decided that the Shriner’s Circus was “mainstream” enough that I could convince myself that the animals were treated ok (and, honestly, they did seem to be treated well when we were there, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable for me as I was anticipating).  Plus, the Shriners are known for being a major supporter of kids with Special Needs, especially with their Children’s hospitals, and we have a significant tradition of Masons in our family (although Zach is not yet involved with them), which is another draw for us.  At any rate, the experience of “CIRCUS” is one that I wanted the kids, particularly Zane (because he “gets it” a lot better with concrete examples) to have.

Interestingly, I didn’t remember ever having seen a circus.  After talking to my mom, I discovered I had gone to one as a child.  Apparently, she had been so disturbed by the treatment of the animals that she had been distracting me through much of it because it bothered her so much.  I found that interesting, since animal treatment was my primary concern and I didn’t remember the circus.  (so, essentially, I would guess her efforts worked, on more than one level).

Thankfully, this circus seemed to have somewhat boring (to me, but the kids loved them), but humane, animal acts.  The part I really loved were the acrobats.  My biggest memory of circuses was a combination of “CIRCUS OF THE STARS” and the episode of “Little House on the Prairie” where they had a circus (and Laura dressed as a clown), and the “Little House” episode where a kid pretended he was blind but did a high wire act.  (I think it was acted by a guy who ended up being a famous figure skater, IIRC).  So, from my perspective, it was a new experience for me too.

We ended up on the upper tier of the auditorium, which was good for us because it wasn’t overwhelming, but we were in the front seats, right in front of the spotlight, so it was like having a big finger pointing the right direction the whole time.  It was great for the kids through most of the program.   (although the motorcycle guy in the “globe of death” was across the building, but hey, it isn’t like I want my kids imitating that anyway).

Much flapping and joy watching the events unfold.

Zora’s favorite (she is the shape in the foreground), the elephants.

A “Phantom of the Opera” themed Acrobatic act.  I loved it.

Robert’s boys.  (wish I would have gotten as good of picture of my kids, but I loved this one of Robert’s boys)

Both families had a lot of fun.  In anticipation we got a bunch of Circus themed books from the library, and they were even more interested in reading them after the event, which was fabulous for us.  It was great to see all the kids (and the adults) have so much fun.  On our way home we asked the kids what their favorite thing was.  Zora’s immediate response was “WATCHING!”  (as opposed to “waiting”, I would guess).  She then said that the Elephants were her favorite thing.  Zane said “EVERYTHING!” and then listed the entire program, in order (as far as we remembered), to demonstrate that he loved every single aspect of the Circus.  A grand success.

A big thank you to Carrie for thinking of us and giving us the tickets. 

“MOM!  DAD!  HURRY!  The Easter Bunny was here!”

The night before they left their baskets with the decorated eggs outside for the Easter Bunny, and in the morning, the Easter Bunny hid the eggs and filled the baskets with a chocolate bunny, a game (for Zane) and craft kit (for Zora) and some candy.

With the  extreme change in schedule, trying to get ready for church turned into a disaster.  A few meltdowns later and realizing we had just minutes until church started, we realized that even if we forcibly got everybody dressed (and redressed, as the case may be), and carried them to the car, it was not conducive to a meaningful morning at church.  So, we switched gears, got everybody into casual clothes and re-booted.  That gave Zora some time to decorate the box she got from the Easter Bunny, which thrilled her.