Tonight when everyone was just about finished having dinner out on the deck, K disappeared into the house.  She really didn't enjoy what I made tonight & ate very little.  A couple of minutes later, I heard some banging sounds from within the house & went inside to discover this:

I was impressed that she remembered something to strain the noodles with, but we had a little discussion afterwards about who is allowed to cook & who is not.

Up Up Up & Hooray!

Earlier today, my youngest 2 daughters were playing.  My 8 year old said "  Up up up & away" - I'm sure it was not anything to do with my blog name.   K immediately replied with "Up up up & hooray!"  My older daughter replied, "No, Up up up & away"  K insisted  "No, Up up up & hooray!"   I love it!  I guess I should have asked K's opinion when I chose the name for my blog!

Stay Tuned.............. MonkiSee DVD Review!

I just received a copy of the new MonkiSee Action Video in the mail this morning.  I am excited to see how K likes it.  I did not hear about this program until K was already reading independantly & able to learn 40 or 50 words per week just with flashcards.  Because she was past the point of learning common everyday words, I really needed to create her own program in order to teach new, less common words, so I didn't feel it was worth purchasing any type of manufactored video or program.  I was however, very curious about this program, so am pleased to have the opportunity to review it.

Here is a link to the MonkiSee website:

http://monkisee.com/

Response to a question about neurodevelopmental programs

This is my reply to a question that was asked about neurodevelopmental  (ND) programs.  I am definitely not an expert though, so if anyone else wants to chime in, please do so.

Most importantly - all activities are supposed to be done joyfully.  We try to make our program activities a game that K enjoys.  This is not always easy, especially with an independent spirit like my dd has, so we don't always get everything done, but I think it is more important, especially for the learning activities, that she enjoys it.

My dd's ND program incorporates many activities. Some are similar to OT & PT activities, her early reading program, memory development, oral motor, balance, sensory, vision, speech, early math & listening skills. Some of these activities are active, physical activities, and some are passive such as listening to specific things while doing a fun activity. Many of the activities are associated with brain development.

Most activities are done for a very short duration - 1 or 2 minutes, but are done several times throughout the day.  Every child doing a ND program has a very specific program created for them based on their specific needs - no two programs are alike.

We started with a home made program for our daughter for the first three years, then got a ND evaluation & have been doing their program since.

To make our home program, I used various books.  On a personal note, I really dislike the way some of these books are titled, but really appreciate the information that I found inside:
http://www.gentlerevolution.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=G&Product_Code=0301
http://www.gentlerevolution.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=G&Product_Code=0206
http://www.gentlerevolution.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=G&Product_Code=0201-40

This is the book that is often recommended to parents of kids with DS or other disabilities, but I admit that I found it very frustrating. It is the history of these methods, which is useful information, but part of the book's title is "What to Do" & it was just history & did not answer that question, when at the time, I really wanted to know what to do.
http://www.gentlerevolution.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=G&Product_Code=0219

and here is the main bookstore link for other related books:
http://iahp.org/Bookstore.344.0.html

Here are the main ND organizations that I know of: 
http://www.icando.org/
http://iahp.org/Down-Syndrome.87.0.html
http://nacd.org/
Hope this helps a little, though there really is so much more to it than this.

Editing to add a link to Andi's list of neurodevelopmentalists. It is the most complete list that I know of:

http://dsdaytoday.blogspot.ca/2011/06/get-your-own-neurodevelopmentalist.html?m=1

Handwriting Without Tears - Playing With Mat Man

Mat man is one of the preschool activities in the Handwriting Without Tears program. The song leads the child through the steps necessary to create the mat man.

I took this picture a while back, just after we got our Handwriting Without Tears program materials. K had seen the mat man done only twice before, & one of those times was last fall. The only help I gave her was to pause the CD long enough for her to get each piece in place before allowing the song to continue.

She actually had the ears & face in a better position, but bumped them when putting the other pieces in place.

She is really enjoying this program!

My New Dining Room Decor..........

Lovely & stylish isn't it?  For a brief moment I hesitated to take down the painting that once hung in this spot, but then the oh, so not  concerned about home decor part of me took over & the map became our new dining room conversation piece.  I knew my oldest 2 girls would use it occasionally, but I was so suprised that they have taken such an interest too. Granted it's only been up about 2 weeks, but it is now part of our daily dinner conversation & I have to admit that I now have a better understanding of where different countries are in relation to each other.  K is even more interested of course because her big sisters are enjoying it so much.  She can already identify Canada, & for some reason, she seems quite interested in Australia & Greenland & regularily points them out.  We have done a little bit with maps in the past on the Canadian Provinces while reading sight words, so this was a great next step.

 All of the home decor shows will be callling, don't you think?

Expect. Don't accept.

This is a wonderful speech given by Paul Daugherty about his daughter with Down syndrome & the high expectations he & his wife have for her. It is a wonderful read.

http://www.xavier.edu/familyresiliency/paul-daugherty-keynote.cfm