31 for 21 - Happy Halloween!

Well, this is it!  I have managed to do 31 for 21 & even a couple of extra blogposts for good measure!  I'm going to leave you with some Halloween pictures from our house. I will be doing a couple of extra Halloween posts, including one of K's costume later. 

Our whole family always joins in when we carve the pumpkin, but my middle 2 girls did were excited to do most of the other decorating this year. 

Pretty scary eh?

31for 21 - Trick or Treat Overload!

This photo was taken a few days ago after K's Halloween party at preschool.  Her classes went trick or treating at 4 places............& no that wasn't a typo.  This is the loot she hauled in from 4 stops!  We live a very small & obviously very generous community.  Oh, & I forgot to include the stuffed animal that she got at one stop!

Tonight we will go Trick or Treating at the neighbors.  We will be going to about a dozen houses.  You won't believe how much junk my kids will haul home.  Many of the neighbors will only get a handfull of kids.  I think part of the reason that they are generous is because they are able to be with so few Trick or Treaters, but I also think that it has become a bit of a competition!  Who gives out the most candy, or who makes the best popcorn balls.  Don't get me wrong, I really love our little community, I just think they are killing the kids with kindness! It's nice to see the kid get a little spoiled, but again, check out the loot above from just 4 stops!  I hate to admit it, but  although K will get to have some treats, most of her candy is going to quietly disappear as it has for the last 4 years - yes, she was given this much candy when trick or treating as a baby!

I do have to mention one neighbor though, who buys fruit juice & even bought Halloween board books for K when she was little.

Happy Halloween!

31 for 21 - Are You Abbott's Family?

I couldn't let the month of October & the 31 for 21 Down syndrome awareness campaign pass without mentioning Reece's Rainbow.

Each year, one of our family traditions is to buy a new ornament for our Christmas tree that commemorates something special to us for that year.  Last year for Christmas, we made a donation towards Abbott's fund & in return received an ornament with his picture on it.  Abbot was born in the same year & month as K & when scanning the pictures last year, his eyes just seemed to reach out to me. An ornament with his picture hung on our tree, & although we packed the Christmas decorations away, I can't stop thinking about this little guy. Since then, I often think of Abbott & check on Reece's Rainbow, hoping his picture will move to the My Family Found Me page & he won't spend another year as an orphan. Although his ornament made a wonderful addition to our tree, I somehow believed we would have to find a new child to sponsor this year.   Sadly, I will be donating again this year when the Angel Tree Program starts in November, & await another ornament with Abbott's picture on it.

 If you think you may be Abbott's family, please click here to learn more about him:  Abbott

To learn more about Reece's Rainbow & all of the other precious children awaiting their forever families,  click here.

I realize that most of  you reading this will not be able to adopt, but there are lots of other ways to help out.  Here is a link to learn more:  Reece's Rainbow Ways to Help  Page




Reece's Rainbow is now facilitating adoptions for Canadian families too.

http://reecesrainbow.org/new-family/adopting-from-canada

31 for 21 - "W is for Wabbit"

I know its supposed to be 31 for 21, but I have completed my next 2 posts & want to do a Halloween post on Monday, so I'm going to add an extra.  35 or so for 21 is OK right?  This is a neat story so I really want to share it. You would think that I'd have run out of things to  talk about already:)!

Although K's speech is quite good for her age, we do have a lot of things to work on.  For example, she is starting to be able to say her R's, but still has quite a bit of trouble. It does lead to some funny situations sometimes. Tonight, Kassie asked me to play an alphabet game that she enjoys.   When we came to the letter W, she said "W  -  Wabbit"  I told her "No,  R - Rabbit".  Of course she insisted that W was for Wabbit & carried on through the alphabet. 

Although she was wrong about the spelling, it really showed that she is comprehending how to figure out the first letter of a word, because I'm sure none of us played this game using the word "Wabbit" or wrote "Wabbit" as a sight word.  She was able to sound the word out in her head & come up with what she thought was the first letter.

31 for 21 - CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulation to the winner of the Little Reader Semester 1 Giveaway!

I would like to thank BrillKids again for the wonderful opportunity to review their program & host this giveaway.  Here is a link to my review of the BrillKids Little Reader program. 

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the draw.  We thought it was only fitting that K choose the winner.  Here is a video of her drawing the winning entry:

Congratulations Angela!  I hope your son enjoys this program every bit as much as my daughter does. Please email me at jtkkmom@gmail.com & I will send you the details on how to download Little Reader Semester 1.

Thanks again to everyone who entered & spread the word!

31 for 21 - Pumpkins, & Spiders - Halloween Fine & Oral Motor Excercises

Boo!!!

 

Here are K's latest 2 crafts from preschool.I thought she did a 

great job placing all of the  features in the correct locations.  

 

 

This is a fun activity that K's preschool teacher had the kids do on Wednesday.  They each took a few spiders & blew them across the table with the straws.  What a wonderful & fun oral motor activity!  The preschool is a social program - academics are not intentionally part of the program, however, K's teacher is awesome at finding neat activities which incorporate new skills. 

31 for 21 - It's The Last Day to Enter the Little Reader Semester 1 Free Giveaway!

In case you missed it, I did a review of the Little Reader Program & have been given a copy of the BrillKids Little Reader Semester 1 to give away. 

My review is here:   Little Reader Review


You can enter my draw here:  BrillKid's Little Reader Semester 1 Giveaway

Entries will be accepted until midnight tonight.

Good Luck everyone