iPad

We took the plunge, we made the jump,
The cost of it made my heart thump.
The iPad's here, and it will stay,
Elinore improves her skills each day.

Elinore's speech is so much clearer since we started engaging with the iPad. Her special instructor brought it for her therapy, and in one week, things had already begun to change. Matching games made no sense to her, and in the second iPad session, she understood the concept. Colors that we have been working on for months with no apparent success, suddenly are being identified with 75% accuracy. Her speech is more understandable. Maybe it was just time for another leap in development, but I personally believe the iPad had a huge impact.

So, deep breath, we bought one.

We chose the iPad over another brand tablet from the heavy chatter in the homeschool universe about educational apps, autism apps, and speech apps. Although Elinore does not have a diagnosis of autism, she still has some quirky, autism-like traits. Just like exercise does not benefit only fat people, autism strategies and apps can still be helpful to those with a different diagnosis.

Elinore has become a very techy tot. She knows how to open and close apps, find the ones she wants, and watch movies on Netflix.

Here are some apps she enjoys, in no particular order:

Angry Birds- I still can't believe she can play that (free version)
Easy Bake Oven- Even grown-ups enjoy designing cupcakes, and there are oodles of options (free)
Miss Spider's Tea Party- It's a book, it's a movie, there are puzzles, matching, and painting; many toys in one app (currently free)
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox- Our first app purchase, used in special instruction, and wow, she shows off her skills in puzzles; this is the one that helped her gain skill in identifying colors ($1)
Trunky Puzzles- I downloaded the free version, and Jeff bought the whole pack; Elinore adores these (free and pay options)
Lego Duplo Zoo- Follows a story line, and you can construct small duplo items in the story; we also got Lego Creationary (free) and Lego Harry Potter (bought on sale for $1)

Elinore is now capable of clearly saying, "Mom, Hannah took my iPad!"

Sad, But True

It's sad, but true.

Elinore is no respecter of crayons.

I like my crayons new, fresh, sharp.

 Elinore likes hers broken, naked. Her saving grace is that she loves the smell of them.

She also loves the taste of them.

And the feel of them between her toes.

She will color with them anywhere: on paper, table, wall, steps, television, clothes, pretty much anywhere that will accept pigment.

I have learned to give her only Crayola washable crayons. She also has separate sets for school and less supervised coloring.

I try not to cry when she breaks them on purpose.

Dora Candyland

So I decided it's time for Elinore, age 3 and one month, to learn how to play Candyland. My mom gave her the Dora version for her birthday last month.

Kudos to this version for using primary colors that resemble what I am actually using to teach her colors. Here is the process for teaching Elinore how to play this game:

• Look at the color cards and name the colors (yeah, that was all me).
• Look at the picture cards, and locate them on the board. My newly talking 3 yr. old impressed me with her vocabulary: princess, crown, Dora, Boots, Swiper (Swiper gave her nightmares when she was a year old), Pirate Piggies, mermaid.
• Find start, trace the path, find Finish.
• I am exhausted, that's enough for a first lesson on how to play a game.

I would love to show some pictures of Elinore's Dora adventure, but let's see, my newly talking 3 yr. old throws her clothes, shouting, "I don't like it-clothes!!"

Stubborn Girl

My darling little sweetheart, aged 3 and one week refuses to potty train. She sleeps all night in underwear ( in my bed) and I know she stays dry.

 And she just changed her own diaper!

She wears Pull-Ups, and just ran past me muttering, "Need a change!" I check on her in her sneaky spot and see a naked butt. So I calmly put the wet Pull-Up in the trash, and by the time I got back to the living room, she already had another one on.

Um, that's a sign she's ready for training, right?

Saxon Math Kindergarten

Elinore started her first day of Saxon Math Kindergarten level today. I had already looked through it and discovered it does not lend itself to starting whenever. It definitely has a September start date.

Elinore is definitely not ready for Kindergarten on any level. Looking through Saxon math, I feel like it does a great job with calendar and circle-time-like activities. It is very hands on with exploring math manipulatives, today's being pattern blocks. It also emphasizes time management ("It's almost time to put the pattern blocks away. You have 2 more minutes.") and if you actually time it, understanding the time value of minute. Also quite important, personal responsibility ("You need to put the blocks away. Pick them up and put them in the basket.") is stressed. In lesson 4, we get introduced to counting bears. Always first, the introduction encourages free play before using them for actual math purposes.

So if Elinore is not ready for Kindergarten math, why are we starting Saxon math K?

She can play with math manipulatives.
It won't hurt her to keep doing calendar~it'll stick someday.
It provides some extra structure to our day.

The personal responsibility part of putting away her math tools is awesome!