Life with Alexander around has certainly not been dull. Isaiah has had a good time playing with him except for the times that he “forgot” Alexander is really just a baby. Isaiah can’t quite grasp the fact that when Alexander takes a toy, he’s not being mean – he’s just being a normal toddler. We have to help teach him to not grab things but Isaiah also needs to realize that he can share or offer Alexander an alternate choice.
They were playing with Tupperware lids and cake spatulas. Isaiah was playing the drums and Alexander kept walking off with pieces of the “drum” ensemble. I told Isaiah to just get a different lid; after all, they were ALL out all over the dining room.
We had to get a gate to keep Alexander out of the kitchen. I couldn’t keep a thing in the drawers because as fast as I put the things away, he was taking them back out. He also discovered the buttons on my dishwasher and would frequently turn off or on one of the drawers (I have the two drawer system). One night he turned off the one I was running and turned on the one I was not. I re-set them (had to add more detergent to the first one) and a little bit later, he’d done it again. I think it took three tries before I finally was able to get the dishes washed and to drain the water out of the second drawer.
I did discover that he likes to put clothes into the washer and dryer. I’ve had him help me doing that and he’s very proud of himself. Now, if I could just get him to fold them…
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
January - mostly green
Well, he did it. Only two yellow days the whole month, and nothing worse than yellow. That is such a big accomplishment - for any child, but for someone with Isaiah's challenges, it's huge. Amy would love to take him to Great Wolf Lodge as a reward, but she was unable to find a room at a rate she could afford. Good thing we didn't promise him anything special. It's hard to get him to understand logistics and finances.
He's only had one yellow day in February, too. He's doing much better.
As far as reading skills and retaining letter sounds goes, I think he's doing much better. The teachers who run latchkey have been working with him every afternoon and then Amy and I work with him several nights a week. There are still a lot of times that he doesn't remember "C-A-T" is cat and if you trade the C for an S, it makes "sat." The teacher who works with him the most said that he's probably just not ready for sounding things out yet but if he can memorize them, then that's also a step in the right direction. His mother is dyslexic and there is dyslexia on both sides of his family (aunts, uncles, etc.)
He loves to use the computer. We've got him set up with Noggin and a couple of educational sites where he can do things that will enhance his reading skills. All we have to do is turn it on and he can log himself on, find the website (we have a shortcut on the desktop), and get going. We got him a kid-friendly mouse and that helps.
He's only had one yellow day in February, too. He's doing much better.
As far as reading skills and retaining letter sounds goes, I think he's doing much better. The teachers who run latchkey have been working with him every afternoon and then Amy and I work with him several nights a week. There are still a lot of times that he doesn't remember "C-A-T" is cat and if you trade the C for an S, it makes "sat." The teacher who works with him the most said that he's probably just not ready for sounding things out yet but if he can memorize them, then that's also a step in the right direction. His mother is dyslexic and there is dyslexia on both sides of his family (aunts, uncles, etc.)
He loves to use the computer. We've got him set up with Noggin and a couple of educational sites where he can do things that will enhance his reading skills. All we have to do is turn it on and he can log himself on, find the website (we have a shortcut on the desktop), and get going. We got him a kid-friendly mouse and that helps.
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