Thursday

Yesterday we did ABC's, puzzles, board games, numbers, writing, reading. Alex had PT, Emma had OT.
Today we played outside. We played the EleFun (game) and used it to talk about more/less and count. Alex and Emma both had PT & ST.

Tuesday

This morning we headed to the park to play with the Green girls for about an hour and a half. Mary Grace is in first grade now, so it is just Hannah and Abigail during the day. They had tons of fun and Emma and Abigail spent a great deal of time laying in, rolling in, and picking up dirt. They were filthy. I wish I had had my camera there so I could prove to you how cool I was being by letting them get filthy. Lisa and I got to visit, that is always fun for us moms.
We had no choice but to come home for a bath and clean clothes before going to therapy. So... bath, clean clothes, lunch, and therapy. Emma had PT and ST. Alex has PT, ST, and OT. Alex has been curling her right arm up pretty severely lately. We've tried a wrist weight to cue her to put her arm down, but it didn't work. So today Alissa and Daryl casted her arm. They cut the cast on one side and attached Velcro so we can take it on and off. It require her to straighten her arm and I was surprised to see that when she is forced to keep her arm straight her arm actually swings in natural rhythm... something she has never been able to do. After therapy we called Poppy & Daddy to tell them about her cool cast and then we used Sharpies to decorate it. She thinks it is cool today, but my guess is that she will find it restrictive and will need encouragement to wear it.

Monday

This morning we played several games. I made new ABC cards with index cards and colored glue. We played the game this morning where they match the lower case letter with the upper case letter. Alex is doing great at this! Emma is doing better also. We played with 8-10 letter pairs at a time and Alex can match almost all of them! Not only can she match the upper case with the corresponding lower case, she recognized a new letter today. When I handed her a card she looked and said, "Q is for queen." Yeah!!! I was so excited for her. In addition to matching pairs we traced the letters with our fingers (the point of doing the letters in glue, so that they are raised). It is a great pre-writing technique.
Then we played picture dominoes. This is getting better also. I don't have to point out what picture they can play every time, they just know what to look for and are doing great at taking turns. Emma's favorite part is when she doesn't have the right picture and has to draw from the pile. She picks one up, looks and says, "Nope" and picks another.
This afternoon Alex has PT and Emma had OT.

Thursday

Again, I missed a few days of blogging, but we are still going strong with school. Singing songs, saying nursery rhymes, pretending, playing outside, counting, reading...
Tuesday we played outside for a while after therapy. I remembered an activity I had read in a book so I ran inside for paper and glue. Each of the girls got a piece of paper and we explored the yard for neat things to glue on it. Grass, clovers, leaves of all sizes, sticks, seeds, dirt, etc. The girls had a lot of fun searching for things and gluing them on the paper.
I have learned that the end result isn't really what matters, it is the process and experience of doing it. Regardless, the girls were very proud and here is the final result. We hung them in the kitchen after they dried.

They have both had therapy all week and we've also spent time playing outside in the yard. The favorite right now is giving the dogs treats through the fence when we get home.
Wednesday they both got their hair cut. Emma was a very big girl and volunteered to go first. Alex patiently let her. After big girl hair cuts and suckers for a reward I let Emma pay Kendra and both girls told her thank you for the hair cut.
This afternoon after therapy we came inside for another project. I let them each choose whether they wanted a picture of a dog or a cat. They both chose cat. I drew them a cat and then we cut up a bunch of black and yellow yarn. They used paint brushes to put glue on their picture and stick yarn all over to make their kitty cat furry. Again, they were very proud.

Still going

Drew came home this weekend and the girls were a little under the weather so I haven't blogged on school work in a while, but we have still been doing it. I love how we can sit down and do something for a few hours so do just a little here and there, depending on the day and mood. We've been working on the pledge of allegiance and Alex loves to sing America the Beautiful. Both of the girls are interested in maps so we've been doing some of that. Alex will bring me a globe or map and ask, "Where does Aunt Pat live?" or whoever else she is thinking about at the time. She knows we live in America in the state of Arkansas. She likes to point out that Daddy is in Oklahoma and that Aunt Pat (my grandma's sister that she met a few weeks ago) lives in Oregon. I try to think of things about each state, like people we know that live there or times we visited there, etc. They love that. I'm glad, because I was never much of a geography girl.
They still love the posters in their room and want to go over them at night. Great repetition for letter and number recognition. Alex still likes helping Emma with her colors and shapes on the posters.
We've also spent one evening with the giant sticker book. It is fun because of all the stickers but is great for categories. Ex. Animals with spots, Things in the ocean, etc.
Today when we were driving I tried to point out road signs and their shapes, but Alex wasn't getting it. I think we will plan a walk soon so that we can actually touch the signs and make the connection. I just don't think she realizes what I'm pointing to out the window.

Thursday

This morning Alex decided we should paint, so we did. I didn't have the right paper, so we painted on construction paper. Not as pretty, but still fun. One time Alex put her paint brush in the wrong cup. Emma said, "NO!" and put the brush back in the right color. Maybe she can't name all the colors, but she can match them. So, after messy painting it was bath time. Then quiet time and off to therapy. Alex has ST, OT & PT. Emma had ST & PT. Emma was done an hour before Alex so we went out to the playground and played with Caleigh & Caden. Caleigh & Emma played in the and box for a while and then we went inside the school to play. Alissa's kids are in the after school care since she works there, so it was fun for the kids to play together. We read books, built towers, 'cooked' in the kitchen and played ball. When Alex was done with therapy we went to eat and then came home to unwind. We went over the posters we put up the other day, read books and sang songs. Sang 'America the Beautiful' and the Doxology. Said the pledge of allegiance and the Lord's Prayer. We read some new books about helping, remembering, forgiving and saying thank you. Alex was so sweet. After the helping book we were talking about things she does to help and she said "I help Poppy." I asked her how she helped him and she said, "I help Poppy's feet." She was right. We did help Dad a lot when he had his foot surgery this summer. During prayers she thanked God for her normal people and then said thank you for Poppy's new house. Emma has been praying for her friend Lorelai a lot lately. That was her own contribution, not my doing. I love when they do things like that to show me they understand what we are doing and talking about, not just repeating or imitating me.
So, a great day. Lots of fun stuff and great learning.

Wednesday

Today I took Alex to the dentist for a second opinion on her teeth. We then went to visit Grandma & Grandpa, had lunch and went straight to therapy. Alissa tried putting some wrist weights on her arms to cue her to keep them down. So, Alex had PT and Emma had OT.
Home, dinner, play time, lots of books. Their favorite thing to do right now is point out the things they like and what is their favorite. So when we were looking at the picture encyclopedia of animals we did talk about the names, what animals were alike, etc. The girls would point out which animal they liked best on the page and then Alex would say, "Mommy what your favorite?" I'm trying to say what is my favorite and give a reason why, and encourage them to do the same. "I like this frog because it has red eyes." Etc.

Monday, Monday

This morning the girls and I put up a few posters in their room. We sat in the floor and had school time with the posters. One is the alphabet, one is number 1-10, one is colors, the last is shapes. Alex knows her colors pretty well (brown & black are sometimes confusing) but Emma still needs work. It's great that Alex can help Emma with it. The shapes poster has the typical shapes (that Alex knows) but also has an octagon. We've never really talked about that before. Tomorrow when we get out I will try to point out stop signs for her. Emma knows circle and triangle (and sometimes square) but the rest are a work in progress. Again, Alex likes to help Emma. With the alphabet poster we sang the ABC's and went through one by one pointing out the letter and saying it and thinking of things that start with that letter. The numbers poster lists numerals 1-10 and beside each number are the correct number of a certain object. So, we counted the objects together and pointed out the numerals. After time with the posters we sat in the floor and the girls practiced with the lacing cards. Emma coordination is getting much better and Alex still works very hard and gets the job done.
This afternoon Alex has PT & Emma had OT. Then we played on the playground at the school for about half and hour. Before going home we went to the grocery store and I let Alex & Emma push one of the little kid carts and be in charge. The girls loved it.

Notes

I've noted a few things in the last few days. Both of the girls are getting much better at finding objects in a big picture. We have a few books (like I Spy books) where they have to point out certain objects in a hidden pictures and even Emma is getting pretty good. Emma is also making progress on color recognition. She is also speaking much more and in longer sentences. Alex is becoming much more conversational. She has more to say and is becoming better at expressing herself. I've made a point to tell her she does a great job when she vocalizes something instead of just getting upset. Alex is making real progress with her writing. I can't say that it is more legible, but she isn't so afraid to try. It used to take a lot of encouragement to get her to try at all and now she will sit at her table and trace letters by herself. She is getting stronger with letter recognition. There are still a few letters that are the most recognizable, but she gets them right consistently... not just in context.
Today we went to Sunday school & big church. They love playing with their friends and Alex always brings her lesson and craft home with her. I've realized that even when they are restless they are paying attention in big church. Alex knows the words to some hymns that we sing often. The both know the Lord's Prayer and say it along with everyone. Emma claps and says "Yea!" after each song that she likes. They each put their offering in the plate when it comes around. Alex sings along with the Doxology and knows that as soon as it is over she gets to go to the front for children's time and then to children's church. Emma is more confident in going to children's church than she used to be. She used to hesitate and needed encouragement to leave me, but now she goes right along with the other kids.
Tomorrow will start a normal week of therapy for the girls. We should be back in a good routine.

Wednesday

So everyone is gearing up for back to school. We never really stopped. We took short breaks when we needed to, but we've really just kept things going. This is a good time of year for buying school supplies though.
This afternoon Emma actually fell asleep during nap time. So, when Alex & I got up we got out some workbooks. She's pretty well mastered learning her colors and shapes and it's really time to move on. She's ready for letters and doesn't need as much encouragement to work on them, so that is what we did. I love that she is recognizing letters now. She knows A, E & X all the time and sometimes knows P and L. All this repetition is paying off! She's catching on... slow but sure!

Tuesday

Yesterday the girls and I met Lisa, Mary Grace & Hannah at the park to feed the ducks and play. The girls had a great time and they really play together very well considering the difference in ages, sizes and development. It's good for all of them... and me & Lisa, too.
In the afternoon they each had PT & ST. No OT, Daryl went home sick yesterday. No more therapy this week, everyone is in training. We are about to go to Fayetteville to take my Great Aunt Pat shopping while she is here visiting my grandparents.

Monday

No postings since last week because Drew was home for the weekend. This morning we did school work together before he left. We all sat in the floor and played games. The first game was a number game. There were cards spread in the floor and more in a pile. They had to pick a card with a number and find the card with the same number of dots. Then we played a few games of dominoes. Matching pictures, same/different, taking turns & fun. Then we matched upper case letters with lower case letters. They took turns drawing a card with an uppercase letter and had to find the corresponding lower case letter. Since there are 26 letters they begin losing attention toward the end, but both did very well. Improving every time. Emma especially impressed me with being about to make the matches. If she couldn't find a match then we would pull 3 or 4 choices out and she almost always chose the right one. Having too many choices made it difficult at times. They really did great with this.
This afternoon we spent a little bit of time on speech homework. Emma is working on putting the 's' at the beginning of words. Example. She says 'wimming' instead of 'swimming'. We worked on that for a while. Also on the 'y' sound. Example. She sometimes says 'oh-oh' instead of 'yo-yo'. That is also getting better. For Alex we worked on cause and effect. Example. If you play in the mud you have to ____ (take a bath).
Tomorrow afternoon is therapy. The only day this week because of staff training. The rest of the week we will be available for fun stuff and school work.