What kind of Bible materials am I looking for? (for ds5.5 for fall) (Jen, anyone!)

[PeterPan]

We have a Betty Lukens flannel graph set, which he enjoys very much.  However the stories don't stick, meaning we have to repeat them several times.  That's not a big deal, and it means a curriculum with a once a week theme could even be good.  It's not that I have to have curriculum, but it seems so NICE at this stage of my life, sigh.  Hint of what the topic is, some craft ideas, something that will click.

 

The Bible stuff in the MFW K5 we did was way out there, totally skipped it.  Obviously it needs to be pretty concrete, because he's pretty much in his own world.  Yet he's SINCERE, kwim?  This little child just prays his heart out to G*d, so I'd really like to keep going forward.  

 

I looked at this  https://positiveaction.org/media/product/downloads/2013/04/Kindergarten_SM_Sample.pdf  but it uses social scenarios that I'm not sure how he'd interpret.  So every time he gets an impulse to kick (which they label as bad) he's disobeying G*d??  It's just a lot of leaps there. And of course they all start to bring in writing.

 

I don't know what I'm thinking.  I know what my problem is.  I have this whole list of ought-to-s that are all remediation/intervention stuff (LIPS, Ronit Bird, working memory, etc.) and not a lot of stuff equally well organized that is fun, engaging, or amazing for him.  We read CHOW together and he plays with some toys of things to go with it, big whoop.  

 

I keep trying to figure out what it is I want, like whether he needs Konos in a box or curriculum and I'm just not seeing it or...  I don't know if I'm burned out or not embracing the challenge or that he's really not ready or what.  He's not ready for curriculum, but he's hungry to learn, be interacted with, and DO.  That's precise and accurate.  I don't know that he'll ever be hungry for curriculum, not for a long time, but he loves being interacted with and doing and grand doing.

 

You know the other reason it feels all wrong is because on the one hand he craves this interaction and doing together and on the other hand it seems so RIGHT to let him play.  But his play isn't that normal exploratory play where giving him more time to play causes him to learn more about the world, kwim?  It's more just time to hunt, play spy, play soldier, or some other iteration of the same thing he does every day.  

 

I have no clue what I'm asking.  I'm just saying I can't figure it out.  It's like more time to play doesn't help him, when it helped dd.  So if I'm not supposed to give him more time to play, then I need to do things with him.  But what to do is what confuses me, because he's so bright (telling me what color we had to paint the Trojan Horse because it was made of bronze) and so something at the same time.  Sigh.

[Heathermomster]

I use The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Voss and read a selection from that.  There are websites dedicated to missionaries.  I can get back with you about specifics.  Anyho..Select a country and pray for it and the missionaries.  Grab a globe and/or atlas and identify the country.  

 

I tend to think establishing the habit of daily prayer and reading are most important.  Your DS is five years old.  If you can hold his attention long enough to read a short section from a story Bible and pray, I'd call that good.  Some kids color Bible pictures while their parents read. Maybe give him stamps and stickers to use as you read.   

[PeterPan]

I use The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Voss and read a selection from that.  There are websites dedicated to missionaries.  I can get back with you about specifics.  Anyho..Select a country and pray for it and the missionaries.  Grab a globe and/or atlas and identify the country.  

 

I tend to think establishing the habit of daily prayer and reading are most important.  Your DS is five years old.  If you can hold his attention long enough to read a short section from a story Bible and pray, I'd call that good.  Some kids color Bible pictures while their parents read. Maybe give him stamps and stickers to use as you read.   

Dh has read through multiple children's Bible story books with him.  Right now they're going through Marian Schooland's, but I think they may have already gone through Voss.  They've also been through the Zondervan Read n Grow Picture Bible (which is AWESOME btw, you should check it out, your dd could read it).  

 

Hmm, coloring while listening to a story, hadn't thought about that.  I have some reproducible coloring books from when dd was little.  Ds will color IF you sit right beside him and color as well.  Otherwise, it's blastoff.  But the idea is interesting.

 

This has been bugging me for a while now in various iterations, and I think part of it is this fundamental oddity that normally I'd be planning K5 right now and all excited about purchases and plans.  Granted there is the minor detail that I OWN just about anything I'd want, lol, but I just find myself planning nothing and can't figure out my problem.  I know he's a kinesthetic learner--we have the data to show that.  So he doesn't need to color the Bible--he actually needs to DO the Bible.  

 

As I was getting ready for bed last night I saw this Usborne pirate activities book he had dragged out and realized THAT is how he learns.  Topic plus some reading plus activities.  That's how he's going to learn.  I was realizing everything we're doing successfully and enjoyably now involves some kind of kit with that pattern.  The Djeco art kits are golden with him, because you look at the book together, figure it out, and DO.  CHOW with activity books works.  

 

But what does it mean fundamentally when you're not buying curriculum for your rising K5er??  The SLP is telling me his gifted, and his scores for everything she tests are definitely very high.  I don't know, the whole picture confuses me.  

 

I'm going to look at the TOG elementary stuff and see if that could be a books plus doing approach for us.  I can drag out the Konos volumes I saved up to try with him.  I'm not thrilled about those, and I can't put my finger on why.  I'll look at them though.  The TOG would weave in Bible for us, I think, right?  If none of that works, I'm down to scattered topics with whatever resources or kits catch our eyes.  He loves his Snap Circuits and understands them.  When you give him a kit, something he can do, he's good.  I need do the Bible in a kit, lol.  I should dig through.  I might have a good Bible crafts book in my closet for which I could just make a kit with the supplies.  Ok, stretching the brain here.  Konos has something with character.  Would he understand that?  That would be an interesting way to pursue things.  Dh covers Bible basics with him, so I try to bring Mom stuff to it (missions, sensitivity/application, singing).  Can't sing with him, and for us much as I like missions stories (it was my major!) they don't feel right for him.  They might soon, but they don't know.  I'm afraid if we did them he would get really didactic.  I don't know.  I have the stuff I read to dd.  I have the SL missions books from when dd was little, and I have all the YWAM bios.  They're not very well written and they tend to put me to sleep, snooze.    

 

I was trying to think about how *I* wish I had been taught.  Pretty wild to ponder.  My memories of K5 and 1st (and 2nd and 3rd and...) were so BORING.  

 

Something will become obvious.  I'm just saying it's not one thing.  The whole scenario has been confusing me for a while now and I haven't known what to make of it.  He's not going to sit down and "do school."  He'll sit down and do stuff with me, but it's not the same as "doing school" kwim?  Or maybe I haven't trained him hard enough?  Or maybe he's too young?  Like if this was the kind of thing where I thought I could just wait another year, keep doing our la la interest-driven stuff, and then he'd magically become that, if it was all developmental, I wouldn't sweat.  I just don't know what I'm seeing, kwim?  I can feed the horse, I just don't know if I'm working with the horse right.

[Jennifer-72]

I keep trying to figure out what it is I want, like whether he needs Konos in a box or curriculum and I'm just not seeing it or... I don't know if I'm burned out or not embracing the challenge or that he's really not ready or what. He's not ready for curriculum, but he's hungry to learn, be interacted with, and DO. That's precise and accurate. I don't know that he'll ever be hungry for curriculum, not for a long time, but he loves being interacted with and doing and grand doing.

You know the other reason it feels all wrong is because on the one hand he craves this interaction and doing together and on the other hand it seems so RIGHT to let him play. But his play isn't that normal exploratory play where giving him more time to play causes him to learn more about the world, kwim? It's more just time to hunt, play spy, play soldier, or some other iteration of the same thing he does every day.

I have no clue what I'm asking. I'm just saying I can't figure it out. It's like more time to play doesn't help him, when it helped dd. So if I'm not supposed to give him more time to play, then I need to do things with him. But what to do is what confuses me, because he's so bright (telling me what color we had to paint the Trojan Horse because it was made of bronze) and so something at the same time. Sigh.

Only, have a couple of minutes so here is a short reply that i will try to expand on later....

Well, I do believe the whole play is the work of children. What about working on moving his play forward? It sounds like his play can get stuck in a loop and he could benefit from you inserting yourself in there to move it forward. I am sort of thinking of the Hanen match model more principal. Of course, if he has some ridigity to his play you are going to have to make small steps in joining in and reshaping or changing the script.

I guess I am picturing something like suggesting you go on a bear hunt with him (and I would use lots of sensory input on these hunts, have him commando crawl through the grass, maybe do wheelbarrow walk up the stairs/pretend waterfall, etc) and search out some different animal figurines then after catching these animals making habitats for them using those plastic clamshell food containers and some plastercine. Then maybe after a several hunts seeing if he would like to be zoo keeper and give a tour of his zoo and explain different facts he has learned about each animal and the habitats. Maybe you can see if he is able to consider making extra animal exhibits without the whole hunting thing and maybe even be a vet for the animals etc.... Just as an example of how you could maybe try to expand his play and provide lots of language and learning opportunities as well.

Okay gotta go will be back later

[Indian summer]

I'm not sure if I'm quite getting what you're after. Our favourite bible program has been Our 24 Family Ways. It's very engaging with lots of thought provoking and fun questions. Each week focuses on one verse and one Family Way but with daily Scripture reading, and includes some " imagine you were...what do you think..." type scenarios. This might add a new dimension to his play...

Have you looked at some of the Sonlight books?

[NoseInABook]

We don't use an actual curriculum for Bible but we read from the Jesus Storybook Bible and ask the kids questions to review what's going on. We also have this too and it's amazing: http://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Make-Your-Heart-Sing/dp/0310721636/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1396016913&sr=8-2

 

The Jesus Storybook Bible actually does have a Sunday School curriculum if you wanted to check it out but right now we're getting enough just through talking through those two books I mentioned above. http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/index.php?option=com_curriculum

[PeterPan]

Only, have a couple of minutes so here is a short reply that i will try to expand on later....

Well, I do believe the whole play is the work of children. What about working on moving his play forward? It sounds like his play can get stuck in a loop and he could benefit from you inserting yourself in there to move it forward. I am sort of thinking of the Hanen match model more principal. Of course, if he has some ridigity to his play you are going to have to make small steps in joining in and reshaping or changing the script.

I guess I am picturing something like suggesting you go on a bear hunt with him (and I would use lots of sensory input on these hunts, have him commando crawl through the grass, maybe do wheelbarrow walk up the stairs/pretend waterfall, etc) and search out some different animal figurines then after catching these animals making habitats for them using those plastic clamshell food containers and some plastercine. Then maybe after a several hunts seeing if he would like to be zoo keeper and give a tour of his zoo and explain different facts he has learned about each animal and the habitats. Maybe you can see if he is able to consider making extra animal exhibits without the whole hunting thing and maybe even be a vet for the animals etc.... Just as an example of how you could maybe try to expand his play and provide lots of language and learning opportunities as well.

Okay gotta go will be back later

Well as usual, you've been helpful!  I had no clue about Hanen, but what you're describing makes a LOT of sense to me and is what I was trying to figure out.  I've had somebody telling about teaching like this back channel, but I just couldn't wrap my brain around it.  The match-model-more thing though makes sense.  That I can understand.  So we did that this morning.  He's into the Playmobil pyramid right now (he likes the weapons, of course, lol), so I played with him, tried to develop his play a little more along the lines of what he was already doing, then brought out some things to extend into Egyptian culture (weapons, food, etc.).  Turns out he has been retaining what we've been reading in CHOW (which I never anticipated), and we were able to take that farther.  Then I suggested this afternoon we could find some stuff to learn more about deserts...  So this can totally work and you're absolutely right.  It's just not sit down at a desk and study and make a notebook.  But when you do it with him the way you're describing, it feels right.  

[Timberly]

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[PeterPan]

I'm not sure if I'm quite getting what you're after. Our favourite bible program has been Our 24 Family Ways. It's very engaging with lots of thought provoking and fun questions. Each week focuses on one verse and one Family Way but with daily Scripture reading, and includes some " imagine you were...what do you think..." type scenarios. This might add a new dimension to his play...

Have you looked at some of the Sonlight books?

I think I have that from when dd was little!  I'll have to go dig...

 

We don't use an actual curriculum for Bible but we read from the Jesus Storybook Bible and ask the kids questions to review what's going on. We also have this too and it's amazing: http://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Make-Your-Heart-Sing/dp/0310721636/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1396016913&sr=8-2

 

The Jesus Storybook Bible actually does have a Sunday School curriculum if you wanted to check it out but right now we're getting enough just through talking through those two books I mentioned above. http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/index.php?option=com_curriculum

Something caught me in the product description for that book, with the term devotional. (devotional as in loving, devoted) I think that would get more where I'd like to be going with him.  That gives me a lot of ideas.  Sometimes it's hard to know what the right next step is with kids, what will help them grow.  Devotional is a good term, so that gives me lots of ideas on ways to look, thanks.   :)

[PeterPan]

TOG just came out with a new "primer version" that is geared for new homeschool moms with little kids. I don't know what kind of teacher prep is involved. 

 

You certainly don't qualify as a new homeschool mom, but the Primer version is "simple, hands-on, game oriented, interactive, conversational, story driven learning that goes through the entire sweep of history in a year or two".

 

If it's like the 2013 TOG revised edition that I use, it will have a smorgasbord of kinesthetic activities that make me so very badly want to go back in time to redo my kid's K-2nd grade years, especially my boys.

 

My 4th and 5th grade boys see the cool lower grammar boy activities (make swords, catapults, armor...) in the 2013 revised edition and want to bag their school work and make boy stuff all day.  Instead they make something on weekends when they don't have sports (not often) and use it to act out the weekly TOG stories.  Last week they made Napoleon's breast plate out of cardboard boxes.

 

I don't love the price and teacher prep of TOG, but it's the first curriculum in 15 years of homeschool that gives me the experience I always dreamed homeschooling to be. 

 

Honestly, I have five math and science curriculums on my wish list for my LD kid, things that I think will truly get him to retain info better, but I've overspent his annual school budget by amounts I don't want to fess up to. 

 

I'm not sure I'm going to find the money to buy my wish list curriculums and I so get it if you aren't up to considering ANOTHER curriculum, much less spending money and time on learning it. 

 

One of the hardest parts of having a LD kiddo has been the decision making - it exhaust me.

 

Best wishes on finding something helps you build beautiful memories of you and your son having a blast together.

Wow, how did I totally not know about this!  Yes, that's what I was thinking, that some kind of resource like that with the connection of books and activities would make it easier to pull things together.  You can't do EVERYTHING from scratch.  There's just not energy for that.

 

Ok, so where do I find this new primer thing?  Crazy.  His world is open enough that I can make things appear and he finds them interesting.  This could totally work.  (make the thing appear, play at it together, extend into more areas)

[PeterPan]

Ok, I'm back, and I'm terribly excited about this.  That TOG Primer can actually work for us, and it would just take a HUGE load off me to have it all planned out like that. He's willing to engage and he likes history.  It would be interesting to see if I could get some science plans to correlate.  Like Jen was saying, you're there, you're doing stuff, and you just take it further.  

 

So yes, for actual curriculum, that's what I needed, something that assumes NO ability to read, minimal writing, but is still giving them lots of interaction and hands-on.  I can work within a framework.  We had a lot of fun with the MFW K5, because I could morph it into something.  It just makes my life better if someone else does 80% of the work and I customize.  He's neurologically flexible enough to engage with stuff.  There are weapons all throughout history, hehe.  I always have an in.   :D

 

Wow, you've totally lowered my stress level.  Better techniques and something that gets me 80% of the way there.  That's AWESOME.  So tell me something brilliant for science.  You correlated some science to this?  Some great theories?  Lots of doing, no reading required of him, and appropriate to someone who really thinks?  Someone suggested TOPS to me, and I can't put my finger on why it bugs me.  It's reading driven, so that's a problem.  It's prescriptive.  It's b&w.  It's expensive to set up the lentils kit (or to buy).  It just doesn't seem like the right kind of doing, and I can't explain why.  It assumes mentally the student is going through contortions about if this, then that, and I'm not sure that's what he is doing.  Right now he seems to enjoy things simply for what they are.  Well I say that, and then he was obviously doing some form of if/then with his Snap Circuits, because he was making his own little projects.  But there you're actually doing it.  It's not some abstract thing like measure and see where it fills to and divide in half and rearrange to make a map and...  Kwim?  Not the same.  This kid can't even tell you 2 and 3 makes 5, even when looking at his hands.  He just doesn't get it.  But he likes making things with Snap Circuits, likes watching cooking, likes weapons, and tests as very bright.  Sigh.  

 

Ok, stop sighing.  He LOVES the Let's Read and Learn Science books we're reading for the MP enrichment stuff.  I got the 1st and 2nd grade enrichment books, and we've been reading books from there together.  He tolerates worksheets, where my dd wouldn't even do them. (I've downloaded them from Enchanted Learning to go with the MP enrichment topics.)  He even enjoys them in VERY limited doses.  I'm saying our use of the MP guides degraded from doing them orderly to ooo look at the nice reading lists.  The art study I haven't even had the heart to try on him, though I got the cards.  I want to get something really basic to try with him and have a book in mind that I haven't bought yet, my bad.  Anyways, that's all to say I keep thinking that if we (as in he and I) do like Jen is saying, just finding a book to spring off of what we're really into then read it and do things, we'll be golden.  I have an ACS book somewhere in my cupboards that I loved with dd.  

 

I felt like the last science thing we did fell flat.  It was watching condensation form from water vapor.  It was suggested in the book we were reading, but I'm just saying my take when we did it was that the activity didn't actually click for him.  So if we stay more observational, just reading about stuff, that might be good.  We could keep going through the Let's Read and Find Out books.  I suppose in the spring we'll start our nature walks.  He loves to take pictures, so we could catalog things and make books.  I've thought about maybe books on the clouds, stars, etc. and just sort of catalog life.  

 

You know, maybe that's it??  Maybe his brain needs to organize all those words and that's why he's staying at that level?  He just doesn't seem ready to move on to experimental science with hypotheses and whatnot.  It's like he just needs to SUCK IN life.  All the parts of life and words of life.  I think the experimental side will come later.  Or I'm crazy, lol.  That's my gut though, that he's hoovering in life.

[Timberly]

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[Jennifer-72]

Well as usual, you've been helpful!  I had no clue about Hanen, but what you're describing makes a LOT of sense to me and is what I was trying to figure out.  I've had somebody telling about teaching like this back channel, but I just couldn't wrap my brain around it.  The match-model-more thing though makes sense.  That I can understand.  So we did that this morning.  He's into the Playmobil pyramid right now (he likes the weapons, of course, lol), so I played with him, tried to develop his play a little more along the lines of what he was already doing, then brought out some things to extend into Egyptian culture (weapons, food, etc.).  Turns out he has been retaining what we've been reading in CHOW (which I never anticipated), and we were able to take that farther.  Then I suggested this afternoon we could find some stuff to learn more about deserts...  So this can totally work and you're absolutely right.  It's just not sit down at a desk and study and make a notebook.  But when you do it with him the way you're describing, it feels right.  

 

Fantastic!  Will be interesting to see if he starts to branch out with how he plays with the playmobil set as you keep introducing new ideas with it!  Hanen for us is very much what PROMPT is for your son.  Actually we did both PROMPT and Hanen with our SLP.  Anyway if your library carries any of the Hanen books they are definitely worth checking out.  Really, Hanen has shaped most of the choices I have made with ds and I am very thankful I found it right away when ds first started with intervention. 

 

As for science what about just some of the Williamson Kids Can series of books?  And maybe Science Chef - would give you a great way to go with his like of cooking and would also be a great way to work on sequencing and following oral directions with him.   

[PeterPan]

Oh Timberly, you're totally nailing it, lol.  There's just a huge difference.  And yes, I have loads of craft books.  For a long time I thought the time just wasn't right and that's why we weren't doing certain things together.  Now it's just obvious he's different.  And yes, he has a whole maker bin with duct tape, clips, scraps of this and that, all sorts of things.  

[PeterPan]

Fantastic!  Will be interesting to see if he starts to branch out with how he plays with the playmobil set as you keep introducing new ideas with it!  Hanen for us is very much what PROMPT is for your son.  Actually we did both PROMPT and Hanen with our SLP.  Anyway if your library carries any of the Hanen books they are definitely worth checking out.  Really, Hanen has shaped most of the choices I have made with ds and I am very thankful I found it right away when ds first started with intervention. 

 

As for science what about just some of the Williamson Kids Can series of books?  And maybe Science Chef - would give you a great way to go with his like of cooking and would also be a great way to work on sequencing and following oral directions with him.   

Ooo, ooo, I'll go look for that!!  Yes, you're right that we could bring language skills into science.  I hadn't thought about that.  That might have been part of why the vapor/condensation thing we did was so flat. (no steps to guide interaction)  We assemble playmobil sets together and there are steps.  We work well with that kind of structure.

 

I don't really know how to play with the playmobil.  I took his pirate ship to ST last time and she played with him.  That improved his ability to play with the toys.  Just left to myself, I'm no help.  I'm awesome at assembling the steps, but I don't really turn it into PLAY. The SLP is amazing at it. I watch her and imitate.  :)

 

And yes, I'm a little sad at the thought that by assuming there was nothing else going on based on the spectrum survey (that *I* filled out and answered) we could have missed things.  But you know, I think in my case a soul can only handle so much trauma at once.  We have you now to talk to and get up to speed.  I have some local friends I want to get together with who've seen him enough to have more opinions.  I'm not sure he's actually going to get a label.  I just know he confuses us.  Dh just figures waiting will solve it, and I don't think so, not with what the SLP is saying.  His scores are WAY to high with the testing she does to assume there's some developmental delay.  Or maybe I'm making incorrect assumptions there?  

 

I'll look for the Hanen books. If I were only getting *1* which one would it be?  :)   I have some Williamson Press books lying around, but I had only thought of them in terms of art/crafts, not science.  I'll go look again!!  :)

[Jennifer-72]

Oh I hope my post didn't make you feel bad about things. That was not my intent. I also don't think you have anything to feel sorry about. From all your posts here, I have always felt you have been doing a great job of promoting language development and fostering his overall development. These kids have so many puzzle pieces that seem to fit in so many categories it is impossible to say any one thing is the fit until they get a bit older.

I certainly don't think you need to get any of the Hanen books, just thought you may like them and they may spark some ideas for you. Good chance your library will have one of them or maybe see if your slp has any she is willing to lend out. I would think you would find Talkability to have some good strategies for developing language and conversation skills. There are some samples on the Hanen site.

[Lecka]

I looked through Hanen More Than Words earlier this year, it is available to check out from a resource room library in our school district.  It costs something like $50 -- so not something I would buy. 

 

I was impressed, too, though.  Lots of good ideas.  Lots of ideas were things I had been told back in EI speech therapy and also things I have been told by the ABA therapist, but it is nice to see it in one place, too. 

 

My son does very well with video modeling for play skills.  If you could videotape some boys playing in different ways with a set of toys, and show him the videos, it might give him some more ideas, and give you some ideas for ways to "expand" on his play.  My little son happens to just do SO well with video modeling, and really enjoys watching his beloved older brother.  It just happens to be a really good fit for him. 

 

I am also very impressed with how well my son's main therapist plays.  She is so good at it and so creative!  But ----- she has had a lot of training, too.  The two young women who are being trained by her also think she is really good at play and want to watch her, and they are both, like, people who are good at playing ---- but they are still new and picking up ideas from experienced therapists.  I don't think it is fair to compare myself to a therapist ----- even if it is "play" instead of something that is more apparently therapy-ish and more apparently something they have had training to do.  But I get that same feeling of ---- why can't I do that?  But part of that is she makes it look easy!  I tell myself "she  just makes it LOOK easy" sometimes, lol.

 

My son is often very resistant to his play being expanded, but he has gotten better about it with practice.  When my son makes a video, he does 5 different play scenarios with the same materials ---- I think it helps to keep my son from getting too into one certain scenario, when he has 5 to begin with.  He focuses on one at a time, but it is like ---- knowing from the beginning that there are 5 different ones, does help him, I think.

 

But for example he has gotten mad b/c the therapist drove a toy car down train tracks and he wanted them to be only for the train.  It is a little rigid of him, but he has made progress with this kind of thing. 

 

It takes time to see it --- but over the past 8 months (he started video modeling in June) he has made some progress!  Mainly he is just more interested in seeing how other kids play with toys, before he wasn't interested at all and wouldn't watch them.  Now it is like --- he is showing a little interest.  He can also play a little with my older son, which is really nice for them.  This is like -- toy play, pretending two legos are doing something... running around play is a lot better area for him. 

 

I love to talk about my son, lol.  He is a sweetie.     

 

Edit:  I just glanced at the Talkability, it looks really good! My son is working on things with eye gaze and facial expression, but for a lot of the more social things ---- I am being told that to some extent, he will probably still be working on foundational language skills for another year (or so), and then can start the stuff more focused on social language.  His therapist has said she would like him to start Social Thinking in maybe a year.  But ---- we are also considering getting him back into speech therapy.  Some things are pretty up in the air for next year, right now. 

[Jennifer-72]

Lecka - Talkability is very good and fits in with materials from social thinking. If you can get a chance to look at a copy you may find lots of ideas you can already incorporate.

Oh and I completely agree about the therapists making it look easy. That is when you know you have a good therapist! I have learned so much from everyone who has worked with ds. Most importantly, I learned that while I can imitate and do my best to recreate what they do, it is also their relationship with ds that allows them to make those larger pushes for developmental growth. I can only make smaller nudges as his mom and safe place to fall.

[Lecka]

Good to know it might already be useful.  I might be able to see it from the resource room. 

 

I looked at the chapters, and some things do look like he would be ready for them.  Where -- when I have looked at Social Thinking I have really not thought he was ready.  But ---- it is different when it is parent ideas, and not materials to use with a child (to some extent it looks like they are set up differently that way). 

 

I realized a little while ago, I need to be more open to Aspergers materials or things that say "Aspergers."  I have a strong feeling that my son does not have Aspergers (b/c he doesn't have Aspergers, lol), but I am trying to re-think how that influences me in ways that are not helpful.  Like -- overlooking materials. 

 

 

[PeterPan]

Good to know it might already be useful.  I might be able to see it from the resource room. 

 

I looked at the chapters, and some things do look like he would be ready for them.  Where -- when I have looked at Social Thinking I have really not thought he was ready.  But ---- it is different when it is parent ideas, and not materials to use with a child (to some extent it looks like they are set up differently that way). 

 

I realized a little while ago, I need to be more open to Aspergers materials or things that say "Aspergers."  I have a strong feeling that my son does not have Aspergers (b/c he doesn't have Aspergers, lol), but I am trying to re-think how that influences me in ways that are not helpful.  Like -- overlooking materials. 

Given how brilliantly accurate and insightful the DSM is (not), and given how much things overlap, kids float between labels, etc., it's a good idea to read across labels.

[TechWife]

  So he doesn't need to color the Bible--he actually needs to DO the Bible.  

 

 

Have you looked at the Family Nights Tool Chest books? We went through one of them years ago when they first came out, so I don't have a great deal of experience, but I do remember that they had some concrete activities for the kids to do. One in particular I remember is re-enacting what it might have been like for Noah and his family to feed the animals on the ark, complete with a relay of some kind. I don't remember the rest, but I do remember that there were lots of activities. I just took a look at one of them using the "see inside" feature on amazon.com and it looks like it might be helpful to you. 

 

I just thought I'd throw this out there! 

[PeterPan]

Have you looked at the Family Nights Tool Chest books? We went through one of them years ago when they first came out, so I don't have a great deal of experience, but I do remember that they had some concrete activities for the kids to do. One in particular I remember is re-enacting what it might have been like for Noah and his family to feed the animals on the ark, complete with a relay of some kind. I don't remember the rest, but I do remember that there were lots of activities. I just took a look at one of them using the "see inside" feature on amazon.com and it looks like it might be helpful to you. 

 

I just thought I'd throw this out there! 

I've never heard of those.  I'll go look, thanks!!  :)

[TechWife]

 So tell me something brilliant for science.  You correlated some science to this?  Some great theories?  Lots of doing, no reading required of him, and appropriate to someone who really thinks?  

 

Right now he seems to enjoy things simply for what they are.  Well I say that, and then he was obviously doing some form of if/then with his Snap Circuits, because he was making his own little projects.  But there you're actually doing it.  It's not some abstract thing like measure and see where it fills to and divide in half and rearrange to make a map and...  Kwim?  Not the same.  This kid can't even tell you 2 and 3 makes 5, even when looking at his hands.  He just doesn't get it.  But he likes making things with Snap Circuits, likes watching cooking, likes weapons, and tests as very bright.  Sigh.  

 

 

The art study I haven't even had the heart to try on him, though I got the cards.  I want to get something really basic to try with him and have a book in mind that I haven't bought yet, my bad.  Anyways, that's all to say I keep thinking that if we (as in he and I) do like Jen is saying, just finding a book to spring off of what we're really into then read it and do things, we'll be golden.  

 

You know, maybe that's it??  Maybe his brain needs to organize all those words and that's why he's staying at that level?  He just doesn't seem ready to move on to experimental science with hypotheses and whatnot.  It's like he just needs to SUCK IN life.  All the parts of life and words of life.  I think the experimental side will come later.  Or I'm crazy, lol.  That's my gut though, that he's hoovering in life.

 

 

I have some ideas for you, maybe you've already looked at them, though. 

 

We used the Young Scientist kits for a couple of years. They were hands on. We skipped the writing part. He did need me to read directions to him, though. http://www.rainbowresource.com/searchspring.php?q=science+kit

 

The Backyard Scientist books were good, but I think they are out of print, maybe someone has one they can lend you? 

 

We did a lot of test tube kits from Steve Spanger, these Lab in a Bag activities look similar. 

 

The snap circuits make me think of We-Do Robotics from LEGO Education. They came out after "our time" but I always thought they looked good when I saw them at robotics exhibitions. The site says 7+, I know I've seen younger kids play with them, though. My experience with LEGO Education was great. I was connected with the sales rep for my state and she provided me with sample lesson plans for a kit I was thinking about. She also said that if I wanted a "classroom" curriculum, that she could break it down for me so that I only had to buy what I needed for our homeschool and not have to buy for an entire classroom. I did take her up on this once and it worked wonderfully. Keep in mind that LEGO education is a separate company from LEGO and they have items & curricula that aren't available through LEGO. 

 

Magic School House has science kits now, although I've never used one so I don't know how good they are. 

 

Have you ever done a "root view" garden with carrots? What about a butterfly house?  Those were both hits here. You can get them through Rainbow Resources and probably amazon.com as well. 

 

Some other kits we did: 

volcano kit

archaeology dig 

human skeleton (doll size)

 

Hope some of these ideas help! 

 

ETA: I just read where you thought he maybe wasn't ready for experimental science. Oops. In that case, I highly recommend Usborne and DK books on various science related topics. You could probably relate some of them to his interest in snap circuits - I know DK has (had?) one on electricity. They are super visual and totally packed with information. You would have to read them to him, but they are books he can look at on his own and enjoy the pictures. 

 

ETA again: Take a look at the "One Small Square" books - they are about observing all that goes on in "one small square" of a backyard, beach, pond, woods, etc..

[PeterPan]

I have some ideas for you, maybe you've already looked at them, though. 

 

We used the Young Scientist kits for a couple of years. They were hands on. We skipped the writing part. He did need me to read directions to him, though. http://www.rainbowresource.com/searchspring.php?q=science+kit

 

The Backyard Scientist books were good, but I think they are out of print, maybe someone has one they can lend you? 

 

We did a lot of test tube kits from Steve Spanger, these Lab in a Bag activities look similar. 

 

The snap circuits make me think of We-Do Robotics from LEGO Education. They came out after "our time" but I always thought they looked good when I saw them at robotics exhibitions. The site says 7+, I know I've seen younger kids play with them, though. My experience with LEGO Education was great. I was connected with the sales rep for my state and she provided me with sample lesson plans for a kit I was thinking about. She also said that if I wanted a "classroom" curriculum, that she could break it down for me so that I only had to buy what I needed for our homeschool and not have to buy for an entire classroom. I did take her up on this once and it worked wonderfully. Keep in mind that LEGO education is a separate company from LEGO and they have items & curricula that aren't available through LEGO. 

 

Magic School House has science kits now, although I've never used one so I don't know how good they are. 

 

Have you ever done a "root view" garden with carrots? What about a butterfly house?  Those were both hits here. You can get them through Rainbow Resources and probably amazon.com as well. 

 

Some other kits we did: 

volcano kit

archaeology dig 

human skeleton (doll size)

 

Hope some of these ideas help! 

 

ETA: I just read where you thought he maybe wasn't ready for experimental science. Oops. In that case, I highly recommend Usborne and DK books on various science related topics. You could probably relate some of them to his interest in snap circuits - I know DK has (had?) one on electricity. They are super visual and totally packed with information. You would have to read them to him, but they are books he can look at on his own and enjoy the pictures. 

 

ETA again: Take a look at the "One Small Square" books - they are about observing all that goes on in "one small square" of a backyard, beach, pond, woods, etc..

These are all awesome ideas, thanks!!!  :D

[Tanikit]

At 5 I did www.abcjesuslovesme.com 5 year old curriculum for the Bible section only - it has crafts and pictures that are easily printable and a once a week story - they are not so much doing Bible stories at this age as more Biblical concepts which was good for my DD as she had already had a few years with only the stories and needed a little more. Also it is free.

 

She was also attending Sunday school and doing daily devotions too, but the crafts she enjoyed.

[PeterPan]

Hi ladies, I was digging through a box and found this that I got to use with ds at some point and had forgotten.  I thought it might interest someone reading this thread in the future...

 

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