A Learning Experience to Remember: August 2021-August 2022

There is a moment of realisation for every adult once they leave the childhood nest.....  You now have to decide what to eat for dinner the rest of your life. I must admit that responsibility freaked me out when we were newly married, and we'd be wondering round the reduced sections of all our local shops feeling lost some nights, wandering what to cook. Then we used to have some fun with it, setting ourselves challenges with a budget limit, or with a specific task.  I will also admit that the naughty thrill of being 'allowed' to have pizza for breakfast or just dessert for dinner has never left me.  Now we have children and we are responsible adults, we have to have a clearer goal what to feed them.  I'm only just realising what it's like once they reach the stage when they are never full. What's with that? I don't remember going through that stage.  They are shooting up like sunflowers, their feet are sprouting out and I can't keep up.  I really recomm...

  * Raising awareness and acceptance for neuro diversity.  Kira spins. She started consistently within a week or two of walking. I noticed from the age of two that her ability to retain knowledge is connected to her spinning and rocking stims. She would spin ridiculously fast (never getting dizzy), learning languages, the alphabet and the solar system. I once out of curiosity stopped her mid spin when she was learning, and she shut down immediately, the learning connection was lost. Just as we gave her managing techniques in regards to the rocking, we also have helped her with techniques which allow her to fulfil her innate need for the spinning sensation. She has an exercise ball which helps with both sensations of rocking and spinning, depending on how she uses it. She can also sit at a desk and bounce up and down gently whilst working.  She is encouraged to spin when she is learning. She still travels at insane speed without getting dizzy. She can be holding her ipad p...

If parents could have a superpower I'd choose to have the power of hindsight.  At the same time we were figuring out the sensory issues with Sophia, Kira was also exhibiting her own individual issues, which were completely different and some are lesser known autistic traits.  The cdc assessors who came over to us for Sophia, in fact informed us that both girls were clearly on the spectrum. We had dropped a juggling ball and not realised. We were automatically helping Kira with coping mechanisms and were so focused on keeping her safe, we didn't think of any over riding condition.  Kira has had two stims, rocking and spinning which started shortly after she could sit up. I thought it was so cute she'd rock back and forth.... This post will raise awareness in the common rocking stim.  Soon after Kira started to rock back and forth, she would deliberately choose to sit by a fridge or a wall and head bang as she rocked back and forth. I started moving her away from the w...

If you've been following my posts lately you have seen me reflect upon the very common sensory issues Sophia has to cope with as part of her autism condition, and how these can impact childhood.  We visited the beach for the first time since she was one years old (she slept through the visit then and was none the wiser). If we had visited when she was 3-5yrs of age the trip would have been a completely negative experience. All of her anxieties would have been triggered.  They all had a fantastic time, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. There were no meltdowns. No crying. They could be themselves, and practice the coping strategies we teach them within the home and follow through with them in a brand new environment, full of textures, noises, smells and sights previously unexperienced except through YouTube. I am so beaming with pride right now. Throughout the entire day, the only time Sophia was stressed was when we were eating after beach time, as she was fixating on ...

We have recently discovered that home educators can gain access to a subscription to Minecraft education if you have a Microsoft tennant. This is an absolute game changer!  I have spent a couple of hours exploring the game and it is truly amazing. I have mapped out a few introductory subjects to explore with them for the remaining four months of this school year.  The idea is to teach them the game mechanics using the 'Alphabet World', and *Challenge My Emotions World', so they're comfortable with playing Minecraft on the computer. Two further worlds will include 'Alternative Energy', which will review this topic nicely with them for the end of term, and then 'Bone Loss In Space' will be a fascinating subject for them to have a play in.  The next school year runs all year round August 22-23, with no official school holidays and I have mapped out some subjects which will hopefully spark some interest so I can integrate them into the curriculum. The girls ...

This is my reflection on how sensory issues can affect early childhood.   Sophia has hated being dirty all her life, from a baby she'd scream particularly loudly and vehemently with each dirty nappy. If any food landed on her hands or clothes during the weaning stage she would get incredibly upset to the point the meal would be finished for her.  As she was my eldest and I didn't have a comparison I was initially unsure how much this was to be expected with any child. I thought as a general rule that children loved to be messy, so I believed that once she was old enough for arts and crafts she would be as happy as Larry.  I couldn't have been more wrong. I only tried clay and paint handprints once with her and  she was so upset we have not tried again. It's not a necessary part of life. However it became apparent she was terrified of just water (baths had always been problematic), but even playing in water was a massive issue for her. She refused paint, felt tip...

Sophia's intense focus on science in January, shifted into English over February and March, so her maths and science have taken a backseat over the past couple of months. She still enjoys other subjects and progresses in them, it's just at a slower pace than the subject of intensity. She has had this learning pattern from being a baby and it seems to work for her, the focal subjects shift organically at her pace.  She spends half an hour a day working on her gymnastics, which are continually improving. It is a great way to expel her excess energy, she works hard to perfect the moves and is constantly pushing herself to try new moves. She naturally trains her muscles, focusing on arm, core and leg strength during the course of the day in her general choice of exercise. She is learning to listen to her body and rest if she can feel a twinge. She is also beginning to school Xander in the subject too as he is showing a strong interest.  She's learning Minecraft game mechanics a...

 Here are some reflections from February and March, seriously how quickly is this year marching on?  Sophia unboxed a random science experiment and set up a crystal tree, from reading the instructions and deciphering the pictures by herself. This confusing plain piece of cardboard placed in water, absorbs so much water! I realised it didn't produce any new crystals yesterday and was shocked the water had disappeared, so it's had another watering and we shall see what happens long term.  Sophia's reading skills are powering on, she surprises me on a daily basis. She is slowly moving from reading methodically, with a stop, start rhythm and she is beginning to flow more naturally, reading with inflection and considering the punctuation. If she doesn't understand what she's just read, she'll read it to herself and then out loud again before moving on. This proves she is comprehending what she's reading and not just memorising words, she wants it to make sense to...

Our home educating experience has plenty of magical moments, where life seems perfect. The image you see just reaffirms your life choice and it's everything you want it to be. We had such a moment yesterday, all three children were in the school room busily working on top secret projects whereby if I was called in to help with sharpening a pencil I was greeted with 'Don't come in! Ok come in but don't look anywhere'.  In between assisting, I was sat writing content whilst watching Leighton play Minecraft. We could hear very loud stage whispers from the next room, 'It's their marriage day soon'. We exchanged an amused and loving expression, bless them, they were making wedding anniversary cards. It was a blissful moment. It did not last however. Fast forward to a few hours later. To say the children were ratty with each other was an understatement.  They wished however to play with the same bag of toys in the same room naturally, rather than dividing up t...

I've learnt over the last two years to know my audience, and to adapt the teaching methods accordingly to each child, who will respond to the information with their individual autistic mindset.  Kira is logical, rational and calm for the most part, so in regards to unexpected life lessons she would learn about the theory in a lesson easily, absorbing the knowledge in a factual manner. It wouldn't personally upset her.  Sophia is a worrier, with high levels of anxiety, and has a vivid imagination. She tends to panic when something out of the ordinary occurs. This response is the flip of the coin in terms of an autistic response.  She would not benefit from having lessons in advance of life emergencies, as she would simply worry that all these scenarios would happen at any moment. Consequently she usually works alongside us when these eventualities occur in our daily lives.  She's witnessed a boiler breaking down in winter, and losing electricity - all normal, temporar...