Best Intentions

Our read aloud, prayer cards, Nolan's rosary and Advent candle (getting low).

I had the best intentions of blogging more this Advent season. Time has a way of getting the best of us. Our lives have been full and busy. Here we are a week before Christmas. I decided to give the boys a few extra days off school this year. I've never done that before but we are just shy of 90 days of school (which is half way finished) so I think we have plenty of wiggle room to take a well deserved break. To be honest, I think I'm more excited about the extra time than are the boys!

More on the mantle. The boys like to rearrange the nativity each day. Sometimes it gets pretty wild.

I wanted to share a little of what we've been doing. This year I changed our Advent tradition just a little bit. For many years now, I've had Advent boxes for the boys to open. Each box contains one piece of their nativity. There's plenty of days that also include a little candy. We also usually read The Jesse Tree each day and for many years put up the homemade ornaments the boys created many years ago.

Here is Mary peeking in her basket at a little kitty. Can't you just imagine her really doing this 2000 years ago?

This year I made advent houses that adorn our mantle. I'm really pleased with how much better they look than the boxes did. They don't hide the contents quite as well, though. The boys don't seem to mind. This year I also bought the boys each an advent candle. This is our second year doing this and it is a BIG hit. You know how boys love fire. I changed up our reading this year a little. If the day included a saint's feast, I read the boys a story about that particular saint. If the day did not, I read a story from our St. Nicholas book. Starting on the 16th, I began reading One Wintery Night. I've had this book since the boys were toddlers but sort of forgot about it. It is a longer picture book with beautiful illustrations and tells the story of Christmas from Creation to the Cross.

More of the mantle. St. Nicholas made by Nathan so many years ago and his candle. The snowmen were gifts from my nieces and sister-in law over the years.

I feel fortunate that my boys still love a simple story read to them. They love all of these little traditions that we include in our day. I didn't grow up with the Liturgical Year and as a family we didn't really have many traditions. Perhaps that is why I love them so much now. I would love to hear about your traditions. Leave me a comment or send me a link. And have a wonderful Saturday.

Language Arts Puzzle

Here's post number two about curricula I'm excited about using this year. This particular curriculum is a hodge podge of language arts that I've created just for Nathan. Like I said in my chemistry post, curriculum is exciting because I can choose to use whatever they need. In the case of Nathan, he is in need of extensive language work.Here's what I've finally come up with:

• Speech/Language therapy 45 minutes per week. You have no idea how hard it is to find a good therapist that takes your insurance. The school denied our request for speech therapy. They never deny our tax money, do they? We love Miss Patty and I'm thrilled to be working with her. I mean, I'm thrilled Nathan will be working with her.
• Social Skills group 1/x per month. This is run by Miss Patty and an OT. They ran a group over the summer that Nathan participated in and will continue with a few of the boys over the school year. 
• Mobile Therapy, 2 hours/week. To work on social skills and anxiety. We're still waiting on the therapist. You have no idea how long it takes to get things up and running. Lets pray for a good MT.
• Reading Fish comprehension program. This program will be used intensively for the first two months of school. It focuses on visual imagery and cognitive skills training. I bought the ebook for $19. 
• Earobics for Adolescents. Earobics is a program I looked into when Nathan was very young. It is a reading program for kids with auditory processing difficulties. Nathan learned to read very easily and so I didn't think this program would benefit him. Now I am wondering if he doesn't have some auditory processing issues. I was able to find the program on ebay for very cheap and plan to use it as a fun school activity. Nathan loves using the computer and needs to have some part of school that isn't stressful.
• Vocabulary Cartoons. This book is amazing. I feel like I've been looking for it Nathan's whole academic career. Nathan is a visual learner. Teaching him vocabulary with only words is like teaching ESL by speaking louder. This book uses rhyming and visual mnemonics to teach vocabulary. Example: Abduct. Sounds like duck. The page includes the definition and sentences but also a cartoon of robbers at a lake sneaking off with ducks under their arms. I used the book with Nathan for a week to test the waters. He was able to memorize five words, tell me the definitions and use the words in a sentence after only three days of five minutes a day. This is amazing for him. The book also includes a review test after every ten words.
• What Did You Say? What Do You Mean? This book was written to help kids with Asperger's understand idioms. It also involves pictures (many of them silly). I bought this book last year and never used it. Since Miss Patty was working on idioms with Nathan I figured I'd do so as well.
• Teaching Writing Structure and Style. I used this last year and Nathan was very successful with it. It is very structured and involves teaching writing not by making the kids come up with their own stories but by outlining something already written and rewriting the story. I'll focus on research writing with him later in the year and simple informational writing at the beginning. Writing will be used mostly in conjunction with history and science. 
• Math class and orchestra. What???? Yes, I consider these part of Nathan's language arts curriculum. I signed him up for Algebra 1 with a local co-op. Math is one of his best subjects and I think he needs to be challenged with a class outside our house. He needs to be with kids his own age. Orchestra I consider to be good for his brain. He really takes in the music and again, will have social opportunities with kids who are genuinely nice to him. Kids who have gone out of their way to greet him and talk to him. 

Well, this turned into a long post, didn't it? Most of you won't use this curriculum for your kids. Maybe you will find something that works. I can't tell you how many hours I spend looking for just the right thing. Hopefully this post will save some of you time and effort. I'll keep you posted on Nathan's progress throughout the school year. I'm most interested to see how the Reading Fish program works for him.