Learning w/ the Littles~

Andrew style

I discovered something about Andrew.

He thrives on the 3 R's concept.

I base Reading & wRiting on this simple format.

We study a page,
one page,
for an whole entire week.

Mon: use words/letter sounds to create flashcards. I read the entire page to him.
Tues: I re-read the story. He sounds out the flashcards. He wRites the words on no-lined paper.
Wed: He reads flashcards, then sounds out the story (w/ guidance); he then uses the flashcards to create (imitate) sentences.
Thurs: review flashcards, reads story, writes out one sentence. (I emphasize the need for a capital beginning and an end mark).
Fri: reads flashcards and story, has an oral spelling test for the words, and writes one sentence from dictation.

We do also work on word families in free time at his will:
this week is the ~at family.
And I just introduced word ladders to him, and because he knows sounds so well (since age 2) this has been very successful!

aRithmetic studies is currently addition facts. These particular flashcards we use have been excellent for visual comprehension! I have subtraction facts lined up and ready to use next!
And since I am sharing links from this wonderful lady, I mine as well add the plug that we use (& I love) her Letter-of-the-Week preschool program. no.strings.attached.just.appreciate.her.work.to.make.my.life.so.much.easier. =)

~Here
is
Andrew's
check list~


Read,

wRite,

aRithmetic,

& story time.

I find it best to do storytime in the evening, then in the morning he can narrate back to me. This seems to help him with retention/comprehension.

What I discovered about Andrew is that *fluffy* curriculum overwhelms him. I have homeschooled for 9 years, and have ran daycares/preschool programs much longer than that. I love the fluff! The songs, crafts, fingerplays, etc... I love the eager eyes of a young child having fun learning & playing all at once!

But our Andrew is special. He already has an overactive imagination, so additional imaginative stimulation only agitates him. The more he thinks it is suppose to be fun, or my delight in his learning is expressed, he quits. period.

Most kids thrive off of positive reinforcement; Andrew will do school work because that is what is done at our house.

He sees our other kids "do" school, they have a list to check off, it gets done; so he does his. I don't clap & "woot woot" at my senior student who finishes a difficult economics book, or do the happy dance when Katie gets 100% on a math test, so Andrew (being who he is & how he functions) does not want that fluff either.

The other kindergarten victory for Andrew is his ability to hold his pencil correctly...finally! Let the writing begin...

Andrew is 6
Why yes, there is only 2 candles on the cake, but Andrew just thought he was sharing a turn with his little brother. Hey, give us a break, it was all we had in the drawer, and Andrew was not about to wait for us to run to the store...so... simple is as simple does =)

Grandma made the cake; she is practicing her new cake decorating skills! All the kids cheered her on~ more decoration = more frosting.

And just in case we don't seem simple enough, check out our home-made wrapping paper. Each sibling gets to decorate their own paper! (psst, I bought a humongous roll of this stuff for $1 at a garage sale years ago).

Birthday gifts seems to have a pattern with each child-


Something practical- snow boots & tennis shoes
Something educational- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book
Something family bonding- Hungry Hungry Hippos
(yes, even the older boys play this too)
Something personality related- new action figures.
A handful of miniature ones. Andrew loves his "peoples", always has. You know, the Fisher Price kind. Andrew is now 6, and I figure it is time to introduce "bigger boy" toys to him. I am not at all thrilled with current action figures for the most part; seems to me that cartoons are more meant for adults nowadays. So, when I pick out a handful of Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Batman, Superman...this is with the intent of letting him see the old classic cartoons.

Andrew is proud to be 6!
His (our) 6 yr old goals are:
1) Keep our (his) clothes on~
I swear the child thinks Mogli (from Jungle Book) is his brother.
2) Be willing to communicate clearly by using his words thoughtfully.
3) Learn to read
4) To be an official participant of our chore list (yay me!)

The "little" years go by so fast,
and off he goes to his "middle" years...
Can I still say Learning w/ the Littles if now he is a middle? hmmm.....

The world
would label
our Andrew
as special needs...

I tag him as special
...period.

The disability in question...

Asperger's Syndrome.

At this point we do not have the desire to send him through specialist to have him officially labeled.

Andrew has always drummed to his own beat. The things that were cutesy as an infant & tot, now are the very things that define his different-ness.

As a baby, he loved fans...but 'tremor' at his own excitement. Grandpa pointed it out to us; we thought it was cute.
As a little boy, he regularly faces tics when overly stimulated. Crowds, loud noises, the 'unknown' of circumstances, fun excitement are a few of the triggers.

As a baby, he loved car rides ONLY if no one bothered him. No talking or singing or playing with him as we did for all the other children (who hated car rides). It was common to say "Don't look at him!" as he would be content to just sit and stare at his passing surroundings.
As a little boy, he does interact some while in the car, but for longer trips is truly content to just "be".

As a tot, he loved to act out scenarios from mini cartoon clips. He couldn't talk well, but he made all the sound effects for it... it was adorable.
As a little boy, he lives in the world of ONOMATOPOEIA, that is, he sounds out many things while he plays. The action is in his head, the sounds come out his mouth. Just picture an old Batman cartoon- BAM, OOF, POW is what you hear as he acts out the scenario, only we don't always know what movie, show, or book he is acting out.

As a tot, he loved shapes, numbers, and letters. He learned them very well by sight and sound at an early age.
As a little boy, he wasn't potty-trained til almost 4, finally figured out his colors by 5, and struggles with his writing skills.


He is about 2 years behind socially, yet in some of his academic interest he is ahead
He has minimal eye contact, but will talk your ear off. =)

I have read, research, reviewed, & revised many resources on Asperger's Syndrome.
We are equiped to guide, mentor, and nurture him as needed.
I am not naive to the challenges he will face as he gets older.

~We know Andrew is special,
and lucky for him,
he has many brothers that will be his keeper.
And a sister who holds a certain level of empathy towards him also.

~Love one another with brotherly affection, giving precedence and showing honor to one another. Romans 12:10

***pictured: a sweet lil gal and Andrew playing at the park. She was kind and gentle, and they played wonderful together. Kinda reminds me of Jenny in Forrest Gump ;^)

A day in the life of ANDREW...

I decided to casually observe my 4 yr old for a day. Andrew can be laid back and simplistic for the most part, easily entertained. He is known for marching to his own beat. A bit aloof in practical things, yet amazingly creative in his own world.

Practical:

Colors... he can not seem to learn them as of yet. Two of his older brothers are mildly color blind (blue/green contrast, pastels), but I am beginning to wonder if Andrews colors all just kind of muddle together?

Traffic safety... uh, yeah, parking lots can be stressful. "Stop, look, & listen" does not seem to be grasped so well by this 4 yr old. Variety of cars and different 'paths' (between cars) seem to fascinate him more.

Dressed to shoes?... He does not favor pants much. never wears them at home. He can walk in the front door and flick them off in 1/2 a second flat. We are into reasonable modesty as a standard in our home; so now that he is 4 we are working on staying clothed, especially when company shows up. Ofcourse, he would NOT be caught without his baseball cap on! (note picture: removed hat to make him look at it as to stand still for the photo)

His own world:

Will take colorful pipe cleaners and bend in shapes of letters of the alphabet...content for an hour.

Uses his sisters life-size rag dolls for ninja warriors... stairs are his favorite place to battle.

Sporks (those picnic spoon/fork things) are a favorite... he will march them around as soldiers. (Nick added a variety of faces to some for Andrew's Christmas gift...endless entertainment)

Lincoln Logs... is getting good at building houses, but by far loves to "line up" all the short stubby pieces along any table or desk.

Movies... can and will re-enact any of his favorite movies...word for word. Will also re-enact a daily scenario in our home with Little Peoples, Leggo people, even straws used as people, etc... Thankfully, it is usually "good morning honey", "let's get dressed Little Bug", "are you ok sweetheart?"...(hmmm, never knew I used so many pet names, lol)...which is better than mimicking "shut up Asia" as when our dog barks too much!

Monsters?...loves to hang out in the dark, looking for monsters; aren't kids usually afraid of the dark AND monsters? ;^)

Our Andrew is of constant chatter, yet is just now being more articulate w/ his words. I just figure he has a lot of information in his head that doesn't always come out of his mouth so clearly.

He will be super fun to homeschool once I figure out how to channel his creativity in more of a structured setting...all the while knowing that we will be playing outside the box.

This is Andrew helping me cook our breakfast style dinner. Let's just say we went through a lot of bread that day. ;^)

Andrew saying GRACE with us.

Father and son moments...

Our Nick is cleaning our bathroom sink pipes out w/ the guidance of a professional pipefitter. One more thing checked off our Home Maintenance 101 class. ;^D

Ghost Hunter?

Andrew loves the dark! One of his favorite things to do is turn off light switches at inconvenient times. Last night was one of those times; I was upstairs, in my room, getting Bryson ready for bed...

The doors shut, lights go off, the pitter-patter of one small set of feet shifts across the room. One single tiny dim flashlight clicks on as the face before me glows, "sshhh, dere's a monster". Then the light fades to under the bed, with a whispered "monster??". Next is the closet search, a faint "sshhh" is heard amongst the dark air. Light tip-toes are heard as he inspects around the crib area, the walk-in closet, and the dreaded dark bathroom! Up pops his glowing face again, "mom!" he whispers, "where's da monster?" With as much seriousness that I could muster, "I don't know Andrew, how bout you check behind that door?" With anticipations he replies, "tay", and bravely heads for the main door with a final "shhh, dere's a mons..." ~~~"AAHHH! IT'S A DHOST!" and bolts to hide under my covers! What does he discover, but only a brother! Go figure!