Friday, July 31, 2009

OT and Literacy

Today Pup's OT was a substitute as his regular OT is on vacation. I really liked her and so did Pup. I swear I'm going to throw a party the day this almost 15 month old can clap and bang things together midline. This skill he is still not getting. He's babbling a lot, cruising.....just can't bang anything together or put things in a container. He can take out, but not put in. I mean it. We will celebrate this skill as soon as I see it. In my efforts to make everything he owns have some sort of therapeutic value (haha) our "pop toobs" arrived today! These fun little ditties are used by his speech therapist and only cost about a dollar online. I ordered them from some office supply place as apparently they're good desk toys for stress relief. They make all sorts of noises and can be pulled, pushed in, bent.....I bought 4.



The Slinky Pop Toob!

And in my Mommy/Teacher efforts to create literate and language loving kids....I found one of my favorite Marilyn Burns books at the grocery store for just a few bucks in a bargain bin! She is a big math guru. Although it was a little over his head, The Greedy Triangle was a big hit with Al. Now that I think about it....I could blog about kids lit. as I am quite knowledgable....


Harry is still watching those My Baby Can Read dvds....although I am not by any means expecting them to teach his little brain to read, the vocabulary and language are rich. They are real life images, interactive, and he just loves them. They show a word, say it many times, and then show the image. It's LOTS of labeling and AJ is starting to recognize many of the words. I had forgotten about these DVDs for a while but brought them back out after a late night of informercial watching. They were a little pricey, but I think well worth it. Here's pup watching the DVD. I believe they're much better than Baby Einstein simply because they are interactive. Not that my kids sit in front of the tv all day. The kids have to participate by repeating words, moving their bodies.....this is more for AJ. Pup just likes looking at the images and the songs that are song. He loves music.




I'm struggling a little with my oldest son as he's in a phase where he's not interested in anything "good" for him. He takes piano....doesn't want to practice. He's not interested in our "learning time" anymore where we make letters with playdoh, etc. He did allow me to read him thebook which I felt I needed to be grateful for. I'm hoping he's not going to be "that" kid who won't do his homework. I'm a teacher and that has always been my biggest fear- that my child would be the child that didn't enjoy school. Maybe I'm projecting too far into the future. After all, he is only 4. I do find, however, that he can be bribed....with crackers. Today, for everything he practiced on the piano he was rewarded with Goldfish. I'll try anything once.

On another note....Husband took AJ for another bike ride tonight. Both came home upset. Apparently, Daddy makes him go "too fast...." He claims he will never be riding it again. Of course shortly after he asked to go tomorrow, but I had to assure him that he could go as slow as he wanted.

2 comments:

Vicki Davis said...

Our OT uses those tubes to try and get Holly to pull them open. I am glad you are enjoying the Hanen program, do the kids attend with you, or is it a parent's class. Does Pup have a seperate SLP? We love ours, i had to appeal to get her but it has been amazing and Holly has had a language explosion... no spoken words yet, but about 10 signs, and now that she knows how to communicate it is amazing! We watch the "My First Signs" from baby Einstien, and I swear she is learning them. It is hard though that her now 13-14 month little friends are starting to say there first words....

Jo said...

I totally understand. He does have a SLP who comes once a week. The class is just for parents. Did your regional center offer it? I just got a letter about having to access our private insurance for services due to the budget crisis. I'm really worried about all of it. I think Pup (AKA Harrison) is trying to say milk and more, but it could just be wishful thinking! When did Holly start walking? We are almost 15 months here and he has just really started cruising on his own.