Sunday, September 28, 2014

Uh oh (again)...

Picked up Mark from school on Thursday so we could head to Libery Lake, WA for pre-operation appointment.  First word he said was "McDonalds."  So, I said, "Yes, we can go to McDonalds when we get to Coeur d'Alene".  Then, he proceeded to say, "Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh..."  So, I guess he knows that the only reason we go to Coeur d'Alene is to see the doctor....later he started saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."  I tried to explain that he had done nothing wrong but sometimes, we have to do things even though we don't want to...filled some cavities and put on some sealants...


Since we had to go up the day before for a pre-operation appointment, we had some extra time, we went to an indoor water park...we were the only ones there!  Lots of fun...rode the tube slides until I was getting dizzy...




We got up at 5:30AM on Friday morning so we could get to the hospital to check in and my car would not start!  Dead battery...we were staying with a friend because it is a 2 hour trip to drive from our home.  Well, she has a newer car and her battery is locked under a cover...so, she gave us a trip to the hospital and was able come pick us up on her lunch hour....a big THANK YOU to her!  Got my car jumped and made it home but it was quite a long and stressful day.  The dentist recommended a special toothbrush call the Surround Toothbrush so I promptly ordered some for both Mark and Joshua.

Okay, back to typing...thinking I will start to keep Mark home until 8:30 and do typing with him...need to discuss this with his teacher but I also have 2 trips planned for October so I keep thinking that maybe it would be easier to start that after these trips...

We hadn't worked for a while but Mark did great!  My camera shut off a little early...probably it is full...keep trying to erase things on my phone so I have more room for videos...

Words Mark knows:
a
an
are
be
big
blue
came
can
dad
do
go
I
Idaho
if
in
is
live
me
mom
my
name
old
orange
red
sad
she
the
today
up
we




Sunday, September 21, 2014

Working consistently is important...got a complete sentence answer today!

The last 2 days, it has been difficult to engage Mark with the typing.  He kept getting stuck on asking for gummy bears today...what should have taken 20 minutes took twice as long.  I am seriously thinking more about keeping him home to work each morning before he goes to school.  I need to look at his schedule and see what class he has first thing in the morning...

On a positive note, I asked Mark, "How old are you?" and he answered with a complete sentence, "I am 13 years old!"  This is the first time he has responded back with a full sentence and not the usual one word answer. 

I am using more flashcards to help Mark with understanding categories...



Words Mark knows:
a
an
big
blue
came
can
dad
do
go
I
Idaho
if
is
live
me
mom
my
name
old
orange
red
sad
she

today

Assistive Technology Assessment

This past week, Mark was assessed by the Idaho Assistive Technology Project.  They came into the school to perform the assessment.  I am very excited to get the results.

We haven't had much time to practice...I am thinking about maybe keeping Mark home from school for 45 minutes to practice each day before he goes to school.  Hmmmm......


Monday, September 15, 2014

Idaho, Idaho, Idaho

It cracks me up that Mark loves to type the word "Idaho"...he will type it over and over again if you let him...I guess he loves Idaho!


The picture for this video is not coming up...I don't know if it is working...so I have included the direct link that you can watch on YouTube by clicking HERE.


Sunday, September 14, 2014

Happy Birthday

Well, it's Denise's birthday!  Mark and I worked on typing and especially on "categories".  I tried to show him pictures and work on "animals"...Mark did not seem to focused on this task.  I think he just does not understand what I want him to do...so, this is going to take a bit of work to teach him these categories....if anyone wants to send flashcards...let me know...we especially like the Baby Einstein ones :)






Words Mark knows:
a
an
big
can
dad
do
go
I
Idaho
if
is
live
mom
my
name
old
sad
she

today

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Ending Week 5 of Typing and end of first week of school

This past week was the first week of school.  So, we are still trying to figure out how to manage this with school all day and then typing practice at home.  I was able to work with Mark one evening this week and we will be typing on Saturday and Sundays...I am hoping to do some more in the evenings. This week we have been trying to find our new groove and settle in to our new schedule.

I changed the position of the camera so that you could see what Mark was typing today...he definitely knows the word "Idaho" and I added it to our list of words Mark knows:

a
an
can
dad
do
go
I
Idaho
if
is
live
mom
my
name
old
sad

she

I am trying to concentrate our "conversation" time at the end of our time to working on categories.  I am trying to ask Mark questions and have him give me an example and he cannot do this...so I figure it would be easiest to start with simple categories and we will be focusing on this...


Thursday, September 11, 2014

Finding time to practice

School started on Monday (today is Wednesday).  Mark was very happy about school starting.  I think he was a little bored of hanging around the house with mom and Joshua...


 So, I knew it would be challenging to get our practice in each day.  We worked this evening and Mark did great.  It is probably going to be more difficult for me because I am definitely a morning person and just get tired in the evening...Mark is definitely a typical teenager and seems to like staying up late at night...much to my disapproval...




Sunday, September 7, 2014

Back to school...

Well, school starts tomorrow (Monday, September 8) for Mark.  It had been delayed and it was great to have an extra 2 weeks to work on our typing.  Since we did not do typing on Friday, we did some this morning since we had an easy day.  I still have not decided what to do about our typing practice now that school is happening.  I am thinking we can do some in the evenings...and maybe more on the weekends...


Friday, September 5, 2014

At the river today!

We took some time to play at the river...probably the last time before school starts on Monday!






Thursday, September 4, 2014

Dolch sight words

So, I am not so happy with the fry list of sight words because I am just now realizing how abstract they are...so I looked at a Dolch list of sight words for Kindergarten and I like them...think I am going to borrow from each list....

Words Mark knows:
a
an
can
dad
do
I
if
is
live
mom
my
name
old

she


Wednesday, September 3, 2014

"Oh my goodness"

Ever since Mark was small...he has always practiced saying certain words...this was a great mystery to me before we had an official diagnosis.  He would pick up a word and use it all day, then, I would never hear him say it again.  I remember one week he was sitting in the stroller and we were walking through the park and he was pointing at every tree and saying "tree, tree, tree".  Then, the next week he would point at every dog and say, "dog, dog, dog".  However, I never heard him say tree again...or dog...

I also remember one day, sitting on the deck and he pointed to a red petunia and said "flower" just as clear as can be...never heard that word again either..

Lately, it seems that Mark has been "practicing" his speech again...repeatedly saying "beautiful" one night and "pineapple" the next day.  On the way back from the Falls, he kept saying, "Oh my goodness"...I'm pretty sure he picked up that from me...




Words Mark knows:
a
an
can
dad
do
I
if
is
mom
my
name
old
she

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Gummy bears, gummy bears, gummy bears!!!

Well, Mark is getting too obsessed with the gummy bears!  He is constantly asking for them and so I am thinking that I will have to change to a less desirable "reward"...he was really distracted today but we got the work done...

I am starting to post a list of words that I know that Mark definitely knows how to spell from memory:
a
an
can
dad
do
I
is
mom
my
name
old
she
Still having trouble with some comprehension i.e. I asked him to spell the word "which" and he spelled "with"

I found a new game that I just love!  It is called Concepts and I can see how this will be a great game for Mark to listen and push on the correct answer.


Monday, September 1, 2014

Laboring on Labor Day

Hello!  Mark and I did a little typing this morning...although it is a holiday, since we did not get a chance to work last Friday, I thought it would be good.  He did great on his spelling words and I have been giving him less to copy and making him think of how to type the words.  He was not too focused today...had to get him in the right state of mind but once he gets working, he does great!

After our "work", our family went to Elk Creek Falls and had a picnic and played in the waterfall.  Then, came home and had ribs on the grill...great end to summer!  Now, patiently awaiting the start of the school year....


These are the star garnets we found on Friday...will take them to the Gem Store tomorrow to see if we have any star garnets (which can only be found in Idaho and India).

Some pics from Elk Creek Falls...there are actually 3 falls...Upper (20 feet high), Middle (70 feet high) and Lower (50 feet high).  We just go to the Upper Falls because this is the only place where you can actually get into the water and play at the base of the falls.