We had an unforgettable summer, in both good ways and bad.
Maddie just turned 7, which seems so surreal.
She picked out water balloons at the Dollar Tree and wanted to throw them on her birthday.
She would get really frustrated when they wouldn't bust!
Her Daddy taught her to throw them high...
Success!
She picked out water balloons at the Dollar Tree and wanted to throw them on her birthday.
We are still working on potty training but definitely making some progress and heading in the right direction.
She's still not sleeping through the night, and it seems like we may have to look into another sleep study to to check on her sleep apnea.
Her expressive speech has improved drastically.
The other day we were in JCPenny's looking at purses and she said, "ooh, look Mom, cool, huh?"
It seems insignificant, but this was the first time I remember her stating an original thought on her own that wasn't just repeating back something said to her, or asking for something she wanted.
We have been very focused on homeschool lately.
Throughout the summer months, we tried to do homeschool, but we could never really find a rhythm. It was very hit and miss, and Maddie was not exactly cooperative.
I had invested in a set of curriculum that targeted neurodevelopment, thinking it would be the perfect fit.
As it turns out, it wasn't.
As it turns out, it wasn't.
In August, I decided to shake things up and focused on reading and having fun.
Armed with just a picture book, Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?, we began a whole new homeschooling adventure!
Together we made our own Jesse Bear.
(before you think, oh i could never do that, believe me...if I can do it, so can you.
I made lots of mistakes in the making of Jesse Bear, and he looks more like the Hunchback from Notre Dame than he does a sweet, cuddly bear, but Maddie doesn't care! She loves him!)
Armed with just a picture book, Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?, we began a whole new homeschooling adventure!
Together we made our own Jesse Bear.
(before you think, oh i could never do that, believe me...if I can do it, so can you.
I made lots of mistakes in the making of Jesse Bear, and he looks more like the Hunchback from Notre Dame than he does a sweet, cuddly bear, but Maddie doesn't care! She loves him!)
She practiced her scissor skills when cutting out the pattern.
We used fine motor skills to stuff Jesse Bear.
And we discovered how wonderful the stuffing feels, a new sensory exploration!
We used fine motor skills to stuff Jesse Bear.
And we discovered how wonderful the stuffing feels, a new sensory exploration!
Before we sewed Jesse Bear up, we gave him a heart.
We read Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ Jesus forgave you."
We talked about how Jesse Bear's heart is kind, tender, and forgiving.
On one of the pages in the book it shows Jesse Bear chasing butterflies with a net. Maddie picked up on that and I found a butterfly net at the Dollar Tree.
We "caught" butterflies and counted them.
The "butterflies" are just a pad of paper I found at Mardel. I folded them in half, thinking they would flutter.
We had a blast! And she just so happened to catch 7 butterflies on her 7th birthday, so we talked about how old she is now.
I only intended to spend a couple of weeks on Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? but she is still so excited about the book, we continue to read it every day.
She's began picking up the words and can read "red","pants","bear", and "wear."
Next week we have the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma's annual festival and fundraiser with a 5K run.
We are gearing up for that and excited to see our friends.
Maddie has already decided she wants to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween (which she absolutely LOVES!) Of all the holidays, I would never have guessed Halloween would be her favorite, but it is!
Hopefully, I'll keep the blog updated more often now that we have seemed to find our daily rhythm with homeschooling.
Until then,
Thanks for stopping by!
We talked about how Jesse Bear's heart is kind, tender, and forgiving.
On one of the pages in the book it shows Jesse Bear chasing butterflies with a net. Maddie picked up on that and I found a butterfly net at the Dollar Tree.
We "caught" butterflies and counted them.
We had a blast! And she just so happened to catch 7 butterflies on her 7th birthday, so we talked about how old she is now.
I only intended to spend a couple of weeks on Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? but she is still so excited about the book, we continue to read it every day.
She's began picking up the words and can read "red","pants","bear", and "wear."
Next week we have the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma's annual festival and fundraiser with a 5K run.
We are gearing up for that and excited to see our friends.
Maddie has already decided she wants to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween (which she absolutely LOVES!) Of all the holidays, I would never have guessed Halloween would be her favorite, but it is!
Hopefully, I'll keep the blog updated more often now that we have seemed to find our daily rhythm with homeschooling.
Until then,
Thanks for stopping by!
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