How Bad is it?

Perspective is a funny thing.  Very rarely am I universally wrong; it’s just I’m obsessing on details or not paying attention to the big picture.  So I start feeling helpless and start feeling hopeless.  On the down side of things, it could be that my children are behaving badly – why is it sometimes that just absolutely rocks my world?  My kids, my beautiful, energetic, sensitive, selfish, demanding kids can absolutely throw me into a tizzy just by having one argument or one complaint too many.  And then I start asking the big questions:  What am I doing?  How could things possibly have gotten so bad without me noticing?  Does the fact that I give my everything to my family even matter in the big picture?  Will they still be fighting when they’re 20?  40?

Am I really giving my everything?  Could I be giving more?

I blog – that’s not for my family.  (Well, in a round-about way it is – writing is cheaper than therapy – and I don’t have to hire a babysitter).

And what about all that time I spend on Pinterest?  That’s all about me, not them.

So, like, is that okay that I don’t really give my everything to my family?

I just give them my most everything.

Am I doing enough?  Am I enough?

Almost every stinkin morning when I wake up I think to myself, “I’m going to spend some quality time with the Middles today – I’ll read to them or craft with them, or heck, maybe we’ll even bake some cookies.”

And then lunch comes, and with all the quantity time I spend with them, there’s just not enough time – or enough me – for quality time.

Then all I want to do is be alone for a while.

How bad is that?  Understandable but terrible?  I say I want to homeschool, I say I want to be home with my kids, but once the Littles are down for their naps, I want to be alone?

I wonder if they know.

How bad would that be?

In my Mary Poppins fantasy, I am a delightful mother all morning long with the kiddos.  After lunch I tuck everyone in for their quiet time and I sneak off for mine.  Exactly one hour later I emerge from my bedroom all smiles and delightful once again, and we enjoy every moment of the next four hours together.

In reality, I spend a lot of that first hour telling Noah to get back in bed and reminding my Middles it’s quiet time.  At the end of the quiet time hour, I’m still engrossed in whatever internet project I’m working on, trying to unstress from the stressful quiet time hour.

Do you ever think to yourself, “It shouldn’t be this hard”?

I do.

And I used to scoff at the idea that the average child asks something like 400 questions a day.  Keep in mind, I still have six kiddos at home.  And the 3-year-old just started this morning with the unending questions, you know, the ones where one question leads to another question which leads to another question.  The ones where you think your child is purposefully trying to drive you out of your mind (seriously, he is!)

I don’t scoff any more.

Tomorrow is Thursday.

I hope it’s a good day.

Can I Help – Free Printable PEC Story Board

I came across Can I Help by Marilyn Janovitz on our bookshelves the other day, and opening it reminded me of why we haven’t gotten rid of this one.  In this story, the little dog works his way through the day by asking his ever-patient mother if he can help with chore after chore.  This is the kind of fairy tale I am tempted to present to my children as non-fiction – “Yes, there really are children in the world who consider working alongside their mother a treat.”

Actually, to be honest, my kids don’t usually mind working alongside me – it’s when I send them off to go do something that the frustrations begin.

Back to the story.

So Mother Dog patiently answers every request affirmatively and mother and son work together with some amusing results.

This is a repetitive and predictable book in the sense that it is really a set of questions in the same format each time, “Can I help you . . .” answered in the same format each time, “Yes, please help me . . .”   Rhymiing words are used for each chore, so the text flows pleasantly in a comfortable rhythm.

Every few pages, several of the last few chores are listed.

I love all the language elements of this book.  It is perfectly suited for the child who needs vocabulary practice in an organic and natural setting.

I’ve made two sets of printable PECs to accompany Can I Help?   One set are nouns and one set are verbs, both are PDF files.  Print them, laminate them and use them as sequencing cards or PEC storyboard cards to nail down child participation and comprehension.  As you read the book, simply pause after the listing of each chore and have your child select the correct card.  Have them lay them down left to right so that a visual sequence emerges.  Older children can use both sets together and separate them into nouns and verbs.  Although you may have to order this book from Amazon rather than find it at your library, it’s definately a keeper and worth the investment of a few dollars.

Thanks to www.mrsriley.com for giving me such an easy format to make these cards in.

Can I Help – Nouns (PDF)

Can I Help – verbs (PDF)

www.mrsriley.com members can access the editable files here:

http://mrsriley.com/app/#fileID=62937 (nouns)

http://mrsriley.com/app/#fileID=62938 (verbs)

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O is for Octopus

It’s always a challenge to keep Noah motivated during anything that resembles a speech therapy drill.  Now that his speech therapist and I have gotten more comfortable with each other, I’m slowly returning to working with him on his speaking words at home.  I can’t claim this idea as my own, but I am at a loss to remember where I got it from.

You know those little reinforcement stickers for patching torn holes in binder paper?  Well, they just happen to be perfect Os.

For this activity, I printed off a copy of an octopus coloring page that you can find here:  http://childstoryhour.com/coloringanimal.htm.  I never know how much Noah  is picking up as far as the printed word, but unless I have proof he’s not picking up anything, I’ll be writing out words every chance I get.  That’s why I added O and octopus at the bottom of the page.

If you’re just looking for fine motor or occupational therapy practice, help your kiddo peel and stick the stickers onto the page and you’re done.

But if you’re like me and desperately trying to capture every possible opportunity to multitask, use the reinforcement stickers as a reward during drills.  I had Noah go through his Kaufman cards – he had to say the word on a card three times and then he got to use a sticker.  So, we covered phonemic awareness, fine motor skills and speech drills all in one 10-minute activity.  I just LOVE it when that happens!