December
24
December
20
Reindeer Food
You will Need:
1/4 to 1/2 cup of plain oatmeal per child (1/4 is for large households or classes, the larger amounts look
better)
bowls
spoons
glitter
Each child gets a bowl and spoon. Scoop oatmeal into the bowl and encourage the child to mix in lots of love (because Santa and his reindeer live on love and belief as much as on cookies and oats). “Check” their progress and slip a large pinch or two of the glitter into their mix (this is their “magic” or “love”). Take the bowls outside on Christmas (or Yule) eve and spread on the grass for the reindeer.
Just like Santa takes a few bites of cookie and a drink of milk when offered, the reindeer will be happy to be included in the gifting ritual. Plus, the ritual of leaving gifts for Santa and his reindeer, paired with activities like “Let’s be Santa and pick out a present for a kiddo who isn’t as lucky as you” can ease a child from the youthful belief in Santa to an adult understanding that Santa is real, he’s the spirit of giving that’s inside us when we spend the holiday with our family and spend time thinking of them when they aren’t around (which is what gifting is about.)
December
16
Autism Awareness Twitter Day
I just found out about this today. Autismfamily called for everyone on Twitter whose lives are touched with autism to share something about it, or their autistic loved one. Chest deep in editing (and facing an IEP meeting tomorrow, which always makes me nervous) I didn’t get to participate much. but I did comment that my son came home with 4 star stickers on his chart today, when 2 stars means he did work and behaved all day. Yesterday was a real hard day, so we needed a real good one to make up for it.
Today He bragged to me about “getting artsy and crafty” in art class, and taught me the ASL sign for “game”. I doubt anything else could have happened to help me feel better going into his IEP meeting tomorrow.
Autism is a very exhausting obstacle to face. Even more so because it’s spectrum disorer which means there is no one “rule” about what to expect from autism. My son is very lucky. He’s high functioning, above average intelligence and has no other complications that go hand in hand with ASD (which vary from under developed musculature to mental retardation and OCD). But it was only days after his diagnosis that we started having problems from other people who didn’t understand.
We were told his autism was our fault. We were told it was because we didn’t put him in daycare or preschool. We were told it was because we taught him his letters to soon. We were told it was because God was punishing us for not going to church. Only a year into his school life we were told by someone who was supposed to be a professional that we should just give up, stop pushing him and put him in a home for “people like him”.
We endure dirty looks when he is over stimulated out in public, and mean looks when he won’t do everything he’s told immediately when the nurses are prepping him for a doctor’s exam. (The nurse practitioner who he usually sees is very calm, gentle and respectful of his personal space. The dentist and optomistrist we’ve found are also fantastic, making jokes and talking very friendly to him to earn his trust.)
At times it’s not easy, but seeing how far he’s come is worth every frustrating moment.
So here’s a last link I’d like to share. ABC News’ 10 Myths About Autism. It barely begins to explain things, but everyone these days should have some knowledge about neuro-atypicality.
December
15
Kandide and the Secret of the Mists by Diana Zimmerman
Paperback: 978-0979432828, $9.99
Kandide is the most beautiful and the most perfect of the Fee, and after her father dies the most important magical gift of all, the Gift of Frost which changes the seasons, renewing the world, passes to her. But in overconfidence and with an over inflated sense of importance (which both cover the doubts and insecurities mixing beneath the surface) she has an accident, a mistake that leaves her scarred and therefore cast out from the society that days earlier prepared to make her their queen.
Banished from the perfect Fee society Kandide must come to terms with her imperfections and realize that there’s still a queen within her.
Truth be told I thought the book took too long to get going and I thought the Perfect equals, well, perfection plot line was heavy handed. But I read this story to my daughter, who is far closer to the target audience (9-12), before bed every night. She was absolutely enchanted.
Kandide’s emotional and physical pain made her a real person, and the bits of action kept her clutching the blanket and asking for one more chapter. The cast of fantasy characters from monsters to fairies to griffins, sparked her imagination and added more tools to her own storytelling equipment box.
While there wasn’t enough time spent on some of the secondary characters, Egan and Tara specifically, for her to get caught up with them this is the first book in a trilogy, as is promised by the resolution.
There are many pros to Kandide and the Secret of the Mists for both child and parent. Nonviolent solutions are promoted as a means to solving problems. The book is excellent for expanding a young vocabulary. Larger words are used in a way that makes their meaning easy to interpret for children. And even the scary situations are downplayed as much as the emotions are over played which leaves the danger still “safe” and not scary.
Kandide and the Secret of the Mists is accompanied by beautiful illustrations and crafted with the magic in the hearts of children in mind. If your child loves dreams and fantasy this is a fine addition to their early library.
December
14
Natural Storyteller
This is one of those “aw my kids are cute” posts, so skip it if you aren’t interested. (I happen to know several of my aunts and my sister read this blog, so this is primarily for them.)
My little girl is already an incredible spec fic fan. Friday she was drawing the Apex alien head logo on our holiday cards. “It’s that cut off alien head with spooky eyes” she said. Hilarious.
Today we got two bags of stuffed animals from a lady on Freecycle. Included with them were two stick horses. She already had one, Steps, who like a lot of her stuffed animals has a full history and personality. So of course she is quite pleased to have a whole stable of horses now.
She cautiously introduced Steps to the newcomers (who she named Lula and Holly. They’re both girls she tells me, and Steps is a boy.) Luckily Steps and Holly like each other. Lula is just a pony and doesn’t like Steps yet (because he’s a boy). But Lula likes Holly. So my girl is in the living room watching them to make sure they don’t fight. She thinks they’ll all get along eventually. They just need time.
I absolutely dread the part of school when they start talking about fiction vs. fact, because to the girl these are real creatures. The stories and characters are coming from her and I really hope I can teach her that before the world tries to kill that.