Monthly Archives: September 2008

And We Have A Schedule

One of the supports listed in my son’s IEP is the use of a visual schedule. Although it took almost two weeks, this is now in place and it is working beautifully. The SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist) actually made a different one for each of the five cycle days; here is one of them: Each schedule…

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Nighttime Rituals

My kids LOVE the hour that precedes their bedtime (though I must admit this wasn’t always the case). Why the enthusiasm? Because after the chaos of the day is done, there are three things to look forward to: 1.Rough-housing (or “soft-housing”, depending on their mood) with their dad and me. It’s a great way to…

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Lada Owner’s Club

This is based on an older blog post of mine, back when I started about 3 years ago. I thought it was worth posting here as in a lot of ways it outlines the foundation of my attitude towards my daughter’s Down’s Syndrome ————- For those who don’t know, a Lada is a car made…

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What Do YOU Expect?

Compliance – no, not the legal kind – the kind that is expected of our children with disabilities. I feel that the level of compliance expected in our school systems for our children with disabilities goes well beyond what is expected of non-disabled students. One of my children is in gifted educational programs. He is…

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OMAC My Favorite Sanity Saver

It doesn’t seem to matter how much time I may have spent homeschooling, therapy-ing, and being the Mommy, my family still always expects dinner. Even if they just had it, you know, last night. Who came up with the bright idea to eat dinner every night, anyway? Because about the last thing I want to…

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Empty Your Boots ~ Special Exposure Wednesday

Welcome to Special Exposure Wednesday, where you have an open invitation to join the weekly photo sharing fun. In recognition of the fact that summer is drawing to a close (never mind the 92F temps here, thank you), I am sharing a moment from the summer of 2006. Our family was living in the mountains,…

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People, Talk to Me

We are a homeschool family, and no matter how engaging I may be, sometimes I lose the boys’ attention. When it happens, I ask them… “What would you like to learn about today?” “What questions would you like answered?” I know. You’re calling me brave or utterly foolish, but it never fails that I am…

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Try This Tuesday #9: Educational Picture Ring

This week, we are welcoming PsychMamma, who has discovered a great way to extend the use of all those holiday greetings from friends and family! EDUCATIONAL PICTURE RING by PsychMamma Every year we receive a plethora of photo cards and photos when the holiday season rolls around. Jenna loves to look at the pictures and…

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GFCF Party Mix

Remember eating Chex™ Party Mix as a kid? I do. It was a yummy concoction of cereal, nuts, pretzels, and bagel chips covered with a spicy-sweet topping that was addictive. This recipe can be halved or multiplied depending on how much you’d like to make at one time. Feel free to add your own spin…

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Can You Meet ALL Their Special Needs?

Hello, 5 Minutes for Special Needs readers. For my first ever column post here, I’m going to step outside the box and write about my two kids who don’t have special needs. Because I love those kids…every bit as much and with just as much passion and adoration as I do my daughter with cancer….

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