New things and old things.

The boys are working well on the structured maths programme we have been using. As both children have started to take more interest in English, writing and are asking about grammar, I decided to buy a couple structured curriculums. The home ed community is always a good place to start asking and I have friends who are already using the programmes I was interested in...so brains were picked.

We started using the Well Trained Mind Writing with Ease today and they got on really well so far.

Maths was also completed and some writing practice. I'm bought some of those exercise books with the added line and it's helping them with letter placement and formation.

We then tried our Speekee Spanish. We all had a good time and shouted Spanish at the UPS driver when he came....despite being from Stoke ( well it begins with 'S') he seemed to get into the spirit of it.

Today our friends are visiting, so we work on maths before they arrive.

Owen is starting to make more sense of algebra.

Sam is figuring out common factors, which is proving a bit tricky, depending on how they ask the question.

Our friends arrive and the Sam continues to show his mate how to learn chess. He's desperate for more people to play with so is teaching anyone who shows the slightest interest. They go on to play other board games and I enjoy a chat and tea with my friend.

Both boys are tired once their friends leave. Sam changes into his PJs and says he really doesn't feel up to jujitsu. His asthma is still causing him a bit of bother and he is tiring easily. Owen is stressing about going to jujitsu on his own, so I let their tutor know they won't be attending. 

Sam struggles to sleep again and is very tired the next morning. He is also a little upset that he has finished his Priamary school maths curriculum. I explain its a big accomplishment and shows how hard he's worked. Even so he feels sad, mainly because it means trying something new and that scares him.

Whilst Owen showers, Sam and I work on his writing and grammar.

This is both boys work today. It's hard to get them to listen to the instructions initially. Every attempt is met with 'I KNOW!' . So when I point out that some of what they did was incorrect, they shout at me. Eventually they do listen and are surprised at how much better their work looks. *give me strength*.

Owen then works on his maths.

Finally we all do the next lesson with Speekee Spanish. I am surprised that we are already picking up a few phrases..though I doubt we could spell the worlds yet. The children are pretending very hard that they don't like it, but gleefully laugh along with the songs and practice phrases on each other.

Sam wanted to redo some of the maths work because he wasn't confident on certain aspects of it. So I set it up so we could practice together.

Owen worked well on his maths, despite throwing a hissy fit over a bacon sarnie..

We worked on our grammar and writing skills next.

Then finished this weeks work in Speekee Spanish .

Just getting Owen organise to get the essentials done in a morning is still an ongoing battle. He's progressing but the need to be in control of everything and everyone is very hard get round. I have tried let him work it out for himself but he is so spectacularly unable to organise his time, he gets frustrated and meltsdown anyway. I feel I can't win and it's exhausting.

The next day Blokey is on his rota day off. We have arranged to take our lovely dog to the vets. Sadly she is deteriorating and we aren't expecting good news. After talking to the vet, we explain to the children about the decisions we have made. Owen goes in to denial, then there are a few tears and he agrees we made the right decision not to intervene surgically. Sam is so overloaded I can only tell him the bare facts and we agree not to mention it to him again unless he asks. She's terminally ill and we are making her comfortable ( thankfully she isn't in pain) at home for as long as it's kind to do so. It's a heart breaking decision but as the vet pointed out, she lived well past her expected age. We are all going to struggle terribly when she goes.

I have to sneak off for a cry.

On our return, no one feels like doing much and our moods are somber. We practice some comprehension and a little writing before retreating to our respective corners of the house. 

Saturday we go into town to look round the shops. Owen wants to look for second hand CDs so we stop at the charity shop and he manages to find 2 he likes. Sam is still under the weather and when we get him home, has a rest after his lunch. 

Later both boys play with friends. Owen online with his home ed buddy and Sam goes out on his bike to the park with his friends. 

The following day is spent eating new foods, playing outside and watching films.

Packwood, appointments and getting in a pickle.

We were off out in the rain to Packwood House in Solihull.

We liked the stained glass windows and each one had a tale to tell.

We love these old houses and try to visit as many National Trust places as we can to make good use of our membership.

This part was newer and a converted cow shed. The woman here was good with the children, and they enjoyed listening to her tell them about the room and it's objects.

You can't see very well from the photograph but the faucet is a big silver lions head....we were rather impressed with that:

In the dining room admiring the mother of pearl.

We all thought this looked like it was forged fro the fires of Mordor!

The gardens were lovely but rain was lashing down the whole time we were there, so it wasn't a day to explore them fully. Hopefully, we can come back on a sunnier day.

Owen measuring himself against a huge door...if he stuck his leg up he could almost make his body as wide as the door was.

Lots of daffodils blooming by the lake,.

I managed a quick look round the kitchen garden ( which was fab), before the boys started to get tetchy and needed food.

We found a great pub down the road and enjoyed our lunch before heading home.

The next day Owen was aiming for world domination, so it was tricky. We are employing measures to try and keep him on track behaviour wise and of course he's railing against them. We are making progress but it's slow and his need to control everyone and everything is hard for everyone. I manage to get him through the morning and he works on his maths, sees to his pet and with help, manages his personal hygiene.

Sam did his breakfast and work early, then goes off to build Rome on his PC. Like you do.

In the afternoon Owen starts to stress out about his jujitsu class, his causes more difficult behaviour. 

As a parent I find this incredibly hard. On the one hand I can see his ASD/PDA fuellng the behaviours, however, separating this and working out what parts are changeable are hard. For instance, I know his special needs make him controlling and that part he can't help but also Owen needs to adapt to the fact that he simply cannot rule the world how he wants. He can't make all the local children do as he wishes all the time, or his brother or me or the government ..so how do we remap his brain to try not to be angry and frustrated by his lack of influence over 'all the things!'. 

I will get back to you when I figure it out, don't hold your breath though. Currently we are having to put some strict guidance in place, to ensure he understands that certain responses are not ok. He still challenges everything on a daily basis but is calming down..a bit! 

Feeling you have to be in charge of the whole world at 10, is a massive responsibility and adds to his already high levels of anxiety. It's kind of a 'if this, then that' approach at the moment, if you do your teeth next, I will X,y,z for you. If I don't have a goal insight for him, he simply can't move forward. As time management is a valuable skill, and one he's struggling with, I am setting it up for him so he can succeed...hopefully he will conclude that it helps his anxiety as time goes on, he does tend to work stuff out but until he comes out of 'one child to rule them all' mode, we will plod on best we can.

We needed to see Sam's consultant today. As parents we are very relieved about this, Sam is a little anxious but loves talking to her and will be fine once he gets face to face. We know that Sam needs his meds tweaking,  so we were happy to go and discuss the options for his care plan. We really have got to the 'Holy Crap' stage of his current care plan and regret not putting his meds up 6 mths ago when she suggested it. There's always a lot of guilt when medicating your child, we agonised for years over it before getting help, so even now we think long and hard about his care plan and worry about it. Hence us being more hesitant at his last appointment...hopefully we won't make that mistake again...but 'who knows'?

Sam worked on his maths before his appointment:

Then asked if he could practice his writing, so we worked on developing his lower and uppercase letters. He still mixes them up quite a bit, so we both had a bash at looking at the differences. He's getting much neater and surprised himself with how much better his pen control is getting. Even so it's very evident that his fears are surfacing again when he becomes teary over the thought of attempting a lowercase 'f'. He manages a line of very good ones and brightens immensely.

Owen started off by asking for instructions and then ignoring me. I explained why I found this very frustrating and he decided to negotiate terms. We worked on his maths and he was delighted to get his next certificate. He admitted to me that he was glad this one didn't take as long as the last one. I am hoping he makes the link between how much effort he makes and the length of time between certificates.

We then practice hand movements with a pen to strengthen his fine motor skills.

 I now have to get him through his personal hygiene routine..deep joy. It takes some time.

Blokey took a half days holiday to drive us to Sam's appointment..but before we left he got mega Dad points for getting Sam this Asssassins Creed jacket.

Owen is disapointed that the knee pads and skateboard gloves, that Blokey has ordered for him, haven't arrived yet. Expect a scowl and Owen glaring out the windows for the postman until they arrive.

You can see our dear old dog lying by Sam's feet. She's struggling to walk on her back legs and we have to take her to the vets this week. Sadly, we are concerned she may not be with us for much longer. We have no idea how the children will cope ( or myself for that matter), she has been a constant companion since they were born and it's going to be a sad day when she leaves us. I just hope her passing is as easy and painless as possible.

Sam's appointment went really well and we have new meds and strategies lined up. His consultant is just utterly amazing and we all enjoy seeing her. She's a never ending supply of inspiration and practical help...a rare thing. I come away feeling like weight has been lifted and am so proud of Sam. She is the first doctor he's ever engaged with and he sat and described his symptoms beautifully, what bothered him and how he would like to progress. 

After the appointment we headed off to find food and got home late but happy.

The next morning Owen was up early. Both children worked through RM Maths and some handwriting practice.

Owen now likes to use this book ( previously rejected) to help his coordination and fine motor skills. Even a few pages of exercises still make his hands cramp up. I am so pleased he's decided to put more effort into this and we will be exploring other writing curriculum soon. ...keep em peeled..no seriously, eat cake, go to the park...poke things with sticks..or not...we will be doing all of these!

Sam practiced his lowercase letters again. He's a bit subdued due to a cold, which means I can catch up on resource research and pick people's brains. Is it sad I enjoy that? Did I say that out loud? Moving on..letters.

Later we went to the park to see some friends but sadly their car broke down. So we generally had a laugh and muck about...*ahem*. I mean we worked on social intergration, gross motor skills, wildlife studies and gymnastics.  

Owen is practicing tricks on his board.

Upside down Sam.

I was up early for some fresh air. There have been some great sunrises this week.

Back home Sam has finished his breakfast and is working on his maths. Whilst he's busy, I get to shower and put the washing out.

After my breakfast, Sam and I make cookies. His cold is really making his asthma play up now and he looks pale.

He then practices his lowercase letters. He's in a really good mood and we sit chatting as he works.

Sam then decides to vacuum and clean the kitchen cupboards. I am eternally grateful for his little spurts of house cleaning!

Owen enjoys watching VSauce ( thanks Sarah, I had forgotten about this). It's the 'Magic of Maths' today and afterwards Owen does card tricks shown on the show.

He then works on his hand coordination, it's improving already. He moans about getting started but enjoys the work once actually doing it...typical.

He then sees to his pet and does his maths:

On Saturday we visit my parents house. I have been up all night with Sam because is asthma was bad and both he and I are shattered. 

Sam makes me laugh with his attempts at Nanny's, Mothers Day card.

He rallied after a little nap and enjoys a roast dinner. It is highly evident he's feeling really poorly though.

Owen plays out at the park when we get home, Sam asks if we can walk in the sunshine. He does better than I expect but is starting to get tired much quicker than normal and we head back home.

The next day is Mothers day and Sam decides to help me with the housework.

In the evening we all go out for a meal.

Owen orders gammon for the first time and manages to eat the whole lot...and a pudding. I take a break for my diet and enjoy steak pie and chips...Sam has the same. I even manage to catch a photo of the lesser spotted Blokey.

As the clocks went back I will be running in the dark again tomorrow. I managed to get some lovely Spring photos when I went out today.