He particularly liked this outcome.
He then practiced his spelling and penmanship with word searches.
Then copious amounts of UNO.
When Owen came down at 9am I felt I had done a full day!
He wanted to practice his writing after breakfast, whilst bitterly complaining about lack of sleep. I empathised deeply.
We played some UNO
We then talked about household chores, as he was interested in earning some more money this week.
I showed him this idea.
So we devised a similar system with envelopes, then organised the tasks and money in a bowl. He also decided he wanted to learn how to do the laundry and helped me hang the clean washing out to dry.We talked about how important it was to learn life skills and he seems keen to attempt some more tasks tomorrow.
In the meantime Sam decided to try and learn some Chinese and was reading and listening to phrases. He then spent some time bellowing Chinese at me and laughing when I couldn't understand him.
I have also decided to try and apply for an enhanced learning plan for the children. After deliberating for months about this, I took some advice and got the forms from an independent SEND advisor. I am hoping that if its accepted ( who knows how long it will take me to do it!) , we maybe able to fund an OT or Educational Psych to advise us on dysgraphia. It is also a useful document to have, should the boys decide to go back to school or into further education/training, as they would be set up for extra support later on. Can't say I am looking forward to applying BUT by law every child with SEN should get one....however it has been notoriously difficult for Home Educated families to get. I am hoping our LA will be accommodating during the process.
I found IASS service very helpful in guiding me through the process so far, every LA now has its own, independent office to help parents through the new regulations.
http://www.iassnetwork.org.uk/resources/documents/independent-support/
Sam went for a chest X-Ray and despite me explaining the process, he got really confused when we told him to get ready and spent most of his time hiding under his coat in the waiting room. The first X-Ray managed to capture an image of 1 and a half lungs, so he needed another. It's so hard for him to keep still.
On the way home Blokey got pizza for us all. It was a rushed evening and the children's routine was disrupted. Blokey and I fell into bed exhausted at 10:30, Sam was still awake and coughing.
Sam was up early again and wanted to start activities before I had even finished my breakfast. I managed to hold him off for 20 mins, but it was a battle. First we played Uno...a lot. Then he found the science stuff in the activity basket and decided to do that.
'You have to wear googles!' He informs me as he mixes his ingredients to form a gas.
Our balloon filled up really well, he was pleased...look at his happy little face. Very proud with his balloon.
He shouts 'I have bad gas!' And chortles to himself.
Owen appears at this point and is very upset. He's had a bad dream and it's made him feel incredibly sad. Cuddles are requested and given. He manages a little breakfast and tries to dodge Sam's manic enthusiasm.
As I unpack the shopping Owen goes through the basket of ideas and chooses what he wants to do. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Sam keeps popping in and out the door like a jack in the box. He's firing many questions at me and I have to remind him I m helping Owen now. Sam is desperate to get the vacuum out and start cleaning...I am happy for him to do it , just not at this exact moment.
Owen chooses to practice some writing.
Then do an experiment.
'You HAVE to wear googles!' He tells me....I have a strange feeling of deja vu.
Meanwhile......
Sam finally gets to vacuum. It's good therapy for his co-ordination, and the OT advised us that it can improve his bilateral movements. The fact it's also teaching him life skills is an added bonus and I nip in and out , making sure he doesn't do himself a mischief with the trailing lead.
He's really tired now and sits down to use his iPad for a while. Both boys are quietly busy, so I use the opportunity to have a quick tidy round and reorganise the activity box.
Sam also enjoyed this:
Sam was once again adamant he wanted to attend jujitsu..somewhat spurred on by the lack of Internet access all afternoon.
The next day the children decided they wanted to learn more about cleaning the house and looked at the chores we had written down the day before. I showed Owen how to sort the clothes and use the washing machine.
He then decided he wanted to check if the clothes on the airer were dry and helped me sort them out.
Next he wanted to vacuum upstairs so I showed him what to do. He decided to tidy his and Sam's rooms whilst he was at it. He talked about how he enjoys the house feeling clean and tidy and how it makes him feel calmer. After we had finished upstairs I showed him how to sort and empty the recycling boxes. He looked incredibly pleased with his efforts and enjoyed finding out how much money he had earned.
Meanwhile Sam vacuumed and steam mopped the downstairs..he loves using the steam mop and often follows me round telling me I have missed a bit.
He made me take 'after' photos of his work.
'I am like a little house elf' he laughed...Shadow tried to help him.
His 'after' photo of the kitchen. He chatted very happily all the time and added up his money as he finished. Both boys said afterwards 'it's hard work keeping a house clean!' Love them.
We went out in the afternoon to meet up with friends, have a chat and play. Sam struggled and had a few tears because he is so tired. When we got home there was a message from the children's hospital to say they have a cancellation, but when I called back the secretary had left for the day. Keeping everything crossed he can take this appointment .
The next morning Sam was talking more than usual...he does this when he is very tired. Blokey escaped the verbal battering but going to work looking like a rabbit trapped in the headlights. I managed to hold him off till I ate my breakfast...but it was difficult because he had a bee in his bonnet.
Afterwards we played Top Trumps , first Dr Who, then the Wonders Of the World. This sparked so much interest that we practically abandoned the game to read and look up more facts about the places and things that grabbed Sam. He surprised me by reading some really complicated words during this process.
Some of the things we spent time looking at was Yellowstone parks Old Faithful.
Owen then arrived, he has surprised me this week by suddenly asking for apples. He's talking a lot too and wants to know why his Apple turns brown when it's been cut. As he's eating we look up some facts.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/brownapplefaq.htm
Owen asked if he could do the laundry and managed to put a full load in without any help from me.
It can be tricky for him to remember all the sequencing but he managed fine..just need to help him work out how to sort different types of loads next and he will have cracked it.
He saw the Wonders of the World cards left out and we played with those, going on to look up places and facts afterwards.
He's in mid flow here..pummelling me with factoids.
He particularly liked the Great Blue Hole:
We watched some videos of dives there.
Then Owen wanted to know about the depths of the oceans and luckily I still had the link handy for the animation about this..so we watched that together.
Whilst we were doing this Sam played a game of WordFued with my mum online...he won...
I can imagine her cursing over her coffee because she is convinced I help him. I chuckle to myself in a Machiavellian manner.
I manage to locate an NHS dentist and ring to find out if they are autism friendly ...I spoke to a delightful receptionist and she arranged for us all to pop in and meet the staff and will send the forms in the post...result!
In the afternoon we go out to visit friends and get back for tea time. Then play board games before bed but Sam is starting to look worse and I try hard not to worry and set a reminder to ring the hospital again.
Not unsurprisingly, Sam had a very disturbed night. He looks a yucky colour and is coughing even more. We decide getting him out for a little while may help, mainly to take his mind off it all. We had planned to go to Water World with friends today but I had to cancel, he's just not up to it ..both boys were so disappointed but we promised we will take them as soon as Sam is better. I am relieved I managed to secure the appointment at the Children's Hospital for Tuesday this morning. Blokey has booked the day off, so he can take us.
We make a short trip visit to the Chinese Supermarket, buy some ingredients and look at the Chinese New Year decorations. I pick up a flyer incase the boys want to go to the Museum for the annual exhibition.
Looking at all the different food.
And the New Year items for sale .
One the way home we stopped at the London Road Bakehouse because the children wanted to see the Victorian Coal fired oven that is still in use there. In one of those lovely turns of fate, the owners caught on to the children's interest and we got a behind the scenes tour. We even got to sample some of the new bread they were baking...all warm and herby.
If you look closely , on the right , under where the rolling pin is resting, they still have the old wooden dough trough. The staff were impressed that the boys knew what this was and listened to them talking about how Victorian Bakers used to work. Before leaving we bought a few new things for them to try, so on the drive home the car smelt a gorgeous mix of fresh bread, with a hint of Chinese spices.
Sam completely crashed out after lunch and Owen went to play with friends online.
We ordered a take away for our evening meal..my head was kicking off and after that we played cards before tucking the boys up in bed.
The following days involved taking Sam to the local hospital because he was getting worse. They have given him some steroids but only for two days. Since he has been coughing for 11 weeks I fear it's going to take more than that....thankfully we only have a few days until the Birmingham Children's Hospital appointment with his respiratory consultant.
None of us are sleeping because Sam needs extra help and we have to listen out for him. Owen is tired because the coughing from the Sam's room is keeping him awake. We decide not to make too many demands and play scrabble , cards and other games together whilst everyone is feeling fragile.
Here is Shadow looking chilled ....
