Been a little while

School has been keeping us busy lately, which isn't a bad thing at all. :) As I mentioned, I decided to switch back to doing my own thing and following my gut and knowledge as opposed to the book, and it has made a tremendous difference.

Jacob has been doing well. Today was a little rough. He had a little stubborn streak take over during Math and he didn't bother to read the directions NOR listen as I explained them to him several times. We finally got through it and I gave him a little break before lunch. So we still have a little to do today.

Joshua has been working on the letter O this week. I start the day with Jacob doing his journal entry at the table and then I go in the boys' room and do vestibular and proprioceptive activities with Josh and Cassie. Cassie doesn't have to do this, but they are usually fun things and she wants to be involved too. LOL Occasionally Elena comes in and tries to involve herself - either by laughing, clapping, or climbing on us while we "work".

Once Josh and Cassie finish the activities, Josh is actually able to concentrate on handwriting. Jacob is usually done with his journal at this point, so he then takes his reading book and heads to my room and shuts the door so he can concentrate on his two chapters. I then focus on Josh and Cassie with their letter of the day assignments.

I decided to start with the letter O because it is the easiest letter in Joshua's name. Keep in mind, at the beginning of the school year he was unable to even coordinate himself enough to actually hold a pencil or other writing tool in his hand. Every day at the end of our handwriting session, I take my hand and help him write out his name. He knows how to spell it verbally now. He still has a LOT of work to be able to spell, but he is now attempting to actually write it out on his own, which is extremely exciting to see. Once I upload the pictures on my camera, I'll post one of his work on the dry erase board this morning. He was so proud of himself, and I am thrilled to see him making so much progress. Is it enough according to the school board and the therapists? I don't know. I know we are working hard and I see a lot of improvement, and for now that will do.

EDITED TO ADD pictures!!!
Here are the pictures of Joshua's work from Friday. I wrote the wrong date. Oops! You can see his practice O's that he did without any help. On the right side going down you can see where he wrote his name by himself, starting with the backwards J. LOL I think he is doing well especially considering prior to August 1st he could not hold a pencil, let alone actually write a letter or his name.