Admittedly, we were all a bit sad as we missed our nightly sunset strolls and the freedom that came with existing on a seemingly uninhabited island for two weeks. But the week did come and CRA resumed on Monday. I decided the most important thing for the week was to close out our feelings about the amazing vacation by completing a creative project focused on memory preservation. E struggles with finality - the loss of objects, the end of celebrations, the aging out of clothes. As a means of coping, I am leveraging a strategy of capturing the memories of the things we love creatively in a way that we can treasure the memories forever even when the physical objects are no longer present. This topic was introduced to him during an Art Therapy session with the use of sun paper prints of favorite possessions and has stuck with us. Given the strong connection he felt to this trip, I knew he would need an activity to find closure. On Monday, we organized the shells he collected into logical groupings, made plans for our sand dollar family art project, he wrote a journal entry about his experience (I typed for him), and he chose to paint a watercolor abstract painting of his vision of Figure 8.
8 sand dollars collected at Figure 8 for his 8th birthday. (Mom sadly lost one on the way home)
E’s watercolor, “The 8 Sunrise”
Indigenous Peoples Day: Holiday
Monday was also Indigenous People’s Day which meant a holiday from enrichment classes and a great opportunity to explain the role of indigenous people in our lives. We discuss Christopher Columbus as well as the Native American people who were once on the land we now call home. But, to really bring the concept to life, we role played. I was the Native American and E was Christopher Columbus as we explored the large parcel of land on which we live. Through my acting, he was able to experience how challenging it must have been to communicate with a culture that could not speak a common language. He found it difficult to understand my physical gestures warning him of the impending cold of winter and felt threatened by my attempts to show hunting techniques. In a few short minutes, he had a new appreciation for the experience of landing in a foreign land and for the people who were forced off of their own land.
Christopher Columbus learning about seeds, berries, and the impending cold of winter.
Working on both gross and fine motor strength is a primary focus this year for E. When we returned from our vacation, he felt ready for the trampoline. After a quick relocation and a long deep cleaning, it was ready.. He said it felt great and has used it every day since. I can’t believe how high he can jump now.
Sky high jumper.
Other Activities this Week:
Expanded Form Master
Despite a two week break, E retained his expanded form mastery across contexts.
Math Challenge Problem
We performed a TedEd math challenge by simulating a space craft traveling to the space station with the limitation of a maximum gas on board amount. We simulated the problem with wooden blocks and E quickly uncovered the strategy of depositing gas along the way, making multiple starts before reaching the destination.
Rock Tumbling - Phase 4
We finally checked in on his rock tumbling again as well. The rocks are seemingly disappearing although they are beautifully smooth. We began the polishing phase and are excited to see how shiny they become next time.
Novel Study: Fish In A Tree
At the 3rd grade, students are expected to begin reading grade appropriate novels. E is hesitant to read novels (with no pictures) independently and has strong reactions about the very idea of reading alone. This is difficult for me to dissect because he has been a very strong reader since the age of 2. Yet, the morning I mentioned we would start a novel, his anxiety instantly became palpable and made family breakfast impossible. Rather than worry, we discussed the reading approach together before breakfast. I assured E that we would select a book together, that we were a team and would figure out why he feels nervous about reading and would strategize a way to make it enjoyable just as we did with Math. We looked through the 3rd grade novels together and he became excited about “Fish in a Tree” which is a story about a 6th grade girl who can not read or write and gets into a lot of trouble as a result. He became interested in the book after the first chapter and was eager to read more and more. We leveraged the experiences of the main character to complete a dramatization, an art project, and a writing assignment this week.
Art Instruction
E has very strong preferences for doing anything creative in his own way, without lessons or instructions. He makes beautiful art. However, for the activity today, we intentionally followed a set of instructions to make a spooky teacher (related to our novel study). He was resistant to the approach initially but in the end, was very proud of his creation and now has a new technique in his art methods.
Handwriting
E has beautiful handwriting and can replicate any font - and create his own - but he struggles with letters that dip below the line and with writing with fluency. We are incorporating a handwriting activity daily. On this day, he chose to replicate the font sample text and creatively leveraged his Apple Watch to support spelling as needed. Genius.
Phonograph Messages
We studied phonographs on the trampoline and with sidewalk chalk, using the cracks in the sidewalks as lines for handwriting practice as well. I said the sound of the letter and he wrote the letter to uncover my secret messages.
Friday Lab: How The Internet Works
This Friday is the every-other-week check in with his therapist and director of his enrichment program. Although both of these activities are helpful, it is a challenge because it makes our CRA work difficult to get into the regular morning hours. His therapist released him today because he seems to be doing so well emotionally. She will remain available as needed but we have agreed to schedule only monthly for now. Since we missed our morning time, we spent the afternoon diving deeply into a topic of E’s choice. He wanted to understand all the details of how the internet works and the history of it. So, we watched learning videos, read history museum walkthroughs, and then I setup a network simulation in the living room for him to experience DNS, routing protocols, and packets in real life. He explained it to Dad that evening so it seems he has absorbed much of the information.
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