Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star (John Michael and Luke duet)

Naptime and bedtime are sometimes challenging, but often they're magical around here... the boys LOVE to sing, cuddle and sing lullabies and I get the sweetest moments with my little guys when it's almost time to hit the pillow.  When Luke was a baby, he had a terrible time falling asleep, so I would wrap him snugly, cradle him in my arms and softly sing or hum "Rock-a-bye Baby" over and over until he fell asleep.  I was at my wit's end and that was the best I could manage ;-)  Well, it eventually started working and he would fall asleep within a few verses.  Today at age 3 he still requests the song and I can see his eyes getting heavy when I begin to sing it softly and slowly.  Kinda like a Pavlovian response to sleep, but it works!  

These days, the boys love to sing along.  One of my most requested songs is to sing "Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins.  I love it!  "Stay awake, don't rest your head.  Don't lie down upon your bed.  You're not sleepy as you seem.  Stay awake don't nod and dream..."  The boys often join in and sing with me (which is counterproductive to getting them to rest, but their stall tactic is also very sweet).  Other songs include, "Hush little baby, don't say a word... Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."  John Michael knows EVERY. SINGLE. VERSE so this goes on for a while.  And we always end with Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.  So here's my little stars performing their own rendition at Luke's naptime today.  It's also the first time Luke has gotten in the spotlight on his own and sung a song on video.  John Michael joins him for the 2nd time through.  Enjoy :-)  

I'll post more about the NDSC Convention and my take-aways later...  there's a great app you're going to love!

Cheers,

Monica

Ds Parenting 101 and Handwriting Without Tears Workshops

This morning I attended two excellent workshops.

The first one was Ds Parenting 101: The Straight Scoop with Tools and Rules by Natalie Hale. It was based on her new book, "Down Syndrome Parenting 101: Must-Have Advice for Making Your Life Easier". Everything she covered, particularly non-compliance, was applicable to John Michael and understanding oppositional behaviors. Yes, my sweet, angelic "happy all the time" child has quite a few stubborn traits and behaviors that are challenging us. I know, hard to believe LOL, since most of what I post has a positive spin on Ds.

John Michael is a very sweet, smart lovable boy, but he can be very non-compliant at the simplest requests. He knows the rules... Each morning he has to go potty, eat breakfast and get dressed for school. Some mornings he comes in our room at 6:15 for some cuddle time before our day begins. He always tells me, "Mommy, I love you so much!" I cherish these tender moments, but as soon as it's time to get up, he practically runs away from me to avoid his morning routine. Sometimes he does it all willingly and other times I have to assist every step of the way. We've worked with a behavior therapist, established a rewards system and still, it doesn't always work.

I think this new book will be great for giving practical examples of how to motivate your child. I like what the author said... You have to use humor and be permissive with their feelings, acknowledging when he doesn't want to do something and then give him a choice of two things he can do. He feels in control and you still win. I love her light-hearted approach yet she's full of wisdom from parenting a child, now a man, with Ds, ADD and oppositional behavior disorder. Looking forward to it!

http://www.amazon.com/Down-Syndrome-Parenting-101-Must-Have/dp/160613020X

The second workshop was called Scribble, Color, Draw: Key Readiness Skills Essential for Handwriting Success presented by Diane Eldridge, RN, COTA.

I loved this class! It was completely hands on and she taught us how to help our kids gain more strength for handwriting, how to write their letters in the most logical order and creating letters from simple wooden shapes, starting with the big line at the top. We talked about eye-hand coordination for coloring, writing and eventually drawing a figure of themselves. She showed an example of a boy drawing a stick figure of himself with just a head and sticks for legs. This is totally how John Michael creates a person, which is about a 3 yr old level. After doing a fun exercise on the floor by creating a "Mat Man" from the wooden shapes and setting it to song, the boy was able to draw a head, body, arms, legs, face and a belly button. I'm excited to try this with John Michael and Luke and see a before and after.

She also recommends breaking crayons in half so they have to hold it with a proper grasp and squeezing and pinching Play Doh for hand strength. She set everything to song and made it fun and light. I think that's the "missing link", so will definitely be adding song to our learning and coloring sessions. Finally, I learned that the best way for kids to write letters is not by tracing, but by imitating. So, I would write capital letters first or a word and he imitates on the line below using simple shapes of "Big line, Little line, Big curve and Little curve". Very simple, and very easy to learn.

http://www.hwtears.com/hwt

That's all for now. I haven't figured out how to post pics from my iPad, but will as soon as I can.

Blogging guilt and the Barney song

Oh my gosh! I'm at the National Down Syndrome Congress convention in Denver and just left the Bloggers sharing session. I don't even feel like I can call myself a blogger when I haven't touched my sadly neglected blog since November of last year! But I was motivated to go anyway, in hopes of meeting IRL (in real life) some blogging friends I've made over the past few years.

I'm soooo glad I went! Not only did I get to meet some awesome blogging moms (and a brave dad who is going to start one), but I realized that I do have something to say that others might want to hear. A couple moms said, "I've missed your posts" and another reminded me that I sent her a presentation a while back that she has used for her own son's class and she was grateful.

My lack of blogging has resulted from having a busy life with 5 kids ('nuf said) and I'm on facebook more since it's instant gratification. I also started a business last year which takes my time and quite honestly, I often feel like I don't have good enough material for a blog. Today was a good reminder that people do want to read about IEPs, inclusion, behavior issues, sibling relationships, and whatever successes we are celebrating, even if it's not "all good news". Just to be real...

Of all John Michael's strengths, I'd say speech and communication are his greatest gifts. And being a singer, I always wondered if he would ever be able to carry a tune beyond a 3 note range. I'm excited to share his latest rendition of Barney's Theme Song, "I Love You". Thanks to Linda Nargi for encouraging making me post it on my blog. I do apologize that the video may not be embedded since I'm on my iPad and don't remember how to do it, but I promise it's worth clicking and listening. My big guy, now 5 1/2, can SING!!!

http://youtu.be/x7mDQ5wTRSg



Cheers!

Monica