G is for Green

We are now departing noun-land. So far everything the child has decided I should photograph was a noun: apron, blanket, cup, dresser, elephant, fireflies...GREEN. Maybe there just wasn't a noun in sight that started with G, or maybe she realized photography is visual and you can take a picture of a adjective, too. Maybe she remembered that Green is one of my favorite colors.

Can you take a picture of something Green, Mom?
Sure. What Green thing should I take a picture of?
The palm leaf.

Silly me at first I thought she meant one of Daddy's beautiful house plants. Nope.

No she wants me to reveal to the world (well some small portion of it anyway) that we still have Easter decorations up in plain sight at our house. Yep.

This is a palm leaf made in Sunday School by Little Brother on Palm Sunday (so technically Pre-Easter Decorations.)

He even embellished it a little with some green paint. So it is Green on Green...very Green. And yes, it is (past) the 4th of July, but we all know people who keep their Christmas trees up until Valentine's Day or so, so what's the big deal, right? Go ahead, enjoy a laugh at my expense.

Then Go Gander at other Great Goodies here.

F is for Fireflies

Time for Alphabe-Thursday Fun with the child. This week's letter is F, and when I asked the child to help me think of something that starts with F we Floundered a bit at First. Furniture? File? We have lots of both, but they are not very exciting to look at.

Then over breakfast we were discussing a recent craft from storytime at our local library and it hit us - Fireflies!

Fireflies - of course!

Each child got to make their own Firefly at the library. The parts were already cut out for them, and we just glued them together. This was one of the first craft times that the kids all worked relatively independently and I just watched them in action. It was a special camping-themed story time, so there were also coloring sheets, but only the child did one of those. Nice blue hair, no? And the bear, in case you're wondering, is a polar bear. But I digress...

We were discussing the fireflies and who made which, and which was "better." There was a model to follow, you see, but each kid "followed" it in their own way. Little boy made his firefly friendly - see it waving hello? Little girl made her firefly in flight. We decided the child's firefly was standing in profile - one wing behind and one in front. And so, I concluded, I like all of the Fireflies...very much.

To Find the other Fun Follies click here.

Sunday Digest 33

Hard to believe it is time for another Sunday Digest already. To be honest I am more than a bit behind on my blog reading...just like everything else. Summer hits and I get busy with the kids and trying to keep up with the dishes and laundry (failing at that, too) many other things get put aside for "later". Here are a few things I've stumbled across that I want to share with you, though...

1) Shortly after my own foray into the "R-word" battle, Autism and Oughtisms posted this lovely piece. I think you will find it quite enlightening.

2) How many times have I wished for someone to help me find resources, set goals, meet milestones? We were quite blessed a couple of years ago to be met in our hour of greatest need by a couple of "experts" who were willing to help us define and achieve some basic behavioral goals for our daughter. Their input made all the difference for us. I certainly wouldn't be writing this blog without them. Autism Speaks published a guest post from an organization trying to get a "life coach" program started for families in need. Here is more info.

3) We had fun last week making our own tote bags following the directions here. I made three bags (one for each kid) from some canvas left over from another project and some cotton webbing I bought last Summer (see how far behind I am??). The sewing took about 2 hours for each bag (I am slow) but it was all really simple - straight lines, you can't go wrong! We decorated ours with fabric paint/marker and some old buttons I found. I will try to post some pics in the art gallery soon. I'm encouraging the kids to use them on our weekly trips to the library this Summer. They love them!

4) Hopefully this week my daughter and I will begin writing a story about how everyone is different. This will be step one in beginning to explain her own challenges to her I hope in a very positive way. On that topic, this post by Resident Alien caught my eye.

That's it for this time around friends...feel free to share your favorite links or fun Summer things to do in the comments below. Enjoy!

Artistic Expression

I wanted to share this story I found via twitter. It is another example of a creative way to bridge communication between "typical" people and people with special needs. I am so glad for places like the MacDonald Training Center that seek to help people express their creativity and find ways to be productive. Treating people with dignity and as valuable individuals is essential to changing our culture's "typical" response to those with special needs. Be sure to check out the photo gallery embedded in the news story.

I think I was particularly drawn to this story because my daughter can be quite artistic. It is something I try to encourage in her. Her painting and drawing are usually quite abstract. Often she composes her colors and balances the various forms nicely. Recently her artwork is becoming more representational. Developmentally I am glad for this, and yet it is sad to see her putting aside some of the free-form, vibrant methods I have come to love. I find myself hoping that this piece of her will not totally disappear.