Special Connection Homeschool

Well, we are almost half-way to our required 20 books for our local Summer Reading Program at the library. Gess has done this every year since she was about 2. Back then I read the books to her, of course, but the last 2 years I made her read all the books herself in order to get the credit for them. We found the early readers and other books that were simple for to read. The first year we did this I had to help her quite a bit, but she still had to attempt to read it. Last year we repeated a lot of the easy reader books and she read them by herself. So this year we are toughening it up. Some of these books take her more than one day to finish because she has to work so hard to read and they are much longer than before. Of course, sometimes she refuses to stop so she is able finish a longer book in one sitting if she is really into the story. Here are the 9 books we have read so far. 1. Three Wise Old Women by Elizabeth Corbett 2. Bob and Otto by Rober...

I went to a Special Needs Planning Workshop for Down Syndrome put on by the Special Needs Planning Center in Kansas City . There are not very many centers that specialize in special needs financial planning and trusts so that in itself was refreshing to see. The Special Needs Planning Center is there to help you protect your child's future by making sure you do so correctly. The founders are also parents of children with special needs so they understand how important proper planning is. Their number one priority is to make sure that all children are protected. Because of that goal, they share a lot of basic information in their workshop that every parent needs to know, like how SSI works, why is important that your adult child receives it and why it is imperative that you do not do anything to jeopardize that essential asset. SSI Requirements and Restrictions *The actual requirements and regulations is different in all 50 states so be sure to check your individual state laws. I ...

We went to the Humboldt Civil War Days this last weekend. It was a lot of fun. They had several re-enactments and shared many historical facts about that era. My husband enjoyed the gun demonstration while I was off with Gess on a carriage ride. I would have enjoyed more of the demonstrations and re-enactments myself, but Gess is not at a point where she is able to enjoy things by standing or sitting still for very long (especially when there is so much to see and do). She had the honor of meeting President Abraham Lincoln which thrilled me because he is one of the 4 presidents she has learned about! She also had the opportunity to make a corn husk doll. It came with a tag that gave it's history. It reads: Classic Cornhusk Dolls Cornhusk dolls were very common in the early days of America. The dolls were usually made in the fall from the husks pulled off the dried ears of corn during husking time. Cornhusk dolls were originally made by Native Americans, who then taught the c...

We had an awful storm blow through last night. It was one of those sudden storms where you go from no rain to a torrential downpour in a matter of minutes. The hail was really blasting our patio and we called Gess to come and look so she could see what it hail actually was. As with everything else, we turn these moments into teaching moments. We have talked about weather and warnings and what to do, but you know that is never like the real thing. So after she watched the hail, we wrote the word and talked about it. From there it was into the bathroom as a tornado warning came across the radio. Now, hopefully, she will never see a tornado up close, so we are using the internet for that. We spent our morning discussing weather safety and I found a couple of resources I thought I would share. Please let me know what resources you use to teach weather safety to your kids too! One was a printable coloring book called Bill and Maria Learn About Tornado Safety provided b...

This was Gess' first year of dance and she had a really awesome year. It was an opportunity for her to grow in many ways. She got to be in a class in which mom was no where around, she got to be around a bunch of girls not far off in age and she got to learn to follow instructions as a group. Then of course there are the things she learned specifically for dance like certain exercises and dance steps. As with most things, you are always amazed to see just how far a child can come in one year and this is no exception. I have to say that she had an excellent dance studio and her teachers were absolutely amazing! They were patient, gentle and caring but you can tell they also expected her to perform for them and that she did. She has learned more than just some dance steps. She learned a complete routine! (Actually she learned 2) Since she always watches those around her it might appear as though she needs that cue to help, but I have seen her do it alone at home and believe me...