Special Connection Homeschool

Monday we went on a field trip to Topeka Kansas and took a tour of the capitol building. I was very impressed at how well behaved Gess was. She paid attention the entire time and never tried to leave the group. It was very informative and we were blessed with a tour guide who happened to have a song for every stop along the way. Gess even said her favorite part was when he had us all sing our state song together, which for the state of Kansas is "Home on the Range." Here is Gess with Larry, our singing tour guide. Before we went to Topeka we spent a few weeks studying about Kansas and of course learning what all our state symbols were. Our local library had the book Fun Kansas History Projects by Sally Toth which has reproducible activities in it. We did the Kansas Symbols flip book which was really fun. Upon completion of it, Gess was able to name all the Kansas symbols without help. She now knows what our flag and seal look like and knows our state motto (in Engli...

Children with Down Syndrome are often smaller than the average child and they also often struggle with motor skills and other issues that make using a computer a little more difficult (at least when they are young). However, we were able to start Gess using the computer at a pretty early age with the helps of a few tools we found. Peripherals Computer Mouse - When Gess was about 3 years old she really had a hard time getting her little fingers in a proper position to use our adult sized mouse. They actually make mice for children that are not only smaller but very cute. We however opted to just run down to the store and pick up a micro-mouse that was made small to use easily with a laptop. It wasn't very expensive and it fit her hand rather well. It took me some getting used to, but I really actually liked it once I did. Large Print Keyboard - Then we got a large print keyboard. Gess has had trouble with her vision and even now with her glasses she has trouble reading sm...

Last week I wrote about how we have enabled Gess to fix her own breakfast cereal each morning in my blog Fostering Independence: Breakfast Cereal . Well, that is only one of the ways we have helped Gess to be more independent in the kitchen. We actually started activities like this at a very early age. When Gess was a preschooler I found her to be very destructive. After raising two boys, I was surprised that this quiet little girl seemed to make more of a mess than they ever did. It was not just that she was "messy" but she was getting into things she was not supposed to. After several times of finding broken eggs on the floor, I decided I had to try to figure out how to stop it. Instead of just applying discipline I first wanted to figure out "why" she was so determined to get into the fridge. It was then I realized that she was simply trying to be like mommy. Instead of punishing that behavior and locking her out of the fridge, I decided to try a differen...

03.02.11 is the national day to bring awareness for ending the R-word. The campaign is called Spread the Word to End the Word . When we use the R-word in ways it was not intended we end up hurting innocent people. If you ever feel the need to say the word retard , or retarded, as a slam against someone or something, stop and think; you are hurting people just like my Gess. You are hurting people who work harder, and longer to accomplish things we take for granted. You are hurting people who strive and never give up. You hurting who people who offer you a hand of friendship. I know that hurting these people was probably never your intent. It probably never crossed your mind that it hurts people who don't deserve it. Well, it does. And now that you thought about it, why not stop using the word in that way? Instead let's give people with intellectual disabilities the RESPECT they deserve. That's an R word I think everyone should learn.