Nolan is an emotional, sensitive kid who can cry at the drop of a hat, or can be laughing hysterically just as easily. He hurts deep and loves deep. I hate leaving the house because ayahs can't control him and he is always getting into some sort of mischief. When I come home, I may find him fully clothed in the bathroom dumping water on himself, or perhaps having just pooped on the floor and using our bath mat to "help" clean it up. He is my baby and he makes that clear, wrapping his arms around me at bedtime and kissing my face all over. He is also difficult to discipline and hard to motivate, if he doesn't want to do what you want him to do. He gets bored quickly with activities that require sitting and he is always getting his hands into absolutely everything! I love him with a deep, special kind of love, and sometimes he frustrates me like no other child can!
Nolan struggles in school. When we first began doing school with him back in September, his attention span could barely reach 5 minutes. He would shut down after that and zone out. He couldn't complete a puzzle, he wouldn't look at pictures in a book, he had no energy or desire to colour, paint, or sort objects by various categories. Since then, with daily school at home, he has improved drastically. On some days he can do school for 45-60 minutes and he has learned so much. He has mastered many iPad games, is learning his ASL alphabets, and continues to excel at activities like puzzles, shape sorters, object sorting, and other fine motor games.
That said, many days Nolan acts out in school. He always looks forward to school and asks when he can go, but sometimes once he gets there he pretends to be completely clueless. He will put an act on as if he doesn't understand what we are wanting him to do, although we know very well that he understands perfectly. Sometimes he will cry and refuse to do what we ask him to do. He will smack the iPad with his hands, for example, as if he doesn't know that he has to drag the object to the proper place (a game he has done before). Or if he is doing the peg board, he will try to ram the peg in backwards, or will just keep dropping it over and over again while staring at the ceiling. Our tactic was to not give him any attention and to stare at the activity, and eventually (sometimes a loooong time later) he would complete the task. Between his tears, our frustration, and the amount of time it was taking to get him to do a simple activity, we knew something had to change.
We realize that he is smarter than he lets on, and also that he tends to be lazy and wants people to do many things for him. Many people suggested that he is bored and wants a challenge. While probably true, on the other hand he also needs to learn to obey and participate, otherwise getting him enrolled in mainstream school is going to be a challenge. I was struggling with finding a balance.
While at the Children's Museum recently, Nolan was engaged in play and I decided to sit him down and do a short activity. There was a wooden board with pegs on it, and you have to take the pieces and put them in the proper place to form the body of a man. We do things of a similar difficulty level with Nolan regularly at home. With him being so involved in what he was doing at the museum, I expected he would not be interested in participating at all, and would refuse as he would want to go continue playing. I was very surprised when he sat down with me, looked at the activity, attended to it, and completed it in 5 minutes, clapping for himself and then continuing along with his playing. It made me want to start thinking outside of the box in doing school with Nolan. Clearly, the museum environment, and all the moving around and creative play he was doing, was contributing to his attention and participation.
The next day during school at home I set out a big obstacle course for Nolan on the porch and living room. He began by walking to a sheep toy that has holes in it, where he has to take a string and thread the string through the holes. Fine motor can be a challenge for him, so he has to really focus on what he is doing, and he did a great job. Then he stood up and walked, working on taking big steps over small sticks that I put on the ground (something we are working on to help him pick up his feet as he walks). Next, he went and got his sheep toy and brought it to his bag, put it inside, slung it around his shoulder, and brought it to the next activity while walking. From there, he took the scooter board and got to slide it through the balcony over to the living room. The tunnel he would get to crawl through was sitting at the end of the obstacle course, but in order to crawl through the tunnel (which he loves doing) he had to complete the Sorting 3 game on the iPad, sort of like a shape sorter on the iPad. This game is one where he usually shows a lot of behavioural challenges while doing. Today, I was so excited to see that he completed it in 10 minutes, clapping for himself with each one he got correct and rarely needing redirection. He crawled through the tunnel and I gave him kisses all over his cheeks! He did great!
While doing some research on kinesthetic learners, I found that a lot of kids enjoy doing arts and crafts and working with their hands. Today we went on a walk downstairs and through the baby's home to follow a trail of letters. He carried his bag, crouched down and picked them up, until he found all the letters and reached the end of the trail. As he found each one, I did the ASL sign for the letter. Then we sat down and did some letter work. I would put some letters down, show him the ASL sign for a letter, ask him to find it, and then we would trace it on a paper, or I would draw a big outline of it and we would colour it in. I am also working on having Nolan colour in the lines and to look down at what he is doing, rather than scribbling while staring at the ceiling. He was motivated by the colouring and kept asking to colour, but he didn't enjoy it quite as much as he did the activity yesterday. There were still a few instances of refusing to participate, where he would tap all the letters at once or try to pick them all up. These behaviours didn't last as long as they do in the school room though, and he eventually re-directed and participated with the incentive of getting to colour in the letter and trace his hands. I introduced the letter "G" today, so he is now working on A-G. I really want him to learn these letters, and I think it is such a good challenge for him. Tomorrow I am going to try to do more letter work, but maybe through an obstacle course like we did the first day, to see if that works. I think I will incorporate the letters more into the game. Rather than sitting down and doing it, he will have stations in the obstacle course where, in order to continue along, he needs to look at the letters and give me the letter I am signing to him. Then he can move on to the next station via crawling through a tunnel or scooting on the scooter board, or something like that. I think that may work better than the colouring.
(disclaimer: I do not usually dress Nolan is fuzzy red pants that are far too short for him :) As it is Valentine's Day, I decided to be festive and dress the kids all in red and pink, and this was the best I could find!)
I want Nolan to continue to learn and to find a deep love for learning. Please pray as we search for a preschool that will accept his enrollment. Please pray as we continue to think outside the box to educate Nolan. In the meantime, until we find a great school for him, I am going to continue doing activities like those above with him at home. We are also going to be going to the Museum once a week, giving him an opportunity to play with other children and to use the awesome activities and toys they have there, mixing play with school.
Resources I have been reading:
A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity, and Free Time Create a Successful Child by Rae Pica
Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
9 Ways to Teach Tactile-Kinesthetic Learners
Nolan struggles in school. When we first began doing school with him back in September, his attention span could barely reach 5 minutes. He would shut down after that and zone out. He couldn't complete a puzzle, he wouldn't look at pictures in a book, he had no energy or desire to colour, paint, or sort objects by various categories. Since then, with daily school at home, he has improved drastically. On some days he can do school for 45-60 minutes and he has learned so much. He has mastered many iPad games, is learning his ASL alphabets, and continues to excel at activities like puzzles, shape sorters, object sorting, and other fine motor games.
That said, many days Nolan acts out in school. He always looks forward to school and asks when he can go, but sometimes once he gets there he pretends to be completely clueless. He will put an act on as if he doesn't understand what we are wanting him to do, although we know very well that he understands perfectly. Sometimes he will cry and refuse to do what we ask him to do. He will smack the iPad with his hands, for example, as if he doesn't know that he has to drag the object to the proper place (a game he has done before). Or if he is doing the peg board, he will try to ram the peg in backwards, or will just keep dropping it over and over again while staring at the ceiling. Our tactic was to not give him any attention and to stare at the activity, and eventually (sometimes a loooong time later) he would complete the task. Between his tears, our frustration, and the amount of time it was taking to get him to do a simple activity, we knew something had to change.
We realize that he is smarter than he lets on, and also that he tends to be lazy and wants people to do many things for him. Many people suggested that he is bored and wants a challenge. While probably true, on the other hand he also needs to learn to obey and participate, otherwise getting him enrolled in mainstream school is going to be a challenge. I was struggling with finding a balance.
While at the Children's Museum recently, Nolan was engaged in play and I decided to sit him down and do a short activity. There was a wooden board with pegs on it, and you have to take the pieces and put them in the proper place to form the body of a man. We do things of a similar difficulty level with Nolan regularly at home. With him being so involved in what he was doing at the museum, I expected he would not be interested in participating at all, and would refuse as he would want to go continue playing. I was very surprised when he sat down with me, looked at the activity, attended to it, and completed it in 5 minutes, clapping for himself and then continuing along with his playing. It made me want to start thinking outside of the box in doing school with Nolan. Clearly, the museum environment, and all the moving around and creative play he was doing, was contributing to his attention and participation.
The next day during school at home I set out a big obstacle course for Nolan on the porch and living room. He began by walking to a sheep toy that has holes in it, where he has to take a string and thread the string through the holes. Fine motor can be a challenge for him, so he has to really focus on what he is doing, and he did a great job. Then he stood up and walked, working on taking big steps over small sticks that I put on the ground (something we are working on to help him pick up his feet as he walks). Next, he went and got his sheep toy and brought it to his bag, put it inside, slung it around his shoulder, and brought it to the next activity while walking. From there, he took the scooter board and got to slide it through the balcony over to the living room. The tunnel he would get to crawl through was sitting at the end of the obstacle course, but in order to crawl through the tunnel (which he loves doing) he had to complete the Sorting 3 game on the iPad, sort of like a shape sorter on the iPad. This game is one where he usually shows a lot of behavioural challenges while doing. Today, I was so excited to see that he completed it in 10 minutes, clapping for himself with each one he got correct and rarely needing redirection. He crawled through the tunnel and I gave him kisses all over his cheeks! He did great!
(disclaimer: I do not usually dress Nolan is fuzzy red pants that are far too short for him :) As it is Valentine's Day, I decided to be festive and dress the kids all in red and pink, and this was the best I could find!)
I want Nolan to continue to learn and to find a deep love for learning. Please pray as we search for a preschool that will accept his enrollment. Please pray as we continue to think outside the box to educate Nolan. In the meantime, until we find a great school for him, I am going to continue doing activities like those above with him at home. We are also going to be going to the Museum once a week, giving him an opportunity to play with other children and to use the awesome activities and toys they have there, mixing play with school.
Resources I have been reading:
A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity, and Free Time Create a Successful Child by Rae Pica
Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
9 Ways to Teach Tactile-Kinesthetic Learners
Do you have a kinesthetic learner in your family? Any ideas to share on new and different ways we could teach him?
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