The Weekly Review: Week 64

SLP Resource of the Week

E.J. at toddlerapproved.com came up with a simple idea for using matchbox cars as a learning game to address early language concepts such as colors, counting, matching, directions, and prepositions. She simply printed out parking lots with rectangles the size of the cars. Pre-print some with colors already in, and leave some blank. Your child/student can color their own pattern and then park the cars in that pattern. She includes a link to some printables she's already made.

Blog Post of the Week

My favorite blog post this week was short and sweet, but I found it inspiring in a way I find difficult to articulate. I just enjoyed Jessica's son's ingenuity and her excitement and pride in observing it.

Ava this Week

So many things seem to be going on with Ava lately. The strong independent streak she's always had is blossoming further. I can't help her climb down from her carseat, help her choose or put on her clothes, or help her take her clothes back off. And yet, when she determines she'd rather have something done for her she can ask oh so sweetly. She's just so adorably manipulative.

Michael played "camp-out" one morning by spreading every blanket he could find on the floor of his room. Since then, Ava has been sleeping on her floor instead of her bed on a little pallet made of blankets. She seems quite happy there and sleeps the usual amount of time, so why not?

She was delighted to return to speech this week for the first of the four summer sessions provided by the schools. She loves going to "big girl speech" and the program is well designed and implemented so I couldn't be happier with the services we're receiving from the schools.

Weekly Michael

I was sitting on the floor working on a project and Michael wandered over. He clearly had something on his mind that he wanted to discuss and I was curious about what he wanted to share. "Mama..." he began. "If we have an accidental baby it can sleep in Ava's room."

Umm...

It took me a moment to process what exactly he was talking about. "Well, sweetheart," I countered, "We're not planning on having an accidental baby. Usually mommies and daddies plan to have babies when they want to start a family, or if their family isn't big enough yet. Our family is complete. There's you, and Ava, and Mommy and Daddy and that's enough for our family."

Michael was not to be deterred from his hypothetical sibling though. "Yes, mama..." he replied in an exasperated voice, as if I weren't paying enough attention, "but if we had an accidental baby we could let it sleep in Ava's room."

I'm pretty sure I heard by husband lingering in the hallway snickering to himself as he eavesdropped on the conversation going downhill from there. I would have done the same thing. It was actually pretty funny in retrospect.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

It's kind of been a slacker week on the home therapy front. I blame summer. :-)