The Secret Playroom

We have a wooden playset/swingset in our backyard. We got it from Sams a couple of years ago and assembled the thing ourselves. It's pretty nice and the children are growing into it. I try to change it a little each year to freshen up interest in it.

The first year we didn't install the rock climbing wall because the children were just too little. Michael was only two and Ava had just turned one. That was the year they could climb up the ladders, but not back down and were also too afraid to slide down the slide. So they would climb all the way up to the third level and then start screaming for help. That was tons of fun.

The second year we installed the rock climbing wall and switched one of the infant swings to a "big boy" swing. They love the rock climbing wall. They still pretty much ignore the "big kid" swing. Well, Ava will tummy swing on it but that's about it.

The lowest level of the playset has a steering wheel and needs to be passed through to get to the second level which features the slide. The third level was rarely used, because nothing was up there. I decided to try to turn it into some kind of secret hideout this year by covering the sides with canvas.

We bought a $10 canvas dropcloth from a home improvement store. We cut panels just a little larger than each side of the playset and stapled it in place. The project didn't take more than 90 minutes or so. Then I used sharpies to decorate it. The children decided to call it "The Secret Playroom". Suddenly the top floor of the playset is a pretty cool place to be.

I also thought it was pretty funny when Ava liberated the telescope to play pirate in the yard. And isn't she just an example of high fashion?

Welcome to April everyone.

Post Pediatrician Visit Update (tongue-tie / mouth breathing)

As such things often are, Michael's pediatrician visit was oddly anti-climactic. I think I tend to build doctor visits up in my head as Super-Important-Life-Altering-Decision meetings when often they are pretty routine. Our pediatrician was -completely- uninterested in the tongue-tie. She had been educated that clipping a tongue-tie rarely fixes speech problems and didn't want to give it further thought.

I've been thinking about why the tongue-tie bothers me even though I know that Michael can produce 4/6 alveolar sounds. It bugs me that he cannot stick his tongue out horizontally and cannot lift his tongue up on command. If it isn't the tongue-tie restricting that movement I want to know what is. Is it weakness? If so, what is the origin of the weakness? Can habitual mouth breathing result in low enough tone to impact tongue strength? Our pediatrician was uninterested. She said, some people can curl their tongue up. Some can't. Perhaps Michael just can't lift his tongue. I have to say, I was unsatisfied.

She was, however concerned about the mouth breathing. After examining him, she declared his tonsils of normal size. She can't see his adenoids though and wants him to see an ENT to get an opinion about the tonsils/adenoids/sinuses. She said I could ask the ENT about the tongue-tie if I wanted another opinion.

Her bet however, based upon my husband's history of needing allergy shots as a child and Michael's history of eczema, is allergies. She referred us to an allergist and wants him to take Flonase at night and Claritin in the morning. The receptionist for the allergist told me that they always allocate time for skin testing even when scheduling an initial appointment so I need to pull him off the Claritin 5 days before the appointment just in case the doctor decides he needs skin testing.

Hmm. Skin testing my 4 year old. That sounds... interesting. Other than educating him before hand, bringing something distracting to watch on the iPad, and some super special treat for when he's done does anyone have any suggestions for what to expect or how to handle it?

Presumably, when we figure out why Michael can't breathe through his nose and address the underlying issue the mouth breathing will cease. Perhaps some improved tongue strength and mobility will follow? It'll be two weeks or more before we get through the specialist appointments and begin to get some answers (I hope). I sure do hate waiting.

The Weekly Review: Week 54

Crafty SLP Idea of the Week

Katie at The Red Kitchen made 26 beanbags out of old t-shirts (one for each letter of the alphabet). She stitched the capital letter on the front of each beanbag and the matching lowercase letter on the back. They are adorable and you should definitely follow the link to her tutorial if you're interested.

If you made some for the consonant sounds you could play a ton of games with them. Kids could toss them back and forth and say the sound each time they catch the bag. They could toss them in a bucket or through a hoop. They could play hot potato with them. You could use them for practicing the sounds in isolation, or have older kids think of a word that contains the sound.

Ava this Week

Ava's been bitten by the I'll-do-it-myself bug. Every time I try to help her with something only to have her firmly and often rudely reject my assistance, I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that this is a good thing. She's becoming more independent. Letting her do things herself improves her self-help skills. It would all be easier if she said it sweetly, with a pleasant smile and managed to do it just as quickly as if I were helping. Is that too much to ask?

Weekly Michael

The littles were playing in the backyard together by themselves (oh, the joy) the other day. The back door opened with a boom and Michael came running inside looking for me with quite the sense of urgency. I mentally prepared myself for some kind of minor disaster. Instead, he just had a question. "Mama, is sod a word?"

We've been having fun with rhyming and playing games with word endings, so we have been having lots of discussions of what is and what is not a word. So I wasn't completely surprised by the question. I told him "yes" and launched into a somewhat long-winded discussion of what sod is. As soon as I finished, he rushed back outside shouting to his sister, "Sod is a word, but it doesn't mean jump!"

I was left wondering what exactly their discussion had been about before Michael came in to request my expert opinion.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

The children have enjoyed the change of pace provided by the magnet cards and switcheroo game, and we met my goal of slowing down to focus on quality over quantity. I think next week we'll go back to drill fueled by bribery though and focus on some intense practice again.