Another Very Shady Park!

On Tuesday, we went with some friends to another shady park on Thomas Road in Wellesley, MA. It is called Perrin Park, and it was shadier than the last park. We were there on a cool morning, so it was chilly! There was plenty of playground equipment, and a big field to run in too! The kids wanted to go back the next day!

Auditory vs Visual

Today while Frankie was at "school", we did a project in the parent group. It was called a "First, Then" board. We laminated paper, the first half has a "First", the second half has a "Then". At home, you could use this with your child and velcro on pictures. Under "first" you could have a picture of cleaning the toys, and under "then" a picture of having a snack. So the "first" is an unpreferred activity, and the "then" is the preferred activity. It sounds like a good idea to teach children to do certain things that they may not want to. And they can have warning about what is coming next.
When I was making it, I was thinking that is sounded like a good idea, but Frankie is quite good about doing something willingly before his preferred activity. The other mom in the group with a visually impaired child said she might want to get a bigger font for the words. It then dawned on me, that yes, the words were too small and that Frankie does not learn things easily visually! He is smart and most of the things he knows he has learned through listening. He is an auditory learner. This got me thinking about how there is so much learning that is taught visually, and I need to make sure Frankie gets to learn how he does best!

Dermatologist

Frankie went to the dermatologist back in July. I just wanted to get a baseline for his skin and any changes over the years. She said he looked good and we don't need to return for 5 years.
I got to ask her about sunblocks! She recommended these chemical free ones; Varicream 60, Neutrogena Sensitive Skin, Blue Lizard Sensetive Skin and California Baby.

Some recommended sites for sun protective clothing: Coolibar and Nozone.

New Baby Banz

Baby Banz sunglasses are now being made with clear lenses for children with special vision needs. The company is also making sunglasses for moms and dads too. Check them out!

One of the Shadiest Parks I've Been To

Frankie and I went to Warren Park in Wellesley this afternoon. We both loved it! There were huge trees shading mostly all of the park! I didn't even put his sunblock on. It was beautiful with so many old trees. He loved all the climbing structures. There was a large one with some tall slides. He was mostly on the smaller one, which had a variety of slides too. There were a few other climbing structures, swings, tire swings, a sand box and plenty of picnic tables.
I found it very enjoyable because it was so shady and there was a lot of room, so it didn't seem crowded.

Pre IEP Meeting

Last week, Frankie's EI teacher and TVI both came to the house together. I really liked it because we started discussing the IEP process and what is going to happen. I feel like I have more of a time line now. In the fall, we will start sending paperwork to the schools and then start the evaluations over the winter. I just feel better knowing more about what is going to happen!
Does anyone had good IEP do'es and don'ts?

Sunblock for George

Since Frankie needs sunblock mostly everyday, he is pretty used to getting it put on. But since he is 2, and exerting more independence each day, : ) he has days where he is very squirmy, moving, thrashing around! So today as I was putting it on, he happened to be holding his Curious George.
I pretended to put a little bit of sunblock in his hand and told him to rub it onto George so he was safe from the sun too. He loved doing it and asked for more and was occupied the whole time. We use this for other things like eating too, where he will feed George finger foods and then feed himself. But I was glad it worked well for sunblock, as well!

Growing Up

Lizzy left with my parents today to spend the week at their house. She has done this for the past 2 summers. She was so excited! I was a little concerned that Frankie would be quite upset to see her go. He was OK till they were pulling out of the driveway, then he said he wanted to go in the car. He has been asking for her and Ghee and Pa all day. I made him a photo album of all of them to look at in the morning.
So he is doing pretty well, but I miss her already. I know she will have a great time, have fun and get to do lots of cool stuff! But it is funny to tuck Frankie in at night and not her. I guess it's part of her growing up!!