I Guess the Extra Math Practice This Summer is Helping.

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James came to me last night just before he was heading off to bed.  

Every night as we put James to bed,
we call Kiefer and he comes trotting 
like a puppy, jumps up on the bed and 
settles in.  I know he is mostly there 
for the fuzzy blanket, but James loves 
this part of his end of the day routine!

"Hey, Mom."

"What?"

"Do I have a 3 pack?"

"Ah... what?"

"Well, I don't have a 6 pack so do I at least have a 3 pack?"

"Ah... I don't think so."

"Well then... I'm just fat."

Before I could respond with my motherly quip to help with his self-esteem, away he cheerfully went off wishing me a good night and calling his favorite bedtime fellow, Kiefer.  

Just another night in the Laughter House. 

He is Growing up SO Quickly!!!

Okay, I know that I should expect it because my son is twelve, but it took me by surprise this morning. James has had crushes before, the most notable one in the second grade.  During that one, the young lady's parents contacted the teacher and were very unhappy that James had such affection for their daughter, almost to the point of trying to have him moved to another class. Autism or not, I believe it was an appropriate level of attention for a young child trying out love for the first time.  Anyway... fast forward to today.  James has been doing an online camp for beginning coding using Minecraft. He almost immediately really liked another participant, a young lady only identifiable by her Minecraft username. Today was  the final day of the camp and I spent some time before the camp prepping him for this disappointment. >>Pizza Therapy after last Minecraft experience ending<<  He talked himself into having a great time and it was very successful.

Today, the kids got to do pretty much what they wanted to do, and James and this young lady had a wonderful time.  Towards the end of the camp, the counselors invited all of the kids to the dance floor.  James and all the other kids went and when they got there, James gave a poppy to his young friend.  He whispered to me, "Mom, I have a crush on her."  He blushed, his hands went automatically over his face, his hands got clammy, etc. He was experiencing everything that young boys and girls experience when they truly like each other and want to spend a lot of time together.
At the very end, the counselors let the kids write bios and disclose their first names to the other campers. James wrote that he was twelve and entering the seventh grade. He hoped to have fun and have a lot of friends in the coming school year.  He also wrote that he lived in California.  (I had to stop him from giving out our town.)  His young friend wrote that she was eleven and lives on the East Coast.  (She additionally gave her state, but for her protection her name and location won't show up here.)  James got super excited and he started bouncing in his chair saying that she lived close and we could meet with her. I had to tell him that the East and West Coast are on opposite sides of this very large country.  He took it well, asked her to meet him on his personal Minecraft realm and off he ran to meet her in a place that defies all geographic limitations.  I hope she will be taking the game design camp towards the end of July. That would be so fun for James to meet up with her again in a camp.  However, for now, they will be on his realm in Minecraft and giggling.  The time difference may be difficult for them to work around but Minecraft doesn't follow many of the rules we have on this planet we live on, so I guess it won't be too difficult.

How Can You Tell When Your Kid Has Had Enough Summer Vacation?

Actual conversation in the Laughter House this afternoon...

sweet little man but no words!

"James, time to get ready for Karate.  Please go change in."  (this is our shorthand for getting ready. 'Changing in' is to get ready and 'Changing out' is to take the uniform off.)

sweet young man, words
and attitude of a typical teen

"Mom, I thought Dad wasn't going to make it." (Dad just called telling us he was stuck in traffic.)

"Well James, there are other drivers in the house."

"Oh great, the undrivable mom, (my van is in the shop) and the always irritated with me sister."

"Yup, you do have choices."

My mantra today that will keep me from losing my mind, "I wanted him to be able to talk, I wanted him to be able to talk, I wanted him to be able to talk!"

Boy do I love this kid!!! Especially right now that he is in karate class!!!

Something to Bond Over..... Thankfully

He certainly knocked that one out
of the park!!
(this picture is old but super cute!)

There certainly are challenges when there is a wide age gap between children.  There certainly are benefits, such as having another set of hands to help with whatever chore is daunting at the moment. Our kids, not by design but by destiny, are seven years apart.  James was the best "doll" we ever got our daughter, and she adored him. Over the years, the kids have been close and had basic sibling difficulties like all kids in a family.  
Our daughter is back for five weeks before she moves back to college for summer classes, her own apartment, and the fall quarter. James has had some trepidation about having her return and eventually leave again.  This usually looks and sounds harsh towards the person he is going to miss horribly when they are no longer in his environment.  I have seen it happen time and time again and although it is tough for the person it is directed at, I know that all behavior is communication.  My goal for him is that he will be able to find a way that doesn't alienate the person leaving so they are excited about going away.   
This wonderful exchange happened yesterday between them and it made me smile.  James went through a long period where he was obsessed with everything Mario. Yesterday, he made his sister smile when he let her into his world for a while.  "Princess Peach deserves better! She shouldn't be a damsel in distress all the time!  I mean, what's special about Mario? Peach has magic!"  Our daughter was so impressed with her brother, the budding feminist!! 

Don't PANIC... It is Only Summer Vacation!

It has happened again... The school year is almost over and the summer is nearly upon us.  This year, there is no Brainiac Academy (a science program for incoming 5th and 6th graders) for James because he has aged out of it.  He isn't a kid who can get ESY (extended school year),  So, what is a mum to do?  PLAN.  HYPER PLAN and hope for the best.
While James has visions of restful days wearing only a Tshirt and undies and playing endless hours of Minecraft, I have visions of him going 10 weeks with little to no structure and possibly losing 70% of what his teachers have spent the last 10 months gently cramming into his head.  And so I choose not to panic and have been planning for this summer for the past 9 or so weeks.  First, I scoured classes through the community centers and rec programs. I looked for online activities that would catch his attention while focusing him on an agenda that isn't his. I know that he is good at math, but it's a subject that must be constantly reinforced, or his brain will turn into a sieve and all that knowledge will pour out like a giant waterfall. I also know that James will need to be active so fingers crossed, his Karate Dojo will have a summer camp program.   All I know is that we are racing towards the prize......... August 10th when 7th grade starts!!! (I am by no means trying to rush the summer fun away but 10 weeks is a really long time to be without the structure of school for...........parents)

Here are some ideas to help keep your child's brain active and ready for the next year~

Math: >>click here<<  15-20 problems a day in game form can keep their minds sharp and ready for the new year.  >>click here<< compete against another player or do the games privately.  >>click here<< very cute help Curious George find numbers, numbers in word form and number of items (find one lion). >>click here<< some really cute stuff here.

Language Arts: Really only one word is needed here, well really two,  READ and TALK to your kids. If your mouth isn't tired by the end of the day, and I don't mean from eating ice cream or watermelon, you probably haven't talked enough to your kids.

1. Go to the library
2. Attend story hours
3. Read books together
4. Have your kids read out loud to you and then tell you, in their own words, what they have just read.  After about an hour, have them tell you again, (helps reinforce longer term memory. No worries if they can't remember, you can give them clues.)
5. Mess up favorite stories and have them fix your errors.  No need for tantrums by you changing out favorite part of the story.
6. Reading comprehension can be difficult so help your kids understand what they have just read. 
7. Hit YouTube, and frequent School House Rock.  I was a kid in the 70's and this stuff still makes me smile (all time favorites, "I'm Just a Bill" {I know that one is history but it is GREAT!} and "Interjections!") Both of my kids were brought up on this stuff and James still comes running when he hears the music start for "I'm Just a Bill" and "Interjections!"

I know that the summer is supposed to be relaxing but it is possible if you plan, the beginning of the new school year can go smoother if you lay a good foundation.  

PIZZA THERAPY!!

James totally shut down on the floor of the movie theater

James has been going to Super League Gaming >>click here<< to play Minecraft at a local movie theater.  It was for 4 weeks and before the first session, he didn't sleep the night before because he was sooooo excited!  He loved every minute of this experience except for the final 45 minutes of the fourth session (today).  He was superficially upset that they weren't playing the "exciting games." In reality, James was sabotaging the experience so he wouldn't be upset that it was ending.  This is something that happens when anything he loves ends.  TOTAL SHUTDOWN!!! My husband and I tried everything in our power to get him to rally and have a great end of the gaming.  Nothing would work. Even his teammates, who he talks about fairly constantly at home, couldn't persuade him to join in the fun.  This shutdown was EPIC!!! I felt so bad for him and equally bad for his teammates who had fought hard to finish in second place even without his strong playing capabilities. James is a very sensitive soul and feels things exceptionally strongly.  He talked about giving up Minecraft for good, (a threat that he makes often when we ask him to stop playing so we can do {fill in the blank}.)
We had already decided to go and have pizza at a local pizza place. James adores pizza so I was hoping that it would bring him out of his funk. He told us that he just wanted to go home and never go out again.  My husband and I took a chance that pizza may be the key to getting him in a better mood.  Actually the directions that my phone was giving us made him giggle so that was a positive sign.  Any as predicted, PIZZA therapy did the trick and my cheerful and bubbly boy was back.  Rambling about Minecraft and when he could add his new friends to his realm.  Thank you again pizza!!!

No kidding this is what our meat keeper looks like 90% of the time!
If we ever move again, which isn't likely, but we will always need to
be within 20 miles of a Costco with a food court.

Now that we are finally home, James is in his room frantically adding his friends to his realm and breathing down my neck to contact their mum so he can play with them.  Just another day........

He Finally Learned This!!!! I am soooooo PROUD!!

this was the T shirt he was wearing.   

I have spent many years trying to teach James how to match his clothes.  He has always worn what was clean but never really cared about how they went together.  Over the years we have seen many very interesting top and bottom combinations.  James may finally be understanding how to put clothes together so that they are not offensive to other people's vision.
Today I got a random call from him.  He was stuck in the bathroom at school.  Lucky he had his phone with him!  He called and told me that his clothes had gotten wet and he couldn't leave the bathroom.  I called over to the office, asked for his extra clothes to get to him somehow.  James stayed on the phone with me and eventually some guy took over and got on the phone with me. He was the principal at the other school that shares the campus.
Somehow, James got to the bus. I found out later they actually held the bus for him.  After a short while, I got another call from James, "Mom, would you let me wear............. black shorts with black, red and yellow shirt?"  "It's okay, buddy.  Just come home and we will take care of it. Thank you for checking and I love you."  "Love you too, Mom."  Black shorts match but not as much as the red ones he was wearing this morning.  Nice to be asked though.