Mama School

I have enrolled Brady in "Mama's school." Where and what is Mama's school you ask? Well, it's my classroom of one taught by me, myself and I. I'm sure Brady envisioned his teacher being a bit younger, probably a lot hotter and definitely not related, but he will have to settle with dear old Mama.

I have set up a "curriculum" to focus on four specific areas: 1. Fine motor skills 2. Speech 3. Gross motor skills 4. General social skills

This set up allows Brady to develop simple things like sitting in a chair and expanding his attention span. He is incredibly interested in the world around him so the idea of having to sit in a chair and focus on a task is challenging. Brady will be going to pre school in the fall so I thought it was time to rehearse some of the common classroom routines. This way when Brady hits the classroom for real it won't be such an adjustment....hopefully.

Here is a sample of what we do:

Sing welcome song!

1. Open with reading a book. I make Brady turn the pages and allow him to point and "chat" about the pictures

2. Fine motor drill- lacing beads, stacking 1" blocks, popping bubbles (combine this with speech exercise by saying "pop" every time he pops a bubble).

3. Art- drawing on paper with a crayon or marker. Practice taking the cap off and on of the marker. Emphasize NOT eating the crayon! UGH!

4. Gross Motor- climb in large box and throw balls EVERYWHERE!

5. Speech- run through flash cards from DownsEd See and Learn program

Sing closing song.

I vary the exercises depending on Brady's mood. We always finish each task on a positive note. I follow his lead because I want to ensure that "learning" is a good experience.

So far he likes school. Last night he ran to his table, sat down, said "Mama" and pointed to the books. It was pretty cool.

For help I've asked my EI team for some direction. I've also contacted the district for a list of expectations for Kindergartners.

I guess the teacher in me is still alive and kicking.