Inspired to Learn

#unschoolingfamily #unschoolinglife #unschooling #unschool #unschooler #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #homeschoolfamily #homeschoollife #homeschool #homeschoolers #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #practicallife #practicallifeskills #montessori #montessorimom #montessorieducation

#neurodivergent #autismacceptance #autism #autistic #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #homeschooling #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife #unschoolingfamily #unschoolinglife #unschooling #unschool #unschooler #unschoolmom #unschoolers #unschoollife #montessori #montessorimom #montessoriathome #montessorikids

Let's talk about the reality of being a parent. Kids are messy. You clean up in 1 spot, turn around, and they've started a new project. Now another room is in chaos. This is normal! Young children make messes. Grown-ups make messes. When you are busy in "create mode," you are not thinking about putting things away, organizing, etc. You want the items you need nearby for ready access. Executive functioning skills do not fully develop until 18-20 years of age. Let kids be kids. Don't interrupt their flow. Give them space to create, be, and exist. When they're finished, you can clean up together. #unschooling #unschoolingfamily #unschoolinglife #unschooler #unschool #unschoolmom #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife #homeschoolmom #homeschoolingisfun #montessori #montessorimom #montessorieducation #montessorieducation #montessorikids #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #Neurodiversity #autistic #autismacceptance #autism #adhd #executivefunctioning #executivefunction #executivefunctioningskills

Executive Functioning skills do not fully develop until 18-20 years of age. Adjust your expectations. 😉 #unschooling #unschoolingfamily #unschoolinglife #unschooler #unschool #unschoolmom #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife #homeschoolmom #homeschoolingisfun #montessori #montessorimom #montessorieducation #montessorieducation #montessorikids #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #Neurodiversity #autistic #autismacceptance #autism #adhd #executivefunctioning #executivefunction #executivefunctioningskills

#autismacceptance #autistic #autism #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #rossgreene #cps #ourneurospiceylife #unschooling #unschoolingfamily #unschool #unschooler #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #homeschoolfamily #homeschoollife #montessori #montessorimom #montessorieducation #montessoriathome #montessorikids #biglittlefeelings

C attends Vision Therapy (VT) and I've gotten a lot of questions about what that is. The easiest way for me to describe VT is that it is like Occupational Therapy for your eye muscles. For some, it helps their eyes work together. For others, it strengthens the muscles to control 'lazy eye'. For C, we are working on smooth tracking, the way his eyes inform his body movements, stepping away from tunnel vision, peripheral vision, and more. C was so good at compensating around his weaknesses. I didn't know he had reduced peripheral vision or it took him longer to adjust his eyes from near to far (or vv). He also has challenges identifying spun objects and letters. No wonder he struggled with reading, copying and writing! C's "homework" takes about 5 min, and we try to do it daily. One activity was keeping his head and body still while following an object. Another was strengthening his core and neck muscles. He has played games of picking up bean bags while avoiding a swinging ball and slotting a skewer into a straw. VT does NOT replace Orton-Gillingham or eliminate or fix dyslexia. It DOES strengthen the eye muscles and the hand-eye connection. #visiontherapy #visiontherapyworks #visiontherapysuccess #visiontherapyrocks #autismacceptance #autistic #autism #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodivergence #ourneurospiceylife #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife #homeschool #homeschoolers #unschoolingfamily #unschoolinglife #unschooling #montessori #montessorimom #montessorieducation #montessoriathome #montessorikids #meetthemwheretheyareat #followtheirlead #accomodations #occupationaltherapy

Sometimes adding 'forbidden words', like p**p, makes the world of a difference! Adding novelty to something can gain you a lot of buy in.

C is dysgraphic with a vision delay which makes him unable to track smoothly or identify the correct orientation of letters, so you'll frequently notice that I scribe for him. Between scribing and typing his composition skills have taken flight.

That said, some days getting buy in can be tough. He hasn't been a fan of alliteration work. He understands the concept, but his interest isn't quite there. On this day we tossed in the word "p**p" and his face lit up.

He fondly remembers doing this work now and is working on a matching picture to go with it.

Monkey see, monkey do.

J jumped right into C's lesson on types of galaxies. He loves doing what he sees others doing. And he remembers it because he's enjoying himself so much!

Over several days, theese 2 visited the planetarium, looked at NASA images of types of galaxies and chatted about the 3 major classifications. (Yes, there are more, but at this age and stage it was best to keep it simple!)

Then we planned what we would need and made a trip to the dollar store for supplies. With a little support and some accomodations (C is dysgraphic so I help him write his thoughts), we used white glue and glitter to design our own examples of the 3 types of galaxies.

Sometimes kids lack the words they need to express what they're feeling. This chart is a great reminder of what they could be trying to express

It's a great time of year to check out what's going on in the creek! In slow moving water you might find tadpoles and you can attempt some plant identification. Birds are nesting and everything is waking up and coming to life.

C enjoys the challenge of finding ways to cross the creek. He also likes to examine the water flow and currents. He often identifies where the speeds up or slows down and why, sharing his understanding with his little brother with much enthusiasm. He explores the way light reflects off the water, how the rocks shift, and when he was younger played with the concepts of sink and float quite a bit.

Today he's using books to help him learn about local flora and fauna. It's got to be local, he explained. He's got a plan to make a scavenger hunt for the next time we go out.

I love watching how his mind works.

Never underestimate tiny people. J is 4yo and LOVES making embroidery friendship bracelets and rainbow loom bracelets. He excels with perler beads too! It's so much fun to watch him develop deep focus while working on a project.