$10 is a good motivator

Its the first of March, the first day of Autumn and with all these firsts it is the perfect time to make some changes.

We have all been in a bit of a rut and after 4 weeks back at school, I decided that if I wanted things to be different I had to feel and act differently about them. And here it is.

I have created a bit of a competition around 'looking after yourself' as competition seems to be a motivating force around here. We are always busy, and the boys are tired, but we need to increase the focus on doing the right things first, and the 'fun' things second.

The new plan is that the boys will each make their bed every morning, they'll get dressed in their school uniform, pack thier bag for school and sort out any other things that they need for the day. They are also responsible for their sports bags and making sure they have a drink bottle etc for these activities.

The twins are now in grade 3 and have started getting homework. They have 2 weeks to do it and already in the first cycle, they forgot about it and left it too long and then got really anxious about it. I have made them create a schedule so they know when they have time to do it and obviously I will help them to get it done.

The final implementation is a diary. I have bought the boys each an A4 diary with a day to a page. The instructions I have given them is to write about their day, what they have been doing and try to get them to reflect a little on what they have been doing. What I ultimately want them to do is simply get in the habbit of writing and be able to write more, and quickly. Even Xandy in Grade 6 struggles to fill a page, so hopefully this new habbit will improve that.

Each of these categories will receive a score out of ten each day and the child with the highest score at the end of the week gets $10. (we dont do pocket money as we figure we pay enough for all of their  extra curricular activities) So there it is - all written on the fridge so no one can say they didn't see it. We'll see how we go but from where we are the only way is up!

Lovely Learning

Its school holidays here and Alexander is driving "home school". The boys need a little catch up in their reading and maths so it really is to their advantage for us to do a little work at home. The last couple of days I have driven the sessions, but as a change I thought Alexander could read Charlottes Web to the twins - and this was the result. A really lovely moment in the sun. If only every day looked like this picture!!

Confidence

Hi five Benji! Benji got a smile award at school today for the improvement in his handwriting. The teacher had spoken to me prior that he wanted to give him an award - because he had earned it. They also wanted to check that it was ok for Spencer not to get one at the same time and I said that it was my preference that they deserved it rather than getting them at the same time.

He was very pleased with himself and has been doing much better since our meeting. One of the follow ups to the meeting was me meeting the school psychologist, which of course I was happy to do. While we talked about a number of things, Benji was our main concern. He has settled down a lot and is getting more attention in the class but we were looking at the root of the problems and how to resolve or at least assist.  His teacher had talked about confidence, but I was concerned that wasn't giving him the skills and the clever psychologist explained that it was not Confidence but Resilience.

Lightbulb moment. Of course it is. I knew it wasn't confidence, but I didn't know what it was. So we talked about some strategies and some I already do, some are new. She was so great in helping me clear out some of my thoughts and reasoning and I hope I can help Benji in the same way. At this stage, he doesn't need formal meetings and we will keep in touch to monitor progress but I did come home and make a suggested purchase. She recommended the Happiness Trap book which is not purely about resilience, but has a whole lot of strategies to help generally deal with life. Will let you know when it arrives!

squeak squeak BANG!

This is a wordy one so skip it if you'd like.

The old saying - the squeaky wheel gets the oil is so true. The education and readiness of my twins has long been a concern of mine and I have been active in the school to try and make sure they are getting what they need. I am at drop offs, pick ups and special events - but only just discovered that that is not enough. If you want something to happen you NEED to be an advocate for your child. I have got the the point that I don't care how pushy I appear, I just want what they need.

Now, the boys are in grade 1. They are on the young side of things and current trends say that boys in December should be held back in kinder, and twins - well even more so. Put into that mix auditory processing disorder and you now have a bit better picture. With the help of speechies and OTs the decision was made to go to prep and they excelled. The structure was what they needed and socially they are doing fine.

But I felt they were behind educationally. They were initially in separate grades to give them the opportunity to develop as individuals. This was great. I would pop in and see the teachers, both independently said They're doing fine. I would say Really? And they would give me a weird look and say - Yes! Really! So, I would wander off thinking how different are the kids at school to at home????

Come end April and a big move happens. They move into new pods. This is all of the grade 1s (some 90 kids) in one big open space. They are taught as 2 large classes, each with 2 teachers. So my boys who each have their own friends are now thrust back together, people asking which one is which, to boys that they didn't even realise was a twin. One step forward two steps back.

The big room is noisy, filled with kids and the teachers are learning each others style and how to work as a team in a new environment. All fine - but I feel it is at the expense of my kids. During this time. the boys come home with stickers on them and the story of where they come from seems to vary. When I finally get a chance to grab a teacher, she explains that they are getting additional help with words and handwriting. As I tried to explain to her, the additional help is appreciated - I just didn't know about it and I can help if I know what they are doing.

I then try and organise to catch the other teacher as Benji is displaying some troubling behaviour. The poor kid thinks he is stupid and to punish himself for not knowing things, he is pulling out his hair, hitting, biting and pinching himself. I can't do nothing, so when the meeting falls through I wrote a letter. I am not having a go at the teachers, I just need them to understand how I feel, what the kids are doing and how we can all move forward and fix the problems.

Not surprisingly a meeting was quickly arranged and it was action stations. There have been a lot of issues that have caused this - teachers strikes from last year and this year meant no comments on reports, no parent teacher interview this year, the move to the new room meant notes didn't get sent etc for which they were very apologetic. I am fine with all that - I just don't want my kids falling through the cracks - particularly 2 of them.

The meeting was positive and I now feel that both teachers have an eye on them. Lots of information was not passed on from Prep so it is almost like a term wasted. Something that does bother me is the political correctness of the whole system - where no-one likes to say it how it is. If they are behind then just tell me. If they are slow to pick things up - then thats how it is. Don't dress it up with a bow. Nothing is going to help them down the track - we have to get on it now so that they don't fall too far behind.

As a result, I actually feel better. We have set up a communication book where the teachers will let me know they program for the upcoming week and I can do some pre-teaching at home. We have a greater focus on home schooling, with reading, spelling and fine motor becoming much more of a focus. Hopefully, we are on the upward swing and have caught it early enough. What it has shown me is that you have to trust your gut and go out an fight for your kids because no one else is going to do it for you!

Fortune

Today was about Alexander's fortunes - two different types but both with hidden educational value! The first fortune is the paper fortune teller which are easy to make and are great fun. What is the best thing about these little things is all opportunities to learn, while having fun! First there is the folding which is good for fine motor skills and following instructions. Then on the outside we wrote colour names, on the next level was numbers 1 - 8 and on the underside flaps are little sayings or actions. So he got to use his imagination and writing and spelling. Once the fortune teller is complete, playing with it is just as valuable. He is doing different movements with his hands, he is spelling and counting and communicating - all without knowing it!! (An aside, I am already a little sick of it, think we need a new audience!)

A quick how to make it:
Have a square piece of paper and fold it diagonally both ways to find the middle. I put a dot there.
Fold the points into the middle (there should be four points to fold in) and you are left with a smaller square.
Turn your work over and put a dot in the middle. Fold the four points into the middle as you did above to give you an even smaller square.
Next you need to make some creases. I fold it in half both ways on the straight, not diagonal with all the points in the middle of the fold. This just helps with the movement of the fortune teller.
Then if you gently push the points up you can slide your fingers into the open flaps on the outside.
We choose colours for the outside, numbers for the inside and have done activities and also yes no versions.

This is the other fortune, real money. Alexander wants to buy some things so he suggested he could do some chores to earn some money. Together we devised a list of basic tasks that he could do to earn some money. Each task successfully completed earns him 10 cents so he income is only limited by his activity. Tasks include getting dressed all ready, packing his bag, making his bed, cleaning his room, but also setting the table, packing the dishwasher and feeding the dog.
We have a little tick chart where the activities are listed on the side and along the top are the days and each activity gets a tick. He then needs to add up the daily ticks and transfer them to a monetary amount, and add up the weekly total. Then I pay him what he has earned and he delights in counting how much he has earned. He is enjoying it and when he wants something he remembers how to work for it. Not only am I getting jobs done, but the incidental maths is great.