Art Projects

WHOOT!!!!!!! :)

okay well that was fun-NOT ! Im going to have to come back and fix this mess I made-sheesh-Im sooo not getting how to do this tomorrow..bare with me....

Okay still working on how to do this-LOLOLOL

Found a photo sight :)

Okay-Im going to be experimenting here with this new sight I found-its called Photobucket-and its REALLY neat!!!!!
K-so here's some of Stingers art work...LOLOL

MY PRECIOUS JOY-poem

okay-this hit me deep.....



MY PRECIOUS JOY (AUTISM)
Author: Unknown

Sweet Father in Heaven whose love is divine,
Thank-you so much for the son that is mine.
To others he'd be a burden to bear,
But to me he's a joy to which none can compare.


I know that he's different from most girls and boys,
He speaks kind of funny and plays strange with toys.
For him, change is hard, he can get so upset,
He must seem so odd to those he has met.


Sometimes his anger gets out of control
And he has a huge meltdown which torments my soul.
Yet as I look into those precious blue eyes,
I know that you, Lord, gave me this surprise.


For life doesn't always turn out like we hope,
You know what is best, and it's through you I cope.
You help me to see as others do stare
That this is My precious boy, not a burden to bear.


Although he is different than some other kid,
I'm so glad that you did what you did.
When others comment "I don't know how you do it!"
It feels as arrows in my shoulder they have hit.


How could they not see what I see?
I just can't believe they don't envy me!
And then it occurs as if from above,
You knew that I was the one for this love.


You knew I'd rejoice in his triumphs though small they might be,
And urge him to greatness despite what they see.
I'd find joy and laughter where there could be tears,
I'd see his limits and proceed without fears.


You knew I'd be best for this special boy,
So, thank you Dear Lord, for my precious joy.

Im a Secret Sister....but dont tell anyone......:)

I found the greatest sight last week-its called Training Hearts. Its all about motivating homeschooling Moms and this secret sister is just the way to motivate us all :) Sometimes I feel Im all alone in doing this.
WHOOT!!!!!! Im so excited to start-only 4 days left-so there is still time if ya wanna join too :)

"Meanest Mom on Earth"

Okay- so aparrantly I have won this title tonight-LOLOLOL

There was a new playground put up behind the library. We noticed it yesterday when we were at the Library. I told the kids I would take them today. So when Flamingo comes home we have to go.

Flamingo and Monkey boy hop out of the car and hit the toys as fast as they can. Stinger isnt so fast.....he notices some kids and wont get out of the car. I try and coax him out for abt a 1/2 hr as he repeated to me that he would go as soon as ALL the kids left......yeah-not going to happen at a new cool playground-kwim? But he proceeds to wait patiently for this to happen....

I notice that there are some toys and kids are sitting on them aparently digging with them. AH-HA moment here! THIS is it- This is what will get him out of the car. I tell him-"WOW-look at what those kids are doing-they are digging with something!" Stingers ears perk up. " Oh my gosh Stinger! There are toys you can sit on and make them dig-how cool is that?" Stinger presses his nose to the window and looks. Flamingo and Monkey boy are now on them. I tell Stinger "Doesnt Monkey Boy look like he is having sooo much fun? He's got a big smile on his face and I bet he'd let you have a turn if you asked nicely Stinger"

So he got out of the car-TA DA! -going all the way ard the playground to avoid the other kids there. But he was in Heaven and Monkey Boy hoped right off-what a nice bro-eh? After abt 2 hours...sigh...LOLOL we needed to go so I could come home and get baths going and dinner made.

Can you say fits GALORE from all 3! LOLOLOL They want to go tomorrow as well-but I cant run into town every day-sheesh.....

Now Im the Meanest Mom on Earth -per Stinger-I NEVER do what they want to do-If Its all messed up when they go again-you guessed it-its MY fault-LOLOLOL. "Can we go???-waits 5-10 min-can we go????-wait -can we go...... "

Oh they have the hardest life........LOLOLOL Im soooo mean.

ANYWAY..........

School is going good. We are learning abt Ecosystems and today we were studying the Borial Forest. Abt 5 minutes into it we were suddenly talking abt Big Foot-LOLOLOL, how we got there I can only imagine-but for the rest of the lesson thats all he could focus on-truly stuck. "Where do they live? I bet they live in these forests.....Do they have kids? What do they look like?-do they smell? eh-yiyi ;) Okay-so I didnt know ALL the answers to his questions.....so sue me. LOLOL "But Mom-you need to find this stuff out-I NEED to know this stuff!!!!" LOLOLOL-too funny-so anyone want to guess what Ill be looking up tonight and what we will be discussing tomorrow? LOLOLOLOL Anyone have or know of any sights out there? Guess Ill just be googling it as I have NO idea-LOLOLOL;)

But it was fun-I made sure I somehow got in all the objectives-but Im going with things he interupts with and letting him lead me sometimes-and it is SOOO much more stressless( is that a word? ) I got some homeschool books at Borders last weekend and Im learning alot from them and surprise surprise-they are actually HELPING and he's learning like they say-even if its not in the "curriculum" seams the more questions I answer the more he gets into it-he gets this big smile on his face and just goes and goes and goes, and gets more in depth etc.....they say be as interested in the things and questions they ask and they will naturally learn and want to learn more. Had my doubts-but its true it looks like.

Anyway-its going good ard here :)

What IS Your Story??????????

Okay this is my 1st LAMP training assignment:

I had to explain to the group tonight( its a training thing I got nominated for at the Utah Parent Training Center-they deal with helping parents with disabilities and the school etc)what our "story " was. I get to do teh conference online as I live so far out here :)
This is what I shared with the group:

My Story.........

I guess you could say my "story" began with the birth of my son Stinger.

To say he was a high needs baby simply doesnt do justice. I still to this day remember crying night after night as he cried and cried trying anything under the sun-what every book said to do

to soothe him. He had to be constantly bounced, juggled, and swaddled up really tight each and every night. Touchy to noises, sunlight. Not responding to his name-running away.....

Stinger being my first child, I think I missed alot of signs. Limited imagination play, eye contact, lining up toys, walking on tip-toes, aggressive play with others and objects, banging head,spitting. Things like this I must have just dismissed -after all he was my first child-my baby and he couldnt have been more PERFECT. :)

I'd say he was abt 2 1/2 when my mommy gut started telling me something was off. He had such a temper and I never knew what was the matter.

I called Early Intervention and he started a 1:1 play therapy where they signed and sang songs. He showed improvement and he was moved up to EI pre-school. They then recommended Head Start where he again did fairly well. My fears subsided as I quickly dismissed his behaviors as a maturity issue he was just growing out of.

Kindergarden started out well, but day after day the phone calls started coming in. "Stinger is hitting, Stinger wont share, Stinger cant learn his alphabet or his numbers, Stinger wont participate in class." Again I dismissd it blaming the teacher as she was known to have favorites and she well..she just hated my son....LOLOLOL But as the year went on I realized it was more than that.

1st grade we started the process of evaluating for special education. It took more than a year-yes, I wasnt familiar with the time frame laws then- for the school and I to agree on what the issues were-in the meantime they just decided to do nothing abt anything...sigh....

It was at this time that the word Autism became known to me. I started living at the computer. I just could not believe how the signs of ASD( Autism Spectrum Disorder) fit my son. I fought with the school all year abt which evals and testing scores-they had no idea and wouldnt even accept their own test eval results. They wanted to classify him as ED(Emotional Disturbance) I knew it went much deeper than that. I even had some advocates go to bat for us at some of the meetings-nothing changed.

During all of this nothing was being done. Stinger was getting suspended, I was getting calls every other day to come and pick him up etc. He was smacking, running away, kicking throwing things-his behaviors were just getting worse and worse.

I finally went outside the school to get him evaluated at a Childrens Hospital. There they diagnosed him with Pdd-Nos, Anxiety-Nos, and adhd tendancies, SID( sensory). I went back to the school with these papers in hand and he was finally classified as if by magic.

By the end of 1st grade everyone was overwhelmed and had no idea what to do. Stinger was getting Speech therapy, group therapy at mental Health, 1: 1 with some academics and things were just getting worse. I guess in my mind I thought their magical "system" was going to be able to fix everything-yes, I was very naive and way too trusting.

They incorporated a time out room just for Stinger which only served to escalate his behaviors-he was running every day now-afraid to be put into the timeout room. So they would use it more and more and not tell me about it.

The school at the middle of 2nd grade basically told me they could no longer handle my son-even though the aide I requested had helped tremendously and it was charted. We ended up talking about a change of placement.

About this time last year he was transferred to a self contained classroom. Having been lied to by the homeschool abt the time they had my son in the timeout room I was alread having trust issues and when NO phone calls came from this new school and visiting rights were denied I was starting to have doubts as to what exactly they were doing there. Stinger also started having accidents at school.

I guess the last straw came when Stinger got off the bus, with no note or phone call, all scratched up-his face, back and chest, raw red marks under his arms where they had been forcing him to stand, bruising ard both his wrists where he had been dragged to the timeout room. And Stinger explained to me abt a "box" he was placed in that they locked.

We immediately had an emergency meeting and they procedded to brush me off simply stating that they had all just had a "rough" day.

Later I found out that they had put him in that box frequently, covered the little window, locked the door, and he was not allowed to use the restroom while he was doing his "time" in there. They also had him in there for numerous hours where he would miss his lunch and wet himself and was required to clean this up himself.

THIS was when I said ENOUGH-I GIVE.

This past summer I pulled him out of the "program" if thats what youd call it.....

Trust has been broken, my sons spirit was broken and he and I will never get over what these individuals did in the name of " treatment."

I was done.

Done with the fighting, done with the retaliation whenever I said something was unjust. They treated him worse when I fought for his right to an education. Due Process was the only next step and even then I had no desire to even be in the same room with these people, let alone fight in court only to have him placed right back into their evil arms.

This summer I decided to Homeschool Stinger. Its as if he has been reborn-the once happy boy I once knew-the once happy smiling boy has come back. Behaviors arent an issue now that understanding, love and patience have been introduced to his learning. Its been wonderful and Im seeing growth each and every day. He is so far behind academically as the schools seamed to think his punishments were more important that his education. And we have our days. But everyday he is learning more, becoming more confident and growing into the young man I am so proud of.

One day I hope to try Public School again. I let the schools intimidate me and my son as I lacked the courage and known every law( which is basically what you need) to really stand up to them.

I am still studying every day and will continue to learn all that I can so that when and if we do decided to go back we will be able to stand strong and get the supports he needs and we will NOT stop fighting until my son gets a fair and appropriate education.

I look forward to getting to know you all and am looking forward to this training.

LOLOL-Wishing away here...........LOLOL;)

Its Finally Out :)

Well today is the long awaited premier of THE BEE MOVIE. Yes, we are all ready set to go out and see it on Saturday-LOLOLOL
For anyone who does not know Stinger-BEES are his "thing." Bees-what they do, how many different kinds, their homes, their colors-yes they all are different;), their work orders and routines, where they live, what they eat, how long they live, how the colonies are set up, what flowers they like, whatthey do during teh winter, their life cycles. Yes-we here are all very familiar with Bees-like it or not we have all had to hear the how and whys of every detail concerning them.
Bees in teh house are not uncommon-and if you should happen to venture into that room of his-you will find bee nests-empty-sometimes;)LOLOL), stuffed bees, bee pictures, bee books, bee plastic toys, bee kites, bee magnetic toys you can assemble-you name it.
So tomorrow is the BIG day. :) WHOOT!!! The movie actually looks really cute-so Im even looking forward to it.
School is going VERY well-his reading is getting better and better each week-amazing!!!!!We have had fun this past week with Halloween and doing crafts and learning abt the History of Halloween.
Haloween went well-Stinger wanted nothing to do with the trick or treat ard town as it wasnt in his regular routine set up. We ususally just go to the parking lot and not ard town. He refused to get out of the car and after many minutes of coaxing he finally agreed if he didnt have to go into the shops or talk to anyone.But we had fun going to the parking lot and eating chilli and cinnamon rolls:)
Then we all came home and looked at the loot- No candy needed ard here for awhile-at least till Christmas anyway-LOLOLOL:)