Skating Update

I have been lazy about getting skating video up on the blog. We missed three sessions due to illness, and still I have still photos and video from several sessions that are in the camera but not up on the blog.

I continue to be amazed at the hard work that goes into learning to skate.

My skating princess has been working on CROSSOVERS lately -- involving a whole lotta motor planning and crossing the midline with her feet while maintaining her balance on blades that lift her off the ice.

Her face, her affect is so full of glowing smiles when she is on the ice! Yesterday's lesson had her coming to me with a few "TA-DA!" moments. Here's one:

A CROSSOVER:

25 DAYS, 26 WAYS by Ace Collins, a Zondervan Review

One look at the title of this book had me convinced this is another book about how to "do" Christmas bigger and better, leaving me feeling more overwhelmed and guilty that I am not doing enough to create warm memories of beloved traditions. I figured it is filled with impractical crafts that require professional talent and tools and recipes that I can't make or convert because they're all wheat or milk based.

I was wrong.

Ace Collins has written 25 Days, 26 Ways To Make This Your Best Christmas Ever ($15.99, hardcover) as lessons on how to focus on the things that matter with an emphasis on simplification. Day 1 is available HERE -- check out the history and reasons of Advent and look at the simple but powerful idea that Collins suggests at the end of the chapter.

Collins intends for readers to read one chapter a day, starting December 1st. The book is filled with interesting history about all things Christmas, from Advent to the meaning behind the symbols in the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," to mistletoe and everything in between.

Yes, there's at least one gluten filled suggestion (it has to do w/ animal crackers). I'm torn between finishing the book for this review and saving it for the month of December the way the author intended. I've read quite a bit of it, and am relieved that it doesn't require me to be a professional "Suzy Homemaker" or push me to be bigger, brighter, better in terms of crafts, food, gifts, and decorating.

It would be a great nightly read-aloud with the family, one chapter a night.

Simplify. I like practical, meaningful suggestions that point us to the meaning of Christmas. That's what "25 Days, 26 Ways" does.

ISBN: 0310293146, ISBN-13: 9780310293149, UPC: 025986293147

Zondervan sent me an advanced reader copy of this book at no charge in order that I may review it on this blog.

Maple-Plum Glazed Turkey Breast (it's GFCF)

I've been going through cookbooks looking for something new to try. Can you tell? *grin*

This one is from page 285 of the 2000 edition of Southern Living Annual Recipes from Oxmoor House. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
The Chilled Vegetable Salad is also GFCF, so I included it for readers looking for new recipes. I'm not likely to make the salad, but I am going to try the turkey recipe.

I met Santa

My washer and dryer died. Together. At the same time. I had to go pick out new ones tonight, and guess who was working the kitchen design center next to the appliance center of the do-it-yourself store?

Santa Claus, himself. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I felt like a little girl when I was talking to him tonight.

I asked the gentleman waiting on me how long Santa Claus had worked there, and he called Santa over to meet me. He doesn't get to work as much at the store in December, because he's busy meeting children and hearing what they want for Christmas. He gave me one of the cards that he gives the kids:

Edible Ornament Recipe that happens to be GFCF

I'm going to have to try this one. Click on the recipe to enlarge the photo.

From 1994 Southern Living Annual Recipes (from Oxmoor House), page 316.

Update: My homeschooled, skating princess and I made one recipe of the ornaments. We omitted food coloring and left the ornaments white. The dough is extremely thick and my hand mixer overheated. I'll use the stand mixer for the next round. The dough is thick and sticky, offering tactile and proprioceptive input as we rolled it out with a Tupperware glass for a rolling pin. The size of the cookie cutter matters and bigger is NOT better. I bought some Wilton brand holiday candy molds at a discount department store-- I want to see how this recipe works in the molds. I also want to try mint flavoring instead of vanilla or try a teaspoon or two of coconut flour in the dough. I wonder if we could paint the ornaments instead of coloring the dough?

uʍop ǝpısdn ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ʍoɥ

uʍop ǝpısdn ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ʍoɥ

ǝɹǝɥ ob

Learning (not memorizing) will make reading FUN

I have blogged about my daughter's trying-to-learn-to-read experience in public school, about how memorization of the words of a story is not the same as reading comprehension.

Thanks, Jeannine Herron, for the support and encouragement you give me here:

http://www.talkingfingers.com/educational-reading-software/teaching-reading-phonics/learning-reading-phonics/

The Old Schoolhouse Free Digital Holiday Supplement

I'm craving country ham after browsing the supplement this morning.

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Digital-Supplement/Thanksgiving&Christmas.html

GFCF Pear Bread

The internet and other Momblogs are a great resource for recipes when you have a family member on a special diet. I bought pears yesterday just so I could try this recipe:

http://myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/gfcf-pear-bread.html

Here's what mine looks like:

I made mine in a square cake pan and I used GF Trader Joe's pancake and waffle mix as the flour mix. It's super delish! Would be great warm with ice cream on the side.

I got my GFCF girl to eat a few bites of it this morning. That's a good start.

First Words -- thoughts from "Dr Jim"

I wish I'd heard of Dr Jim (Dr James MacDonald from Communicating Partners) before I heard of ABA. He posted on his yahoo group ("communicating") over the weekend, and he was writing about us, about what we did wrong. Please learn from our mistakes. I blogged about some of our experience here and about how finally finding RDI(r) got us back on the right track. RDI(r) and Communicating Partners are different developmental interventions that share some similarities.

Dr Jim's post is below.

I have known many children who have learned words for many school type learning- words for colors, shapes, numbers.

Why can that be a problem?

Those words are not very communicative; in daily interactions they are not the meanings we communicate about. So while the child may store them for being tested, they are not words that they will use and practice much.

Think of words coming from the child's experiences and reasons to communicate.

When you ask yourself: what should a child say now- ask: what does he know and what is he doing and what does he want to tell someone?

Those three questions will give you words that he is ready to speak and communicate.

What should his next words be? His next words should be combinations of words he knows singly. They should also be new words that describe what he is doing, experiencing and wanting to tell someone.

Help your child talk from his real self not just from list of words he learns in school or the things you think he needs to know. He will talk more when he is talking from his own experiences.

One thing you can do is translate he actions, sounds and experiences into one or a few words. Think of his actions and sound as 'pre-words" ideas that he is ready to learn in word form.