Hay People

Interesting sight in Alabama, Saturday:

Happy Fall!

Anti-Virus

My family received a complimentary game, Anti-Virus, to use and review for you. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

Anti-Virus is a game of logic and thinking that practices the ability to problem solve and think ahead as players work to rid the game board of a virus game piece.

My kids really enjoy Rush Hour, and when I was offered the opportunity to review Anti-Virus, I chose it because it uses the same logic, planning, thinking skills.

The red two-circle piece is the virus and the object is to move that red piece out of the cell/game board.

It's harder than it looks.

Players are allowed to move pieces diagonally only - and I realized pretty quickly that playing this game with that rule will build visual processing skills as well. I have challenges visually seeing three or four moves ahead, and this game gives me practice at it.

The booklet that accompanies the game provides 60 games beginning with simple challenges and moving to very difficult.  The player(s) set up the game board to match the picture and then begin moving pieces around so that the red virus piece can exit the board through the opening in the corner.

The game board and pieces are sturdy plastic and I would put this into my list of ideas to pack on a long car trip. The game will fit on a lap or a clipboard, the pieces stay put in the board, and two kids could work on a challenge together or several could take turns with it. A timed challenge might be fun on a long trip. It would also make a great toy for a hotel room.

 I really don't like to compare a review item to another product - or even mention another product in a review - but the concept of Anti-Virus made me think so much of Rush Hour that I could not resist. If you have a Rush Hour fan at home, I suspect that fan will love Anti-Virus as well. I have to make myself sit down and play - this is a kind of logic and thinking that I definitely need more practice with, it does not come easily for me, and it feels difficult, which means I need it.


I do like to have some challenging games for rainy days or for days when someone has a cold and needs something without a lot of reading to do. This definitely gives us a thinking workout without the reading! I'm glad to have Anti-Virus in my educational game arsenal at home.

"Are you going to Target? May I come, too?"

Yes, the gift card is for me to use. My high schooler gets 4% of anything we load onto that Kroger card for band expenses at school, so we buy gift cards for shopping.

Pretty big deal that my homeschooler, the one with an autism spectrum disorder, was able to guess what was in my mind by the meaning in the clues she saw as we were shopping. I love the little signs of progress!

Free Allergen-Free E-cookbook

Enjoy Life has a free e-cookbook offer:

https://www.facebook.com/enjoylifefoods?sk=app_128953167177144

Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens

We received a hardback copy of the NIV Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens for review from The B&B Media Group.

I handed this one off to my son. He is really interested in the book of Job at the moment, and he took it up to his room to read and study.  Recently, he  has had a list of questions about other religions and about how we know the Bible is true.  This Bible came at a perfect time.

The NIV RSFSBfT has an attractive layout, with pull-quotes and boxes that contain anecdotes and illustrations in story-form about the text.  It is inviting. I want to pick it up, read it, find the pull-quotes and boxes of information. I wish I'd had a Bible like this when I was a teenager. 

Each chapter begins with a chapter introduction and outline that preview the sections for readers. I like that. I am impressed with the STUDY HELPS section at the back of this version. It includes a table of weights and measures, a study plan, SIX indexes and a concordance before a section of colorful maps.  

The six indexes at the back of the Bible correspond to the boxes of information within the books of the Bible:  TRUTHS, PROMISES, PRINCIPLES, PLANS, PEOPLE, UNSHAKEN GOD. The TRUTHS offer information about what Christians believe and what other religions believe to my kid who is interested in learning more in this area.

We are using the NIV Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens for a study of Proverbs. The NIV is easy to follow and the text and font of this particular book is easy to read. The hardback cover makes it feel more like a textbook to me. My son likes it. 

I am pleased with the Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens.

You can find the Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens at your favorite bookstore or at Zondervan.com. Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens 

Various Authors Zondervan,

 2012 978-031-0723-302 · 

$29.99 Hardcover · 11.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 · 1,664 Pages 978-031-0723-310 · 

$44.99 Duo-Tone, Violet · 11.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 · 1,664 Pages 978-031-0723-329 · 

$44.99 Duo-Tone, Brown · 11.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 · 1,664 Pages 978-031-0723-2564x ·

 $14.99 EBook/EPub · 1,664 Pages Bibles / Youth

The B&B Media Group gave me a copy of The Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens to review. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

Technical Difficulties

Our family has had a month of technical difficulties. My laptop - purchased less than a year ago, an HP from Costco w/ a Toshiba hard drive - CRASHED. AGAIN. I was without a laptop for over two weeks.

We have Spanish files on the laptop; one of our math programs is online; we were using the DVD player on the laptop for IEW and another math program.

My public schooler not only completes homework on the laptop, but one of her classes requires that she watch online instructional videos every night.

When we finally got the laptop back with hard drive #3, we had just a few days to play catch up when our internet went out. We had spotty, on-and-off access over the weekend and then the whole thing went out for the rest of the week. Every time I phoned the ISP, I got a recorded message informing me that they were repairing an area-wide outage in my area. The story through the grapevine that I heard is that a man hit a utility pole down the street while texting and driving.

We are playing catch up again. I am catching up on reviews and my Homeschool Mosaics column. I'll blog again soon. We're still catching up on schoolwork that dragged along during the down times. Stay tuned. ;)

Spanish

We are tackling Spanish again with the child who is on the autism spectrum, and for the first time for her typically developing twin brother. 

We are using Spanish for You! as part of a review at the moment, and I couldn't resist buying a Spanish workbook at the warehouse club to go with it.  I saw Buenas Noches Luna at a local Marshall's store and purchased it, too.

Spanish for You! has lesson plans for older children and younger children, so I am able to customize for my same-age learners who are working at different levels. 

I took Spanish in college because it was required and I barely got by. When we lived in California in the early 90's, I took a Conversational Spanish offered by a local community education organization, and the teacher there used a lot of materials for children with the class of adults.

I'll continue to look for materials in Spanish; I'm sure I can find a Bible and the last couple of times we went to the Scholastic warehouse, there were story books in Spanish for sale. 

I think we're off to a good start! 

Dance Class

We discovered a new dance class for young people on the autism spectrum and with Downs Syndrome. I took my girl to try a class, and she was the only student in attendence (there are two more who were absent this week), so she got a private lesson. I observed via closed circuit tv in the lobby.

The teacher is a gem. ;) The exercise, the body awareness, the sensory input, and when other students are there, the social experience are so good for our kids. I'm excited about this dance class!

Trust

I have no idea how to rotate this photograph.

At a used curriculum sale, I purchased a coloring book of coloring pages with Bible verses. Most are pictures you'd typically find in a coloring book, but this page is simply a verse. I printed it on card stock, handed one to each homeschooler, asked one to memorize it, and will work on memorization with the other. My daughter colored hers in bright colors. I asked her to read it to me a couple of times during the day when she was working on it. Last night, I asked if she remembered anything about that verse, and she replied, "Trust." Yep, "Trust in the Lord," I replied. We have a good beginning.

Mari Nosal: Ten Commandments for Interacting With Kids On The Autism Spectrum

Spotted in my facebook feed; a must-share!

Ten Commandments for Interacting With Kids On The Autism Spectrum...

1. Thou shall not yell when speaking to me. My disability does not impair my hearing and I am extremely bright. Perhaps even brighter than you are.

2. Thou shall not ignore me, talk negatively about me, speak unnaturally slow, or ask questions to others in the room that pertain to me. I can comprehend what you are saying just fine.

3. Thou shall believe in me and help me believe in my skills and self worth. Note the good in me and do not merely point out my negative behaviors. Believe in me and I will believe in myself.

4. Thou shall not perceive me as dumb. I am extremely intelligent. I do not learn in the same way as you, and maybe not as quickly as you expect me to. Have patience with me. Once I recall information, I never forget.

5. Thou shall not judge my behavior. I can get overstimulated in certain environments. I may be hypersensitive to sound and loud noises may hurt my ears. Fluorescent lights are distracting for me. They have a humming noise, and can pulsate. All the noises in a room can blur together. Please make accommodations to help me.

6. Thou shall not be so quick to scold me. Do not tell me that “I know what I did”. I do not. Tell me what my infraction was in a simple, concise manner. I want to please you, but I have difficulties inferring meaning within a vague statement. For instance, do not say please clean up your bedroom. Tell me exactly what you want, such as ‘Please make your bed and pick up your toys”.

7. Thou shall not compare me to others. Please remind me, and note the talents that I possess. This increases my confidence and positive self worth. Learning disabled or not, we ALL have talents to contribute within society. I need you to help me realize what mine is. Believe in me and I will believe in myself.

8. Thou shall not exclude me from activities. Please do not mimic me, ignore me, or bully me. Please invite me to play with you. It hurts my feelings when I am excluded. I like to run and jump in the playground, and be invited to birthday parties too. Grownups can help me make friends by encouraging other children to play with me. I can be a loyal friend if you get to know me.

9. Thou shall give me choices. I do not like being ordered about any more than the other children. Give me choices so I know you value my capabilities and opinions. Make them simple and concise. Present two options or so. I get confused when too many questions or directions are given at one time due to my processing speed. For instance, ask me if I would like to wear my blue sweater or green one, rather than asking which sweater I would like to wear.

10. Thou shall not judge me by my diagnosis, but by my character. I am an individual, just like other children. As my son used to say, “Mom my name is John (name changed for his anonymity) not Asperger’s”. A profound statement I would say. :-0) ~ Mari Nosal