Day Fourteen - GO FROG GO

Today started off auspicious - First thing this morning, Frog danced a gig to the sliding glass door, pounded on the window and said Deerrrrrr (trilling that r like a pro). Sure enough there were two deer bounding through the yard - doing the same dance as Frog. When we got to Diva's school, Frog waved goodbye to Diva then gave her a high five (without a physical prompt).



At 11:15, we headed for the playground where we knew we'd find the pre-school playgroup. Frog had been excited about this for days. He's been stealing the SMART MOVES book off my nightstand almost everyday. He takes things like this often, but the fact that he kept coming back for the same book made me wonder.



Looking at the cover of the book I had a hunch. I sat Frog down and asked if he liked the picture. He patted the book. I asked if he saw a girl on a swing - he found it. I asked if there was a boy climbing a tree - he found that. I asked if he wanted to go back to the playground with the kids - an enthusiastic two clap YES!

Frog was in a bit of a mood today. There were lots of tears and sad faces, lots of arm biting, lots of struggles getting into and keeping clothing on. But every time I asked if he wanted to go to the playground I got an immediate yes - even through the tears. When we got to the playground, Frog jogged from the car to the kids on his own - no handholding or redirection needed. He got a little overwhelmed when one of the boys got right in his face and asked him questions - he threw a hand out to pinch, but stopped himself and ran off to rock and cry.

The boy was OK and continued to try to interact with Frog. I explained that Frog didn't talk, but could understand what he said to him. The boy introduced himself. He tried a couple of times to include Frog then gave up on talking. He resorted to the common childhood taunt rift - "na, na, na-na, na" He didn't seem to be doing it in a mean or taunting way and Frog - who can readily tune into music - found it charming. He even gave the boy a smile and a giggle. Frog did a lot of referencing with the adults. And the kids were fascinated and a bit perplexed by all the pea-gravel Frog was dropping into his mouth.

At home we worked on the letter A and P. I helped Frog to use his pointing finger to find the A on his Vantage. After we had A, I added letters until the word-predict function showed Apple. I helped Frog choose Apple. Then I asked him to find the letter P. He found the letter I. Then he found the letter M. Then he found the letter F and choose Floor from the word-predict choices. We finally found the letter P and I added letters until we could choose Pumpkins from the word predict options. He came back to the Vantage later on his own. He pushed the letter R and choose Rainbow from the word-predict choices. Then he pushed the letters HY.



I helped him to write the letters A and P in his composition book. He did these while he was half in and half out of his chair.



We also worked on pointing and color identification using a fall wreath Diva made.



We added a new book today Apples and Pumpkins. This will transition us from our apple theme to our pumpkin theme and is the first mention of Halloween. (Later tonight I found the book in Frog's room. I think he took it up there to have a better look at it). After the story, we took some of our remaining apples, some peanut butter, and some birdseed, nuts and berries and made a bird feeder.



Frog used his scissors to cut the ribbons. I helped him get his fingers into the right position and held the ribbon between the blades. Frog checked out the feeder in the yard a couple of times on his own. He also enjoyed playing with the left-over seed in the sensory table.



Frog and I played in the sandbox and jumped on the trampoline while we waited for Diva and Grandma to get home from school. When Frog saw Grandma, I asked him if he wanted to give her the applesauce he made for her. He got a big grin on his face. A few minutes later he let himself out of the trampoline. He made his usual circuit back to the house (slide, sandbox, fountain) then went inside. Grandma said "where's my applesauce?" Frog walked to the refrigerator. Grandma asked again, "where's my applesauce?" Frog patted the refrigerator. Grandma asked "should I open it?" Frog SAID "ged-id" which both Grandma and I heard as "get it." Frog's Dad asked him later if he was excited to give Grandma the applesauce he made - Frog clapped twice with a smile.