Taking Baby Steps...

Our family had the blessing of hosting two very special ladies last week.  The purpose of  their trip was to help us figure out how we could best meet the needs of our special needs kids.  To look at what we were doing and tweak things to help us get these guys on to the next level and to create an environment where they can grow to be all that God intends them to be.

When you live in a 3rd world country and in one of the smaller cities in that country, you are limited by what resources and support is available.  Add to that the language difference, and you limit it even more.  This all means that basically anything we decide to do is going to be implemented by my husband or myself.  We both have a desire and a commitment to our family, but there is a limited number of hours in the day, and at our age a limited amount of energy.

One of the big blessings to me that came out of our time last week, was the idea that we aren't talking about huge changes.  Each idea, is more than doable, and although they are small, they have the potential of making a tremendous difference in our family life, and also in the development of our children.

My children have been trained to use a timer, for their school tasks and they also use it presently for video game time.  So we are going to take that habit that they have already learned and expand it to be used throughout their day.  I made each of the younger ones a chart with their daily schedule and they will use their timers to go through their day.  They even have a "Saturday/Vacation Day at home" schedule.  :)  That may seem like a lot of structure to you, (I know a few years ago it would have to me, too!) BUT one thing I've learned about working with Special Needs kids, is that they THRIVE on structure.  Week-ends and Holidays are always times of struggle as is unplanned afternoons and evenings.  I have known for some time that if I would just bite the bullet and make a plan for those times, things would go much better for the kids.  YET, I wanted a "break" and didn't see how in the world to do it without being right there present over seeing everything, from early morning, until they went to bed.   So this is a way to give them the structure they need, while at the same time, freeing me up a little.    I have no idea if it will work, or how well it will work.  I'm sure that their will be some "tweaking" over the next weeks.

The kids were very excited when they saw their charts and wanted to know if they got to start using them tomorrow!  So here is the first "baby step" we are starting tomorrow. :)

Little Bud's daily schedule.

Special Days/Saturday's at home schedule.

This is Little Bud's independent school work.

The Princess' daily schedule.

Special Days/Saturdays at home Schedule.

Here is my Princess' school schedule.

Our Chore Charts

Cold Porcelain Clay

Back in 2009, I took some classes here in Manta, working with Cold Porcelain clay, (Porcelana Fria).  It is a huge thing here, and even bigger in Argentina where I have read and been told they have schools teaching it.

This is something that both Teddy and I enjoyed working with, but since our teacher moved away, we kind of got out of it.  Teddy has been after me for a while to make some more dough, and try our hand at it again.

This morning we made a batch.  Here is the recipe we used:

1 kilo of white glue (That's about 4 cups of white glue)
1/2 kilo of corn starch (That's about a pound)
15 drops of Porce Clear, (and no I don't know what this is in the US... you can check it out here: http://meirebari.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=121
3 Tablespoons of baby oil, or vaseline, (we used baby oil, today)
2 Tablespoons of glycerin
1 Tablespoon of Sodium Benzoate (didn't have this, so left it out)
http://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Benzoate--2-oz/dp/B0064O8OAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367094361&sr=8-1&keywords=sodium+benzoate

1 Tablespoon of Stearic Acid (you will find it with the candle making supplies in your local craft store)

(I have found some recipes that call for Tylose, and  Wilton White White, which I might try adding when I have access to them. ;)

Before you start mixing or cooking anything, prepare a flat surface, (can be your counter top, can be a mat on your counter or a glass cutting board, etc.) by spreading cold cream, (like Ponds or Nivea) all over it, as if you were greasing a cookie sheet for cookies. ;)  Once that is ready, you can go on with actually making the clay...

You will need a non-stick pan.  We have one that is used exclusively for crafting.

You want to start out by mixing the glue and the cornstarch.  You will want to mix this well until it is totally incorporated. (use a wooden or heavy duty plastic spoon.)

Once the cornstarch and glue is mixed well, add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well.

Over medium low heat you want to stir constantly, (and you need to be ready for a workout!), until it starts to form a ball and is no longer sticky when you touch it with you finger.   We're talking about 15 or 20 minutes here.  As soon as it reaches this point, you will want to turn it out onto your prepared surface.   Cover your hands with the cold cream, (have the jar open and near by, so you can keep applying as needed)., and you want to start kneading the dough. Yes, it is hot at first, so you need to be careful.  You want to knead it until it is all smooth, and cooled.  When you reach that point, knead it for about 5 minutes more.  Then divide it into 4 parts, (if you made the whole recipe), and form it into logs and wrap each log in plastic wrap, then put them in a zip lock bag, and then in another zip lock bag.   This dough works best if you let it set for a couple days up to a week before you work with it.   Also you do not want to put  this dough in the fridge.  

There are lots of recipes and tutorials out there.  We should have taken pictures while we were doing it, but to be honest blogging about it didn't occur to me until we were almost finished! ;)

Here is our finished dough.  I put these 2 bags into a larger zip lock and then that into a plastic (tupperware type) container.  If you take these precautions and keep this dough in an airtight container, it will last a LONG time.  

We had some that we purchased over 2 years ago, and were sure it would be bad, but got it out today, and Teddy was actually able to work with it!  :)

Here is what he did today.  He wasn't totally happy with it, but as I reminded him, it's been a long time since he worked with dough, so I thought it came out pretty good keeping that in mind. ;)

He has some cracks in it, and that is due to the fact that he didn't work it well, to keep it smooth, and some times he took longer, and didn't always keep the dough he wasn't working with covered.   But I thought for his first attempt in a while, that it came out well.   He wanted to make a Panda, because he's been studying China in school.  So this is part of his end of unit project.  He will be writing a report about Pandas to go along with it.  

If you are interested in learning more about his neat type of Air Dry Clay,  you can check out this wonderful blog...

http://coldporcelaintutorials.blogspot.com/

Here are some photos of things we made in the past...  

This was my first project in class. ;)

I made these magnets to give out at a ladies conference. :)

I hope that you enjoyed visiting with me today, as much as I enjoyed sharing.  We are really newbies to working with cold porcelain, so if you have any tips or ideas you would like to share, feel free.  

Blessings to you!

Joy

Paper Making

Teddy has been studying China.  Along with his other books we purchased The Great Ancient China Projects book, and have enjoyed it immensely so far.  This week he read about the invention of paper.  Yesterday he tried his hand at it, and had a great time.  I think this is going to be his "hobby" for the time being.  (until something else catches his fancy. ;)

Here are a few pics of the process...

1. fill the blender half full with torn paper.

2.  Add warm water, to almost full.  

3.  Blend, slowly at first and then increase the speed.  The longer you blend the smoother the pulp. ;)

 4.  We cut the bottom out of an aluminum pan and covered it with screen.  We sat that pan in another pan.  Then you start pouring out the pulp...

 5.  Spread it around... you want to try and get it as even as possible...

6.  Keep pouring and spread.  Then he added some bits of colored string to this one...

7.  Once you have it spread out, you want to flip it over onto a smooth cotton dish towel or something else.  (we used an old table cloth.)  At this point, we used a rolling pin to try and smooth it out a little bit more.

We also added a small fan to blow on them to help with the drying time.  

8.  Here is the finished product, after it dried over night.  The top piece, (the lavender color) you can see the smooth side, which was the bottom side while it was drying.  The pink one you can see is the rough side.  It is a little thicker than your normal "card stock"... I'm thinking note cards, book marks... there are lots of possibilities. :)

9.  Here is one happy boy...thinking about all the different kinds of paper is going to be making. :)  He already has a bag that he is collecting "trash" to recycle.  

My Planner...

For the last several years, I have been taking other plan books and "planner pages" and tweaking them to try and find something that would work for us, with our home schooling.  I have used "plan books" I purchased at "Teacher Stores", in the US.  I have tried on-line planners and grade books.  And while they all had their positive points, none of them were exactly what I was needing, nor were they always inexpensive.

This year, I decided to try my hand at my own.  So I learned to work with Excel, and actually made a spreadsheet planner that fits our needs.  Now I'm a "pencil and paper" girl, so I just make the sheets and then print them out, for 1 term at a time. (We have broken our school year into 6, 7 week terms this year.  We only school 4 days a week, most weeks, so that is why we have added the 7th week. :-)  Here is a link to a pdf of my weekly plan book sheets, plan book page 1, plan book, page 2 .

I also have struggled with keeping some kind of "grade record".  We have tried as I mentioned above various different things, but this year, I also made "grade sheets for each child, and add grades daily to my "grade book".  Here is a link to a pdf of my grade book sheets, grade book sheet 1, grade book sheet 2, grade book, sheet 3 .

Since we do a form of "work boxes", (I call it our "work folders"), I have taken a free PDF download from the official Work Box site, and I tweaked it...color coding it for each child, and then typing in
the things that stay the same each week.  This has saved me tons of time. ;-)  The Work Folders hold anything that they can do independently.  They work through them during the day.  When I am ready to work with one or 2 of them, I just call them out to our table, and we work together, then when they return to their desk, they can pick up with their folders.   Here is a link to a pdf of my log sheet for our work folders, log sheet 1, log sheet 2 .

Hope you enjoyed the "peak" at my "plan book".    I am thinking of adding a couple pages to it  from a friend.  One that focuses on  my personal Bible study and prayer requests for the week.  I also think it would be good to add a monthly calendar for an over-view of what's going on in our lives.  I do have a "year at a glace" type of calendar at the front of my binder, but it would be nice to have something that I could actually make notes on, too. 

Family Photo Album for November, 2012

Here are a few pictures of some of the things that have been happening in our life this past month...

Nov. 2, we celebrated the Ecuadorian Holiday, "Día de los muertos".

Carla and Matthew made pyramids out of blocks when we studied about ancient Egypt.

 Nov. 10, we celebrated my birthday.

That afternoon, some of the sweet people from our church hosted a surprise party for me!

At the close of his New Zealand unit, Teddy, made Pavlova, and wrote a short report about it's origins. 

 We hosted a get together with new attendees from church so we could get to know them better.

Matthew celebrated his 8th birthday.

Our Thanksgiving Celebration.

Teddy's Australian Meal

This year Teddy is studying the Eastern Hemisphere   It has already been very interesting.  He started out studying the Pacific Islands, and a week ago finished up the unit on Australia.  Last week he started a unit on New Zealand.  At the end of each unit he as a project to do.  For Australia he wanted to cook a meal.  Because of the Ladies Conference at church and then our unexpected trip to Quito last week, we had to put it off, a little bit.  Over the week-end he and I together, looked up different recipes on-line and came up with a menu.  This morning he and his Dad when shopping, for the needed items and together we fixed a delicious, "Australian Meal".  (Actually we aren't sure how authentic it was, BUT we will say, it was very yummy! :-)

Teddy making the Lamingtons.

Showing off the Damper.

"Not So Crunchy Chicken Casserole"

Everything is ready for dinner.

Teddy's Centerpiece.

Here are a couple links to the sites where we found our recipes.

http://www.food.com/recipe/not-so-crunchy-chicken-casserole-482062

http://www.aussiecooking.com.au/cook/recipes/451/Damper/

http://www.aussiecooking.com.au/cook/recipes/285/Asparagus%20in%20Lemon%20Garlic%20Dressing%
20/

We got the recipe for the Lamingtons we made from a magazine, FACES the Magazine About People, Australia Through Time.  Volumne VII Number IX, May, 1992

Lamingtons

To make the cake, you need:
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

two bowls; measuring cups and spoons; mixing spoon; electric mixer; baking pan, 9x12 or 10 x 15 inches, lined with wax paper, wire rack; sharp knife

Prepare pan by greasing it lightly or spraying it with cooking spray.   Cut wax paper to fit inside the pan so that the bottom and sides are covered.

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls.
3. To the egg yolks add 1/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla.  Blend, then set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites with the electric mixer.  Gradually add the remaining sugar (1/2 cup).   Beat until stiff peaks form.
5.  fold the egg yolk mixture into the whites.  Add the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Mix until the batter is smooth.
6.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake about 12 minutes, or until the center springs back when tested.
7.  Allow the cake to cool for a few minutes, then turn it out onto the wire rack.  Allow it to cool for a few minutes more, then remove the wax paper carefully.  (Loosen all the edges first, then peel off the paper in strips.)
8.  With a sharp knife, cut the cake into squares.  Allow them to cool completely.

To Make the Icing, you need:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons cocoa
boiling water
7-oz bag (about 2 cups) coconut.
measuring cups and spoons, 2 small bowls, mixing spoon, fork, plates

1.  Mix the powder sugar, melted butter, cocoa, and enough boiling water (about 4 tablespoons) to make a runny icing.
2.  Using a fork, pick up a square of cake and spoon the icing over it to cover all sides.  Allow the icing to drip for a few minutes, then place the cake in a bowl of coconut.  Coat the cake with coconut, then place it on a plate to dry.
3.  Repeat the process until all the squares are covered.  Lamingtons can be refrigerated or frozen.

Living Hope Academy...

Friday we just finished our first term!   Unbelievable!  It seems like we were just getting ready to start and here we have our first 7 weeks under our belt and are looking forward to our first vacation week.    Over all the kids did really well.  We all seem to be adjusting to the schedule and our days are full.   One of the things that has been really different for me this year, is that school is taking quite a bit longer than it has in previous years.  Of course for Teddy, it has been increasing every year, but I have been able to be finished with my part usually by noon.  This year, I am taking a break to fix lunch and then after lunch we all head back up for at least an hour sometimes 2.  That is is taking some getting used to.

One of the things I am hoping to accomplish during this break, is to get more of our meal prep done, and in the freezer.  Also hope to make several "mixes" that will be time savers, too.   Since we are all home for the mid-day meal, it just works better for us to have our main meal of the day at that time, instead of in the evening.  But, with more time needed for school during the day, it is taking some "creative planning" to make that work, and still enjoy a nice dinner together.  :-)

It is exciting to see the kids making progress!  Teddy has done an in-depth study of the Pacific Islands and is currently in the middle of a study on Australia.  He is just about to conquer Long Division and Complex Multiplication problems.   Next he will be moving onto some pretty complex work with fractions.  (I'm so glad Daddy is near by to help out with Math!!) He has also been learning a lot about the Human Body.   Just finished studying the digestive system. Also an in depth study of how the kidneys work.  Really quite fascinating   Not sure who is enjoying it more, Teddy or me? ;-)

Carla and Matthew have been learning about ancient history.  I was a little concerned at first, that it might be over their head, especially working as ESL, but I have been very pleased with how much they have understood and retained.  In Science they learned all about the Water Cycle, and we spent some time on Weather.  Now they are starting a study of plants.

Carla is doing great with her reading, and she seems to really enjoy it.  She is struggling a little in Math, but, is making progress, and we are very pleased with that.

Matthew has made unbelievable progress with his small motor control.  If you compared his work today with what he was doing even 6 months ago, you would never believe it was the same kid.  I am so proud of how hard he is working in this area.  He is still struggling a lot in the "decoding" part of learning to read.  Not because he doesn't know the sounds of the letters, but his problems with speech, make it difficult for him to put the sounds together in a way that he can hear the word.  We are working on some different things, and praying that we will find the right combination for him.  I have no doubt that this little boy will learn to read.  He has never failed to accomplish anything he set his mind to do, be it learn to walk...talk...feed and dress himself...write and cut.... It just might take a little bit longer to accomplish, but what is that in the whole scheme of things? :-)

We thank you so much for your prayers for our family.  It is such a blessing to us to know that you are praying for us.

Blessings, Joy

Matthew's "pizza"

Even Carla's babies enjoy school! ;-)

We enjoy "field trips" to the beach!

We spent time in Monti Cristi learning about culture things.  Here Teddy is showing a couple tagua "nuts" and the plant they came out of.  Tagua is known as "vegetable ivory".  

Here we saw how a hat is made. 

President Eloy Alfaro, brought the coast and the highlands of Ecuador together by building the first railroad connecting the two. 

Matthew enjoys swimming lessons 2 afternoons a week.  

I couldn't resist this one...he's like a duck in the water! :-)

Carla and Teddy enjoy Tennis classes 3 afternoons a week. 

Carla and Matthew made farms after we read Charlotte's Web.  Here they are painting their barns.

Teddy planned the menu and cooked breakfast all my himself for the family one Saturday morning. 

It was great!!  Chocolate chip pancakes with Strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce AND chocolate banana milkshakes!  YUM!!

Tony and Teddy working on Viking Ship model.

Sorry this is sideways...I can't figure out how to rotate it! :-(  This a a picture of Carla with her "robot" she made!