When is Early Reading a Bad Thing?

I did find one down fall to Ben's learning to read early.  We were at the car dealership the other day waiting for our van to be repaired and it was time for Ben to go potty.  He has been doing really great with using the potty, and is day trained, but sometimes needs to be reminded to go. 

He agreed that it was potty time and we headed off toward the restroom.  When we got there Ben went straight for the Men's room.  I took him by the hand and started to lead him to the Women's restroom, and he dug his feet in and said "No Mommy!  Men's!"  I tried to explain that I could not go in there and that he was not big enough to go alone.  We started to go towards the Women's again and he stopped saying "No No NO!  Mommy, No WOMEN'S!

I had wondered why he seemed to be fighting me more and more when we were out in public and it was time to go to the restroom.  However, most of those times, Randy was along and just took him.  It finally hit me that day, the reason we were having such issues.  Ben was reading the signs on the bathroom doors and knows that he is supposed to go to the Men's bathroom.  ( I think they may be working on that at school too.)  No wonder he does not want to go with me anymore. 

A few days later, when school was out all three boys and I stopped at McDonalds (He can read that name too and screams it when ever we go by one).  Again it was potty time and he again refused to go with me and went with his brothers instead.  They reported that he went, though I doubt he washed his hands. 

So the question then becomes, how old will Ben be, before I let him go to a public restroom by himself?  Until he can go without messing around?  Thank goodness many stores now have the family restrooms, as he seems OK going in those.  

So I was joking about the early reading being a bad things.  It is awesome that he is reading the signs when we go out in public and that he knows what they mean.  He is learning, growing and understanding, which I hope he will continue to do when he starts kindergarten next year.  The sky is the limit big guy.  Keep on amazing us. 

SIGNING TIME OUTLET STORE

Two Little Hands is clearing out the Baby Signing Time Sign and Read versions of the Baby Signing Time videos.  These are the same as the regular Baby Signing Time videos, except they show the written word additional times when the signs are taught.  In my opinion these are the best versions of Baby Signing Time for our kids and can help encourage sight reading.  They certainly helped my little guy who started sight reading before he was 3.   They are already sold out of the first volume of Baby Signing Time in the Sign to Read version, but you can get volumes 2, 3 and 4 plus the music Cd's of Baby Signing Time for just 29.99.

Another steal today is the ABC 123 / Leah's Farm combo pack for  $19.99.  These are the exact same videos you would buy separately, but they were packaged in the same box and left over from a previous promotion.  

Click HERE for a link to the sale items.  


Get them before they are gone!

Field Trip!

Last year the 3 and 4 year old preschool classes took a field trip to the SAC Air and Space Museum.  To me, it did not seem like an appropriate place for a field trip for children that young and I was very worried.  While seeing the big planes were cool, I was very worried about Ben not sitting still on the bus, running off, not eating lunch, and in general not doing what he was supposed to do.  The field trip turned out better than I expected.  They had activities for the kids, a movie, and we got to eat in one of the hangers under the wing of a big plane.  In general, Ben did OK.  He ran off a couple times, ate OK, and only had one "drop and flop" on the floor when it was time to use the bathroom.

So when the flyer came for this year's field trip, I was surprisingly not worried. 

This year the class went to a park to play and then to a tour of  Memorial Stadium (home of Husker football). With as much as Ben loves sports, I knew this would be right up his alley, because he loves to explore the football fields, run for touchdowns, and count the numbers on the field. 

We got to the playground and I admit it was a bit scary. Not only was the playground big, but it was tall and had a big lake behind it.  While it was a nice day, I did not have any desire to go jumping in that lake after Ben.

But he did great.  He played with his friends.

 

He climbed the rock wall.

 He enjoyed the swings.

 He ate most of his lunch.

He even stayed still and smiled for his class picture.

Then it was time to go to the Stadium.  I drove separately and was told to meet the group at gate 20.  While I graduated from the University (over 20 years ago), I had forgotten how hard it is to find a parking space, but finally found one in a garage across the street.  About 30 minutes later (after being told the wrong gate, construction, walking around the stadium twice, I finally caught up with the group, just as they were starting the tour.  Lucking Ben was still with them and had gone potty (the bathrooms at the park were locked).  He did get away once, got the door open to the weight room and got a few steps in the door, but for the most part he did great.  

Two of the dads lifted each child so they could touch the lucky horseshoe that the players touch before each game. 

They got to feel the field turf.

And of course they got to run on the field.  

 All that running wears a kid out, so after looking at the stadium and the practice fields, the group watched a movie and it was time to go.  Ben enjoyed checking out the statue on the way to the car, but was a bit miffed that those guys would not share their football. 

Over all it was a fun day and Ben had a nice nap on the way home!

Not What I Expected!

Usually we keep the fridge locked.  Ben loves to get in an pick out something to eat.  Yesterday he dumped a pie on the floor. But every now and then he gets out an appropriate snack (usually yogurt or a pepper). 

Today when I heard him in the fridge, I let him go to see what he would get.  After I heard him in the silverware drawer, I was sure he was getting himself spoon to eat his yogurt with and went in to help take the top off.

But when I got to the kitchen, he had his spoon poised over..............
 
The tub of margarine.  Yuck!  

I am not sure why but he has been trying to eat the margarine a lot lately and must have decided he does not get enough when he just sticks his hand in it and needed a spoon, so he could get a nice big bite.

Unfortunately because of Ben, my margarine now looks like this:

Does this mean he is deficient in something that would make him crave this nasty stuff?  Or maybe he just likes the smooth texture?  Going to have to makes sure the fridge lock is in place and the margarine is on the top shelf until this phase passes!  Hopefully it passes quickly!

How Do You Respond?

A while back I went to the Dr. to get a check up.  She asked how I was sleeping.  I told her that I was sleeping fine, but I have lots of external factors that often prevent me from sleeping all night.  One of those factors is Ben.  He had some issues with his ears, and is a newly trained potty user, who can't always hold it all night, and still wants Mom there with him in the dark when he has to go.
She replied "I think it is great that you are working on potty training with  him.  I have a friend who is a para at a school and works with a second grader with Down syndrome who is not potty trained, and she says she spends most of the day working on toileting when they should be working on learning.  They (meaning kids with Down syndrome)  are completely trainable."  I just looked at her for a second (as if she was nuts) and replied "Why wouldn't we potty train him?"

When someone says something that bothers me, I always try to figure out where they were coming from.  I know she was trying to encourage me that getting up every night to help Ben use the potty, will have great long term benefits for Ben and for us, but really?  More alike than different people.  I have tried to let it go, but am having a hard time.  It really makes me sad for the family of the 2nd grader.  I don't know who it is, but I am sure they have been trying very hard to train their child, but that it just has not clicked with the child yet.  Each child, learns at the their own pace. Ben may have been reading sight words as age 2, but he did not really get potty training until he was almost 5.  Other kids with Down syndrome might potty train at 2 or 3, but may not sight read words until they are 5 or 6.  Each child is an individual, with their own strength, weaknesses, and learning time tables.

I guess I am holding up the doctor to a higher standard that I would do for others.  When Ben was younger I had a relative ask if he would be able to be potty trained.  She, like the rest of our family, did not know much about Down syndrome until Ben came along and was just looking for information.  I told her yes and gave her some statistics to help her learn.  But when dealing with doctors, we feel like they should already know, some of these answers.  I want to spread positive awareness, so I need to remember that even with doctors, there are teachable moments, and be prepared to educate and not take offense.  

Lovin' Those Stripes.

Ben showed me the other day, that not only is he completely capable of getting dressed all by him self, he also a distinct sense of style.  The boy loves stripes.  

I guess I need to go shopping to get him new clothes.

Heavy on the stripes.