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Time is good.

nienie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:47:05 -0600

Well put. I agree completly. I had the same situation with my son Nicholas for a while, and time was all it took.

Your totally right with the

buckyuk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:16:23 -0600

Your totally right with the comment about Rochelle Robinson.

Well done

yournetbiz

My chatty builders

Owlhaven — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:07:47 -0600

The other afternoon my little girls had a long session of creative play, first with their duplos, and then with a set of wooden train tracks. Their castles and train tracks were just as elaborate and inventive as the ones their older brothers create, but the conversation that went along with the building time was much more relation-oriented than anything my boys would come up with. When the boys play, there's more crashing and bashing, and less conversing! :) Watching kids play is interesting!

Mary, mom to 10

Scavenger hunts in the car

Owlhaven — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:47:25 -0600

We sometimes play a variation of "I Spy" when we're running errands in the car. I'll say, "Can you spy something orange?" (Or round, or lumpy, or soft, or whatever... ) And the hunt is on. My little girls love it when they're first to spot the item. It's a great way to work on colors and shapes, and also a great way to pass the time in the car!

Mary, mom to 10

A Great Mama Artist Blog

jennah — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:10:26 -0500

Stephanie,

If you haven't already visited this blog, take a look! It seems up your alley! Cheers and many continued good wishes for you and your family. Warmly,

Jenna Holm

Here's the blog...

http://pamily.blogspot.com/

Every Child Is Different

ahnya — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:32:20 -0500

Kudos to you for not panicking about your child's attachment. Delays are scary, and they're frequently real. It's amazing what therapy can do to improve certain delays and how much children can benefit from them if and when prescribed by therapists. Both my wee ones went through Early Intervention, and Mister Man still has an IEP where he receives some services in kindergarten. The gains they've made are huge, and I shudder to think of what life would be like for them had we not had them checked out. Yay that your child outgrew his attachment and is now secure. But not everything will be outgrown -- and it's at least worth having an expert take a look at it if there is a concern. The earlier things are diagnosed and treated, the more successful the outcome (and the less cost to you!).

Michelle

http://honestandtruly.blogspot.com

http://honestandtrulyreviews.blogspot.com

@honestandtruly

Life....

jeraadeal — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:24:37 -0500

Mrs. N,

Your lesson is so parallel to our hobby of 'letter hunting'. We use shapes found in our environment that create 'letters' - this is a tool we use to make learning the alphabet such fun for our 3 daughters!! Another unintended joy we received from our family hobby was the new passion we all found for our surroundings. Suddenly, a rusty old fence around the local park wasn't just a rusty old fence....it took on a whole new life! I know exactly what you're speaking of. It's such a blessing.

Keep healing, my friend. God's love to you and your family, from ours.

Mrs. D

LEGOS

nienie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:35:59 -0500

Great post...everyone should have a bin of LEGOS, they truly are the best

Thanks

nienie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:33:29 -0500

Thanks guys-well said!!

I have loved reading all of

Prairie-Mama — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:02:09 -0500

I have loved reading all of the different ideas here.

One thing we do is have a Nature Table. This is a space that we decorate for the season with items from outside. We go hiking in the mountains by our house, for walks around the neighborhood and play in the leaves in our back yard.

I try to provide as many art opportunities as possible. We have an art wall in our basement, two walls where our children can draw, color, paint, whatever they want to do there. They have their art space where I can find them on cold and rainy days.

I think providing space for creativity, talking about the world around us, and taking every opportunity for teaching is the best way for our children to learn about the world around thme.

Kim, Mama to 4 sweet monkeys, one in heaven, 3 on earth!

Stephanie,Just wanted to say

littleforeverfamily — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:23:02 -0500

Stephanie,

Just wanted to say how much we all look up to you and admire who you are. You are a fabulous Mom! I just talk to our little guy and tell him everything I am doing and the name of things I am using. I watched my SIL raise my niece, and others and see ways that really work in a child's development. My hubby even does the same, and we love to take our little guy outdoors and let him see the colors and here the sounds. Keep on posting. I LOVE to read you blog and here you wonderful Mommy advice!

Emily G.~littleforeverfamily.blogspot.com

Wonderful Ideas Here

KateHood — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:38:31 -0500

This question is an interesting one for me because my oldest has a good number of speech and social delays. He also has a lot of sensory issues that make it hard for him to focus and hold discussions (even in his limited capacity). Shapes and colors are an easy reference point for us because their simplicity. Everything has a shape and color and for a child with limited communication skills, it's much easier to have a conversation about the colors we see and the shapes that we find in the world.

I often feel a bit lost as to how to help him learn (thank goodness for special pre-school!) so the ideas that I've read above are incredibly helpful (especially from Shantel since my son - Oliver - has so many autism spectrum traits, even if he's only been given the vaguest of classifications).

I'll have to come back to see what other comments you get.

By the way - I'm loving your posts on Nie Nie Dialogues. When I first found you last summer, I enjoyed your writing and photography, and got a lot of inspiration for truly appreciating my family and making the most of my time with them. So I'm glad you're back and giving me those daily reminders that life is a gift - something that is easy to forget when you're wrapped up in the worry surrounding life with a special needs child. Hope that doesn't sound sappy - I can get very "I love you man!" late at night when I should be turning off the computer and getting into bed...

-Kate, thebigpieceofcake.com

Shapes and Fun Sharing with our Children

Thorney — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:48:35 -0500

As a family we loved to take long walks, and hike. By hike, I mean we loved backpacking high above the tree line. We would point out shapes of all sorts and sizes, watching the way the tree limbs were growing, and the way the bushes were spreading, and the leaves were falling and the interesting shapes they would form.

When we would come home we would sit with a giant piece of newspaper print spread out on the table and draw our next backyard project, that was somehow related to something we had seen on our trip. Then the building would begin.

In our backyard we had a fort, a pirate ship, a castle, a swimming pool with a waterfall, playhouse, a tree house, and an outdoor kitchen (yes, even mom got got to put in a thought or two as to what we saw on the trip.) It is all to be treasured.

The children learned so much about seeing, imagining, drawing, imagining, building, imagining. Imagine.

Blessings, Mari

The Magic of Books Enhances Awareness of Color and Shapes

Pam Allyn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:17:34 -0500

Hi Nie! I love your entry here....! In my book What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read With Your Child and All the Best Times to Read Them I describe the power of the read aloud to enhance and support all the life learning experiences we share with our children. The same is true for concepts such as colors and shapes; our children are seeing the world in all kinds of deep and delightful ways: through their own unique perspectives. After a long day's walk in the beautiful world, what better than to gather our children together on the couch, or to have one child snuggle beside us and read books that also relate to those same themes they saw in the natural world! Tana Hoban is one author who has written/illustrated books that revel in shape and color and even shades of black and white. She is such a great mentor for how to pay attention to EVERYTHING. Another great author is Lois Ehlert whose collage creates a lively accompaniment to her natural explorations. I hope the exploration of concepts will include both the indoor/outdoor explorations: explorations of mind and imagination that match and sometimes transcend what we find in nature. Would love to hear from you all about other titles and authors you like that deepen and nurture our children's exploration of concepts. Visit me at whattoreadwhen.com..... Pam Allyn

The Legos Unlocked

culturednativity — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:04:16 -0500

My daughters recieved a set of these Lego/Duplo building toys as a birthday gift this summer. I must admit, with two girls, it wasn't a gift I thought of (if it's not pink and frilly, it doesn't fly around here). However, this particular set came in a pink bin with lots of pretty flowers and pictures of how to build houses, castles and carriages. I've found myself on the floor with the bin dumped out and both of them (and me) fully engaged in building, creating and playing on numerous occasions. With girls ages 2 and 5, this is a rarity. And the role playing and chit chat comes just as easily as the time passes. I could see how this happy time together could provide a comfortable environment for discussing important topics in the future. I intend to keep them on hand at all times...for a long time!!!