An Alien took my son

Harry had an amazing day today, I think an alien abducted him and left me with an angel. First I heard him washing in the bathroom and cleaning his teeth - then he got himself dressed and sorted out a nicely co-ordinated outfit to wear. He then proceeded to do his press-ups (for boxing and karate), reading and sat nicely on the sofa watching his favourite TV programmes for a while. Both sets of Dore were done with fun and laughter. At bedtime, before he was asked to, he got himself ready, had a wash, cleaned his teeth and got into bed to read his Simpsons mag. He then asked to read to me (!), so we started to read one of his new Barrington Stoke books that he got for Xmas. This may not sound amazing to most people, but I thought it was unusual behaviour! I expect I'll get the old Harry back tomorrow!

Christmas 2007

We had a lovely Christmas with the family coming to me for the day and even more in the evening. We decided to have a day off exercises on Christmas Day, but Harry's attitude is now much better when doing his exercises - the break from school has been good. I notice his balancing on one leg is much better, and his mental task ideas are improving. We are still reading well and doing other 'learning tasks' over the Christmas period. Harry seems happy. I think 2008 will be a good year for him.

A good week!

Harry is having a great week, but is incredibly tired with all the christmas festivities. We are struggling with the harder mentals, so are doing easier ones at the moment. He is enjoying his books and we have read 2 in one week - a miracle! To top the week off, Harry was awarded the red belt in karate, which he was convinced he'd failed at. Very happy!

Reading

When we had our assessment on Tuesday, I mentioned Harry still has little interest in picking up a book, but his reading was definitely improving. Our Specialist mentioned "Barrington Stoke" were good books for reluctant readers as they are short stories. When I looked into it, it turns out they are a publishing house that specialise in books for dyslexics. The books have:

• Cream or off-white paper which is more restful on the eye
• A font that encourages a smooth read
• Varied length of line to help readers keep their place
• Challenging yet familiar vocabulary with clear language structure
• Well-spaced text and short chapters

I got 3 from our local library and Harry is reading them keenly.

http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/

Handwriting and School

Went in to school today for a meeting with the School Senco to get Harry going with the handwriting programme. Here is a sample of his work from today (the 1st word was written for him). I have also attached the 3 Rules. We noticed he has a tendency to rush, but when he slows down, he has lovely writing. He has also got in the habit of flicking at the end of letters.

He starts off by tracing the letters with his finger and then tracing a big letter with a highlighting pen, then gradually getting smaller, using first a pen and finally a pencil.

He also got his Neoboard and seems very pleased with it. He will start using it tomorrow as his teacher isn't aware he's got one yet.

We also discussed Dore and agreed Harry is a changed child from this time last year!

7th Follow-up Assessment

Much improved on last time. Made it into the greens on all four, but the last two need to be more consistent - we have been given slighter easier exercises this time and repeats (but not so many 'light-bulbs') as the previous set were quite hard. His mentals were more fluent than last time and we did another questionnaire which showed good improvement in his schoolwork. Harry's profile was on the Dore DVD too which was great to see (see pic).

Alphasmart/Handwriting

This week I have made contact with the Senco again. They have confirmed that Harry will get a scribe for his SATS next May. He won't get extra time as there is criteria to fulfill, and they feel the best option is to apply for the scribe (he had one last year). The school have also purchased some Alphasmart boards and Harry qualifies for one. It will help to get copy typing practice, so I have downloaded a programme from the web kindly provided by Lelly88 and the school have confirmed they will also put this in place during word processing time for Harry in-school.

Additionally, I have asked the school about handwriting practice - as I don't want him to rely on the Alphasmart, and this has prompted the school to start a programme that I can support at home. I have a meeting next week to start this off.

Karate Course

This morning, Harry took part in the annual karate course. His listening and concentration, I noticed, is much improved. His balance in particular is loads better!