2017

Cai earned a Pizza Badge!



This badge groups together several subjects such as maths, science, health, practical schemes and literacy under the theme of a pizza mini-unit study. Cai picked pizza as a theme himself, and was eager to make videos of himself doing a “pizza challenge”.

Many of the learning activities followed naturally on each other, as Cai asked questions, for example why balloons deflate. He asked Google, and we found articles and videos that explained things in a child friendly way.

He enjoyed applying what he had learned—for example, for a few days after the sorting into living/non living activity, he spontaneously named things around him with the correct categories.

Learning Objectives

* Learn about food, health and balanced meals
* Numeracy, including measuring and introduction to fractions
* Learning about the biological action of yeast and the chemical actions of cooking, including an introduction to molecules
* Learning about scientific experiments and changing them according to new data
* Practical skills in food preparation and kitchen safety

Tasks



* Read a pizza recipe together
* Help to prepare a pizza dough from scratch, measuring out and weighing ingredients, and observe the dough rising and roll out into bases
* Practice making up amounts from fractions: making a cup of flour from two half cups, and a cup of water from three third cups
* Make pizza sauce from scratch, with lots of healthy vegetables
* Choose lots of healthy ingredients to top the pizza with
* Communicate with family members to find out what toppings they want
* Help to divide cooked pizza into halves, then quarters. And enjoy!



* Share and discuss videos explaining what yeast is and its action, how sugar and warmth contribute to that, and how the molecular structure of gluten in flour creates fluffy dough
* Learn about categories of living/not living and why yeast is living. Do online activities sorting objects/animals/plants/fungus into “living” and “not living”, and then apply that to objects in real life
* Watch videos of experiments with making balloons fill up with carbon  dioxide by activating yeast
* Helping to conduct these experiments, and changing the proportions of ingredients to compare results. Photographing results.
* Find out why balloons lose air/gas over time (more information on molecules)
* Make a fruit “pizza” with a watermelon base
* Play “Pizza Fractions” and learn how proper fractions work



Australian Curriculum (Foundation and Level 1)

English

* Understand that language can be used to explore ways of expressing needs, likes and dislikes
* Understand that some language in written texts is unlike everyday spoken language

Maths

* Sort and classify familiar objects and explain the basis for these classifications.
* Recognise and describe one-half as one of two equal parts of a whole. (Exceeded).
* Measure and compare the lengths and capacities of pairs of objects using uniform informal units

Science

* Everyday materials can be physically changed in a variety of ways.
* Science involves observing, asking questions about, and describing changes in, objects and events
* People use science in their daily lives
* Participate in guided investigations to explore and answer questions
* Use informal measurements to collect and record observations, using digital technologies as appropriate
* Compare observations with those of others

Other general and practical learning

* Cooking and food preparation
* Kitchen safety
* Verbal communication
* Healthy eating

Pizza Badge

Posted on

Monday 18 December 2017

The big event this week was a Christmas picnic with other homeschoolers. Cai fit in and joined in really fast, and everyone was really friendly. It was wonderful. And he came home with new friends and a play date appointment.

You can't tell, but that giant tree is full of homeschooled children, including my son.

He also had a session at day care while we cleaned for an inspection, and seemed to love it. He wants to keep it as part of his routine.

Games and free play

I picked up an awesome game/pretend play set this week, a mostly cardboard diner set. One of Cai's favourite games is to run a restaurant, taking orders, cooking and serving the food. This set has menus, food and drinks, plates, an order pad, and pretend money. It's been a big boost to his favourite game, and we've started using it to develop money skills-adding up bills and giving change. Money well spent.

Tummy Trouble continues to be best loved of the board games. There's been a lot of Lego, both small bricks and big Megablocks, and his fine motor skills are improving, which will hopefully help with his writing. He was very proud of the improvement: "Usually I can't make them stick together, and now I can!" He has been playing with wooden blocks a lot too.

I also tried a salt tray, which was a success, and something I should incorporate more. I also loved playing with it, let's face it. I need to make more playdough as well, to keep his little hands moving. It's something he adores at playgroup.

The weather has meant not a lot of outdoor play because of heat and rain, but thankfully the picnic was perfect weather, for lots and lots of running around.

He also got some facepaints and had a lovely time painting his entire body, something he hasn't done since he was little.


Game Design


Last year or so I took an edX course on Game Design Fundamentals. This week, Cai was creating levels in Mario Maker, and I took the opportunity to teach him some of the principles involved--not the big words like "iteration", but the concepts.

Cai planned his levels, playtested to see if they were too hard or easy, and iterated--made changes--to balance difficulty and improve fun. It was only when he was happy with them he let me play them, and I was kind of amazed at how good he was at making levels I could beat, but only after I'd had a couple of tries and learning.

I also had a go at making a couple of levels--and then Cai hopped in and made them much better.

App Reviews

Skoolbo

One of the biggest changes was shelling out for the new version of  Skoolbo, with an early adoption price of $25 a year.  It's been incorporated happily into our every day life: the way it rewards kids with an animal mascot if they finish the day's tasks has been a huge incentive. Well, except for the day he refused to do the tasks because the day's animal, a bunny, "looks like a boring dog". :D

From the parent's menu, I customise tasks that will be offered on rotation, and can look at his metrics. Then he gets some sets tasks every day, but can do *all* the games and lessons at any point. There's a good mix of stuff: easy Mandarin lessons, drawing lessons, games to practice numeracy and literacy, learning money skills, and best of all loads and loads of ebooks. There is a huge amount of variety.

I particularly like that at the end of each set he gets a chapter of a read-aloud book, with only one picture. His eyes track the words beautifully as it's read (he sits on my lap or beside me and I remain engaged the whole time.) It's a great way to expose him to longer form, less picture heavy reading.

The library of ebooks is his favourite thing, though--he goes straight to Science and Geography and picks out books. He loves learning facts from them and bringing them up when out and about.

I need to make some themed badges for all his learning. :)

It's been a huge success, and I'm really pleased with it. Cai actively asks for it. And he is learning so much. It's taken over from workbooks a bit, and I think it's a good change.

As always, I think the real key is to make it special, engaged, cuddly time, no matter how many times you have to share an ebook about supermarkets or flamingos.


Gus on the Go: Japanese

I'm learning Japanese, self-taught, and Cai asked this week to learn it too. He's a big Love Live! School Idol  fan as well as a gamer, so it's a natural fit for him.

As well as informally teaching him words myself, I've been looking around for child friendly apps. Mindsnacks is highly recommended, but isn't compatible with the current iOS system, so I downloaded quite a few to try out. Apps are a big part of my own learning, but he is too little for the ones I use.


The one for which  I ended up shelling out a small amount for the full game is Gus on the Go: Japanese. It teaches about 90 basic vocab words through interactive pictures and games, and is a really pretty app. It's obviously not going to teach a child the full language, but for a kindergartener first showing interest, it's perfect.

Cai finds loan words hilarious.

Pizza Fractions 1

One last new app to mention: Pizza Fractions 1. It's simple, free, and seemed to drop the idea of fractions into Cai's head immediately.  He got the idea straight away.

Also it makes silly noises and the chef's eyes spin around when Cai enters his answer, so as far as he's concerned, it's genius.

Mobymax

We started playing around with this only today. Cai completed the entire unit on what cultures are, and was really engaged. He also read and answered comprehension questions on a story about cows. He seemed quite amused.

Next week

Next week we have a museum excursion planned, and a playdate with new friends, as well as daycare. I want to finish off his Pizza Badge, and get started on a Japan badge and an Animal Badge. Can't wait!





This has been a fun week. Cai is getting more and more eager to learn, and I'm introducing new activities and thinking about ways to support his weaknesses. There have been also been a lot of social contact with family, lots of playing in indoor playgrounds because of the on and off weather, plus a couple of special events: a homeschooling barbeque, library (as usual) and a Christmas craft workshop.

The barbeque was great. I learned a lot more about homeschooling in my state, I've put my hand up to help in establishing a co op, and most of all Cai had a wonderful time playing with the others.

This has taken a lot of pushing past my own comfort zone--but he's my kid. Right now, he is all about playing with other kids and making friends, so I'm giving him every opportunity. He plays well, taking turns and helping with other kids, and is getting better and better at semi-organised play.

Most of Cai's time is spent on play, but he gets through an astounding amount of work as well--maybe because the lines are a bit blurred in our house. He's so eager to learn.


Writing

The craft workshop was interesting because part of what Cai did was paint glue on a colouring in picture and colour it with glitter. While I swear the other mothers did theirs for their kids, who sat bored and passive while their mothers carefully filled in areas with the correct colour of glitter, Cai lavished paint and glitter everywhere.

About halfway through,  enjoying himself immensely, he looked at the perfect pictures the others had and wanted to start over. I had to encourage him in that everything he did was his and perfect. In the end, he cheered up and was really excited when his other mummy picked us up from the library, and couldn't wait to show her. His wooden wreath was similar: other mothers produced perfect wreaths for their offspring, while Cai had a messy, imperfect one he joyfully decorated with pipecleaners and stickers.

I like his better.

It reminds me, though, that Caius is lacking in a lot of prewriting skills. He is averse to drawing or colouring in, so lots of the informal practice with pencil control that other kids get doesn't happen for him. We think, and have discussed with his paediatrician, that this is down to sensory issues: he can't easily judge the contact of pens with paper.

He has some wipe-clean writing workbooks he likes to do, but his strokes are completely uncontrolled and wobbly, he struggles with correct grip--although he tries hard--and he tires quickly. We picked up some pencil grips this week that might help, and I've also been thinking through other strategies.

One is using my graphics tablet. If I turn off pressure sensitivity on the stylus, he can make firm, clear lines with any pressure. It does involve separating the movements of his hand with what he sees on the screen, which is hardly ideal.

And there is typing, of course. When we play learning games on the computer, he often likes to tap the key on the keyboard before selecting it with the mouse. I'm wondering if a mini-keyboard, designed for games controllers, would be a good investment.

Tonight, though, I've been doing more reading, and I've become interested in the idea of teaching cursive first. (I completely rejected it at first.) The theory is that it's actually easier for kids with sensory issues to use because there's not so much lifting and finding new positions, and less discrete pre-writing shapes. I read a lot of articles, but this one assesses the evidence well.

Another idea I stumbled across that is all over Pinterest and the educational blogosphere is salt box writing. Using a stiff brush or chopsticks, the kid makes shapes (later letters) in salt in a box, and gets added sensory feedback from the salt. This is definitely an idea I want to incorporate: going back to basics and making a game of making the shapes of cursive writing, eventually progressing to letters and letter groups.

I do need to do some more research, as I know there is a suggested (non-alphabetical) order for learning cursive letters, but I want to focus on getting prewriting shapes down first.

(ETA: cursive word groups are covered here.)


Electronic learning

Using apps has been big in Cai's learning from early on. He's a big fan of the mostly free Baby Bus apps that teach everything from manners to maths to where babies come from. He's crazy about Putt-Putt, is making his way through the second stage of Teach Your Monster to Read (free and excellent phonics programme), plays a variety of maths games with me and  is fond of playing "make a word" games with me like Words for Evil, AlphabearScribblenauts and Letterquest.

One thing we've really liked is Skoolbo, where he competed in maths and literacy tasks, tied to the Australian curriculum, against other children. A short while ago, though, it shifted to a paid--subscription-for-homeschoolers model, which annoyed me so much that I didn't look at the  updated version.

This week, however, I logged in. I don't know if I've been grandfathered in, but there seemed no pay barrier. I really like the update. There are actual lessons now, and daily tasks to earn animal badges, which he finds motivating.

What is not motivating is that the lessons have taken him right back to the beginning in literacy: letter recognition and blending. He's far past that point. He sight reads, but he also segments and blends (naturally or because of Teach Your Monster to Read) to work out unfamiliar words, and can usually take a hell of a good guess.

The games, however, have kept track of his learning. There are a lot of new games now too, which is nice. If it does start charging us, I think I'll have to shell out for a subscription, because it's great.

I need to find out if there's a way to skip past the lessons, because I know from experience how boring it is to be taught something you already know inside out.

The best thing, though, is the 500 ebooks they have added. Cai loves the Storypod at the library, which reads ebooks to him while highlighting the words. He was desperate to buy it as an app. It's not an app, it's a thing for libraries and schools which literally costs thousands of dollars even in the tablet version. But is Skoolbo has that now, it's a huge incentive. He read one book three times in a row.

(ETA: okay, they charged us after a trial, but only $25AU for the first year. Definitely worth it.)

We've also been trying Studyladder. I was mixed on it when I was looking around, and the language options are rubbish, but the Science section was a hit. Cai enjoyed learning about farms and food production, which ties to the current Pokemon Badge we are working on, and he loved classifying living things. He also read all the questions and answers himself, sometimes aloud to me, sometimes in his head (reading and selecting the correct answer).

See what I mean about not needing to learn letter recognition and blending? For a four year old, he's doing pretty great.

For now, the free version is fine. We'll see how much he likes it down the line.


Workbooks

Cai is still enjoying these, much to my surprise. In fact, he requested (and got) a new workbook on time recognition and money, "because I really want to learn them". 


Boardgames, other games, reading and freeplay

Boardgames  an important part of our week. What is most interesting right now is that Cai is really taking on board the lessons about balanced meals in his favourite games, especially Tummy Trouble and Lunch Time.  He has become very interested in making sure he eats enough vegetables and that I put plenty in when we cook together (preparing and adding vegetables to the thermomix is his job), and tonight, for the first time ever, he ate all the brocolli in his dinner.

I feel a bit like we're brainwashing him, but it's great.

There's been a lot of lego and brick building lately. Probably because he has a Star Wars advent calendar.

Free play has been in playgrounds, indoors and out, and he's also done a lot of imaginative play with his Skylander figures.

His favourite game right now, though, is playing vet. He spent his pocket money on a toy horse and tiny vet set, and he's been taking care of his sick horse every day, scanning it for broken bones, bandaging, feeding, medicating, grooming and vaccinating it.

We're going to take advantage of the interest and teach him more about animal care.

His other mummy also came up with the best game ever, making a cardboard vending machine and putting him inside as the robot taking money and dispensing candy. :D

Reading wise, favourite book at the moment is the Guinness Book of Video Games Records. It's replaced cake, recipe and pokemon books for the moment!

I've also borrowed Bedtime Math from the library, and we're integrating solving funny maths problems into his bedtime routine.



Project based learning

Cai is working on a new badge with me--Pizza. :) It doesn't just involve pizza, but we started with pizza making, and we've advanced to related things like yeast balloon experiments, chemistry of baking soda vs yeast producing carbon dioxide, food production (in a natural flow from the Seed badge...), as well as things like measuring and fractions.

More on that when he finishes making his badge and I do his Badge report!

The stuff he learned in the Seed badge is sticking. He's showing great interest in plants, seeds and grains. His yell of triumph when he finds seeds in fruit is kind of awesome. :) Seriously, he is so damn cute.

I want him to always enjoy learning so much.









Seed Badge Report
This badge was created to help introduce Cai to a lot of basic science concepts, such as life cycles, experimentation and observation. The study also incorporated other areas such as life skills, history, the environment and cultural studies.
Cai was enthusiastic, and I particularly was pleased with his intelligent questions and the pleasure he took in learning and relating things to his study.
Learning Overview
  • the parts of seeds, such as shell and plant embryo
  • different kinds of seeds
  • the needs of seeds (water, air, light)
  • the life cycle of seed plant, from seed dispersal to germination to mature growth and production of new seeds
  • identifying different kinds of seeds in the garden and outdoors, in the Australian museum and in the pantry
  • basic understanding of photosynthesis
  • basic understanding of plant life in the food chain, especially in human nutrition
  • the uses of seeds as food and flavouring
  • researching what is and is not a seed

Learning Activities

  • growing rye grass from seeds, and photographing the growing process
  • “seed hunts” in the garden and pantry
  • cutting open fruits and vegetables to find the seeds
  • checking online if confusing items (e.g. lentils and sweetcorn and peanuts) are seeds
  • tasting and comparing edible seeds
  • talking about the importance of seeds of many types in our diet, and food production using seeds
  • watching learning videos about seeds
  • dissecting different kinds of seeds (pine nuts, apple seeds and nectarine kernels) to find component parts
  • playing an educational app (Magical Seeds) about seed dispersal, germination and plant life cycle for several kinds of seeds, from coconut to peas
  • grinding grain to flour
  • cooking with various seeds
  • experimenting with trying to germinate several seeds from the cupboard, and learning about irradiation
  • visiting the Australian Museum to see the traditional indigenous foods section, and learning about how important seeds are to Aboriginal hunter-gatherer diets
  • learning about how weather and seasons affect plant growth
  • exploring properties of seeds, for example by soaking basil seeds

Relevant Australian Curriculum Areas (Foundation and Year 1)
Biological Sciences 
  • identifying the needs of humans such as warmth, food and water, using students’ own experiences
  • recognising the needs of living things in a range of situations such as pets at home, plants in the garden or plants and animals in bushland
  • comparing the needs of plants and animals
  • identifying common features of plants such as leaves and roots
  • describing the use of plant parts for particular purposes such as making food and obtaining water
  • Living things live in different places where their needs are met
Earth and Space Sciences 
  • Daily and seasonal changes in our environment affect everyday life
  • Observable changes occur in the sky and landscape
Science as a Human Endeavour
  • Science involves observing, asking questions about, and describing changes in, objects and events 
  • People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things 
Science Inquiry Skills
  • Pose and respond to questions about familiar objects and events
  • Participate in guided investigations and make observations using the senses
  • Engage in discussions about observations and represent ideas 
  • Share observations and ideas
  • Use informal measurements to collect and record observations, using digital technologies as appropriate 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have longstanding scientific knowledge traditions and developed knowledge about the world by:
• observation, using all the senses
• prediction and hypothesis
• testing (trial and error)
• making generalisations within specific contexts such as the use of food, natural materials, navigation and sustainability of the environment.
Contributing to healthy and active communities
  • Participate in play that promotes engagement with outdoor settings and the natural environment
Other Learning Areas

  • cooking, nutrition and food preparation

Cai earned a Seed Badge!

Posted on

Thursday 7 December 2017

Part of the inspiration for making sets of badges is a webpage called DIY.org, which allows kids to earn patches in a variety of skills--and, of course, pay for physical patches. It's aimed at kids a bit older than Cai, but a lot of the newbie tasks are within his reach, with help.

It seemed like a good idea to make my own badges, with multiple tasks, tied strongly to the Australian Curriculum, and spending more time and educational focus on each badge. After a while, I came up with the Homeschool Pokemon Cards idea.

In the meantime, though, there's no reason not to do DIY patches as well.

Cai came up with the idea of making pizza himself, inspired by his favourite YouTubers, and of course there is a Pizza Maker badge. :)

Here, in all its glory, is Cai's scratch Thermomix pizza dough.



This led naturally enough to exploring how yeast and gluten work, watching kid-friendly videos on it, and watching (and planning) the balloon and yeast science trick.
We made sauce from scratch, with lots of hidden veg, rolled out the dough together,  and then Cai wanted to tape the making of his personal pizza.



So, how did it turn out?
Pretty good!

Pizza Making

Posted on

Sunday 3 December 2017

Category

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This has been a really busy week, both on a social level and getting Cai started on his first unit study--seeds!

As well as playgroup, playgrounds, soft play and meeting up with a friend to play, we attended our first homeschool meetup, at the Adelaide Museum. Cai had a wonderful time, and I had the chance to meet homeschooled kids for the first time, and find out how kind, self-confident, learning-eager and smart they were. From now on, I'm going to make an effort to attend homeschool events regularly.

He also met his future brother in law for the first time. We talked to Cai about Marriage Equality, and since then he's been "marrying" his toys to each other.

Play-wise, Cai has been very focussed on imaginative, narrative play. He has spent much of the week "playing restaurant": a very complicated make believe game in which he provides us with menus, "cooks" and serves food, and runs entertainment. He's been playing more complex narratives with his toys, too, and playing make believe games like Shop with other children. I'm really pleased with his social progress and how he's bloomed: I never thought he would play co operative pretend games with other children the way he does now.

There's been a lot of lego this week, too, as well as playdough (mostly making and sharing "food), brick building and physical play--mostly soft play, because of the unreliable weather. Cai is keen on learning to hula hoop and stilt walk right now, and his rope climbing skills are improving. As always, he loves the playgroup sandpit, watering plants, and helping me cook and clean.

The seed unit study was inspired by Daimaru having adorable little seed pots to grow rye grass in. That started an exploration of seeds and their uses that has kept us happy and occupied for a while. I'm really pleased with how eager Cai is to learn, and how happily he embraces the activities--running around excitedly finding seeds, dissecting seeds, watching videos and playing games to learn. It's been fantastic, and we had so much fun together.

I've been thinking about ways to record his learning on unit projects and ensure I'm aligning them to the Australian Curriculum goals for his Foundation Year. I finally hit on a combination I like: I will keep records of the learning activities, and make cute "Pokemon Cards" he can collect as tangible signs of his progress. He seems very keen on the idea.

So am I!



Yesterday was mostly about socialisation.

Cai has high functioning ASD, and until recently showed little interest in making friends. He would play happily and patiently with--or beside--other kids, share and take turns nicely then would walk away without saying goodbye or acknowledging them. I worried about him, and rejoiced at any sign of socialising, but I was beginning to accept that he just wasn't wired for it.  Any encouragement by wider family to "make friends" would be met by him placidly saying "Some people don't have friends. It's okay."

Other the last few weeks, however, things have started to change. We spent some weeks in the UK, and Cai spent a lot of time playing with his English younger cousins. For the first time, he became really attached. When we came back, he started really playing with other kids in playgrounds and playgroup, actively interacting with them. It was a huge difference.

So yesterday was a playdate with a new friend of mine with a little girl. It was fantastic. Cai and Lilith played and played, hugged and kissed, shared everything, giggled their heads off, and cried when they had to part. We have many play dates planned in the future!

Seriously, seeing our autistic son make a friend like that was a miracle.

Cai also, at his own request, spent Wednesday morning in a casual session at daycare, something we haven't done for a long time. The last few times were disasters and he had to be rescued. This time, it went brilliantly, I had a few hours to write, and when I came to collect him he was joining in on a group game and giggling.

His paediatrician on Monday mentioned he seemed like an entirely different child to six months before, and asked what our magic wand was. Really, it's come down to letting him set the pace and not letting ourselves get pushed into stressing him out "because he has to learn". Cai knows when he's ready.

I'm excited--and a little apprehensive--about stepping up the socialisation side of his life. But it's something we always planned. Part of our reason for homeschooling is replacing the intense, peer pressured, artificial school environment with the chance to interact with and make friends with people of all ages and interests.

Picture credit: mcconnmama

Posted on

Thursday 23 November 2017