I have a confession to make: I probably haven’t spent as much time as I should teaching Jackson the basics he needs to know when he starts PreK in August. This confession comes with a lot of mommy guilt.
While other kids were learning their ABC’s and 123’s, Jackson was still learning how to talk. Everything we did was a speech therapy lesson. And that’s just the Apraxia side of things.
I didn’t have a kiddo who would sit at the table and do learning activities. I have a sensory seeker who needs to move and groove. Sitting still is hard work. So are fine motor activities.
We’ve been busy kicking Apraxia’s butt and adapting to life with Sensory Processing Disorder.
An average of 6 hours of speech and 1.5 hours of occupational therapy each week is a lot for a four-year-old.
So when we get home from therapy appointments and speech immersion preschool, I’ve let Jackson do what I feel is most important – I’ve let him be a kid!
So you can imagine my surprise when Jackson spelled JOY back in December as he pointed to the letters on the sign that sat on our front porch. I was baffled. I was one proud mama. But I couldn’t take credit for that – I gave all the credit to the iPad.
One of the most difficult things about having a child with Apraxia is their inability to tell you what they know.
I can remember the first time I saw Jackson matching shapes and colors on the iPad. I was floored. I had no idea he knew his shapes and colors because he couldn’t tell me what they were.
The same goes for his ABC’s!
I know he knows his letters, he just can’t say them all.
F, K, H, L and S give him a run for his money.
But lately, we’ve been finding creative ways to work on the alphabet.
We’ve buried letters in a sensory bin of beans. Jackson used tongs to take each letter out (a great fine motor activity) and then told me what each one was. That’s a pretty good feeling when the ABC’s took a backseat for so long.
Last week we had an Alphabet Egg Hunt. I put letters in Easter eggs and hid them around the house. As Jackson found each egg, he opened it and told me (with much enthusiasm) which letter was hidden inside.
Now that Jackson’s words are coming (and they are coming more and more each day) we can focus on learning the skills he needs for PreK. The way he learns looks a little different from other kids his age, but I’m determined to make it fun! One way or another, we will be ready for PreK come August!
How do you make learning fun for your child? I’d love to hear your ideas!