During OT they focused on building arm strength and she helped me reinforce learning to write his numbers (he's really struggling with "2"). He got to ride around on a wheelie board and pull himself with his arms and pick up tiny toys around the room. He loved it, but it was quite a workout! We also had some errands to run in between bigger trips that day, so it was an opportunity for social interaction and helping him learn to deal with money.Thursday we had our second edition of Mad Science at a local pizza/game place. This Mad Science was titled "Detective Science" and showed the kids how using their 5 senses can help them solve a mystery. While Bub did enjoy it, it wasn't the most age appropriate one for him. He did enjoy the fingerprinting though. Before the science presentation started, the teacher had asked Bub to put away his "toys" (a Tangle and Silly Putty) so he could concentrate and not be distracted. Because he has Asperger's, those things help keep him from being distracted, and I nicely told him that. He kind of tried to refute me, but quickly gave up when he realized that I wasn't going to back down and the other moms in the room totally had my back. I loved it that all the moms in the room immediately stood up for him and me and made sure he understood that all kids learn differently and he shouldn't be asked to put away his toys. It made me happy that they understood it without me having to defend our reasons.
I love homeschooling! That trip was made especially good by that and just being able to talk to other homeschooling moms who understand why we homeschool. One even had a kid on the spectrum, so she completely understand how this has been so good for him. We actually ended up spending 4 hours at the place eating, chatting, playing games, and doing the science class. It was super fun for us both and Little Miss was a complete angel the whole time. I love having her around. 
Friday evening was the trip we've been looking forward to since seeing Annie!; James and the Giant Peach. A local kids theater group put this one on and the whole family got to go this time. It wasn't the most fancy play ever, but the kids totally loved it and both want me to look into theater classes for them. I think Goober would be great at acting, his personality is so big and charismatic, and it would be a great lesson in interaction and overcoming anxiety (if he could) for Bub. I will be researching that option on Monday for them both. The next play is Charlotte's Web and I'd love to see them in it.
Our biggest (and best) field trip for the week was to our local kid-focused museum for Dr. Seuss day. It was a day of fun, learning-based activities, freebies in honor of Seuss, and tons of exercise! We even got to meet the Cat in the Hat, which Bub loved. Goob was way to old for that. LOL Hubs loved the momentum exhibit where he and Goober went spinning very quickly in circles. They almost vomited. I really loved all the Dr. Seuss themed events and that they kept engaging the children the whole 2.5 hours we were there. Goober's favorite part was running in the hamster wheel-type exhibit and Bub's was the same spinning thing that Hubs liked. He also liked making "Oobleck", aka slime.
Of course, we went to church today (and will go to the night service) and it was family Sunday so the kids stayed with us. It was Baptism day and 16 kids were baptized in water, which was awesome. It was the first time Bub remembers having seen baptisms and he was very interested. After church, Hubs took Bub (Goober was with his dad for the afternoon) on a walk and to a fishing expo at a sporting goods store and later to the park. Later Bub and I worked on parts of a sentences and did some math-based sorting activities. He spent the rest of the day learning about fishing and going over fishing stuff with his Daddy. I've been completely lazy and blogging, catching up on emails, Facebooking, and just general laziness. I've had a very busy week and my chronic pain has caught up to me. I'm just trying to relax it away. I did get a really fantastic email about a series of classes, geared for kids 7 and up. I had emailed about Bub saying that he is very smart and mature for his age (both true) and that I think he'd do well. He will have shortcoming with motor issues and the fact that he can't read, but I'll plan on staying with him to make up for those. I also assured her if it wasn't working out for any reason, we would withdraw without asking for refund so there would be no worries about him disrupting the class. I figured it was a long shot and probably wouldn't happen, but I'd never know unless I asked. I'ts a Lego-animation workshop and he would absolutely love to be involved and I would love to give him the chance. I was extremely thrilled when the person heading the class replied that she is a homeschooling mom of a special needs child, so she completely understands that things aren't always black and white with special needs kids. She said she would love to give him the chance, and let me sign both he and Goober up. They are both so excited about this workshop and I think they'll love it. I love it that the homeschooling community is so accepting and understanding about children and how much they know and how they learn. It warms my heart to know a group of people so willing to accept my quirky kiddo.
Tomorrow starts a whole week of Seuss. Yay for Dr. Seuss week! We'll also be seeing a Veggie Tales movie premier possibly doing Sensory Night at a bounce house place.
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