Speech Therapy & Cookies

Speech therapy has generated a lot of mixed feelings for me. When Maddie had physical therapy for a year, there were specific exercises I could do. I could take photos and videos. It was abundantly clear that PT benefited her and she would not have gained the strength and muscle development without it. 

Speech, on the other hand, is not so cut and dry. The strategies are less clear and our weekly sessions often feel like a waste of time. The kids are making progress, but I often wonder if they would be advancing on their own without the help of an SLP. 

Our newest SLP started a month ago. I adored him, especially the way he interacted with the kids. As a father of a 2 year old boy and an infant, he was so natural with the kids. The initial visit was more of a getting to know you/fill out paperwork visit. The social worker was also there. I was so excited and optimistic about speech services. 

The SLP cancelled the second week due to illness, which I in no way hold against him. The third week was our first true session. Once again, he was amazing with the kids. Unfortunately, I found him to be very patronizing and condescending towards me. He felt the need to "teach behavior management strategies" such as "redirection".  (As if I haven't spent six years in college classes and five years in my own classroom.) After an hour of being spoken to like I was the two year old, I stopped him and explained that I was well aware of the strategies. I not so kindly reminded him that things are a lot different when you have two or more adults with three children vs one adult and four children.  As soon as he left, I cried. He unintentionally made me feel uneducated and an inadequate mother, then I unintentionally made him uncomfortable.

Last week was a bit awkward. He told me that I "don't have to beat around the bush". He assured me he's only here to help but I have to let him know what would be the best use of his time. In physical therapy, the PT came up with the activities and exercises. In speech, it's been the other way around. He just shows up with no game plan, which added to the misunderstandings of our roles. I think initially, we were both waiting for the other person to do something, which resulted in all of us sitting on the floor playing trains for an hour and a half and him "teaching me strategies". It was a bit of an epiphany for me to realize I go about my day as normal and the SLP is a support to help me converse with the kids more effectively. 

The biggest strategies I've learned and implemented thus far are:

1. Stop asking so many questions. This isn't natural conversation and it limits their responses. I don't need to interview the kids.

2. Talk in first person point of view with simple sentences. 

3. Wait for the kids to respond. If it's unclear, try to interpret it and articulate what I think they're trying to say. If their response is clear, repeat it and expand their sentence. 

How this has changed our conversations:

For example, when looking through a book, I used to say, "Can you find the apple? Where's the dog? Point to the cat." It was like I was constantly giving the kids a test, without modeling anything first. Now I say, "I see a red apple. I like to eat apples!" Then I wait for the child to point to the apple and listen to what s/he says. Generally, s/he points to the apple and names it. Then I can add more vocabulary and make connections by saying, "We picked apples at the farm." 

Then I say, "I see a dog. The dog says 'woof woof''." And we continue with simple conversations. It's been an unnatural but meaningful shift for me to start talking as a peer rather than as a teacher. Talking like a two year old has actually helped each of them articulate their thoughts. Maddie is the most advanced and regularly uses sentences such as "I want eat." "I like color. I want my book!"

Another example: If Amelia says, "Baby eat.", then I say, "Baby eats from a bottle." She naturally responds, "Yeah. Baby's bottle."

Today was our best speech session yet. I think the SLP and I are finally comfortable together and have mutual respect for one another. I knew I needed some kind of planned activity so we weren't sitting on the floor with trains again. I'm working on a whole list of things I want to do that would be easier with two people. First on my list was to bake cookies. 

The SLP was totally receptive and excited about baking cookies. We were a good team and let each toddler take turns pouring ingredients, stirring, and dropping spoonfuls of cookie dough. It was very natural and fun.

I took a picture since it was the trio's first time baking. I thought it was sweet that the SLP asked us to switch so I could be in the pictures.

The triplets did a great job and we used vocabulary such as "shake, pour, bowl, in, out, stir, cookie, hot, all done, wait, cool, eat" etc. Jackson used to have so much fun baking with me at this age, so I was glad to finally feel comfortable letting the trio experience one of my favorite hobbies. (It was definitely a two person job, though!)

I was pleasantly surprised that James was patient and willing to wait his turn. His eyes never left the bowl. His face lit up every time he had a turn.

We listened to Toddler Tunes on Pandora. A Sesame Street song came on called "C is for Cookie". We had a dance party, sing along, cookie tasting party going on all at once. It was perfect!

The cookies tasted like shortbread. They weren't the most beautiful creations, but they were well received.

Our blissful moment ended with all three in tears when they weren't allowed to eat anymore cookies. (Even if I had given them 10 cookies each, they would have cried for more!) As the meltdowns began, the SLP said, "Well, I guess this is my cue to go." To be fair, it was time for him to go, but I sure could have used his inspiring "redirection strategy" at work then. It was just another reminder that everything's easier with two adults.

Next week is our monthly visit with the social worker. I'm curious to see what conversations take place then. For now, I'm happy with increased understanding and communication from the kids, as well as the potential for fun weekly crafts and baking.

Jackson Update: Preschool and Room Cleaning

Age four seems to be the biggest jump in maturity levels thus far. The past month has provided me with many glimpses into what kind of student and boy Jackson will be. It's like this magical age where things start to click and he's making all these connections.

The room cleaning sticker chart we implemented a month ago has worked amazingly well. Dare I say cleaning his room has become a nightly habit? There have been a few nights over the past month where he has whined and not wanted to clean his room, but he knows it's an expectation that we aren't to waiver on. Our Saturday rewards have included tiny Care Bear figurines, a coloring book, and a trip to SweetFrog.

Preschool has proven to be much more academically demanding than his previous years. It's hard for me to know if this is because he's in the oldest class now or if the expectations at his new school are that much higher. Either way, every assignment and activity that's sent home includes a handwritten label or caption.

I'm not especially thrilled with the homework. Some of it does not seem age appropriate and he has not been able to complete it independently without looking at numbers or letters I've printed for him.

Even when Jackson doesn't have homework, he's still eager to play school and practice letters and numbers. Jesse bought him a pack of magnetic letters that Jackson uses. He begged me to come in his room to see a surprise. I was a bit alarmed to see he had spelled his name, but in complete mirror image.

Despite some letter confusion, he must be excelling since he was selected as the first Student of the Month for his class. One of my biggest complaints with this school is there are no set classes. You just sign up for whatever days you want to go. Some students in his class go 5 days a week, others go MWF, Tue/Thu, or any other possible combination. I would find that so confusing as a teacher and student, but they make it work. Anyway, it makes it more impressive that he was picked for Student of the Month because there are a lot of children to pick from.

At Jack's school, you don't receive a certificate or pencil. No, you get a yard sign. Crazy, right? Jackson was so very proud of himself. He said, "I get to keep this for 30 days!" Oh, my sweet boy!

The only other update I can think of is how imaginative Jackson is. He's so great at pretend play and creates quite the dialogue between his action figures. We randomly catch him talking to himself. Yesterday, I overheard the following while he was using the bathroom. "Jackson, GREAT job! You got a sticker. You are so awesome!" I guess he gives himself pep talks sometimes. Such a silly kid! 

We still have plenty of moments of not listening, playing too rough with his siblings, and acting whiny when he doesn't get what he wants. We're also struggling with Jackson eating healthy meals and not snacking all day. With that said, the good far outweighs the bad and I really love Jackson's current stage of life.

Latta Plantation

We've had gray skies and constant rain for the last week and a half. With an approaching hurricane, we're prepared for even more rainfall in the upcoming days. This meant that when the sun came out yesterday, we spent as much time outside as possible.

After a rough morning with cranky kids, I packed a picnic lunch and forced everyone (including myself) to get dressed. I drove to the closest park I could think of that wouldn't be muddy and let the kids run free. I always admire how protective Jackson is over Maddie. She looks up to him more than anyone else.

Jackson and Amelia have the same athletic abilities. Jackson might be a better climber since he's taller, but I think Amelia can run faster.

Besides the rubber flooring, another perk to this park is having enough swings for everyone. Most parks only have two or three swings together, but the kids took up all four here.

We ate our lunch (PB&J, apple, and cheddar rice cakes) at a shady picnic area. Before I sat down to eat, I noticed James' sandwich was gone. I looked on the ground to see if he dropped it. I asked, "James, where did your sandwich go?" He kept looking around with his hands up, saying, "I don't know. All gone. More?" It never ceases to amaze me how much he can eat.

At this point in the day, it was already 1 pm, which was approaching naptime. It suddenly dawned on me it was Wednesday, aka "field trip" day. With the sun still shining and the kids still in good moods, I made an impromptu risk decision to take them to Latta Plantation, which is a short drive from the park. All of the kids were free, but I had to pay $7. I declined the house tour since I wasn't even sure the kids would remain happy outside with the animals. Plus, three toddlers and antiques from centuries ago aren't my favorite combination.

Maddie surprised me by voluntarily approaching the turkeys. She was startled when they began to gobble, but then she laughed. (She tends to be frightened easily by animals.) The five of us started gobbling back and conversing with the turkeys.

We browsed through the old shops and hypothesized what the purpose of various tools might be.

The last time we went to Latta (5 months ago) we walked around the kitchen house and slave quarters freely. This time there were ropes intended to block off many of the spaces. That didn't stop James from walking under it and exploring the kitchen. I took a picture, explained some of the utensils, then coaxed him to return to the correct side of the rope.

The highlight of our afternoon on the plantation was interacting with this friendly sheep.

We all laughed hysterically when the sheep went through the wagon and began to "baa" at us.

Next on our self-guided tour was exploring the slaves quarters.

I tried to have a preschool appropriate discussion on slavery. Jackson was mostly concerned about what would happen if a slave didn't follow his master's rules. 

The kids were only mildly intrigued by the chickens.

They were much more interested in the donkey and horse. I wasn't expecting the animals to approach us along the fence, but they must have been mutually curious.

Maddie's bravery ended with the turkeys. She wouldn't even get out of the wagon to see these giant animals. Amelia and James were much more interested.

It ended up being a gorgeous day and a welcome change to the constant rain. I'm glad we were able to have our weekly outing and learn more about plantation life.

Rainy Mall Days

The nonstop rain has made me realize how much I rely on parks and outdoor play to keep us busy. Thankfully there are two large malls less than 15 minutes from our house. Last week we spent a morning at Concord Mills in their vegetable garden themed play area. The kids wore their Mickey Mouse necklaces that they received after helping "open" the Disney Store. It was a strange production with lights, wands, reciting a magic spell, and wearing a special hat. 

On Tuesday I took the trio to Northlake Mall to climb in their large Looney Tunes themed play area. It used to creep me out thinking of kids running around barefoot in those areas. The surfaces are too slick to wear socks, so we embraced the abundance of germs (along with a dozen other children). Amelia watched the older kids climb and followed their lead.

Then James and Maddie followed Amelia. People always ask if the trio go in three different directions. At 18 months old, they definitely did. Now at 2 years old, they travel in a pack almost everywhere they go. Most of the time, where one goes, two will follow.

Of course, there are times when they do their own thing, but they're always looking around for one another. As soon as James wandered to the duck, it didn't take long for Amelia and Maddie to find "quack quack".

As tired as I am of the rain, I so appreciate having fun, free places to take the toddlers. I especially love being able to observe their interactions with each other and their peers.

Rainy Monday

With a forecast of rain, it was an obvious choice to find indoor entertainment for the trio. After dropping Jackson off on Monday, I took the kids uptown. I planned to go to the children's library. After missing the turn for the parking deck, I drove a few more blocks and decided to just go to the museum instead. I park on the top of the parking deck so we can walk across the bridge. The kids like to look down at the cars and people.

With the exception of a single class on a field trip, the museum was practically vacant. I love when we can leisurely walk through the museum without worrying about crowds. (This is why I prefer the uptown museum over Discovery Place Kids.) James nearly got his hand stuck trying to pet the bear. I wonder if he was expecting the bears to move like living animals.

The interactive globe is always a favorite exhibit.

We don't often make our way into the touch tanks, but we were able to since there were so few people. James tried to pick up the star fish, then made waves in the tank.

Amelia also touched the animals. Maddie declined.

The aquarium is another favorite. Though this museum isn't designed for very young children, they do provide step stools at all the aquariums.

Maddie started yelling while I was looking at the jelly fish with James and Amelia. I turned around, thinking she might have fallen. I, too, was alarmed to see a human arm descending into the tank with a hose. Apparently we arrived during the regular cleaning.

As predicted, Amelia sailed through the rope bridge effortlessly. James followed her lead slowly but happily. Maddie took two steps, reversed as soon as she felt the sway of the bridge, then demanded to be carried. These three are so very different.

The museum is in between temporary exhibits, so we spent longer than usual studying the frogs. One of the frogs jumped right up on the glass, generating giggles from all three toddlers.

The rain had lightened up and I'd already paid $5 for all day parking, so I chose to walk the kids to the library. The children's library has so much more available than books. I don't think I've ever taken the trio without Jackson. I enjoyed following their lead.  

We don't own iPads and we try to avoid letting the toddlers play on our phones. I was taken aback when I saw James and Maddie climb up and successfully use the touch screen computers. It's crazy that two year olds can create artwork, play music, and listen to stories--all by simply touching a screen.

I looked up at the clock and was alarmed to discover the time. We only had 40 minutes to walk back to the museum, buckle up, and drive to pick up Jackson (which took about 25 minutes). I hadn't planned to be gone so long and I didn't pack any lunch. Maddie kept saying, "I want eat. I want eat!" James and Amelia were increasingly fussy and not going to make it until 2 pm without food. Bojangles drive-thru saved the day!

We ended up having such a fun morning. At times I feel guilty about not being able to enroll the trio in preschool. Days like Monday remind me that I'm more than capable of providing my own kids with learning opportunities and time to explore their big world.

Sweet Park Moments

Last Friday I took the trio to a park just a few minutes from Jackson's school. This is one of my favorite parks because it's always clean, never crowded, and almost always has dog walkers on the trails. The trio are finally at an age where they can play independently without me having to follow them. Of course, I'm still cautious with any openings, but they understand how to play safely. Amelia is always the first to overcome any physical obstacles. She quickly climbed this structure and went down the slide before James or Maddie even climbed the first few stairs.

She moves so quickly!

James was not too far behind her.

Maddie, on the other hand, was hesitant to cross the bridge. It has individual planks that move separately from another, with a few inches between each plank. Athletic Amelia zoomed past her sister a few times. Then she noticed Maddie wasn't crossing the bridge. She took her hand and simply said, "C'mon!"

With her sisters help and the safety of the railing, Maddie walked across the bridge and went down the slide.

The trio also took turns riding the "quack quack" and pushing one another. They were so silly.

The trio have never known a second of life without one another. I realize they might not stay best friends as they get older, but I'm amazed at the bond they share. Moments like this confirm how thoughtful they are of one another and what a special relationship they share.