Mondays are Not for Wusses

The Therapist

Today was a crazy day that actually began with a crazy night. Back pain is not what one wants to wake up to but it managed to bring me to the surface and keep me there much of the night. I contemplated surfing the internet but thought that might not be the best idea since I'm afraid that was probably the initial cause of the pain.

All of that being said, I spent my day in a preschool through first grade elementary school. This is my fourth year in this particular district although I have been an occupational therapist for almost ten years now with nine of those years in the schools. Today I want to talk about handwriting since that seems to be the main reason for referrals to me.

Handwriting is a multifaceted task consisting of motor, intellectual, sensory and emotional components. In short, handwriting is a very personal and unique task for each individual.

Nevertheless, there are many parts of handwriting that can and should be addressed as soon as a child begins to grasp and hold toys. I'm not saying to put a pen in a six month-olds hand and try to teach him to write his name! But going back to the basics of stacking blocks, pushing buttons, picking up his own cheerios and letting him flounder with using a spoon are all good ways to start to build good prehension skills.

Prewriting skills are extremely important and I believe we should not start handwriting instruction until a child can draw a circle, a cross, and an X. These shapes include all of the strokes we use in writing the letters of the alphabet. And call me nuts, but teaching a three year old how to write his name is not a good idea. It creates poor pencil grasp and letter formation that, once set, are very hard to break--I know because I'm the one that has to try to break them.

The Mom

The girls were up late last night which made for a very rough morning. They both came into my room wrapped in their snuggly blankets. What we would do without these blankets I can't imagine. We are so thankful that our Mamah made them for us. She made mine for me when I was their age and it so cool that she was able to make them for my children.

After a loooong day at work I hurried home to pick the girls up from school. When I walked in to my preschoolers room I found her sitting on the teachers lap crying her eyes out. She had awoken from her nap and NEEDED her mommy. On the one hand I of course felt a mommy's guilt for not being there. On the other hand it made me feel good to be missed and wanted.

The Crafter

Last night I was on an Etsy forum and found the cutest store. What I like about it is most of it is All Boy. And the name is super cute-- The PookaMonster. Everything in our house in pink, purple or High School Musical so CatSoup's designs are a breath of fresh air. I can't choose a favorite so I'll pick my top two to post.

If I knew I would have a boy I might be tempted to have one more child just so he could wear one of these sweet little shirts. And the rocket shirt comes with a little felt rocket to match! Check out CatSoup's Etsy store at www.CatSoup.etsy.com

SUNDAYS and the world of SCOOBY DOO

The Mom

It is Sunday again. A day when many are trying to prepare for the week ahead, go to church, spend time with the kids. When I was a kid I hated Sundays. There was never anything on t.v. except for Grizzly Adams which tended to depress me. I lived by a lake and spent much of my time outdoors but being the only young girl in the vicinity I found myself drifting on Sundays.

Maybe that is why Sundays still tend to be unproductive for me. So today we spent having lunch with the grandparents and watching Scooby Doo. I find it amazing that Scooby Doo can still suck in young minds--especially some of the oldest episodes created in the 60's. It just goes to show

that when you find something that works you keep the main concept and change the details just a little.

The Crafter

As Scooby Doo has blasted from the tv, I have perused Etsy and its many members. I find myself amazed at the talent that exists in the "average" individual. Today I spent time looking at some beautiful photography but first I searched Scooby Doo with Christmas in mind. I found a unique and creative necklace from

ursulaandolive.etsy.com It made me laugh out loud.

The photographers on Etsy are amazing. I especially love lone pictures of trees in black and white or at sunset. I know it goes back to my days at the lake and can remember even as a child really LOOKING at the trees; the detail in the bark, the different directions of the limbs and the many varieties of leaves.

I also visited the forums and found a great How To on making a light box for taking pics of products. It gives step by step pictures of how to create it. I can't wait to try it and do some before and after pics. http://www.slide.com/r/OQdPOREW4z87VJeA21OQUTBcQkRoDkuA?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

The Therapist

Okay. Now I have to put on my therapist hat and get ready for tomorrow. The beginning of school always brings lots issues. My number one tip for teachers is to make sure the desk is the right height for the child. The child's elbows should be at 90 degrees when resting on the desk. This is simple body mechanics but I have a lot of teachers who hate it when I make this suggestion because it makes their room look cluttered or poorly put together. But it is so important. Try sitting on your knees at your kitchen table and trying to write neatly. Just doesn't work.

Of course the other main issue every year is the number of referrals I get for children with autism. The increased rate is so alarming that I look at my two kiddos daily and say a thank you prayer to God that they are typical. Because we really don't know why certain children have autism and it could have just as easily been mine as someone else.

I'm sure this will be a thread throughout my blogs. But for now I say, "Have a wonderful week, count your many blessings, and don't forget to craft."

Welcome

So I have three lives. I'm not talking reincarnation or some weird three husband situation (talk about impossible). No, I'm talking about managing three very different aspects of my life on a day-to-day basis. Now, believe me, I know that I am not unique; that many of us do this every day. We run through our lives going between Mom, Professional, Friend, etc. My life consists of raising two girls, working as a pediatric occupational therapist and managing a craft side business for "the fun".

My cousin and I are very close spending our summers together throughout our childhood. Every summer we would come up with some project that we would devote our lives to until the summer ended. I can remember a summer when Monopoly was our obsession. We kept the same game going for SIX weeks. Another summer was loop potholders. Do you remember those? Many an hour went buy creating unique patterns and it never failed that we would get to our last side and the whole thing would come apart! The summer we both learned to crochet we were hooked for life. Nanny taught us how to do a single crochet and that summer we competed to see whose chain would be the longest. I think she won.

A few years ago we both had baby girls within six months of each other. I remember my cousin calling me to tell me she had bought a How to Make Hair Bows off of Ebay and that we should make some for our girls. We got together and made our first hair bows. Mine was huge, bigger than my baby's head, but I was hooked and so was she.

We started small, deciding to enter into a few craft shows and have continued in that trend for the past five years. Now we've added an Etsy shop.

Come join me for How To craft sections, gripe sessions and success stories of motherhood, and maybe even some advice on child development. Who knows...

Let the journey begin!