Word Study and Phonics

Math, inferences, sequencing, analogies, homographs, and spelling

While other kids are still enjoying their summer vacation, my Miggy here, as you can see, is doing academics. I'm preparing him now for the academic workload this coming schoolyear. Can't get idle for too long because it might trigger his disinterest.

Word Find

Today's Mom session: Word Find
Miggy: This is too hard. Do this later, mommy.
Mommy: Don't stop. Finish 2 puzzles and I'll let you play.
Goal: To improve vocabulary and spelling, to increase attention span and improve concentration.

My Lord is my Shepherd

This is Miggy's project in ESP 5, Psalms 23, The Lord is my Shepherd. Below is a collage of the procedure. I always take pictures of his school projects, academic and home activities, and behaviors which serve as my record/diary of what he could and could not do during a certain age. This way, I could monitor his development and plan ways on how to further improve him. The date imprint, as I always tell other parents, is a must. 

Parts of a Newspaper

 Filipino 5 requirement for the third grading period in Pines Montessori School. Mga Bahagi ng Pahayagan (Parts of a Newspaper).

Doing Assignment in Microsoft Office Word

Another Mom Session, doing his assignment in Word.

I taught him basic operations in Microsoft Office - when to use the SHIFT, CAPS LOCK, TAB keys; how to add COLUMNS; choosing FONTS and adjusting FONT SIZES; BOLDING, HIGHLIGHTING, ALIGNMENT, and SAVING.

Shown above is his project in English - Stories with moral lesson, scarpbook style which I will show here after it is completed.

Where's Waldo

Miggy just keeps going back to this favorite activity, the look-and-find Where's Waldo. Notice at how naturally he pointed at Waldo. We all know that majority of children with autism are inherently incapable of pointing and sharing objects of interest. Already outgrown, yes! An added X on the autism checklist.

Sticks for Points

Nothing heavy today because they just had their 2nd periodical test last week. For today, we're just having a little fun. Easy exercises before he plays games on his tab.




He gets a stick for every correct answer; for incorrect I get one of his sticks.

*Tab games strictly on Saturdays and Sundays only; and strictly an hour or two.

Science Project - Medicinal Plants

Grade 5 Science project: They were asked to make a scrapbook on medicinal plants.

And this was how Miggy did it (with my guidance, of course). I (mother) even included the first two collages at the back part of the book just so teacher will know he was really the one who made it.

During the process, I kept on reminding him: "It's alright to make mistakes. It's art. There are no mistakes in art. You can cut it any shape you want" and "You can paste it anywhere you want."

I modeled the first page, laid out the cut shapes and pictures, then asked him, "Can you do this, Miggy?" to which he replied, "Yes!"

And from there, he was able to design the other pages without my directions.

For the book, we used an old 2013 calendar.

Pronouns Tutorial and Spelling Practice

I made Miggy a PRONOUN GUIDE - singular and plural, first, second and third persons - because he scored only 12/30 in the pronoun exercises done in school, clearly meaning an SOS.
We studied the guide I made, with me all throughout giving names of familiar people for every pronoun. Then, I covered the previous answers and made him redo it. Again, a success!

The 3 pics on the right show how we practice spelling. He reads every word carefully, syllabicating very slowly, then rewriting the words 2-3 times. Next, I cover the list of words and dictate each word he will spell.

Multiplication Table

Here's Miggy memorizing the multiplication table and understanding the basics of the operation.

(I made him a handy multiplication table out of a ten-peso poster I cut and pasted on a cardboard, that folds like an accordion. He used this in grade 3.)

Fishing Game

Miggy's first fishing game, a gift from Teacher Justine.

To put the batteries by himself, I taught him how to use a screw driver. 

Pines Homework

Lucky me. I don't even have to coax him to do his homework.  He always has the initiative in every assigned school task. 

For me, it's like going back to elementary school. I have to study his lessons too. On weekends, we take home all his books and he completes unfinished workbook exercises and corrects incorrectly answered seatwork. Of course, there's time for play. Miggy gets to play his android tab (after our study time) and watch a movie or two on his dvd in the afternoon. However, both come-ons or rewards are only for Saturdays and Sundays.

How about TV time? He can watch TV everyday, that is, after doing his homework and reviews, provided he doesn't watch any of our "5 forbidden shows": Spongebob Squarepants, Ogie and the Cockroaches, Tom and Gerry, Adventure Time and Regular Show. The violent content in these programs may pollute his very innocent mind and pure heart.

He watches only 3 channels: Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
Definitely no adult, romantic and violent contents for him!
Yesterday, I saw him sneak at the National Geographic Channel. Well, that's good!  

Spelling Review

Prepping up for Pines Montessori's three-day first periodical test this week.

Subject: ENGLISH
Spelling practice: 5 mistakes out of 60 items. Not bad!

Not a day wasted

How was Eid'l Fitr spent? For Miggy, no time wasted. 

He colored, loomed a bracelet and practiced his new spelling words.

Just a few of our Mom Sessions

Dear readers,

I titled this post as "JUST A FEW" which wasn't meant to brag but to inspire. Majority of these activities were only from my 2014 sessions with Miggy, my 11-year-old autistic son. As early as when Miggy was 2yrs/9 months old and diagnosed with the disorder in 2005, I already started my "tutorials," "therapies" and "modifications" with him. Why are those words marked in quotations? Because I am not a SpEd teacher nor a therapist. I am simply a mom. Hey, not just an ordinary mom but a special mom! A hundred percent hands-on mom!

My point here is that it doesn't take any medical or teaching expertise to do all these. All it takes is patience, will power, energy, and tons and tons of the overused and sometimes misused "UNCONDITIONAL LOVE."

Mom sessions may not always be formal academic activities. It could simply be in any form - tangible or not, educational or basic life skills; in any time of the day - night or day, dusk or dawn; in any place, but  MUST be born out of love, fun, acceptance and willingness to make your child a better, coping and able individual. Mom sessions could be short or long depending on your availability, but MUST always be quality time.

Some examples of Mom Sessions/Family Sessions which you do a lot but you're probably unaware that these are actually therapeutic/educational/improvement sessions for your child:

-Bedtime prayers with your child -"Lord, thank you for the....... Bless ......."

-Instructional bathing "ceremonies"

-Setting the table 
         Let him do it! It's okay if he breaks a china. Before he breaks the whole set, he probably would have already mastered proper table setting.

-Teaching table manners

-Teaching and prompting social cues

-Singing and dancing together

-Going to the church

-Shopping 
         Let him make the shopping list and be firm in buying only the ones on the list.

-Playing with him, teaching him taking turns and waiting

-Watching TV with him 
          All throughout talking and asking him questions and prompting answers.

-Assisting him with homework

-Bringing him early to school to attend the flag ceremony and morning prayers

-Eating out

-Watching him play the iPad and asking him questions about the game. 
          Caution when there's wifi. Always supervise and guide his downloads.

-Getting him ready for changes in his routine by discussing with him days before the modification. 

Hmmm.... what else? It is actually endless. Any day, anywhere, anything is an opportunity for learning. It just doesn't stop. It's a cycle that loops and presents itself all the time. Every single time. 

So to all the special mothers out there, I wish you good luck!

Word Searches

This album is actually a mom-session. These word searches are all free printable materials from the web. I always have them in a folder, ready for our study time. Variations in activities make our sessions more attractive, more fun and less boring than the traditional style. And of course, at the end of every session is a treat or a reward. Treats and rewards could be as simple as a movie (dvd), more game time, a sweet, bubble time, a star, a magazine, a cd, a burger, a bike ride, a little toy free from a kiddie meal, or simply a promise to buy him something he really, really likes for a later date. And sometimes for a later, later, later date that we know he will never ever forget because he will remind us every single day, such as: "Ate Clarisse will buy a green iPhone for Miggy in 2017."

Two Firsts

October 6, 2013 marks two monumental (well, for me!) firsts of his life: the use of glue gun and microwaving his popcorn.

 For their G4 Science individual project, a diorama of aquatic animals, I taught him how to use the glue gun. He was careful not to touch the hot tip as per my instructions.

 Excitedly waiting for his first microwave use, his very own popcorn.

My instructions, "Miguel, cook your popcorn for only 3.5 minutes. More than that will burn your popcorn. Okay, set the timer to 3.5 minutes." And he did.

Making Inferences

A sample of our Mom sessions:

 Miggy reads, "After looking at this picture, I can infer that..."
and then he picks the appropriate cards that go with each picture.



He is waiting.
He is staying for a while.
He is going on a trip.
He is excited about his trip.





She likes the color pink.
Maybe she got a new camera.
She likes to take pictures.
She is happy.

Helpful activities (in cereal boxes) but usually ignored, wasted and dumped 

Word Search

Miggy, doing a Fruits Word Search which improves his spelling and vocabulary.