Homework Chronicles: Day 2

Today was one of those wacky homework days.   Should have been easy and low stress but in the end I think we all left a little frustrated.

Reading:  She read with her father today. Its good for her to get practice to read with other people.  She read a more complicated book than yesterday.  She read a few pages of "I Love Daddy"

Abby dong her writing homework

Writing: Today she had writing homework.  Its generally a few words from the weekly "Word Wall".  She is suppose to write the words out three times and write two sentences. This is actually the first time it has come in braille. Generally she does her responses in braille on another sheet of paper. She was able to do it independently of me which was GREAT.   I do suspect she was a little lazy with her writing work. Which is something we will have to work on.

Math:  It was one of those days that "Everyday Math" tries to be creative with a nontraditional assignment.  The assignment was "find shapes in magazines/newspaper and cut them out"  Not a very accessible assignment. The print version had examples of different shapes as did  her braille worksheet.  I had her feel the different shapes on the sheets and talk to me about them.  There wasn't much more we could  do.  She was upset about not being able to do the assignment like everyone else. All of my solutions were not close enough.   This is one of the things that frustrates me about Everyday Math.  It sometimes has assignments that obviously didn't have a blind child in mine when it was written.

Stress Level: Medium to High

Happy Birthday Louis Braille

Louis Braille was born January 4th 1809.  Louis Braille created the braille code when he was just 15 years old.  

Reading Braille is Fun

I am so grateful to what braille has already given Abby In just her first year of braille instruction.  She is still a begining reader but nothing is more important in a child's education as literacy is.   I can't imagine anyone watching a child learn to read with braille can think its obsolete.   Sit down with a blind child and let them read to you.

Today also ends the NFB Braille Readers are Leaders.  I will have a final page count for Abby soon.  I know I am really proud of my braille reader.

Homework Chronicles: Day 1

Today is the first day of "Homework Chronicles"  I will be blogging about Abby's homework the whole month of January.
Abby is in second grade. They use the "Everyday Math" curriculum in our school distinct.  

Abby's finished math homework 

Reading:

Abby picked the book "In The Woods" to read. Its a pretty simple book that was a good pick for her because it reinforced her reading skills that are getting stronger and stronger everyday.  She added the book to her reading log for the week in braille.

Math:

picture of math assignment 

  Today was one of those 'fun' math days.  Line Segments.  Abby gets the print worksheet and the the same worksheet in braille.   The braille worksheets works pretty well most of the time. . Line segments I have found need more work.  This was the second time she had had homework on line segments the last time was shortly before the holiday break. I realized shortly after she started to do the assignment that it wasn't working for her at all.  She was trying to do it like everyone else using a straight edge and making lines but she was having a  hard time finding the points and than she couldn't see the lines she was making.  I made a trip to Michaels and got  form shapes and and their version of wikki stix (they are NOT as good as name brand wikki stixs and bendaroos)  I put small foam squares over each point and  had her use the sticks to make her lines.  I have no idea if this was the right way to do it  but it worked. It worked  a LOT better than what was there.

Tools with Math homework

Stress Level:  Medium to Low It was much more stressful the first time we dealt with this issue. 

Happy New Year

I realized I haven't blogged in a while.  Its not for a shortage of material.  There is so much to blog about.

I have decided I am going to blog about Abby's homework for the whole month of January. Abby homework is a struggle for many different reason and it will be helpful for me to write about it and perhaps it would help another parent.

I also am going to work on blogging about another issues.

Abby exploring a relief sculpture this past August 

2011 was a great year and I think 2012 is going to be an even better year i am sure of it.

Perception

There is so much I can do for Abby that I have control of. I can work at making sure she developes a positive view of her  blindness and how that affects her self esteem. I can work hard at making sure she gets the best education I can. (check it out Abby is in Future Reflections) These are things I can control. I have realized there is  one thing I can't control are peoples negatives perceptions of those that deal with blindness.

Two things things this past week showed me again that Abby's biggest challenge isn't her education or mobility. No her biggest challenge is dealing with other low expectations of what she and other blind people can do.

First I watch MTV True Life's "I'm Losing My Sight"


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True Life - Full Episodes

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It includes the story about Jeremy who is affected by the same rare disease as Abby.  Since this show he has become the blind golf world champion and has raised tons of money for research.  It was during Blanca's  story that something really hit me.   It was a simple scene Blanca was applying for a job. A job she should have had no issues doing than the interview found out about Blanca's blindness and the tone of the interview changed.   It was very alarming for me.

The second thing is I read a blog by an author. A young woman who was published right out of high school. The writer's name is Koby Keplinger and she also happens to be blind.  When she was first published way to much attention was put on her blindness which really minimized the accomplishment. She made the desision not to discuss her blindness and would even 'hide' it.    Her story is remarkable because she was published so young NOT because she she is blind.  Its actually kinda funny with all jobs and occupations out there there is nothing remarkable about being author who is blind.  Read her blog here. http://kodymekellkeplinger.blogspot.com/2011/11/confession-about-my-disability.html

Abby is a bright, caring sassy and funny girl.  That didn't change when she became blind.  She is the same girl.  Its how the world sees Abby that has changed.

A Year, A Journey

It was a year ago today that we got the DNA results that Abby was officially affected by Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. That it was the cause of my 6 year olds vision loss. It wasn't just Abby but much of my family that could be affected one day. My son, myself, my sisters and my nephews.

Abby thinking

Its been a journey. At first the journey seemed to be full of does,diagnosis and the mystery but really the biggest challenge is living day to day. Its making sure Abby gets the best education she can. Its making sure that she can acieve every thing she was always meant to do. I have realized that my little girl isn't that little anymore more and she can really handle this.

Abby putting leaves in her hair

 A year later she is reading and doing amazing well in math. She still struggles catching up to her grade level in reading but I KNOW she will fill the gap quickly. Tonight she did her math homework almost all by herself. She asked what the questions were (there was only two) She then put paper in her brailler and answered it all on her own. She didn't want any help. I am so proud of Abby. I am proud of both my smart children. She has been enjoying not only reading with her me but with her father. She loves to share with us the contractions she knows. She loves it when she knows things that other people don't know. The future seemed so scary a year ago. Now it just seems like a maze that we may get lost going the wrong direction every now and then but we will find the way out and I KNOW Abby's future is bright.

Homemade Tactile Drawing Board

I made Abby a tactile drawing board.  This is not an idea I made up myself. Actually parents and teachers have been making these for years.   I saw one at the NFB convention in July.   Its simple and Abby loves it.  Sometimes with kids its the simple things.

I realized a few days ago I had all the supplies at home to make one so it didn't cost me anything.  If I had to buy materials it wouldn't have cost that much money ether.  

All I used was

a piece of cardboard larger than a piece of paper (I used to because mine was thin)
Duct tape
screening (like window screening)
scissors (to cut the screening and cardboard)

I had this coated plastic screening already but the metal stuff would have worked great too and I still may do one using that kind of screening.  Different materials would give a different texture and impression.  Abby has used crayons, colored pencils and markers on hers already. She gets excited about how different they all work with it. (when you flip the paper over you can feel the picture on the other size)  You simply color/draw over the screening.  It doesn't just give a the user texture feel but it makes a sound when use it and it vibrates the writing instrument while in use.

I like being able to do things like this for my daughter.