First, Saturday was Johnathan's Space Derby with the cub scouts. It made an already busy week very hectic. Corey has classes three nights a week, and we're coming up on finals week, so he could not miss any classes to help us work on the rocket. He also works full time. So, that pretty much left me to help Johnny with his rocket. I'd never made a rocket before. And if you were in my shop class with me in 7th grade, well, even my bridge was a failure. Every spare moment we got was spent sanding, and sanding, and sanding... When it came time to paint it, Johnathan chose the design all on his own. He found some gold star stickers in the arts and crafts box that he thought would be cool. So, he decided to paint the body black, and the front and back ends gold. It had a gold racer stripe going down the length of the top, and a gold 100 on each side, along with three of the gold stars. I'll update with a picture in a little while.
Tuesday, was Ethan and Elizabeth's last sign language lesson. They had fun with it, and we are still signing to each other. That used to be the time that we would go to Discovery Time at the main library. The new branch of the library opened this week, and their Discovery Time is on Mondays. This doesn't work for us because it runs into when Ethan goes to preschool. So, we've decided to take a break for at least the next month until school is out. Then depending on what we've got going on, we'll decide whether or not to start going.
Wednesday was kindergarten round up for Ethan. Next year is going to seem a little strange. Kindergarten is an all day program. So, I will only have Elizabeth at home all day next year. I'm hoping to get a neighborhood preschool together like I did for Ethan last year. Either way I will not be paying for preschool next year. Between a combination of the neighborhood preschool if we do it, Circle Time that is done through the Family Resource Center at Club Heights Elementary, Discovery Time, playgroup, and any homeschooling I do with her next year, I think it will be enough for a 3 year old. So, it will be very strange for me to only have one child at home next year. It actually makes me want another baby that much more. It's hard to believe that Ethan is old enough for kindergarten.
While we were at the round up, the school counselor started talking to me. He works personally with Johnathan, as well as the other children in his class. He told me that he thinks Johnathan has made vast improvements in the last couple of months. I have to agree. He seems much more mature to me lately, and is really handling things well, over all. It made me happy to hear his counselor had noticed it too.
The day of the derby, Ethan went to a birthday party. His friend Tyson, and Johnathan's friend Daghen are brothers. The derby was Daghen's first Cub Scout activity, and he and Johnny were both excited that we was starting scouts. We took Daghen to the derby with us, and his mom kept Ethan after the party to play with Tyson while we finished up at the derby. Johnathan's rocket didn't do very well, but I was really proud of him. He was happy and excited the whole time and was having fun just racing his rocket and cheering on his friends. He never once complained about his rocket's poor performance. Then later on, his friend won first prize! Johnathan didn't place. But instead of getting upset, he happily congratulated his friend. This is just some of the proof of the way he has matured in the last year.
Finally, Sunday morning, I woke up and came out of my room to hear Ethan saying "Johnny's going to vacuum!" I went in to see what was going on. The boys had gotten up and by their own choosing, had picked up their room, and Johnathan was about to vacuum. Johnny is hypersensitive to certain sensations. Loud noises, and anything that gives a mechanical shake are just some examples. He has always been terrified of the vacuum. So, although I know he is plenty old enough to learn how, I've never pushed the issue. So, it was neat to see him come out and get the vacuum by his own choosing and attempt to do it himself. I did help him to keep the cord out of the way, and told him that until he gets a bit older and a little more coordinated and proficient, that I don't want him vacuuming without me or Corey there to supervise. But I was really proud of my little guy for jumping such a big hurdle. Autism may not have a cure, but I think bit by bit, we are going to conquer it.
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