Eva

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on strategies to encourage my son to write in class. He's nearly 7 and in grade 1 at school, (which is the second year of school, over here). This year he has a new teacher and a new part-time aide and there are new kids in the class so he could be feeling a bit unsettled. In class they have a subject called 'writing', where they draw a picture and then are expected to write a sentence about the picture, such as, 'on the weekend I went to the park'. J happily does the picture but is resistant when it comes to the writing part. He is a slow writer and often loses concentration in the middle of a word, and has to be prompted a lot to complete a word. He also won't try to spell words by himself and hates making mistakes. (J is a fantastic reader and has really good comprehension). Last year though he was more willing to try and less resistant. The other day when I was a parent -helper in class and J was refusing to write anything, I encouraged him by writing one letter and then he wrote the next and we did this for a bit until he did all of it. J does have an aide for some of the time, but she doesn't have any useful strategies except for writing the sentence for him, (not for him to copy, just to get it done). J does get tired and probably doesn't feel like he can do it, but I still think he should try and write a little bit...or is that expecting too much? I'd appreciate any tips!! Thanks heaps, Eva

Hi Mel, I just want to send you some of these <'> <'> <'> . What an awful position to be in, I really feel for you. Take care, Eva

Hi I'm the same as Hev, I don't get it either! I keep on getting emails that someone or other wants to add me to their list, but why?? Eva

Hi everyone, can I join in? We measure weight in kilos over here - does anyone know what 7lbs is in kilos? Anyway, it sounds a lot so that's so impressive . I can vary in weight overnight - how is that possible?! Like I can put on 2 or three kilos over 12 hours. And, this is the weirdest thing, the other day I weighed more after having a shower ! So what's a typical meal for those of you following a diet plan? I find that when I try and restrict all the stuff I snack on, I'm hungry all day. Off for some brekky now ! Eva

Hi Hev, I lose things all the time. Have you looked under the couch, under couch cushions, down the side of the couch? Under beds, under carpets, in toy boxes, in the bathroom - in cabinets, in the fridge, outside the back, (I leave things outside a fair bit), on the floor in the corner of a room, wardrobes... I know how annoying it is! Eva

Hi Hev, I am going through this too! M who's 4, likes to wind up J (AS, 6), so he might say 'you're a liar' (without really understanding what he's saying) and J gets all upset and yells back at him and M says it again and then J hits him....and so the days go on, and on... Then M gets all upset over some issue, and his whingeing would reduce anyone to tears. We're on holidays now and I have 3 weeks left of this! I feel your pain. Eva

Hi llisa32, my son (AS) is one of the tallest and thinnest in his class - he's nearly 7. My other son (NT) is 4 and he's stocky and short. I'm on the short side and dh is 6 ft. Ed psyches often write irrelevant-seeming comments don't they? Eva

That's interesting Pearl, after that viewing, do you think Australian pylons are somehow different from UK pylons in any way ? Forsbay, maybe you should do a google search and show your son what we have to offer over here, in the way of pylons.

looking forward to the next instalment!

Hi Forbsay, when DH was at film school, he made a film about pylons and wires. No kidding. It is actually really good - once you start looking at pylons and wires from different angles, they are actually very interesting . Good luck with your model making - my DH would love to do something like that! Eva

Thanks for that Brooke, I've never really ventured down the cake decorating aisle, so I'll have to check it out for the icing sugar. (Baddad, my son said they used glue). Anita81, the handle bit is half a lifesaver, it looks really cute. My son made my other boy one, (but not any for me), using a pink biscuit, pink marshmallow, the freckle, and a pink lifesaver (half). I never got a close look at it because it was devoured in a couple of seconds. Viper, that's not a bad option! Kateball Eva

Happy Hannukah, Sciencegeek!! I hope you had a lovely celebration and your kitten is better! We are getting together with my family next weekend (better late than never!). Eva

Hi everyone, yesterday my son made a really cute biscuit 'tea-cup' with his OT, but I can't figure out what they used to stick the marshmallow to the biscuit. You get an iced-biscuit, (which is the 'tea-cup's' saucer), then you put a marshmallow on top and stick it on with something, then you add a chocolate freckle on top so that's like the top of the drink, then you get what looks like half a lifesaver and stick it to the side of the marshmallow, so it's the cup's handle. Would the sticking stuff be some of chocolate icing? DS wants to make some more so any ideas would be welcome! Eva

Hi Pearl, in order to increase the amount of chocolate in a latke, you could smother it in chocolate spread - as far as I know that hasn't been done yet . Potatoes and chocolate - yum! Evaxx

Hi Pingu, if I didn't know this was true, I wouldn't believe it, (if you know what I mean). I hope things get resolved quickly <'> <'> . Eva

Happy birthday Oxgirl!!! Hope you had a good one! Eva

Hi Pearl, Well, a dreidel is like a spinning top but it has 4 straight sides. On every side there's a (Hebrew) letter. So before you spin, you say what letter you think it's going to land on. There are lots of different variations, when the children were small we just got them all to guess before the dreidel was spun, and the winner got a pat on the back. My kids and the cousins are older now, so pats on the back don't work. At the start of each round, every player puts a chocolate coin into the middle. Then each person has a turn at spinning the dreidel. If the d lands on a certain letter, then you don't get to take the coins in the middle. If it lands on a different one, you get to take everything in the middle. If it lands on a different letter then you take half of what's in the middle. And if it lands on the last one, you have to add a coin to the middle. If you run out of coins, you're out. The person who has won all the coins is the winner. You have to have lots of chocolate coins due to the amount which gets eaten during the game (by the grown-ups). I wonder if sciencegeek has other rules Cheers, Eva

Hi Mel, I know what it's like to suffer through these things. Every christmas I've had to grit my teeth and deal with my partner's family. Now we have them over at our place (my partner and his brother do all the cooking) so at least the boys can go off and do there own thing without disapproving adults frowning at them. We also do Hannukah at my parents place, which is more kiddy friendly for us. The boys are very excited because they get to reenact the battle scene, (no swords though). Sciencegeek, we also play the Dreidel game and eat doughnuts, potato cakes and anything else that will quickly raise cholestoral (sp) and make you put on a billion kilos. Cheers, Eva

Hi Hev, sorry to hear that all those professionals are so useless. Have some of these <'> <'> . Hopefully you'll come across some helpful people soon. (Well, you never know your luck). Cheers, Eva

Hi Matt, it's 1.30pm where I am. And hi Kellyanne! I'm at home with my 4 year old today. I thought I'd do some housework but I've lost the inspiration, so I thought I'd have a look on here... Cheers, Eva

Hi Sarah, welcome! I have a 6 year old son with AS and remember the two's well... Things do get easier with time, (I'll never forget the day my son said Thomas TT was 'boring', yay). I don't have any advice but lots of people on here will help, I'm sure! Personally, I found that having a dx has helped in terms of getting (some) help and understanding he needs at school. Eva

Happy birthday to Jay !!! Wow, 14! Well done Oxgirl! At least fish are real Mel! My son wants to go to NASA for his 7th birthday - I mean really really wants to go. I told him yesterday that it's closed because they are still building the space shuttles. Hope you and he had a great day! Eva

Frangipani, we were thinking of driving over to Malvern (posh conservative area) singing The Internationale out of the car window. It was a LANDSLIDE victory Frangipani. As Brooke mentioned, Howard even lost his own seat!! Eva

With all due respect Frang... Australia is celebrating!!!! Evaxx But let's forget politics, hey!

I am trying to think who Lee could be...Ben Lee? Brandon Lee? Am I close?