Was your child diagnosed with Autism, and now your scared and don’t know what you should do?
Have people told you that you need to have “realistic expectations” when it comes to your child’s future? But their idea and your idea of reality are completely different?
Are you overwhelmed with all the possible paths you can take with your child’s therapy, but want someone to help you sort through it?
Do you feel alone, and need another fellow special needs mom to talk to? However not trauma bonding, but to set up a battle plan.
Who Am I?
As a mom of two fantastic kids who have special needs, I offer over fifteen years of experience in both working with and challenging “the system”. I went from not knowing where to turn or who to trust to being confident in my ability to ask good questions and make my voice heard. It would be an honor to share my knowledge and help equip you to navigate through your specific journey.
I believe there is HOPE for every child. Too many people want to put children with Autism, or any other disability in a box, label it, and just accept the outcome. I am so different.
I know that every child, with a strong-willed Mom, can take a child above and beyond their doctor’s prognosis. Once Mom decides that she is going to do everything she can to help her child, there is no stopping her.
What Do I Offer?
I support parents, especially moms, of children who have been diagnosed with Autism, and other developmental disabilities. This can be a scary, confusing, and frustrating journey. I want to help hold your hand while we sort through the opinions you have been given, explore available options, and create a plan that is best for your family.
This can include:
– Mentorship for parents on the Doman Method Program, or parents looking into the program
– Special Needs Homeschool Consults – We can work together to come up with a plan to teach your child according to their specific needs
– A place to talk and be heard. Special needs Warrior Moms often don’t fit in with the typical cookie-cutter “support groups”. They feel gross trauma bonding and are looking to connect with a fellow special needs mama. We will share your trials & victories and your fears & dreams without feeling like you need to censor what you’re saying. It’s hard being a special needs mom and sometimes we just need someone to vent to, to celebrate the victories with, and link arms with someone who relates.
Services Offered:
Plan & Conquer (via Zoom)
When you’re a Warrior Mom, you need to “Plan & Conquer”, and that’s what you will get when you schedule a session.
What’s included?
1 on 1 Planning Session
Homework and Accountability
Mindfulness Activity to make sure your remembering to take care of your mental health
Below schedule a time we can meet!
Disclaimer: By scheduling an appointment with Monique Lise Dupuis, you agree and understand she is not a medical/mental expert or attorney and cannot give legal advice or a medical diagnosis. Monique Lise Dupuis will not be held responsible for any actions or decisions you make as a result of your session with her. Services are not to be used in place of any professional, medical, financial, or legal counseling.
Since September of 2016 we have been working with the staff of Doman International, creating personalized therapy plans tailored to Zakari’s individual needs.
This originally involved me flying from Canada to Philadelphia in the USA, to take a 5-day course. Then our family flying back to Zakari evaluated by the staff and to be taught how to use these programs with him.
But when it came to our revisit last year, we realized that travel expenses were going to make it very difficult. So we opted for a Remote Consult.
This year we had planned on traveling down to Philadelphia with the whole family. We finally had a vehicle we trusted to make the long journey, and our big kids were so excited. We were going to make a road trip out of it.
But all that changed because of the Novel Coronavirus. The Canada/USA Border was shut down, and travel became very unsafe.
Thankfully, Emma at Doman International was able to quickly switch us to a remote consult.
What is a Remote Consult?
A remote consult is when the staff at Doman International meet with your family virtually. No traveling involved.
A few weeks prior to our appointment, I sent our Staff Coach:
videos of Zakari doing his programs at home so they can see his progress
Detailed reports on the successes and challenges of the last 6 months
Lab results
and Food Diaries
How Did Our Remote Consult Look This Year?
First, we met with Jordan to go over Zakari’s History. Once she was sure she had all the information she needed, we started the Evaluation. Jordan went over all the details that might not have been included in the videos I sent. Or that they needed clarification on. I would have Zakari complete pieces of his programs in front of her, via Zoom, and she would decide whether he met the criteria to advance on the development chart. (Spoiler Alert! He earned 3 Victories this appointment!)
Our next appointment was the Summary with Rosalind. During this appointment, we went over what happened since our last appointment, and our goals for Zakari.
Finally, we started working with different staff to learn about all our new programs that were carefully tailored to Zakari’s needs during a round table with all the staff. These programs were also designed to keep our family’s dynamics in mind too.
We met with:
Spencer Doman for our Cognitive program.
Marlene Marckwordt for our Respiratory Program.
Dr. Aravind for our Nutrition program.
Melissa Doman for our Physical program.
Then we circled back to Spencer, who is Zakari’s Staff coach, to do the ‘Overview of the Programs’appointment.
Each staff member spent as much time as possible making sure I completely understood each program and recommendation before letting me go.
Stay tuned for posts & videos about each individual program!
Why Someone Might Pick a Remote Consult
While an in-person appointment is usually the best way to work with Doman International. That is not always possible. Now with the opinion of meeting remotely, the following problems are no longer a reason not to have your child seen:
COVID19 is preventing your family from traveling for a multitude of reasons.
Getting time off work to travel to the appointment is not an option for your family
Your child does not qualify for travel insurance because of their medical conditions
Travel cost
Passport Issues
Child Care for other siblings
While I would have much prefered the live visit we had scheduled, Zakari received an equal quality program to work on at home.
What Do We Think?
What to Learn More About Doman International?
Click HERE to fill out a quick form and a representative from Doman International will contact you to set a FREE 30-minute consultation.
Disclaimer: This page may include affiliate links. I appreciate it when my readers use them as it provides me a little compensation and no extra cost to you.
Patterning is a sensory program created by Glenn Doman and taught by the Mobility Staff Coaches at Doman International.
Glenn Doman described patterning as “closed brain surgery”. Basically, instead of waiting for the child to spend enough time on the floor to increase mobility, parents are able to jump right in helping facilitate that same movement and treat that area of the brain right away.
Why is it Important?
Patterning is important because it helps a child improve in:
physical development
convergence (the two eyes working together)
sensory stimulation
Why We Don’t Do It?
But Why You Should…
Patterning is one of the staple programs offered by Doman International. If it wasn’t such an important program, it would not be listed on nearly every child’s program sheets.
My reason for sharing this is not to give you the impression that you should discard any program assigned to your child by the team at Doman International.
Then why I’m sharing this with you?
I want you to understand that if a single program truly does not work for your family, SPEAK UP. You do not have to stop all the other programs that are working.
Your staff coach is willing to work with you and adapt the program as needed. While patterning would have been ideal for Zakari, we were still able to get may of the same benefits from crawling, creep, aerobic running, etc. Just maybe to a lesser degree. The staff would rather see you do 9/10 of the programs prescribed than giving up on the program altogether.
Work with your coach. Between the two of you, there is a solution to every problem.
What to Learn More About Doman International?
Click HERE to fill out a quick form and a representative from Doman International will contact you to set a FREE consultation.
Disclaimer: This page may include affiliate links. I appreciate it when my readers use them as it provides me a little compensation and no extra cost to you.
I think its safe to say that there are not many people who have not been affected by the Coronavirus. With schools closed, parents working from home, we are all trying to establish a new normal in all this craziness.
History In the Making…
Over the last few weeks I keep telling my children that they are living in a time that their children will read about in their history books.
While we are social distancing, my home daycare is still open. We are considered an essential service. Thankfully the parents that can keep their children home are doing so, and I’m doing my best to help support and care for the children that are left. However these kiddos are sad. They miss their grandparents, cousins, friends.
Our COVID 19 Fiasco
On the evening of March 13th, Zakari developed of course… a cough and a fever. Doctors office was closed, and no clinic would see us. Sometimes I need a video to tell my story, so click in the video above to hear about our 4 hours in an isolation room at Children’s Hospital.
I’m Not OK… Is that OK?
I feel like I should be using this time to “grab the bull by the horns” and catch up on things. But I’m going to be completely honest and transparent… I can’t. I’m frozen. Day after day I feel like an elephant is setting on my chest. I try breathing, mediating, breathing some more, etc. But its not cutting it.
Last week I came home from the grocery store, and I ate 1/3 a bag off cookies. Before all this I was a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. I stopped myself and thought “Why am I doing this?”. I realized that I was stress eating.
Retail Therapy
Going to the grocery store was something I use to love doing before COVID 19. Now I feel like I’m risking my life.
For some reason, wandering around and browsing in a store usually calms me. I remember when my Granny died on New Years Eve 2007. After I found out I packed up 2 year old Wesley, and we wandered around Walmart. But of course because it was a holiday, they would be closing early that night.
I remember wishing that I could just stay in there a little longer and numb my emotions by wandering up and down the aisles. But finally when the voice on the intercom announce “Attention Walmart Shoppers, the time is now 5:55pm, and your local Walmart will be closing in 5 mins. Please take your final purchases up to the front. Your local Walmart will be reopening at 7am on January 2nd. Have a great night.”
I remember feeling so down. That was my outlet and it wasn’t available to me.
Limited Outlets
The same thing is happening now. My outlet usually is on Tuesday nights going Weight Watchers, then spending the rest of the evening sipping Coke Zero at McDonald’s working on whatever project I have going.
Now Tuesday nights are attending my Weight Watchers meetings via zoom, then trying to work on projects hiding in the basement. While I’m off duty these nights, not being able to get out of the house is weighing down on me.
So for now, I’m trying to be kind to myself. If we are having a good day, I try and get as much Doman programs done with my son as possible. If I’m having a bad day, we do the bare minimum or nothing at all.
During this time, we are all experiencing trauma. So on a bad day, if I try to focus on getting all the therapy and school done, Zakari will feel it. He will pick up on my shakey vibes and he will be affected. It will actually be worse then doing no school or therapy at all.
So what do I do when I’m in a bad place?
If I can, I have been taking Z outside in the backyard. I’ve been letting him jump in puddles and just burn as much energy off as possible. This has been helping so much. I’ve actually invested in a Rain Suit Muddy Buddy Waterproof Coverall. Our local Once Upon a Child sells them. So I ordered it online, and I’ll pick it up curb side on Thursday.
While Z is having his best life in the puddles, I put my nose into a book and read. To me that is more constructive then pacing and stress eating.
Blessings in the Storm
One thing I know is I’m enjoying all the extra time I’m getting with Wesley. On March 13th, they announced that schools would be closing for 3 weeks starting March 23rd. After this announcement I just could not in good conscience send him to school for a whole week before the shut down.
So on March 16th, I let him go back to school one last time. He was on strict instructions to clean out his locker and contact his teachers for how to keep up with his studies, and to be home by lunch. That day our province only had 6 cases, and no community spread. So this still felt safe to me.
But during these last 4 weeks or so with him at home, I’ve really enjoyed having him here. He’s had a quiet environment to do his school work, and is thriving. He’s also had a lot of time to pursue his interests.
Heroes Among Us
I am so grateful to all the people working in grocery stores, making sure my family is fed. To the medical staff who are preparing to help the sick when they need it. And to all the other essential workers keeping this province going.
I also think we are all heroes in our own sense. Stay home to flatten the curve. Checking in with other family members when we go to the store and seeing if you can save them the trip because your already out.
What We Are Doing To Try & Keep Some Normalcy
We delivered Zakari’s cousin’s birthday gift on her step. It was important to me that she get it on his birthday seeing her birthday parties were canceled. At 6 this can feel like the end of the world.
I’m picking up some pickerel(walleye) curbside from a local fish shop and we are having a Good Friday fish fry. I will drop some off at my dad’s so he can have some too.
Planning on cooking an Easter dinner this weekend, and will be delivering a turkey dinner meal to some family members.
We are still going to the chiropractor once a week. Thankfully our chiropractor is allowed to continue seeing patients who will suffer from not having regular visits. Since these appointments are keeping Zakari with his ear infections and pain, we can continue going.
Even though our local homeschool conference was canceled, I am able to attend a HUGE online conference over the next few weeks. Safely in my home, via the world wide web.
What Changes Are Happening In Our Household?
Since this is history in the making, I want to log some thing that have been happening locally.
Schools suspending March 13th the education minister announced that Kindergarten to Grade 12 classes would be closed for a three-week period, beginning on March 23.
March 31st Schools suspended indefinitely.
I am letting Wesley sleep in. I’m working with Zakari and my daycare kids in the morning, and helping Wesley in the afternoon. But as the time goes on he is coming more of a self learner. I’m going to share more how homeschooling looks with our teenagers home in another post.
In Short:
Its OK to be utilizing this time to get all the things around you house done.
It is also OK to not be OK right now.
How are you and your family holding up right now? Leave me a message in the comments below.
This post may contain some affiliate links. I earn a small commission at no cost to you, if you make a purchase using my link. Thank you as it really helps us out.
Over the last year, Zakari has gone from a bullet proof immune system, to getting sick more often. Prior to this year, Zakari had only needed antibiotics once before for an ear infection in 2017, compared to the 2 times in 5 months.
In the past, there were rare time he did catch a bug or virus. But they would only last 12-24 hours, and then he was back to normal. However the same sickness would take out other members of the family for several days.
Then at the end of April he started a nasty virus that wiped him out for nearly 4 weeks. This involved vomiting, fevers and completely sucked the energy right out of him. It was so weird to see him so quiet, spending a good chunk of his time sleeping. We thought after a few weeks we were out of the woods. He seemed like he was going back to his old self.
Lonely Long Weekend
One week later, on the May long weekend, my husband was out of town on business, and my eldest was at his dad’s. That weekend everything went south. Zakari started fevering, he started vomiting, and he became aggressive. I knew he was in pain, because this was so out of character.
I was walking on eggshells, trying to take care of him with no in house back up. Luckily he slept a lot, but I knew when he would wake up, everything would be chaotic again.
On the Sunday, I desperately needed a few things from the grocery store, but because of how Zakari was feeling I knew I couldn’t take him in with me. So I called my mother in law to sit in the van with him while I ran into Sobeys to get some basics. I was in the store for a max of 10 mins. When I came back, he had unbuckled himself and was screaming on the van floor.
That’s When It Hit Me…
On my way home from the grocery store, it hit me. The only time I have ever seen Zakari like this was back in 2017 when he had an ear infection. At this point I felt like the worst mother, how could I have not realized this! I had called the nurses hotline, and they told me to give it a few more days. But now that I knew in my heart what it was, there was no waiting.
I called my dad to come with me, and we drove to the rural emergency room. Zakari was irate. He has anxiety of doctors on a good day. Because he was clearly uncontrollable, they brought us right in.
I had prayed the whole way there that this one particular doctor would not be on call. Of course, he was the one seeing patients that night. When I explained what was going on and I was sure he had an ear infection, he tried to blow me off. I couldn’t believe it when he tried to write it off as just autism.
I made him check his ears. It became clear to him that I was not leaving until he did. He looked in the first one and was quite smug when he told me that it was clear. Then I saw his expression change when he looked into the second. A few moments later he told me he did have and ear infection and wrote us a prescription. Later I found out from our actual doctor that it must have been bad because he gave him a very strong one.
That Should Have Been The End…
Well you would think that, that would have been the end, but it wasn’t! We had to live on Advil for weeks because he was in so much pain. I go into detail of what happened in my Chiropractors & Autism video.
Needless to say, the medical system wrote my son’s pain off as Autism again. Thankfully I was able to help my son without them. You can hear the story in the video below.
Our Chiropractor Story
Fast Forward A Few Months…
Suddenly Zakari is getting sick again. I just couldn’t believe it. He was vomiting, and was sleeping a lot again.
We just started bombarding him with chiropractic adjustments. I was terrified he was going to get another ear infection.
We also took him to a walk in clinic and we were told it was just a virus. But once the fever kicked in a few days later, we took him back. This time we were so lucky. We met an amazing doctor, who checked him and discovered he was of course developing another ear infection.
Even though he landed up developing another ear infection, between the chiropractor and the walk in doctor, we caught it early. Zakari only had one day of real unbearable pain. Unlike the weeks of pain after the last ear infection.
The Suspect: Lyme Disease…
I contacted our staff coach at Doman International, because I had some concerns. Zakari’s convergence was off again since the infection. We had been working so hard with him and our gains in convergence(getting his eyes to work together) seem to be slipping. Zakari had been running the strangest fever. He was running between a normal temp of 98.6F to a fever of nearly 103F. Even though he was already on antibiotics for the ear infection.
Our Doman Coach cautiously suggested maybe we consider Lyme Disease. Through research, I realized that the test run by Manitoba Health often produce false negatives. I didn’t want to put Zakari through a blood draw if we were not going to get accurate results. Beside my doctor already thinks I’m annoying for requesting all the bloodwork I have in the past for our first evaluation. I knew I would have trouble convincing him Lyme disease was a possible option because he did not have the bullseye mark.
Cost an Arm & a Leg…
After contacting our naturopath, we priced up Lyme Disease testing though a respectable Lab in Germany. Sadly the cost was just too high for me at this time. If I did these test, I wouldn’t be able to afford a lot of other treatments we are already doing on.
So we decided to contact our NAET practitioner, and she said she is familiar with and has had success with Lyme Disease. So we booked an appointment.
In the end, if we decide that this is just not enough, we will proceed with the more expensive testing. I just want to make sure I am using my resources wisely.
Therapy Night: Chiropractor, NAET and Losing a Tooth:
Wednesday we spent the evening running Zakari to and from his appointments. First his visited his chiropractor for his weekly adjustment. Then we had his first NAET visit in a while to talk about a possible Lyme infection. Check out this video and join me while I run around.
Want To Learn More About NAET?
Check out some of my past post from when we first started NAET therapy.
During Zakari’s NAET appointment we muscle tested him for Lyme Disease and he failed it. This could mean one of two things.
Either:
a) he has Lyme disease or
b) he is just susceptible to Lyme Disease
So we decided that we are going to treat it using NAET. Either we will help get rid of the infection if he does indeed have one. Or if he doesn’t I hope that it will help him be less susceptible in the future.
Our NAET practitioner has been working with another NAET practitioner who specializes in Lyme Disease in Alberta. She had recommended a Brain Mix vial we had never used before with Zakari on all her Lyme patients. So we chose to do that one first. Next week, we will treat actual Lyme.
There are are list of other things to treat, which is suppose to help support the body fight the Lymes. So we will go through that list as well, however I think we have treated many of them in the past already. But it doesn’t hurt to double check the list.
Have you or anyone who know had to deal with Lyme Disease?
If so leave a comment below and share your story with me.
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What to Learn More About Doman International?
Click HERE to fill out a quick form and a representative from Doman International will contact you to set a FREE 30-minute consultation.
Disclaimer: This page may include affiliate links. I appreciate it when my readers use them as it provides me a little compensation and no extra cost to you.
Susan K. Marlow is also known for writing Circle C Adventure & Circle C Beginnings series.
What is the Goldtown Beginnings Series About?
The Goldtown Beginnings Series is about a young boy named Jem Coulter and his younger sister Ellie. It takes place in Goldtown, California in the 1800’s. Jem & Ellie take us through their lives, in the height of the gold rush.
This series is written for children ages 6-8 years, but I feel younger children could enjoy it if parents read it aloud to them. It would also be a great series for older kiddos(9-10 years old) who might be struggling to read, and need easier reading materials.
Jem Strikes Gold
The first book in the Goldtown Beginnings series is Jem Strikes Gold. In this book you are introduced to 7 year old Jem, his almost 6 year old sister Ellie, and their Mama & Pa.
Life in Goldtown in the 1800’s is not easy. Jem & his sister are expected to help their family make ends meet. In Jem Strikes Gold, your see how Jem & Ellie deal with bully who makes life very difficult for them. Mama helps the children learn Bible verses to handle mean Will Sterling, instead of fighting back. But can Jem keep his cool?
When the Coulter’s miner friend, Strike comes back to camp with a half grown yellow dog, the kids fall in love. But with times being tight, the family cannot afford another mouth to feed. Can this scrawny dog show Jem & Ellie’s parents he can be a productive member of the family?
Jem’s Frog Fiasco
In Book 2: Jem’s Frog Fiasco, Jem is looking for a job. He knows growing dogs need more meat then his pup Nugget is getting. While delivering pies, Jem scores a job from the local cafe owner, Mr Sim. Mr. Sim wants to add frog legs to his menu, and will pay Jem five whole cents per bullfrog he brings him.
But when Jem’s little sister and dog get in the way, he loses his cool. Because he is preoccupied with catching frogs, he forgets his promise to look out for his little sister, and now she is missing.
Everyone is out looking for Ellie, but Jem is convinced Ellie is just hiding. Until he checks all her usual spots and she’s not there. Can Jem help find Ellie before something terrible happens?
How Did My Family Utilize Theses Books?
My son and I always get excited when new books come in for us to review. Sometimes we put aside what we were already reading to dive into the new book. Well that is exactly what happened when these books arrived.
We used both of these books as a read aloud. Zakari had been under the weather with a virus, so we just cuddled up and enjoyed them together.
New Words Key
One thing that I really appreciate that the author included at the front of each book was a glossary of potentially new words the reader might encounter.
Since Zakari is working with a therapy program that has us introducing new vocabulary words weekly, I was able to use these words with him.
Beautiful Illustrations
My son and I truly loved the pencil sketch illustrations. Their simplicity matched well with the time era of which the story takes place.
What To Know What Other Families Thought?
Be sure to click the banner below! That will lead you to the main TOS Crew Review page. If you scroll to the bottom, you will find 40+ more reviews from other homeschool families, all about the Goldtown Beginnings Series.
Up until recently I never really thought of seeing a chiropractor as a type of Autism therapy. That’s not to say my kids or I have never seen the chiropractor.
Growing Up With Chiropractic Care
I grew up getting adjustments at the chiropractor regularly throughout my childhood. My mom saw a chiropractor for her migraines, and back then several appointments were covered by our health care a year, so we would just get adjusted while we were there.
Its funny, I remember when I was very little getting stamps on my hand everytime I went. Little happy faces. That doesn’t really help this blog post, but as I was sitting her remembering my childhood, that came to mind.
Adjustments While Pregnant? Your Crazy…
As I got older, I continued to see the chiropractor as I could afford it. I remembered how shocked one of my co-workers was when she found out I was going after work to be adjusted while pregnant. Here exact words were, “Your crazy!”
To her this was very dangerous, especially while pregnant. However for me it was just something I did. It was no different then going to the doctor for a check up.
First Adjustment at 7 Weeks Old.
I didn’t even tell this co worker when I started getting my baby adjusted at a few weeks old.
Yes thats right, Wes was 7 weeks old the first time he was adjusted. I had gone for an adjustment myself, and I was telling the chiropractor I hadn’t been sleeping well at night because the baby was colicky.
He went on to tell me how a lot of times an adjustment is all they need to get some relief. I was a tired, sleep deprived, 20 year old mom, wondering what I had gotten myself into. The idea of giving this poor child relief sounded great.
So has Wesley sat in my lap with his chin in my hand for support, I could feel him go from being complete tense, to a puddle in my hand. I felt all the tenson leave his body. That night he slept like a dream.
When we went in the following week, Dr A asked how he was doing. My reply was, “I could kiss you!”. We were really upset when Dr. A moved to another province.
So it seemed like a real no brainer that when Zakari was born, I would have him adjusted too! I believe Zakari was 10 days old when he had his first adjustment.
Car Accident…
Do you ever have a place that just seems cursed? Everytime you go there something bad happens.
For us that was IKEA.
The first time we went, our battery died while we were in the store. The second time we had a flat tire. The third time I thought we were golden, we came to the van, got in and drove away.
Yes! The curse was broken…
Yeah, no. Suddenly an ambulance siren was screaming behind me. I slowed down and pulled to the right lane, like a good little driver. After it passed me, the person in the van ahead of me whipped into our lane as I was accelerating.
If you want to know more about this accident, you can check out my post:
Thankfully after a few adjustments from our chiropractor, the pain caused Zakari’s whiplash was completely resolved.
Ear Infection that never ends…
Chiropractic care because even more life changing for us this past year.
Zakari was suffering from severe ear pain weeks after an ear infection. We were being brushed off by doctors left right and centre. They were convinced that he was not in pain, but these outburst were Autism behaviours.
Our chiropractor believed me that he was in pain. Using manual spinal manipulation, Dr Kory was able to help Zakari with the pain he was experiencing in his ears after only one appointment.
Since then we have been visiting Dr Kory regularly, and we are noticing that he is calmer, happier, and overall doing so much better in daily life. I believe a lot of his “autism behaviours” had to do with pain.
School is well on its way, and I’ve been sharing our journey this year on YouTube. As the weeks have gone on, I’m realizing that this has not been as smooth of a year, as the past three have been.
I find most homeschool YouTubers like to just share the positive. Of course, this is great. Usually, homeschooling is awesome.
But what happens when mom has overplanned. Anxiety kicks in. Everyone seems to be getting sick…
Well, week 1 was looking good for us. But as the weeks went on, things have been getting harder and harder. I feel like we might be pulling out of this funk, but I wanted to share our journey. I also want to record it for me. So I can see what we did.
So here we go with Week 1….
Week 1
The week before our official start, we began easing into school by starting some of our Doman International Programs.
We started off with:
masking
Doman Math Program
hanging from a dowel(or monkey bars)
& EASe Listening Therapy
Ionic Footbath
For our first week of homeschool, we started:
Bookshark
Handwriting Without Tears
Math Lessons for a Living Education
Explode the Code 1
One thing I really over planned was in regard to read alouds. Prior to starting school, we were just flying through read alouds. However, I scheduled 3 much longer read alouds.
I also forgot that I was out of town that first weekend back to school, so we also lost a lot of time reading there. As well our first week was short to start with thanks to the Labour Day long weekend. So needless to say, I was overconfident and did not plan well.
Highlights of the Week:
I’m noticing a huge maturity in Zakari. His focus during table work has increased.
He is also able to demonstrate that he is reading in his head, and understanding what he reading.
How did your first week of homeschool go?
What to Learn More About Doman International?
Click HERE to fill out a quick form and a representative from Doman International will contact you to set a FREE 30-minute consultation.
Disclaimer: This page may include affiliate links. I appreciate it when my readers use them as it provides me a little compensation and no extra cost to you.
They were not even in our door for 5 mins before we dived right into them.
What is the Secret of the Hidden Scrolls?
Secrets of the Hidden Scrolls is series that helps bring the Bible to life for the younger crowd. Using two characters that are very relatable to children of the 6 to 9 year old group, it makes the stories of the Bible easier for them to understand.
Brother and sister duo, Peter and Mary are spending the whole summer with their Great Uncle Solomon. Neither are thrilled with the idea and are expecting to have a pretty boring summer.
However they soon discover their Great Uncle has some pretty interesting artifacts in his home. Next thing they know, Peter, Mary and their dog Hank are sent back into Biblical times. Guided by the angel Michael, they have a set amount of time to solve the mystery, or will be stuck in that time forever.
The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Shepherds Stone, Book 5
In Book 5, Mary, Peter and Hank are sent to the town of Bethlehem, where they meet David. When David’s mother asks him to brings food to the Israelite army, which his older brothers are part of, Peter and Mary go with him. They witness the giant Goliath taunting and challenging the Israelite. Peter and Mary uncovers the devils plan, they help David prepare to face Goliath.
The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls: The Lion’s Roar, Book 6
In Book 6, the trio travels back in time to the city of Babylon. There Peter and Mary meet Shadrach and Daniel. So the kind makes a new laws that make it illegal to worship or pray to anyone but the king. While time ticks away, a menacing high priest, tries everything to sent them to the lions den.
What Did We Think?
Overall we loved the two books we received from the series. Zakari has added the rest of the series to his Amazon Wishlist’s for Christmas.
As a parent of a child with autism, sometimes stories from the Bible are difficult to explain. My son can be very black and white when it comes to things, and as we all know the Bible is anything but that.
However once my son is introduced to character that are kind of like him, he can relate to the stories they are experiencing.
I love that I can use Secret of the Hidden Scrolls to teach my son important lessons from the Bible. This series has been a real blessing to use.
Giveaway
Would you like a chance to win a signed copy of the entire Secret of the Hidden Scrolls Series? Visit TOS Crew Website to enter to win!
What to know what other families thought about this series?
Click the banner below to be brought to a post which host a linky with blog post from about 50 other homeschool families who shared their experience with The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls books.
Throughout the year I collect books to read with Zakari at garage sales, online buy & sells, and thrift stores. Usually I find several Christmas, Halloween and other holidays related books. The plan is always to read it just before the actually holiday. But that holiday comes and goes, and I forget to pull them out! Then a month or two later I remember them. I know I could read a book out of season, but I really like to get Z hyped up for the holiday by reading books aloud to him.
So this year I decided that I was going to prepare. I planned which books I want to read throughout the year. OK, I may have gone a little overzealous and scheduled too many. Even still, I can prioritize holiday books, because they are already pulled and organized by week.
So for the month of October, we are prioritizing Fire Prevention, and Halloween. Then adding a bit about Thanksgiving and The World Series.
Check out what we are reading in my latest YouTube video. You can find the links to all the books below!
Since Thanksgiving is a month earlier in Canada, we decided to read this book the week before. There really is not a lot available to read in regards to Canadian Thanksgiving that I can find. If you know of a book please share it in the comments so we can check it out!
