My children have a lifetime of learning ahead. The most important thing I teach them today is how to love learning. ~stresslesshomeschool.com
The inside me had a urge to rush him. He has yet to master writing ABC and 123. The urge was there especially when I saw other kids his age, 6 years old, could swirl and twirl beautiful, drawing all kinds of lines, beautiful flowers. My son could not draw flower yet. Only a face, two dots of eyes, a stroke of nose and a straight line for mouth. The urge is real. But I didn't follow the urge, thankfully.
I look at his angelic face and reminded myself he was born with birth defect and had had spent his life at ICU, 3 surgeries. It is nornal if he has some delays and that is accepted. He also still has his post-surgery complications and there were days he was not up to it for anything learning except lying down with pain, watching videos while being tube-fed. "No hurry mummy, he will get there," my calm self comforting myself.
This CDH survivor champ is 6 years old but of a body builtup of 4 years old. Hence, doctor did say his fingers and muscle around the wrist is still developing to the strength. Therefore, we know it is already a big achievement when he could hold the pencil properly and write and draw. Only lack of strength and that is normal.
.
Some days we used activity book which he likes, but we would not expect him to do it all right. Everything is for fun. Fun learning. Fun making those strokes abit out of shape. Fun drawing 8 with two circles like making snowman. Fun drawing 6 with the circle first and then a hook to hang it up.
Some days, we just do something else. Like...
Pincer activity
We received this from a friend of mine who used to be a teacher at special learning centre teaching all the kids with autism and cerebral palsy. This activity is for strengthening the fingers muscle. My son chose this activity today, not me. And big brother was willing to be his companion.
Boys at work with fun
At the same time, I incorporated counting for him. 1 - 30, not bad... Way to go, boy!
Then, they swapped the flowers and starting to make patterns with them. Okay, only the eldest one made patterns, either a cross, an 'I', an 'X'. Jansen still diligently line by line, arranging those foam flowers, squeezing them into the holes.