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Sundae · 02-19-2012, 04:27 PM

Thinking and preparing for school tomorrow and remembered something.
Nowhere else to put it. No innuendo there as I am about to write about children.

As well as my two official wards, I also work unofficially with two other boys.
Both are 5-6 and have difficulty reading and writing. One, H, I have been charged with sitting on the carpet with, to ensure his attention (something I should be doing with Tiger, but Tiger only really requires an occasional nudge, being a conformist. Ideally I sit btween the two and try to stop Tiger nuzzling my arm for comfort).

I've found with Tiger personally, and from training courses, that children on the Autism spectrum respond well to music. S is not Autistic, but may be dyslexic. And he loves singing. So with Tiger and S I often incorporate songs when we are learning, especially on the Word Wall where words are out of context. Example - Tiger spent three weeks unable to get Where and There. So I sang him A Mouse Lived in a Windmill in Old Amsterdam, including a finger dance of a little mouse with clogs on... And S had real trouble with ladder - so I kept singing him the THRASS mat song (phonics teaching tool, if you don't know it don't worry) about My Dog Spot. but changing it to his name. In the song, the dog "climbs a ladder to the top". Yes, he finally recognised ladder. In the middle of other words, on its own and in sentences. And then we got a book with ladder in (Can You Get Our Ball?) and he knew it by sight. I danced the fandango. In my head.

But H.
H!
He started a new series of books in the last week of term.
These started including more complex words, including those on the THRASS mats. It all ties in, see?
So I began singing to him, as I did the other two.
Tiger grins and joins in. S smiles and enjoys it - H recoiled in embarrassment. And giggled uneasily. As if I'd licked him or something.
I persevered, but realised he really, honestly finds it extremely intimate and embarrassing to be sung to. Just for the record [obligatory] I was singing to him, in the classroom, not sitting him on my lap or singing into his ear or anything even approaching a line that can't be crossed.

Need to find a new approach for him next week.
Might see how he reacts to the Singing Cat.
I'm not obsessed with the singing idea, but THRASS imparts a lot of spelling systems via song, and the children sing every day in Assembly, culminating in a Music Assembly once a week.

Might have to ask the amazing Mrs J (HLTA I work with) for ideas.

02-19-2012, 04:27 PM	#2795
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Thinking and preparing for school tomorrow and remembered something. Nowhere else to put it. No innuendo there as I am about to write about children. As well as my two official wards, I also work unofficially with two other boys. Both are 5-6 and have difficulty reading and writing. One, H, I have been charged with sitting on the carpet with, to ensure his attention (something I should be doing with Tiger, but Tiger only really requires an occasional nudge, being a conformist. Ideally I sit btween the two and try to stop Tiger nuzzling my arm for comfort). I've found with Tiger personally, and from training courses, that children on the Autism spectrum respond well to music. S is not Autistic, but may be dyslexic. And he loves singing. So with Tiger and S I often incorporate songs when we are learning, especially on the Word Wall where words are out of context. Example - Tiger spent three weeks unable to get Where and There. So I sang him A Mouse Lived in a Windmill in Old Amsterdam, including a finger dance of a little mouse with clogs on... And S had real trouble with ladder - so I kept singing him the THRASS mat song (phonics teaching tool, if you don't know it don't worry) about My Dog Spot. but changing it to his name. In the song, the dog "climbs a ladder to the top". Yes, he finally recognised ladder. In the middle of other words, on its own and in sentences. And then we got a book with ladder in (Can You Get Our Ball?) and he knew it by sight. I danced the fandango. In my head. But H. H! He started a new series of books in the last week of term. These started including more complex words, including those on the THRASS mats. It all ties in, see? So I began singing to him, as I did the other two. Tiger grins and joins in. S smiles and enjoys it - H recoiled in embarrassment. And giggled uneasily. As if I'd licked him or something. I persevered, but realised he really, honestly finds it extremely intimate and embarrassing to be sung to. Just for the record [obligatory] I was singing to him, in the classroom, not sitting him on my lap or singing into his ear or anything even approaching a line that can't be crossed. Need to find a new approach for him next week. Might see how he reacts to the Singing Cat. I'm not obsessed with the singing idea, but THRASS imparts a lot of spelling systems via song, and the children sing every day in Assembly, culminating in a Music Assembly once a week. Might have to ask the amazing Mrs J (HLTA I work with) for ideas.