Taking the Scenic Route

Zach’s Show

Zach’s show was a riot last night.  120 people, a portion of them the Red Hat Society group.  They laughed, applauded, interacted with the actors (including responding to lines of the actors during the production).  It was fabulous.  It is a dinner theater where most of the action takes place in a space between tables, so the crowd is really in on the action without the separation that is there when it is a stage show.  It was so much fun for them.  (also hard to keep a straight face for the actors).  It sounded like so much fun!

I finally saw the show last Thursday.  It was good, but the crowd was smaller and not nearly as interactive.  I would have loved to come last night, but they were sold out and it is a long drive out to the regular venue.  It was great to finally see it.  I was really proud of Zach.  He did so well!  I was able to guess the ‘murderer’ and why, but it was largely a process of elimination.  I knew Zach and Robert weren’t the ones, and was able to make some guesses.  I thought it was cool I was right.

Zane Stuff

Zane has been much more into reading the last few days.  I am really happy about that.  He keeps bringing books to Zach and me.  It is a great thing.  I spent many months reading to him, even when he didn’t seem to be paying attention so it is a relief to see the transition from no apparent interest, to limited interest, to initiating reading.  He is also slowly talking more.  (or at least being more understandable…he has always babbled non-stop when it is just the three of us)  He is also handling being corrected a little better.  For example, when “chin” sounds closer to “chair” and I re-iterate “chin”, instead of getting frustrated he will try the word again, pronouncing it correctly.  It might take him a minute or two, but he doesn’t seem as disturbed by it not being perfect as he used to.  It is progress, and I am happy.

Zach also read something recently in one of the magazines mom got us about increasing right and left brain connections.  (He is very right brain dominant…advanced in visual spatial skills like puzzles and drawing, but behind in left brain skills, like verbal skills and communication)  It said that drawing a picture and then talking about the picture helped.  Perfect for us!  He loves to draw, so we make a point to spend a while discussing the drawing and getting him to tell us about the drawing.  We can’t always understand him, but it is getting better. 

Playing computer games is also helping his ability to follow directions and it is spilling over into his non-computer life.  Since a computer simply doesn’t ‘go’ unless you follow directions or do things in a specific order, it has the ‘patience’ to wait until he does it the way he is supposed to, with no emotion involved.  If he does something ‘wrong’ it simply doesn’t do anything, but he is rewarded for doing things ‘right’.  His ability to follow complex directions has really taken a leap since he is playing some on the computer most days.  He also has moved from preschool software to kindergarten.  I am amazed at some of the things he is able to do.  For instance, one of the things has a “rhymes with” game.  They show a picture of a frog and ask what it rhymes with, showing 6 different options.  Without hesitation he will pick “log”.  He does this over and over again with all of the different games.  It is amazing to me.

One funny thing.  When Zane got frustrated with something, he sarcastically declared “Great Joy!”, exactly the same way Zach does.  *snort*