Tough Morning, Fun Afternoon

Caleb had a bit of a rough time during group time at Early On today.  When they have music time, every child has to stay in a circle made up of moms - basically it is mom-bouncer time at the baby music club.  Caleb screamed and cried and had a fit.  His poor face turned bright red and he just was having a very bad time. 

I didn't know what to do because at home, I never have to put him in this situation.  I don't really have a gang of women show up at my house and put Caleb in a circle, shockingly enough.  So, I tried to calm him down, but honestly, I felt helpless.  I felt like I could see the other people judging me and my son.  I felt like a bad mother.  I felt like I was letting everyone down, especially Caleb.  It was embarrassing to me when the occupational therapist was able to calm Caleb down when I couldn't.  I am his mother - shouldn't this by my ability by blood?

Well, after a difficult morning, Caleb and I needed some shopping therapy.  We got some markers and stickers, as well as some necessary groceries and household products.  Later, when we got home, we had lunch and then we were off to art it up!

Today we made 3 new pieces.
(btw, I think the dinosaurs and kittens combination is kind of brilliant)

 

 Caleb likes to layer stickers upon stickers, which I can find to be frustrating since stickers aren't necessarily cheap, and covering them up with other stickers seems like a waste.  But I have to remind myself that this is his process, and the fact that he is layering stickers is not a waste, but rather a demonstration of how he thinks and creates.  Plus, we are having him use stickers to work on his fine motor skills; no matter where he places the stickers, he is still working on those skills.

I really enjoy doing art therapy with Caleb.  It fills me with joy to see him get so excited to create art, something that was much a part of my life for a long time.  This also gives me hope that even if Caleb will not be able to express himself verbally, he will be able to express himself artistically.

This evening I spent about an hour cutting images out of an old macro photography book.  Most of the images are close ups of nature, which means they are interesting but there isn't a lot of variation.  I tried to make a lot of different shapes and sizes, and hopefully tomorrow, Caleb will be interested in making a collage with a glue stick. 

Here's hoping!