Counting Fun with Five Little Speckled Frogs

Natty has been working on adding and subtracting numbers at school recently and we've been finding fun ways of looking at this maths concept with her. 

Counting Fun with Five Little Speckled Blogs

She came up with her own counting system using some driftwood and 5 playdoh frogs. But she couldn't quite get through the video without disolving into infectious giggles.

Kinesthetic Learner

SEN pupils, as all children, benefit from looking at things from different angles, and incorporating various skills together to embed new ideas. We all learn through song and action, the kinaesthetic approach, much more readily (I bet you can still remember songs from your primary school days as if it were yesterday).

We were walking along one of our local beaches recently when Natty found a fabulous little stump of driftwood. She bent down to pick it up, and holding it aloft she exclaimed, "Look! The Five Little Speckled Frogs' log!"

Maths in Art

It was indeed and we promised to hurry home, wash it and create 5 little frogs to sit atop. Big sister Mia helped her whilst singing the counting song as they went about their work. Natty chose the colours of Playdoh she wanted to use and set about making the little round amphibians all by herself. I love when art and numeracy and music come together in this way!

She was very proud of her efforts and took the log to school to do a Show and Tell with her froggy numeracy props. She also enjoyed singing for her captive audience at home, her family. Here she is about 3 minutes before she fell asleep that evening, determined to finish the song despite yawns, uncontrollable giggles and being too tired to know the difference between a frog, a grub and a glub!

Five Little Speckled Frogs

I guarantee it will make you giggle. Ladies and gentlemen, Natty brings you Five Little Speckled Frogs Sat on a Speckled Log...

If you enjoyed this post you might also like the video we made when Natty insisted it was her birthday (even though it wasn't). Yes it was. Yes, it really was.

Encouraging Your Child to Drink More Water

Natty, like many children with Down's Syndrome has struggled with constipation over the years. Despite eating like a fruit bat and having a Mummy who makes biscuits and soups with things like linseeds hidden in them, she is a slow and reluctant drinker and we still had to resort to seeking additional help.

Meet our fluffy Pee and Poo toys

A powder called Movocol Paediatric was prescribed by our GP last year. This laxative is added to water and together the liquid makes the stools softer and easier to pass. And boy did it do just that! We panicked and stopped using it. We found an alternative called Lactulose which seemed to work fine with a small daily dose, although Natty would still go many days between movements and it could be very painful at times.

Wanting to make sure we were on the best path, I requested an appointment with a BOWEL AND BLADDER SPECIALIST (ask your paediatrician or GP to refer you if you have concerns) which came up last week. After all, being contipated is not only painful, but leads to sluggishness, tiredness and a bad mood.

I know how hard it is to come by fabulous information sometimes, so I will share all her invaluable advice with you.

Let your child choose a cup they like.

• Apparently Lactulose absorbs water from the body not the drink it is contained in, so for a child who struggles to drink enough that could have a dehydrating effect.
• Movocol is not a bulker and will not stretch the bowel or cause longterm harmful effects.
• Drinking plenty of fluid (water, dilute juice, milk) is key. I was astonished to find that a child of 7 should be drinking 1.2 litres per day. For a chart for all age ranges have a look at the BBC Good Food Guide to Drinking Water here. We weren't managing anywhere near this, but are getting close now.
• Buy attractive cups and beakers and focus on them as your child drinks rather than simply asking them to drink. I bought a couple of sparkly Doidy cups, 2 patterned screw lid cups with a straw, Camelbak make a great version, (don't use sports bottles that encourage your child to jutt their jaw forward, for an explanation read Terrific Tools for Talking here), a pack of funky straws and a no-spill Munchkin sippy cup. You could try a funky tooth brush holder with floating glitter and fish as a beaker too.
• Take the cup everywhere and offer your child a drink whenever you can.
• Encourage your child to sit on the toilet twice a day after meals. They must be comfortable (we still use a padded child toilet seat) and a foot step to raise their feet so that ideally their knees are above their hips.
• I cannot recommend the Rock and Pop method highly enough. Place your hand on the child's lower left stomach (or encourage them to do it themselves), let them lean forward and relax for a few seconds, then ask them to sit back, push and... pop. It works 9 times out of 10.
• Make the experience relaxed and fun. Keep books or stickers in the room.
• Encourage your child to blow bubbles or play a small wind instrument such as a plastic flute or similar whilst on the toilet to strengthen abdominal effort.

The specialist is also able to advise on other aspects of toiletting, positioning and so on. For help with steps and handrails, ask to see an Occupational Therapist.

For more information and a baked bean recipe with a laxative effect, read 

Constipation and Soiling: A Pain in the Backside.

Contact the Childhood continence experts ERIC for more advice, leaflets, 

wall charts and continence products.