Here it is! Abbey’s Year video!! I don’t think I got around to doing one last year, but we have several older ones on our YouTube channel. It’s amazing to see how far she has come! She’s happier than ever, communicating more than ever and is really getting the hang of going new places and trying new things!
Celebrate with us as we look back and see how we have helped Abbey learn and grow!
Click here to watch Abbey’s Year 2014!
So, yes, Abbey is a bit of a foodie, as you can tell. Ok, so, she really loves food. You can tell by the apps that she chooses to play the most. These apps are fun and they do work on pretend play, creativity and lots more! Wait til you see what she likes to top her donuts with…oh, boy, she’s her father’s child, for sure!:)
Here are Abbey’s fav puzzle apps! Obviously, puzzles are one of her strengths…look at her go! She loves puzzles! The app where you have to manipulate and turn the pieces has been a fav for quite a while, but know that this is the 3rd level, the first 2 levels lead up to that one. So, it doesn’t start out that hard. This one is great for fine motor skills and problem solving!
So, click below to see some fun puzzle apps that Abbey thinks are great!
Proloquo2Go has an amazing feature called “List View.” It’s a way of putting the buttons in a vertical list instead of a grid. This helps Abbey figure out that it’s sequential, I think. It’s helped her most with directions, especially with how to cook boxed rice, like the video I posted on here in January.
Oh, and I also included how to “Hide” a button, and why, how we use that, very handy and easy!
So, here is a video of all the ways we use this feature, to help Abbey. Click on the video below to watch!:)
Well, for some reason teaching quantity, for Abbey, has been a huge challenge. So, finding apps that she likes that can help with this has been a lot harder than, say, word apps, tracing apps, etc..
Watch a video of her playing with her fav ones…Click here! Or just click on the video below, to view it!
The pics shown are from the app, Critter Doodle Math: Numbers. There are lots of activities, but by far, Abbey’s fav activity is the tracing. I am pretty sure it’s because you pop the bubbles as you trace the number, but then the cool part is that, as you see below, when they are finished tracing the number, bubbles come up to pop and count, for each number. That’s a very motivating way for Abbey to learn quantity!
One of the other great activities is teaching largest to smallest, big and small. This has also been a hard concept for Abbey and she enjoys this activity as well!
Happy Counting!!
I always get excited when a new app comes along that totally intrigues Abbey! This one, for the iPad, called Writing Wizard, did the trick!! It has so much to offer, things that kids love like fun interactions and things that us parents love, like amazing customization, detailed reports on how they are doing AND, it’s free today!!
It’s a really fun one..check it out!:) Here’s a video of us playing with it!
ABBEY at DISNEYLAND!!
Are you ready? It’s finally HERE!
Abbey’s Year, 2012 video, click here. It’s just a brief glimpse of what our world, Abbey’s world was like in 2012, of her triumphs and struggles. She’s growing and learning, she’s continuing to communicate more, initiate more, reference us more…it’s truly amazing, blessings abound!
In the video you’ll see glimpses of her communicating with her iPad, with Proloquo2Go. You’ll see her first trip to Disneyland. You’ll also see some FIRSTS that were so exciting for us, her birthday blew us away this year, no pun intended.:) Christmas was incredible, seeing a true desire to celebrate, remembering from past experiences and truly enjoying the tree and presents, not to mention her little Nativity Scene, even!
What you’ll also experience with us, with Abbey, are some struggles…ugh, those stinkin’ doorways, what is it about doorways? We may never know, for sure! And, elevators, yikes! She was so incredibly brave on a trip in the car to California this year. I really didn’t know how it was going to go, it took a HUGE leap of faith…and, she did it! She did so well! There were some tough times, but overall, she sure surprised us, like she loves to do!:)
I really do want to thank all the people working with Abbey, helping her and us and all the friends and family praying for us every day….without you all, Abbey would not be the happy girl she is, succeeding in so many ways! I also want to thank a totally amazing husband who had enough faith for both of us that Abbey could succeed on a very long road trip, you were right, honey! One more thank you, thank you Lord for all of your provisions for our family, especially for our Abbey, for the strength you give us every single day to make it through the hard days and succeed on the good days!
Enjoy, and please, let us know what you think! Don’t forget to visit the link at the top of the page to see all of Abbey’s other videos on youtube, to see more!
Thank you!
Apps Abbey’s using are Proloquo2Go, to communicate and Count TV, a Sesame Street counting app, to help her learn to count.
Yep, Abbey knows how to spell and we didn’t even know it! Here’s the video of her spelling…
Sometimes it just takes a way for them to show us what they know. That can be pretty tricky, but I think technology, in the form of apps on the iPad is going to help them show us more and more!
Yesterday, the behavior specialist working with Abbey was trying to get Abbey to do some puzzles on her own iPad. Abbey enjoyed a couple new puzzle apps. We were talking about how cool this app is, that the kids have to actually turn the puzzle pieces to make them fit and how well Abbey did at this, so we pulled up Word Book and Puzzle Box by Anlock (iPad only.) Abbey played with it for a bit as we watched her, marveling at how well she could do it and then we clicked on the other option in the app, the Word Box. As you can see by the first picture, there are two boxes, a puzzle box and a word box, kids touch which one they want to do to begin. As they successfully pass levels, they get to chose items to add to their “room.” Abbey likes to move around the toys in her “room”, but hasn’t shown much interest yet in picking the items when offered.
Abbey began putting the letters in the boxes, but something amazing happened. I hadn’t even realized the different levels, just like with the puzzles, making them progressively harder. Abbey hadn’t done the third level on very many, so we asked her to do a couple that she had already done the first two levels and she put the letters in like it was nothing! Her specialist and I just looked at each other in shock and awe! We both laughed excitedly and praised Abbey, she CAN SPELL! She could only do the simple words, but what a great start and what a great way for her to show us that she can spell!
So, let me explain and show you the levels that I was referring to.
Below is a picture of Abbey’s favorite word app. It shows her the letters, she’s just matching, but what great practice! This is from First Words:
There are some great apps out there to help kids like Abbey learn to spell and read, another one of her favorites is Starfall Learn to Read. Below, you’ll see that it has a lot to offer. The kiddos pick a place to start, then can pick which word to work on. They have a choice between spelling the word or watching a cute little video.
One other really great spelling/reading app is Bob Books 1. Abbey enjoys this one as well. There is a second Bob Books 2 app that is harder, also available. It has short, small little, easy to read stories giving the kids a chance to spell each of the main words. These are the HD versions, there are regular versions available for a lower price and free, lite versions to try out, as well!
We also love the apps by Grasshopper apps, like Little Speller 3 Letter Words and Little Reader 3 Letter Words, as these are FULLY customizable! You can add your own pictures and words for them to learn to spell and can chose, in settings, if you are going to allow hints or not. In Little Reader, they match the words to the pictures. There are free, lite versions available for these apps as well as harder versions.
Here’s to hoping you guys find ways for your kiddos to show you what they know! It’s just like witnessing a miracle when they do! I’m so thankful for amazing apps like these, giving Abbey to chance to show us!
FYI, I do not get compensated from any app developers, just sharing what works for Abbey.
Abbey loves tracing and learning to write because of these apps, they make it fun! Out of the many we have tried, these are by far, her favorites…the ones she will pull up on her own and play with over and over. To me, that is very important, a motivation to learn! Here is a video of her using all three…Abbey’s Video.
The first is Write My Name by Injini. This app is for the iPad, only. It gives her three choices of what to trace: letters, words or her ‘name cards’ that I have customized for her. For the name cards, you can use add whatever you’d like. We chose to use the people in her family, including their pictures, names and their own voices saying their names. So, Abbey sees our pictures, learns to write our names and hears each of our voices. I believe this has helped her learn who we all are. Sounds strange that we would need to teach her this, but just a few months ago, she really didn’t know our names. If I asked her to give something to a certain family member, she didn’t have a clue. She’s learning and enjoying learning!
The next app is Letter School and what fun it is! They chose letters or numbers to trace. What is so unique about this app is that there are three levels of learning for each letter/number. All they have to do is touch a ‘dot’ in the first level (first star) and it shows them how to make it. The next level (second star they click on) shows the letter and they need to trace it the correct way. Once they get these first two levels correct, it offers them a third star at the bottom to click on to try the third level. For the third level, it briefly shows them the letter and then it disappears, only showing where to start. They have to write the letter/number on their own. This sounds like maybe it gets too hard, too fast, but don’t worry. If they have trouble, it shows them arrows of which way to go and then if they still have difficulty, it shows parts of the letter for them. This helps Abbey succeed, so she wants to keep trying.
The third app is Elmo Loves ABC’s, (there is also a lite, free version available.) This app is for the iPad only. What’s funny, is I had taken this app off, as it is a fairly large app in the way of how much space it takes up. Abbey saw a screenshot picture under her photos, a picture taken by mistake probably. She saw this app and put my finger on it, wanting it open, so yes, we have put it back on and she loves it! It has a fun alphabet song (which Abbey plays a bit too much, for my liking:) and then tracing and videos for each letter. Abbey enjoys picking a letter and tracing it, then watching the video. And, she loves Elmo, so I am sure this is a very motivating factor, as well!🙂
Here’s some other great handwriting/tracing apps you can try with your kids:
FYI, I am not receiving any compensation, whatsoever, from any app developer, just sharing what is helping my daughter.:)
Write My Name
abbeysvoice 