be stern with me please about making the most of this summer with a "borderline" nearly 6 year old.

[lingle]

total (and anyone else who remembers me).

so this summer holiday, I was thinking it would be fun to teach the DSs the recorder, which they would both probably learn in a few weeks.

not what I should be doing really, is it?

Does this sound like a more appropriate regime:

1. talk a lot about visitors, how we treat visitors, why visitors come first and things that would make visitors worried or sad.
2. swimming
3. practising catching balls.
4. persist in playing with the neighbours

I know these are the things that will help him with social skills and will smooth the way to be able to access a lot of boy culture.

It's hard though. I am so sick now of treating DS2 as a project.
Anyone else got little projects lined up for summer? want to make a pact?

waves to lingle . teach them the recorder was well, as having a talent is a good fallback way of getting respect IME if social skills are a little erm hard to acquire.

Re your list:-

1. yes. big one. One that is a WIP with my DS too at times.
2. is swimming a big part of your life? or will it impact on his school life if he isn't comfortable with the swimming/dressing etc routine?
3. yes, useful as part of fitting in with playground sports etc. unless he absolutely hates doing it...
4. depends on how nice the neighbours are.

I have two big items on the to do list for summer.
1)Read Talkability again. Properly. Then work through.
2)get a private SALT review. figure out if there are residual comprehension issues, and where to go next with DS.

apparently next year (juniors) is where school based interventions, would come in (they have a chatterbox/social skills group in juniors). so have to see what yr 3 teacher makes of DS.

I'll join in. I too am fed up of seeing ds as a project:

This summer I'm going to:

1. Practice riding his bike (with stabilisers)
2. Practice kicking footballs
3. Encourage interactive play with other children (still parallel plays)
4. To try and start labelling basic emotions

lingle - as you said yourself, it's a summer HOLIDAY. Be kind to yourself, and the DSs and treat it as such. If you have the term time for all the skills training - and the holidays for novelties. You'll also probably find that you sneak some social skills training in anyway without even thinking!
It will also give a social conversation piece for going back to school - what did you do in the holidays/ what was the best thing you did in the holidays type of thing!
Thought about teaching them the recorder, then letting them invite the neighbours to a concert. Then they can do the guest and socialising thing too!

Can i join in too.....
ds has lots of stuff organised, particularly physical stuff, and portage (which stops this week, ) has been helping with educational-ish stuff.

But I am starting formal social skills stuff,

so gonna do my first formal planning, taking a 'base line', looking at building recognising emotions, then thinking about person feeling emotion X because of Y. (he doesn't understand the question 'why?'). and then moving onto, person is expressing emotion X, beacuse of Y, if X happens people might feel Y.

Sorry not explaining that very well... bought some books and other resources.

its good trying to teach new skills but you cant force them unless ready and receptive enough, take each day as it comes and try and do something different and beneficiary each day but be gentle on yourself if you dont make it, it wont do anyone any good if you treat dc like a project.. you want to enjoy your time together, that in iteslf is a benefit way of learning social skills mixing ect, not forgetting the lovely memories your creating, take loads of photos good to use at a later day as a reminder for your dc of thingshes done and how well he did ect kind of a photographic story to use in future situations... i might do that myself now ive suggested it [grins] i like that idea social stories starry DS i think he will like that.

starring i mean

ah thanks everyone.

in the old days (2008-2010 or so) I was often accused by outsiders of treating him "like a project" but it felt very natural and energising to do so, and some here will remember my endless appetite for learning more stuff. I was really switched on and my brain was constantly on alert for problem-solving techniques. I maybe need to accept that I'm just not like that any more.

I appreciate the comments from people hinting that doing a "project" when that concept now exhausts me is probably counter-productive.....

So maybe it all depends whether we feel energised and excited or exhausted by the project thing.

good luck to everyone with their summer plans.

so how about more realistically, a more freeform "project" as it were - arrange "playdates", or just take him to park/soft play. socially support as appropriate as issues arise. Does that sound less daunting?

Why not teach the recorder if you think they would enjoy it - it sounds like you would to! Maybe just for a short amount of time each day though.
1, 2 and 3 sound great to me number 4 sounds a bit like a chore? maybe I am wrong.
I am hoping to do lots of outdoor things - walks in parks, woods, a holiday away by the coast - I do hope we have nice weather! plus maybe the theatre a couple of times for some short kids performances.

Whatever you decide I hope you enjoy the hols

We are on hols for the 1st week of the hols with PIL which ds1 will love.

As for the rest of the hols....we are supposed to be moving house in 3 weeks and am seeing the SENCO tomorrow so she can give me some ideas for "projects" and ways to get him to practise his reading and writing that wont be hard for him (or me!)

Have also ordered "Write from the start" and plan to use that too over the summer. Also thinking of getting him to write in a journal every day - even if its only a sentance - so he doesnt regress.

Ds1 would be quite happy staying in his PJs til noon, watching his dvds and then playing on the park all afternoon.

(Cant say I blame him!)

v of anyone with the whole school hols to spend with their kids as I have to work for all but two weeks of it (mind you after a few days I'd probably be weeping in the corner). So my my lovely childminder will have to do the "projects for me". Fortunately he will have three other children all younger to play with and practice his social skills with.

My goals for the time I do have with ds is

arrange a playdate a week

go over the few letters he recognises and try to add to them

work on getting dressed independently - we'll have more time in the morns most days.

play imaginative games with dinos and cars at least a couple of times a week.

I am hoping that dd1 makes it through the hols without getting into too many scrapes with the local kids (first summer in this area) and that dd2 finally learns how to say 'daddy before her 2nd birthday in august as I'm exhausted with her calling for me all the time!