Teaching Noah in the Car

I love to travel so much. It's definitely a passion of mine. If I won the lottery, I would travel extensively with Noah. I am always looking for ways to teach him new things and share experiences. He's older and really smart, he doesn't like being quizzed on things. When he was younger, I could just ask him questions. He just gets annoyed at me now. He is really curious about things. I want to take him to Williamsburg again, we went when he was two months old. We didn't really do much but go to Yankee Candle.  He's learning about Paul Revere in school and that would be a fun trip or Washington DC. He seems to be very interested in history. I asked him about who Paul Revere was. He told me that it was a guy who told the people that the British are coming.  After that he was talking about different wars today. He wanted to know if any of our family was in either the Civil War or the Vietnam war. My mom explained that our family on her side wasn't in the United States yet. I also told him that  his grandpa side wasn't either. I told him how I am the first generation born in America. He is the second.

When I named him Noah, I didn't know how fitting his name would really be.  He loves aquariums and zoos. We want to go to every major aquarium in the U.S. some day. He has been to quite a few already.  He loves to learn and experience new things. I have discovered that you can make anything a learning experience.  It doesn't have to be complex, it can be as simple as just counting miles or shouting out different colors of cars. Starting young is a great idea. It helps build a foundation and a love for learning.

For more ideas check out my post about educating in the car.

Autism Awareness

My mom is a teacher. People always ask me what grade she teaches. She has never really taught one grade because she is a special education teacher. She has taught many different disabilities but right now she teaches Autism Spectrum Disorder. I really didn't know much about Autism. I remember asking my mom once What is Autism when I was younger.  She explained it to me, and although I still didn't know much about it. 

I think when I was growing up there really wasn't autism awareness. I know that a lot more people have autism then when I was younger so it wasn't as talked about much. I think i only knew one person who was autistic. I really am happy that Autism is talked about now. What Autism is vs. what it us perceived in Hollywood is different.  It's important to know what it is.  It's also important to know the symptoms and that there are different levels of function. Some autistic people are high functioning and can perform at or close to grade level. My mom's students put together a really good reading about Martin Luther King called I have a Dream theater. They did an amazing job.  I know my mom is extremely proud of them.

I feel like with my mom's job, I have learned so much and it has made me passionate about raising awareness. I have friends now that have children with Autism.  The numbers are extremely high.  I continue to learn about Autism everyday.