Learning maths

30 October 2016 (Kareem is almost 7 years old)

I forgot how Kareem learnt to count!. We used books where he traced figures using filter pens which he wiped away afterwards. He really liked to do that and we did it regularly for days and days.  The school played an important role in teaching him the numbers and he liked repeating them. We started counting things.  He loved counting his fingers but for long time I am not sure that he knows by heart that he has 5 fingers in each hand and total of 10. 

Now he can count up to 20 and he loves counting. He also learnt to write the numbers up to ten. His writing which has been all over the place is becoming a bit clearer. It is difficult for him to hold the pencil with a good grip. His mum got him special elastic bands that hold the pencil and 2 fingers but he did not like them. He still holds the pencil in its middle which makes the grip difficult and the writing not focused. However, often he tries to change the grip and holds the pencil near its tip and writes better. Other times he refuses my help to get his fingers nearer the tip of the pencil. If I insist then he would throw the pencil, paper and his glasses away.

This summer (2016) we travelled and I almost stopped doing maths with him. So it has taken some time to get him to remember how to write the numbers. After about a month of daily work, he occasionally forget how to write 3, 5.

Additions:

I have been trying to get him to learn the concept of adding.  I thought that beads would do the trick, but he uses them (and other objects) as toys for playing not counting!. So we use the old method of :

3+2= Leave the 3 here and put the 2 on my fingers. Then I ask what is after 3 and he counts on my fingers. I tried to have 3 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other but he gets confused.

By using this method, he can add up to 9+1. We also use a game of puzzles that has one side the equation with pictures e.g 3 ducks + 4 ducks. The other bit of the puzzle is numbers from 1 to 10. He counts all the ducks regardless of the plus sign and then chooses the correct puzzle number and fit it.

However, I am not sure that he actually gets the concept of addition in his head. His mum and dad use small white boards with him where he chooses the equation numbers and they help him counting on his fingers then write the number. It becomes a bit difficult when he wants to tens and hundreds together and accept he does not have enough fingers to count!

Yesterday he wanted to do 400+20. Today he was doing 200+2 !

I will go back to count oranges and apples and see if it works better.

Here is Kareem learning about volumes: more and less (March 2016)

This blog is long overdue. In fact it is almost 7 years late. I was asked by several people to write about life with Kareem,my nephew who has Down's syndrome . So here is the blog which I hope can be of benefit to others who may have similar experience: of joy and difficulties. But really I am writing in order to thank Kareem for the joy and blessings that he has been bringing to my life and that of all our extended family.

Kareem will soon by 7 years old but I have been meaning to write a blog that record our lives together since he was born. Lots of things came in the way but now I decided not to wait for "when I have the time" to collect all the memories, stories, pictures and to use his mum's diary. I decided to write without chronological order. I wrote few blogs about him elsewhere which I will add here but I did not write regularly.

So here we go!

Add caption

 Few days old

Kareem age 7 in his bed insisting he can brush his teeth! The blue thing is a barrier in case he falls out of bed

Kareem is my nephew. He lives with his mum (my sister), dad and brother, Shadi and me. My sister is almost like a daughter to me. When she was born, I was doing my A level. She was a bad sleeper and I used to study late at night so I used to take her from our mother, put her on my legs and rock her gently while I am studying. Funny enough, years later I did the same for both her lovely kids.

When Kareem was born, I was out of the country busy in a big meeting but my heart was at the hospital and my eyes were fixed awaiting text from my daughter who accompanied my sister to the hospital. I believe my daughter was the first one to hold the baby Kareem, which created a special bond between them.

Since then, he has been an essential person to our lives.