My brother is getting married this weekend.
It's not entirely a perfect scenario. In a perfect scenario, all our loved ones would be able to attend, I would be able to attend, and there would be no stress or worry or rush. But, life is seldom perfect, is it?
Aside from the nuances of life that pop up to impact us all, though, I find this to be wonderful news. I've never made a secret of the fact that I am fiercely protective of my family, though I have mellowed in my adult years... sort of. I love my brother. I've probably hated my brother a few times, but really, that's the hate of children, and it never lasts beyond who had a bigger cookie. I love my brother, and I make very little secret of the fact that there are things that I want for him, and things I don't. Some things are good enough for him, some things are not. He's my brother, and he should only have the best. That's just the way it should be. Yeah, then that life thing smacks us around a bit, and I have to remember that shit happens.
Then, he brought home a girl. I was set to be pleasant. I was ready to smile brightly, and try not to be transparent that she might not be good enough for my brother, after all, it's not my call. And then I met the girl. She was a lovely girl - no, really. Not a lovely girl like 'can't think of anything nice to say,' but she was truly a beautiful girl. Even more, she was funny. And my brother adored her. He lit up around her, and she really got him. I was thrilled to find that I smiled brightly because I really liked her, and I didn't have to try not to be transparent, because as high as my standards were, this beautiful, bright, funny girl was a wonderful match for my sarcastic, handsome, athletic brother.
And this weekend, they will be married. I'm sad I couldn't be there for this day, but I write in the hopes that they will see that I am thinking of them, and know that I am there as best I can be. Tomorrow, I gain the sister I've wanted for so long. She fits right in with the family, and we all love her. I couldn't be more thrilled for my brother - he is marrying the woman he loves, who really gets him, who can play his straight man when he needs one, and who can keep up with him. I am, of course, thrilled for his bride, as well. She gets my brother. The one who hung the moon. I can think of nothing that would make me happier for them than this, and I cast my wish out to all who might listen - may they be as happy for the rest of their lives as they are now - or possibly happier, and may all their challenges be faced not side-by-side, but back-to-back. May they cover each other, be profoundly blessed, and may love brighten every single one of their days.
I love you both, and I wish you nothing less than the lifetime of happiness you both deserve.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
To my little boy, on his fourth birthday.
It's hard for me to believe that four years have passed already. It seems like just yesterday I was waiting for you to come into the world, feeling your kicks and rolls, and scrubbing baseboards as I paced floors. You've been a fixture in my life now, for long enough that I can't really imagine life without you. I remember there being more sleep, and less injury, but really, I just can't conceive of it.
Today, you turned four. I'm not going to jinx anything, but you held my hand for three quarters of our walk to the pharmacy, not dashing away like you would have before. You asked for spaghetti for dinner, we watched Cars all day, you ran and played.
It's been an absolute joy watching you grow. You have a sharp mind, a keen eye, and an incredible sense of fairness. You love Star Wars, and Curious George, and anything by Pixar. You love spaghetti, and Chicago-style pizza, and fruit - any fruit you can get your hands on. This year you were so excited to plant our vegetable garden and watch the plants grow from seeds. You like to draw and color, you're very logically minded, and you are an amazingly social creature. I could give you statistics, potty training, reading, writing, arithmetic, words, sentences, all that stuff, but really, I think it sums everything up nicely to say "You amaze me. Every single day, there is something you do that completely stuns me." There isn't a boring day in our lives. We're always out moving, doing, catching, growing, learning, playing. You love to be outside, but you hate staying in the yard.
You are the pride and joy of my life, sweet boy, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't love you beyond measure - even when you tear apart the house, spill cheerios and rice all over the floor, dump the milk, climb the freezer and dance on the dishwasher. I love you even then. <3 a="a" always="always" am="am" and="and" are="are" be="be" ever="ever" grateful="grateful" had="had" hand="hand" have="have" i="i" in.="in." in="in" incredible="incredible" life.="life." me="me" most="most" much="much" my="my" nbsp="nbsp" ou="ou" p="p" perpetually="perpetually" so="so" summer="summer" sunshine="sunshine" sweet="sweet" taught="taught" the="the" thing="thing" to="to" ve="ve" will="will" you="you">
Today, you turned four. I'm not going to jinx anything, but you held my hand for three quarters of our walk to the pharmacy, not dashing away like you would have before. You asked for spaghetti for dinner, we watched Cars all day, you ran and played.
It's been an absolute joy watching you grow. You have a sharp mind, a keen eye, and an incredible sense of fairness. You love Star Wars, and Curious George, and anything by Pixar. You love spaghetti, and Chicago-style pizza, and fruit - any fruit you can get your hands on. This year you were so excited to plant our vegetable garden and watch the plants grow from seeds. You like to draw and color, you're very logically minded, and you are an amazingly social creature. I could give you statistics, potty training, reading, writing, arithmetic, words, sentences, all that stuff, but really, I think it sums everything up nicely to say "You amaze me. Every single day, there is something you do that completely stuns me." There isn't a boring day in our lives. We're always out moving, doing, catching, growing, learning, playing. You love to be outside, but you hate staying in the yard.
You are the pride and joy of my life, sweet boy, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't love you beyond measure - even when you tear apart the house, spill cheerios and rice all over the floor, dump the milk, climb the freezer and dance on the dishwasher. I love you even then. <3 a="a" always="always" am="am" and="and" are="are" be="be" ever="ever" grateful="grateful" had="had" hand="hand" have="have" i="i" in.="in." in="in" incredible="incredible" life.="life." me="me" most="most" much="much" my="my" nbsp="nbsp" ou="ou" p="p" perpetually="perpetually" so="so" summer="summer" sunshine="sunshine" sweet="sweet" taught="taught" the="the" thing="thing" to="to" ve="ve" will="will" you="you">
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Continuing Push
In an effort to be as geeky as possible, we're celebrating Pi Approximation Day. 22/7! I also spent this afternoon teaching reading... using the text crawl at the front of Star Wars. Because one kind of geekery isn't enough. ^_^
Today, we skipped over math again. I haven't had a chance to plan, so it's hard to focus on the math. It inevitably needs preparation, and I haven't had the ability to plan, and I've been so busy running in circles that I haven't had the headspace to make good use of my time, either. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to get it tomorrow. LP has been sleeping a little better, so I should have my evening time back again, which would help considerably.
I have been on reading, though. That's a lot easier on me, truth be told. I put in a DVD, we go over the pages, he's done. It's a lot less planning and pieces. Of course, it's also a lot more nerve wracking, as LP is getting better and better and I'm starting to go a little googly-eyed at the strides he's making. Today, he tackled the entirety of unit 1. The whole thing. We did review of the Big Words from yesterday, he did all of unit 1, and went through the unit review. I'm going to have him do the unit again tomorrow, as he was having trouble with -sh and -th at the end of the words. Not enough that it was giving him trouble with the actual words ( /h/-/u/-/s/-/h/ hu/s/-/h/... hush!), but I'd like to see him without that middle step. So, tomorrow will be review, I will try to breathe, and I will try not to panic. There are so many things I want to be doing right now, not the least of which being gearing up for logic introduction in August, but I'm just so out of the groove from the time off and LP's poor sleeping that I haven't been doing as much as I'd like.
I'm hopeful that the sleeping issue was the result of his making two simultaneous strides - he's grown about an inch and a half, and then the reading thing. Of course, as that would see a fairly quick end to the issue, that's mostly wishful thinking, but hey. I'll take it.
Today, we skipped over math again. I haven't had a chance to plan, so it's hard to focus on the math. It inevitably needs preparation, and I haven't had the ability to plan, and I've been so busy running in circles that I haven't had the headspace to make good use of my time, either. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to get it tomorrow. LP has been sleeping a little better, so I should have my evening time back again, which would help considerably.
I have been on reading, though. That's a lot easier on me, truth be told. I put in a DVD, we go over the pages, he's done. It's a lot less planning and pieces. Of course, it's also a lot more nerve wracking, as LP is getting better and better and I'm starting to go a little googly-eyed at the strides he's making. Today, he tackled the entirety of unit 1. The whole thing. We did review of the Big Words from yesterday, he did all of unit 1, and went through the unit review. I'm going to have him do the unit again tomorrow, as he was having trouble with -sh and -th at the end of the words. Not enough that it was giving him trouble with the actual words ( /h/-/u/-/s/-/h/ hu/s/-/h/... hush!), but I'd like to see him without that middle step. So, tomorrow will be review, I will try to breathe, and I will try not to panic. There are so many things I want to be doing right now, not the least of which being gearing up for logic introduction in August, but I'm just so out of the groove from the time off and LP's poor sleeping that I haven't been doing as much as I'd like.
I'm hopeful that the sleeping issue was the result of his making two simultaneous strides - he's grown about an inch and a half, and then the reading thing. Of course, as that would see a fairly quick end to the issue, that's mostly wishful thinking, but hey. I'll take it.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Long Break
We took a ridiculously long break. We spent a week in IL with Hammie and Buppa, and then when we got home, we spent a week trying to get the Little Prince back into his usual headspace... then went to Day Out With Thomas. It's been an interesting couple weeks.
Today, we started back up with reading. We got up, got dressed, got breakfast, got vitamins, and I turned on his Hooked on Phonics DVD. This prompted an immediate meltdown of epic proportions (like, shrieking and screaming and crying along with flailing and throwing things) because I wasn't turning on Franklin or Curious George. Needless to say, that's put a kibosh on his watching television for a while. Yikes. Anyhow. He finally settled in, and watched his lesson... and then asked to watch another. And another. And an hour later, he'd gone through a full unit worth. So I called it there, as that was the last unit in level 1 of Hooked on Phonics. We read the review page for the unit, and while he's having some trouble with the sight words and the BigWords (like kitten, happen, traffic, and muffin), he has it all. I shake my head, as he went through lessons 8 and 9 (unit 2) and then the unit 3 introduction, and lessons 10-15. In a set-up where the two levels take approximately the 36 weeks that are in a school year, this amount of work would take 9 weeks. I was planning for it to take 6 weeks. He finished it in AN HOUR. I called off math for the day, as I can really only take one shock per day. Maybe we'll do our history read-aloud, maybe we'll put it off until tomorrow, I don't know, but right now, I'm very much shaken... and very glad I picked up level 2 a month ago.
Today, we started back up with reading. We got up, got dressed, got breakfast, got vitamins, and I turned on his Hooked on Phonics DVD. This prompted an immediate meltdown of epic proportions (like, shrieking and screaming and crying along with flailing and throwing things) because I wasn't turning on Franklin or Curious George. Needless to say, that's put a kibosh on his watching television for a while. Yikes. Anyhow. He finally settled in, and watched his lesson... and then asked to watch another. And another. And an hour later, he'd gone through a full unit worth. So I called it there, as that was the last unit in level 1 of Hooked on Phonics. We read the review page for the unit, and while he's having some trouble with the sight words and the BigWords (like kitten, happen, traffic, and muffin), he has it all. I shake my head, as he went through lessons 8 and 9 (unit 2) and then the unit 3 introduction, and lessons 10-15. In a set-up where the two levels take approximately the 36 weeks that are in a school year, this amount of work would take 9 weeks. I was planning for it to take 6 weeks. He finished it in AN HOUR. I called off math for the day, as I can really only take one shock per day. Maybe we'll do our history read-aloud, maybe we'll put it off until tomorrow, I don't know, but right now, I'm very much shaken... and very glad I picked up level 2 a month ago.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Holy Woah!
I do my planning on Wednesday afternoons. I sit down, think on what we got through the prior week, and how that ought to translate to the coming week. Last week, we made it through Lesson 1 of Hooked on Phonics, and three math lessons. This week, I set us up to do another HoP lesson, and four math lessons. No worries.
Math is progressing as expected - still at double time according to the general timetable - but since I'm still trying to find his limits, as opposed to just teaching him mew ways of doing things he already knows, I'm okay with that. I knew he was good at most of the math before we started, so plowing through it is nothing too new.
Reading, on the other hand... I have no idea how to plan at this point. He finished lesson 2 yesterday, and blew through the first third of lesson 3 today. At the rate he's going, he'll finish lesson 3 this week, and lesson 4, possibly 5, next week. This means he will be done with the first half of the level in about two months. Each level is assigned a graded year. He is likely to finish a half school year of reading education this summer. I'm reeling. The next question, of course, becomes "how do I plan for next week?!?" ^_^ I think I'm just going to try to keep up, and see where he goes. He doesn't know he's doing work intended for much older children, and I haven't any intention of telling him, so he just goes ahead and does his work at his own pace... and we'll see how high he flies.
Math is progressing as expected - still at double time according to the general timetable - but since I'm still trying to find his limits, as opposed to just teaching him mew ways of doing things he already knows, I'm okay with that. I knew he was good at most of the math before we started, so plowing through it is nothing too new.
Reading, on the other hand... I have no idea how to plan at this point. He finished lesson 2 yesterday, and blew through the first third of lesson 3 today. At the rate he's going, he'll finish lesson 3 this week, and lesson 4, possibly 5, next week. This means he will be done with the first half of the level in about two months. Each level is assigned a graded year. He is likely to finish a half school year of reading education this summer. I'm reeling. The next question, of course, becomes "how do I plan for next week?!?" ^_^ I think I'm just going to try to keep up, and see where he goes. He doesn't know he's doing work intended for much older children, and I haven't any intention of telling him, so he just goes ahead and does his work at his own pace... and we'll see how high he flies.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
End of "Official" Week 1
This was our first "official" week as homeschoolers. Why? No monumental occasion, just that my planner started on June 1, so it seemed a good time. We're planning to be year-rounders, sticking to something akin to a 4 weeks on, then 1 week off schedule. What's really nice about this is that the world aligns perfectly to then give me two weeks for soon-to-be-Auntie N's bridal shower and Thanksgiving, and also a two week break for Uncle F and Auntie N's wedding! Even nicer, it gives us a week break every month, PLUS an extra week floating around whenever we want to use it. That puts our school year at 195 days, which means we have 15 days over the regular school year to have sick days, take off on birthdays, or go on impromptu field trips. I love this already. If LP were in regular school this year, we wouldn't be able to go to Thanksgiving OR the shower, and we'd be pushing it to go to the wedding. We certainly couldn't take two weeks for both of them. Then add in that March break does NOT line up with Easter, and there's a lot of family holidays we'd be missing because LP needs to be in school. As it stands, we're able to schedule our breaks whenever we want them, and it's Mighty Convenient!
End of week one.
Week 1 taught me several things.
1) Play Dates in the middle of the school week, while epic fun, are a bitch to make up for. There is no way to do anything resembling lessons after spending the morning with friends, so the day is a write-off. Then, I have to try to accomplish things one day off - so technically, while today is our Friday, we'll finish the actual activities for the week tomorrow.
2) Trying to get anything serious done after preschool SUCKS. Like, MASSIVELY sucks. I had today designed to be a quick-review day, and mostly playing games, because I figured trying to get anything done after the morning was spent in preschool would be difficult. I did NOT expect a 45 minute meltdown over a cookie - a cookie that he didn't even want, mind you - nor did I expect his math lesson to be like pulling teeth - he's usually gung-ho for his math. o.O;;
3) We are completely able to do this. This whole homeschool gig will be totally workable for us. It may not always be easy, it may not always be games, but it is certainly do-able. I am very excited for what this year may bring!
End of week one.
Week 1 taught me several things.
1) Play Dates in the middle of the school week, while epic fun, are a bitch to make up for. There is no way to do anything resembling lessons after spending the morning with friends, so the day is a write-off. Then, I have to try to accomplish things one day off - so technically, while today is our Friday, we'll finish the actual activities for the week tomorrow.
2) Trying to get anything serious done after preschool SUCKS. Like, MASSIVELY sucks. I had today designed to be a quick-review day, and mostly playing games, because I figured trying to get anything done after the morning was spent in preschool would be difficult. I did NOT expect a 45 minute meltdown over a cookie - a cookie that he didn't even want, mind you - nor did I expect his math lesson to be like pulling teeth - he's usually gung-ho for his math. o.O;;
3) We are completely able to do this. This whole homeschool gig will be totally workable for us. It may not always be easy, it may not always be games, but it is certainly do-able. I am very excited for what this year may bring!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
On Reading and Research
So, I've spent the last several months up to my eyeballs in anything I can find related to giftedness, gifted children, and gifted education. The drive to know more, learn more, keep reading... It's intense. I mean, this is my son. He has particular needs, and it is my job as his parent to make sure his needs are met. I've now gone through three websites, two forums, and eight books on the topic. Since mid-March. So, I like to think I've learned a thing or two.
Truthfully, I'm glad I've gotten as much done as I have, and I'm glad we got the assessments run. Both the parental survey of dates that assessed how ahead LP is, and the OT assessment at preschool. They told me things I really already knew (that LP is very ahead, and that he has no business being in a full-day classroom in the fall), but it gave me the oomph to take on the research, and to start planning for his educational needs. Right now, LP is working on a grade 1 reading curriculum, and flying through a kindergarten math curriculum. Even if he slows down to working on one grade level per year (as per public schools), he will likely be a minimum of two years ahead of his age-mates. These kids won't be his peers, not truly. And since our district "doesn't do" acceleration, if I send this child to school, he will spend the entirety of his school career bored out of his skull. They don't have formal identification until grade 3, which means a minimum of four years before the district even considers meeting his educational needs. Needless to say, that's not acceptable. And, since the district won't accelerate, they won't meet his needs even when he is formally identified.
So what now, right? At this point, I'm certain that homeschool is the best option for LP. It meets him where he is, and will allow him to work at his own pace, keeping him challenged without having to languish for years to get there, if he ever gets there at all. This is also, however, one of the scarier realizations I've had. Knowing what I do about our son, I can't put him into public schools in good conscience. I can't do it. But that means that suddenly, we need to succeed at homeschooling. That "oh, if it doesn't work, he can always go to public" option isn't really an option. It'd be like sending a third grader into kindergarten. It's wildly inappropriate, and the child already knows everything - it's a recipe for "behavior problems" and failure to achieve to potential. But... that means I don't have a backup plan any more. Granted, I probably haven't all along, but now more than before, I feel the distinct lack of a safety net, and am really awed by the enormity of the undertaking.
Truthfully, I'm glad I've gotten as much done as I have, and I'm glad we got the assessments run. Both the parental survey of dates that assessed how ahead LP is, and the OT assessment at preschool. They told me things I really already knew (that LP is very ahead, and that he has no business being in a full-day classroom in the fall), but it gave me the oomph to take on the research, and to start planning for his educational needs. Right now, LP is working on a grade 1 reading curriculum, and flying through a kindergarten math curriculum. Even if he slows down to working on one grade level per year (as per public schools), he will likely be a minimum of two years ahead of his age-mates. These kids won't be his peers, not truly. And since our district "doesn't do" acceleration, if I send this child to school, he will spend the entirety of his school career bored out of his skull. They don't have formal identification until grade 3, which means a minimum of four years before the district even considers meeting his educational needs. Needless to say, that's not acceptable. And, since the district won't accelerate, they won't meet his needs even when he is formally identified.
So what now, right? At this point, I'm certain that homeschool is the best option for LP. It meets him where he is, and will allow him to work at his own pace, keeping him challenged without having to languish for years to get there, if he ever gets there at all. This is also, however, one of the scarier realizations I've had. Knowing what I do about our son, I can't put him into public schools in good conscience. I can't do it. But that means that suddenly, we need to succeed at homeschooling. That "oh, if it doesn't work, he can always go to public" option isn't really an option. It'd be like sending a third grader into kindergarten. It's wildly inappropriate, and the child already knows everything - it's a recipe for "behavior problems" and failure to achieve to potential. But... that means I don't have a backup plan any more. Granted, I probably haven't all along, but now more than before, I feel the distinct lack of a safety net, and am really awed by the enormity of the undertaking.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Well, I'll be.
After spending the past week or so fighting me tooth and nail about "reading words" (while simultaneously screaming that "I WANT TO LEARN TO READ, MOMMY!!!"), today LP flew through his lesson. He has been reading one line of the practice each day for the last week and change - be it the "review" or the "practice." Today, I put the book in front of him, and he went through two lines of words, only stumbling over one. Now, granted, he's still reading "/sh/-/e/-/l/, shell!" and not reading each word straight up, but I'm of the opinion that fluency comes with time, and he'll learn it as we go. ^_^ As long as he's not forgetting everything he learned to get here, I'm fine with it. He is now watching his Hooked On Phonics lesson DVD, which he loves. Today, we watch the unit introduction, the first lesson (which is what he blew through today), and then the second lesson twice (he will start that probably on Friday, as Wednesday and Thursday are our weekend). This is usually about 20m of TV time, which is totally within 'acceptable' and doesn't see my kiddo bouncing off the walls.
Days like today, I really wish we were able to have the basement set up as a schoolroom. Today, at 10 am, it is already 75* outside, and I suspect that we will meet or exceed our predicted high temp of 86*, and with my not wanting to face the ridiculously high electric bill that would come from turning the air on all day? Yeah, I wish we could work in the basement, where it's nice and cool. We have a plan, though. We will ask MIL and her boyfriend if they "have any advice for us" on how to build this wall thing. With any amount of luck, this will end with a practical lecture that I can use to take to Home Depot and actually assemble a wall that will hold up, have a door, and be cat-proof. Or, perhaps, some ideas on how to divide up the basement for the purpose, and moving on from there. We'll see how it goes.
Math, I expect to see go rather well. I have to rearrange a little, as I forgot to put up the big calendar last night, and my only other calendar isn't a "standard" calendar (we use Sandra Boynton's Mom calendar), and we're supposed to cover days of the week. The rest of the lesson, with the exception of needing to write tally marks, looks like it will be fairly easy for him. I am still carrying forward "numbers in order," though. We have squares that have tally marks, finger representations, and abacus representations on them for the numbers 1-10. It is to be LP's job to put them into order, whether it's 1-10, 10-1, evens/odds, or whatever. He is having a hard time with it. He knows all the numbers, all the representations, and the order in which they go, but he is having a hard time putting the cards into any discernible order. I suspect this is because he doesn't care what order the cards are in, so he's not trying, but I'm carrying on as if he doesn't know it until he demonstrates that he does - I don't want him to miss that skill.
Anyhow. A bright and beautiful, albeit HOT, day ahead of us, and school has gone swimmingly thus far. LP is even requesting to watch his lessons, which is a nice change from "No, I don't want to... Oh, THIS? We can watch THIS?!? YAY!!!" o.O;;
Days like today, I really wish we were able to have the basement set up as a schoolroom. Today, at 10 am, it is already 75* outside, and I suspect that we will meet or exceed our predicted high temp of 86*, and with my not wanting to face the ridiculously high electric bill that would come from turning the air on all day? Yeah, I wish we could work in the basement, where it's nice and cool. We have a plan, though. We will ask MIL and her boyfriend if they "have any advice for us" on how to build this wall thing. With any amount of luck, this will end with a practical lecture that I can use to take to Home Depot and actually assemble a wall that will hold up, have a door, and be cat-proof. Or, perhaps, some ideas on how to divide up the basement for the purpose, and moving on from there. We'll see how it goes.
Math, I expect to see go rather well. I have to rearrange a little, as I forgot to put up the big calendar last night, and my only other calendar isn't a "standard" calendar (we use Sandra Boynton's Mom calendar), and we're supposed to cover days of the week. The rest of the lesson, with the exception of needing to write tally marks, looks like it will be fairly easy for him. I am still carrying forward "numbers in order," though. We have squares that have tally marks, finger representations, and abacus representations on them for the numbers 1-10. It is to be LP's job to put them into order, whether it's 1-10, 10-1, evens/odds, or whatever. He is having a hard time with it. He knows all the numbers, all the representations, and the order in which they go, but he is having a hard time putting the cards into any discernible order. I suspect this is because he doesn't care what order the cards are in, so he's not trying, but I'm carrying on as if he doesn't know it until he demonstrates that he does - I don't want him to miss that skill.
Anyhow. A bright and beautiful, albeit HOT, day ahead of us, and school has gone swimmingly thus far. LP is even requesting to watch his lessons, which is a nice change from "No, I don't want to... Oh, THIS? We can watch THIS?!? YAY!!!" o.O;;
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Odd day.
Today is an odd day.
School went swimmingly. LP flew through both reading and math, and there are a few games he's not quite getting that we'll work on as we go, but aside from that, he's still flying through the lessons. This is always good news.
I've been debating putting in a temporary wall in the basement. That way we could have a little schoolroom, even if we might not use it all the time, that wouldn't have the disturbances that the kitchen table does - the kids outside, the weather, cars or trucks... All that stuff. But, I need a room that is free from cat-interference, too. Last thing I want is LP's work on whatever project he's doing to be scattered to the four winds, or worse, peed on. So, I was thinking of putting in a temporary wall. I don't know how well such a thing would hold, though, so I'm a little leery of it. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I'm irritable about the neighbor kids. I really dislike that they're so poorly behaved (seriously, they come by the backyard to taunt or shoot squirt guns at LP with only a very rare few saying "why would you do that?") that I can't send LP out to play unsupervised in the backyard. I can't, for example, leave him in the yard to put my clothes in the dryer. Why not? Because the kids come by and encourage him to climb over the fence. If we weren't within 100 feet of a major thoroughfare, I wouldn't be keeping such a close eye on him, but we are. So his hopping the fence is a big deal. I also can't just let him run and play, because these same kids are jerks enough to egg him out into traffic, and as he's THREE, the promise of "I'll be your best friend!" holds a lot of weight over a social only child. I'm very glad we have play dates on the near horizon with the girls next door, a girl from homeschool parents' meeting, and hopefully a park hop coming up nearby with a LOT of other kids as well. He needs the positive outlet (he's glommed straight onto the WORST POSSIBLE KID - yes, the stalker child - as his new buddy), and I could use a break from having to constantly tell him no, these kids who throw rocks at each other, swing tree branches at the door, spray things at him, and teach him how to make "MUD BAAAAAALLLLLLLS!" in his sandbox can NOT come into the yard. >.<;; I really wish we had our back fence completed.
Anyhow. No more griping, I'm done with it! On to my positive day!
School went swimmingly. LP flew through both reading and math, and there are a few games he's not quite getting that we'll work on as we go, but aside from that, he's still flying through the lessons. This is always good news.
I've been debating putting in a temporary wall in the basement. That way we could have a little schoolroom, even if we might not use it all the time, that wouldn't have the disturbances that the kitchen table does - the kids outside, the weather, cars or trucks... All that stuff. But, I need a room that is free from cat-interference, too. Last thing I want is LP's work on whatever project he's doing to be scattered to the four winds, or worse, peed on. So, I was thinking of putting in a temporary wall. I don't know how well such a thing would hold, though, so I'm a little leery of it. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I'm irritable about the neighbor kids. I really dislike that they're so poorly behaved (seriously, they come by the backyard to taunt or shoot squirt guns at LP with only a very rare few saying "why would you do that?") that I can't send LP out to play unsupervised in the backyard. I can't, for example, leave him in the yard to put my clothes in the dryer. Why not? Because the kids come by and encourage him to climb over the fence. If we weren't within 100 feet of a major thoroughfare, I wouldn't be keeping such a close eye on him, but we are. So his hopping the fence is a big deal. I also can't just let him run and play, because these same kids are jerks enough to egg him out into traffic, and as he's THREE, the promise of "I'll be your best friend!" holds a lot of weight over a social only child. I'm very glad we have play dates on the near horizon with the girls next door, a girl from homeschool parents' meeting, and hopefully a park hop coming up nearby with a LOT of other kids as well. He needs the positive outlet (he's glommed straight onto the WORST POSSIBLE KID - yes, the stalker child - as his new buddy), and I could use a break from having to constantly tell him no, these kids who throw rocks at each other, swing tree branches at the door, spray things at him, and teach him how to make "MUD BAAAAAALLLLLLLS!" in his sandbox can NOT come into the yard. >.<;; I really wish we had our back fence completed.
Anyhow. No more griping, I'm done with it! On to my positive day!
Friday, May 25, 2012
May is winding down.
Well, it looks like the Hooked On Phonics level we picked up is, in fact, accurate. LP likes for things to come easily for him, and doesn't care so much for having to actually work at new things. So, the "review" list, being in a new format, and not in sentences was not a favorite activity. I think that at this point, after going through it for a few days (different word lists each day, largely on an attention-span basis and not an ability one), it is patently obvious that when he wants to, he is perfectly capable of reading the words. Not fluently, but the book doesn't seem to require that he see "cat" and say "cat" straight off, as opposed to "/k/-/a/-/t/, cat!" so I'm not worrying about it. Tomorrow we'll actually start on Unit 1, lesson 1, and we'll see how it goes.
Math is another fun one. The concepts are things he knows already, which is nice, and makes for easy lesson time. The problem is that the actual application is tricky for him. So, "enter 9 on the abacus" is significantly more difficult than "show me nine on your fingers." I suspect it has a lot to do with how frequently we're doing each thing. We often review his numbers - "show me X!" but not his abacus use. Maybe we'll take a day this week and just use the abacus. Either way, the lessons are designed to be in two parts. What this means is that there's the first half of the lesson, which LP already knows, with practice at the abacus which he doesn't know, followed by a concept he doesn't know at all. Last lesson was ordering by size (which was easy for him), before that, triangles versus quadrilaterals, and today was parallel lines and planes. We'll use parallel at the park today, and keep moving along. So far, he's been whipping through the math, which I expected (I have levels A&B here), and the reading is steady, so overall, I'm pleased.
I also picked up a planner. I ADORE IT. It is entirely secular, and is up to me to customize however I want. I am SO excited to be using it, and once we hit the first full week of June, I can keep tabs on what's going on using the planner. I'm entirely too pleased about it, which is really just a level of my dorkiness, but hey. As it stands, there is very little that I don't geek out about, so hey. I'll take it. ^_^
Social stuff... is going to get harder. It looks more and more like our SpiralScout circle is going to be on hiatus. That's a big bummer, it was really fun for LP. However, if it does fold until the fall, I should be able to get LP enrolled in the local co-op, which would not only be more regular and frequent than SpiralScouts, but would also be significantly more kids, and across a broad range of interests. That, to me, sounds like a large potential win. I'm so glad I've been thinking about this stuff all along - now when things go pear-shaped, I have a reserve plan. Hooray!
Anyway, off to finish lunch and go to the park!
Math is another fun one. The concepts are things he knows already, which is nice, and makes for easy lesson time. The problem is that the actual application is tricky for him. So, "enter 9 on the abacus" is significantly more difficult than "show me nine on your fingers." I suspect it has a lot to do with how frequently we're doing each thing. We often review his numbers - "show me X!" but not his abacus use. Maybe we'll take a day this week and just use the abacus. Either way, the lessons are designed to be in two parts. What this means is that there's the first half of the lesson, which LP already knows, with practice at the abacus which he doesn't know, followed by a concept he doesn't know at all. Last lesson was ordering by size (which was easy for him), before that, triangles versus quadrilaterals, and today was parallel lines and planes. We'll use parallel at the park today, and keep moving along. So far, he's been whipping through the math, which I expected (I have levels A&B here), and the reading is steady, so overall, I'm pleased.
I also picked up a planner. I ADORE IT. It is entirely secular, and is up to me to customize however I want. I am SO excited to be using it, and once we hit the first full week of June, I can keep tabs on what's going on using the planner. I'm entirely too pleased about it, which is really just a level of my dorkiness, but hey. As it stands, there is very little that I don't geek out about, so hey. I'll take it. ^_^
Social stuff... is going to get harder. It looks more and more like our SpiralScout circle is going to be on hiatus. That's a big bummer, it was really fun for LP. However, if it does fold until the fall, I should be able to get LP enrolled in the local co-op, which would not only be more regular and frequent than SpiralScouts, but would also be significantly more kids, and across a broad range of interests. That, to me, sounds like a large potential win. I'm so glad I've been thinking about this stuff all along - now when things go pear-shaped, I have a reserve plan. Hooray!
Anyway, off to finish lunch and go to the park!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Moving right along
We are well underway with reading and math. We haven't added anything else in, just gone ahead with our general plan to get him ready for the start of the "School Year." As a brief aside, the implementation of a routine strip into our day has helped enormously. Things run much more smoothly around here, and I don't have to keep repeating myself. Love it. Best. Idea. Ever.
Anyway, our reading plan has been modified - he is reading Dr Seuss (thank you Jen!) for practice, and we are using Hooked on Phonics for actual instruction. I thought the DVD component of the HOP plan would help LP significantly - he seems to be a very visual boy. We are now working on whether or not we have the appropriate level of the program for his skill level. At the front of the level book, there is a review from the previous level. LP is able to read the words he should be, but he needs some support to do it. Now, the instructions say he should be able to do this easily. Thing is... LP does not have a "normal" attention span. He is extremely easily distracted for a nearing four year old, and has some issues focusing on things that are not tigers, cars, trucks, or trains. This is all perfectly normal for him, but it makes assessment a lot trickier. For example, one of the words in the review is "rock." I ask him to read the word, showing him rock. He looks at me, and tells me he doesn't know what it says. I ask him to sound it out and he tells me that the line is headed by the number 3, that there are three sides to a triangle, and the box the word is in is orange. So, I refocus him, cover the -ock part of the word, and he says /r/. I uncover the o. He says /o/. I uncover the -ck. He says /k/, rock! He is very much capable of reading the words, but he is just certain for some reason that he can't. He can read cat, hug, run, etc with no help from me. Add on a fourth letter and he's SURE he can't do it. Very odd. But, I'm not sure whether to keep him at the level we have, or bump him back one. I'm not sure if backing up would lead to better speed, fluency, and confidence... or if it would lead to boredom, and money wasted. Ugh.
We have our subjects set for the '12-'13 school year. I've made a very basic scope and sequence for the things I want him to accomplish between now and this time next year. I'm very pleased with this so far, as I'm able to then look at the scope and sequence come December and see how far I have to go, and what needs work. I'm good with that.
Our subject list for the year:
Reading
Writing/Fine Motor
Math
Science
History/Social Studies
Logic
French
Health
I'm ridiculously excited to get things underway. Yes, I know it's painfully obvious, but that's just the way I am.
Anyway, our reading plan has been modified - he is reading Dr Seuss (thank you Jen!) for practice, and we are using Hooked on Phonics for actual instruction. I thought the DVD component of the HOP plan would help LP significantly - he seems to be a very visual boy. We are now working on whether or not we have the appropriate level of the program for his skill level. At the front of the level book, there is a review from the previous level. LP is able to read the words he should be, but he needs some support to do it. Now, the instructions say he should be able to do this easily. Thing is... LP does not have a "normal" attention span. He is extremely easily distracted for a nearing four year old, and has some issues focusing on things that are not tigers, cars, trucks, or trains. This is all perfectly normal for him, but it makes assessment a lot trickier. For example, one of the words in the review is "rock." I ask him to read the word, showing him rock. He looks at me, and tells me he doesn't know what it says. I ask him to sound it out and he tells me that the line is headed by the number 3, that there are three sides to a triangle, and the box the word is in is orange. So, I refocus him, cover the -ock part of the word, and he says /r/. I uncover the o. He says /o/. I uncover the -ck. He says /k/, rock! He is very much capable of reading the words, but he is just certain for some reason that he can't. He can read cat, hug, run, etc with no help from me. Add on a fourth letter and he's SURE he can't do it. Very odd. But, I'm not sure whether to keep him at the level we have, or bump him back one. I'm not sure if backing up would lead to better speed, fluency, and confidence... or if it would lead to boredom, and money wasted. Ugh.
We have our subjects set for the '12-'13 school year. I've made a very basic scope and sequence for the things I want him to accomplish between now and this time next year. I'm very pleased with this so far, as I'm able to then look at the scope and sequence come December and see how far I have to go, and what needs work. I'm good with that.
Our subject list for the year:
Reading
Writing/Fine Motor
Math
Science
History/Social Studies
Logic
French
Health
I'm ridiculously excited to get things underway. Yes, I know it's painfully obvious, but that's just the way I am.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Back in the Swing.
I'm trying to get us back into the swing of "school." Not because we need to finish things by a set date, but because I want to be to a challenging level of activity for LP by the time we get to September. Essentially, we're hitting on the very basic skills for kindergarten, and are moving along from there. Today, we tackled reading and math. Tomorrow, I'd like to do those plus science, but we'll have to see how it goes.
Reading is a hard one. He is further along than I can get him to go. The problem is that the books designed for children to learn to read? Yeah, have you looked at those books? They're utterly boring. Like, today's book, as far as we read before he lost all semblance of interest, went like this:
Muff and Ruff.
Muff and Ruff tug a rag rug.
Mac ran to Ruff.
Mac, Muff, and Ruff tug.
Rip it up, Ruff.
Nip at it, Muff.
Ruff hid in it.
Cripes, if this was what I was reading all the time, I'd never read anything either. So now, I begin the real challenge. Finding books he can read that are interesting to him. The "We Can" (I think they're called) books, the ones where I read one side and he reads the other? Yeah, bogus. The stories are still boring, but now they're actively boring the heck out of both of us, instead of just him. I suspect we'll need to get a good library book to sit down with and we'll see what we can do from there. Of course, trying to find that library book that won't be too ridiculously over his head while still being interesting... That's the kicker.
Math was our second venture today. We started Right Start Math level A with the theory that it would be better to start him below his level and work up than it would be to start right where he is and immediately present a challenge. This way, if he's not genuinely able to complete everything covered in level A, he will have the time to do it before we start him on level B (which is where he tested). For right now, it looks like we'll be doing one lesson per day, though the program is designed for two lessons per week. At least I don't feel like I'm letting things lag behind before we jump in with both feet, right? Anyway, today's lesson was identifying quantities 1-3, on sight without counting. Also, tallying. He flew through it in no time at all. I wasn't exactly surprised that he knew it, it was how fast he adapted to the lesson and the answers I was expecting that threw me. He did great - the hardest part of the lesson for him was in the manual dexterity required to show me two and three fingers on his left hand. Hopefully the trend will continue, I suppose we'll see. Either way, I look forward to the challenges.
Reading is a hard one. He is further along than I can get him to go. The problem is that the books designed for children to learn to read? Yeah, have you looked at those books? They're utterly boring. Like, today's book, as far as we read before he lost all semblance of interest, went like this:
Muff and Ruff.
Muff and Ruff tug a rag rug.
Mac ran to Ruff.
Mac, Muff, and Ruff tug.
Rip it up, Ruff.
Nip at it, Muff.
Ruff hid in it.
Cripes, if this was what I was reading all the time, I'd never read anything either. So now, I begin the real challenge. Finding books he can read that are interesting to him. The "We Can" (I think they're called) books, the ones where I read one side and he reads the other? Yeah, bogus. The stories are still boring, but now they're actively boring the heck out of both of us, instead of just him. I suspect we'll need to get a good library book to sit down with and we'll see what we can do from there. Of course, trying to find that library book that won't be too ridiculously over his head while still being interesting... That's the kicker.
Math was our second venture today. We started Right Start Math level A with the theory that it would be better to start him below his level and work up than it would be to start right where he is and immediately present a challenge. This way, if he's not genuinely able to complete everything covered in level A, he will have the time to do it before we start him on level B (which is where he tested). For right now, it looks like we'll be doing one lesson per day, though the program is designed for two lessons per week. At least I don't feel like I'm letting things lag behind before we jump in with both feet, right? Anyway, today's lesson was identifying quantities 1-3, on sight without counting. Also, tallying. He flew through it in no time at all. I wasn't exactly surprised that he knew it, it was how fast he adapted to the lesson and the answers I was expecting that threw me. He did great - the hardest part of the lesson for him was in the manual dexterity required to show me two and three fingers on his left hand. Hopefully the trend will continue, I suppose we'll see. Either way, I look forward to the challenges.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Another month gone...
Where does the time go?
It is, once again, the Saturday following the last Friday of the month. This means that yesterday was LP's scouting day, and also my meeting at Chapter's for homeschool parents. A lot has come out of this, and I'm still kind of reeling.
First, the scout circle is doing a hiking badge. They have invited us to come out hiking on Sundays to work on the badge. I'm going to say flat out that more time out with people is never a bad thing. So we will be heading back out to the far northwest side of the city (we live in the southeast) to go hiking with the other kids. We're very excited.
Second, the speaking topic for the month was "Homeschooling through High School." Needless to say, I have a while to go before I have to worry about that. However, one of the things brought up in the discussion was that World Book Encyclopedia has, online, a scope and sequence outline (typical course of study) from preschool to grade 12. Because I'm curious as hell, and apparently some kind of glutton for information, I naturally went to check it out. I browsed through the levels one by one until I found the one which would be a most likely placement for LP. Color me stunned when he passed the listed items for 1st grade with flying colors, and would likely be promoted to 2nd in the fall - provided we worked with him on his manual dexterity and reading independence. I'm left blinking. I'm assuming that the listed items are things that are really basic for grade level- like, minimum needed to pass, as opposed to maximum. Craziness.
Third, I had a book recommended to me- Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's "Raising Your Spirited Child." By three pages in, I was sure this book would be a lifesaver. And it already is. Reading it, I am more and more certain that there is absolutely nothing amiss with LP. He is very much a "normal, just... more" child. That alone has taken a huge load off my shoulders. A huge relief.
And fourth, the mom who recommended the book to me has a four year old daughter very much like our LP. We've traded contact information and once the weather warms up we will take the kids out for some park play days. Again, we are very excited!
I do love these days - I always come back feeling just a little more ready to help my LP through this journey.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Early. It's subjective.
The Saturday morning following the last Friday of the month comes entirely too early.
Last night was the local Homeschool Parents' meeting. The format for this tends to go like this:
7p-8p: Arrival and introductions
8p-9p: Topic Discussion
9p-10p: Free chat
10p-11p: Stand outside and continue to chat in the winter weather.
The chats are usually held at Chapter's, and they close at 10, hence the last item on the agenda. Last night's topic was games and their uses in homeschooling. Our speaker covered games like Axis and Allies and Assyria (both history focused), as well as Ticket To Ride (trains and expansion), and a couple zombie games. It was a lot of fun, and I think I found more than a few games I'd like to get for LP as opportunity arises.
I spent the free chat end of the evening talking with a mom who is homeschooling her 13yo daughter, and we talked about all sorts of things. Not the least of which being to follow one's gut... and that the Elgin County Home Learners were going to be going on a field trip to their farm soon. They have a farm. I could die of jealousy. Anyhow, I'm emailing her today, as they have chicks due for hatching, and LP just covered eggs in preschool, so... perfect dovetail. Plus, they have chickens (duh), goats, and an orchard. So, a great time to visit, and a very educational visit at that.
I will probably do another quick bunch of reading assessments today. We'll see what LP is able to do, and what he isn't, and then I can try to catch up with him again. In the meantime, it is once again COLD outside, which shoots the idea of going out to play right to the ground. Ah, well. I have potato salad to make, a call with Hammie and Bupba to expect, and a whole load of other things to do, so that's probably not for the bad after all.
Last night was the local Homeschool Parents' meeting. The format for this tends to go like this:
7p-8p: Arrival and introductions
8p-9p: Topic Discussion
9p-10p: Free chat
10p-11p: Stand outside and continue to chat in the winter weather.
The chats are usually held at Chapter's, and they close at 10, hence the last item on the agenda. Last night's topic was games and their uses in homeschooling. Our speaker covered games like Axis and Allies and Assyria (both history focused), as well as Ticket To Ride (trains and expansion), and a couple zombie games. It was a lot of fun, and I think I found more than a few games I'd like to get for LP as opportunity arises.
I spent the free chat end of the evening talking with a mom who is homeschooling her 13yo daughter, and we talked about all sorts of things. Not the least of which being to follow one's gut... and that the Elgin County Home Learners were going to be going on a field trip to their farm soon. They have a farm. I could die of jealousy. Anyhow, I'm emailing her today, as they have chicks due for hatching, and LP just covered eggs in preschool, so... perfect dovetail. Plus, they have chickens (duh), goats, and an orchard. So, a great time to visit, and a very educational visit at that.
I will probably do another quick bunch of reading assessments today. We'll see what LP is able to do, and what he isn't, and then I can try to catch up with him again. In the meantime, it is once again COLD outside, which shoots the idea of going out to play right to the ground. Ah, well. I have potato salad to make, a call with Hammie and Bupba to expect, and a whole load of other things to do, so that's probably not for the bad after all.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Back to "work."
So it's been about a month since we've done any formal reading work. Five weeks, in fact. We've been working with BOB Books, sure, and we bought the LeapFrog DVDs for reading - talking letters, talking words, and complex words (Word Caper), and he has watched them mildly incessantly, but we haven't sat down and done much in the way of "sit and read" type focused lessons. In fact, we left off with that at Lesson 42 on 2/20. That lesson was "ck," and the next bunch of lessons are all blends.
Now, I have a mild problem with the reading program, which is that the student and the teacher sections are in one book, on one page, all merged. This is awful for LP, who is easily distracted. He tries to read ALL THE WORDS and not just the ones he should. So, I got some composition books for grades 1-3, and I copy out his words for him to read. It works out a lot better. Anyway, I'd only copied out to lesson 42, so I needed to do some more work if I wanted to get back to the program. So, off I went this morning. I put the LeapFrog DVDs in to occupy LP and keep his mind active, and went to work. I copied out the next two lessons, then realized, I didn't know if we'd need to review the last bunch of lessons - double letters (ss/ll/zz/ff, etc) and that "ck" sound - so I put together a tiny review on a 3x5 index card. He still has his double letters, he still has his ck sound, and he blew through the sample words from the next two lessons with ease. I was astounded. So, I had him do a few more from further along. He's gone through the next four lessons in sample words without a problem.
Once again, I'm astounded, and am stumbling over my own feet to keep up with my preschooler. He may be as far as 10 lessons from where he left off, but he was losing focus, so I opted to set aside the review rather than push it along. Now, truth be told, I'm hesitant to skip the lessons, as he still has major fluency issues, but he can sound out these words. Given that everything up through Lesson 53 is blends, and he's been sounding them out perfectly so far, I don't expect him to have any problems with the remaining lessons. But, he does still sound everything out - and slowly - one letter at a time. So, he can read "fast" and "help," but he reads them /f/-/a/-/s/-/t/... fast, and /h/-/e/-/l/-/p/... help, rather than combining the blend, or anything else faster, but fluency will come with time. I have to remind myself of that one, as it's been so long since I've sounded out any words in my general reading that I tend to forget that fluency is a process.
Anyhow, the general long-story-shorter... I'm going to copy out the next bunch of lessons, teach him the blends as their blended sounds (bl as opposed to b-l), and see where that goes. In the meantime, I'll end up copying more and more as we go, and I can try to put in some time trying to build fluency. The problem I have, though, is that LP gets bored with repetition, so I have to come up with some ideas for continued practice without complete repetition, and hope it works. I have my work cut out for me, I think.
Now, I have a mild problem with the reading program, which is that the student and the teacher sections are in one book, on one page, all merged. This is awful for LP, who is easily distracted. He tries to read ALL THE WORDS and not just the ones he should. So, I got some composition books for grades 1-3, and I copy out his words for him to read. It works out a lot better. Anyway, I'd only copied out to lesson 42, so I needed to do some more work if I wanted to get back to the program. So, off I went this morning. I put the LeapFrog DVDs in to occupy LP and keep his mind active, and went to work. I copied out the next two lessons, then realized, I didn't know if we'd need to review the last bunch of lessons - double letters (ss/ll/zz/ff, etc) and that "ck" sound - so I put together a tiny review on a 3x5 index card. He still has his double letters, he still has his ck sound, and he blew through the sample words from the next two lessons with ease. I was astounded. So, I had him do a few more from further along. He's gone through the next four lessons in sample words without a problem.
Once again, I'm astounded, and am stumbling over my own feet to keep up with my preschooler. He may be as far as 10 lessons from where he left off, but he was losing focus, so I opted to set aside the review rather than push it along. Now, truth be told, I'm hesitant to skip the lessons, as he still has major fluency issues, but he can sound out these words. Given that everything up through Lesson 53 is blends, and he's been sounding them out perfectly so far, I don't expect him to have any problems with the remaining lessons. But, he does still sound everything out - and slowly - one letter at a time. So, he can read "fast" and "help," but he reads them /f/-/a/-/s/-/t/... fast, and /h/-/e/-/l/-/p/... help, rather than combining the blend, or anything else faster, but fluency will come with time. I have to remind myself of that one, as it's been so long since I've sounded out any words in my general reading that I tend to forget that fluency is a process.
Anyhow, the general long-story-shorter... I'm going to copy out the next bunch of lessons, teach him the blends as their blended sounds (bl as opposed to b-l), and see where that goes. In the meantime, I'll end up copying more and more as we go, and I can try to put in some time trying to build fluency. The problem I have, though, is that LP gets bored with repetition, so I have to come up with some ideas for continued practice without complete repetition, and hope it works. I have my work cut out for me, I think.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
One Day...
One day, I will remember that I have this blog, and update it regularly.
As it stands, I tend to back-burner this place, and I really shouldn't. And so, I'm going to take a step in trying to update more frequently. I'm going to try to be here at least once a week. Wish me luck, 'cause sometimes that doesn't happen.
Anyhow!
Many things are changing in our house. First, I'm waiting for a rheumatologist referral to get a diagnosis for a near-endless litany of things that are wrong with me. I also have an appointment for an MRI, just to make sure I haven't completely screwed up my back. I wonder, and will talk to my doctor about, whether or not my screwed-up knees also factor into this.
Now, the less "hurry up and wait" thing. My Little Prince is... odd. Apparently, he is significantly odd as compared to other three year olds. I've been running to catch up with him for the last year and a half or more, and now we know why. LP is gifted. That's just the sum of it. Now, there's a whole load of BS baggage attached to the term "gifted," but I do mean it in the clinical sense. He is extremely advanced (he is reading CVC words, and is capable of grade 1 math) in some areas, and has the corresponding asynchronous development - he is very behind on his fine motor skill development. He also displays a whole lot of overexcitabilities. He may come out to be twice-exceptional, combining gifted with ADHD, but it is still far too early to tell for sure.
In practical application, this means that LP is neither emotionally nor physically ready to start a full-day junior kindergarten (that's right, 6.5h of school at 3.5-4 years old) in the fall. I'm fine with that, as I've been planning to home school him all along. But in the meantime, I also cannot sit by and neglect my son's very real need for input. Just like when he is dirty, I don't let him stay covered in schmutz, or when he was in diapers, we didn't let him stay in dirty diapers all day... I have to provide the things he needs - be it a bath, a new diaper, or intellectual stimulation. To this end... This fall will see our first official year of home school. I shall be opening Rowena's Browncoat Academy in the fall, student body of 1. LP will have daily reading, math and science - at his own speed, of course - as well as occasional stops in worksheets for handwriting to try to build some of his fine motor skills. He will also be in preschool two days a week, and we will have swimming one day a week, and home school meet-ups once (or more) per week.
I seem to get a lot of blowback on this, but really, it's not exactly like I have a choice. Our local public system is not ready to handle a reading three year old, they don't accelerate, and the only time they place gifted children in classrooms together is after they're in the fifth grade. I'm NOT going to sit idly by and let my son's educational needs go unmet until he's ten. I'm not willing to do it. I'm also not willing to send him to school to be bored, told he's a troublemaker, or worse than all of it, have him believe he's a troublemaker, and hide his abilities in order to "fit in" with the kids around him. I have some work ahead of me, but if I'd thought having kids was going to be easy, I was disabused of that notion several years ago... when I actually, you know, had a kid. I understand that a lot of people are going to think a lot of bad things about me (that I'm pushing my son, that I'm stunting his growth by not putting him in a classroom with same-age and not same-ability children, that he's not really gifted, I just make him study, I'm not genuinely interested in his best-interests, but only in how he can fit some mold I have in my head - and so on; and yes, I've heard ALL of these, even just in the last 6 months). I get it. But this is my son. I'm not going to fail him so that other people will think better of me. That is probably the worst thing a parent could ever do - deliberately neglect their child's needs in order to "fit in better" with their own peers. I go into this knowing it is what is best for him, knowing there are pitfalls, and things I have to be sure we do, and I go into this knowing full well that if it doesn't work out, public school will always be there. It is not my preferred method. Not at all. But that doesn't mean it holds no value - just that it's not my go-to for my child. People are going to think and talk all kinds of bad about me. I know they will. But you know what? Meeting LP's needs, and putting him before my own self-esteem is what I signed on for. It is what I'm going to do. And we will love it, and we will have a wonderful time... just as surely as there will be days we hate it, and just say **** it all, we're going to the park. But, LP's needs will get met, and that is all that matters.
As it stands, I tend to back-burner this place, and I really shouldn't. And so, I'm going to take a step in trying to update more frequently. I'm going to try to be here at least once a week. Wish me luck, 'cause sometimes that doesn't happen.
Anyhow!
Many things are changing in our house. First, I'm waiting for a rheumatologist referral to get a diagnosis for a near-endless litany of things that are wrong with me. I also have an appointment for an MRI, just to make sure I haven't completely screwed up my back. I wonder, and will talk to my doctor about, whether or not my screwed-up knees also factor into this.
Now, the less "hurry up and wait" thing. My Little Prince is... odd. Apparently, he is significantly odd as compared to other three year olds. I've been running to catch up with him for the last year and a half or more, and now we know why. LP is gifted. That's just the sum of it. Now, there's a whole load of BS baggage attached to the term "gifted," but I do mean it in the clinical sense. He is extremely advanced (he is reading CVC words, and is capable of grade 1 math) in some areas, and has the corresponding asynchronous development - he is very behind on his fine motor skill development. He also displays a whole lot of overexcitabilities. He may come out to be twice-exceptional, combining gifted with ADHD, but it is still far too early to tell for sure.
In practical application, this means that LP is neither emotionally nor physically ready to start a full-day junior kindergarten (that's right, 6.5h of school at 3.5-4 years old) in the fall. I'm fine with that, as I've been planning to home school him all along. But in the meantime, I also cannot sit by and neglect my son's very real need for input. Just like when he is dirty, I don't let him stay covered in schmutz, or when he was in diapers, we didn't let him stay in dirty diapers all day... I have to provide the things he needs - be it a bath, a new diaper, or intellectual stimulation. To this end... This fall will see our first official year of home school. I shall be opening Rowena's Browncoat Academy in the fall, student body of 1. LP will have daily reading, math and science - at his own speed, of course - as well as occasional stops in worksheets for handwriting to try to build some of his fine motor skills. He will also be in preschool two days a week, and we will have swimming one day a week, and home school meet-ups once (or more) per week.
I seem to get a lot of blowback on this, but really, it's not exactly like I have a choice. Our local public system is not ready to handle a reading three year old, they don't accelerate, and the only time they place gifted children in classrooms together is after they're in the fifth grade. I'm NOT going to sit idly by and let my son's educational needs go unmet until he's ten. I'm not willing to do it. I'm also not willing to send him to school to be bored, told he's a troublemaker, or worse than all of it, have him believe he's a troublemaker, and hide his abilities in order to "fit in" with the kids around him. I have some work ahead of me, but if I'd thought having kids was going to be easy, I was disabused of that notion several years ago... when I actually, you know, had a kid. I understand that a lot of people are going to think a lot of bad things about me (that I'm pushing my son, that I'm stunting his growth by not putting him in a classroom with same-age and not same-ability children, that he's not really gifted, I just make him study, I'm not genuinely interested in his best-interests, but only in how he can fit some mold I have in my head - and so on; and yes, I've heard ALL of these, even just in the last 6 months). I get it. But this is my son. I'm not going to fail him so that other people will think better of me. That is probably the worst thing a parent could ever do - deliberately neglect their child's needs in order to "fit in better" with their own peers. I go into this knowing it is what is best for him, knowing there are pitfalls, and things I have to be sure we do, and I go into this knowing full well that if it doesn't work out, public school will always be there. It is not my preferred method. Not at all. But that doesn't mean it holds no value - just that it's not my go-to for my child. People are going to think and talk all kinds of bad about me. I know they will. But you know what? Meeting LP's needs, and putting him before my own self-esteem is what I signed on for. It is what I'm going to do. And we will love it, and we will have a wonderful time... just as surely as there will be days we hate it, and just say **** it all, we're going to the park. But, LP's needs will get met, and that is all that matters.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
It's been far too long
The only real thing that's new in our neck of the woods, now that we're into the new year... is SCHOOL!
January 13 was our first "official" homeschool day. LP has been asking to be taught to read for a while now, and dangit, I'm not going to tell him no, he can't learn to read, so we started regular reading lessons. Every "weekday" (I'm defining weekday as each day Skeeve works) we're doing half an hour of reading - except for Tuesdays, when LP has preschool and then he has a friend come over to play. He's doing exceptionally well, and has plowed through the first 35 lessons of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and has read the first four books in the Bob Books level 1 books. He doesn't care for OPGTR, and I can understand why - it's very much direct instruction, and not at all fun. If I have the option, I'm going to invest in significantly more sets of Bob Books, and use OPGTR for skill introduction and concepts, but the Bob Books for his actual practice and the bulk of his lesson time.
Once we get a tax return filed and refund received, we'll pick up the curricula he'll need for the remainder of this year, plus next year. We're looking at picking up materials for math, science, history, and language arts - all things that would be covered in public. Seems like a lot, but at his age, it's really only about 2.5h in a day, which is pretty nice.
This evening, as I'm browsing Facebook (as one is wont to do when lazing around for a change), one of my friends is registering her littlest for kindy. As he's only a year older than LP, it occurs to me that it'd be about that time here, too. So I go look it up. Sure enough, if we were registering him for JK instead of doing JK at home, he would be registering this week. So I went to look up the school, see which he would be going to. He would, apparently, be heading to Arthur Stringer PS in the fall. Then I looked closer. He'd be headed to full day junior kindergarten in the fall. This fall. My son, who has a hard enough time keeping it together for his two and a half hours twice a week preschool class, would be expected to enroll in six and a half hour per day, five days per week kindergarten. Excuse me? Not so much in this house, thanks. Especially when their statement on accommodating parents who do not want their child in full-day school reads as "well, this is our program now, so get with it." Never have I been happier to have a plan in place for LP's education. Putting him into full day kindergarten six months from now would be a debacle. I don't think I've seen this boy sit still for more than half an hour EVER - including if the TV is on - nor have I seen him go more than 20m without screaming or yelling. He'd spend a month in JK and his teacher would call me in to discuss how to medicate my "obviously ADHD" child. Except that he's not ADHD. He's a little boy. So what if he's not developmentally ready to sit in a chair for a couple hours at a clip? HE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE. I saw all these things about our school district, and where LP would be attending, the programs, the hours (9-3:30, M-F!), the lack of flexibility in or even retention of a half-day program... And was just shocked. And... not relieved, exactly, but close. I was relieved I don't have to send him into this mess. I was relieved that not only do I have a plan for him, but I have a support group of homeschooling parents to call on, and I will soon have the ability to take LP to homeschooler play-days at the museum. He will not only have his existing friends, but he will make new friends, and when he does, he won't have to worry about all the other kids going to school and him not, because more and more of his friends WON'T be going to school. He'll have friends and social times, he'll have solid education that is flexible to accommodate his needs, and neither of us will have to try to navigate the world of the public school, which would take a boy like my LP and try to drug him into fitting into a box quietly.
So, all in all, this update says "we've started our homeschool adventure. I'm ever so glad we decided to go this route."
January 13 was our first "official" homeschool day. LP has been asking to be taught to read for a while now, and dangit, I'm not going to tell him no, he can't learn to read, so we started regular reading lessons. Every "weekday" (I'm defining weekday as each day Skeeve works) we're doing half an hour of reading - except for Tuesdays, when LP has preschool and then he has a friend come over to play. He's doing exceptionally well, and has plowed through the first 35 lessons of The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and has read the first four books in the Bob Books level 1 books. He doesn't care for OPGTR, and I can understand why - it's very much direct instruction, and not at all fun. If I have the option, I'm going to invest in significantly more sets of Bob Books, and use OPGTR for skill introduction and concepts, but the Bob Books for his actual practice and the bulk of his lesson time.
Once we get a tax return filed and refund received, we'll pick up the curricula he'll need for the remainder of this year, plus next year. We're looking at picking up materials for math, science, history, and language arts - all things that would be covered in public. Seems like a lot, but at his age, it's really only about 2.5h in a day, which is pretty nice.
This evening, as I'm browsing Facebook (as one is wont to do when lazing around for a change), one of my friends is registering her littlest for kindy. As he's only a year older than LP, it occurs to me that it'd be about that time here, too. So I go look it up. Sure enough, if we were registering him for JK instead of doing JK at home, he would be registering this week. So I went to look up the school, see which he would be going to. He would, apparently, be heading to Arthur Stringer PS in the fall. Then I looked closer. He'd be headed to full day junior kindergarten in the fall. This fall. My son, who has a hard enough time keeping it together for his two and a half hours twice a week preschool class, would be expected to enroll in six and a half hour per day, five days per week kindergarten. Excuse me? Not so much in this house, thanks. Especially when their statement on accommodating parents who do not want their child in full-day school reads as "well, this is our program now, so get with it." Never have I been happier to have a plan in place for LP's education. Putting him into full day kindergarten six months from now would be a debacle. I don't think I've seen this boy sit still for more than half an hour EVER - including if the TV is on - nor have I seen him go more than 20m without screaming or yelling. He'd spend a month in JK and his teacher would call me in to discuss how to medicate my "obviously ADHD" child. Except that he's not ADHD. He's a little boy. So what if he's not developmentally ready to sit in a chair for a couple hours at a clip? HE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE. I saw all these things about our school district, and where LP would be attending, the programs, the hours (9-3:30, M-F!), the lack of flexibility in or even retention of a half-day program... And was just shocked. And... not relieved, exactly, but close. I was relieved I don't have to send him into this mess. I was relieved that not only do I have a plan for him, but I have a support group of homeschooling parents to call on, and I will soon have the ability to take LP to homeschooler play-days at the museum. He will not only have his existing friends, but he will make new friends, and when he does, he won't have to worry about all the other kids going to school and him not, because more and more of his friends WON'T be going to school. He'll have friends and social times, he'll have solid education that is flexible to accommodate his needs, and neither of us will have to try to navigate the world of the public school, which would take a boy like my LP and try to drug him into fitting into a box quietly.
So, all in all, this update says "we've started our homeschool adventure. I'm ever so glad we decided to go this route."
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