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.
Showing posts with label little prince. Show all posts
Showing posts with label little prince. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2012
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.
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.
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."
Monday, May 2, 2011
AUGH!
This day is full of head-spinning. Yes, we finally got a dead bolt put on the front door (and a knob on the shower diverter in the bathroom!), but I had to put a note on the door to keep the guy away because I had to take LP to his doctor's walk-in hours. Now that LP is done with his eye drops (today is the last day), we have to start up ear drops. He has a double ear not-quite-infection. @_@;;
I love this deadbolt thing. I do. I just don't like OURS. I'm not sure what to make of it. The slot on the wall-side for the bolt to slide home isn't deep enough (there's a nail in the way), and the seal for the door pushes against it so hard that it takes two hands to lock the door. If it takes two hands to lock the door, I wonder, what hand will I use to keep my toddler from running off into traffic? Sheesh. I expect I'll be pulling that seal out sometime soon. I'd rather deal with a draft than having to chase LP all over the complex.
Also, now it turns out that the Shower/Deadbolt guy is NOT the ant guy, as I had thought he would be. The Ant Guy will get in touch with us sometime soon (I HOPE!) to do something non-spray-ing about the ants that have decided my front door is home - and that they LIKE cayenne pepper. -_-;;;
Now, we're finally done with the eye drops. There's just one more set, at bedtime tonight. However, we now have to do ear drops. Four drops in each ear, and THEN we have to hold him still long enough to let the drops work - they say three minutes. Sounds like no big deal... until you factor in a 32# wiggle-britches. GAH! When we took him to the ped today, the ped told us that LP's ears are "a little pink." Both of them. LP has only been complaining about the right ear. So now, we have ear drops. The ped could prescribe them now, or wait until we were back in for a rampaging ear infection in a few days. So... we do four drops in each ear whenever he complains of a problem. Fun.
Now, just to add to this crazy day, it is Election Day here in Canada. I've gotten three political calls already, and they started at 9:30 this morning. As there are three major parties, I'm hopeful we're done with the calls. After we pick Skeeve up from work tonight, we go to take him to vote. After that is done, we'll wander the mall for a while, because now that we have a new dead bolt, we don't have the locking door handle. This means Skeeve needs a new key before tomorrow morning so he can lock the door to go to work. @_@;;
Now, we figure that's enough, right? Oh, no. Never. XD Today is also CD 1, and I'm still sick, though getting better. Therefore I am happy that a) I'm getting better (I have most of my voice back, and my throat doesn't hurt anymore!), and b) my new 2 sizes smaller jeans STILL FIT! Even on CD1!!! WOO-HOO!
I love this deadbolt thing. I do. I just don't like OURS. I'm not sure what to make of it. The slot on the wall-side for the bolt to slide home isn't deep enough (there's a nail in the way), and the seal for the door pushes against it so hard that it takes two hands to lock the door. If it takes two hands to lock the door, I wonder, what hand will I use to keep my toddler from running off into traffic? Sheesh. I expect I'll be pulling that seal out sometime soon. I'd rather deal with a draft than having to chase LP all over the complex.
Also, now it turns out that the Shower/Deadbolt guy is NOT the ant guy, as I had thought he would be. The Ant Guy will get in touch with us sometime soon (I HOPE!) to do something non-spray-ing about the ants that have decided my front door is home - and that they LIKE cayenne pepper. -_-;;;
Now, we're finally done with the eye drops. There's just one more set, at bedtime tonight. However, we now have to do ear drops. Four drops in each ear, and THEN we have to hold him still long enough to let the drops work - they say three minutes. Sounds like no big deal... until you factor in a 32# wiggle-britches. GAH! When we took him to the ped today, the ped told us that LP's ears are "a little pink." Both of them. LP has only been complaining about the right ear. So now, we have ear drops. The ped could prescribe them now, or wait until we were back in for a rampaging ear infection in a few days. So... we do four drops in each ear whenever he complains of a problem. Fun.
Now, just to add to this crazy day, it is Election Day here in Canada. I've gotten three political calls already, and they started at 9:30 this morning. As there are three major parties, I'm hopeful we're done with the calls. After we pick Skeeve up from work tonight, we go to take him to vote. After that is done, we'll wander the mall for a while, because now that we have a new dead bolt, we don't have the locking door handle. This means Skeeve needs a new key before tomorrow morning so he can lock the door to go to work. @_@;;
Now, we figure that's enough, right? Oh, no. Never. XD Today is also CD 1, and I'm still sick, though getting better. Therefore I am happy that a) I'm getting better (I have most of my voice back, and my throat doesn't hurt anymore!), and b) my new 2 sizes smaller jeans STILL FIT! Even on CD1!!! WOO-HOO!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A very busy day.
Today was a very busy day!
We got up, and had to wake LP to get into the car (I know, sleeping babies and the lie-ing of them) so we could head out for an hour's drive to a theater that had Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I playing - with a Reel Babies program. Reel Babies is a program that is only in place at specific theaters, but it's no low lights, less volume, and plus a microwave, change table, swing, exersaucer, all that stuff. It's designed for parents who are going to be at the theater with their little kids. So we went off to the movies! The three of us went, we got popcorn, a Bucket O' Coke, a KitKat, and a bag of Nibs for LP. Our out of pocket cost on the whole thing? $2.68. Two dollars and sixty-eight cents. I love gift cards!
Anyhow, we had lunch in the car, where I found out that LP? Not a big fan of the peanut butter. Go figure. Anyhow, we drove home, got a hole punch on the way, and then I drew and cut out some construction paper stars and circles for ornaments. LP will color them tomorrow, and we'll hang them right on the tree. I'm very excited. Now, the other fun things we have are a three-car train and a Lego house-front. These will go on/around train tracks under our tree. The idea is that each year, we get a new piece of scenery or train to go in a special Christmas tree track. LP will still have his regular trains and tracks, but these will be the Christmas Special editions. I'm really rather looking forward to it. I think we have enough track to make it all work. ^_^
Now, the rest of today was eaten up in visiting downtown. We went down to the train crossing, and the Holiday Train was coming! The entire block was blocked off, and we were able to see the train coming and LP got to see the train, the lights, and then the train having some trouble. We're not sure what went on, but it took about twenty minutes from the time the train came into view for the show to start - one of the boxcars opened up and they had a band, and Santa, and lights and music and speeches... LP was not fond of the speeches, but he did like the music! We had a great time, and while we never would have gone without LP, we still enjoyed ourselves. It's an event that seems to be geared to the kids, but with enough oomph to it that the parents still enjoy it, and there were a fair number of people there without kids, so I expect it's a tradition to a lot of people. We loved it, and will, without hesitation, be going next year. The only thing I think we'd do differently is break out the Cadillac stroller and get one of those tarp or cover or whatever things for it. The wind was bitter cold once we were out of the shelter of the crowd, and wrapping LP in a fleece blanket didn't seem to do a heckuva lot for him. Poor kiddo. At least we had fun!
We got up, and had to wake LP to get into the car (I know, sleeping babies and the lie-ing of them) so we could head out for an hour's drive to a theater that had Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I playing - with a Reel Babies program. Reel Babies is a program that is only in place at specific theaters, but it's no low lights, less volume, and plus a microwave, change table, swing, exersaucer, all that stuff. It's designed for parents who are going to be at the theater with their little kids. So we went off to the movies! The three of us went, we got popcorn, a Bucket O' Coke, a KitKat, and a bag of Nibs for LP. Our out of pocket cost on the whole thing? $2.68. Two dollars and sixty-eight cents. I love gift cards!
Anyhow, we had lunch in the car, where I found out that LP? Not a big fan of the peanut butter. Go figure. Anyhow, we drove home, got a hole punch on the way, and then I drew and cut out some construction paper stars and circles for ornaments. LP will color them tomorrow, and we'll hang them right on the tree. I'm very excited. Now, the other fun things we have are a three-car train and a Lego house-front. These will go on/around train tracks under our tree. The idea is that each year, we get a new piece of scenery or train to go in a special Christmas tree track. LP will still have his regular trains and tracks, but these will be the Christmas Special editions. I'm really rather looking forward to it. I think we have enough track to make it all work. ^_^
Now, the rest of today was eaten up in visiting downtown. We went down to the train crossing, and the Holiday Train was coming! The entire block was blocked off, and we were able to see the train coming and LP got to see the train, the lights, and then the train having some trouble. We're not sure what went on, but it took about twenty minutes from the time the train came into view for the show to start - one of the boxcars opened up and they had a band, and Santa, and lights and music and speeches... LP was not fond of the speeches, but he did like the music! We had a great time, and while we never would have gone without LP, we still enjoyed ourselves. It's an event that seems to be geared to the kids, but with enough oomph to it that the parents still enjoy it, and there were a fair number of people there without kids, so I expect it's a tradition to a lot of people. We loved it, and will, without hesitation, be going next year. The only thing I think we'd do differently is break out the Cadillac stroller and get one of those tarp or cover or whatever things for it. The wind was bitter cold once we were out of the shelter of the crowd, and wrapping LP in a fleece blanket didn't seem to do a heckuva lot for him. Poor kiddo. At least we had fun!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thinking forward to Christmas.
With Thanksgiving in the behind, I find myself thinking more and more about Christmas. I've been trying to not get too excited, not get any plans set, not get my hopes up. I mean, we might be here, we might be in Chicago, we just don't know, and likely won't until so close to the date that it will be almost too late - almost too late to go, and almost certainly too late to do a proper holiday if we stay. So now it's a little like rock and hard place. Do we plan to have Christmas here, and if we go to Chicago, it's a wonderful gift? Do we plan to have Christmas in Chicago and if it doesn't happen, settle for a makeshift, slapdash holiday here?
If it were just me, I wouldn't even think about it. If it were just Skeeve and me, we might chat it out a bit, and then likely just have a slapdash holiday anyway. But we have LP to think of, now, too. Christmas isn't so magic for the big folks. It really isn't. It's mostly stress, trying to sort out what hours need to be swapped, and how much of what we want to do is affordable or feasible, or... These things are what tend to make up Christmas for us bigs. The littles... Oh, Christmas is a wonderful, joyful time of magic, where the world is made of crystal and diamonds, trees are lit up like jewels at night, the music is special, and then... There is Santa. Oh, Santa, and presents, and decorations and crafts, and... Oh, it's a very exciting and wonderful time.
I would hate to get the house all decorated for the holiday, the plans all made, and then bail. It's, if nothing else, a lot of work! But at the same time, if we just play wait-and-see, are we taking the magic of this Christmas away from LP? If we don't have a tree until within a week of Christmas, if we don't have lights, or make ornaments, or cookies, or have the decorations, or a train under the tree... Is it something that's actually fair to him, or just something that's convenient - if we get word that I can travel. If I can't travel, the holiday isn't even half what it could have been for him. If I can, we have a lot of decorations to look at before the holiday, and to take down after, but we won't even see them during. Though, really, now that it's written out... It seems to me that missing the day here isn't even such a big deal if it means preserving the magic of the holidays for my baby. He may not remember it in ten years, but it is something that he will remember for the next year or two, which is enough to build a foundation for his Happy Holiday Memories, isn't it?
If it were just me, I wouldn't even think about it. If it were just Skeeve and me, we might chat it out a bit, and then likely just have a slapdash holiday anyway. But we have LP to think of, now, too. Christmas isn't so magic for the big folks. It really isn't. It's mostly stress, trying to sort out what hours need to be swapped, and how much of what we want to do is affordable or feasible, or... These things are what tend to make up Christmas for us bigs. The littles... Oh, Christmas is a wonderful, joyful time of magic, where the world is made of crystal and diamonds, trees are lit up like jewels at night, the music is special, and then... There is Santa. Oh, Santa, and presents, and decorations and crafts, and... Oh, it's a very exciting and wonderful time.
I would hate to get the house all decorated for the holiday, the plans all made, and then bail. It's, if nothing else, a lot of work! But at the same time, if we just play wait-and-see, are we taking the magic of this Christmas away from LP? If we don't have a tree until within a week of Christmas, if we don't have lights, or make ornaments, or cookies, or have the decorations, or a train under the tree... Is it something that's actually fair to him, or just something that's convenient - if we get word that I can travel. If I can't travel, the holiday isn't even half what it could have been for him. If I can, we have a lot of decorations to look at before the holiday, and to take down after, but we won't even see them during. Though, really, now that it's written out... It seems to me that missing the day here isn't even such a big deal if it means preserving the magic of the holidays for my baby. He may not remember it in ten years, but it is something that he will remember for the next year or two, which is enough to build a foundation for his Happy Holiday Memories, isn't it?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Oh, vtech.
I love them, I hate them. That just seems to be how it works.
We went out to ToysRUs last night to see if they had anything going for Black Friday, as I got all kinds of emails this past week telling me they would, despite being in Canada. We got there just before the advertised opening time (10:00pm), and found them just about to close. So we went in and took a look around - mostly to ask if they were planning to have anything sale-riffic for today. We actually talk to a manager, which wasn't the plan, but she was on the floor, so okay. She tells us they don't know anything about the sales in advance, so she can't say, but what she can say is that if we purchase something, and it goes on sale before Christmas, bring in the receipt and they'd refund the difference between what we paid and the new sale price. So we picked up the MobiGo, and walked out with it. Naturally, it was paid for. ^_^
Anyhow, I'm checking the ToysRUs Canadian website for something for LP's wishlist, and decide to look up the local sale papers. The closest TRU has nothing. The new one (with their Grand Opening tomorrow!) had the MobiGo for $20 off. Sweet! So, LP goes down for a nap and I go out to take the receipt BACK to the store we were at yesterday, and claim the $22 (taxes, too!). In the severely unlikely event that the MobiGo goes even more on sale before Christmas, we can use the same receipt to again claim the difference.
SWEET, and WAY TO GO, TOYS'R'US!
Tonight, I decide to set up the MobiGo, as LP is occupied with Sesame Street, and I had nothing more pressing to do (also read, I was bored). So I download the software to my Netbook, as we're likely to travel with the MobiGo, and not likely to travel with the desktop PCs. I get the software installed and launch it. Turns out that vtech, in their incredible wisdom, programed their software entirely in Flash. What this means is that it is specified to a minimum resolution and has no scrolling ability. So, my widescreen monitor displays the width of the launch screen just dandy, but the height (as in, top-to-bottom)? No. It cuts off at the bottom of the screen. I can't scroll down to see the remainder of the screen, so the software on the laptop is effectively useless. Sigh. And so. Over to the desktop I go, and install it there. Thoroughly inconvenient, but at least it gets done.
So, once the adult side is set up, I turned on the MobiGo, and the first thing it asks for is the child's name. Aww, it's got it set up to say welcome to the child by name! Anyhow, I go to plug in LP's name, so it will say "Welcome, [Little Prince]!" when he turns it on. This is another problem. The software only allows eight characters for the child's name. LP's name has nine. Sigh. So, we decided to drop part of his name, and are going for a non-traditional nickname thing - ala Topher Grace.
The game the system comes with is a compilation of six small games. There's a same/different game, one that makes use of the QWERTY keyboard for ABCs, a "what comes next" game for numbers, a follow-instructions game (tracing lines), a basic logic game, and a music game. I tested them on "Easy" and I think that after a few times playing with a little guidance, he'll absolutely understand what's going on, and how to play the games. I'm thinking this will be one of the better gifts we'll be able to get for him for a fairly long while. It will last for several years, and it will have more challenge for him as he gets older. I'm pretty pleased. Now to wait the, what, 29 days (?) to give it to him...
We went out to ToysRUs last night to see if they had anything going for Black Friday, as I got all kinds of emails this past week telling me they would, despite being in Canada. We got there just before the advertised opening time (10:00pm), and found them just about to close. So we went in and took a look around - mostly to ask if they were planning to have anything sale-riffic for today. We actually talk to a manager, which wasn't the plan, but she was on the floor, so okay. She tells us they don't know anything about the sales in advance, so she can't say, but what she can say is that if we purchase something, and it goes on sale before Christmas, bring in the receipt and they'd refund the difference between what we paid and the new sale price. So we picked up the MobiGo, and walked out with it. Naturally, it was paid for. ^_^
Anyhow, I'm checking the ToysRUs Canadian website for something for LP's wishlist, and decide to look up the local sale papers. The closest TRU has nothing. The new one (with their Grand Opening tomorrow!) had the MobiGo for $20 off. Sweet! So, LP goes down for a nap and I go out to take the receipt BACK to the store we were at yesterday, and claim the $22 (taxes, too!). In the severely unlikely event that the MobiGo goes even more on sale before Christmas, we can use the same receipt to again claim the difference.
SWEET, and WAY TO GO, TOYS'R'US!
Tonight, I decide to set up the MobiGo, as LP is occupied with Sesame Street, and I had nothing more pressing to do (also read, I was bored). So I download the software to my Netbook, as we're likely to travel with the MobiGo, and not likely to travel with the desktop PCs. I get the software installed and launch it. Turns out that vtech, in their incredible wisdom, programed their software entirely in Flash. What this means is that it is specified to a minimum resolution and has no scrolling ability. So, my widescreen monitor displays the width of the launch screen just dandy, but the height (as in, top-to-bottom)? No. It cuts off at the bottom of the screen. I can't scroll down to see the remainder of the screen, so the software on the laptop is effectively useless. Sigh. And so. Over to the desktop I go, and install it there. Thoroughly inconvenient, but at least it gets done.
So, once the adult side is set up, I turned on the MobiGo, and the first thing it asks for is the child's name. Aww, it's got it set up to say welcome to the child by name! Anyhow, I go to plug in LP's name, so it will say "Welcome, [Little Prince]!" when he turns it on. This is another problem. The software only allows eight characters for the child's name. LP's name has nine. Sigh. So, we decided to drop part of his name, and are going for a non-traditional nickname thing - ala Topher Grace.
The game the system comes with is a compilation of six small games. There's a same/different game, one that makes use of the QWERTY keyboard for ABCs, a "what comes next" game for numbers, a follow-instructions game (tracing lines), a basic logic game, and a music game. I tested them on "Easy" and I think that after a few times playing with a little guidance, he'll absolutely understand what's going on, and how to play the games. I'm thinking this will be one of the better gifts we'll be able to get for him for a fairly long while. It will last for several years, and it will have more challenge for him as he gets older. I'm pretty pleased. Now to wait the, what, 29 days (?) to give it to him...
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Chasing around thoughts.
So, I've finished the Roar, Dinosaur hat. I'll post a picture here and to Ravelry as soon as I can get a good photo taken. The body of the hat itself is the same color as his coat. The ribbed band and the spikes are the same color as his mittens.
So I was all set to go ahead and start on the mitten garland. The problem is that I can't find my 24" cables for my circular needles. I don't have the right size double pointeds, and I only have a 16" cable for the needles I have. I could do magic loop, and learn it, just to do this, which would be cool. But, I need to get at least 24" circulars for it. So I need to find my other cables, but I have no idea where they are. Ugh. So that's tomorrow's project.
In the meantime, LP and I had another darned decent day, full of playing and laughing and running and stuff... until tonight. After dinner, it turned into LP Destroys Everything. He's pulled down all the books, all the puzzles, all the blankets, everything off the table, everything. And once again, I'm "That Mom." The mom who yells, who gets angry, who gets frustrated, who just wants to lock herself in her room until sometime when LP is in the 7-10 range. Every day is like this. This burnout. The yelling. The frustration. It's gotten to the point that I've been thinking about maybe putting LP into a daycare/preschool program for a couple hours a couple days a week. The local rates are looking like about $50/day, plus the incidentals of changes of clothes, shoes, diapers and wipes. At the rate the days are going, I may start looking into the feasibility of sliding scale rates based on income. 'Cause there's really only so much of the burnout I can take, and LP deserves better than That Mom.
So I was all set to go ahead and start on the mitten garland. The problem is that I can't find my 24" cables for my circular needles. I don't have the right size double pointeds, and I only have a 16" cable for the needles I have. I could do magic loop, and learn it, just to do this, which would be cool. But, I need to get at least 24" circulars for it. So I need to find my other cables, but I have no idea where they are. Ugh. So that's tomorrow's project.
In the meantime, LP and I had another darned decent day, full of playing and laughing and running and stuff... until tonight. After dinner, it turned into LP Destroys Everything. He's pulled down all the books, all the puzzles, all the blankets, everything off the table, everything. And once again, I'm "That Mom." The mom who yells, who gets angry, who gets frustrated, who just wants to lock herself in her room until sometime when LP is in the 7-10 range. Every day is like this. This burnout. The yelling. The frustration. It's gotten to the point that I've been thinking about maybe putting LP into a daycare/preschool program for a couple hours a couple days a week. The local rates are looking like about $50/day, plus the incidentals of changes of clothes, shoes, diapers and wipes. At the rate the days are going, I may start looking into the feasibility of sliding scale rates based on income. 'Cause there's really only so much of the burnout I can take, and LP deserves better than That Mom.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Catching up, and Too Long.
I finally got back in touch with an old friend. As I recall, the last time we were in much contact was last winter. Far Too Long. I'm astounded with how big his kids are, how beautiful his daughters and how handsome his son. They're brilliant, and have these infectious smiles, and I can't believe it's been this long.
It's really nice to get caught up again, even if it is only for a short time. There's a certain amount of hoping happening here, too - that the immigration stuff will be finished soon, and we can travel, and actually sit down with friends and chat about life. Even if it's at a local bounce house or something.
I'm living the life of the geeky squee this week. Between the arrival of my EeePC and getting up to watching Once More, With Feeling (Buffy!), I'm just full of geekery-squeeful joy. And I'm verbing words again. Which is to say, words that are not verbs? I'm making them verbs again. And odd adjectives - see 'geekery-squeeful' for reference. ^_^
I've finished one of the points for LP's hat. The rest of them will (hopefully) be following shortly, as they're a right pain in the tuckus to knit up - they're twenty stitches in the round, so it's double pointed needles, as I'm still not doing well with the magic loop, and I don't want to botch this. I need it too soon - like in two-ish weeks - so I'm trying to not mess around too much. Once I get onto my actual Christmas Day gift knitting... Then I'll be able to do more with magic loop, as I've got the time to frog a project out and start over if I need to. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get everything together soonish.
Anyhow! Not much else happening in our little world, just the usual craziness, the dairy detox, the knitting and the upcoming toy fair. I kind of like it that way, though I wish there was an impending trip to Chicago coming as well as the other things.
It's really nice to get caught up again, even if it is only for a short time. There's a certain amount of hoping happening here, too - that the immigration stuff will be finished soon, and we can travel, and actually sit down with friends and chat about life. Even if it's at a local bounce house or something.
I'm living the life of the geeky squee this week. Between the arrival of my EeePC and getting up to watching Once More, With Feeling (Buffy!), I'm just full of geekery-squeeful joy. And I'm verbing words again. Which is to say, words that are not verbs? I'm making them verbs again. And odd adjectives - see 'geekery-squeeful' for reference. ^_^
I've finished one of the points for LP's hat. The rest of them will (hopefully) be following shortly, as they're a right pain in the tuckus to knit up - they're twenty stitches in the round, so it's double pointed needles, as I'm still not doing well with the magic loop, and I don't want to botch this. I need it too soon - like in two-ish weeks - so I'm trying to not mess around too much. Once I get onto my actual Christmas Day gift knitting... Then I'll be able to do more with magic loop, as I've got the time to frog a project out and start over if I need to. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get everything together soonish.
Anyhow! Not much else happening in our little world, just the usual craziness, the dairy detox, the knitting and the upcoming toy fair. I kind of like it that way, though I wish there was an impending trip to Chicago coming as well as the other things.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Gym's out for... um... Winter?
Today was the last of the park district's gym classes for LP. Tots In Motion, it was called. It took very nearly the entirety of the class, but we've found something he's good at. He can walk a line, and he can twirl to his right.
A lot of the class, I suspect, is designed for kids older than the advertised age group. They seem to think that LP should be able to follow lengthy instructions, no repeating, and across activities - that is, this station, you walk around and between the cones, the next station, you hop from one hoop to the next... over five activities. And when he can't do that, it makes things a little difficult, especially for the Prince of Lack of Attention Span.
Over the course of the winter, we're going to work on his hopping and jumping, as well as the other little things - go and stop, counting steps, things like that. He's able to do these things, but not to the degree that he's "supposed" to for his classes, and I'd like to see him better able to keep up with the other kids when we pick up Music and Movement in January.
In other news, we may be having another visitor coming soon. I'm hopeful, and we'll see how it goes.
A lot of the class, I suspect, is designed for kids older than the advertised age group. They seem to think that LP should be able to follow lengthy instructions, no repeating, and across activities - that is, this station, you walk around and between the cones, the next station, you hop from one hoop to the next... over five activities. And when he can't do that, it makes things a little difficult, especially for the Prince of Lack of Attention Span.
Over the course of the winter, we're going to work on his hopping and jumping, as well as the other little things - go and stop, counting steps, things like that. He's able to do these things, but not to the degree that he's "supposed" to for his classes, and I'd like to see him better able to keep up with the other kids when we pick up Music and Movement in January.
In other news, we may be having another visitor coming soon. I'm hopeful, and we'll see how it goes.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Research, and the little boy it's done for.
So, I've spent the last while looking over handheld games for LP. I was originally pulled to LeapFrog's offering - the Leapster Explorer. It's pretty cool looking, green and white and great graphics, even with the ability to hook it up to my PC and view his use trends - what he's playing, how often, how he's doing at it, and what his improvements look like. However, the downsides? It has a load of built-in advertising. It's only real built-in game is essentially a 'buy stuff for your pet' game, that once you've used up your starting 'cash'... well, you can only get more by playing more games - which Mom and Dad have to purchase. Hm. This is an issue, especially since we only really get a very limited time in which to afford more new games. Also, there's some concern with the instillation of rampant consumerism at a very early age, but I'm thinking it might be a better lesson of saving/spending than OMG, BUY IT ALL!!!! So, yeah.
So I look into a more... I suppose it's "us"... offering. VTech has a handheld they call the Mobi-Go. Now, it's not got the stylus of the Explorer, but it does have the touch screen, and the Mobi-Go also has a flip-up QWERTY keyboard. The reviews have the biggest drawback being the need to re-download the downloadable games after each shut-down of the system. Irritating, yes, but it's not directly marketing to my son, so I'm alright with that. Particularly as VTech has, in the past, been good to us. I look at the VTech toys in the house (there are two or three active at any given point), and realize the Mobi-Go has another side benefit - I've developed an inherent ability to tune them out. They all sound the same to me, and are reduced to background noise. The Mobi-Go has all the benefits of the Explorer (plus several "starter" games), and I'm seeing none of the drawbacks. I'm pretty cool with that.
The other 'outsider' contender in this game is the VTech VReader - it's essentially a preschooler Kindle. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this, as I barely use my own ereader. And for the same reason as I can see a problem here - I hate the notion that I need to buy a book twice in order to have a copy both on my shelf and in my iPod. Why the hell can I not format shift them for free? Seriously, I need to buy a $20 book for my house, and then pay another $15 to put it on the iPod (and now VReader)? Please.
It looks like we're leaning to the Mobi-Go, now that I've gotten Skeeve's input and he's looked them over, read the reviews and thought about it. It doesn't hurt that the Big Toy Sale for next week will have VTech toys, but not LeapFrog ones, and there's a potential to pick up the Mobi-Go for significantly on-sale. I'm not sure if a handheld would be a "from Mommy and Daddy" gift or a Santa one, but we'll have to see.
I have zero worries about the age setups on the toys. The Mobi-Go is 3+, the Explorer is 4+. The skills they're starting with, though, are things like letter and number identification - these are skills that LP has, and has had, for a significant period of time. I'm looking for an interesting and fun way to bring them together for him, and it seems that having something Just Like Daddy might be the way to go.
In other news, the stegosaurus hat is on its way to completion, though I have a dire need for my double pointed needles. Once that's done, I just wait on my yarn from KnitPicks to get here, and I can start the mitten garland. I'm very excited. Maybe I'll put a piece of felt sushi in the mittens as well as candies and other little trinkets... Hm. So many wonderful craft ideas, so little time and focus. ^_^
So I look into a more... I suppose it's "us"... offering. VTech has a handheld they call the Mobi-Go. Now, it's not got the stylus of the Explorer, but it does have the touch screen, and the Mobi-Go also has a flip-up QWERTY keyboard. The reviews have the biggest drawback being the need to re-download the downloadable games after each shut-down of the system. Irritating, yes, but it's not directly marketing to my son, so I'm alright with that. Particularly as VTech has, in the past, been good to us. I look at the VTech toys in the house (there are two or three active at any given point), and realize the Mobi-Go has another side benefit - I've developed an inherent ability to tune them out. They all sound the same to me, and are reduced to background noise. The Mobi-Go has all the benefits of the Explorer (plus several "starter" games), and I'm seeing none of the drawbacks. I'm pretty cool with that.
The other 'outsider' contender in this game is the VTech VReader - it's essentially a preschooler Kindle. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this, as I barely use my own ereader. And for the same reason as I can see a problem here - I hate the notion that I need to buy a book twice in order to have a copy both on my shelf and in my iPod. Why the hell can I not format shift them for free? Seriously, I need to buy a $20 book for my house, and then pay another $15 to put it on the iPod (and now VReader)? Please.
It looks like we're leaning to the Mobi-Go, now that I've gotten Skeeve's input and he's looked them over, read the reviews and thought about it. It doesn't hurt that the Big Toy Sale for next week will have VTech toys, but not LeapFrog ones, and there's a potential to pick up the Mobi-Go for significantly on-sale. I'm not sure if a handheld would be a "from Mommy and Daddy" gift or a Santa one, but we'll have to see.
I have zero worries about the age setups on the toys. The Mobi-Go is 3+, the Explorer is 4+. The skills they're starting with, though, are things like letter and number identification - these are skills that LP has, and has had, for a significant period of time. I'm looking for an interesting and fun way to bring them together for him, and it seems that having something Just Like Daddy might be the way to go.
In other news, the stegosaurus hat is on its way to completion, though I have a dire need for my double pointed needles. Once that's done, I just wait on my yarn from KnitPicks to get here, and I can start the mitten garland. I'm very excited. Maybe I'll put a piece of felt sushi in the mittens as well as candies and other little trinkets... Hm. So many wonderful craft ideas, so little time and focus. ^_^
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Watching the oldies again...
So for starters, I'm updating from a new EeePC. I am thrilled. I don't think I can explain exactly how full of geeky squee I am right now. It's a beautiful new compy that will fit in my diaper bag even with everything else in there already.
In addition to bringing my new compy, Hammie and Bubba came with a myriad of gifts for the Little Prince. Not least among them were a new Lightning McQueen hoodie from Uncle Fritz and a T-Rex from Uncle Jimmy. And a soccer ball, too. Now, in addition to these wonderful things for LP, there are a few things that are supposed to be for LP, but really... they're for us parents, too. First of all, there's the second box of Sesame Street Old School. Just in time, 'cause we were really starting to get a little down on the first five episodes. It's kind of sad, as it's also only one episode per season, and I was really hoping to find boxed sets of seasons. Ah, well. However... also? Also, the other DVD that came in was... Toy Story. The first one. The start of the era. Now LP is only moderately interested in the movie, but I am loving every second of it. What's better than the near continual references to the general Pixar properties? I mean, obviously the Lightyear thing, but also the Dinoco, and all the old things I barely remember from when I last saw the movie. It's amazing. It's like seeing it for the first time all over again, and it's just amazing.
I never really realized just how much went into the design of these movies, or how much carries over from one to the next. It's just incredible, and I'm once again reminded exactly why it is I need to work at Pixar someday. ^_^
All in all, this has been a wonderful gift - just Toy Story, not including any of the other things that have come into the house, though everything has been a blessing. I can't even express how wonderful it is to have people around us that really care. It makes all the difference. All the difference in the world.
This disjointed entry brought to you by Toy Story on the TV, which is far more distracting than it seems like it should be. ^_^
In addition to bringing my new compy, Hammie and Bubba came with a myriad of gifts for the Little Prince. Not least among them were a new Lightning McQueen hoodie from Uncle Fritz and a T-Rex from Uncle Jimmy. And a soccer ball, too. Now, in addition to these wonderful things for LP, there are a few things that are supposed to be for LP, but really... they're for us parents, too. First of all, there's the second box of Sesame Street Old School. Just in time, 'cause we were really starting to get a little down on the first five episodes. It's kind of sad, as it's also only one episode per season, and I was really hoping to find boxed sets of seasons. Ah, well. However... also? Also, the other DVD that came in was... Toy Story. The first one. The start of the era. Now LP is only moderately interested in the movie, but I am loving every second of it. What's better than the near continual references to the general Pixar properties? I mean, obviously the Lightyear thing, but also the Dinoco, and all the old things I barely remember from when I last saw the movie. It's amazing. It's like seeing it for the first time all over again, and it's just amazing.
I never really realized just how much went into the design of these movies, or how much carries over from one to the next. It's just incredible, and I'm once again reminded exactly why it is I need to work at Pixar someday. ^_^
All in all, this has been a wonderful gift - just Toy Story, not including any of the other things that have come into the house, though everything has been a blessing. I can't even express how wonderful it is to have people around us that really care. It makes all the difference. All the difference in the world.
This disjointed entry brought to you by Toy Story on the TV, which is far more distracting than it seems like it should be. ^_^
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
In which we are boring.
Ordinarily, we would have a house full of people over to play RPGs on Tuesdays. Today was supposed to be Mutants and Masterminds, but one of our guys had a psych paper to finish, and the other, upon hearing of the psych paper of the first, bowed out due to migraine. At 5:00. When I'm making dinner for everyone for 7:00/7:30. GAH. Psych paper guy bowed out around 11:30 this morning. I'm cool with that. But FIVE? Sheesh, guys. So, 7:00 comes around, and we're having dinner, and the only guy to show turns up. We're directing him to the kitchen to eat his weight in spaghetti and meatballs, and then... figure out what to do for the night.
The guys watch Sonny Chiba in Legend of Eight Samurai, and I begin my neurotic cleaning of the house. I scrubbed the bathroom yesterday, did all the mirrors and windows today, and this evening cleaned and scrubbed the dining room and kitchen floors, as well as washing all the towels and throw rugs, my tea kettles and the stovetop. It's been a busy night.
I also sat down and watched a pair of videos from knittinghelp.com. The first is Magic Loop knitting, and the second was three-needle bind-off. I'll need these for my Daphne and Delilah project, the mitten advent garland, and a project for Skeeve. Three needle bind-off should be no problem. It's the Magic Loop that looks a little daunting. Now, I have my lovely Adopt-A-Mom Mentoregging me on encouraging me to try it, so I'm going to give it a whirl, but it seems that it might just be easier to use double pointed needles. Of course, I was the one who was SURE that DPNs would result in the loss of an eye, so... Hard to say. I'm sure this will be an interesting learning experience.
Also, I am reminded today of why it is that animals in the wild tend to eat their young. Every time I cleaned something, LP came along almost immediately behind me and destroyed it. This includes every time I'd give him a treat - a cookie? Devoured, then a chocolate chip or two ground into the linoleum and the carpeting. A banana? Smashed into the table, thrown across the room, and then mushed into a pile of paperwork he had to climb onto the couch, then the table (with the banana, mind you!) to reach. I think I've hit my limit of good parenting for today. Time for bed. Before I eat my young.
The guys watch Sonny Chiba in Legend of Eight Samurai, and I begin my neurotic cleaning of the house. I scrubbed the bathroom yesterday, did all the mirrors and windows today, and this evening cleaned and scrubbed the dining room and kitchen floors, as well as washing all the towels and throw rugs, my tea kettles and the stovetop. It's been a busy night.
I also sat down and watched a pair of videos from knittinghelp.com. The first is Magic Loop knitting, and the second was three-needle bind-off. I'll need these for my Daphne and Delilah project, the mitten advent garland, and a project for Skeeve. Three needle bind-off should be no problem. It's the Magic Loop that looks a little daunting. Now, I have my lovely Adopt-A-Mom Mentor
Also, I am reminded today of why it is that animals in the wild tend to eat their young. Every time I cleaned something, LP came along almost immediately behind me and destroyed it. This includes every time I'd give him a treat - a cookie? Devoured, then a chocolate chip or two ground into the linoleum and the carpeting. A banana? Smashed into the table, thrown across the room, and then mushed into a pile of paperwork he had to climb onto the couch, then the table (with the banana, mind you!) to reach. I think I've hit my limit of good parenting for today. Time for bed. Before I eat my young.
Monday, November 1, 2010
The strange things kids do...
A few months ago, we got LP a vtech "laptop." Specifically, this one. Has a little mouse, the keys for all the letters and numbers, isn't it cute.
Well, LP already knows all his letters and most of his numbers, so we sat down with an "identify the..." game (find the 'C'!) to get him going. Imagine my absolute astonishment as he went on to be completely unable to play the game. Like "find the 'C'!" resulted in him pushing the F, then the P, then the Q - after which it changes to another letter for 'try again.' I am completely stunned. And I have no idea why the child who can *easily* find the 'C' for me when I sit down and ask him to (even if he has to run into another room and demolish three puzzles to find a 'C') can't seem to find it when it's sitting in front of him.
Right now, I'm operating on the theory that perhaps it's because the toy is new to him again and he has to push ALL THE BUTTONS RIGHT NOW-NOW-NOW!!!! It seems a reasonable enough theory, particularly since he can ID the letters in several contexts (including on my qwerty keyboard!)... and yet. o.O;;
Anyhow, I've got a couple photos to share. ^_^
In extra Hallowe'en-y news... Yesterday we picked Skeeve up from work, and then came straight home to carve our pumpkin. Turns out, our pumpkin was about six feet thick. Okay, really more like two inches, but still. HUGE. So we carved a basic Jack-o-Lantern face into it, then I had to scrape away parts of the inside to let the light through! Craziness. Anyhow, we had our big meal of chili, and then LP and I went out Trick-or-Treating while Skeeve stayed home to greet any ToTers who came to our house. We went to about 7 houses, and LP's little bucket was FULL of all kinds of wonderful things he can't have... and nibs. So he got to eat his nibs, and the rest of the candy got combined with our leftover candy, and we had quite a dairy-riffic haul! Also, we had a whopping 20 visitors. That's it. All night. Oye. Nobody came after 7:30, and when LP and I went out ourselves, I found out why. Usually townhouse complexes are the best place to ToT, 'cause all the houses are crammed into small spaces. We went to seven houses, yes, but they were the ONLY seven houses lit up out of the 20 or so we walked by. What's the point of coming in to the complex if barely 1/3 of the houses are lit and giving candy? Sheesh.
Anyhow, after ToT, we noticed the little boy across the back was just getting home, so we ran inside and nabbed up the crayon roll we (I!) made for him, and went over. Once we'd delivered our present, we came home and warmed up. I made butterbeer, which turned out... interesting. It was a little off what one might expect, but still very tasty - even though it had to be substituted for dairy. YUM. Today, however, we poured the last half of said butterbeer for dinner-drinks. Oh. My. God. It was wonderful. I cannot stress enough how much better this was actually fully chilled. Bliss.
Last night, after we went to bed, the Sugar Sprites visited our house. They took away all the candy, and left LP a felt-board dinosaur play set, a crayon roll of his own, and a Cars coloring book! This was the best thing EVER. LP was thrilled about his gifts, and we don't have to deal with a sugar-high, dairy-laden little boy. BEST IDEA EVER GANKED.
At this point, that's pretty much all we have. I'm hoping to update more, though, so... Here's hoping I can come up with more things to say! XD
Well, LP already knows all his letters and most of his numbers, so we sat down with an "identify the..." game (find the 'C'!) to get him going. Imagine my absolute astonishment as he went on to be completely unable to play the game. Like "find the 'C'!" resulted in him pushing the F, then the P, then the Q - after which it changes to another letter for 'try again.' I am completely stunned. And I have no idea why the child who can *easily* find the 'C' for me when I sit down and ask him to (even if he has to run into another room and demolish three puzzles to find a 'C') can't seem to find it when it's sitting in front of him.
Right now, I'm operating on the theory that perhaps it's because the toy is new to him again and he has to push ALL THE BUTTONS RIGHT NOW-NOW-NOW!!!! It seems a reasonable enough theory, particularly since he can ID the letters in several contexts (including on my qwerty keyboard!)... and yet. o.O;;
Anyhow, I've got a couple photos to share. ^_^
In extra Hallowe'en-y news... Yesterday we picked Skeeve up from work, and then came straight home to carve our pumpkin. Turns out, our pumpkin was about six feet thick. Okay, really more like two inches, but still. HUGE. So we carved a basic Jack-o-Lantern face into it, then I had to scrape away parts of the inside to let the light through! Craziness. Anyhow, we had our big meal of chili, and then LP and I went out Trick-or-Treating while Skeeve stayed home to greet any ToTers who came to our house. We went to about 7 houses, and LP's little bucket was FULL of all kinds of wonderful things he can't have... and nibs. So he got to eat his nibs, and the rest of the candy got combined with our leftover candy, and we had quite a dairy-riffic haul! Also, we had a whopping 20 visitors. That's it. All night. Oye. Nobody came after 7:30, and when LP and I went out ourselves, I found out why. Usually townhouse complexes are the best place to ToT, 'cause all the houses are crammed into small spaces. We went to seven houses, yes, but they were the ONLY seven houses lit up out of the 20 or so we walked by. What's the point of coming in to the complex if barely 1/3 of the houses are lit and giving candy? Sheesh.
Anyhow, after ToT, we noticed the little boy across the back was just getting home, so we ran inside and nabbed up the crayon roll we (I!) made for him, and went over. Once we'd delivered our present, we came home and warmed up. I made butterbeer, which turned out... interesting. It was a little off what one might expect, but still very tasty - even though it had to be substituted for dairy. YUM. Today, however, we poured the last half of said butterbeer for dinner-drinks. Oh. My. God. It was wonderful. I cannot stress enough how much better this was actually fully chilled. Bliss.
Last night, after we went to bed, the Sugar Sprites visited our house. They took away all the candy, and left LP a felt-board dinosaur play set, a crayon roll of his own, and a Cars coloring book! This was the best thing EVER. LP was thrilled about his gifts, and we don't have to deal with a sugar-high, dairy-laden little boy. BEST IDEA EVER GANKED.
At this point, that's pretty much all we have. I'm hoping to update more, though, so... Here's hoping I can come up with more things to say! XD
Sunday, October 17, 2010
I wish I had more to say.
Depressingly, I really don't.
Hammie and Big Guy are coming to visit us in three weeks.
LP is going to be Black Mage for Hallowe'en. His costume, aside from the final hem, is ready.
I will be the corresponding White Mage. My robe is done, I just need to get the triangle accents planned and affixed. I might also need new shoes - for height. Not sure yet.
Skeeve will... well, he's planning to be Skeeve. As in, a character he plays, not himself. ^_^ I'm hoping to be able to pop out tomorrow and pick up the necessary materials for his costume. We'll see how that goes. But, as my costume was *supposed* to cost about $100, and after some fine bargain shopping only came out to $40+tax and patterns... We have some wiggle room to get the right fabrics at the Hallowe'en sale prices. For him, I need to make a purple cape and black tunic. I'd make a hat, but I don't think I have the skill that requires this year. Maybe next year.
LP is picking up language like a madman. Of course, enough of it is garbled that I can't for the life of me sort out what he's saying, but he sure is trying! I'm very excited for him.
Our overnight diapers are a catastrophe. LP has been waking up in the mornings in hysterics because he pees in the morning, and the instant it hits the diaper it starts to *burn.* NO GOOD. So, after having that happen once, and then happen again even though we'd put a second diaper inside the big diaper... He's in disposables. At least until the rash clears up. As soon as I figure out how to fix the issue, we'll be back in cloth full time, but... For now, it's curative disposables+cream, and then moving to day-cloth and night-sposies. We have to do *something* for the poor guy, and I'm not willing to sacrifice his butt in an endless attempt to see if maybe this did it. ;.;
That seems to be the bulk of it. The behavior issues (the ones where LP is completely incapable of following any sort of directions) seem to be entirely diet related. We're straightening that out once again, and hoping for the best.
Anyhow. It's late, and I'm boring, so we're off to bed. ^_^
Hammie and Big Guy are coming to visit us in three weeks.
LP is going to be Black Mage for Hallowe'en. His costume, aside from the final hem, is ready.
I will be the corresponding White Mage. My robe is done, I just need to get the triangle accents planned and affixed. I might also need new shoes - for height. Not sure yet.
Skeeve will... well, he's planning to be Skeeve. As in, a character he plays, not himself. ^_^ I'm hoping to be able to pop out tomorrow and pick up the necessary materials for his costume. We'll see how that goes. But, as my costume was *supposed* to cost about $100, and after some fine bargain shopping only came out to $40+tax and patterns... We have some wiggle room to get the right fabrics at the Hallowe'en sale prices. For him, I need to make a purple cape and black tunic. I'd make a hat, but I don't think I have the skill that requires this year. Maybe next year.
LP is picking up language like a madman. Of course, enough of it is garbled that I can't for the life of me sort out what he's saying, but he sure is trying! I'm very excited for him.
Our overnight diapers are a catastrophe. LP has been waking up in the mornings in hysterics because he pees in the morning, and the instant it hits the diaper it starts to *burn.* NO GOOD. So, after having that happen once, and then happen again even though we'd put a second diaper inside the big diaper... He's in disposables. At least until the rash clears up. As soon as I figure out how to fix the issue, we'll be back in cloth full time, but... For now, it's curative disposables+cream, and then moving to day-cloth and night-sposies. We have to do *something* for the poor guy, and I'm not willing to sacrifice his butt in an endless attempt to see if maybe this did it. ;.;
That seems to be the bulk of it. The behavior issues (the ones where LP is completely incapable of following any sort of directions) seem to be entirely diet related. We're straightening that out once again, and hoping for the best.
Anyhow. It's late, and I'm boring, so we're off to bed. ^_^
Thursday, October 7, 2010
While I'm Feeling the Updateness.
So, LP and I are in a class on Fridays, it's offered through the Ontario Early Years Centre in conjunction with the Park District. In general, it's a class about stuff I already know - how to treat your toddler like a human being and not a very oddly shaped dog.
They gave out CDs at the first class, full of the irritating kinds of songs that people figure toddlers love, that parents hate, and that sanctimonious folks feel we should adore singing to our toddlers lest they turn out to be ax murderers because nobody sang One Potato, Two Potato to them. Needless to say, I have issues with their choice in music, and their determination to ruin the good musical sense I've been trying to put into my kid (lest I find myself driving six hours to Chicago with only "Fifteen Three Year Olds Massacre Your Favorite Hits!" in my CD player).
I also, however, have issues with what their lyrics are, and what they've DONE to some of these little rhymes. Humpty Dumpty, for example, now has music. It also goes like this:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
So he climbed - back - up - on - the - wall.
Okay, first, the longstanding issue: how in the HELL are horses supposed to reassemble a busted eggshell? I mean, really?!? But then, the last line. No, we couldn't leave Mother Goose alone. Nope, now we have Humpty Dumpty hauling his busted-ass, unglued, in-pieces self BACK up onto the wall. Um, he's BROKEN. UNFIXABLE. WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!?!
Now, there are a few things they do that with, and I usually just sing right over 'em. I'm not teaching LP the busted version of these things if I can help it. XD
But, more insidious, are songs like You Are You. It sounds like a pretty decent general thing, right? I mean, you're you, I'm me, it's all good. But take a look at the first verse:
You are you
And I am me
On a journey of discovery
You're just a child
It's up to me
To help you be who you are meant to be
I have two Big, Fat problems with this. First and foremost, the line "You're just a child." It's right. LP is just a child. And I'm just a grown up. Could they possibly be any more dismissive of his ability to do what's right and best in any given situation? He's "just" a child, so I have to... NO. Great big NO. So we sing this song, and I reword it. I remove the stupid, dismissive "just" and expand the contraction. "You are a child." He is, and by dint of this, it is the job of his parents to help guide him through things. It's a statement of fact, no value judgement attached. The secondary problem I have is this "you are meant to be" crap. Who am I to know anything at all about who he's meant to be? I mean, if it were up to me, he'd be meant to be a doctor, or a nuclear physicist, or a part-time lawyer who is also a Work At Home Dad. How can I help him be who he's meant to be if I don't know what that is? Apparently, it's one of those God Given Parent Skills. It was lesson two in the manual you get when you have kids, you see. Sheesh. So... I reword it (I feel like Tim Allen here - So I rewired it!), making the change to "To help you learn who you are meant to be." This, I feel, is much more indicative of the nature of the parent/child relationship. He is just as important as I am in this, and it is not my job to come in as Grand Poo-bah Know It All and rain all over his little parade. It's my job to help him along the way, teach him the ropes, and help him sort out the things he likes, the things he doesn't, and what he wants to do.
Yeah, ridiculous to be this irritated at songs for a two-year-old, right? But why is that? Why is it okay to be pissed at songs that dismiss women, or dismiss violence, or dismiss families... but not ones that dismiss children, no matter their age? Children are people too, you know.
They gave out CDs at the first class, full of the irritating kinds of songs that people figure toddlers love, that parents hate, and that sanctimonious folks feel we should adore singing to our toddlers lest they turn out to be ax murderers because nobody sang One Potato, Two Potato to them. Needless to say, I have issues with their choice in music, and their determination to ruin the good musical sense I've been trying to put into my kid (lest I find myself driving six hours to Chicago with only "Fifteen Three Year Olds Massacre Your Favorite Hits!" in my CD player).
I also, however, have issues with what their lyrics are, and what they've DONE to some of these little rhymes. Humpty Dumpty, for example, now has music. It also goes like this:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
So he climbed - back - up - on - the - wall.
Okay, first, the longstanding issue: how in the HELL are horses supposed to reassemble a busted eggshell? I mean, really?!? But then, the last line. No, we couldn't leave Mother Goose alone. Nope, now we have Humpty Dumpty hauling his busted-ass, unglued, in-pieces self BACK up onto the wall. Um, he's BROKEN. UNFIXABLE. WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!?!
Now, there are a few things they do that with, and I usually just sing right over 'em. I'm not teaching LP the busted version of these things if I can help it. XD
But, more insidious, are songs like You Are You. It sounds like a pretty decent general thing, right? I mean, you're you, I'm me, it's all good. But take a look at the first verse:
You are you
And I am me
On a journey of discovery
You're just a child
It's up to me
To help you be who you are meant to be
I have two Big, Fat problems with this. First and foremost, the line "You're just a child." It's right. LP is just a child. And I'm just a grown up. Could they possibly be any more dismissive of his ability to do what's right and best in any given situation? He's "just" a child, so I have to... NO. Great big NO. So we sing this song, and I reword it. I remove the stupid, dismissive "just" and expand the contraction. "You are a child." He is, and by dint of this, it is the job of his parents to help guide him through things. It's a statement of fact, no value judgement attached. The secondary problem I have is this "you are meant to be" crap. Who am I to know anything at all about who he's meant to be? I mean, if it were up to me, he'd be meant to be a doctor, or a nuclear physicist, or a part-time lawyer who is also a Work At Home Dad. How can I help him be who he's meant to be if I don't know what that is? Apparently, it's one of those God Given Parent Skills. It was lesson two in the manual you get when you have kids, you see. Sheesh. So... I reword it (I feel like Tim Allen here - So I rewired it!), making the change to "To help you learn who you are meant to be." This, I feel, is much more indicative of the nature of the parent/child relationship. He is just as important as I am in this, and it is not my job to come in as Grand Poo-bah Know It All and rain all over his little parade. It's my job to help him along the way, teach him the ropes, and help him sort out the things he likes, the things he doesn't, and what he wants to do.
Yeah, ridiculous to be this irritated at songs for a two-year-old, right? But why is that? Why is it okay to be pissed at songs that dismiss women, or dismiss violence, or dismiss families... but not ones that dismiss children, no matter their age? Children are people too, you know.
The last time.
You know, this is the last time I listen to anyone who says "oh, my kids outgrew their allergy by two, I'm sure he's fine!" Or anything else that implies LP should be eating dairy.
We've been reintroducing him to dairy again over the last week or two. While most of the worrisome symptoms seem to be on their way out, it's still not worth it.
No, he's not getting hives anymore. No, he's not having horrid poop issues anymore. No, he's not having breathing/congestion trouble anymore.
What he has instead is a vast inability to be himself. In the last two weeks, he has completely lost all ability to focus on a single task. He has lost all ability to follow simple directions. He has lost a fair amount of speech clarity. He has gone from being sweet and nice to a boy who beats on the people who live with him, or "aggressively shares" with the people who don't (I have a car. You can play with it. Take it. NO, TAKE IT. YOU WILL TAKE THIS CAR IF I HAVE TO POUND IT INTO YOUR FLESH TO MAKE YOU!!!!!). I've had enough. I've had so enough, in fact, that I'm recommitting to being utterly dairy free until this little boy is old enough to tell me how he feels, and what is happening in his little body. That might be a year, that might be three, I don't care. I WANT MY LITTLE BOY BACK.
In vaguely related news, I've been looking at fall baking! It should be wonderful, and I'm looking forward to it - I'm also automatically subbing out dairy-based ingredients as I transcribe recipes. This way, not only do I get the recipes I want, but I don't know off the top of my head that they've been subbed. That's just how they're written, you see. ^_^ I can deal with that.
I've also been wandering around Facebook. As a result, I've tracked down a couple blogs I've been meaning to follow, and a couple I didn't know were there. I'm pretty happy about that.
Next tasks? I have to fix my photo widget to actually use recent photos and not the ones from a year or more ago. I have to get dinner fully thawed. I also have to make a grocery list, and see what I can do about getting the house in a decent order.
Hammie and Big Guy are coming to see us soon! We're very excited. We're also thinking about maybe doing a second Thanksgiving when they are here, just so we can have Thanksgiving dinner together. I say a second Thanksgiving because Canadian Thanksgiving is on Monday! Holy COW, that's pretty early-seeming! I suppose it makes a measure of sense and all, but DANG!
We've been reintroducing him to dairy again over the last week or two. While most of the worrisome symptoms seem to be on their way out, it's still not worth it.
No, he's not getting hives anymore. No, he's not having horrid poop issues anymore. No, he's not having breathing/congestion trouble anymore.
What he has instead is a vast inability to be himself. In the last two weeks, he has completely lost all ability to focus on a single task. He has lost all ability to follow simple directions. He has lost a fair amount of speech clarity. He has gone from being sweet and nice to a boy who beats on the people who live with him, or "aggressively shares" with the people who don't (I have a car. You can play with it. Take it. NO, TAKE IT. YOU WILL TAKE THIS CAR IF I HAVE TO POUND IT INTO YOUR FLESH TO MAKE YOU!!!!!). I've had enough. I've had so enough, in fact, that I'm recommitting to being utterly dairy free until this little boy is old enough to tell me how he feels, and what is happening in his little body. That might be a year, that might be three, I don't care. I WANT MY LITTLE BOY BACK.
In vaguely related news, I've been looking at fall baking! It should be wonderful, and I'm looking forward to it - I'm also automatically subbing out dairy-based ingredients as I transcribe recipes. This way, not only do I get the recipes I want, but I don't know off the top of my head that they've been subbed. That's just how they're written, you see. ^_^ I can deal with that.
I've also been wandering around Facebook. As a result, I've tracked down a couple blogs I've been meaning to follow, and a couple I didn't know were there. I'm pretty happy about that.
Next tasks? I have to fix my photo widget to actually use recent photos and not the ones from a year or more ago. I have to get dinner fully thawed. I also have to make a grocery list, and see what I can do about getting the house in a decent order.
Hammie and Big Guy are coming to see us soon! We're very excited. We're also thinking about maybe doing a second Thanksgiving when they are here, just so we can have Thanksgiving dinner together. I say a second Thanksgiving because Canadian Thanksgiving is on Monday! Holy COW, that's pretty early-seeming! I suppose it makes a measure of sense and all, but DANG!
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