More home school updates...and our little break!

I know in my last post that I didn't want to use a pre-made curriculum and workbooks, well I stand by that decision (at least the workbook part). After becoming increasingly frustrated with my son's math (the only workbook we have been using), I have decided to use Moving Beyond the Page, a hands on curriculum that uses a unit study approach.  For math I am going to try Right Start Math. We should be getting both of these in the mail soon, so I will let you know how it is going! We did a unit on habitats last week and ended it with a fun field trip to our local state park. Next week we are going to study Ireland, a field trip to visit Dollywood's Festival of Nations is being planned in the near future! We decided to take a week off from lessons (a early Spring break) and visit a waterpark resort in the Smoky Mountains! We also visited the Wonderworks museum!  We had a blast!

Homeschooling perks!

Hi everyone. I am busy today trying to pull my lessons together for next week. I guess it would be easier to do a pre-made curriculum, but I hate the idea of being tied down to workbooks for everything. We do use a workbook for math, but that's it. I think we will do a unit on winter this week, and "A" is still reading from his primer. We have a few letter blends to learn this week in reading.

Last week went well, we actually got ahead in reading, I am glad for that! I got a call last week from the UVA medical center asking if they could see "A" earlier due to a cancellation. I said yes, then went into a frenzy trying to pull together medical records. The trip was about four hours one way, so that of course took a whole day and then we needed the next day for some much needed rest!

We will have to catch up a little with math this week, but do I feel guilty? No, that is the joy of homeschooling! We are planning a visit to the lovely Pigeon Forge area for a stay at a indoor water park in the near future, I am sure I can work something educational into that, there are some wonderful educational opportunities in Pigeon Forge!

I am finding many "perks" to homeschooling! We can sleep in a extra hour and still get our lessons done by lunch! We can take awesome field trips to water parks! I don't have to feel guilty any more about missing school for medical appointments, and everything can be turned into a opportunity for learning!

Another Magnificent Monday!

It is so unusual to be excited about Mondays, but I am now. Things have changed so much since I started homeschooling "A", even baby brother  seems happier, I think a lot of stress and anxiety has been removed from our household. "A" wakes up ready to do his school work, he seems like he is having fun.
Two weeks ago I could barely get him to put three sounds together to make a word and today he read word's like John, look, and that. The reading curriculum we are using seems to be working! So far math is going good, I started him at the beginning of the Kindergarten Horizons math workbook,  it is a lot of review for him but he is flying through it, doing several lessons a day. I am sure it will slow down a little when we get into some of the harder concepts. We ended our lessons today with our unit study, "Rocking Robots" . Alex is enjoying learning about all the things robots can do, especially the fact that they have been to Mars! In today's unit study we also talked about the Solar system.  We have had a great start to the week and we are both pleased!

And the journey begins....

We have been homeschooling for about two weeks now. Things are starting to fall into place. We took it slow for the first couple of weeks, so we could both get used to the change. Homeschooling is pretty awesome. I am surprised that A does his lessons so well with minimum fuss. We have been concentrating mainly on reading and math for the past two weeks, and we have read a few books from the library for science and history, we have learned about George Washington in history and about shadows in science. We also started reading "Moby Dick".

 During the past two weeks we have worked on reading skills and phonics, and we have reviewed in math. We enjoyed morning story time at our local library last Tuesday and we were able to meet a local home school family for lunch one day!

 We got our new Horizons math book and the Pecci reading series in the mail last week so we are ready to take off. I am waiting on science, social studies, and bible.  I have also decided to do some unit studies. I downloaded a few from Unit Studies by Amanda Bennet and I let A choose which one he wants to do next week! He chose a unit about Robots! I am looking forward to a fun week next week, one full of learning! 

My little Mr. Smarty pants! 

Computer time! 

Finished with lessons and playing his Wii...

A new journey for "A" and myself...

I am disappointed that things were not working out at school like I thought they would. I had great hopes when "A" started school. So we are now entering a new journey, I have decided to home-school "A". I am nervous about this. I know I have the education necessary to do this, but this is a huge responsibility. We started today, we are pretty much winging it right now as we wait on some important materials to arrive in the mail. Here is how our morning went; wake up, meltdown, breakfast and a story, math (which I have discovered he is a little confused about, we are going to have to back up and review), reading, and a huge meltdown caused by a mistake Alex made on a worksheet. He expects things to be perfect and it is hard to make him understand that it is okay to make a mistake. We are finished for the day now, I am trying to gradually add a little more every day and hope this decreases meltdowns. I think once we get our new routine things will really start looking up. We are going to take a trip to the library to find some books for Science and Social Studies and I hope to start those subjects next week, I plan on making them fun, after all, this is Kindergarten!

"Mommy I want to be a Fry Cook........"

The moment she finds out a baby is on the way every mother starts dreaming. The moment I knew I was having a boy I imagined a lot of things. I saw him in Kindergarten, the teachers pet, every one's best friend. I saw him as a football star, the homecoming king.....Of course as all parents know dreams are dreams, and reality is often what we face. But, does that kill our dreams? No, I still dream for my child, I always will.

The other day he came to me and said "mommy, when I grow up can I be a fry cook"? Well, I sat there for a moment and looked at this intelligent, quirky, little child, with his red hair and those rosy red cheeks. I know now he will probably not become a football star, he could, but I have been told that he probably wouldn't be  crazy about competitive sports. Well, I changed the dream a little. If not a football star what is stopping him from being a musician, or he can't he excel in Martial Arts? I know he isn't going to be a social butterfly, he may not even want to go to his prom and that is okay. He loves computers, maybe he'll be writing programs by the time he is a teenager, maybe he'll invent something! 

But....a Fry Cook? Hmmmmmmmmmm.........

So I gave my little man a hug and said, "Well, I'll tell you what. The thing mommy wants for your the most is for you to be happy, so if you grow up and decide that being a fry cook makes you happy, then you go right ahead"! I'll be just as proud of my fry cook as I would have been of my engineer, or my musician! Because I want him to be happy in whatever he decides to do! That is my prayer for him, a long, happy, life!

I hope each of you had a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! 

A letter of great importance, please read...

Dear School Personnel, Community Members, Teachers, Parents and Neighbors

 A wonderful blog post I found Posted by Marianne , re-posted here with permission, original post can be found on the blog  The Life Unexpected. 

To Whom it May Concern,

I am the parent of a special needs child.  I was overwhelmed, confused, heart broken and struggling to unravel the complexities before me.

Please do not pass judgement of me without knowing why I did not attend the school PTA breakfasts or community picnics.  Please take a few minutes to understand why I did not take you up on your offer to have lunch or grab a cup of coffee.  Although we see each other in the supermarket or at school functions, I don’t think you really ever knew me, actually, I can guarantee that you did not know me because just as my child was different, so was I.

I was in survival mode to keep my family in tact and to give my child the best quality of life possible.

I was presented with parental decisions that have torn me apart and kept me up more nights than I can possibly remember.

I had spent most days of the week at therapy and doctors appointments and most nights up researching treatments and medication options.

I was forced into isolation at times due to the stigma and misconceptions that are epidemic in our society.

I became proficient at prioritizing my life and learning to let the little things go, to look at others with compassion instead of tabloid material and to turn a blind eye to the stares or ignorant comments.

I did the best I could.

I survived.

I am one of the lucky ones, my child has blossomed and has exceeded all our expectations.

I have now become strong, I have become confident and I have become a fierce advocate for parents of special needs children.  The growth did not come without much pain and many tears but it came.

So I ask you, please

The next time you see a parent struggling with a raging child, a child terrified to go into school, a child making odd movements or sounds, a child that seems to be in a world of their own… .Be kind.  Give a smile of recognition for what that parent is going through.  Ask if there is anything you can do to help, give them a pat on the hand or offer for them to go ahead of you on line.

The next time you have a birthday party for your child remember that their child has a hard time with a lot of sensory issues and social situations.  Please send their child that invitation and know that more times than not they will not be able to attend but appreciate being included.  Understand that in order for their child to go to the party they may need to stay for a little while and please make them feel welcome.  When they let you know that their child cannot make the party consider inviting that child for a one on one playdate or an outing at the park.

The next time you are grading homework papers please understand that their child struggles, some with learning disabilities others with the exhaustion of  their disorders or the obsession with perfectionism.  The Perfectionism is not necessarily to have the answers right but to have it “feel” right for them.  They have spent hours doing what most can do in ten minutes. A paper returned with red circles and comments only hurts a child’s self esteem and causes school anxiety. Please understand that when they see the school come up on their caller ID their hearts sink, remember to tell them about all the gains their children are making as well as their deficits.  Take a minute before that call and know that they appreciate all you do and want  a collaborative  relationship in their child’s education.

The next time you are in the teachers lounge, please do not discuss their child.  Please do not make negative comments about their parenting or their child’s behavior, it gets back to them and it gets back to other parents in their community.

The next time you pass the cafeteria and see their child sitting alone please consider inviting that child to eat lunch in your classroom and be your helper that period.  Consider working with a guidance counselor to set up a lunch buddy group in a different area.

The next time they are at the CSE meeting planning their chid’s IEP know that they are educated, informed and confident knowing special education law.  Know that they have found the courage to stand up to conformity and will explore every option to give their child the differentiated educated that will show their gifts and not just their disabilities.  Understand that educating a child with special needs is one of the most difficult tasks a parent can face,  know that the last thing they want is an adversarial relationship.  Please show them the same respect they show you.

The next time you are creating an educational plan please take into consideration that their child may have specific interests or obsessions.  Foster those interests, instead of taking away that art class for a resource class consider adding an art class instead. Think outside the box, these parents do.

The next time you see that child in a wheelchair unable to speak or control their movements, don’t stare, don’t look away, say hello.  Do not assume that because this child is nonverbal that they are not intelligent or do not understand the awkwardness that you feel.  Take a moment out of your day to show kindness, support a parent enduring incredible pain and just give them a smile.

The next time your child comes home telling you how Johnny or Susie is so weird, take the time to teach about differences.  Take the time to talk  about compassion, acceptance and special needs. Please remember that your child learns from you.  Be a role model, mirror respect and discourage gossip.

The next time you hear a comment about how out of style these kids are, educate about tactile sensitivities and the fact that these kids cannot tolerate many textures and fits.  Imagine what it would feel like to have sandpaper in your stilettos or tight elastic holding on your tie.

The next time you see an out of control child do not assume it is bad parenting.  Understand that many of these disorders have an organic basis, are biological and are real illnesses. When you hear the words mental illness, take out the “mental” and remember  ”illness”.

Know that it is this generation that can stomp the stigma and create a world of acceptance.

The next time other parents are talking about “Those Kids” be our heroes, stand up for us.

The next time you see a special needs child know they are not just special in their needs but in their brilliance as well.

Take the time to meet our children.  Take the time to know us.