~ Daddy won a raffle at work and brought home a huge gift basket of flavored popcorns, peanuts, chewy candies, tea, and peanut brittle. Thankfully there was no chocolate--nothing to tempt Momma! The basket was wrapped in polka-dotted gift paper and curled ribbon. Miss Beth, eyes wide, said, "Oh, it's bootiful!"
~ Miss Mary in the bath, watching me wash Beth's hair, said: "Mommy, I have to watch you closely. When I'm a mom I have to know how to wash my kids and cook. When can you teach me to cook?"
About a month ago while folding clothes with me, she asked with a hint of dread, "Mommy, if I'm a mom do I have to wash clothes and do dishes all the time?"
"Well, yes Baby. But you won't mind so much because you'll love serving your family. God will help you." I tried to choose my words carefully, but they depressed her nonetheless. That night I had a chuckle with my husband, telling him motherhood can be a hard sell. We were both encouraged by Mary's latest comment...she seems to be embracing at least some parts of motherhood!
She's come a fair distance with this, because several months ago she told me she wanted to be a train driver. I asked her if she also wanted to be a mother, and she exclaimed, "But I can't be a mother! I don't even know how to babysit!"
~ Miss Beth sees her share of doctors and apparently she observes them carefully. She's decided she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Her ophthalmologist responded last week that she could certainly be a doctor if she studied hard.
Yesterday, a quiet sick day, four of us watched The Wizard of Oz, a recent thrift-store find. It wasn't interesting to Beth so she got her clipboard, put some paper on it, and came over to me with some reading glasses on. "What hurts you today, Mommy?", she asked in three-year-old style. Oh, the cuteness of this scene! "My head is hurting right here," I said, pointing to the temple of my migrained head. Forty minutes into a dose of generic Excedrin Tension Headache, it was better, but I had to think of something. She drew a circle and made a mark where my head hurt. Then she pretended to write other notes. She repeated this a few times with each of us, thrilled to be taking notes like a real doctor!
~ Paul loves math and puzzles and board games and spelling. But reading? Not so much. He's good at it but it seems like a chore to him. He doesn't like books that describe too much scenery. "Get on with it", his head says. I vaguely remember that as a young reader...skimming some of the artsy stuff when I wanted just the story. Now I'm hungry for the artsy stuff, hoping to learn from the more poetic authors.
When I can find the right stories for him, however, things change and he'll sit and read and read. So far this school year he's loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and the My Father's Dragon series (a trio). Many others he read barely made an impression on him...they were just assignments. He's reading well above grade level so I'm not fussy about length or difficulty. I care mostly about quality and finding something he'll fall in love with. It's hit and miss and he doesn't even know what he'll like, so he isn't much help in choosing literature. Right now I'm just thrilled to see him gobbling up the last of the My Father's Dragon series, and I'm praying for another treasure he'll love.
Peter loves to get lost in books. Lately he's been engrossed in all the historical fiction novels I recently bought. Yesterday, though, Paul raved so much about the My Father's Dragon books, which are short, that Peter began to read those. I love the freedom homeschooling affords us!
Yesterday I caught Miss Beth lying across the second easy chair, next to Paul's sprawled, reading-engrossed body. She put on some reading glasses and put her head in a Mrs. Piggle Wiggle novel she grabbed off the shelf. She's lying there on some unfolded towels, reading to her okapi, acquired years ago from the San Diego Wild Animal Park. That girl sure blesses!
~ Someone asked about the multiplication program I recently bought. It's called Time Tales. I bought the DVD with small flip chart for around $40.00. Expensive, but well worth it! Peter couldn't seem to retain the multiplication facts; we just weren't getting anywhere. I began to fear a learning disability, so I perused learning disability websites for curriculum that might work. A long, tedious, very technical article I found detailed four learning-disabled students who went two to three years with no progress in multiplication. When they were taught with mnemonic devices, they immediately began retaining the facts. After suffering through that research article, I searched for mnemonic devices for teaching multiplication, and the Time Tales product came up.
I don't think Peter has a learning disability, though a fair percentage of AD/HD students do (about 1/3). They tend to be bright students who don't meet their potential. The disorder itself is considered a learning disability due to the inattentiveness/selected hyperfocusing, but there are some problems beyond this in some AD/HD students. Mostly, I'm learning that the more we try to put learners in a box, the less effective we become as teachers and facilitators. They are all unique and our task is simply to find what works...not dwell on or worry about what they can't do.
The Time Tales, at first glance, looks too simplistic. I put it in the player and said to myself, "I paid $40 for this! It's too simplistic." But my child thrived. He quickly learned the stories and now knows even the most difficult facts. And he's retaining them! My boy is very proud of himself, leaving me a teary-eyed, grateful Momma.
The DVD comes with a second disk that allows you to print out practice sheets and other associated helps.
~ Miss Mary in the bath, watching me wash Beth's hair, said: "Mommy, I have to watch you closely. When I'm a mom I have to know how to wash my kids and cook. When can you teach me to cook?"
About a month ago while folding clothes with me, she asked with a hint of dread, "Mommy, if I'm a mom do I have to wash clothes and do dishes all the time?"
"Well, yes Baby. But you won't mind so much because you'll love serving your family. God will help you." I tried to choose my words carefully, but they depressed her nonetheless. That night I had a chuckle with my husband, telling him motherhood can be a hard sell. We were both encouraged by Mary's latest comment...she seems to be embracing at least some parts of motherhood!
She's come a fair distance with this, because several months ago she told me she wanted to be a train driver. I asked her if she also wanted to be a mother, and she exclaimed, "But I can't be a mother! I don't even know how to babysit!"
~ Miss Beth sees her share of doctors and apparently she observes them carefully. She's decided she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Her ophthalmologist responded last week that she could certainly be a doctor if she studied hard.
Yesterday, a quiet sick day, four of us watched The Wizard of Oz, a recent thrift-store find. It wasn't interesting to Beth so she got her clipboard, put some paper on it, and came over to me with some reading glasses on. "What hurts you today, Mommy?", she asked in three-year-old style. Oh, the cuteness of this scene! "My head is hurting right here," I said, pointing to the temple of my migrained head. Forty minutes into a dose of generic Excedrin Tension Headache, it was better, but I had to think of something. She drew a circle and made a mark where my head hurt. Then she pretended to write other notes. She repeated this a few times with each of us, thrilled to be taking notes like a real doctor!
~ Paul loves math and puzzles and board games and spelling. But reading? Not so much. He's good at it but it seems like a chore to him. He doesn't like books that describe too much scenery. "Get on with it", his head says. I vaguely remember that as a young reader...skimming some of the artsy stuff when I wanted just the story. Now I'm hungry for the artsy stuff, hoping to learn from the more poetic authors.
When I can find the right stories for him, however, things change and he'll sit and read and read. So far this school year he's loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and the My Father's Dragon series (a trio). Many others he read barely made an impression on him...they were just assignments. He's reading well above grade level so I'm not fussy about length or difficulty. I care mostly about quality and finding something he'll fall in love with. It's hit and miss and he doesn't even know what he'll like, so he isn't much help in choosing literature. Right now I'm just thrilled to see him gobbling up the last of the My Father's Dragon series, and I'm praying for another treasure he'll love.
Peter loves to get lost in books. Lately he's been engrossed in all the historical fiction novels I recently bought. Yesterday, though, Paul raved so much about the My Father's Dragon books, which are short, that Peter began to read those. I love the freedom homeschooling affords us!
 |
| This is the first book in the series. Scholastic's website puts this at a 990 Lexile and a 4.8 grade level. |
| This book includes the three tales. |
| okapi |
~ Someone asked about the multiplication program I recently bought. It's called Time Tales. I bought the DVD with small flip chart for around $40.00. Expensive, but well worth it! Peter couldn't seem to retain the multiplication facts; we just weren't getting anywhere. I began to fear a learning disability, so I perused learning disability websites for curriculum that might work. A long, tedious, very technical article I found detailed four learning-disabled students who went two to three years with no progress in multiplication. When they were taught with mnemonic devices, they immediately began retaining the facts. After suffering through that research article, I searched for mnemonic devices for teaching multiplication, and the Time Tales product came up.
I don't think Peter has a learning disability, though a fair percentage of AD/HD students do (about 1/3). They tend to be bright students who don't meet their potential. The disorder itself is considered a learning disability due to the inattentiveness/selected hyperfocusing, but there are some problems beyond this in some AD/HD students. Mostly, I'm learning that the more we try to put learners in a box, the less effective we become as teachers and facilitators. They are all unique and our task is simply to find what works...not dwell on or worry about what they can't do.
The Time Tales, at first glance, looks too simplistic. I put it in the player and said to myself, "I paid $40 for this! It's too simplistic." But my child thrived. He quickly learned the stories and now knows even the most difficult facts. And he's retaining them! My boy is very proud of himself, leaving me a teary-eyed, grateful Momma.
The DVD comes with a second disk that allows you to print out practice sheets and other associated helps.
3 comments:
you dear of a woman! thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and just be there. always appreciated.
i also appreciate your graditude lists...each and every one blesses me and opens my own eyes to some of the blessings right here.
Thank you, dear Jess!
I love your thankful lists, Christine. They are always reminding me to be thankful...no matter what the circumstances.
Have a blessed week-end!
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