Education Specialist

Today the kids and I went to a nearby park to meet Holland's Educational Specialist for this coming year. All the kids played and we were able to sit and talk about what she's legally required to do and what I will be asked to provide. Not only do we meet once a week for an hour, but I have to turn in 6 different pieces of work that shows Holland's been working on the required subjects. I've been blessed with a great ES because I used to teach with her at a Deaf School before I left for another position at a different school. She knows me, my situation with Holland's current school placement and is willing to make it work for us. She will take these work samples and write comments on her observations (it's not an evaluation, just a means of documenting compliance).

It all seems so weird right now. Each new year brings an entirely new way for me to school. I sure hope we can get past the experimental stage quick. I've gone through countless curriculums to make it work; he's been in a very strict public school program and now I'm returning to homeschooling with additional support. We'll see how much stress all this documenting weighs me down.

It's Elementary My Dear Watson!

Super Hero dad took the boys to a water park this afternoon. We had free passes from our library's summer reading program. I didn't want to take Egypt - it meant me in the water. So I called up my sister and asked if we could come over for a quick swim (her boys and DH were at a father/son camp for three days). Egypt wanted to know who was going to be at her aunt's house. I said that her uncle and the two boys weren't there. She just repeated this and said "oh." Then we pulled up to their house and she saw two cars and said "who drove him?" How in the world did she make that connection? It didn't make sense that his car was in the driveway, but he wasn't. Amazing mind of a 3 1/2 year old!

Ewww. Gross.

No two ways about this. Tonight I was getting ready for my monthly game of Bunco with my girlfriends. I had to make dinner, keep the kids from killing each other and I was washing clothes. I have a new pair of capri jeans that I wanted to wear. I went up to the washing machine and opened the lid. There was this white fluffy junk all over the clothes and stuck to the sides of the machine. One of the boys had left a pullup in his pajamas and put it in the laundry room. I can usually tell when there are pullups left in pajamas because I can feel the added weight :-) But this one happened to be dry. That is until I washed it. Now I know what the inside of a used pullup looks like. So I didn't get to wear my cute new capris. I had to shake off all the fluff, and vacuum out the washing machine and then rewash the clothes.

School Decision

I think we finally know what we're doing this fall for school for Holland. I was really wanting him at the same Charter school as his brother, but the rep and the principal are so against it, I feel I would not get the support I needed if I push the matter.

Right after school let out, my sister and I took a tour of the newest charter school in our area. It combines homeschooling into a public school setting. It's quite unique. You are assigned an Educational Specialist who works one on one with you to develop your yearly plan and they check in weekly. We put our kids on the wait list, not knowing what we wanted to do, but to have that option should openings occur. We were so far down the list that I was not considering that an option. I got a call yesterday that both the boys got in (I put Romania in there just to be able to change my mind about the other Charter school). I filled out the paperwork and they will request records, his IEP, and any other documents they need to transfer his placement to the new Charter school. I will get $575 to spend for the entire year. This can go towards curriculum, classes at the Charter school, extracurricular activities or lessons. The only catch is it can't be faith-based. So some of the curriculum I used before I won't be able to buy with this money. I can still use it, I just can't include it in my school schedule.

It will be interesting how this works out. I feel better about him not being at the same program he was at last year and hopefully I will be able to make some progress.

At this point, his placement from last year would just not work. Behaviorally he's improved so much that it makes no sense to put him back where he was. Springwater will not approve of the placement, so my only other option was to homeschool again. I see no reason to leave him in a classroom full of kids with potentially severe behavior issues.

Frogger

I haven't had anything funny, exciting or enlightening to share the past couple of days. So I thought I'd bore you with our hunt for Frogger. No, not the video game. A real frog.

Two days ago we were cleaning off the front porch and I happened upon a cute little frog. Holland and I caught it and put it in the little plastic fish tank we had. It has a hinged lid and some air holes. We wanted Romania to be able to see it before we let it go. He was spending time with gramma and got back today. Well, at dinnertime, Holland looks over on the counter and says, "Where's the frog?" We all look at the counter and then look at Egypt. She's sitting there so quietly, so coyly. I send Romania upstairs to find the tank. He runs to the stairs and shouts, "the frog is not in the tank!" We all run upstairs and just start tearing her room apart.

No frog. She actually built a little home for it. And if this was more humorous to me, I would have taken a picture. But I couldn't see the humor in a frog roaming around my house. We will probably find it in a couple of years, shriveled up. Poor froggy.

Here Comes the Sun

It's been hot here the past few days. Don't feel like doing much outside. But while doing laundry, I had hung a few things on the chairs on the deck because I wasn't sure if the stains I treated had come out. I could not believe how fast everything dried. I've dried clothes outside before on a rack, but the wood always get gross and looks moldy, so I don't want to ruin the clothes.

You might remember we have a zip line from our deck to a tree at the bottom of the hill. I've thought about hanging stuff on it before, but felt weird that my neighbors could see our laundry. My sister convinced me that it didn't matter, so I have a bunch of stuff hanging up. Egypt helped me with the clothespins and handing me clothes. It's so nice to do something that's FREE!

The Duck

Tonight we met Super-Hero dad at a kid-friendly restaurant. We had a birthday coupon that expired today and wanted to make sure we used it. There was a giant bird wandering around the restaurant (figure out where we went, yet?) and when I took Egypt to the bathroom, we ran into this creature. She was curious and gave him a high five. Then she turned to me and said "That's a big red duck!" I tried to explain that it wasn't a duck, but Red Robin. Heard lots of chuckles from patrons at nearby tables. She argued the whole night that it was a big duck.

Oops

The kids have been taking swim lessons last week and this week. The boys are in the same class and Egypt had just one other boy in her class last week. This week, she's all by herself, so it's like a private lesson without payin' the big bucks! It takes about 30 minutes to drive up there, so it's a big production to get everyone ready, snacks packed and dry clothes to change into.

Today after the lesson, I had to hurry everyone back to Holland's therapy appointment. It takes closer to 40 minutes to get back to where we need to be and I was frustrated because the boys took so long to get ready. It was like waiting for a teenager to finish showering. They were in the boys locker room for about 20 minutes. At least they're clean, right? So, hurry, hurry, everyone dash to the car, get your snacks and seatbelts on. I barely make it to her office in time and when she comes out, she says, "Oops. Looks like I scheduled two families at the same time. You guys flip a coin and figure out who gets to stay." Sheesh. Just what I want to do. Argue my case to a total stranger of why it's a lousy idea for me to come back, or even reschedule. Luckily, she was willing to take her girls to a nearby park and play for the hour and come back. I would have just given up had she not offered to do that. God knew that I couldn't handle any more on my "to do" list today.

Independence Day

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We drove up Friday and Saturday to the lake cabin. We opted out of spending the night (too many people - not enough beds) and just drove the hour each way. The kids had a blast with the junior activities (boat parade on the 4th, carnival games, popcorn and movie and the ever-popular crawdad races!) Holland and Egypt had crawdads win their first races and then raced each other, but we lost. They put 3 crawdads under a big plastic cake lid and then the crawdads race to the edge of the circle. It's really funny. Kids catch crawdads with hotdog pieces and name them for the race. I didn't get any pictures this year. It's really hard to see what's going on because there are so many people crowding around the circle. It's a tradition that has been going on for 7 years now. Holland won one year and we got to keep this plaque with a plastic crawdad on it in our cabin for the whole year.

A Day at the Beach

The forecast was for 100 degrees. I don't do 100 degrees. We decided to surprise the kids and head to the beach for the day. We had most everything packed the night before, so they wouldn't know what was going on. It didn't take them long to figure it out.

I packed a ton of food for snacks and lunch on the beach. We headed to one of my favorite beaches on the Oregon coast, Cannon Beach. It's becoming more popular, so it's hard to get parking and finding a spot on the beach without a lot of people right at your feet is also getting more difficult. But it's so pretty there. There is Haystack Rock with tidepools, perfect wind for flying a kite and no bugs in the sand! Take a look at the slideshow for some great pictures of our day at the beach. We also bought taffy at Bruce's Candy Kitchen - THE only place to buy taffy. You can watch them make it right in the front window.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Sports Camp Week

This past week the boys spent 3 hours every morning attending a sports camp that our church sponsored. Romania had participated last year, but Holland missed out because of summer school. I really wanted him to be able to do all the fun summer stuff, so we opted out of summer school. He had such a good time! They did a different sport each day, learning the rules and basics of 4 sports. Friday was spent cooling off with a water day.

During the week, the kids worked on memorizing two verses. They would earn a special pin if they could say the verse to a "coach" at the end of the week. Romania had no problem memorizing it. He worked by himself, jumping on the trampoline while he said it. I had worked off and on with Holland during the week but hadn't really sat down and listened to his recitation. Last night, I spent 40 minutes with him while he worked so hard to memorize it. I actually didn't think he would be able to say the whole thing. He kept switching words around, leaving big chunks out. His brain just doesn't hold on to information. I tried doing hand motions with him, but he got irritated and said it distracted him. I tried feeding him one word to get him going. If he made one mistake, he would start all over again. I wanted him to get the flow of saying the whole thing. After 40 minutes, we stopped and said we'd try again in the morning. I felt so bad. He can see that Romania has no problem memorizing. But I have to say, that I am so proud of Romania because he is Holland's biggest cheer-leader. He has never once made his brother feel bad for not doing something that comes easily for him. He cheers Holland on, gives him pats on the back and tells him what a great job he did. If we didn't have that, the tension around here would be horrible.

So this morning, I had the boys recite what they could. Holland was actually able to say most of it before breakfast and just had a few little missteps. Then on the way to sports camp, he said the entire thing with only one word prompt! We all cheered and he had the biggest smile on his face!

He got his pin.

Happy Adoption Day!

Nine years ago, we went into a courtroom, stood in front of a judge, and were declared the legal guardians of Holland. Every year, we celebrate this anniversary. We've usually done big family activities, but this year we had a low-key outing at a pizza joint. We talk about how special each child is and how important he or she is to the family. This is another way to recognize the uniqueness of our family and how God joined us together.

Come on. The other knee?

We just went in to see our rheumatologist a week or so ago. He checked out her right knee and said everything looked good. Checked other joints and didn't seem to be any problem. Now, the last three mornings when she's woken up, she's complained of her knee hurting. I ask her which one and where and it's the left knee. I really hope this hasn't spread to the other knee. I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor to see if we wait it out for the three month check or come in now.

Follow-Up on Injection

Today I took all three kids up to the hospital where Egypt had her injection 3 weeks ago. Doctor likes to check on progress, range of motion and to see if other joints have become affected. He says she's moving well. She's very active, so he didn't recommend physical therapy. I told him that she has recently had two different viruses and asked if I should be concerned. I thought maybe this meant her immune system was weak and she would be susceptible to more infections. He said no, that she just was one of those kids who picks up everything.

I also asked about her knee still looking swollen. I thought the initial swelling took longer than a week. He said the inflammation from the arthritis has caused her bones to grow quicker. She has a bigger bone mass on her right knee than her left knee. This also means that the bone is lengthening faster and her right leg is a bit longer. He showed me by laying her on her tummy and extending both legs out. Sure enough, I could see the length difference. You could also see it when he bent her knees up and the right knee extended farther than the left. Hopefully when (if) the arthritis goes away, it will correct itself.

Just glad that things are pretty normal (I'm not even sure what that looks like anymore. Normal for us is doctor appointments every week).

Show Me The Money!!

I hate that movie, but the title is appropriate. I had a conversation with the District Rep for Holland's IEP on Monday. What it comes down to is money. The school he is at now doesn't want to give up a full-time slot because they wouldn't get the funding. The Charter school doesn't want a part-time student in a slot that they could get full funding for (which is only 80% of public school funds). So there you have it. Everybody wants the money. Maybe nobody should get it.

I also brought up the academic part of his IEP and said I didn't think that his current school was meeting his goals (or his learning style for that matter). He actually was surprised at this. Well, that's because you have this tiny little box that you've stuck your head in and think "this is what education looks like". And when a child doesn't succeed, you assume it's him and not you. Everything is behavior driven. So, forget that he needs motor activities to help him pattern and make sense of things. He's bored. He's not interested in the endless worksheets that don't connect him to the learning. It's all his fault because he can't learn how you're teaching him. He needs someone who can teach him to see how he thinks. If he takes in information differently, then it makes sense that it's the teaching that needs to change.

Why is everyone afraid of taking a chance on this? I'm so sick of hearing that his social and behavior needs are more important than his academic needs. If he's invested in something, if he's interested in something, then the behavior will follow. When does a kid act out when they're enjoying something?

Good Clean Jokes

Today was Romania's last day as a 1st grader. His teacher gave each student a pouch for Field Study days with a sketch pad, colored pencils and a magnifying glass. He also printed out all of the 'joke of the day' he did throughout the year. Here are a few of my favs:

What did the baby corn say to his mom?

Where is pop corn?


Why did the banana go to the doctor?

It wasn't peeling well.


What do sea monsters eat?

Fish and ships.

How could a cowbody ride into town on Wednesday, stay two days and ride out on Wednesday?

His horse is named Wednesday.

Time with Dad

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tomatoes-Tomahtoes

We have been working so hard on our yard. Super hero dad loves to work in the yard and has so many projects lined up. He finally finished our fence. It covers the entire backyard and there are gates on either side of the house. This is so exciting because now I can leave Egypt to play in the back and not worry that she will go into the front yard. Kids in - deer (and dogs!) out.

Today Romania and Egypt and I went over to my uncle's house to borrow his rototiller. I ran into him yesterday when I went to my mom's to feed her cat. (My sister and I have vowed not to kill the cat. Last time they went on a trip, we barely remembered to feed the cat and wondered how the thing managed to survive). So when Egypt and I got there, my uncle was mowing the strip of grass down their gravel road. I said something about wanting to til an area in my yard to plant vegetables and he said he had one. Great! After all the craziness died down today, super hero dad was able to finish the last part of the gate and install it. He even tilled the vegetable area and offered to put the boys to bed so I could plant my tomatoes. Then I stayed outside extra long so I could water all my plants and just listen to the silence. The kids are extra excited (not about the tomatoes) but about the three ginormous blueberry bushes we have. Last year we picked probably 10 to 12 cups and we have that and maybe a quart more. My favorite thing is to watch them just eat them off the bush.

The 12 Lives of Miss Molly

I felt I needed to post an update on our cat Molly. She has bounced back yet again, defying the odds of a cat who is 16 and possibly has cancer. I've been giving her amoxicillan and an anti-nausea medicine twice a day. The couple times I forgot, she threw up on my floor, so apparently it's working. She is eating all the time, so I'm hoping she'll gain some weight here and weigh more than my sister's Yorkie.

Day of Fishing

Today we went out to a park near Estacada for a day of free fishing. Parks all over the state offered free day use and some even had free fishing clinics for the kids. They had park rangers to help with setting up poles and free bait. They even had poles you could borrow.

The little pond was cute, but very muddy. I had a hard time getting down this steep embankment that had been travelled so much it was basically a big mudslide. We got down to the bank and got the poles baited and tried to cast, but it was so crowded, we spent a lot of the time pulling hooks out of tree branches and untangling lines with our neighbors. The kids had a good time. They even got hot dogs, chips and pop for their efforts.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We ended up moving to the other side of the pond and fished near my sister and her kids. Holland even won a raffle prize - a book flashlight. We all ended up pretty muddy but the kids didn't seem to mind that they didn't catch anything. Oh well. Maybe we'll head out again on a less drizzly day and try again.