Fall is Here!

The sun went away in a roaring downpour and fall is upon us in earnest.

Anna and Maggie are still close friends. They do everything together… and with their new best friends Ellie and Brody, our next door neighbors.

Goodbye to warmth and sunshine!

Early September, we started homeschool. This is the first year I’ve really done homeschool. We’ve dabbled before, but never really gotten in very deep. With Anna being a first grader this year, it was time to have a more regular schedule and curriculum. Here’s what we do:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

1. Anna reads a short book to me (she can read most level 1’s and 2’s)… and this sometimes feels as much like speech therapy as it does reading practice as I encourage her to enunciate words.
2. I read a chapter or two of a book to Anna (and Maggie, if she’ll sit for it). We just finished the Laura Ingalls Wilder books through The Long Winter and are starting some American Girl books. What are your favorite young kid chapter books?
3. Anna then does handwriting practice. Right now at the beginning of the year, she writes the alphabet and then writes a very short letter. As she gets faster, we’ll do more.
4. I bought some actual curriculum books…. Horizon Math workbooks. We’re starting with Kindergarten, part 2. Then I have First Grade part 1. Even with doing two lessons per day, I don’t know if we’ll get through them.
5. Lastly, Anna does about five pages from one of those contains-everything workbooks. I love that they’re a little easier and faster and help her relax and feel confident again after her hard work is done.

Tuesday/Thursday:

1. First I read the girls a story… I have a whole stack of books to choose from that I haven’t read to them before.
2. Then Anna and I sit and practice piano. It’s tough going right now as there’s so much to learn all at once. I have the Teaching Little Fingers to Play book that I remember learning on as a kid. We’re practicing reading notes, we’re practicing counting, we’re practicing playing the songs through (and being successful thanks to muscle memory and audial memory)… and the lessons are very short, because that’s how much she can digest at a time.
3. Next we do math… a visual math. I have base ten blocks (singles, rods and flats) and I have Cuisenaire Rods. And I have different kinds of worksheets that go with them. Right now she’s just learning to recognize numbers as meaning sizes or amounts. Basic addition and subtraction with rods. I’m about ready to introduce carrying (Adding things together that equal more than 10) and how to do that with rods and teach place value.
4. Next are workbook pages.
5. Finally, on Tuesday we do some sort of science. It’s pretty light right now, because I don’t have a curriculum and teaching science requires some creativity and familiarity with setting up learning scenarios which I don’t have. It’ll be more elaborate next year. Right now we’re trying to figure out some good ways to use a science journal. On Thursday, we do a craft.

It takes us 2-4 hours to do everything and maybe half of it is one-on-one. Anna is very good at working on her own otherwise. Maggie has workbook pages that she does too, but on an entirely different level. (hehe) It’s amazing how motivated my mover-and-shaker is to sit and practice letter thanks to watching her big sister! It blesses me!

I think the only thing not included is field trips. We try to visit a friend or go somewhere once per week. On Wednesdays we go to Bible study in the morning for me and the girls go to AWANA at night.

Somewhere in all this, we picked several buckets full of apples from the neighbor’s tree and made applesauce. Before that, we got to make some salsa. Ok friends… I have this AMAZING kitchen. It has TONS of counter space. And yet… and yet, I fill it up. It’s always covered! I must find a way to put things away, I guess?

I sure enjoyed our summer time with friends and family.

My adopting/adoptive friends probably would especially like an update about Jordan! Ah, Jordan, Jordan. Jordan started preschool September 16th and is attending during the afternoons, five days per week. He’s away from home for about 3 1/2 hours per day and so far it’s been a really good fit for all of us. Jordan has so many emergent skills and new confidence to try things. And reach things. And climb onto things. I have found him in the bathroom, trying to figure out how to play in the water several times now. This is unprecedented for the little boy who wouldn’t try anything new or different that we are used to!

There are growing pains in what he’s learning. For example, being more confident and proactive means he’s in everybody’s space and everybody’s stuff! Imagine that! He’s exactly the little boy (but bigger) that we fought to adopt. 🙂 And… oh my goodness, he is a lot of work right now. He and Carolyn have been best buddies since she learned to crawl about three months ago. They follow each other around and play near each other and sometimes even hand each other things. However, now Jordan follows her around, banging on her head with his toys or slapping her head in a happy way. So… as you might imagine, Carolyn is no longer loving Jordan, though he doesn’t understand why.

Also, keeping books, hard toys and every other object put away is really difficult. Jordan likes to throw hard things. And he throws them pretty hard. So he runs the risk of breaking things or, worse, hurting the rest of us. Being taller than the average toddler, it means my desk and the counters aren’t safe places to set things. Having a kid with special needs does sometimes mean learning to do things new ways. Like, learning to baby proof in new ways! And I haven’t learned yet. But I’m mostly willing. Sometimes I feel like people don’t understand and think I”m being whiney about baby proofing. Maybe I am. I’m a first time parent… a first time parent of Jordan! I haven’t struggled with resentment over the way my house looks, but I have struggled with feeling with self-consciousness and feeling different and alone. And sometimes I want to leave things out and I can’t.

My play room with all the toys and the big baby gate is a life saver. When Jordan is bored and going after stuff on the counters for attention and I’m trying to do school with Anna… well, I can put him in a play room and shut the door, all the while remaining visible and somewhat “together.” It’s like a giant pack and play, I guess, and I’m grateful for that safe place so the family can function.

Preschool has been amazing for us the last three weeks in this phase of our lives. Jordan gets lots of attention and one-on-one practice. No power struggles with mommy. No tired mommy getting frustrated. No getting interrupted by other immediate sibling needs. Real, one-on-one time with people who care about him. I’m a believer in homeschool and I’m a believer in public school. The teachers and therapists there are (with the exception of one) teaming up with me and supporting my family. I appreciate that. I have been needing some respite to let my wound-up-edness calm down a bit. And my highest need child being in preschool allows that. It’s been so nice to reconnect with the girls on their level.

Well, folks. That’s it for now! We’re thriving and growing and I keep wanting to adopt again, so you know I’ve at least got my head above water! We are getting better sleep than we have in over a year, though Carolyn still wakes up at 4am and sometimes goes back to sleep. Brian’s work is going well and I am super duper proud of him. He’s studying to take the PE (Professional Engineering) exam on October 25th, which is a big, difficult and expensive ordeal. He has been studying for an hour almost every night for over a month and is in crunch time now with just 3 weeks left. The new house is amazing. We have plans up and out of our ears, but limited time and resources, so we’re trying to take it slow and prioritize. The girls love to spend lots of time outside and I look forward to being able to be outside more myself. Being outside with Jordan is really fun exciting challenging but happy these days… it requires constant focus so he doesn’t run away or eat handfuls of dirt and choke. He is really fast and does not stop. (I need to get an identifying tag to put on his shoes or a bracelet just in case he gets away sometime, somewhere.)

Time to go get towels and hot chocolate ready… the girls have been out in a downpour and are cold and soaked!