So, I’m officially 24 years old (that’s not a typo, is it??). It’s feeling good to be back in my 20′s. I’d forgotten how carefree and happy I was. Why did I ever leave my 20′s? I had it all figured out back then – I knew how to be the best mom and the best wife and keep my house perfectly and make excellent meals. What have all these intervening years given me?? Seriously, it has been an uneventful day so far – the homeschooling thing has been a major downer today. The novelty must have worn off, because Andrew has fought me tooth and nail today (and we’ve only gotten through math and handwriting). Or maybe he just wants to ruin my “big day” (a little passive aggressive behavior maybe?) Anyhow, I’ve had lots of people wish me well, which is so nice. ...
I just read a comment about this on someone else’s blog and I have to chime in … Latest example of government waste that I (and everyone else) is personal witness to … the census procedure. Notice: the letter announcing the upcoming arrival of the census form, then the postcard, then the form, then the reminder postcard (and for those who were tardy in filling it out and sending it back) the second census form … Seriously?? Why not just send one letter registered – it’d probably be cheaper! Or better yet, how about on line – no paper forms at all!! Think of the trees, the energy savings, the mailing costs saved … but we wouldn’t want our government to actually operate efficiently, or to actually do all those “save the planet – stop global warming” things they...
So – I thought I’d update the homeschooling situation. Here’s the schedule I came up with: 8:30-9:30 Morning housework 9:30-10:00 Scripture study/memorization 10:00-10:30 Math 10:30-10:45 Break/snack 10:45-11:00 Handwriting 11:00-12:00 Reading/Spelling/Grammar/Writing 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break 1:00-1:30 Independent reading 1:30-2:30 Science/Social Studies 2:30-2:45 Piano practice/lesson 2:45-3:00 Spanish 3:00-3:30 Enrichment subjects (art/computers) or finishing up work Tom thinks it is too long – and much of what I’ve read about homeschooling supports this opinion. Most homeschooled kids can finish up before noon. But I think I was right – Andrew needs structure. He does really well all day long. It’s just when school is finished that he doesn’t know what to...
So, after a frustrating few months where Andrew has done less and less well at controlling his impulse to hit others when frustrated, and where school interventions (and home interventions) haven’t seemed to make the least bit of difference … We’re trying something new. Andrew is going to begin homeschooling on Wednesday (school wants him to finish his CSAP testing first). It’s a temporary fix – just to get him to the end of the school year. In addition, we are pursuing some therapy to see if we can help him figure out some better ways to deal with being frustrated – and maybe a social skills class. But enough about Andrew … What about ME??? Am I crazy??? This is the kid that can make me crazy five minutes after he’s woken up. This is the kid that sucks up all the attention and...