Today we initiated the new schedule /  chart. I can't say that it went off without a hitch. Little Guy does not like change. He decided not to cooperate. I was not surprised. After three strikes, one each time for not obeying, he got to spend 20 minutes in his room. After 20 minutes in his room, he was more than willing to cooperate. Amazing.

I am not a morning person. It takes me a few minutes to wake up and get with the program. Little Guy had a bit of cartoon time, first thing this morning. We had breakfast, and I cleaned up the living room. Then we went to the chart. After getting dressed and brushing teeth, we cleaned our rooms. I helped him this first time, since it was messy. All he keeps in his room are his clothes and books he reads. There were a lot of books and clothes!!

We then had prayer and the Bible verse for this week. The Bible verse was a little different. I started with this one because Little Guy has a habit of saying things he shouldn't and then when he gets in trouble he says, "I was just joking". He thinks it should be okay then. So the verse this week is:

Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, "I was only joking!"    Proverbs 26:18-19

We then proceeded with school. We did Alpha Omega Lifepac for Language Arts, and Math.

We stopped and had lunch. Turkey sandwich for me. Mashed potatoes with tomato soup for Little Guy. He is on a GFCF diet. Gluten Free, Casein Free, Dye Free diet. Then he had a brownie for dessert. He knew we had brownies and wanted one before he finished his lunch. I told him to finish his lunch first, then he would get dessert. I left the room for a minute, and he had finished (so I thought) and I gave him a brownie. After He had finished the brownie, Little Guy told me that he had thrown his lunch in the trash so he could have the brownie. I, of course, informed him that it was wrong to do that. We will discuss this again later tonight before bedtime, when we go over the chart and talk about how he showed love, honored his parents, and obeyed his parents today. I am hoping eventually, he will start to make the right choices.

Later today, we will do more chores and go to the gym to work out. At bedtime, I read to him for about an hour. We get more school in then. Science, Health, History, etc.

I would like to say that things run smoothly around here, but at the moment, they don't. I would like to say that my family, DH, DD, and FSL (future son in law) all are on the same page and contribute to the family responsibilities, but they don't. I have the attitude that if Little Guy and I keep to the schedule and help each other and honor God, that maybe the others will follow.

This is my second time around for raising children. My 3 children are grown. We just have Little guy, 5, whom we adopted. I hope to adopt more as God sends us more foster children. I am doing things different this time. God first in our lives in all things. We will live this each day as we pray, worship, love each other,  learn together, work together, and follow all God's commandments.

Love in Christ, Beloved8

My Little Guy has been wrestling with responding to authority, obeying, etc. We had cracked down on him, but he was resisting. He was becoming angry and resentful. Little Guy is 5 years old. We adopted him this year. We had been foster parents to him and he has lived with us now for almost 3 years.

Little Guy has PDD-NOS (autism), SID (sensory integration disorder), RAD (reactive attachment disorder), ADHD, among several others. He really has come a long, long way since we got him. We have worked with him in all areas, but sometimes, I forget the matters of the heart.

I had to step back from homeschool recently to pray and meditate on his problem with accepting discipline / instruction. God spoke to me about Relationship and Love. He told me that I needed to work on that first, above all. Relationship with parents, others, and God. Accepting and Giving Love in our relationships.

Respecting authority STARTS with relationship.

So that is what we have been working on for the last week. It has really made a difference in our lives. Little Guy is all visual, so I made him a chart for him to complete family responsibilities. He is sick with the flu this week, so I am going to initiate this starting next week.

The chart has 10 areas that Little Guy is to check off after completion Monday thru Saturday. We will go discuss these before bedtime. We will talk about how he obeyed parents, how he showed love, etc. The areas are:

1) Brush Teeth

2) Get Dressed

3) Pick Up Room

4) Pray / Worship

5) Bible Verse

6) Learning

7) Chores

8) Honor Your Mother & Father

9) Love Each Other

10) Obey Your Parents

After checkmarks are completed for the week, we will do something fun as a family, like field trips, projects, etc. for a reward.

Love in Christ, Beloved8

Hi,

Today is my first blog entry at Homeschool Blogger. I have a blog over at Homestead Blogger called Simply Forgiven.

With this blog, I would like to journal about my life as a homeschooler to an adopted child with special needs.

Join us as we learn, laugh, and love on this journey.

Love in Christ, Beloved8