Jul. 22, 2008 - Almost Done Planning
Whoo Hoo! I have my planner complete, minus our choices to deal with Big Man's (8) Auditory Processing problems. Those choices may take a couple more weeks, there is a whole lot to read thru and many, many choices to mull over. Everything else is ready to go, including my beloved binder. Can you see my bad dancing going on? Here is our curriculum for this year:
Big Man (8) - 3rd Grade:
- Barton Reading & Spelling (a program designed for dyslexics)
- Great Leaps Reading (a fluency building program)
- Literacy Leaders (phonological awareness program)
- Abeka Math - 3rd grade
- First Language Lessons - 3rd grade
- Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive
- Earobics (an auditory discrimination program)
- Tapestry of Grace (finish up year 2 and go thru Year 3, Unit 3)
- Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry, Pre-Level 1
- Artistic Pursuits (Trying this again! We did not schedule this well last year)
- Themes to Remember (Trying this again as well!)
- One Minute Readers (a fluency building program)
- Leading Little Ones to God & Childrens Story Bible
- Auditory Processing programs -- yet to be determined
Little Monkey (6) - 1st Grade:
- Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading (picking up at about lesson 120)
- Great Leaps Reading (figured it wouldn't hurt Little Monkey to do this too!)
- Literacy Leaders (ditto from above!)
- Abeka Math - 1st & 2nd Grade (finish up 1st grade left over from last year, will probably complete 2nd grade this year as well)
- First Language Lessons - 1st Grade
- Explode the Code (starting where we left off last year, end of book 3)
- Handwriting Without Tears - 2nd Grade
- Earobics (it would be good for him to go thru this program too!)
- Tapestry of Grace (finish up year 2 and go thru Year 3, Unit 3)
- Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry, Pre-Level 1
- Artistic Pursuits (Trying this again)
- Themes to Remember (Trying this again)
- Leading Little Ones to God & Childrens Story Bible
- Will be in on some Auditory Processing games with Big Man
Peanut (3) - Preschool:
As you can see, both Big Man and Little Monkey will be doing some of the same things thru the day. The fluency building and phonological awareness programs are short things that will only take a few minutes each. Little Monkey doesn't "officially" need these things like Big Man, yet it certainly won't hurt him to have the practice. We see some red flags with Little Monkey when it comes to dyslexia, we will probably get him tested by the end of the schoolyear. In the meantime, we'll watch him closely and let him join in on some of the things Big Man will be doing. It could all be developmental, but the chances for a sibling of a dyslexic to be one too is much higher than in a family with no problems.
The Auditory Processing recommendations are many, many, many. I have two looooong reports to muddle my way thru. It isn't leisurly reading for sure! In fact, it makes my brain hurt every time I sit down with it. I'll be relieved to have those choices made so I can figure out how to get everything in our days. I'm glad we had a few weeks between the tests. It gave me time to research, choose, and get comfortable with the dyslexia choices.
Now to try and figure out how I can fit it all in our days! I may crawl under a table and be in the fetal position for a while.
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Jul. 16, 2008 - A Long Lost Childhood Wish Come True :)
Oh, how I always yearned for a Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. I drooled over the gourmet confections I could create if only I could convince my parents how much I needed it. So, mom, this one's for you. Lookie-loo what I picked up at a yard sale:
(I'll clean up that messy counter later, I have sticky-sweet sno-cones to eat)
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Jul. 15, 2008 - Crock Pot Recipes
I try to keep a monthly rotation going of meals so we're not eating seven of the same meals week after week, month after month. As we get tired of one recipe, I try to find something to switch it with. I stumbled upon this blog last night. This woman is AMAZING. Or crazy. Could be a little of both
Either way, she is impressive! She has committed to 365 days in a row of cooking a new recipe in her crockpot. Some days it's a main entree, some days a side dish, some days a dessert. I now have many new recipes to try this month before we begin our schooling. To have a bunch of new favorites that are crockpot meals is a huge plus!! She has even figured out a way to make cheesecake in the crockpot! She admits to being a cheesecake snob, but she was quite happy with the results. My husband is skeptical. I guess I just need to try the recipe and see. 
You must check her out! Even if you only get a couple of new meals your family enjoys, they are CROCKPOT recipes, the easiest meals of all!!
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Jul. 14, 2008 - Preschool Planning
I've spent the last few months trying to get Peanuts (3) Preschool plans laid out. Work on it has been slow. I've been working on it a little bit at a time as I had opportunity (it sure seems like there hasn't been much!) It's finally done, here is the link to our Preschool Plans.
He seems to be getting himself geared up for "schoolwork" this fall. I keep finding him at Little Monkey's school desk scribbling and saying "dat's A!", "dat's "F!", and so on. Let's just hope that enthusiasm keeps up when he's expected to actualy learn about those letters ;) I'm relieved to be just about done getting my planner ready, I only have one subject left to get together for Big Man (8). Now I just have to figure out a way to get all the extra things we'll need to do to fit in our day! Aaahhh!!!
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Jul. 11, 2008 - Our Week
I've been lagging in my posts here lately. We've been busy enjoying the last few weeks of our summer. We have about three more weeks until we start our schoolyear, so we're trying to make the most of it.
July 4th: We went down to the waterfront as usual. It was a rainy, humid night. The fireworks don't start until the concert on the other side of the river is done, which usually means the fireworks are delayed a bit. This year, however, things got out of hand. The concert ended VERY late, and the fireworks didn't begin until just after 11 p.m.!!!! Here are some pics from our night that seemed to go on f-o-r-e-v-e-r :
Our annual July 4th picture at the waterfront. The ground was soaked so I couldn't get them to sit there. This bench had a huge mud puddle in front of it, so I lifted each one on, then off, to get this drizzely shot:
This is what happens when you're subjected to water torture for hours while waiting for fireworks:
Finally, the rain stopped. But the only fireworks that were going off were brought from someone's home. We watched, wondering if this would be all we would see for tonight:
Finally, after we had hauled all of our things to the van, and began to buckle people in, the fireworks FINALLY began. We watched them while standing in the parking lot. Wahoo. Since we weren't able to do our puny fireworks after the "big show" on the fourth, this is what we did on the fifth:
He enjoyed himself. After two nights of staying up very late, they actally slept in on the sixth. I need to mark that in their baby books. That's monumental.
Later in the week, we were able to visit a farm with a small group of moms from our church to do a little fruit picking. It was hot and humid, as every summer day is around here, but we brought home what seemed like half the orchard. First up were peaches:
Mmmm, I can still smell them. So yummy. We picked quite a few and I'm still getting them processed for freezing. I found out recently that I can't can on my stove because it has a glass top. Until I figure out what to do about that, I'm "freezer canning". Basically, I'm doing the same thing I would do if canning, except I'm placing the fruit in freezer bags. Here's a very helpful link if you're interested: How to Can Anything.
We ate ice cream for lunch, yup that's right, I'm mom of the year for that one, then headed off to the blueberry patch. Here are my slaves . . . ummm darling children . . . hard at work:
We each had a bucked to see who could fill theirs the fastest. As I suspected, Little Monkey (6) gave up first, although he hung in for a whole lot longer than I thought he would! This one was sharing mommy's bucket. I had to take it away from him since he was eating the berries faster than I could pick them:
It's wonderful to go fruit picking here and be able to eat as you walk along, but I think Peanut (3) ate enough blueberries for six grown men. This is what happens when blueberry hysteria kicks in:
We ended up with about nine pounds of berries, and I don't even know how many pounds of peaches. The van smelled soooo wonderful on the way home! We were very weary, and I've been freezing fruit like crazy in the last couple of days. We had grilled peaches on Thursday night as a treat for all of our hard work that day. Yummy-licious!!!
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Jul. 11, 2008 - SafetyTats
What a great invention! Loosing my kids while we're in crowded places is a constant fear of mine, as it is with most of us. This mom came up with an idea to write her cell phone number on her kids with ink when they went to a water park. The ink washed off. She then came up with this great idea: SafetyTat.
If you visit Because I Said So, be sure to pick up your code for free shipping before July 30th.
Yet something else I can smack my forehead and wonder "why didn't I think of that!!?" These suckers aren't going to wash off at a water park, and you can even customize the tatoos "diabetic", "non-verbal autistic", etc. Brilliant!! I just hope mine come before our trip to a water park that's coming up!
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Jul. 2, 2008 - Still Praying For Little Joe
Or, as he's now known as, Mighty Joe :) God is being glorified in Mighty Joe's improvements. He is better, but still not good. His parents are a beautiful testimony of faithfulness during trials. Tonight, Kendra shared the lyrics from "Prayers For This Child" by Sara Groves:
I do not know how I am to pray for this child
as a mother I don’t want my baby denied
but in the waiting in the waiting
I learned
Every instinct in me wants to shield him from pain
take the arrows of misery heartache and blame
but in the sorrow in the sorrow
I learned to hold on
I only have two eyes - be all seeing
I only have two hands - be everywhere
I do not know enough - to be all knowing
I give this baby up into your care
I do not know how, how to pray for this child
I want to guard him from everything wicked and wild
but in the trial in the trial
I learned to hold on
And in the trial, in the trial
I learned to hold on to the heart of God
==================
Hold your babies tightly this afternoon-
Kendra
Can't every mother relate?
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Jul. 2, 2008 - Freebies Every Day
Who doesn't like free things? Here is a site that gives away something free every day! Today's freebie is a PDF of "Citizen Bird", a book published in 1897. In the last couple of weeks they've had MP3's, planning pages, gardening books, geography curriculum, stitchery for girls, and 37 ways to prepare for college. I'd say that's something for everybody! Go to Freebie of the Day to see what will be offered tomorrow.
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Jun. 27, 2008 - Pray For Little Joe
One of my favorite stops online is Preschoolers and Peace. Kendra and Fletch are the proud parents of eight darling children. Kendra is a fountain of great information and help to anyone with preschoolers. Their precious Joseph (7 weeks old) is struggling tonight, and will be for many days to come. You can visit Preschoolers and Peace to read the details. They are asking anyone who feels led to pray for their family. Little Joe's prognosis is still up in the air at this point, but a diagnosis of Enterovirus has been given. The virus has caused sepsis which has entered his brain. They are being told that there is brain damage, and things will get worse before it gets better. Many of his body's systems are under attack, and he will remain in PICU until further notice. Their prayer requests are:
*Praying for minimal brain damage. They may not know for a very long time how much Josephs brain has been damaged.
*Praying for no further damage to his brain or any other systems, they are all under attack right now. Praying for protection from further damage and a quick healing and function.
*Prayer for his kidneys, he may require dialysis. Praying also for quick results to the tests that have been completed on his kidneys.
*Prayer that little Joe blows away the statistics and gets better.
*Praise that it was not the herpes virus (this would have meant far worse brain damage)
*Praise because God is good all the time!
And I'll add a praise that God has moved in Josephs protection from the moment his mommy found him struggling to breathe yesterday morning. Visit Kendra's website, that is where they are posting updates. Let them know you are lifting them in prayer.
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Jun. 27, 2008 - I Knew It!
I've been telling my husband this for years:
| You Should Live in the Country |
 You don't need an expensive big city to keep you busy. You'll take the peaceful life over the stressful life any day of the week. |
This was pretty accurate, although I wouldn't say I've traveled a lot in my life. I have, however, lived in different areas of the country:
| You Are 60% Yankee, 40% Dixie |
 |
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Jun. 26, 2008 - The Best Birthday Party Ever
Star Wars is a very popular movie for little boys, I think because it is one of the few clean boy-type movies out there. Think about it. The heros run around shooting with a laser gun and whacking things with a big stick (lightsabers). The only princess in the whole thing kicks butt. Parents accept it because there isn't graphic violence or objectionable language. It's no wonder this movie is so popular with little boys. Little Monkey (6) LOVES all things Star Wars. This was naturally going to be the theme of his birthday party. Not knowing what to do besides make a cake, I went to my best friend Google. He came thru again! Big Man (8) said this was the best birthday party ever, including his own. It was funny going to church the day after the party and being stopped all over the place by people (even those with no kids!) who heard about the great party. I think that's funny considering we didn't do a whole lot. After looking thru the things on the internet, our little party was minor. The thing that made it the biggest hit with the kids was the pool noodle lightsabers combined with the pool or the slip & slide. We only played one game and did a pinata, but we went over our three hour plan for the party. Not a single person cared.
Here are the things I found if you want to make your party out of this world.
*Start out right. I made invitations on my computer. I used a picture of Yoda and added a caption for the invite: "To the pool party, go you must . . . and bring me some cake!" All of the kids thought that was a riot. Inside I let them know that "Young Jedi's are welcome to bring their light sabers to defend the Republic from an attack of the villianous Darth Vader". My husband was dissapointed in me. He pointed out that by the time Anniken turned into Vader, the Republic was no more. Sorry. If you're a hip mom, maybe you could correct my mistake.
*Of course, make light saber pool noodles, even if it isn't going to be a pool party. These are great toys the kids can take home for souviners. Buy some pool noodles in appropriate light saber colors. Cut them in half. On the cut end, wrap black electrical tape or black duct tape covering the cut area. Then use silver duct tape for the handle (be sure to use waterproof tape if they will be used in water). I wrap the silver tape tight to compress the end of the noodle so they can hold on to the "handle" more easily. For the finishing touch, use the black tape again around the top edge of the silver.
*This is the coolest cake! As I said in my last birthday post, I was so rushed that I completely forgot to take a picture. I can't tell you how upset I am at myself. It was a huge hit at the party. The Anniken, Obi Wan, and R2D2 figures on the top of the cake I purchased at the store, and Little Monkey got to keep them as part of his gift. You can follow this link for the instructions. I made the mountain out of cake, not Rice Krispies as in the instructions. I figured that would be more cuttable and edible, but it made frosting the mountain difficult. I think there was as much frosting as cake, but not a single person cared. Also, different than the instructions, I just used frosting for the top layer of the mountain and I used melted chocolate bars to make the boken pieces of land. I think the guy that made the cake in the picture used a sheet cake sized pan, I just used a 9x13. I only had room for one of the white chocolate circles, but that was fine.
*The kids must have something to quench their thirst after all the lightsaber fights! There's nothing better than downing some "Yoda Soda" or "Darth Malt". Yoda Soda was the huge hit around here. Personally, I thought Darth Malt tasted better, but maybe they liked the sound of the Yoda Soda. It is fun to say Anyway, to make Yoda Soda, just pour a 2 liter of Ginger Ale into a punch bowl and add lime sherbet. Darth Malt is a combination of Strawberry pop (or soda, depending where you live) and vanilla ice cream.
*We played "Asteroid Hunt" Take some small toys (mini bubbles, Darth Vader rings from the party store, stretchy snakes or frogs, etc.) and wrap them with aluminum foil. Shape the foil into a ball shape, or something like it. Hide around your yard, or house if inside. It's like an Easter Egg hunt, but they collect the "asteroids" in their goodie bags. Once all of the asteroids have been found, everyone gets to sit down and discover what they get to take home. We had some trading going on since some people found a few of the same thing. "I'll trade you this Darth Vader ring for your Darth Vader yo-yo." Everyone went home happy.
*Knock the dark side out of a Darth Vader pinata. I was excited our party store carried one in the shape of Darth Vaders head.
*Play some other games: Pin the cane on Yoda (or the lightsaber on Vader), musical Deathstar (A balloon with some small bouncy balls & confetti inside. Play Star Wars music while the kids pass the "deathstar" around in a circle. When the music stops, the person holding the "deathstar" is out. Continue until a winner is crowned)
*If you want, buy a Star Wars soundtrack or download some of the music from the internet. I didn't do this, but I was tempted.
*Google "Star Wars party ideas". You'll have reading material for a month!
Read about an absolutely amazing party here. These people are coooool!!! Maybe you'll get some ideas you could use too. Let your imagination run wild!! This is a really fun birthday theme. I'm sure it will be repeated in this house many times!
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Jun. 24, 2008 - Our "Summer Box"
How do you prevent the brain drain during summer break? Some people school year round to prevent this, but frankly I need the break. This is what we are using this summer:
We are calling them our "summer boxes". One is for Big Man (8), the other for Little Monkey (6). Each holds colored slips of paper with a task written on them. Blue is for math, purple is for grammar, red is for science, orange is for memory work. Each day they are to pull out two of each color and complete the task on each one. Math might be "Let's play store!" for money practice, "Addition flashcards", or "Complete a rounding numbers worksheet". Science might be "Name the layers of the earth". Grammar might be "What is a proper noun? Give 5 examples". You get the idea. I then made up short worksheets for anything I needed to. I didn't put more than eight math problems or five grammar sentences on any sheet, that way they can't really complain. The whole thing takes about five to ten minutes a day, followed by our reading time.
The kids enjoy these, it is like a little game to them. Now if I could just keep myself doing it everyday instead of every other day like I have been so far this summer!
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Jun. 23, 2008 - A party that's out of this world
Little Monkeys (6) birthday party was Saturday and it was an absolute blast. Before we get to that, since Friday was his actual birthday here are a couple of pictures.
All the boys like the Star Wars action figures!
Since the big cake was being saved for the party, we had birthday cupcakes instead 
Peanut (3) enjoyed his cupcake!
Little Monkey had a great day and is excited about the party coming up.
Now for the big day!! We were able to have a few friends over for the afternoon for a Star Wars pool party. The pool noodle light sabers were a big hit, especially when paired with the Slip & Slide!
All the kids liked knocking the dark side out of the Darth Vader pinata (Sorry this picture isn't very good, my hubbie was in charge of pictures. He tries.)
The candy pileup:
You know what really makes me frustrated? I made the best cake ever, and I was so rushed I totally forgot to take a picture for posterity. Grrrrrr!!!!! Well, here's a picture from the website where I got the idea:
I actually got the cake to look about identical to this. It was so great! The figures on top of the cake were a gift to LIttle Monkey since they were action figures that he had wanted. That was a nice little treat for him. I think I had as much frosting as cake for the mountain area, but for some strange reason the kids didn't mind that one bit It was a really great party, and some of the parents stayed to party so we got to have friends over for a day of fun, not just Little Monkey You know, looking at these pictures, it's really a shame my kids are unsocialized homeschoolers 
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Jun. 20, 2008 - Happy Birthday Little Monkey!
My monkey boy has turned six! Today just our little family will celebrate after dinner, then tomorrow the big party begins! We're having a Star Wars pool party with a few of his friends. Little Monkey can't wait to show everyone the pool noodle light sabers I've made. I'll give an update later, hopefully filled with pictures of the fun time. For now, I need to get busy finishing the party preparations.
Happy birthday Little Monkey, we love you so much!!
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Jun. 17, 2008 - This is becoming the froggie network!
We've been enjoying our little froggie friends. They're so tiny, they are actually cute 
As you can see from this little guy, he has just a itty-bitty nub of a tail left. I said last time that we could see their tails shrink by the hour. Yup, that's right. Unfortunately, I didn't think of snapping pictures at the beginning of the day then the end of the day as was suggested. That would have been the smart thing to do! Let me just say that the picture I posted last time was taken in the morning. By the following morning his tail was just a little nub.
Today when we were cleaning out the tank, Big Man (8) got one to hop on his finger:
Little Monkey (5) couldn't get one to stay on. It bounced from his finger to the log in about half a second. He was happy with that though. Peanut (3) got one to hop from the ground, up his hand, on his wrist, then to the log. I was panicking it was going to go from his wrist out of the tank, but Peanut was squealing with laughter.
Peekaboo.
Froggie calisthenics while tank cleaning.
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Jun. 12, 2008 - Froggies
Our babies are growing so fast!! We had no idea they would morph so quickly. Here are a couple of shots that are better than the last ones I posted.
This is the one that sprouted his legs first. Now his tail is shrinking by the hour!! He likes to spend most of his time perched on the log, but is trying to hide from me in the water. I've turned into a frog paparazzi ;)
Two of the others have sprouted their legs, and we can see their tails are shrinking slightly. The other one is just about to sprout his last leg.
This has been so fascinating for us. The boys are constantly checking on our little guys. I must say, they're much easier to have than a puppy!!
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Jun. 10, 2008 - On A Lighter Note
We have the best hubby/daddy ever. He knows we've wanted to watch tadpoles turn into frogs for a while now. Even though he isn't into it, when someone from work offered tadpoles from her pond, he got a few for us. What a good daddy. Here is a (bad) picture of a couple of our new little froggies.
If you look closely, you can see the back legs of the tadpole on the rocks. This morning, we discovered one had sprouted a front leg, and by lunchtime it had already sprouted its other front leg!! *Snif* my babies are growing so quickly.
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Jun. 9, 2008 - A Twist To Our Summer
Has it really been only four days since I last posted? It seems like a couple of weeks! I've had a lot on my mind over the last few days, and I'll admit it's making me stressed!
You see, a few weeks ago we had an assessment done on Big Man (8). We've had some concerns about his reading/writing over the last few years, but were always told "it's just developmental" and he'd grow out of it. I was never at peace with that, it has been a struggle to not be overcome with worry at times. He is also a stutterer. His stuttering is heavier sometimes and lighter at other times. With much speech therapy, we've made his light stuttering times longer. However, as his stuttering gets heavier, we also would notice more dyslexic red flags getting worse. I began to pray that somehow I would be able to find someone who would give us an affordable, yet comprehensive, dyslexia evaluation. Someone who is homeschool friendly would be a bonus! I didn't have the slightest idea where to go for this. Most places that give dyslexia assessments only give partial assessments, looking at a couple of areas. Well, God is good, merciful, and always ready for us to ask Him for help. A woman on our homeschool loop put out a reminder about the testing she does. BINGO! Affordable? Oh yes. Comprehensive? Yes again. Homeschool friendly? Obviously, since she's a homeschool mom herself. Off we went for a four hour (!) evaluation. Poor Big Man was exhausted beyond measure by the end of it. I eagerly awaited the parental appointment for the results.
THAT was last Friday morning.
By now you can probably put two and two together. Now, she isn't a licensed educational psychologist . . . or whoever is allowed to give the "official" word. However, as she said, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, etc. you've got yourself a duck. Now we're looking at dyslexia and an auditory processing disorder. Can you feel the rug being pulled out from under me? She was wonderful about giving us resources to use to help him, and she also does tutoring if we decide to go that route. She also gave us the name and number of a very good Audiologist whom she trusts for an official diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder. Now I'm drowning in a sea of dyslexia reading material and curriculum choices. We need to make important decisions ASAP, and we'll begin using the curriculum this summer to get a jump on his problems.
I'm reading over and over that Dyslexics have very special gifts. They are talented in ways that many people aren't because of the way their brains work. That's comforting. However, as anyone with children can relate, you don't want any hurdles for your children. Yes, there are going to be things thrown in their way, but you always hope it isn't going to be something that is a really big struggle. Honestly, we thought we knew what his big struggle would be . . . stuttering. Now, he's got a couple more. That hurts my heart for him.
We have intensive tutoring to be done. It's stinking expensive. It will take extra time during our days to do it. There many things we'll be using, but we haven't made solid choices on the specific curriculum yet. The one thing I think is certain we'll be using, and it's the core of the tutoring, is the Barton Reading System. You can look at the price list and get an idea of the "stinking expensive" I'm talking about! This is only one of the many things we'll be using these next few years. Really, I'm complaining about the cost, but if it's what saves your child from years of struggle I won't hesitate to dive in. I'll do whatever needs to be done to help him. It's just kind of a blow, you know what I mean?
We are still looking into getting a vision tracking assessment done, as we are still concerned that there are problems there as well. That will mean more therapy. I don't know what the Audiologist will have us do for therapy, if it's at home like the dyslexia things or if it's done thru her. We need to make decisions on the other curriculum choices we've been given for dyslexia. We are trudging our way thru many thick books written about dyslexia and auditory processing disorder.
I can see how these things are missed for years and years in the school system. I'm so thankful we homeschool. Everything I read says that the way to help a dyslexic is by one-on-one tutoring. That's what we do here everyday. I will need to depend on God to deliver me from excessive worry. I can't look back and kick myself for not finding these things sooner. What's done is done. God is faithful. If I allow myself to be mired down with regret or worry, I'm not trusting Him and His promises. We pick up from here and move forward, helping Big Man in every possible way. He's a very diligent worker. That is a strength of his that we will need from here on out.
If you think of us, would you please pray? I feel like I'm drowning . . . . . .drowning . . . . . .drowning.
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Jun. 5, 2008 - Praying For Our Children
I found this over at Principled Mom. It's a helpful calendar to pray for 31 different Biblical virtues for your children. There are so many things I want for my children, and this helps lay out the important things so I don't overlook them. What a handy little thing to have tucked away in different areas of your home: in you Bible, inside a cupboard door (while you cook), inside a bathroom mirror, etc. Praying for our Children Calendar.
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Jun. 4, 2008 - Summer Reading
We've been busy this week: attempting to get the pool up and running, getting the garden up and running, planning for my hubby's birthday tomorrow, planning for Little Monkeys (5) birthday party in a couple of weeks, getting some planning done for our support group this fall, getting planning done for my kiddos this fall, cleaning, dog training, Peanut (3) training . . . you get the idea. Whew! No wonder this first week of "vacation" is tiring me out!!
Anyway, one of the things my kids enjoy doing during the summer is earn awards for their reading. I make them read thru the summer anyway, so I guess they recognize they might as well get some kind of prize along with that. We've already signed up at our local library for the "Catch the Reading Bug" club. Big Man (8) maxed out his library card -- we're allowed ten books out per card -- and is busy plugging away at his favorites. I'm always on the lookout for book clubs to motivate my kids. If you're on the hunt for a reading club your kids will like, here are some ideas to get you started:
The Old Schoolhouse is offering Summer Splash to help. Your kids can earn a free ebook out of this one. Even if you don't participate, they have some cute bookmarks you can print.
The Old Spaghetti Factory is offering a reading club also. For every five books, you get a free kids meal. Yummo!
If you live within 150 miles of a Six Flags, you can get signed up with their Read to Succeed challenge. I haven't done this one, so I don't know exactly how to sign up, but a friend of mine said it isn't difficult.
Cici's Pizza is a popular "Daddy Fun Day" dinner option for my clan. This summer they have teamed up with Half Price Books to offer the "Feed Your Brain" reading club. The kids can earn a free buffet from Cici's or a $3 shopping card from Half Price Books!! Pretty neat!
These are just a few options that are out there, I'm sure. The point is, don't let those reading skills get sloppy this summer! There are lots of clubs to keep them motivated and reading away Enjoy!
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