Jan. 24, 2007
Blog Power!
I discovered a new powerful tool for the education of my children today. It was completely unexpected and more unplanned than anything else - but it was a great idea.
I made my son a blog of his own.
I wasn't expecting him to be so excited about it, I knew he would enjoy it, but I wasn't expecting him to want to write four posts on his first day of blogging! He is able to learn spelling, grammar, punctuation, English - it's a smorgasbord of educational opportunity - in one morning activity! Plus - here's the unexpected side-effect - it had a major impact on his self-esteem. He was so proud of himself after each post - especially the one he did on Einstein. It was his idea to write about too - he ended up using three different sources, and put together a little "report" on Einstein that was actually very well done. I highly recommend a blog for anyone who wants to go through the little bit of trouble it is to set one up for their kids.
I would love to go on and on about the great impact this blog has had on my son today - but I'm running out of battery power on my laptop, and I need to begin the bedtime routine with my boys. :) Suffice it to say that the self-esteem boost he received from this blog allowed him to conquer an OCD fear he has fought for a year now - and it was directly related to his happiness over this blog. I wish I had thought of it sooner :) - but I'm just revelling in his achievement and joy right now.
Thank heaven for the magic of the internet... :)
I made my son a blog of his own.
I wasn't expecting him to be so excited about it, I knew he would enjoy it, but I wasn't expecting him to want to write four posts on his first day of blogging! He is able to learn spelling, grammar, punctuation, English - it's a smorgasbord of educational opportunity - in one morning activity! Plus - here's the unexpected side-effect - it had a major impact on his self-esteem. He was so proud of himself after each post - especially the one he did on Einstein. It was his idea to write about too - he ended up using three different sources, and put together a little "report" on Einstein that was actually very well done. I highly recommend a blog for anyone who wants to go through the little bit of trouble it is to set one up for their kids.
I would love to go on and on about the great impact this blog has had on my son today - but I'm running out of battery power on my laptop, and I need to begin the bedtime routine with my boys. :) Suffice it to say that the self-esteem boost he received from this blog allowed him to conquer an OCD fear he has fought for a year now - and it was directly related to his happiness over this blog. I wish I had thought of it sooner :) - but I'm just revelling in his achievement and joy right now.
Thank heaven for the magic of the internet... :)
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Jan. 23, 2007
Just "Mousing" Around
I took a few minutes this morning to blog about our "morning adventure" - I originally posted it to my other blog (www.neuropoetry.blogspot.com), but it seems to fit in this blog better. :) Here's what I wrote:
This morning my boys and I were snuggled in our living room doing schoolwork when we noticed our two well-loved cats behaving rather strangely. At first I didn't pay much attention - then I heard it - the tiny squeak - and then I saw it, only a moment before the boys did. Our cats were chasing a tiny field mouse around our living room! My oldest immediately lost it - he was worried the mouse was going to be killed, and my youngest started screaming - he was just scared - the tiny mouse was running all over and the cats were jumping around, it was too much to think about. The cats were beside themselves, they were having a blast chasing this thing around, but the only thing I could think about was getting the boys somewhere away from what "might happen" and then figuring out what to do about the mouse. Well, by the time I had the boys settled in my room the cats had chased the mouse behind the hutch in the "dining room" and promptly lost it. While I have no doubt that eventually this small problem is going to be taken care of by the family cats - I'm hoping the whole business it over with "sooner" rather than "later".
There is just no way to be philosophical about a mouse in the house - they might be cute and very vulnerable when there are cats chasing them around - but as a mother I worry about health issues and the like (the blanket that was on the floor was promptly put in the washing machine) :) , I'd rather not have mice inside the house with people. I don't mind them outside - I don't even mind them when they're from a pet store - but wild field mice in my living room when I'm trying to teach my boys is not my idea of "fun" or "cute". :) Of course, my oldest, having been homeschooled for quite awhile now, promptly started a monologue on the history of health issues related to rodents - focusing mainly on rats, fleas, and the black plague. UGH! While I comforted my youngest with the fact that rats and field mice are different, and reassured him that there are no rats around here, I had to insist that my oldest "knock off the history" since, being autistic, he had no idea how upset he was making his brother. What a morning! I was pleasantly surprised when we did manage to finish all the lessons for today, as well as a few extra, before we had to leave for Neurotherapeutics (our weekly occupational therapy clinic). I guess that's just another part of the adventure of living on 5 acres - we share our property with all sorts of living creatures, and they're bound to find their way inside when it's cold. I should probably be thankful that my 9 yr old was worried about the creature dying rather than trying to kill it - at least he has learned a real respect for life. I suppose that is the real "mouse discovery" of the morning - I now know what my children really believe about the sanctity of life - and I am thankful for it.
But I still want the mouse out of the house... :)
This morning my boys and I were snuggled in our living room doing schoolwork when we noticed our two well-loved cats behaving rather strangely. At first I didn't pay much attention - then I heard it - the tiny squeak - and then I saw it, only a moment before the boys did. Our cats were chasing a tiny field mouse around our living room! My oldest immediately lost it - he was worried the mouse was going to be killed, and my youngest started screaming - he was just scared - the tiny mouse was running all over and the cats were jumping around, it was too much to think about. The cats were beside themselves, they were having a blast chasing this thing around, but the only thing I could think about was getting the boys somewhere away from what "might happen" and then figuring out what to do about the mouse. Well, by the time I had the boys settled in my room the cats had chased the mouse behind the hutch in the "dining room" and promptly lost it. While I have no doubt that eventually this small problem is going to be taken care of by the family cats - I'm hoping the whole business it over with "sooner" rather than "later".
There is just no way to be philosophical about a mouse in the house - they might be cute and very vulnerable when there are cats chasing them around - but as a mother I worry about health issues and the like (the blanket that was on the floor was promptly put in the washing machine) :) , I'd rather not have mice inside the house with people. I don't mind them outside - I don't even mind them when they're from a pet store - but wild field mice in my living room when I'm trying to teach my boys is not my idea of "fun" or "cute". :) Of course, my oldest, having been homeschooled for quite awhile now, promptly started a monologue on the history of health issues related to rodents - focusing mainly on rats, fleas, and the black plague. UGH! While I comforted my youngest with the fact that rats and field mice are different, and reassured him that there are no rats around here, I had to insist that my oldest "knock off the history" since, being autistic, he had no idea how upset he was making his brother. What a morning! I was pleasantly surprised when we did manage to finish all the lessons for today, as well as a few extra, before we had to leave for Neurotherapeutics (our weekly occupational therapy clinic). I guess that's just another part of the adventure of living on 5 acres - we share our property with all sorts of living creatures, and they're bound to find their way inside when it's cold. I should probably be thankful that my 9 yr old was worried about the creature dying rather than trying to kill it - at least he has learned a real respect for life. I suppose that is the real "mouse discovery" of the morning - I now know what my children really believe about the sanctity of life - and I am thankful for it.
But I still want the mouse out of the house... :)
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Jan. 11, 2007
New Blog
Well, here I am in a "blog-space" that is entirely new. I've been blogging randomly on blogger.com, and I'll keep that blog, but I wanted a place to discuss my life as a homeschooler of children who are "different" from the rest of the world. I'm hoping this will be a place where my decision to homeschool will be supported by others outside of my immediate family (though I know that many people don't even get that much support). :) Still, when faced with therapists who always think they know everything, though they've never parented themselves, it will be nice to have a place to vent without worry.
I am the mother of two boys - my oldest is nine and has an autistic spectrum disorder - he is brilliant, but he is very different - plus he was recently diagnosed with OCD, which is complicating things a bit. My other boy is 5 1/2 (he insists the 1/2 is important) :) and has sensory integration dysfunction and an anxiety disorder. I had always planned on homeschooling them, but when it turned out that they were so different from other kids it became absolutely necessary for our family that we educate them at home. They cannot handle classroom environments, and consequently, would be unable to meet there full potential in a "traditional" school environment. At home they are excelling, and learning is an integral part of our family life. My husband and I have been married 10 1/2 years and though our life hasn't been anything like we would have planned, we wouldn't change our homeschooling decision for anything.
Anyway, it's wonderful to find a place in cyberspace for a homeschool community/network. :) I'm looking forward to reading other blogs and enjoying the lessons (school and life) others share...