First Day of School

It's finally arrived! We are the last district in the county to start school I think. This year L is a senior, C is a sophomore and we are homeschooling this year, K is a 5th grader, E is a 3rd grader and S is a 1st grader. The little boys asked for haircuts last night and I cut E's first. It turned out alright and S kept asking for his turn. His hair is so tight and curly, it kept getting caught in the clippers. So I basically buzzed it all off. It turned out pretty short and he was so upset. I feel horrible. He cried and cried and this morning at school he wouldn't take off his jacket or hood.

Tutoring

My girls have been going to tutoring weekly for the last few weeks. We found Jennifer who runs Easing Learning. She has been great and my girls really like her! If you need a tutor in the Whatcom County area, I can't recommend Easing Learning enough.

school

Six kids and five schools. My mornings consist of (with lots of help from J) feeding, bathing, dressing, packing lunches and sending kids on four different buses. It's crraaazzzy. But's been so nice and relaxing to have some time to myself in the mornings the last two days. I was really needing this!

down by the bay

K. and I spent a day last week at the nearby state park with the homeschool coop group. We played beach bingo, and found some creatures, and said goodbye to the school year and some great friends.

Solar Oven

My daughter C. is working on a science fair project. She decided to build a solar oven and see how effective it is when baking brownies. I am quite interested in the outcome. She is using this design, which really got me excited to see how this inventor is trying to improve lives in Africa.

She is painting the inner box right now and soon we will start checking the internal temperature. Can't wait to see if it works!

When I grow up

I have been thinking about going back to school. Maybe not right now, but when I have some free time!

I took an online career explorer quiz. Here are the results:

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

EDUCATION and CHILDCARE

CULINARY

Um, don't I already do all this now? I am constantly practicing conflict resolution, breaking up fights and doing detective work. I homeschool most of my kids, and am a full time childcare provider. I cook three times a day.

Who needs school?

First Day of School 2010

Well, I may have missed the first day of L. and K.'s parent partnership homeschool classes, but I did NOT miss C. and E.'s first days! This was due to a teachers' strike in their district. C. started sixth grade yesterday. Classes were delayed nearly a week. She rode the bus to school and we met her there for photos and to meet her teacher. She has a male teacher this year and he seemed nice. Today she got all her work in order when she got home and packed her lunch for tomorrow!

L. and K. go to a homeschool program outside of our district since ours doesn't offer anything similar. L. is going to classes three and a half days a week with other homeschooled jr. highers. K. goes to classes two times a week, and I will teach her the remaining days.

E. goes to developmental preschool in our district. His first day is tomorrow. He is going to be riding a school bus (for 45 minutes one way!) and can hardly stop talking about it! I really hopes he enjoys it because he will be on it a lot. He is going four days a week in the afternoons this year, which makes me a bit nervous since he sometimes is pretty tired or cranky after lunch. He can't wait to see his teacher again, and the friends he has in his class.

Different

by Vincen Tabatha

How are we so "different"?

If "different" is just a thing.

If we all have certain features,

What does "different" bring?

People filled with hatred,

Can't possibly see,

That there's not really "differences"

Between you and me.

Looks can't show "difference",

If they're just there to be seen.

If you don't look like someone else,

Why are they so mean?

If being "different" is what is wrong,

I'd rather not be right.

And I'd want to finish living,

Doing the "different" fight.

A child from my son's middle school recently passed away suddenly. That's what the info sheet he brought home said. When asked about it I learned there are many rumors and speculations that he had committed suicide because of teasing and bullying. A few more questions brought about the fact that he was physically different than others. I am so sad about this.

Today I read a great post here, about her son's Jesus heart.

I think of my children, all of them different. A few with physical differences, a few with differences unseen. All in ONE FAMILY, there are seven people who are all different from each other. And you know what? God created every single one of us, and loves us all EQUALLY.

Report cards

Today, the girls brought home their report cards. They are doing great! K. is struggling with reading but has improved a lot! The area that is hard for K. is working independently and focusing on her work. She is beginning to understand her expectations in the classroom though. C. is doing excellent work. This actually surprised me since she seemed well below grade level in some areas at home. She also has ADD. She got really good marks but is behind a bit in math and spelling. (I already know these would be her weak areas) She has no behavior problems at all. Hurray!

Thankful day 12

I am thankful my school aged children are doing well in school. It was a hard decision to give up most control of their education and send them to public school. Both J. and I had many fears. But so far, they are having fun, making good friends, and learning a lot! L. got 4 A's and 2 B's on his report card. This is great news, and an encouragement to let me know I did a good job teaching him at home. C. and K. have their conferences in a few weeks, and I have no idea about their grading system. I know that they both struggle in their own areas, but they are getting caught up quickly. It is so nice to have some time to just spend with E. and S. I think it is helping them both to have mama and papa focus their attention on them while the big kids are in school.

preschool

I got a call from the preschool coordinator. Short story is they think we should wait until spring to give E. more time to learn English, adjust to his new home and catch up developmentally. I had many questions for her, and she happily answered them. We will re-screen E. in the spring if we are still having concerns. Meanwhile I may investigate other preschool options locally and speech therapy. At the very least, we'll keep going to playgroup, therapy, and play dates. We have been spending our days playing, reading, singing and doing what 3.5 year olds do best.

On a side note: I have had several professionals tell me that he is more like a 2 year old developmentally, and I agree. Aside from the fact he his talking more, he and S. are almost on the same emotional level. S. is 21 months old. (except E. is VERY tricky and sneaky, almost passive/aggressive) Sometimes they get along great, sometimes not! They often even wear the same size clothes and many times people ask if they are twins.

Running the race...

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run,

but only one receives the prize?

Run in such a way that you may win.

C. right after a water break (that's not sweat, just a cup of water on her head!) She ran 18 laps, 4.5 miles!

K. playing the part of "cheederleader" with her friends. She ran too, 15 laps, nearly 4 miles!

Jog a thon

Today is C. and K.'s jog a thon fundraiser for school. They will be running for 45 minutes outside to raise money for their school's PTA. I am thankful it is nice outside and hope they do well. Thanks for those who have made donations. I will try to take some pictures!

Screening

E. had his screening today for developmental preschool. I am not sure why they can't just jump to the evaluation stage of the process, since he has already had so many different tests and evaluations, but whatever. The school district did his screening today, then if they feel he needs to be evaluated, they will need to do that within 35 school days. Then we will see if he qualifies for preschool. If he can go to preschool, he most likely will be placed in the same classroom as his girlfriend, A. and they will be "soooo happy" (in Bean's words). I will be sooo happy too! I hope he can get the help he deserves, for speech/communication, balance and coordination and social/behavior skills. We would be able to cut out OT therapy (he has an appointment late this afternoon) since he would be receiving it there if needed. One thing that bothers me about all this is they are really hung up on the fact that he is learning English as a second language. Well, to be truthful, he never really had a firm grasp on Creole as a first language, from what I understand (correct me if I am wrong those who knew him and understood him). I think he deserves help no matter what the situation is that caused him to be delayed. He is delayed, and if the school doesn't step in now, they more than likely will have to step in during Kindergarten and beyond. To qualify, he needs to be 1.5 standard deviations from the norm in two or more areas, or 2 standard deviations from the norm in one area. If you ask me, and I am no expert, he would qualify for speech alone. But not if they are thinking there is a reason for his delay, meaning there is nothing wrong with his brain. I think the fact that he may have hearing loss in his left ear, problems with balance and coordination that requires occupational therapy, sensory processing disorder AND behavioral issues should qualify him... but we have to wait and see. I should be hearing from them by the end of the week to see if he needs evaluation. Then we wait longer to see if he qualifies. Ugh. Good thing I called them in MAY to get things rolling. Praying for a good outcome!

First Day of School

L. and C. before L. caught the bus for Jr. High

Waiting anxiously for the bus

K. and C. at their new school

They had a good day but today was a better one.  They are making new friends and are getting comfortable with the rules and ways of the school room.

Decisions Made

We finally made the final decisions about school next year. L. is enrolled in middle school. He went to a meeting to learn all about Jr. High life. I met with his counselor to discuss placement based on past testing scores. (he will be placed in normal 7th grade classes, but if it's really simple for him they will consider testing him for their Aiming High classes) C. and K. will be home schooled, and although at first I was considering doing it all on my own, I had a reality check and decided to re-enroll in the parent partnership program we used this year. I just can't turn away the funding we will receive for activities and field trips we may not normally be able to afford.
The funds also cover fun things like Legos and these Kapla building bricks.

Although at times the paperwork seems overwhelming, the rewards are great.  We will keep on plugging away and reaping the benefits from the school funded program.  

status updates

E. saw the pediatrician today.  He needs to update nearly all the immunizations he got while in Haiti.  This could be due to the fact that 10% of people's bodies reject immunizations, poor refrigeration storage of the immunizations in Haiti or the fact that it was Haiti and you just never can know...

So he got four shots in the legs.  He has not stopped whining.   He also is going to see a dermatologist about the mysterious rash.  And we will be back in a month for the next series of shots.

L. has an orientation tonight for Jr High.  He and I will be going together at 7.  Since J. is working I had to ask my dear friend to babysit.  She thankfully agreed and I will not have to bring 5 kids to orientation.  I really need to find a babysitter for these situations.  If anyone knows of one, please pass on the referral!