A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

We had a better week than last. Our psychiatrist authorized an increase in Brother's med, and that is working so far.  He's coming back into his own mind and body, and he's happier in general.  We had long conferences with his ABA therapists, and we all agree that he's learning and applying what he's been taught in ABA as long as his meds are working.    And he's moving to the next level of fading.  His hours don't drop again yet, but the therapists will begin distancing themselves from him.  During his school work, they will sit farther away.  During play time,  they will be a little bit distracted from him. This is not going to be an easy transition! Beowulf is having to endure a series of med trials with his current med:  dilute the med in juice; double the dose; try just increasing the dose by half.  Take notes about everything.  He clearly responds very well to stimulant meds at the start, but the violence that follows as they ...

I had a full day of school planned--no calendared interruptions. But then the tree guys came. Our gorgeous, huge, very old tree in the center of our back yard--the one that shaded our deck and the chicken coop and held the rope swing--died. We don't know why. We grieved. But it was such a big tree, so close to our house that we knew it had to come down under supervision before it came down in a storm. (Which would crush our upstairs bedrooms . . . and their precious occupants!) The tree guys showed up during morning meeting. "You may watch the workers if you finish your breakfast and if you listen to the scriptures.  If you cannot finish eating, and you choose not to listen, you may not watch the workers." They tried. We closed the blinds. Then they succeeded. I put away my school goals for the day, and we watched the tree guys at work. The rule was they must stay on the deck or the deck stairs . . . here they are watching the tree guys back a ...

"I was glad Aunt Hazel had scented my hands with toilet water before I left . . . " ~Letter from Pat to Bets, Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery I read this line one night, and three thoroughly alarmed faces turned up from their quiet work. "Toilet water!?!?!?!"  The unspoken question broadcasted from each face. I stopped reading and explained, "Toilet water does not mean water from the toilet.  It means a light perfume." And the room erupted in laughter. The transition from shock to knowledge was just too much, and we laughed until we hurt. "I was picturing her sticking her hands in toilet!" Mister Man said once he could gasp the words out clearly enough. And we laughed again. (Yes, I did explain that there were no flush toilets on a Canadian farm one hundred years ago.) Church was cancelled on Sunday--so we had a jammie day at home together. We did a lot of perfectly normal things this week--Morning Meeting, Sym...

Pixie and Super Star and a couple of their friends went to a big Christian "You Are Loved" celebration for teen girls.  They get all physically pampered and beautified, fed dinner, and are then spiritually fed and beautified.  It's a fun night for 200+ girls. This is the week that I have to admit that big families do have their drawbacks, and one of those drawbacks is that kids can be lost in the crowd. In spite of all my best efforts, Belle has been lost for weeks now, and I just found out. Ladybug's, Brother's, Rose Red's, and Super Star's needs are loud and big and fierce, and I've focused on them for a very long time.  Belle's needs are so quiet. I didn't hear them or see them. I checked in verbally with her almost constantly, but I didn't follow through with actually looking at her schoolwork or keeping up with the sit-down meetings that we used to have. She's been perfectly on top of her Symposium work. I though...

photo by Little Princess Last weekend the predicted 1-3" of snow accumulation turned out to actually be 6-11".  And it was a good, wet, packing snow that was fun to play in almost all week . . . before the kids wore the snow down to the mud, and sledding had to stop. This is just a little guy, but he was gifted with personality. The bigger fellow had nothing but his size going for him. :) The dryer almost never stopped running because in addition to all of our regular laundry, I'd throw a couple of loads of coats and bibbies in after the morning play, so they'd be dry in time for an afternoon play, and I'd throw in another couple of loads before bedtime, so the clothes would be dry for the next morning play. Belle's afternoon at the farm was cancelled--not much to do when the farm is sleeping under a thick blanket. But Pixie went to dance 3 nights and started her American History class at the community college.  The teacher is totally happy...