A Week, Briefly (5/27/19)
We started the week Monday morning by attending the Memorial Day tribute and pancake breakfast put on by our church congregation. There was a beautiful barbershop quartet performance of The Star Spangled Banner, and then one of the Vietnam veterans spoke about his experiences in war and in standing up for gospel truths. The breakfast part was horrendous--too many people in one space (I fed my kids ahead of time, so the breakfast was really a snack for them)--but once that was over with, my kids had a grand time playing with their friends, and I had a lovely visit with friends of my own.
Sir Walter Scott and Super Star were at work.
Pixie and Belle went to a swim party with friends.
And on Tuesday morning most of the kids headed out to play while I administered the NWEA MAP Growth reading test to Ladybug and Brother.
Standardized testing is not required of homeschoolers in our state, and I've never felt the need to do it before, but over and over again came the thought that we need these tests now to document our adopted kids' progress--especially as our parenting/homeschooling has been called into question by government officials over the past month. Lola and Beowulf are still under the age of required educational record-keeping, so I didn't test them.
Sir Walter Scott's shift was cancelled at the hospital, so he and I rounded up our teens as babysitters and went on a date.
What a blessing!
More testing on Wednesday--math this time--and Baymax went to the allergist so we could see what on earth is bothering him. He was tested for about 18 likely allergens given his reactions, and he's not allergic to any of them! On the one hand, we get to eat potatoes and tomatoes and bananas again; on the other hand, when we eat these foods, the sores around his mouth reappear.
Why?
He's having an inflammatory reaction, but his allergy test was negative. Obviously, I have some self-education to pursue.
We did faithfully study Myself and Others all 5 days this week, but individual studies were left alone most days.
I did a lot of laundry; the kids picked mulberries off our tree and ate until their faces and hands were stained pink.
Brother's psychiatrist returned my call about the problems we're having with his meds, and she fixed it. She's remarkable! I am so grateful. We'll see her again in a couple of weeks, and I hope to be able to give her a stable, positive report.
Fingers crossed!
After dinner, the 12-and-up group headed to the church for youth activities.
Thursday dawned clear and gorgeous, so we had breakfast at the zoo.
By 10:15 am it was too crowded for my taste, so we went home and puttered about the house and yard.
We've brought back quiet time after lunch each day. Other than needing to teach Lola how to stay in her room, it's been as easy as if we never took a break from it for a whole school year. The kids seem to be happy to welcome that pause to the rhythm of our days.
We did a little school in the afternoon and Lola finished her preschool book!
Lola knows everything a preschooler should know except for how to identify the number 6 in isolation, and the sounds of U, W, and Y. She mixes them up a lot.
She'll get 'em. I'm not worried.
And just like that, I'm done being a preschool teacher.
I think I might cry a little into my pillow tonight.
On Friday we did a little school, and then Sir Walter Scott and I ran around like chickens with our heads cut off to get kids to therapy, job orientations, and medical appointments.
We did it!
Beowulf gets an increase in his meds. I also dropped off the paperwork to get him into the ADHD clinic. I hope for an improvement--on Thursday afternoon he threw a bike at Brother. It wasn't pretty.
The results of Ladybug's and Brother's tests came back, and they did just as I thought they would.
I'm grateful for an unbiased confirmation of what I already knew.
Rose Red is officially hired by Applebee's. I think she'll be a good waitress.
Pixie has been babysitting for a the family of a pro-football player (what a blessing that meeting at the park turned out to be!), and she's earning an amazing salary. As this is just as-needed work, she also spent the week filling out job applications for something that pays less per hour but offers guaranteed hours. Her interview at Spin! Pizza did not result in a job offer.
We've also been working feverishly on her college preparation. It's time to register for classes next week, and the online course catalog/scheduling system is cumbersome to say the least. She's called the school to talk to the "Pre-arrival welcome team," and we've been signing documents and submitting forms right and left.
This is rather a big deal.
Super Star worked 30+ hours this week at Freddy's, and she's exhausted but happy. I love seeing what this job is doing for her mental/emotional health.
Belle needs a job. It's hard to get hired under 16 years of age, though, so I don't know what will happen. She's still volunteering at the farm, and she's reading voraciously when she's not finishing up biology and ancient world history.
Our home life right now feels chaotic and uncertain. I don't want to organize us all every minute of every day, but the long hours of free play seem to be taking a toll on everyone instead of energizing/blessing us. I am deep in contemplation and prayer about how to shape our summer days enough without doing too much.
It is so, so time for me to start writing assessments for each kid. That means a whole lot of posts coming soon. :)
Sir Walter Scott and Super Star were at work.
Pixie and Belle went to a swim party with friends.
And on Tuesday morning most of the kids headed out to play while I administered the NWEA MAP Growth reading test to Ladybug and Brother.
Standardized testing is not required of homeschoolers in our state, and I've never felt the need to do it before, but over and over again came the thought that we need these tests now to document our adopted kids' progress--especially as our parenting/homeschooling has been called into question by government officials over the past month. Lola and Beowulf are still under the age of required educational record-keeping, so I didn't test them.
 |
| Super Star finished French! As these are considered elementary level studies, we are counting each Level as one semester of high school learning. That means Super Star has a full credit of French on her transcript. |
Sir Walter Scott's shift was cancelled at the hospital, so he and I rounded up our teens as babysitters and went on a date.
What a blessing!
More testing on Wednesday--math this time--and Baymax went to the allergist so we could see what on earth is bothering him. He was tested for about 18 likely allergens given his reactions, and he's not allergic to any of them! On the one hand, we get to eat potatoes and tomatoes and bananas again; on the other hand, when we eat these foods, the sores around his mouth reappear.
Why?
He's having an inflammatory reaction, but his allergy test was negative. Obviously, I have some self-education to pursue.
We did faithfully study Myself and Others all 5 days this week, but individual studies were left alone most days.
I did a lot of laundry; the kids picked mulberries off our tree and ate until their faces and hands were stained pink.
Brother's psychiatrist returned my call about the problems we're having with his meds, and she fixed it. She's remarkable! I am so grateful. We'll see her again in a couple of weeks, and I hope to be able to give her a stable, positive report.
Fingers crossed!
After dinner, the 12-and-up group headed to the church for youth activities.
 |
| Nature Angel molded soaps . . . |
 |
| . . . and Little Princess built a walking robot with their final crates from Kiwi Co. They weren't supposed to get these crates, but I apparently cancelled our subscription a few hours later than I should have. :( |
Thursday dawned clear and gorgeous, so we had breakfast at the zoo.
By 10:15 am it was too crowded for my taste, so we went home and puttered about the house and yard.
We've brought back quiet time after lunch each day. Other than needing to teach Lola how to stay in her room, it's been as easy as if we never took a break from it for a whole school year. The kids seem to be happy to welcome that pause to the rhythm of our days.
We did a little school in the afternoon and Lola finished her preschool book!
Lola knows everything a preschooler should know except for how to identify the number 6 in isolation, and the sounds of U, W, and Y. She mixes them up a lot.
She'll get 'em. I'm not worried.
And just like that, I'm done being a preschool teacher.
I think I might cry a little into my pillow tonight.
On Friday we did a little school, and then Sir Walter Scott and I ran around like chickens with our heads cut off to get kids to therapy, job orientations, and medical appointments.
We did it!
Beowulf gets an increase in his meds. I also dropped off the paperwork to get him into the ADHD clinic. I hope for an improvement--on Thursday afternoon he threw a bike at Brother. It wasn't pretty.
The results of Ladybug's and Brother's tests came back, and they did just as I thought they would.
I'm grateful for an unbiased confirmation of what I already knew.
Rose Red is officially hired by Applebee's. I think she'll be a good waitress.
Pixie has been babysitting for a the family of a pro-football player (what a blessing that meeting at the park turned out to be!), and she's earning an amazing salary. As this is just as-needed work, she also spent the week filling out job applications for something that pays less per hour but offers guaranteed hours. Her interview at Spin! Pizza did not result in a job offer.
We've also been working feverishly on her college preparation. It's time to register for classes next week, and the online course catalog/scheduling system is cumbersome to say the least. She's called the school to talk to the "Pre-arrival welcome team," and we've been signing documents and submitting forms right and left.
This is rather a big deal.
Super Star worked 30+ hours this week at Freddy's, and she's exhausted but happy. I love seeing what this job is doing for her mental/emotional health.
Belle needs a job. It's hard to get hired under 16 years of age, though, so I don't know what will happen. She's still volunteering at the farm, and she's reading voraciously when she's not finishing up biology and ancient world history.
Our home life right now feels chaotic and uncertain. I don't want to organize us all every minute of every day, but the long hours of free play seem to be taking a toll on everyone instead of energizing/blessing us. I am deep in contemplation and prayer about how to shape our summer days enough without doing too much.
It is so, so time for me to start writing assessments for each kid. That means a whole lot of posts coming soon. :)
Tomatoes and bananas are related to latex allergy. You may want to look into that. My son can't handle bananas, kiwi and tomatoes and he is allergic to latex. Not sure how potatoes play into that theory. I so get the free play/ schedule issue (from our past, it is only a minimum problem now). I love your assessments. You are such a thoughtful mother and teacher.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
We have lots of food intolerances which cause almost as many problems as allergy but don't show up on testing as it's a different type of inflammation reaction. I found help with the Failsafe diet and Sue Dengate. I won't put the websites in here as that makes it seem like spam or promotion but if you search you'll find them. It is based on the work of the RPAH Allergy Clinic in Sydney.
ReplyDeleteBreakfast at the zoo sounds wonderful! How nice to be close enough to be able to do that and then go home when it is crowded. My almost 16 year old would love to have job too but no one wants to hire anyone under 16. Maybe after his birthday this fall he will be able to find something, but there are not too many options close by. We have that little robot Tinker Crate too. I just cancelled Anthony's subscription so we are done with that for awhile. I hope you are able to get the food issues worked out. I do not have any true food allergies but have several intolerances. It can be so frustrating to not get a cut and dry answer. I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDelete