A Week, Briefly (3/15/21)

Books we read this week.  The Frog Book was outstanding.  The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden made all of us cry.  It's about dealing with grief, and it is perfect.

 

Monday . . . Gloom

Tuesday . . . Gloom

Wednesday . . . Gloom

Thursday . . . Gloom

Friday . . . Sun! 

And I came back to life.

Seasonal Affective Disorder . . . it's real.

Crocus photo by Little Princess

Today is the last forecasted day of sun before 10 more days of rain and gloom.  I've soaked up as much sun as I've been able to this weekend, and I'll do my best today.

But the truth is, I'm scared of the gloom that is coming back.  I saw my doctor this week for my annual depression screening and follow up, and we can see that my med is working, and I'm managing my symptoms.  

Went on a little walk with just a few of the kids to collect tires for our pond structure.  Walking helps.

 

But a lack of sunshine is a real problem, and I don't want to feel half dead and sad and incompetent again.

Especially as we're trying to manage Beowulf's behaviors.

They got hard this week.

Like curled-up-in-fetal-position-to-protect-my-head-and-neck-from-the-balance-board-he'd-already-hit-me-with-once-and-was-threatening-to-hit-me-with-again hard.

 

The good news is we have an in-person appointment with his psychiatrist to discuss his meds and treatment this coming week.  

 

More good news is that I've already cut one of his med doses in half, and we're starting to see an improvement.  It's the med that was working fairly well at a lower dose, so the psychiatrist and I agreed to increase his dose.  

I'm pretty sure it was too much.

Stimulant meds worked for this boy . . . until they stopped working.  As they built up in his system, he couldn't tolerate them, and he became more violent on them than off.

We've seen what he's capable of.  He's felt great, and he remembers that.  We'd so like to find that magic again and be able to keep it for the long haul.

The emergency state in which we lived for part of the week has caused Ladybug to revert to a few old behaviors, too.  However, I think she'll be okay as soon as there's been a settled season again.  Each flare-up has been less severe than the last (for the most part), so I get a sense that she's making progress.

 

Through it all, we've trudged forward with homeschool, therapies, and work.

And we have had joyful moments to lighten the gloom.

Walked out of my bedroom and found her just sitting here!

 

Moments of prayer

Moments of laughter

Moments of learning

Moments of inspiration

Moments of love

Lola helped me with a Morning Meeting lesson about the armor of God.

 

Baymax started his Primary Phonics readers and workbook.  He likes the readers.  Not so much the workbook. :)  But he is a diligent student, and he does the work.

Lola continues to work for Skittles, so she's making progress.

 

 

Applying ABA techniques that I've learned from Brother's therapists has helped me see Beowulf through at least a math lesson (his favorite subject) each day, even if we have to complete it in pieces over the course of 10 hours.

Brother has a new therapist and a new therapy schedule.  It's hard to make changes.  The good thing is we still have his old therapist part time, and the new one is part time, so we're getting to phase into the new therapist gently.  She's quiet and shy, and nothing at all like Mr. S--.  We're hoping to form a good relationship with her, but it is harder than it was with Mr. S--.

 

Mister Man keeps truckin' through school.  He works almost completely independently, so all I do is check work here and there and advise him when to do a little more or when enough is enough.

Ladybug has forgotten everything she learned in arithmetic except basic math facts.  She cannot carry or borrow or remember her facts with a sum or minuend over 10.  I have printed a stack of review worksheets for her, and I'm hopeful that this is one of those "swiss cheese" moments common to FASD.  I hope sincerely that the concepts will come back to her simply and without fanfare.  She does read--she's trying to keep up with Mister Man's reading of fantasy books, and she's working steadily and joyfully through the Fablehaven series.  She and Mister Man talk Fablehaven day and night.

Little Princess and Nature Angel work and study diligently.

Belle is working on American Lit.  She completed the Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Abraham Lincoln sections in her text.  She's working on Emily Dickinson now, and she says with a dreamy smile, "Mom, I really like poetry."

I took 2 pics of our dining room/homeschool room.  There are more pics to take, but I want to wait until they're a little more polished before I show them off.

Rain gutter bookshelves.  I rotate books and magazines every week.  It really catches the kids' attention, and it is great to have the books always handy when we're at the table.

Art gallery.  It's 3'x4' and designed for change.  I built it from two pieces of 1"x2" lumber, a few eye hooks, some wire, and clothespins from our craft closet.  I used leftover paint from the built-in bookshelf I made, so it's nicely coordinated.  Someday, when I'm no longer homeschooling, but I'm grandmothering, I can fill it with grandbaby art, so I think it will stay for the long haul.

Pics of the custom bulletin board and built-in bookshelves to come, followed eventually by our awesome slat walls!