Love is the Key

Snuggling with my son last night, I was thinking about how he is calmed by a hug and a soft voice. When we changed his Kindergarten class, he showed a remarkable improvement. His new teacher is amazingly compassionate. When he has difficulty, she takes the time to help him work through it calmly. She always has a hug for him. He is so much happier and so are we. I made the above treasury to reflect my feelings.

Kindergarten Update

Well Kindergarten hadn't been going well. My son was in trouble nearly every day. On the days that he hadn't gotten in trouble, he would come home and cry because he worked so hard to hold himself together during school that he just broke down when he got home. It was breaking my heart. We ended up having him evaluated for sensory processing disorder. Yep. He has problems with his vestibular. It involves hearing and balance. His school decided that they had too many children and started another kindergarten class. We moved him to the new class so that he could have a fresh start. We met his teacher today. She seems wonderful! She really listened to our concerns. She also has a "cozy corner." This will be very helpful with Nathan. Sometimes he needs a quiet refuge when he gets over-stimulated. I'm really optimistic!

Here's a link with more information on vestibular disfunction:
http://www.sensoryflow.com/spd/vestibular/
and on auditory issues:
http://www.sensoryflow.com/2010/03/hearing-doesnt-mean-he-heard-it/

My New Treasury

I finally had a chance to make a treasury including (among others) many of my wonderful Project Embrace teammates. It is called "It's not the destination" and is subtitled, "It's the journey." It reflects my view of the journey of life, metaphorically shown with a woodland/ hiking theme. I've included images of the woods, travel, love, motherhood, struggle, and triumph. That's life. Live the experience. Enjoy the ride...

Sunday's and Monday's Treasuries and more

We had such a busy weekend! My son had 12 pages of homework over the weekend. Doesn't that seem like a lot? I don't remember working like this in Kindergarten. I keep hearing, "Kindergarten is the new first grade." I guess so...

Also, I was working on a custom order for a customer. She wanted a set of small light catchers in the colors of the Chakras, to assist with her meditation. What a great idea! I made them today. They look fabulous and she's excited about them! I think I may offer this as a gift package.

Last night I saw that two of my items were in Project Embrace treasuries. I was just able to get to them now. Enjoy!

"Sapphire" by Kathleencavalaro includes my Cobalt Lantern.

"Sunny Sunday" by simplysuzula includes my Amber Lantern.

Monday, Monday...

Well, I sent my little boy off to Kindergarten again. They have a drop-off. A teacher gets the child out of the car and is supposed to walk him to the cafeteria, where his teacher will collect her students and walk them down to class. The teacher got him out of the car and just sort of nudged him in the direction of the cafeteria. I pulled in to a parking space to watch. He looked so confused, but finally went in. With really little kids, it is so important that that things happen the way they are told it would happen. Tomorrow I'll let him get out of the car by himself and walk in on his own. At least he'll know what to expect. I hope it went Ok today.

On a different note, here is a fabulous treasury in blues:

"It's teatime when its raining" by Jealousydesign, includes my Cobalt Lantern.

Kindergarten

Today is my son's first day of Kindergarten. He's gone to preschool since he was 2, but this is his first full-day of school. I hope he does well. I think he'll love it. He's completely bored here. It will be so nice for him to get a fresh injection of information and stimulation. I am really looking forward to having time to work while not feeling guilty about it! My time with my son when he is home will be just for him (and maybe some of that housework I'm horribly behind on...).

Only Two?

Trying to work at home has been a challenge. I have a very spirited and imaginative 4 year old son. Today was a great example of what I deal with. I do my cutting and soldering when he is at preschool. I wait until he is home, though, to run the kiln. (I'm afraid I might burn down the neighborhood if I left the kiln unattended.) Today I ran out to to turn on the kiln. He was, I thought, engaged in his pipe cleaner craft he so diligently works on. I came back in from the studio (2 minutes?) and he had that look on his face. I know that look. So I said, "What are you up to?" He calmly replied, "I only threw two eggs out the front door."


((Only two???)) :/

I need water in my life.

I've always longed for water in my life. I think that it is an instinctual need to be near something so basic to our survival. I love oceans, rivers, and creeks. I find it profoundly relaxing. This weekend my little gang took a day trip to Sandstone Falls near Hinton, WV. How did I not know about this place earlier? We'd gone on hikes all over the area, but this gem eluded us until now! Utterly beautiful. The New River is wide and shallow. It is an ancient river, the oldest in the U.S. We climbed out onto huge rocks and watched and listened to the falls. My son collected giant crawdad (crayfish) claws and clamshells. The sound and smell actually reminded me of the ocean. There was a shell "island" and even sea (or waterfall) glass. This place was also full of rich textures: pebbles, weathered trees, currents. Next time I'll bring the good camera. I would go there everyday if I didn't have to drive an hour to get there!