Homeschooling

I never thought I would end up here. The situation at my son's school worsened. His self esteem had hit an all time low. He ran out of the school building crying and was caught in the parking lot. My husband and I decided that for his safety and mental health we needed to remove him from school.

This happened right before Spring Break. We took a lovely vacation to Arizona, where my sister and parents have bought a vacation home together. It was very relaxing. It also gave me time to organize my homeschooling plan. I had already considered it as an option, so I had an online curriculum chosen. I gave Nathan a few tests to determine at which levels we should start.

We are just over a week into homeschooling. It has been an eye-opener. My son could have gone 3 times as fast in his reading/phonics, but he requires remedial attention in math. News to me. We started on the First Grade Level for every subject. At this rate, he will finish the First Grade Language Arts this summer. We went back to Kindergarten Level Math. He'll finish that this coming week. Then we'll continue with First Grade work, going at a much slower pace than the other subjects. We're wrapping up a few items that he hasn't learned (from us) in 1st and 2nd Grade Science, then in the Fall, we'll start 3rd Grade Science. I LOVE that I can tailor this to his needs and strengths. At school, they were learning about Living vs. Non-Living things, but he wants to start Chemistry! Also, he gets to do Science and Art every day instead of once a week.

It is an incredible amount of work to set up the lesson plans each day, but I'm finding my groove. We're having tons of fun! Nathan is so much more relaxed. We try to make it to the playground each day at 3pm. His interaction with other children is much better. I think he's not drained and as a result he can enjoy their company.

That Old Werewolf Story

Today my 5 year old was playing with models of the Earth and the Moon on strings. He swung them around quickly and said, "This is what happened when the Moon broke out of orbit!" My husband asked him, "What do you think would happen if there were no moon?" My son thought for a moment then answered, "There would be no tides. They would have to get rid of that old werewolf story, and it would be darker at night."

I just loved that.

What do your kids do in Kindergarten?

Apparently my son spends the majority of his morning doing work sheets, then they go to lunch. I think they have a special class after lunch (gym, spanish, music, etc.) After that they have a 15 minute recess (yes, only 15 minutes for 5 year olds AND if he doesn't finish his work sheets, he's not allowed to go out for recess). Then they have a snack. Aside from the problems that you've already noticed above, snack time is an issue with me. Here's why:

1. The children are forced to watch TV. WHY? Once my son was forced to watch Sponge Bob. Friday my son was forced to watch Kung Fu Panda. Kung Fu Panda is rated PG! My husband and I had already previewed it and deemed it was too violent and too "old" for our son. My son told his teacher he did not want to watch it, but he was not allowed to do something else. WHY? How on earth does this fit into a Kindergarten curriculum? My son gets in trouble for defending himself against a bully. Then the teacher shows a movie about hitting. Way to go! There's consistency for you! The teacher had the nerve to ask if there are consequences in our home for hitting. It is the school that is inconsistent!

2. We aren't allowed to provide my son's snack. We give him healthy foods. Apparently all of the other kids eat Ho-ho's. Every parent brings a snack for the class once a month. The school told us that it has to be pre-packaged, individual servings. Guess what that means? No fruit, no veggies, just junk. We sent Cheez-its the last time. At least they're baked. Crimony. It's no wonder obesity is such a huge issue here.

I would love to hear some feedback on this. Please comment with your experiences and opinions.

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/

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.