Life update for Sept 2014~priddymomma

Hey guys!  Welcome back to yet another fantastic post about me!  Life update time.  You must be so thrilled. 

I have exciting news:   

I’M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just kidding.  But now I have your attention.  Bwahaha!

I’m still in the process of getting Cheerio Champ evaluated for Asperger’s/autism.  We have another appointment on October 2^nd, so we should know more then.  Princess Cheerio is as smart and adorable as ever.  My husband has been really interested in conspiracy theories lately (IT'S A CONSPIRACY!), and I’ve been writing a novel.  Yes, a novel.  How novel!

The biggest thing going on this week for us is the start of school.  We home school and love it.  I will share with you what we covered our first couple of days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  We are eclectic homeschoolers and quite proud of that.  :)

 

Curriculum 

Cheerio Champ (6) has a curriculum (created by me) based entirely on volcanoes.  There are so many subjects related to or concerning volcanoes that I can’t even list them all.  It is plenty for one school year!  He’s in “first grade”, though he is participating in some of Princess Cheerio’s projects and can do some 2^nd grade work.  He also reads at a 6^th grade level.

Princess Cheerio (2) has her curriculum based on a book called, “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen.  She really adores the book.  In case you aren’t familiar, the book tells the story of a family going on a bear hunt to catch a big bear.  On their journey, they find obstacles that they can not go over or under.  They realize to their dismay that they must go through them.  They include such things as caves, snowstorms, and grasses.  The book allows us to talk about weather, bears, environments, etc.  I'm even planning to set up a bear hunt obstacle course.  I haven’t figured out how I want to replicate “snowstorm” yet, but I’ll figure it out!  Princess Cheerio will also participate in some of the experiments and such with Cheerio Champ’s studies.

Structure

Our school week is not Monday to Friday.  Instead, it is Tuesday to Saturday.  My husband is off on Sundays and Mondays, so our "weekend" is different.  Also, if there is a sick day or what not, we are able to flex the school week into the weekend or wrap into the next week.  We don't take time off for holidays.  We usually complete more than 180 days of school in a year.

Here is a "typical" school day schedule:

7:30 a.m.-wake kids, hygiene, writing practice (vocab words for Cheerio Champ, drawing for Princess Cheerio), chores

breakfast

9 a.m.-reading and discussion; any brief lectures on topics we're covering that day

9:30 a.m.-yoga and meditation

10:00 a.m.-short educational video for the day and brief recap

10:30 a.m. -quiet time/nap time (provides chill time, nap time, and play time)

12:30 p.m.- worksheets, playing, chores, lunch

after lunch until 2:30 p.m. - buckle down learning/projects (For example:  Wednesday we baked GF apple crisp and drew an orca)

2:30 p.m.- dad gets home; go outside (sometimes outdoor learning for no more than 10 minutes); play and explore

3:30 p.m. -school day over

Only about 3 hours of material taught over the course of 8 hours.  They learn plenty, don't get frustrated, burnt out, or bored, and sleep hard each night. 

Princess Cheerio drawing a picture of a volcano and a rainbow in the clouds.

Reading and discussion with Harry Potter

Yoga

Meditation

Letter of the day for Princess Cheerio

Unit books

Labeling parts of a volcano

Explaining "cone" volcanoes

Mentos-diet soda experiment

Mentos-diet soda experiment

Exploring

Watching "Magic School Bus Blows Its Top"

Baking GF apple crisp (Washington State apple).  We Covered some of Washington while talking about Mount St. Helens.

Drawing an orca (Washington State mammal)

Hanging a thistle sock for goldfinches (Washington State bird)

Painting like Michelangelo did in the Sistine Chapel (Italy).  We covered a bit of Italy with Pompeii.

Cheerio Champ insisted I take this picture of him completing a worksheet.

Princess Cheerio is very outside-the-box.

They got a bit freaked out by a Pompeii animation.  I also had the volume cranked.  It was awesome.

Italian flag

Italian flag. 

Waving arrivederci (learning a few words in Italian)

Meditation

Alrighty!  That's about it for me!  I hope you guys have a great weekend, and I'll see ya next week! 

Home-school vs. public school~priddymomma

Hey guys!  I’m a little late posting this due to the weather.  Yesterday, it was marvelous!  My family spent as much time as possible outside; running around with the dog, roasting marshmallows on the fire, and playing badminton.  I didn’t get to do much writing during that time, as you can imagine.  Today, the weather further complicated things by being horrible.  Thunderstorms are passing through the area, and my satellite internet is finicky when it comes to storms.  Excuses excuses.  (Also, I forgot until today.  Shh!)

The topic this week is home school vs. public school.  I know, I know!  We’ve done this before.  (If you’d like to read what I had to say however long ago, look here http://thecaseofthemissingcheerios.blogspot.com/2013/03/fanatics-and-superhumanspriddymomma.html  and ignore the typo that I only just caught -_-)  It’s a hot topic though, and I promise not to bore you with the same things (mostly).

Homeschooling isn’t for everyone, but anyone can do it.  Different states (or

countries for you international readers) have different rules and regulations for the homeschooling parent.  Fortunately for us, we live in Indiana.  Indiana is probably the most lenient state in regards to requirements for home-schools.  We are required to keep attendance records and to attend at least 180 days each year.  It is also compulsory for kids to attend from the ages of seven to eighteen.  That’s it.  The superintendent can theoretically request to see attendance records, but I don’t see that actually happening often.  We aren’t required to do any type of testing, nor are we required to learn any specific subjects or file any forms. 

Here are my reasons for homeschooling my kids:

• No one knows my kids like I do.  I understand them and their learning styles better than anyone else, because I have been around them more than anyone else.
• They don't fall behind if they are sick.  In fact, they can't fall behind ever as everything is adjusted to their learning pace.
• My son has ADHD as well as having mild autism.  He is really advanced in some subjects (like reading and math), but struggles with other things (social skills, listening).  I don’t believe he would have reached his full potential in public school.
• My kids can wear whatever (even pajamas).
• I love homeschooling my kids.  They learn, I learn, we bond.
• We aren’t in love with our school system.  The local district isn’t the best, and we don’t think any public school is terrific.
• Curriculum- We always have the final say in what our kids learn.  We can change it, we can cut it, or we can add to it.
• Bullying-We are a four-person household.  Any bullying is always noticed and never tolerated.
• Threats- There have been awful things in the news in the past ten years concerning schools.  Our kids don’t have to ride the bus or walk the hallways in fear.
• Diet-Our kids ate good foods when we started homeschooling, but now they are on a more selective diet (gluten free).  I would consider homeschooling also if your child has something like a life-threatening peanut allergy.
• We can travel and continue to learn without being tied to a school schedule.  Any time of the year can be vacation time.

There are more reasons, but these are the biggies.  If you do send your kids to public (or private or charter) school, that’s great as long as you are pleased with the education they are receiving.  Your ultimate decision should take your family’s individual needs into consideration.  

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to comment or make topic requests below.  :)

On the spectrum~priddymomma

Hey guys!  Time for an update from me.  (I can feel your excitement.  Just hang on to your britches!)  I’ve had a lot going on recently what with trying to settle in to our new house, helping my close friend plan her wedding (which is code for getting bossed around a lot, bless her), and scheduling curriculum for homeschooling this coming year.  Instead of boring you with a list of stuff I did, I decided to just talk about what is at the forefront of my mind as of late:  Cheerio Champ. 

Cheerio Champ at age 3

We knew that Cheerio Champ was on the spectrum by age three.  We caught it long before his pediatrician did, and she wouldn’t have caught it at all if we hadn’t insisted that certain aspects of his development were abnormal and that he had picked up strange tendencies.  After discussing options, we took a watch-and-see approach, which I don’t regret and I think was the best option.  His talking had recently picked up considerably, and he was beginning to form sentences.  He responded well to hugs and affection, there was no sign of hand flapping, and he made eye contact often.   

Things changed late last year.  Our pediatrician retired.  Cheerio Champ had been handed a label (autism), but since we never had testing completed to be “sure”, the diagnoses was unconfirmed.  It wasn’t until we went to our new pediatrician for the first time this past month (Cheerio Champ is now 6) that we discovered our conundrum:  our new doc doesn’t agree with the diagnoses, which means that the resources to help Cheerio Champ are out of our reach.  He doesn't think he is on the spectrum.  Though he didn't say it, I got the feeling he didn't believe in spectrum disorders at all.  Talk about a clash! (outside of that, we got on quite well)  We were hoping to pursue behavioral therapy for Cheerio Champ based on some habits we thought might be wise to break, but the doctor wasn’t agreeing and wouldn’t write the referral.  He did, however, agree that he had ADHD, which was no surprise and frankly obvious (even though assessments were still necessary).  He agreed to write a referral to a behavioral therapist for the ADHD since we didn’t want to use medications (because I am devious like this, but I also legit wish to not medicate my child if possible).  I figured that I could talk with this behavioral therapist and hopefully get if not a diagnoses, than the help my boy deserves.

 

This is one of those habits we are hoping to break.  This was once new paint...

Yesterday was our first appointment with the behavioral therapist.  Cheerio Champ just adores her.  He has talked about her several times since we left, saying that she is super nice.  She whole-heartedly agreed with the ADHD diagnoses, and even went one step further, suggesting that I might have it as well.  I would buy that, though I do a fairly good job of self-management what with caffeine and exercise.  

After interacting with Cheerio Champ and watching him play, she then suggests that perhaps he is on the spectrum.  I could have kissed her square on the mouth.  “YES!!!  But his doctor didn’t agree, even though his previous pediatrician thought so as well.”  She told me she was leaning heavily towards Asperger’s (my thoughts exactly) or autism, and immediately wrote us a referral for testing at Easter Seals.  I didn’t realize how much anxiety and sadness I had tied up with getting him the resources he needs until I practically broke down right there.  I felt so stupid, and it was made worse by the fact that she is trained to be all understanding and what not.  Ugh.  Just quit talking so I don’t have to snot all over myself, okay?!

Our next step is to get him tested.  I guess the first appointment is two hours due to his seeing two specialists on the same day, and the next is a meeting just with the parents to discuss plans from there.  I have to wait to hear from them before I know when his appointment will be.  I’m happy we’re that much closer to aid, but I feel frustrated that there are so many hoops to jump through.  It pains me that to seek treatment for kiddos, most spectrum parents have to go through this kind of thing. 

I'll be back next week.  Bye!

Immunizations

I’ll be straight with you all up front.  I am 100% for immunizations.  Even if, in the small few, an immunization causes an issue, the simple truth is that immunizations save lives and prevent widespread misery.  I know it is difficult to watch your babies get jabbed three or four times during a doctor’s visit.  I view that to be considerably more acceptable than my kids having something like Pertussis or Polio (admittedly, they have an oral for the latter, but you get what I’m saying).  If you read up on modern research, you’ll find they have found nothing to link immunizations irrefutably to any spectrum disorder or health concern.  There are millions of factors to consider in each case, and the simple truth is that the cause has not been constant across the board. 

Big questions, moderate size answers:

Q:  Do you think immunizations should be mandatory?

A:  No.  What would be the point?  There would still be a clause about religious reasons and it would be hard to regulate.  It should be a decision made by the parent, though it should be strongly encouraged.

Q:  Would you let your vaccinated kids play with unvaccinated kids?

A:  Yeah.  I would.  If my kids are protected, I fail to see the issue.  Shunning unvaccinated children seems like a way to make others feel small based on their beliefs and decisions.  You aren’t right just because you vaccinate, and you aren’t somehow better than anyone else.  One exception:  no way am I letting an unvaccinated child near my infant (whooping cough fear-baby is too young to vaccinate).  Funny thing about that:  often times it is ADULTS, and not children, that pass whooping cough to infants.  Have you gotten a booster?  You should.  To be honest, I didn’t really let anyone near my infants, for a variety of reasons. 

Q:  Are vaccines worth the risk?

A:  I certainly think so.  Our lives are constantly full of risk.  We daily drive, cross streets, use elevators, and use electricity.  Any of those things could result in catastrophe, but the odds have been in our favor enough that we continue to go on our merry way and utilize them.  I don’t see why immunizations should be any different.

Q:  What advice do you have to parents trying to make the decision on whether or not to vaccinate?
A:  It’s your decision ultimately, but at least know the FACTS (There’s a lot of misinformation out there.  For example, I recently read where someone was scorning autistic children because they were obviously contagious.  Idiot.)  Find out what immunizations there are, when kids receive them, and what they protect against.  Read what they contain.  Decide for yourself if you’d rather worry about illness or something like autism, and realize that most kids get vaccinated and are just fine. 

***I also have a note to parents of kiddos with spectrum disorders or other health concerns they believe to be caused by immunizations:  I don’t know why your child is going through what they are going through.  I don’t know your story, I don’t know his or hers, and I don’t know if vaccines caused any change.  But what I do know is that spreading the hate about vaccines isn’t fixing the problem.  If you want to make a real difference, you have two options.  The first is to lobby and raise money for the cause, to get more research done by unbiased companies so hopefully there can one day be a happy medium.  Vaccines that do not contain such toxic chemicals, perhaps?  The second is to turn your attention to where it truly belongs:  your child.  Your kiddo is special and loved.  Make sure he or she knows that, and accept the gifts you do have.