Our trip north to ride the Polar Express was fun overall. We picked up Daddy at work, fueled up the car, and headed north at about 3pm. Shortly after turning on to 40 west at Flagstaff, Galen spotted a train running in the other direction of the far side of the highway, and a few more after that until the road and the track diverged too much. We hadn't told him where we were going yet.
When we arrived in Williams, all of Galen's attention was focused on the trains parked on the other side of the road from the depot, but we had to drive over to the other side of the hotel to find parking (the Grand Canyon Rail Hotel and the Grand Canyon Rail Depot share grounds AND parking). As it turned out, we had an excellent parking spot, because the coach we were assigned to boarded right across from it.
We went into the depot to pick up the tickets, decided the insanity inside was not worth sticking around to do anything else, and walked over to the buffet/gift shop to eat before our train. The buffet IS really nice, but it's also really expensive - as in about twice what any other decent buffet would cost in Phoenix. If we do this again, we will not be eating at their buffet.
It was in the buffet that Galen got to see the earlier train leave the station (they have one at 6:30pm and one at 8pm - I bought tickets for the later train to make sure we'd be able to get there in time). We had a table near the window, but not right at the window.
When we were almost finished eating Galen started making a fuss, which escalated into a full-blown crying fit in the ladies room while I was changing him into his new Christmas pajamas. He absolutely, positively, did NOT want to ride on the train. He wanted to go home. Galen loves trains, so this was a little disconcerting, but I thought it might have been because he'd never seen one close up before (there's an old steam engine on display between the buffet and the depot) and had no idea of enormous they were. We took a closer look at the one on display on our way back to the depot (it looks a LOT like the one depicted in the movie), and he seemed fascinated - he calmed right down and started checking out the pistons and the other parts he could see. I thought we were going to be fine at this point.
We headed down the walk to the boarding area for our coach (15 total - we were in the 4th). As soon as he realized we were waiting for the train to come so we could go for a ride, he started up again. He was adamant that he wanted to go home. This turned out to be a perfect example of why you should carefully listen to what your children are actually saying, rather than making what seem like reasonable assumptions. As soon as Richard told him we would be going home after we rode the train it was like someone had flipped a switch and our happy go-lucky, train-loving little boy was back. I think I've got a rash on my chin from it hitting the pavement.
He had a blast during the ride - he didn't know all the words to the Christmas carols we sang (they provided lyrics, but of course he can't read that fast yet - and there were a lot of words he still doesn't know), but he had big smiles while he clapped and stomped and all the other things the "chefs" asked us to do while we sang. He enjoyed his hot cocoa and his cookie. He loved looking at the pictures in the book as they read the story out loud. He loved the "North Pole" they had set up beside the track - lots of lights and buildings representing the part of the city that Santa lives in (but not the toy factories which were on the other side of the hill to give Santa and the Mrs. a little peace and quiet). They had a sleigh with a huge sack loaded on it (with Bernard from The Santa Clause on a ladder doing something near the top).
After picking up Santa, we headed back to Willliams. Santa worked his way through the coaches handing each child a large bell. Galen loves this bell. It's actually a very nice one. The bell currently lives on the train table in his room. Daddy had to talk him into putting it somewhere safe instead of taking it to bed with him - the train table was his idea (Daddy suggested the book shelf).
Galen fell asleep in the car on the way home. No surprise. The bell stayed in his lap the whole time, too. We still have no idea why he made such a fuss, but it all turned out the way I had hoped.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Foggy days
Our trip on the Polar Express is today, and because we want to leave directly from Richard's work we all had to get up before the sun this morning to bring him to work. The alternative of leaving his car in the parking lot is just not acceptable. That parking lot is so attractive to car thieves - because of its size I suspect - that the police routinely leave "bait cars" to catch them.
One of the benefits of getting up this early, especially when I don't actually have to be awake enough to drive yet, is I get to see things that I wouldn't get to see otherwise. Today, the visual treat was fog. Yes, fog. In Phoenix, AZ. It happens, but given how dry the area usually is it's fairly rare. On top of that it burns off quickly, so unless you're out and about early you miss it entirely.
I love fog. For me it's always had a magical quality. I remember waiting for the bus on foggy mornings as a kid. The visual memory is so strong I can actually see the road I lived on disappearing into the fog in both directions. It made such an impression on me I wrote a rather long poem about it. Now that I think about it, that poem is probably part of the reason why the visual memory is so strong.
I also have vivid memories of driving through the Appalachian Mountains with a friend in the middle of the night, in fog so think we were literally hanging out of the open doors to try and keep the lines painted on the road in sight. It wasn't safe to try to pull over since we couldn't see what we would be pulling into, so we crept over the mountains at a speed we probably could have beaten by walking. We didn't have to be anyplace at any particular time, so we just enjoyed the experience, and drove very carefully.
The only time I can remember not enjoying fog was driving through Pennsylvania roads loaded with deer. That's a little intimidating in the fog, especially when you know people who have totaled cars in deer encounters.
Sadly, our foggy morning has burned off already. Until next time.
One of the benefits of getting up this early, especially when I don't actually have to be awake enough to drive yet, is I get to see things that I wouldn't get to see otherwise. Today, the visual treat was fog. Yes, fog. In Phoenix, AZ. It happens, but given how dry the area usually is it's fairly rare. On top of that it burns off quickly, so unless you're out and about early you miss it entirely.
I love fog. For me it's always had a magical quality. I remember waiting for the bus on foggy mornings as a kid. The visual memory is so strong I can actually see the road I lived on disappearing into the fog in both directions. It made such an impression on me I wrote a rather long poem about it. Now that I think about it, that poem is probably part of the reason why the visual memory is so strong.
I also have vivid memories of driving through the Appalachian Mountains with a friend in the middle of the night, in fog so think we were literally hanging out of the open doors to try and keep the lines painted on the road in sight. It wasn't safe to try to pull over since we couldn't see what we would be pulling into, so we crept over the mountains at a speed we probably could have beaten by walking. We didn't have to be anyplace at any particular time, so we just enjoyed the experience, and drove very carefully.
The only time I can remember not enjoying fog was driving through Pennsylvania roads loaded with deer. That's a little intimidating in the fog, especially when you know people who have totaled cars in deer encounters.
Sadly, our foggy morning has burned off already. Until next time.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Returning from the void
I've been very unenthusiastic about blogging lately. I'm not even sure why - no more drama in the neighborhood or my personal life (at least not involving anyone living in my house) and nothing major going on that takes all my time and attention. I think I just feel like I have nothing worthwhile to say. I wonder how much of that is because of the depression I still deal with and how much is because nothing major is going on (good or bad)?
I do have some pretty nice things to talk about, however. I'm going back east in less than two weeks to visit with friends and family that haven't seen me for at least two years - for once the trip will even include friends in New England, who normally get bypassed in favor of the family I have spread over three states. Most of these friends haven't seen me in over 20 years (with only two exceptions I can think of off the top of my head - and one of those was a reader at my wedding).
Galen and I will be arriving in Manchester on Christmas night (this way we get to spend Christmas day until about noon with Daddy, who won't be coming with us). Thanks to my brother, we'll spend the night at a hotel near the airport, and in the morning I'll pick up a rental car and the fun begins. Other than planning to spend the 27th at my brother's house so my mom can bake cookies with all the kids and spending the day there with my dad's side of the family on Jan 2nd, I have no specific plans. I'm hoping the weather will permit a short trip to DC and I'd dearly love to go skiing while I'm in New England, but otherwise I'm just looking forward to spending time with friends I haven't seen for much too long.
I'm also finished with the two classes I took this semester. The logic class was pretty much a waste of time but at least I have it on record officially now (I audited it back in the day, but that's not the same thing). The discrete mathematics class did exactly what I had hoped it would do - convinced me that going back to school to do ANOTHER graduate degree in mathematics was something I wanted. I'm torn now between taking one undergrad semester at ASU to take the two required math classes I need to enter their graduate program (along with two others just for enrichment), or taking a programming class and another mathematics course at the community college. The problem with ASU is I'd have to take daytime classes and I'm not really set to do that for spring. The problem with the community college is I'd have to wait another year to start the graduate program because they only admit in the fall.
Galen's educations is coming along nicely. He's getting really good at his reading, although he struggles to remember all the different ways the long-vowel sounds can be represented. Practice will remedy that I'm sure. We also need to work a bit on recognizing the difference between 'b'/'d' and 'p'/'q' - the last one doesn't come up as often, and he does know which one is which when I ask him what that letter is in the word, but when he's reading a passage he gets a little sloppy about carefully distinguishing between those pairs unless I remind him. His math lessons are going well, although he's clearly a little bored with them. I'm having to be creative with those because he frequently goes off on tangents that are several units ahead of what we're currently working on. I can only imagine the kind of problems that would create in a classroom where the teacher really can't just go with him on these side-trips. It actually gives me a little more sympathy for what my teachers went through with me.
In recognition of the fact that I've marveled over every stage of Galen's life and how his interests shift and change, here's a list of things that he currently loves to do:
1) Go to the zoo - the spider monkeys, the giraffes, and the elephants are his current favorites
2) Go to the park - playing in the sand and walking/riding around the lake
3) Building elaborate track layouts with his Thomas Wooden Railway set
4) Building elaborate contraptions with his Legos
5) Coloring - until recently coloring hasn't been a favorite activity, but this seems to have changed
6) Disney Channel kids programming - Chuggington, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, etc.
7) Playing with trucks and cars of all kinds, both inside and out - boy can this kid get dirty!
8) Wearing holes in the knees of perfectly good pants - LOL!
9) He seems to be fascinated by the concept or trash and recycling because many of the contraptions he builds (or imagines) have to do with recycling or trash processing - I sense a field trip to a local facility in our near future
10) Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - again, this is a relatively recent thing
Mommy's current favorite thing to do hasn't changed much - I love to read. I hope my love of reading will rub off on Galen, because I credit most of my achievements to it.
That's all for now because it's time to get Galen ready for bed. Night all!
I do have some pretty nice things to talk about, however. I'm going back east in less than two weeks to visit with friends and family that haven't seen me for at least two years - for once the trip will even include friends in New England, who normally get bypassed in favor of the family I have spread over three states. Most of these friends haven't seen me in over 20 years (with only two exceptions I can think of off the top of my head - and one of those was a reader at my wedding).
Galen and I will be arriving in Manchester on Christmas night (this way we get to spend Christmas day until about noon with Daddy, who won't be coming with us). Thanks to my brother, we'll spend the night at a hotel near the airport, and in the morning I'll pick up a rental car and the fun begins. Other than planning to spend the 27th at my brother's house so my mom can bake cookies with all the kids and spending the day there with my dad's side of the family on Jan 2nd, I have no specific plans. I'm hoping the weather will permit a short trip to DC and I'd dearly love to go skiing while I'm in New England, but otherwise I'm just looking forward to spending time with friends I haven't seen for much too long.
I'm also finished with the two classes I took this semester. The logic class was pretty much a waste of time but at least I have it on record officially now (I audited it back in the day, but that's not the same thing). The discrete mathematics class did exactly what I had hoped it would do - convinced me that going back to school to do ANOTHER graduate degree in mathematics was something I wanted. I'm torn now between taking one undergrad semester at ASU to take the two required math classes I need to enter their graduate program (along with two others just for enrichment), or taking a programming class and another mathematics course at the community college. The problem with ASU is I'd have to take daytime classes and I'm not really set to do that for spring. The problem with the community college is I'd have to wait another year to start the graduate program because they only admit in the fall.
Galen's educations is coming along nicely. He's getting really good at his reading, although he struggles to remember all the different ways the long-vowel sounds can be represented. Practice will remedy that I'm sure. We also need to work a bit on recognizing the difference between 'b'/'d' and 'p'/'q' - the last one doesn't come up as often, and he does know which one is which when I ask him what that letter is in the word, but when he's reading a passage he gets a little sloppy about carefully distinguishing between those pairs unless I remind him. His math lessons are going well, although he's clearly a little bored with them. I'm having to be creative with those because he frequently goes off on tangents that are several units ahead of what we're currently working on. I can only imagine the kind of problems that would create in a classroom where the teacher really can't just go with him on these side-trips. It actually gives me a little more sympathy for what my teachers went through with me.
In recognition of the fact that I've marveled over every stage of Galen's life and how his interests shift and change, here's a list of things that he currently loves to do:
1) Go to the zoo - the spider monkeys, the giraffes, and the elephants are his current favorites
2) Go to the park - playing in the sand and walking/riding around the lake
3) Building elaborate track layouts with his Thomas Wooden Railway set
4) Building elaborate contraptions with his Legos
5) Coloring - until recently coloring hasn't been a favorite activity, but this seems to have changed
6) Disney Channel kids programming - Chuggington, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, etc.
7) Playing with trucks and cars of all kinds, both inside and out - boy can this kid get dirty!
8) Wearing holes in the knees of perfectly good pants - LOL!
9) He seems to be fascinated by the concept or trash and recycling because many of the contraptions he builds (or imagines) have to do with recycling or trash processing - I sense a field trip to a local facility in our near future
10) Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - again, this is a relatively recent thing
Mommy's current favorite thing to do hasn't changed much - I love to read. I hope my love of reading will rub off on Galen, because I credit most of my achievements to it.
That's all for now because it's time to get Galen ready for bed. Night all!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Back to our regularly scheduled programming...
...or at least getting there. I've got the replacement driver's license, credit card and the library card I use most often. I've replaced most of the stuff that wasn't part of the wallet itself, with one notable exception. I have no idea what I'll do about the cell phone. I hate the old one I'm using at the moment, but since I'm stuck with any replacement for two years I want to be sure. If I go for a smart phone, I've narrowed it down to the Palm Pre or Motorola Devour. However, as Richard pointed out, it makes no sense to buy a smartphone with it's $30/month data plan that I'm also stuck with for two years if I want an iPad, because the two would duplicate each other. On top of that, if I get the 3G-capable iPad, I can buy 3G service only as I need it - it's not unlimited like the data plan for the smart phone, but it's cheaper, there's no contract, and I can turn it on and off as needed. If I end up deciding I really do want the iPad (I'd wait until the 2nd generation iPads come out sometime before Christmas before actually getting one), then I'll just replace it with a regular cell phone, and the only thing that will change is that I'm stuck with the new phone for two years (no increase or change to our service plan).
As I've slowly been replacing stuff that was stolen, things have been returning to normal. As of today I have a valid photo ID again (I suppose I could have started carrying my passport around). The police officer who took the report said I would be fine until the replacement license arrived because they have the ability to check those records on the spot if anything happened, and I did have the receipt from ordering the replacement, but I'm still glad I have it back.
I'm in the middle of my annual overhaul of the aquariums. Once a year, usually in the fall after the temperatures drop enough that I'm not refilling the tanks with water that's too warm, I do a couple massive water changes, and systematically clean everything else over and above my regular maintenance. In the case of the smaller tanks, this is not a big deal, but the large aquarium is quite the project.
We've also done a lot of work in the front yard the past few days. I've got three gorgeous lantana bushes, but they've grown so large they're taking over the yard. We pulled a lot of dead stuff out of the one closest to the house, as well as removing anything that reached over the walk or the front patio. It's still a huge plant, but we ran out of room for the trimmings - the rest will have to wait until we have an empty trash bin again. I've also trimmed the Indian Rosewood tree so it's no longer trying to grab people walking to the front door, and we trimmed back all the dead branches on a ground shrub that technically belongs to the neighbor (they rent, and I doubt they know it's their plant because it's spread over the entire area between the two driveways).
Tomorrow I'm hoping to catch up on laundry, clean the kitchen (including the refrigerator), and tackle one of the bathrooms. Wish me luck!
As I've slowly been replacing stuff that was stolen, things have been returning to normal. As of today I have a valid photo ID again (I suppose I could have started carrying my passport around). The police officer who took the report said I would be fine until the replacement license arrived because they have the ability to check those records on the spot if anything happened, and I did have the receipt from ordering the replacement, but I'm still glad I have it back.
I'm in the middle of my annual overhaul of the aquariums. Once a year, usually in the fall after the temperatures drop enough that I'm not refilling the tanks with water that's too warm, I do a couple massive water changes, and systematically clean everything else over and above my regular maintenance. In the case of the smaller tanks, this is not a big deal, but the large aquarium is quite the project.
We've also done a lot of work in the front yard the past few days. I've got three gorgeous lantana bushes, but they've grown so large they're taking over the yard. We pulled a lot of dead stuff out of the one closest to the house, as well as removing anything that reached over the walk or the front patio. It's still a huge plant, but we ran out of room for the trimmings - the rest will have to wait until we have an empty trash bin again. I've also trimmed the Indian Rosewood tree so it's no longer trying to grab people walking to the front door, and we trimmed back all the dead branches on a ground shrub that technically belongs to the neighbor (they rent, and I doubt they know it's their plant because it's spread over the entire area between the two driveways).
Tomorrow I'm hoping to catch up on laundry, clean the kitchen (including the refrigerator), and tackle one of the bathrooms. Wish me luck!
Monday, October 11, 2010
And the other shoe drops
Well, I had a great day on Friday, and my weekend was pretty nice as well. I even got caught up on a little of all the sleep I've been missing the last couple of weeks, and was looking forward to a nice dinner at Olive Garden with Richard and Galen to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary (a day early, but I have class on the actual day).
First, we get to Olive Garden and the place is packed - I'm not in any mood to sit and wait for an hour to eat with a hungry 4-year-old, so we went a few hundred feet down the street and had Wendy's. We can do the anniversary dinner another night.
At Wendy's, Galen sat next to me, so I put my bag on the chair next to Richard - I will NEVER do that again! When it was time to leave, I grabbed the remaining stuff on the table to either take with us or throw away, but never thought to grab my bag because I couldn't see it. We were pulling into the driveway when I automatically reached down to pick up my bag and realized it wasn't there. Richard went back to Wendy's while I got Galen in the tub, looked up the restaurant's phone number and called them. They can't find it, and no one turned in a bag. At this point, hoping someone might have shoved it under a table or something, I called my cell phone so they could find it that way. No answer, and they had been told to go ahead and answer if they found the bag.
I called Richard to let him know, then started canceling cards. Looks like they never got the chance to use the credit card, or the ATM/debit card, and I'll have to take care of the library cards tomorrow - there was no cash at all in there, so they're out of luck if that's what they were hoping to gain.
I don't think there's much damage they can do with anything else other than my ID. That's my biggest concern, especially since there's a chance my expired military ID was in there, and that has my actual SS# on it. I'm not convinced it was in there, but I know I've laid eyes on it recently and I can't find it, so it's possible I put in my bag for some reason. The credit card company is reporting the incident to the three major credit bureaus, so hopefully that will minimize the risk of identity theft.
Richard walked all around the restaurant calling the phone, in the hopes they might have dumped the bag after taking what they wanted. They must have turned it off because the last time it went straight to voice mail. I've since deactivated it and transferred service to one of our previous phones. We also checked the account for activity on the phone. Turns out they didn't do anything except call two Arizona numbers several times - all 1 minute calls, except the last one for 2 minutes. We printed out a copy for the police just as the officer arrived at the house.
I think I'd actually feel better if they had tried to use the credit card - at least then I'd know they were after something other than my ID. It's going to be a lousy week, and I wont' be getting much sleep unless I find that military ID. Not having my SS# would really limit the damage they can do.
First, we get to Olive Garden and the place is packed - I'm not in any mood to sit and wait for an hour to eat with a hungry 4-year-old, so we went a few hundred feet down the street and had Wendy's. We can do the anniversary dinner another night.
At Wendy's, Galen sat next to me, so I put my bag on the chair next to Richard - I will NEVER do that again! When it was time to leave, I grabbed the remaining stuff on the table to either take with us or throw away, but never thought to grab my bag because I couldn't see it. We were pulling into the driveway when I automatically reached down to pick up my bag and realized it wasn't there. Richard went back to Wendy's while I got Galen in the tub, looked up the restaurant's phone number and called them. They can't find it, and no one turned in a bag. At this point, hoping someone might have shoved it under a table or something, I called my cell phone so they could find it that way. No answer, and they had been told to go ahead and answer if they found the bag.
I called Richard to let him know, then started canceling cards. Looks like they never got the chance to use the credit card, or the ATM/debit card, and I'll have to take care of the library cards tomorrow - there was no cash at all in there, so they're out of luck if that's what they were hoping to gain.
I don't think there's much damage they can do with anything else other than my ID. That's my biggest concern, especially since there's a chance my expired military ID was in there, and that has my actual SS# on it. I'm not convinced it was in there, but I know I've laid eyes on it recently and I can't find it, so it's possible I put in my bag for some reason. The credit card company is reporting the incident to the three major credit bureaus, so hopefully that will minimize the risk of identity theft.
Richard walked all around the restaurant calling the phone, in the hopes they might have dumped the bag after taking what they wanted. They must have turned it off because the last time it went straight to voice mail. I've since deactivated it and transferred service to one of our previous phones. We also checked the account for activity on the phone. Turns out they didn't do anything except call two Arizona numbers several times - all 1 minute calls, except the last one for 2 minutes. We printed out a copy for the police just as the officer arrived at the house.
I think I'd actually feel better if they had tried to use the credit card - at least then I'd know they were after something other than my ID. It's going to be a lousy week, and I wont' be getting much sleep unless I find that military ID. Not having my SS# would really limit the damage they can do.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Another good day
Any day where I get things accomplished and feel good about myself is a good day. It used to be that days like that were just days, because they were the norm, but after PTSD and depression rear their ugly heads, your idea of a good day has to change or the depression never ends.
Among my accomplishments today:
1) Washed and vacuumed the car - still needs an interior dusting and a little extra attention to the windows.
2) Picked up ground buffalo, Swiss chard and quinoa at Whole Foods for dinner tonight - meatloaf.
3) Picked up a gizmo to attach an IDE drive to my computer via the USB port - this lets me recover data I want without having to either replace the motherboard in my Windows computer or move the drives to a much older computer. Since my current Mac is capable of running Windows natively, I see no reason to replace the motherboard when one computer can do it all as soon as I install a Windows partition.
4) Talked to a pest control guy about our little digger in the back yard, as well as the crickets and black widow spiders that hang around the house. Because he couldn't see fresh digging, he thinks the last bout of torrential rain may have collapsed the tunnel network, in which case the little pest has probably found better digs elsewhere. The crickets and spiders (who are only here because of the crickets) should be easy to take care of. His advice was to treat once, then a week later seal the gaps (not the holes) between the weep strips and the cement on the house and we'd probably never see them again. Woohoo!
5) Galen did great on his reading lesson again today - we're working on digraphs.
6) Galen is actually taking a nap.
7) Filled and took out one bag of trash, and then filled another while emptying all the secondary trash cans (bathrooms, laundry, etc.).
8) Emptied the recycling can, then refilled it as well as a box upstairs (because I hate dragging the can itself up and down the stairs).
9) Cleaned a bunch of accumulated garbage off my desk. Wow! I forgot the desk was grey!
10) Started a load of laundry (towels and kitchen items mostly).
I've got more on my to do list for today, but this is what I had done by about 2pm. I love days like this because I feel like my old self again. I wonder if the beautiful weather we're having today has anything to do with it?
Among my accomplishments today:
1) Washed and vacuumed the car - still needs an interior dusting and a little extra attention to the windows.
2) Picked up ground buffalo, Swiss chard and quinoa at Whole Foods for dinner tonight - meatloaf.
3) Picked up a gizmo to attach an IDE drive to my computer via the USB port - this lets me recover data I want without having to either replace the motherboard in my Windows computer or move the drives to a much older computer. Since my current Mac is capable of running Windows natively, I see no reason to replace the motherboard when one computer can do it all as soon as I install a Windows partition.
4) Talked to a pest control guy about our little digger in the back yard, as well as the crickets and black widow spiders that hang around the house. Because he couldn't see fresh digging, he thinks the last bout of torrential rain may have collapsed the tunnel network, in which case the little pest has probably found better digs elsewhere. The crickets and spiders (who are only here because of the crickets) should be easy to take care of. His advice was to treat once, then a week later seal the gaps (not the holes) between the weep strips and the cement on the house and we'd probably never see them again. Woohoo!
5) Galen did great on his reading lesson again today - we're working on digraphs.
6) Galen is actually taking a nap.
7) Filled and took out one bag of trash, and then filled another while emptying all the secondary trash cans (bathrooms, laundry, etc.).
8) Emptied the recycling can, then refilled it as well as a box upstairs (because I hate dragging the can itself up and down the stairs).
9) Cleaned a bunch of accumulated garbage off my desk. Wow! I forgot the desk was grey!
10) Started a load of laundry (towels and kitchen items mostly).
I've got more on my to do list for today, but this is what I had done by about 2pm. I love days like this because I feel like my old self again. I wonder if the beautiful weather we're having today has anything to do with it?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Moving forward
The neighborhood has been quiet again, but I still can't sleep nights. This is nothing new, as not feeling safe is a known quantity in my "issues." I used to think that the loss of all the "feel good" hormones when Galen weaned himself was responsible for my sudden and dramatic rise in depression, but in hindsight I'm thinking it was at least partially due to the fact that Galen's presence in my life makes feeling safe so much more important than it used to be - I have something more valuable than my own life to protect.
As I say that, I'm thinking of someone who decided I wasn't worthy of her friendship because I refuse to judge all Muslims based on the actions of a few fundamentalists who have committed terrorist acts, and I'm not afraid to point out when I thin others are making that same mistake. I'm sure she would think my previous paragraph makes me a hypocrite, because it seems to follow her line of reasoning - I'm apparently going to enlighten my way into a pipe bomb. Well, it's different, and I feel sorry for her and any others who can't see why it's different. I don't feel safe, but I can't point fingers at a group of people who make me feel this way because it's not an identifiable group of people that make me feel this way. I can, however, point a gun at a specific individual who makes me feel this way after they've broken down my front door. The line between the two isn't fine, it's blatant and compelling.
Not much else going on. I need to start taking sleep medication again - at least for a few days - because my insomnia is pretty bad again. I hate taking it because I end up kind of out-of-it for about half the following day.
Galen's doing great with homeschooling. He's reading six-letter words already. He is, however, getting bored with kindergarten math, although learning to actually write the numerals slowed him down for a while. The only thing holding this kid back is his fine motor skills, and that's becoming a non-issue as well. I wonder how long that will last? I've decided to worry about where this is going when it gets there, however. I have a feeling we'll eventually hit a point where the next step requires a developmental leap he hasn't made yet.
We're going to renew our zoo membership again - $60 covers Galen and I for as many visits as we want for the entire year, plus it gives me two guest passes and two tickets to Zoolights (these four tickets at non-member rates cost the same as the membership). We try to go to Zoolights every year, so those are nice to have. Galen's not free anymore, so we'll still need to buy one ticket, but I'll get a member discount on that as well.
Well, Richard's home so we need to get dinner sorted out. Then it's "Thomas and Spencer" at Galen's request (not sure which Thomas movie he's actually wanting to see, but I think he means "Hero of the Rails") and some quality mathematics time for mommy.
As I say that, I'm thinking of someone who decided I wasn't worthy of her friendship because I refuse to judge all Muslims based on the actions of a few fundamentalists who have committed terrorist acts, and I'm not afraid to point out when I thin others are making that same mistake. I'm sure she would think my previous paragraph makes me a hypocrite, because it seems to follow her line of reasoning - I'm apparently going to enlighten my way into a pipe bomb. Well, it's different, and I feel sorry for her and any others who can't see why it's different. I don't feel safe, but I can't point fingers at a group of people who make me feel this way because it's not an identifiable group of people that make me feel this way. I can, however, point a gun at a specific individual who makes me feel this way after they've broken down my front door. The line between the two isn't fine, it's blatant and compelling.
Not much else going on. I need to start taking sleep medication again - at least for a few days - because my insomnia is pretty bad again. I hate taking it because I end up kind of out-of-it for about half the following day.
Galen's doing great with homeschooling. He's reading six-letter words already. He is, however, getting bored with kindergarten math, although learning to actually write the numerals slowed him down for a while. The only thing holding this kid back is his fine motor skills, and that's becoming a non-issue as well. I wonder how long that will last? I've decided to worry about where this is going when it gets there, however. I have a feeling we'll eventually hit a point where the next step requires a developmental leap he hasn't made yet.
We're going to renew our zoo membership again - $60 covers Galen and I for as many visits as we want for the entire year, plus it gives me two guest passes and two tickets to Zoolights (these four tickets at non-member rates cost the same as the membership). We try to go to Zoolights every year, so those are nice to have. Galen's not free anymore, so we'll still need to buy one ticket, but I'll get a member discount on that as well.
Well, Richard's home so we need to get dinner sorted out. Then it's "Thomas and Spencer" at Galen's request (not sure which Thomas movie he's actually wanting to see, but I think he means "Hero of the Rails") and some quality mathematics time for mommy.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Some days I really want a "Do over"
Yesterday was one of those days. The worst part of it was that only one part of yesterday even came as any surprise.
I've got a friend with some serious problems regarding passports, visas, and the like, which wasn't news yesterday because I already knew this was a problem, but the additional news that the sought-after solution was not forthcoming upset me because the problem was caused by someone lying to her. Everyone who currently follows my blog knows the story as well, or better, than I do, so enough said on that score. I'm sure we're all already praying as hard as we can.
I struck out with three different companies trying to secure a donation for a Siberian orphanage full of desperately needy kids (makes orphanages in the US look pretty luxurious) because I can't afford the cost of both the goods and the shipping myself (astronomical shipping costs, even for packages that don't contain dozens of pairs of shoes or coats). The reason? I'm not a non-profit organization, nor do I represent one, so they won't even consider the request. Again, this was not a surprise and I was expecting it, but I had screwed up my courage enough to try anyway because the need is so great and got the door shut in my face. I ended up feeling like no one cares (I know this isn't true, even at these companies) and that my efforts were pointless. That last part can probably be chalked up to the depression I still struggle with every day.
Associated with the last item is the fact that, while I could start a non-profit company here in AZ (and AZ is actually a good place to do so because it's a relatively cheap), it takes time, money, and a whole pile of legal paperwork that I feel completely inadequate to tackle on my own. Kind of depressing, because it really limits what I can do to help.
Lastly, I live on a dead-end road. I live on the corner at the entrance to the street. The house on the other end (same side of the street, but at the cul-de-sac) was broken into yesterday for the third time. The first time the burglars got away with the homeowners' property, the second time the wife was home and chased them off with a kitchen knife. Yesterday, however, two men broke down the front door, at which time they were confronted by the homeowner who shot and killed one of them (the other one got away, and as far as I know is still on the loose). Thankfully the homeowner will not face charges according to the police, which is no surprise given AZ law about both self-defense and firearms but could have been very different in another state. This isn't the only house on our street that has been broken into. The house across the street had a couple punks break down the front door while the owners were out of town. The neighbor heard the racket and called the police, and the police found them stashing the stuff at one the house of one of their grandmothers. They now have a security door and alarm system. We've been lucky - we've never had someone attempt to break into our house. It's not because they're watching to see if anyone is home either, because if that's the case the house at the other end of the street wouldn't have been broken into twice while someone was home. There have been other attempts at other houses as well. Richard and I will be looking into security gates and window bars, but we've talked about it and decided that it might also be a good idea for me to follow the advice a police officer gave me about 6 months ago. In a nutshell, he told me that if I were his wife he'd insist I carry a personal firearm. His reasoning was our proximity to an Indian reservation with a history of violence, which I'm not sure has anything to do with the break-ins in my community, but if someone tried to break down my front door with Galen and I in the house my only option for self-defense is a handgun I've never fired that Richard refers to as "not really reliable." I can't say I like the idea much, but if my other option is being unable to defend myself and my son if someone breaks into my house, I choose to carry a weapon.
I'm still not sure how any of this will play out, but I feel better about a lot of it now that I've put it in writing. I'm hoping the good things about this neighborhood will reassert themselves once the job-market improves. As for the rest, prayer and more prayer, and maybe the answers will make themselves known.
I've got a friend with some serious problems regarding passports, visas, and the like, which wasn't news yesterday because I already knew this was a problem, but the additional news that the sought-after solution was not forthcoming upset me because the problem was caused by someone lying to her. Everyone who currently follows my blog knows the story as well, or better, than I do, so enough said on that score. I'm sure we're all already praying as hard as we can.
I struck out with three different companies trying to secure a donation for a Siberian orphanage full of desperately needy kids (makes orphanages in the US look pretty luxurious) because I can't afford the cost of both the goods and the shipping myself (astronomical shipping costs, even for packages that don't contain dozens of pairs of shoes or coats). The reason? I'm not a non-profit organization, nor do I represent one, so they won't even consider the request. Again, this was not a surprise and I was expecting it, but I had screwed up my courage enough to try anyway because the need is so great and got the door shut in my face. I ended up feeling like no one cares (I know this isn't true, even at these companies) and that my efforts were pointless. That last part can probably be chalked up to the depression I still struggle with every day.
Associated with the last item is the fact that, while I could start a non-profit company here in AZ (and AZ is actually a good place to do so because it's a relatively cheap), it takes time, money, and a whole pile of legal paperwork that I feel completely inadequate to tackle on my own. Kind of depressing, because it really limits what I can do to help.
Lastly, I live on a dead-end road. I live on the corner at the entrance to the street. The house on the other end (same side of the street, but at the cul-de-sac) was broken into yesterday for the third time. The first time the burglars got away with the homeowners' property, the second time the wife was home and chased them off with a kitchen knife. Yesterday, however, two men broke down the front door, at which time they were confronted by the homeowner who shot and killed one of them (the other one got away, and as far as I know is still on the loose). Thankfully the homeowner will not face charges according to the police, which is no surprise given AZ law about both self-defense and firearms but could have been very different in another state. This isn't the only house on our street that has been broken into. The house across the street had a couple punks break down the front door while the owners were out of town. The neighbor heard the racket and called the police, and the police found them stashing the stuff at one the house of one of their grandmothers. They now have a security door and alarm system. We've been lucky - we've never had someone attempt to break into our house. It's not because they're watching to see if anyone is home either, because if that's the case the house at the other end of the street wouldn't have been broken into twice while someone was home. There have been other attempts at other houses as well. Richard and I will be looking into security gates and window bars, but we've talked about it and decided that it might also be a good idea for me to follow the advice a police officer gave me about 6 months ago. In a nutshell, he told me that if I were his wife he'd insist I carry a personal firearm. His reasoning was our proximity to an Indian reservation with a history of violence, which I'm not sure has anything to do with the break-ins in my community, but if someone tried to break down my front door with Galen and I in the house my only option for self-defense is a handgun I've never fired that Richard refers to as "not really reliable." I can't say I like the idea much, but if my other option is being unable to defend myself and my son if someone breaks into my house, I choose to carry a weapon.
I'm still not sure how any of this will play out, but I feel better about a lot of it now that I've put it in writing. I'm hoping the good things about this neighborhood will reassert themselves once the job-market improves. As for the rest, prayer and more prayer, and maybe the answers will make themselves known.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sneaky moms, savvy dads, and birthday parties
We've been busy lately, or maybe it's just seemed busier than usual because I've been flirting with what I think is a head cold that can't make up its mind. Galen's confidence in writing his number is growing, and the number he fought us the hardest on is actually the one he does the best (3s). I think the large light grey numbers I printed out for him to trace made a big difference, and he actually likes doing them, so I'll be making more of those (and probably doing it for his letters too, once we start basic penmanship. I still need to order the Handwriting Without tears curriculum, but I have a couple questions and I keep forgetting to call during their business hours. The occupational therapist could probably answer one of them for me, but the others are definitely a sales office issue.
On Labor Day, I took Galen to Toys 'R Us, but told him before we left the house that we were looking for something very specific, and if they didn't have it we wouldn't be buying any toys. He was okay with that, or at least accepted that was the way it was going to be. As suspected, they didn't have what I was looking for (Target carries the brand I was looking for, but not in stores, and I didn't want to order them online without getting a closer look). However, I ran into an amazing sale on Thomas Wooden Railway items, including several items I wanted pick up for Galen. Luckily, Toys 'R Us maintains a train table display the kids can actually play with, and Galen was so involved in his play that he never even noticed as I flagged down an employee, who then got a shopping cart and helped me fill it before bringing it to the front of the store for me. He never even looked up from his play. Because I needed to distract him while I paid for the stuff I let him pick out a small LEGO box, and he was so excited about his new LEGOs he never even thought to ask me why we were leaving with an entire shopping cart full of bags. He's mentioned several times how much he would like a shed for his trains and a turntable (he watches Chuggington, which has a setup like that), so he's going to be a very happy boy come Christmas, because one of the items I picked up was Tidmouth Shed with a turntable. Ironic much? He also got Cranky the Crane, the Mine Tunnel, an Over-the-Track signal, and a Water Tower. Right now he pretends his Stop and Go station is a water tower, so he'll be thrilled to see that, and he was playing with the mine tunnel in the display set. Sometimes it's good to be a sneak - now if I can contain my excitement over his excitement long enough to save them for Christmas we're good.
The weekend after that my husband basically gave me a day to myself - I had asked for a couple hours to run an errand I really couldn't run with Galen in tow. When something else came up later, he told me to just go do what I needed to do - I actually felt guilty leaving him on his own with Galen again, but he was in such a good mood after having passed his certification exam the day before, and he knew I needed a break, that he told me not to worry about it because he was enjoying having a day where he had nothing else on his mind except playing with his son. It didn't dawn on me until later than it was September 11, and I probably needed some time to myself more than I realized. For anyone that doesn't already know, I suffer from PTSD as a result of 9-11, and this was a major factor in the depression I've been in treatment for since shortly after my son was born. Don't ever assume that you're better now just because the worst of the immediate symptoms have faded - I could have avoided most of the stress of the last four years if I'd sought treatment when I first realized I was having an abnormally bad time of things. My boss figured it out before I did, actually, and I still didn't seek treatment, even though I knew he was right the minute he brought it up.
Anyway, the day was a good one for me in spite of the sad thoughts that came with it. I think a part of me is still in shock after all this time, but the saddest thing for me is the way we've reacted. I won't say any more about that here.
Yesterday, we attended a birthday party for the next-door neighbor's son. We don't know them very well, but in many ways they are a lot like us. They keep to themselves, they teach their kids to be respectful and polite, and they don't make a lot of noise. In fact, we hardly ever hear them. On occasion their dog barks in the back yard, but not often, and we sometimes hear him listening to some sports event on the radio (or perhaps a portable TV) on the back porch, but otherwise we wave and say hello when we see each other out front. The party was a blast for the kids, and I'm pretty sure the adults had a good time as well. They have a trampoline, and they rented one of those huge blow-up bouncy slides with a pool at the bottom, so the kids, including Galen, were in heaven. Galen was one of the smallest ones there, and I was impressed with how well the older boys watched out for him. Especially on the trampoline after they realized he was a little intimidated with them all jumping around him. This was particularly impressive to me since about a dozen of these boys were on the junior football team the neighbor's son is on (he just turned 8). Some of those boys were pretty solidly built, and they were all bigger than Galen, but they took him in hand and showed him how to jump with them so no one got bounced around too much. One of those boys turned out to be the son of a local politician - we had been talking about the kids with him and his wife for a while before he mentioned that he was our local city councilman. Turns out he's also modest, because he's actually the Vice Mayor. Seems like a nice guy, and his wife is charming as well. I hope I'll run into them again.
That's all for today. Galen is napping, Richard is napping, and my Facebook games are calling me.
On Labor Day, I took Galen to Toys 'R Us, but told him before we left the house that we were looking for something very specific, and if they didn't have it we wouldn't be buying any toys. He was okay with that, or at least accepted that was the way it was going to be. As suspected, they didn't have what I was looking for (Target carries the brand I was looking for, but not in stores, and I didn't want to order them online without getting a closer look). However, I ran into an amazing sale on Thomas Wooden Railway items, including several items I wanted pick up for Galen. Luckily, Toys 'R Us maintains a train table display the kids can actually play with, and Galen was so involved in his play that he never even noticed as I flagged down an employee, who then got a shopping cart and helped me fill it before bringing it to the front of the store for me. He never even looked up from his play. Because I needed to distract him while I paid for the stuff I let him pick out a small LEGO box, and he was so excited about his new LEGOs he never even thought to ask me why we were leaving with an entire shopping cart full of bags. He's mentioned several times how much he would like a shed for his trains and a turntable (he watches Chuggington, which has a setup like that), so he's going to be a very happy boy come Christmas, because one of the items I picked up was Tidmouth Shed with a turntable. Ironic much? He also got Cranky the Crane, the Mine Tunnel, an Over-the-Track signal, and a Water Tower. Right now he pretends his Stop and Go station is a water tower, so he'll be thrilled to see that, and he was playing with the mine tunnel in the display set. Sometimes it's good to be a sneak - now if I can contain my excitement over his excitement long enough to save them for Christmas we're good.
The weekend after that my husband basically gave me a day to myself - I had asked for a couple hours to run an errand I really couldn't run with Galen in tow. When something else came up later, he told me to just go do what I needed to do - I actually felt guilty leaving him on his own with Galen again, but he was in such a good mood after having passed his certification exam the day before, and he knew I needed a break, that he told me not to worry about it because he was enjoying having a day where he had nothing else on his mind except playing with his son. It didn't dawn on me until later than it was September 11, and I probably needed some time to myself more than I realized. For anyone that doesn't already know, I suffer from PTSD as a result of 9-11, and this was a major factor in the depression I've been in treatment for since shortly after my son was born. Don't ever assume that you're better now just because the worst of the immediate symptoms have faded - I could have avoided most of the stress of the last four years if I'd sought treatment when I first realized I was having an abnormally bad time of things. My boss figured it out before I did, actually, and I still didn't seek treatment, even though I knew he was right the minute he brought it up.
Anyway, the day was a good one for me in spite of the sad thoughts that came with it. I think a part of me is still in shock after all this time, but the saddest thing for me is the way we've reacted. I won't say any more about that here.
Yesterday, we attended a birthday party for the next-door neighbor's son. We don't know them very well, but in many ways they are a lot like us. They keep to themselves, they teach their kids to be respectful and polite, and they don't make a lot of noise. In fact, we hardly ever hear them. On occasion their dog barks in the back yard, but not often, and we sometimes hear him listening to some sports event on the radio (or perhaps a portable TV) on the back porch, but otherwise we wave and say hello when we see each other out front. The party was a blast for the kids, and I'm pretty sure the adults had a good time as well. They have a trampoline, and they rented one of those huge blow-up bouncy slides with a pool at the bottom, so the kids, including Galen, were in heaven. Galen was one of the smallest ones there, and I was impressed with how well the older boys watched out for him. Especially on the trampoline after they realized he was a little intimidated with them all jumping around him. This was particularly impressive to me since about a dozen of these boys were on the junior football team the neighbor's son is on (he just turned 8). Some of those boys were pretty solidly built, and they were all bigger than Galen, but they took him in hand and showed him how to jump with them so no one got bounced around too much. One of those boys turned out to be the son of a local politician - we had been talking about the kids with him and his wife for a while before he mentioned that he was our local city councilman. Turns out he's also modest, because he's actually the Vice Mayor. Seems like a nice guy, and his wife is charming as well. I hope I'll run into them again.
That's all for today. Galen is napping, Richard is napping, and my Facebook games are calling me.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The sky is falling
Galen actually took a nap today, with very little fussing other than the usual, "But I don't want to take a nap." He never does. LOL!
Of course I've just realized I've got 15 minutes to make it to an appointment that's about 35-40 minutes away. Sigh. I guess I'll be doing this one by phone. Thankfully it also meant I was home to get the phone call from the gymnastics facility about their program for kids Galen's age. We can't go tonight, but it's nice to know they have a class that should be a good fit for him, and includes two other boys his age.
Time to go wake my sleeping child and head over to the other side of town. Even with the appointment turning into a phone call I need to bring Galen over there so he can participate in a free model build at the LEGO store. I didn't tell him where we were going, so it'll be fun to see his reaction.
Of course I've just realized I've got 15 minutes to make it to an appointment that's about 35-40 minutes away. Sigh. I guess I'll be doing this one by phone. Thankfully it also meant I was home to get the phone call from the gymnastics facility about their program for kids Galen's age. We can't go tonight, but it's nice to know they have a class that should be a good fit for him, and includes two other boys his age.
Time to go wake my sleeping child and head over to the other side of town. Even with the appointment turning into a phone call I need to bring Galen over there so he can participate in a free model build at the LEGO store. I didn't tell him where we were going, so it'll be fun to see his reaction.
Friday, September 3, 2010
We switched
Galen has decided that reading is fun. Of course, this is only because he's starting to "get" it. He's still not convinced he can read a whole book by himself, although I have a couple that he certainly could read on his own. I won't push it for now, but his skills are easily up to reading the first few books in the Bob Books series.
Math seems to also be switched around. Math is hard again, but only because we're trying to learn how to write the numbers, and his fine motor skills are getting a real workout. I was expecting this, so we're taking it slow and I'm supplementing with lots of tracing practice. I know it's not the same as learning to write the numbers, but it gives him practice making the pencil move in the correct pattern, and he's happy to do it. Unfortunately I asked Daddy to oversee that tonight and now I have to teach Galen how to write 5s the correct way, but at least he only did one line. It's my own fault for forgetting to make sure Daddy knew to have him draw the top line last.
I've been surprised by the number of things that are so automatic that I actually have to sit down and think about how I do them. For example, most of the fonts on my computer have a closed 4, but Galen's math books and all the handwriting programs I've seen have an open 4. I actually had to go look at some papers I had written numbers on to figure out how I was taught to do it, because when I tried to sit down and write out the numbers both ways felt unnatural (because I was thinking about them, of course - ironic isn't it?).
I've decided that when we start formal handwriting lessons I will be doing them with him. That is, I'll be learning to write with my left hand again. My mother said I didn't seem to have a strong preference before starting school, so I suspect it won't be too arduous, and it will help me teach him better if I understand what it's like to write with the left hand when our entire writing system seems geared to rightys.
Today we drove over to my old apartment in Ahwatukee to gather caterpillars for a science project. We have these huge moths out here that are often mistaken for hummingbirds because of their size. I found one of the caterpillars a couple years ago on our driveway and tried to raise it, but he never emerged. We picked up eight off one shrub and they're currently living in an old bucket with a few inches of loose soil from the yard, some water, and an assortment of greens from the part of our yard closest to where I found the other one. Hopefully I'll know tomorrow which of the plants they prefer to snack on - the one I found a couple years ago was looking for a place to bury himself and never ate anything before vanishing into the dirt. These are mostly all smaller than the first one, so they probably have some more gorging to do. Wish us luck!
Math seems to also be switched around. Math is hard again, but only because we're trying to learn how to write the numbers, and his fine motor skills are getting a real workout. I was expecting this, so we're taking it slow and I'm supplementing with lots of tracing practice. I know it's not the same as learning to write the numbers, but it gives him practice making the pencil move in the correct pattern, and he's happy to do it. Unfortunately I asked Daddy to oversee that tonight and now I have to teach Galen how to write 5s the correct way, but at least he only did one line. It's my own fault for forgetting to make sure Daddy knew to have him draw the top line last.
I've been surprised by the number of things that are so automatic that I actually have to sit down and think about how I do them. For example, most of the fonts on my computer have a closed 4, but Galen's math books and all the handwriting programs I've seen have an open 4. I actually had to go look at some papers I had written numbers on to figure out how I was taught to do it, because when I tried to sit down and write out the numbers both ways felt unnatural (because I was thinking about them, of course - ironic isn't it?).
I've decided that when we start formal handwriting lessons I will be doing them with him. That is, I'll be learning to write with my left hand again. My mother said I didn't seem to have a strong preference before starting school, so I suspect it won't be too arduous, and it will help me teach him better if I understand what it's like to write with the left hand when our entire writing system seems geared to rightys.
Today we drove over to my old apartment in Ahwatukee to gather caterpillars for a science project. We have these huge moths out here that are often mistaken for hummingbirds because of their size. I found one of the caterpillars a couple years ago on our driveway and tried to raise it, but he never emerged. We picked up eight off one shrub and they're currently living in an old bucket with a few inches of loose soil from the yard, some water, and an assortment of greens from the part of our yard closest to where I found the other one. Hopefully I'll know tomorrow which of the plants they prefer to snack on - the one I found a couple years ago was looking for a place to bury himself and never ate anything before vanishing into the dirt. These are mostly all smaller than the first one, so they probably have some more gorging to do. Wish us luck!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Still no nap
We're still working on the no nap issue, which I think will get easier when it's cool enough here to let him wear himself out in the backyard or at the park. It's just too hot to play outdoors here in the summer. It won't fix the problem entirely, I'm sure, but it should help.
The reading lessons have been going much better since I started using the timer on my wristwatch. When the timer went off for the last lesson we were just starting a new sentence, so I turned off the alarm and was going to have him finish that sentence before putting it away. He wanted me to start the timer again! I did, then after we finished the sentence we were working on I asked him if he wanted to be finished or if he wanted to do the next sentence. He chose to do the next sentence. After that he decided he was finished (there were a couple more sentences). What a difference from the previous week!
I'm grateful for the recent patch of cooler weather (we've been about 10 degrees below average for a little over a week, and are expected to stay there for at least another week). If this keeps up we might be able to start the landscaping work in the backyard sooner than expected.
The reading lessons have been going much better since I started using the timer on my wristwatch. When the timer went off for the last lesson we were just starting a new sentence, so I turned off the alarm and was going to have him finish that sentence before putting it away. He wanted me to start the timer again! I did, then after we finished the sentence we were working on I asked him if he wanted to be finished or if he wanted to do the next sentence. He chose to do the next sentence. After that he decided he was finished (there were a couple more sentences). What a difference from the previous week!
I'm grateful for the recent patch of cooler weather (we've been about 10 degrees below average for a little over a week, and are expected to stay there for at least another week). If this keeps up we might be able to start the landscaping work in the backyard sooner than expected.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
One down, one more to go
We seem to have resolved the reading lesson problem. I've started setting the timer on my watch for 10 minutes, and Galen knows I start the timer as soon as we start working on the new material for the day. I've promised him that if he works hard for that 10 minutes, when the timer goes off we're done and can take a break. Yesterday we finished the lesson, including the optional activity, in 7 minutes. Today we finished the lesson, but NOT the optional activity, just as the timer went off. I told him we could do the optional activity (which he enjoys because he gets to play with the magnetic letters) later if he wanted. I got only the smallest amount of whining, which is to be expected while we're working to get to a point where it becomes more fun for him. I'm so proud of him. I just hope it lasts long enough for him to read his first book all by himself. That could be as early as sometime next week.
Now I need to figure out how to get him to take a nap. He doesn't want to take a nap (big surprise there), but he's so cranky by dinner time I know he needs to. If I wait and put him down for a nap later in the day he's much more likely to fall asleep, but we have to wake him up for dinner.
In other news, I wrote my first real Java program last night. I say "real" because the other one, which was actually my first, was the ubiquitous "Hello World!" program that everyone writes first regardless of what language they're learning. Honestly, the only reason I wrote the "Hello World!" program was to have something quick and easy to verify that I could write, save, compile and run a Java program with my current setup. My first real program was a nested loop that compares two condition, creates a table and displays the results of the comparison for each set of variables. I'm betting most programmers understood that, but no one else did. LOL!
Now I need to figure out how to get him to take a nap. He doesn't want to take a nap (big surprise there), but he's so cranky by dinner time I know he needs to. If I wait and put him down for a nap later in the day he's much more likely to fall asleep, but we have to wake him up for dinner.
In other news, I wrote my first real Java program last night. I say "real" because the other one, which was actually my first, was the ubiquitous "Hello World!" program that everyone writes first regardless of what language they're learning. Honestly, the only reason I wrote the "Hello World!" program was to have something quick and easy to verify that I could write, save, compile and run a Java program with my current setup. My first real program was a nested loop that compares two condition, creates a table and displays the results of the comparison for each set of variables. I'm betting most programmers understood that, but no one else did. LOL!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Progress, sort of
Well, it turns out that the math lessons that involve coloring (basic graphing, for example) slow him down because his fine motor skills are age-appropriate even if his mental skills are ahead. Once he gets used to manipulating the crayon neatly (as opposed to his usual scribbling), we'll probably be off an running again. No biggie, I've figured out how I'm going to handle that and all will be well.
Reading, on the other hand, is a struggle. We're working on blending, which is the hardest part, and he's such a little perfectionist (he got that from me, but I'm undecided yet whether this will be good or bad in the long run) that he hates "getting it wrong" and fusses, whines and cries to avoid having to do a reading lesson. I know once he "gets" blending he'll be fine (until we hit the next part that's hard), but until then every reading lesson leaves me wanting to throw myself head-first into a wall.
My own classes have both started. Once is online, and mostly review for me since I audited this class at Gordon, but the other is a post-calculus mathematics class I've never had before. I'm not too worried about either of them, even though the latter class has a programming course prerequisite (which I don't have - I got an over ride from the professor). Apparently he's unconcerned about my lack of modern programming experience and intended to just sit down with me and write the code for me according to the logic I laid out - in other words his concern was that I understand the concepts and the logic, not the coding. Geek that I am, I'm going to try to learn Java to write my own code, but it's nice to know that he's more than happy to help me if I get stuck. I really should take an actual programming class, since I have other reasons for wanting to learn Java, but I don't have the time right now.
Galen is currently down for his nap, but, as usual, he isn't actually taking a nap. I hate when he does this because that means I'll have a cranky boy by the time daddy gets home. He was, however, a very good boy during my dental appointment (periodic cleaning) - I was so pleased with his behavior I let him pick out a new matchbox car. The best part is he didn't know he would be getting that until afterwards (in part because I made the decision as we were leaving, but I wouldn't have told him ahead of time anyway).
Reading, on the other hand, is a struggle. We're working on blending, which is the hardest part, and he's such a little perfectionist (he got that from me, but I'm undecided yet whether this will be good or bad in the long run) that he hates "getting it wrong" and fusses, whines and cries to avoid having to do a reading lesson. I know once he "gets" blending he'll be fine (until we hit the next part that's hard), but until then every reading lesson leaves me wanting to throw myself head-first into a wall.
My own classes have both started. Once is online, and mostly review for me since I audited this class at Gordon, but the other is a post-calculus mathematics class I've never had before. I'm not too worried about either of them, even though the latter class has a programming course prerequisite (which I don't have - I got an over ride from the professor). Apparently he's unconcerned about my lack of modern programming experience and intended to just sit down with me and write the code for me according to the logic I laid out - in other words his concern was that I understand the concepts and the logic, not the coding. Geek that I am, I'm going to try to learn Java to write my own code, but it's nice to know that he's more than happy to help me if I get stuck. I really should take an actual programming class, since I have other reasons for wanting to learn Java, but I don't have the time right now.
Galen is currently down for his nap, but, as usual, he isn't actually taking a nap. I hate when he does this because that means I'll have a cranky boy by the time daddy gets home. He was, however, a very good boy during my dental appointment (periodic cleaning) - I was so pleased with his behavior I let him pick out a new matchbox car. The best part is he didn't know he would be getting that until afterwards (in part because I made the decision as we were leaving, but I wouldn't have told him ahead of time anyway).
Thursday, August 19, 2010
All better now
You know, if I start worrying about stuff like this every time he zooms through something I'm going to be a basket case before he hits 2nd grade. Richard and I talked about this last night after the carpet cleaners left, and he's of the opinion that we should just let him set the pace, within some limits of course. If Galen does reach a point where he isn't developmentally ready for what comes next, then we consult an expert. Neither of us think it will reach that point, because he's bound to zoom through some topics and not others. He may end up working a few grade levels higher than other kids his age (he's already working one grade level higher), but it's really not likely that this pace will continue all the time. What will probably happen is he'll zoom through most topics until he reaches whatever point he's currently at developmentally, then he'll continue at a pretty standard pace.
Then there's the fact that his fine motor skills are those of a typical kid his age, and some topics will take him longer for that reason alone - the second half of the unit we're working on right now, for example, teaches him how to write the numbers 1-5. I'm betting he'll only want to do one lesson a day for those (but I'm not going to say that too loud, because he's surprised me in this area before).
We've also talked about arranging for me to have a couple afternoons to myself. Richard has noticed that I seem a little stressed, and has, correctly, concluded that it's because I don't have any "me" time right now. I reminded him that the class I'll be taking Monday and Wednesday evenings was partly intended to do exactly that - taking post-calculus math classes might be his idea of a nightmare, but I actually enjoy them.
Yes, I'm a geek - feel free to point and laugh. LOL!
Then there's the fact that his fine motor skills are those of a typical kid his age, and some topics will take him longer for that reason alone - the second half of the unit we're working on right now, for example, teaches him how to write the numbers 1-5. I'm betting he'll only want to do one lesson a day for those (but I'm not going to say that too loud, because he's surprised me in this area before).
We've also talked about arranging for me to have a couple afternoons to myself. Richard has noticed that I seem a little stressed, and has, correctly, concluded that it's because I don't have any "me" time right now. I reminded him that the class I'll be taking Monday and Wednesday evenings was partly intended to do exactly that - taking post-calculus math classes might be his idea of a nightmare, but I actually enjoy them.
Yes, I'm a geek - feel free to point and laugh. LOL!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Starting to get nervous
I've mentioned before that Galen is a little bored with kindergarten math. Well, today he stunned me by going through three entire math lessons in one sitting, at which point I stopped him. At this pace we'll be starting 1st grade math during or right after the holidays. I'm not sure if I should let him set the pace, or hold him to the one lesson a day the curriculum is designed for, but I do know that either option is going to be challenging for me.
With the first option I have to find ways to keep him challenged while we progress through the program topics at the suggested pace. This is doable, but will require a lot more work for me finding ways to do that. The second option allows us to work through lessons at his pace, speeding through areas that are no challenge to him and slowing down in areas where he might need a little more time. If we run into enough sticky areas the overall pace might not be that fast compared to the suggested pace, but I've already looked through everything I have (20 units through the course of the year) and I don't see much to challenge him in all but about 5 units - and that depends mostly on how fast he picks up on it. That includes the only supplements available at the kindergarten level. Thankfully grades 1-6 have more and better supplements designed to challenge advanced students (and they have one that provides additional practice to average students as well, but I doubt we'll need that).
The second option seems like the thing to do, but what do I do if he's worked his way up to levels that require more abstract thinking but isn't developmentally ready for it? I'm great with math, but I don't think I'm up to winging it in that situation. Of course I may be worrying about nothing. His current pace isn't likely to last all the way through, and even if it does it may be accompanied by the mental development needed to do the more abstract thinking required at higher levels.
I figured he'd be naturally gifted in mathematics given that his daddy is an engineer and mommy is a biology professor and mathematics geek, but I think I overestimated the challenge that Singapore Math would provide. I don't really expect anyone to have the answers for me - for starters not that many people even read my blog. ASU does have a graduate program in Mathematics Education though, so it's possible one of the faculty members there might be able to offer some advice.
Reading, on the other hand, is going at the suggested pace right now. I doubled the pace while we were reviewing short-vowel sounds and consonant sounds because he already had those down, but now that we're working on actual phonics-based reading skills we've slowed to the suggested pace. We're currently learning to sound out words by blending the sounds together, and reinforcing the idea of going from left to right.
With the first option I have to find ways to keep him challenged while we progress through the program topics at the suggested pace. This is doable, but will require a lot more work for me finding ways to do that. The second option allows us to work through lessons at his pace, speeding through areas that are no challenge to him and slowing down in areas where he might need a little more time. If we run into enough sticky areas the overall pace might not be that fast compared to the suggested pace, but I've already looked through everything I have (20 units through the course of the year) and I don't see much to challenge him in all but about 5 units - and that depends mostly on how fast he picks up on it. That includes the only supplements available at the kindergarten level. Thankfully grades 1-6 have more and better supplements designed to challenge advanced students (and they have one that provides additional practice to average students as well, but I doubt we'll need that).
The second option seems like the thing to do, but what do I do if he's worked his way up to levels that require more abstract thinking but isn't developmentally ready for it? I'm great with math, but I don't think I'm up to winging it in that situation. Of course I may be worrying about nothing. His current pace isn't likely to last all the way through, and even if it does it may be accompanied by the mental development needed to do the more abstract thinking required at higher levels.
I figured he'd be naturally gifted in mathematics given that his daddy is an engineer and mommy is a biology professor and mathematics geek, but I think I overestimated the challenge that Singapore Math would provide. I don't really expect anyone to have the answers for me - for starters not that many people even read my blog. ASU does have a graduate program in Mathematics Education though, so it's possible one of the faculty members there might be able to offer some advice.
Reading, on the other hand, is going at the suggested pace right now. I doubled the pace while we were reviewing short-vowel sounds and consonant sounds because he already had those down, but now that we're working on actual phonics-based reading skills we've slowed to the suggested pace. We're currently learning to sound out words by blending the sounds together, and reinforcing the idea of going from left to right.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Occupational play
Our occupational therapy appointment was more like a play date, as evidenced by Galen telling me in the car that he wanted to come back and play with Chad again the next day. Chad is, obviously, the therapist. We were assigned to him because he's their handwriting expert, and that was a big part of the reason for the evaluation in the first place.
It turns out that Galen is right on target for his age in fine motor skills - perhaps a little ahead in a couple tasks, but not enough to be considered on target for 5 to 5.5. Sounds good to me, and it was what I expected. He's definitely left-handed, with a pretty strong preference. Again, this is what I expected, although he frequently chooses to use scissors in his right hand which had me wondering.
It turns out that we've been doing several things exactly the way we should, including the use of standard thickness writing implements instead of the extra-thick ones they often give kids his age, and using ones that are about half the normal length. Chad also had good things to say about the Kumon workbooks I've been using, other than to note that the cutting books are set up for right-handed children if you follow their "start here" arrows (I tend to ignore those and let Galen decide which end to start at).
On the "we should change this" side, he recommended we ditch the rubber pencil grip. The other things we're doing, plus a couple new ideas he gave me will be far more effective in helping him develop a proper grip. He also asked me to consider switching from Zaner-Bloser handwriting to Handwriting Without Tears. I had originally decided against HWT because the script is unattractive, and there's very little repetition to develop muscle memory. Apparently, the repetition issue is part of the reason HWT was developed - fewer repetitions, but the ones you do are more likely to be correct, making for better learning. That was enough to get me to at least think about it. His response to my comment about the unattractive script was that it was just a font, and once the basic skills were learned it was a simple matter to learn a new style. I may have to get back to him on that in a few years, because I'm not going to have any idea when and how to do that. He did say to go ahead and use the Zaner-Bloser Kindergarten book to start practicing uppercase letters, so I'll keep that and order HWT for the rest.
At one point he told Galen he was a "superstar" because he was doing really well on one of the tasks, and Galen tells him, "That's not what mommy calls me." I'm sitting a few feet away wondering which of my pet names for him he's going to pull out, when he says, "Mommy calls me a 'smart little boy.'" The grin on my face must have met in the back of my head. After all, he could have told Chad I sometimes call him "cutie buns."
It turns out that Galen is right on target for his age in fine motor skills - perhaps a little ahead in a couple tasks, but not enough to be considered on target for 5 to 5.5. Sounds good to me, and it was what I expected. He's definitely left-handed, with a pretty strong preference. Again, this is what I expected, although he frequently chooses to use scissors in his right hand which had me wondering.
It turns out that we've been doing several things exactly the way we should, including the use of standard thickness writing implements instead of the extra-thick ones they often give kids his age, and using ones that are about half the normal length. Chad also had good things to say about the Kumon workbooks I've been using, other than to note that the cutting books are set up for right-handed children if you follow their "start here" arrows (I tend to ignore those and let Galen decide which end to start at).
On the "we should change this" side, he recommended we ditch the rubber pencil grip. The other things we're doing, plus a couple new ideas he gave me will be far more effective in helping him develop a proper grip. He also asked me to consider switching from Zaner-Bloser handwriting to Handwriting Without Tears. I had originally decided against HWT because the script is unattractive, and there's very little repetition to develop muscle memory. Apparently, the repetition issue is part of the reason HWT was developed - fewer repetitions, but the ones you do are more likely to be correct, making for better learning. That was enough to get me to at least think about it. His response to my comment about the unattractive script was that it was just a font, and once the basic skills were learned it was a simple matter to learn a new style. I may have to get back to him on that in a few years, because I'm not going to have any idea when and how to do that. He did say to go ahead and use the Zaner-Bloser Kindergarten book to start practicing uppercase letters, so I'll keep that and order HWT for the rest.
At one point he told Galen he was a "superstar" because he was doing really well on one of the tasks, and Galen tells him, "That's not what mommy calls me." I'm sitting a few feet away wondering which of my pet names for him he's going to pull out, when he says, "Mommy calls me a 'smart little boy.'" The grin on my face must have met in the back of my head. After all, he could have told Chad I sometimes call him "cutie buns."
Friday, August 13, 2010
Singapore aggravation
You'd think a company that's been in business so long would be able to provide accurate information on their website. Their list of suggested manipulatives for their kindergarten math program was a whopping six items, two of which were optional because they're only used once (I bought them anyway because they're used in subsequent years). It turns out there are at least four additional items the first set of books call for that they even sell - I still have to go through the other set of books! So much for saving shipping costs by ordering everything I needed at the same time.
Other than that little surprise I'm pleased with the program so far. Galen seems a little bored, but when I pull the books out he tries to tell me math is hard. I think he's hoping I'll say we can do it later so he can watch Handy Manny instead. He does the same thing with reading. I know he's pulling my leg there because he already knows the stuff we're working on right now (consonant sounds). Next week we start new units in both math and reading, although I'm not sure the math unit won't be just as boring for him (numbers to 5 - he can already count past 20). At least the lessons are short and he loves to count things.
His occupational therapy evaluation got rescheduled for today. I had to scramble to rearrange a few things to make that work, but there was no way I wasn't taking advantage of the opportunity. Our original appointment was two days after Labor Day. Hopefully I'll remember to bring his pencil box so we can show the therapist the scissors and pencil grips we're using
That also reminds me of the conversation I had with my aunt earlier this week. She's a retired high-school guidance counselor, and I was telling her about the appointment and why I had requested it. I had originally asked a teacher for ideas to help Galen develop his fine motor skills, but her only suggestion was to have him practice his letters. I guess she wasn't listening to the part where I explained I didn't want to push him into that until I was sure he was ready. Just because he's academically ready for kindergarten doesn't mean his fie motor skills are equally developed. Anyway, my aunt not only had better ideas than the teacher did, she had more than one! Some of them I've already got (lacing cards for example), but she also suggested pick-up sticks. I'd forgotten all about those, and I used to play with them when I was a kid. I'm going to try and find some wooden ones on Amazon - I just hope they don't cost a small fortune these days.
Not much else to say at this point. Galen is doing great, although he'd rather play than do school work. Mommy is still trying to figure out what works best as far as the daily routine. I find it funny that I was concerned about making the transition easier for him when I'm the one having the most trouble. LOL!
Other than that little surprise I'm pleased with the program so far. Galen seems a little bored, but when I pull the books out he tries to tell me math is hard. I think he's hoping I'll say we can do it later so he can watch Handy Manny instead. He does the same thing with reading. I know he's pulling my leg there because he already knows the stuff we're working on right now (consonant sounds). Next week we start new units in both math and reading, although I'm not sure the math unit won't be just as boring for him (numbers to 5 - he can already count past 20). At least the lessons are short and he loves to count things.
His occupational therapy evaluation got rescheduled for today. I had to scramble to rearrange a few things to make that work, but there was no way I wasn't taking advantage of the opportunity. Our original appointment was two days after Labor Day. Hopefully I'll remember to bring his pencil box so we can show the therapist the scissors and pencil grips we're using
That also reminds me of the conversation I had with my aunt earlier this week. She's a retired high-school guidance counselor, and I was telling her about the appointment and why I had requested it. I had originally asked a teacher for ideas to help Galen develop his fine motor skills, but her only suggestion was to have him practice his letters. I guess she wasn't listening to the part where I explained I didn't want to push him into that until I was sure he was ready. Just because he's academically ready for kindergarten doesn't mean his fie motor skills are equally developed. Anyway, my aunt not only had better ideas than the teacher did, she had more than one! Some of them I've already got (lacing cards for example), but she also suggested pick-up sticks. I'd forgotten all about those, and I used to play with them when I was a kid. I'm going to try and find some wooden ones on Amazon - I just hope they don't cost a small fortune these days.
Not much else to say at this point. Galen is doing great, although he'd rather play than do school work. Mommy is still trying to figure out what works best as far as the daily routine. I find it funny that I was concerned about making the transition easier for him when I'm the one having the most trouble. LOL!
Monday, August 9, 2010
The first week
I figured the first week would be the hardest for a couple reasons. First, any time you start something new it takes time to get used to the new routine. We had arranged with Galen's preschool to have him come in two afternoons the first week and two afternoons the second week to help make the transition a little easier, but after one week I'm thinking that actually worked more for my benefit than his. He loves his teachers there, so it's not like I don't think he enjoyed being there for a few hours, but he was just as happy with the idea of staying with mommy the other three days. I, on the other hand, needed the time to get things done. I'm apparently taking longer to adjust to the new routine than Galen is.
The second reason I expected the first week to be hard is because we started the day after returning from a trip to see the grandparents. That didn't seem to be a huge factor compared to the first reason - except for me, again. I didn't get as much done the week we were at my in-laws as I would have liked, so I opted not to start the science stuff until this week. As it turns out that was a good thing, because it made the first week a little simpler.
As far as the curriculum goes, reading and mathematics are laid out in a formal curriculum (The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and Singapore's Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics, respectively), while science and art are more free-form explorations. Eventually we'll be using Zaner-Bloser Handwriting, Grade K, but that won't be until after his fine motor skills have been evaluated right after Labor Day. Academically he's ready for kindergarten, but he's still only 4, and he appears to be left-handed. He seems, however, to be ambidextrous with scissors, even when given a pair of genuine left-handed scissors made by the same company that made his right-handed scissors. As a right-handed writer I feel a little inadequate to teach him handwriting skills without a little direction from an expert.
That reminds me...did you know that scissors labelled for use by both left- and right-handed people are actually right-handed scissors that just have handles that haven't been molded to fit only in the right hand? Until a couple months I ago I didn't know this. It turns out that it's about more than whether or not the scissors fit into your hand. The right blade on standard (right-handed) scissors goes up, which means if you're viewing the cutting line from the left, you can actually see where you're cutting alongside the far blade. If you're left-handed you either can't see the line you're cutting, or you hold the scissors very awkwardly trying to do so. Also, the pressure your left hand creates on the pivot point while you close right-handed scissors tends to separate the blades rather than push them against each other, so left-handers often find that the paper bends instead of cutting (the same would be true for right-handers trying to use left-handed scissors). Obviously with a well-made pair of scissors the last issue shouldn't be an issue, but school scissors are cheap. If anyone else has a left-handed child I can highly recommend the left-handed scissors made by Fiskars. They have fun red and blue handles and, although they're available on Amazon, buy them either direct from Fiskars or do a web search for another alternative - Amazon is way overpriced for this item.
I guess that's all I had on my mind regarding the first week of homeschooling. Galen's doing great, and I'm starting to get used to the new routine. This week is the last week he'll be at his old preschool (Tuesday and Friday afternoon only), and the teacher is gathering contact information for his friends so we can arrange playdates. In fact, his first playdate will be this weekend - two of the teachers and their kids are going bowling with us. I can't wait to teach Galen how to bowl, and I'll try to remember the camera.
The second reason I expected the first week to be hard is because we started the day after returning from a trip to see the grandparents. That didn't seem to be a huge factor compared to the first reason - except for me, again. I didn't get as much done the week we were at my in-laws as I would have liked, so I opted not to start the science stuff until this week. As it turns out that was a good thing, because it made the first week a little simpler.
As far as the curriculum goes, reading and mathematics are laid out in a formal curriculum (The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, and Singapore's Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics, respectively), while science and art are more free-form explorations. Eventually we'll be using Zaner-Bloser Handwriting, Grade K, but that won't be until after his fine motor skills have been evaluated right after Labor Day. Academically he's ready for kindergarten, but he's still only 4, and he appears to be left-handed. He seems, however, to be ambidextrous with scissors, even when given a pair of genuine left-handed scissors made by the same company that made his right-handed scissors. As a right-handed writer I feel a little inadequate to teach him handwriting skills without a little direction from an expert.
That reminds me...did you know that scissors labelled for use by both left- and right-handed people are actually right-handed scissors that just have handles that haven't been molded to fit only in the right hand? Until a couple months I ago I didn't know this. It turns out that it's about more than whether or not the scissors fit into your hand. The right blade on standard (right-handed) scissors goes up, which means if you're viewing the cutting line from the left, you can actually see where you're cutting alongside the far blade. If you're left-handed you either can't see the line you're cutting, or you hold the scissors very awkwardly trying to do so. Also, the pressure your left hand creates on the pivot point while you close right-handed scissors tends to separate the blades rather than push them against each other, so left-handers often find that the paper bends instead of cutting (the same would be true for right-handers trying to use left-handed scissors). Obviously with a well-made pair of scissors the last issue shouldn't be an issue, but school scissors are cheap. If anyone else has a left-handed child I can highly recommend the left-handed scissors made by Fiskars. They have fun red and blue handles and, although they're available on Amazon, buy them either direct from Fiskars or do a web search for another alternative - Amazon is way overpriced for this item.
I guess that's all I had on my mind regarding the first week of homeschooling. Galen's doing great, and I'm starting to get used to the new routine. This week is the last week he'll be at his old preschool (Tuesday and Friday afternoon only), and the teacher is gathering contact information for his friends so we can arrange playdates. In fact, his first playdate will be this weekend - two of the teachers and their kids are going bowling with us. I can't wait to teach Galen how to bowl, and I'll try to remember the camera.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Off on a new adventure
It occurred to me earlier today that the onset of homeschooling is a great time to start blogging. I've never been one to keep a traditional journal, but a blog seems to be part interactive journal and part online newsletter - that's an idea with a lot more appeal. So here I go, launching myself simultaneously into several new adventures, only two of which I'll discuss tonight - homeschooling and blogging.
I decided a a couple years ago that I needed to homeschool Galen, my 4-year-old son. Originally I was open to the idea of a private school, or perhaps one of the better charter schools here (but the regular public schools were never an option), but as he grew and developed I became more and more convinced that I couldn't trust his education to someone else. I remember what public school was like for me growing up, when homeschooling was a lot more intimidating than it is today, and I want better for my son.
Galen is smart. I know what some of you are thinking (because I've heard it all before) - every parent thinks their kid is a genius. Sure, I've got that same bias, but I've also done my homework and I've got the backing of others who have also seen what he's capable of. I've experienced the life I see him embarking on, and I want better for him. I know what it's like to be the smart kid with her nose buried in a book all the time, because I was that kid. I know what it's like to be bored to tears in school because you understood it the first time and the teacher is going over it again for the fourth time for the half-dozen kids that are still struggling. The problem is schools today aren't any better at handling kids like me than they were back then, and could arguably be accused of being a great deal worse thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Then there's the behavior issues other kids bring to school that the schools are essentially powerless to control - inappropriate clothing, foul language, hateful ideas, bullying, peer pressure, bad attitudes, drugs, etc. All it takes is a trip to the store to convince me that even small children today can be way out of control - and once the parents lose control it only gets worse as they get older. No thanks.
Oddly enough, the fact that I'm a Christian had very little to do with my decision to homeschool. I know it's a big factor, if not the biggest factor, in the decision to homeschool for many Christians. I suspect some homeschool because they object to evolution and related ideas being taught to their children, some homeschool because they don't want their children to be part of a secular world that accepts homosexuality, atheism, etc., and others homeschool just to avoid exposing their children to the scary behaviors I've already mentioned. There are probably a whole lot of Christian families who homeschool for reasons that I've never even considered.
I guess it comes down to the fact that I am a Christian who homeschools, but I don't consider myself a Christian homeschooler. This may surprise a few people who knew me in high school and college, but I am not a Young Earth - Creation Science - Intelligent Design supporter. I accept evolution fully, and I am convinced that the earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old. I do believe that God is responsible for all of it, which some might argue is the same thing suggested by Intelligent Design, but it isn't science and should not be taught in a science classroom as science. Perhaps I'll get into this more at a later date, but for now, enough said.
So there you have it - my first blog entry. Hopefully I haven't bored you to tears - or an unplanned nap. I'm hoping to gather my thoughts about the first week of homeschooling for a second post tomorrow. Good night all!
I decided a a couple years ago that I needed to homeschool Galen, my 4-year-old son. Originally I was open to the idea of a private school, or perhaps one of the better charter schools here (but the regular public schools were never an option), but as he grew and developed I became more and more convinced that I couldn't trust his education to someone else. I remember what public school was like for me growing up, when homeschooling was a lot more intimidating than it is today, and I want better for my son.
Galen is smart. I know what some of you are thinking (because I've heard it all before) - every parent thinks their kid is a genius. Sure, I've got that same bias, but I've also done my homework and I've got the backing of others who have also seen what he's capable of. I've experienced the life I see him embarking on, and I want better for him. I know what it's like to be the smart kid with her nose buried in a book all the time, because I was that kid. I know what it's like to be bored to tears in school because you understood it the first time and the teacher is going over it again for the fourth time for the half-dozen kids that are still struggling. The problem is schools today aren't any better at handling kids like me than they were back then, and could arguably be accused of being a great deal worse thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Then there's the behavior issues other kids bring to school that the schools are essentially powerless to control - inappropriate clothing, foul language, hateful ideas, bullying, peer pressure, bad attitudes, drugs, etc. All it takes is a trip to the store to convince me that even small children today can be way out of control - and once the parents lose control it only gets worse as they get older. No thanks.
Oddly enough, the fact that I'm a Christian had very little to do with my decision to homeschool. I know it's a big factor, if not the biggest factor, in the decision to homeschool for many Christians. I suspect some homeschool because they object to evolution and related ideas being taught to their children, some homeschool because they don't want their children to be part of a secular world that accepts homosexuality, atheism, etc., and others homeschool just to avoid exposing their children to the scary behaviors I've already mentioned. There are probably a whole lot of Christian families who homeschool for reasons that I've never even considered.
I guess it comes down to the fact that I am a Christian who homeschools, but I don't consider myself a Christian homeschooler. This may surprise a few people who knew me in high school and college, but I am not a Young Earth - Creation Science - Intelligent Design supporter. I accept evolution fully, and I am convinced that the earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old. I do believe that God is responsible for all of it, which some might argue is the same thing suggested by Intelligent Design, but it isn't science and should not be taught in a science classroom as science. Perhaps I'll get into this more at a later date, but for now, enough said.
So there you have it - my first blog entry. Hopefully I haven't bored you to tears - or an unplanned nap. I'm hoping to gather my thoughts about the first week of homeschooling for a second post tomorrow. Good night all!
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