A Reflective Tale of Happy Motherhood

The boys are in bed. Finally. It has been a long day. A tiring day. A stressful day. A busy day. School is winding down, but my brain is still working overtime. I think about all that needs to be done yet this year. All that needs to be done next year. All that could be done better. My thoughts are scattered as I consider new ideas. Old paths. New avenues. Comforting routines. Conversations with friends.

As I wearily prepare for bed, something catches my eye on my shirt. There, on my right shoulder lies a big smeary "booger", for lack of a better word. Uncontrollable laughter wells up. Then the hilarity that is my life erupts. For how long, exactly, have I been wearing this unsolicited snot that is NOT my own?? As the guffaws echo through the bathroom, my poor husband cautiously peers around the corner. He knows, from experience, that his wife is often a little off her rocker, but what has inspired this outburst?? To his credit, he also sees the humor of proudly worn boogers and we laugh together.

Then, in a moment of clarity, a nugget of wisdom falls into my lap.

Herein, lies happy motherhood.

Sometime, during this crazy day, I was overcome by a happy, loving boy throwing himself into my arms, head buried deep in my shoulder. "I love your hugs, Mommy!" "I love you, Mommy!" "Mommy, your hugs are the best!"

Then it hits you. In the head. On the chest. In the heart. 

Despite my many failings as mother, teacher, wife and friend, somehow, my children still love me. There is the disorganized house. The frazzled mother. The weary teacher. The grumpy cook. And yet, there is love. Unconditional and selfless love. I am showered regularly with hugs and kisses given with exuberant wild abandon, by boys not yet shy about showing affection. Ah.... this is what matters!

Hugs. Smiles. Kisses. Time. Laughter. Tears. Joy. Christ.

All that truly matters in this life can be summed up in these 8 words.

The last couple of days I have been meditating on this scripture.

"However, as it is written:

'What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived

the things God has prepared for those that love Him.'"

~1 Corinthians 2:19

These 8 things, these really important things, have been given to us here on Earth as a "taste" of what is yet to come. And I am grateful. And thankful. Yes, even for boogers. 

This morning after I awoke, ready for another unpredictable day of mothering, I slipped back into the shirt I was wearing yesterday. The one with the smear of "love". Yeah, I know. That's disgusting! But as I go through my morning, I am reminded of how it got there.

It means I am loved.

It means I am treasured.

It is a little taste of heaven!

Yes. Yes he IS mine.

I know this is supposed to be a blog about homeschooling, but I couldn't help posting my thoughts about a recent article/blog I read on the topic of adoption. The blog was entitled "10 Things You Shouldn't Say to an Adoptive Mother". Or something like that. The more I read another mom's compilation of stupid things people say, the madder I got. So, in righteous indignation, I've set about creating my own list of things I either have heard and hope to never hear again or things I had better not ever hear. In no particular order of idiocy or cruelty.... here is my personal list.

1. "Is he yours?" Asked with a quizzical quirk of the left eyebrow.

If you have to ask me that, then it truly is none of your business. I SO often forget that T has a different skin color that I have been known to stare dumbly at the idiot asking. I don't understand the question. Then I remember. Oh yes, that's right! In the world's eyes, we don't "match". Not sure how it is any of your business, but yes, yes he is mine. At which point I grit my teeth and walk away. At first, I felt compelled to offer a perfect stranger our adoption story, but that impulse has long gone and I frequently stare intently at the person until they feel ashamed and I smile and walk away.

2. "How much did he cost?" Asked with a surety that we must be very wealthy indeed.

Seriously? Well, sir, when I picked him up at the factory, there was a sale going on, so we got a real bargain. This question truly is no one's business. So unless I offer this information on adoption costs myself, please do not ask.

3. "He is very lucky to have you." Stated with pompous righteousness.

Actually, it is the opposite. He would most certainly be doing fine if his birthmother had chosen another loving family. We, on the other hand, would be at a significant loss and bereavement without him. He completes us.

4. "Why did his birthmother give him up?"

I can't even begin to address the anger that goes along with this statement. Once again, unless I am offering details, our story is none of your business. Also, she didn't "give him up". She decided that she loved him so much that she wanted him to have things in life that she couldn't offer. And before you ask, those "things" are not anything you need to concern yourself with. Thanks so much for asking. She made a totally unselfish and difficult decision. She chose to gift him with her ultimate sacrifice. Letting him call another woman "mom". Oh, and by the way, "she" has a name. Please honor her gift  to us by calling her by her name. She deserves that honor. And yes, I'd be happy to share her name with you.

5. "Do you plan to tell him he's adopted?"

Again, how is this your business? Also, in our case, have you actually looked at T? It is quite obvious that he was not created in my womb. That does not mean he was not created in my heart though. Simply ignorant people feel the need to pry this far.

6. "Why did you agree to stay in contact with his birthmother. Isn't that scary?"

Simply put? No. I do realize that someone selfish and without self confidence would feel threatened by contact with a birthmother. But as I said before, we owe her a debt we can never repay. Why is it so hard to fathom that we love her, think about her, worry about her, pray for her, remember her birthday and otherwise honor her?

7. "Is it difficult having a black child in your family?"

Technically their are 4 different skin colors in our family. T is Brown. My husband is tan. I am taupe and R is ivory. Only a racist would ask that question, which apparently you are. Since I have very strong feelings about racism, you may want to back away slowly.

8. "Have you heard from his mother lately?" This is always asked by the most well-meaning people on the planet.

This is quite possibly the most hurtful thing you could ever say to me. I am his mother. Me. The person whom you are looking at. At first I shrugged off this slip-up and overlooked the cruelty. But recently I decided that I would no longer tolerate such an insult. Someone did have the decency to ask me recently, what I preferred to call his birthmother when they asked about her. I said, "you may call her by name or refer to her as his birthmother. Please do not call her his mother." While I have immense love and respect for her, it is I who tends his boo boos, makes his birthday cakes, sings him his night-night song and reads him countless boring Thomas the Tank Engine stories. I changed his diapers, potty trained him, taught his about Jesus and bathed him. I am the one who wipes his tears, tells him he is the bestest T in the whole world, gives him "blanket hugs" and tucks him in. It is I who prays over him, nurses him when he is sick and loves every little thing about him. I am his mother.

There you have it. My own list of things I have heard in reference to our second miracle child. A child God saw fit to bless us with. A child not born of my womb but born in my heart. This child is mine and will forever be.

Merry Christmas

Dear family and friends,

Merry Christmas from the Delp home to each and every one of you. This year, in order to save time and money, we opted to send out only a few Christmas cards and those were mostly sent to family. We care about each and every one of you, our dear friends from many places all over the U.S., but 60 cards is just getting to be a bit much. So we send you Cyber greetings this year and enclose some of our favorite pictures recently taken.

We pray that during this time of year, each of you are remembering the true reason for Christmas, and that is the birth of our Saviour. Our prayer is that you will know HIS love in a real and personal way this coming year, and that if you have not invited Him into your life, that you will soon see your need of His presence dwelling inside you. We hope that during this time of year, you will remember to take stock of your blessings. We are thankful for our children, for our extended families, for our health, for our Church family, and for the many other abundant blessings that our Father has poured out on us this past year.

Enjoy your loved ones this Christmas! Sit down and play with those new toys with your kiddos. Give your mom a hug and tell her you love her for no reason, just out of the blue. Surprise your hubby with his favorite goody. Call that long lost friend and tell her how much she means to you. Ponder all those whom you love the most and then tell them so! And most of all, spend TIME!! Our tradition during Christmas week to is to just spend time together. No meetings are scheduled. No appointments are made. No errands are run. No "have to" things are scheduled on our calendar. We plan NOTHING but good quality time. Game nights, reading books snuggled up on the couch, watching movies together, coloring, puzzles....etc.etc. The gift of TIME is what your children will remember about their childhood. What better time of year to have this special tradition than during Christmas week?

Treasure each and every moment with those you cherish the most!

We hope the love and joy of Christmas is alive in your home!!

With much love,
Laurel, Nathan, Ryan and Trevor Delp

First Grade!

Well, here we are again! It's that time of year! Next Monday we will begin First Grade. Feeling overwhelmed and scared to death once again a few weeks ago, I cried out to the Lord for affirmation and peace that homeschooling Ryan is indeed His will for our family. Within moments of that prayer, I felt an amazing sense of peace as He brought to mind what was causing me to falter in my conviction. In new clarity, I was able to give to Him those things that were causing me to question my abilites and our decision that Ryan needs the one-on-one direction that homeschooling provides. In the next days after that desperate prayer, I chose to cling to that peace with tenacity as I dove into school prep! And so, here we are. I am working on schedules and lesson plans and gearing up for 1st Grade!! God is so good! Praise His holy name! This year, we will be exploring more extracurricular activities which is great for Ryan, but is overwhelming me already. We signed him up for Awanas that meets each week, swimming lessons will take place sometime this winter and hopefully community soccer in the spring. All this in addition to our homeschool co-op classes and field trips and regular schoolwork at home. Sounds chaotic to me, the gal who hates to live in a car, but Ryan will enjoy it all. Hopefully, all those extracurricular activities will help relieve his boundless energy (and probably sap mine)! That's about all folks! I'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom, guidance and patience as I start the new year teaching FIRST GRADE!!

Summer Vacation at Last!

Well, we survived the first year of homeschooling! I am glad, (no, really) I AM glad that we are homeschooling, I am just really, REALLY ready for summer vacation!! It has been a successful year, for sure, but the ups and downs of learning the ropes was stressful for me. Plus, the way Ry learns had me guessing each day. I'd think I'd have a method down-pat for what helped him, only to discover the next day he'd switch it up and that way wouldn't work. I've learned through research that that is typcial for ADHD children! We were working with My Father's World curriculum, which ended up being far too easy for him and I had to add several phonics books and readers mid-year to supplement. We were using Horizon's math, which is a spiral method and that ended up being a thorn in both our sides!! Apparently, spiral learning is NOT for Ry! That all being said, as I gaze upon my walls still full of artwork and learning projects, I realize that I taught a full school year of good learning to my son all by myself and the proof is all around me! He has learned to read and his handwriting has greatly improved. He has learned to add, subtract and do much more in math concepts. He has learned many many Bible verses and stories and life lessons. He has done lots of science experiments, watching caterpillars emerge as butterflies, hosting an ant farm, building a working volcano, visiting a cave and making butter being some of our most fun science lessons. He has learned how to tell time and keep track of days on a calendar. Counting money has been a hard concept for Ry, but I am proud of what he has accomplished and am confident that he will master it fully in first grade. Our nature walks/nature observation and learning have been the most fun subject we've done. He has learned a lot about animals, plants, trees and all of God's beautiful creation during these times. In looking toward next year, I am excited about the new curriculum we have chosen. After attending the CHAP convention last Friday in Harrisburg, I have a solid plan for next year. We will be switching math curriculums, allowing for a less rigorous pace in math and focusing more on boosting his reading skills. I am really excited about the subjects I've chosen and Ry is too! I only wish there was a curriculum out there that "did it all" for us. However, because of how Ry learns, we are forced to piece together our own curriculum package, using subjects from a variety of publishers. But, I'm thankful that I've learned all this and now know what does and doesn't work before I spend big bucks on all-in-one packages. So, our summer vacation has started today and I am really enjoying sitting here and typing a nice blog at 9:23 AM with only the laundry to do today. Ry is mourning the rain, because his first Monday morning of summer vacation can't be spent outside, but I'll admit to a little bit of gladness that I get a chance to have a lazy rainy day. I will be counting some of our summer activities as First Grade days, among which are visiting the Pittsburgh zoo, a visit to the air and space museum and various other educational field trips I can dream up to count for school days. Saturday, we did a 5 mile hike in the mountains. Ryan learned about poisonous snakes, underground mountain springs, viewed many varieties of butterflies and watched a baby wolf spider, stink bug, aphid and spider mites in action. We marveled at the beauty of the illusive Indigo Bunting and spotted various animal signs. Did I count this day as a First Grade school day?? Absolutely!! Think how much he learned that was much more memorable than sitting in front of a book reading about these things?? Not that reading about things is not valuable! It surely is and we do a lot of that as well. But Ry thrives on these hands-on learning experiences, which is my number one reason for continuing homeschooling next year. They don't offer this kind of learning in public school. And we have the freedom to do all this and more. As difficult as some days are, I am so thankful we have the homeschooling option. I really don't know how Ry would succeed in public school with his ADHD symptoms which cause him to learn much differently than the average child. So, all that being said, we are really excited to have a break from school, yet look forward with anticipation to all we will be learning next year as well! Happy Summer to all my readers! See you in the Fall!

A Child-like faith.

I received a discourse in the car the other day from my 7 year old son. He was explaining the need people have that requires them to have food to survive. I told him he was correct, that without food, people would die and asked him what other thing people need in order to survive. "Water," he replied. I then proceeded to go into great detail about how people actually require water more than food, that you could survive much longer without food than you could without water. "A great schooling moment", I think to myself. He listens intently then says, "Mom, there is one other thing people need to survive." "What's that?" I ask, wondering what crazy thing he is going to say, probably something like "birthday cake", or "matchbox cars" or "kitkat bars." "People need to trust in God, Mom, those are the three things we need to live."

Food
Water
Trust in God

The three things the human race needs to survive. What a wise soul you are, my son! And I am humbled by your simple childlike faith in God. How He is an integral part of your everyday life. You taught your teacher something special on that day. I praise God for you!

Making Butter

The week has been harried and its only Tuesday. Of course, it IS the week before Christmas, and while all other sensible homeschooling moms have wisely opted to start Christmas break early, this crazy mom has aspired to have a full week of school so that we can have next week AND the first week of January off. We are studying cows and dairy products this week and one of our science projects was to make butter. Well, being skeptical, but optimistic, I purchased said pint of whipping cream last night with high hopes but not much faith that this would actually work. I actually purchased 2 pints of whipping cream in case this frontier mom ruined the first batch. I've come to discover that its impossible to fail at butter making. Apparently, it is one of the easiest things ever, or perhaps I had an exceptionally great batch of whipping cream to start with. However I can claim the success, our butter took a mere 15 minutes of hearty shaking to form full fluffy peaks of richness. Flavored with a little salt and colored with a little yellow food coloring to make it pretty, I may never buy butter in a tub again. The flavor and texture is sweet, creamy and smooth. WOW! I have heard horror stories of failed butter attempts, small, liquidy, curdly, not fully formed butter. Prepared for the worst, I was amazed to open our jar and discover beautifully formed butter. With a 6 year old at the helm, we cannot claim consistent shaking, but somehow we did it! How cool is that? We're ready for that log cabin and covered wagon! We've got the butter making down pat! We probably would fail, however, at milking the cow by hand!

Wishing you and yours a Blessed Christmas!
Mrs. Mom

Shaking the jar of cream.

The finished product.

The happy shaker!

School update

As I write this, I am anxiously passing the minutes until we can check school off the list for the day. We have one more day of school (today) before we have a full week off for Thanksgiving break. I had originally scheduled school to start this morning at 10, but when I went to retrieve my student, found him deeply engrossed in a Curious George TV special showing until 11. Being the gracious and loving mom that I am, I concluded all concentration would be blown anyway if I drug him away from this special showing. So I am killing some time until we can start at 11. We have very little to do today anyway, just finishing up some math and reading, so we should be done in short order. And boy am I glad! It has been a difficult week in Math. Ry has been struggling with coins and counting coins to the point where I put every other subject on hold (last friday) and we worked solely on coins. Saturday morning, he decided it truly was in his best interest to memorize the value of the penny, nickel and dime (threatened with wearing a hand-made flash card booklet all weekend) and promptly proceeded to accurately answer my drills correctly every time. Ah the stubborness of an ADHD child, who really could memorize anything, just not if he finds it boring! So I feel we accomplished that!

Now, my next hurdle is getting him to count coin combinations. We will start that today. Hopefully that will not be as much a struggle as the previous week has been! I truly need a nice long break from school and Ry does too. His little mind is full to bursting with double digit addition, measurement, coins, graphs, place value, vowels, reading, phonics and science facts and projects. Not to mention handwriting skills, bible verse memorization and the many skills we work on every single day that ADHD children need to have to succeed. No wonder we are tired!

I truly DO love homeschooling, if you were beginning to wonder from the tone of the previous paragraph. It is so rewarding to see that "light bulb" turn on and so rewarding to be the one who has helped my child succeed. But homeschooling an ADHD child is incredibly taxing. It takes extreme patience and lots of activities. Its exhausting!

So this Thanksgiving season I pause to give thanks. I am very thankful for the opportunity to homeschool my child and thankful for the wisdom and grace God grants me to do so. I am also very thankful for days off from school which allow me to regroup and rest and think of something else besides the all-consuming responsiblity of educating my son. Thank you God for your many blessings!

Well, Curious George is over, so I shall now resume my teacher duties. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! Blessings to all my readers!

Learning to read!

Wow! I can't describe the feeling I have in knowing that I am responsible for teaching Ry to read. Mrs. Mom is over the moon in excitement. Ry is pretty proud of himself as well. Granted, he is not yet reading War and Peace, just simple stories, words and short sentences. But he IS reading. He is stringing words together on his own, sounding out new words, and generally amazing me with his quick picking up of new sounds. I am in awe that I have taught my son to read! What an incredible feeling!

Apollo 11 Cleared For Lift-Off

Today was a pretty cool day. In Science this week, we've been learning about the moon, various missions to the moon, astronauts, space and other interesting stuff. So today, as our science project, we built a spaceship and re-enacted Apollo 11's mission to the moon. I'll let the photos tell you the story!

As I've never added photos to my blog, I still haven't figured out how the captions work. So here is what's going on:

1. Getting ready to launch.
2. Interior view of rocket. Astronaut's seat and wing controls which actually can move the wings (albeit only certain directions).
3. Interior view of control panel on front.
4. Waiting impatiently for Mission Control (mommy) to authorize launch.
5. Waiting for countdown.
6. Hatch lowered and countdown begun. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 BLASTOFF!
7. Mid-flight in space.
8. Having landed safely on the moon, our astronaut is planting the American flag on the surface.
9. Sorry about the blurriness, our astronaut is demonstrating for Mission Control's benefit, the standard of gravity on the moon. Each step is like a large giant bounce.
10. Back in the spacecraft and homeward bound, our astronaut is talking to Mission Control to execute a safe landing.

P.S. If you carefully look, you'll notice the hatch was replaced while ON the moon. The first hatch (blue laundry basket) kept falling in and beaning our astronaut on the head. So, during the mission, repairs were made and a new, better quality hatch (green laundry basket) was installed. Generally, it is a good idea to keep your astronaut conscious until he returns to earth!

What a great way to have science AND history class!

From Mission Control:
Over and Out!

Success with Ordinal Numbers

Yay!! What a great feeling. I finally feel confident that Ry has a strong grasp of ordinal numbers, at least 1st - 10th, which is all that is required so far. In looking ahead yesterday, I saw that his math curriculum begins addition and counting by tens next week. I was in a panic about starting 2 new concepts without fully grasping ordinal numbers, then pairing that with counting days of the week by using ordinal numbers....well, he was struggling. But today, it just seemed to CLICK! He whizzed through his practice worksheets (Thanks to Carla C., another homeschooling mom, for the tips on extra printable practice sheets) and finished his math page in record time. Whew! Relief. I have to say, this kid will be far ahead of where I was in Kindergarten by the end of the year. Its amazing how different education is today as compared to, well, a long time ago. :)

TTFN,
Mrs. Mom

Ordinal numbers

MATH
Have you ever thought about the difficulty of grasping ordinal numbers?? I'm sure your children have come home one day from school having a complete and total grasp of position in line numbers. AKA - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th... etc. Easy once you've got it, not so easy explaining the concept. 4th and up make sense. You match the number and add "th". Could someone explain how we got "First, Second and Third"?? Who came up with those?? Ry's logic is that they should be called "Oneth, Twoth, and Threeth." Makes sense to me! I think we're making progress though, concluding with...."I don't know why, just memorize them this way." There! That's education at its finest!!

SCIENCE

Our grapes are taking FOREVER to turn into raisins due to excessive rain and dampness. Day 6 and barely shriveled. Technically, (according to GOOGLE) it should only take 4-6 days to make raisins. Guess whoever made that estimation didn't account for Noah's flood. One basic ingredient is missing for making OUR raisins -- SUN!

Overall, school is going great. Today was a challege, as Mrs. Mom was fighting Strep Throat symptoms and Sinus Infection symptoms while teaching. Too bad there are no substitute teachers available for homeschool! :)

TTNF,
Mrs. Mom

Kindergarten activities

Ry and I just finished up a 7 day lesson on the Creation Story. Ry made a picture book illustrating what God created on each day. His memory verse for the week was from Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." We hung glow in the dark stars from the ceiling on day 4. We both agreed that day 7 was the best day of creation. That was the day God kicked back and relaxed. On day 7, Ry's school work was very light, so he truly got a grasp of resting on day 7. We both agreed that resting one day a week is truly a great idea. We're glad God thought of it!

Now today, we began a new lesson, this one focusing on learning about the Sun. We will add planets to our hanging glow in the dark stars this week. And we made a Sun out of clay this morning, and when it dries, Ry will paint it and hang it at the center of our solar system. We also wandered around in the dark basement this morning, illustrating what our world would be like without the Sun. Then compared that to Jesus being "the light." Without Jesus, our lives would be dark, void of any light. The memory verse for this lesson is from John 8:12. "Jesus said,'I am the light of the world.'" We also started a science project making sun-dried raisins. Currently, I have 5 grapes sitting on top of our grill. Each day Ry will chart how they look and how long it takes them to turn into raisins. Ry is also learning money, time, ordinal numbers, tally marks, lots of number activities, letter sounds (in preparation for reading soon), handwriting and many other things crammed into each day. Wow! No wonder he and I are tired each night. But oh, what fun we are having! If I would have known how much fun this would be, I would not have spent so much energy in being nervous and worried. Homeschooling is awesome! And I smile a little smile when the school bus goes by at 3:30 PM, thinking that we've got it made. No more long frustrating time-consuming days for Ry. If he applies himself, we are done with school in an hour. If he struggles, its two. But even 2 hours is so much better than the 7 hours that he would have to stuggle to pay attention at public school. I think we made the right decision. Oh, and by the way, all THREE of us are doing our part in school each day. Mrs. Mom, Ry and GOD! He has helped us each and every day. To HIM be the glory!

School time is when??

The last three days, Ry and I have been having school around 1 PM, when little T goes down for a nap. This frees us both up from the distraction of his often loud and energetic toddler play. However, Ry's been having trouble concentrating on his work, when his little next-door neighbor friends are out playing. They homeschool in the morning. SO........today we tried morning school. I think it went OK. It was definitely more of a distraction to have little T awake and making noise. I tried to keep him occupied with various activities in another room, but had to make several trips to tend to him during school time. I probably will do some of both in the future. Morning and afternoon. I'll probably mix it up some. The best part so far of homeschooling, is the fact that Ry and I can accomplish in under 2 hours what would take all day in public school. Then his day is free for his enjoyment! What a great benefit! We have 4 days of school under our belts. I think that we're getting into the swing of things nicely and I think I can safely say we are both enjoying school. Whew! What a relief!

TTFN,
Mrs. Mom

Day One - Check

The first day of school..........accomplished! Spectacularly! Ryan did wonderful, he was very excited about all his new supplies and books. He struggled a little with his seatwork, but did better than I imagined. I had to cry a little when we had prayer together before we started. He prayed that Jesus would help him listen and obey. The Lord heard that prayer and answered! I've been trusting the Father to help us both in this adventure! I definitely felt his presence here with us today! Thank you Jesus!

Back to school time!

The end of this week is drawing to a close and I find myself in nervous anticipation of school starting this coming Monday. I chose to start a full week and a half earlier than public schools so that I have a little leeway in taking days off here and there. We have received all our books and supplies, Mrs. Mom has lesson plans browsed, studied and layed out and we are ready to go! Each day, we have a conversation about school, what will be expected of each of us, what needs to get done, what fun things that will happen and generally prepping Ry for this big transition. As the teacher of an ADHD child, hubby and I have discussed and decided on a more formal approach to homeschool than the typical homeschooling family. We have a large finished basement, which has in the last week has been transformed into a little schoolroom. We hope to conform to as much of Ry's school experience last year. I've incorporated a lot of the things he enjoyed and did in the classroom into our daily routine. This will aid his transition, we feel, and enable him to also focus on learning in the home setting. ADHD children thrive on routine and boundaries (at least ours does). He performs best under these conditions, yet bores easily. So this will be a learning experience in balancing routine with exciting diversions.

I have on hand "fidget objects" and a heavy bag of marbles. What does this have to do with school, you might wonder?? Well, after attending a seminar entitled "Helping the Distractible Child" last spring, a wise and weathered homeschooling mom has devised theories on helping ADHD children learn more effectively! The "fidget objects" will allow Ry to have something to do with his hands when it is time to sit still and listen only. I have 3 such objects. Mostly rubbery little toys and balls that he can pull, push, roll and finger in his lap or on the table. ADHD kids move constantly, so this funnels his energy into his hands which hopefully will free his mind to focus. Also suggested, was a weighted toy or object to place on his lap so that it is a subtle reminder of his need to sit still. If he shifts too much in his chair, the object will fall. I have tried this already and been amazed at the results. It truly works! He is alert to the bag and works to sit still, allowing him to calmly complete seatwork. Also, the curriculum we chose is incredibly interactive with very minimal seatwork. I think Ry will definitely benefit with more hands-on learning.

Next week will begin a 7 day introductory lesson, focusing on the creation story for science and Bible, letter review and practice for reading/handwriting and I've chosen a supplemental math curriculum to begin then as well. After those 7 days, learning will begin in earnest. Our first week will be learning all about the sun and planets. Our projects will include making sun-dried raisins and making and using a sundial. We will work on letter sounds and phonics in preparation for learning to read, which will be happening before we know it, by lesson 7, as a matter of fact. And of course continuing in math and handwriting. I'm very excited about this curriculum, it offers such a vast spectrum of projects and ideas for sensory learning that I feel confident that Ry will enjoy it and succeed. Among the previous mentioned activities, we will also be hosting an ant farm (of which hubby is very very nervous ;) ), building a rocket to launch to the moon (out of cardboard boxes) and learning about the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly by having a mini butterfly garden. These are just a few of the neat things we will be doing this year. Stay tuned for further fun learning throughout the coming months.

There are weekly Bible lessons and memory verses which I'm thrilled about and so many other little things added in that I don't know how this will all be accomplished in only 2 hours or less. But we'll find our way. The closer it gets, the more excited I get. It is at night when I'm lying in bed, that the doubts and fears haunt me. What if I can't help him do what he needs to do to learn? What if I can't handle his ADHD symptoms while trying to teach? What if I fail? We took him off his ADHD meds after school was out for the summer. He has been drug-free for 3 months, and while this equates to a MUCH more active child, it also has allowed him a summer of no headaches, fatigue or irritablity. The side affects of the cure were really beginning to be worse than the problem. Our goal is to try school this fall sans drugs. I pray he will be able to center his mind into learning without them, as we have tried many drugs, all with terrible side effects. So I spend nights worrying about this angle as well. I'm learning to pray for the Lord's intervention in this situation. The medical help aspect of ADHD treatments has been dissappointing, so I have begun to pray that the Lord would intervene and help Ry's mind as he learns, enabling him to focus and absorb what is taught. Now, why didn't I try that to begin with? Why do we tend to try to fix things on our own without thought of consulting the ultimate healer?? I'm learning. I read a book about homeschooling a ADHD child way back when I was considering this option. The mom who wrote it was a Christian and said something that has stuck with me since. As a parent of a child with special needs, we tend to kill ourselves trying to find the best treatment, cure, aid, medical advice or doctor that can help our child get better. However, this mom suggested while definitely pursuing these options as well, we truly ought to focus on asking God for his mercy and grace in enabling our children to learn DESPITE the disability. I think her exact words were something like this; " If you feel the Lord's calling to homeschool your special needs child, yet feel overwhelmed and terrified of the challenges ahead, then you need to remember that the Lord will help BOTH of you succeed in this calling. HE can help your child, when you can't. " That was the nutshell of her thoughts, perhaps not verbatim, but the general gist. I thought, "Wow, what a relief! I can give it to God. When I can't get through to Ry, then it's HIS job!" Which is the exact place the Lord wants me to be as I start this year. It's not going to be my success, it's going to be God's. And yes! I said success because I have faith that we can do it. The three of us. God, Mrs. Mom and Ry!

Summer is dwindling and home school is looming!

Well, I just bit the bullet and finally ordered our basic curriculum for the fall. That's a chunk o' change out of the pocket! Ah well, I must admit a thrill of excitement as I once again browsed the books and things we will soon be receiving. I also ordered the BOB books and FUN TALES as reading supplements. I'm considering also ordering a separate Bible curriculum as well. While the basic curriculum we chose is Bible-based, I found the actual scripture memory and bible stories a little lacking for Kindergarten. However, I think I will wait and see after the curriculum arrives, and I can actually hands-on get a look at exactly what is taught. I'm also considering a supplemental math. But I'm planning to wait on that as well, until I've seen the core of the curriculum. BUT...........the big step has been taken. Yay! I've been vacillating between terror and dread when thinking about September coming quickly, but actually, while once again looking at materials, I finally found that spark of excitement and anticipation again. This should (I pray) be an adventure which I hope will be enjoyable to both Ry and I. Ry is back and forth from feeling excited about school at home and longing to go with the other kids. When it sinks in that we can accomplish in 2 hours or less what his friends are doing for 8 hours...........well, I think he'll suddenly see the benefits!! That's where I'm at with homeschooling. We just got back from a trip to Bisco Lake, Ontario, where we relaxed and rejuvenated for 10 days, so we haven't been in the books at all lately. But he shows signs that he has retained a lot of what he's learned last year, so I'm optimistic that I won't be re-teaching a whole lot. Time will tell. I'll have a better handle on things when we begin. Anyhow, just thought I'd jot a few words about the progression of our expotition!

TTFN (ta-ta for now)
Mrs. Mom

Summer Fun AND Learning

I have finally come to a decision as to what to do in regards to summer learning. Currently, we are playing each week by ear. Each day seems packed full of fun activities, outings, gardening, playing with friends, swimming and all manner of summerish activities that makes sitting down and doing schoolwork seem undesirable. At least to me. To Ry however, he has actually showed quite a bit of interest in keeping some "school" going. I've decided to have "school" a couple of times a week, just to keep his mind fresh. He is seeming to really enjoy it! Amazing! This morning, we had his workbooks out and ready to tackle, when the phone rang. I was talking to my mom for a half hour or so, and Ry came looking for me and said, "Mom, I thought we were going to do my homework!" I promptly hung up and we got to work. Hey, if he is into learning, who am I to mess with that??? It seems to be working, this refresher courses we're doing a couple of hours a week. He is doing well also, with his ADHD issues. I've done some experimenting with techniques to help him sit still, and have been pleasantly surprised with the results. Thank you Lord! All in all, this "summer learning" has given me valuable insight into what real home schooling will be like in the fall! I'm beginning to really look forward to it, without as much anxiety.

In other news, we were able to get into a local Co-op called CHEA, (Christian Home Educators Association) which meets bi-monthly for full day classes. Also included in the group are extracurricular activities and field trips. This has been an enormous answer to prayer concerning social concerns and opportunities for Ry. As the group is fairly exclusive, we were very excited to get in!

Things are coming together for our little school! I'm all ready to order my curriculum (if we EVER receive our income tax return.....a long story with equally long explanations why NOT to claim a full adoption credit refund........) and am getting excited to start our school year come fall. Ry, originally not at all sure about home schooling, has recently begun to see the advantages and seems completely happy with the decision. All in all, things have been looking up!

TTFN,
Mrs. Mom

Summer learning.....should I? Or shouldn't I?

I am currently trying to decide how much or if I want to continue Ry's schooling throughout the summer months. Tomorrow, he graduates from Next Step and will we have the whole summer ahead of us. My initial gut response is HALLELUJAH! NO MORE SCHOOL! After getting that out of my system, I calm down a little and reasonably need to consider our situation. Because of ADHD, the memory retention for Ry is lower than other children. He "forgets" information more quickly. So, technically, if I want a successful year of homeschool Kindergarten, I should start next week, so that there is no learning gap. However, my dilemma is this: Ry is so very burnt out from this past year. It was hard work for him, very frustrating, very trying and emotionally exhausting. I really feel he needs a break - a chance to just be a kid. As his new teacher, I also am emotionally exhausted, tired and sick of school myself. Logically, it would seem best to take the summer off. But then, will school in the fall be more difficult and will I have to re-teach a lot of what he's already learned?? Hmm....I just am not sure what to do. Mr. ADD says NO SCHOOL! He feels that Ry should have the whole summer off. I am leaning towards either taking 2 months off and starting in August or having school/refresher classes 1-2 days a week, for just a brief time on those days. Any homeschooling moms out there want to lend a voice? Are there those who school year round? Or is it very important to have the summer off? I'd love input from those who have been there, done that! Especially if your child is ADHD also!

"Oh, bother" as Pooh would say! Decisions, decisions!
Mrs. Mom

Curriculum Woes

I am currently in the throes of indecision when it comes to choosing a curriculum for our first year of home schooling. I vacillate between being sure I've got the right one to totally second-guessing everything I've read, researched and visually seen about it. Then I begin to look at other options, and pretty soon I'm over my head in new books, workbooks and supplies I didn't even know about. Mr. ADD and I attended the CHAP convention in Harrisburg yesterday. We went there about 99% sure we had a solid idea about exactly which curriculum we are going to use. We left having totally discarded that one and 100% sure about another. After arriving home, I once again found myself unsure as I further researched pros and cons to it. For those that aren't familiar with curricula, you don't want to make too many mistakes in purchasing supplies, because supplies are quite costly! To buy something, and not have it be right for your child, would be a pricey mistake. So I want to be as confident as I can be that the one we choose will work for Ry, knowing full well that I will never be completely sure of the success of the curriculum until we officially start working on it.

At the convention, we also were privileged to attend several excellent seminars. One in particular, entitled "Helping the Distractible Child" went a long way in boosting my confidence. The speaker is a mother of not just one, but two ADHD children, who have succeeded in homeschooling. In fact, they are graduated, one a teacher and the other a writer. Listening to her experience, her advice, tips and suggestions was an amazing blessing! A definite answer to prayer and further affirmation that this decision to home school is truly the Lord's leading. Her website is www.headsupnow.com and offers a variety of techniques and manipulatives that she has proven has helped ADHD children succeed at learning!

What incredible resources we have at our fingertips! I'm so amazed by this huge network of home schooling information, support groups and options for success! Pray for us as we continue to discern which curriculum will best help Ry succeed!

TTFN (Ta-ta for now, for those unfamiliar with Pooh terms)
Mrs. Mom