Monthly Archives: December 2008

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Feliz Navidad!

Today in school we moved onto Mexico.  Actually, this was a little bit more low-key for us, as Turkey and Bunny already  had some familiarity with Christmas in Mexico.  They knew “Feliz Navidad,” they had an idea of Las Posadas from our failed field trip a week ago Saturday (someday, I would like to give seeing that traditional procession of Mary and Joseph looking for a room at night, illuminated by candlelight, lanterns, and flashlights another chance, because I think it would be awesome to see!), they knew pinatas are used for parties (although they were a little surprised that they could be used for something other than a birthday party!).

They did enjoy reading about the legend of the poinsettia, though.  We turned back to our favorite Lion Storyteller Christmas Book, and read “A Flower for Christmas.”  I have no idea if that’s the “real” poinsettia story, or if there might be others out there, but they really enjoyed it, even if Turkey did insist on pointing out to me that that could never happen.  But we talked about how we have some poinsettias in our church, and we added a new symbol of Christmas to our list:  stars in the Philippines, nativity scenes in Italy, Christmas trees in America, and now, the red poinsettia plant as a Christmas symbol in Mexico.

They also got to color a new picture in their Christmas Around the World coloring books.  Much like we had discussed, it showed children taking turns at a pinata, with a backdrop of poinsettias.  They loved the shapes the pinatas were in (three different animals), and they were puzzled and excited that the picture actually showed the pinata being used outdoors.  So, they’ve decided that when the little tree we planted in our yard last spring gets bigger, they would like to try their hands at a pinata out there.  Not a bad idea, actually.

Friday, we finish our Christmas journey around the world with my favorite country (outside of America, of course!): Germany.  Until then, Feliz Navidad!

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Buon Natale!

Merry Christmas from Italy!  (Or at least the Italian sector of our house…)  We had a great time learning about Italian Christmas traditions today.  We started with basic geography–where Italy is on the map, what it’s shaped like (Turkey and Bunny were very amused to realize it looks like a boot!), and what that type of land is called (a peninsula).  Turkey also pointed out, with no prompting, that Florida is also a peninsula–proud Mommy moment for that one!

We read two stories from the Lion Storyteller Christmas Book–the first was about Saint Francis and the first Christmas pageant.  This led to a discussion about the use of nativity scenes in homes in both Italy and America. We then made a foam nativity scene from a kit I picked up at Michael’s.  It will be a cold day when I get another one of those things, but the end result was pretty cute, and Turkey and Bunny enjoyed helping me put it together (they didn’t get to help as much as I had hoped, because I had to get out the hot glue gun, so they had to back off, lest they burn themselves like I did, several times no less!).

We had two different Italy coloring sheets, too.  One, from our Christmas Around the World coloring book, was of a living nativity, much like the one Saint Francis put together in our story.  The other picture (of La Befana) was actually from a coloring book we picked up at our Christmas field trip over the weekend.  Our second story was about the legend of La Befana, so the two fit together nicely.  Using that story as a bit of a springboard, we also talked a little about the wise men, and listened to the hymn, “What Child is This?”

Our big “taste” of Italy, though, was our dinner tonight.  I decided to be adventurous and try out a recipe for  Zuppa Toscana I found online.  It was quite a bit of work to put together, but it was really delicious, and Turkey and Bunny both enjoyed sampling food from Italy.

We will continue our trip around the world on Monday…until then, Buon Natale!

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Moose's Story

So, I’ve realized that not everyone that reads this blog knows Moose’s story, or has been able to piece together the jumble of posts that my brain puts together.  So, I’ll try to summarize what we’ve been through, and how it’s affecting him.

Let me start by saying that he is just the sweetest, most loving little guy.  He adores his baby (and she is *his* baby), he’s so happy, he makes us all so happy.  He was laid-back and cheerful as a baby, and he’s still (for the most part), very easygoing.  His middle name is Isaac, and he lives up to it, laughing all the time, and filling our lives with laughter.  He has delays, but they in no way detract from his sweetness, his loving nature.

I first noticed a potential problem with his speech in the summer of 2007.  (This is where it becomes evident what a bad mommy I am.)  I thought he might be a little behind in talking, but then again, Turkey didn’t really start talking in sentences or using a wide range of words until he was about 22 months old, and Moose was only about 20 months old at that time, so I figured it was just a boy thing and ignored it.  

As any parent knows, time just flew by, and before I could blink, it was summer 2008, and his speech had still not caught up to where it should be (I told you I was a bad mommy!).  The issue had popped up here and there in that year’s time, but everyone, including his doctor, just chalked it up to the fact that his two older siblings talk constantly, and he either didn’t need or want to say anything.  Plus, boys usually do talk later than girls, so I just figured it was no big deal.

But, by this summer, I realized (with some help from Ryan, telling me something that I needed, but didn’t want, to hear) that we seemed to be dealing with something more than a child with siblings who talk too much, so I finally did what I should have done a full year earlier (seriously, horrible mommy alert), and called Early Intervention.  A parade of therapists came through our home–developmental, speech, occupational–to evaluate him, and they all seemed to agree that we were looking at Sensory Processing Disorder (or one of the other names it goes by), which was a little overwhelming and distressing, but not terribly frightening.  So, he started speech and occupational therapy, and we waited for an appointment with a developmental pediatrician to get an official diagnosis for him.

That’s when things started to go downhill.  She diagnosed him with mild autism, and scared the life out of me with the stuff she told me he needed to be doing.  This was a very low time for me, and I really struggled with this information.  His therapists (along with most people who know him) were surprised by the diagnosis, because he doesn’t really fit the “typical” autism mold.  The therapists even assured me that new research is showing a lot of children “grow out” of the diagnosis by age five, which we are still hopeful for.

Anyway, with this new information, we realized that to continue getting the kind of therapy services he needs, we really needed to put him in the public school (Early Intervention runs out at age three, and we can’t afford private therapy to the extent he needs it).  He has what can only be described as a severe speech delay–Ladybug is more understandable than he is in pronouncing words, and her vocabulary may overtake his soon, at the rate they’re both developing.  But, in school, he can get speech therapy daily, as well as occupational therapy, and have models of other children his age who are talking.  And school can help him with his attention span issues and following directions.  So even though I’ve never been a fan of putting three year olds in school, and even though I’ve been bitten by the homeschooling bug, I realized that this was something I had to, because it’s best for him, even if it’s killing me.

We started the lengthy process of transitioning from Early Intervention to the school system.  I think this involved two or three meetings with school officials in our home, and three meetings at the school.  It was, at times, maddening how many meetings they wanted and how much paperwork there was.  One of those meetings involved Moose being observed, tested, and evaluated while I filled out more paperwork.  And that’s when I hit my lowest point yet.  Because, they said that with his lack of ability to communicate, the IQ test they gave him didn’t go so well, and he scored on a level that in less politically correct days would have had him labeled as mentally retarded.

It’s really hard hearing strangers tell you the worst things you could imagine about your child.  First the Early Intervention people in my home (four of them!) telling me he was scoring on the same level as his baby sister in most areas, then the doctor and the diagnosis of autism, and now a school psychologist telling me his IQ is so low that he could be considered retarded.  She said that she didn’t “think” that score was true, that she could tell that he’s intelligent, but for now, with his communication problems, that’s all they have to start from.  

So, Moose is in school, in what is essentially a special ed program for three year olds.  It’s cross categorical, so the children in his class have all kinds of different issues–some mental, some physical, and some like him, with what I guess you would call neurological problems.  I don’t know if it will be long term that he’ll be in public school.  I do know that I’m not qualified to give him therapy services, and by being in school, he is able to receive more therapy minutes each week than if I was just bringing him after school.  The student-teacher ratio is really good, so he’s getting a lot of focused attention.  

I pray that this is what is best for him.  I was afraid that it would be really overwhelming, and he would shut down more.  That hasn’t happened, and he does seem to be following directions better at home.  His reports from school have all been excellent–they say his behavior is good.  I don’t know if he’s had regular meltdowns there, but if he has, they haven’t been bad enough that they’ve felt the need to notify me.  He also seems to be jargoning more, and has said some more words here and there, but I’m not sure that his overall speech has changed a whole lot.  Then again, I can’t expect everything at once, I know.

So, that’s where we’re at.  It’s really hard, because it goes against everything I’ve ever thought about parenting, but Moose is different from my other children, so I guess he just needs different things.  It’s still my prayer that he “outgrows” this thing, but if he doesn’t, well, we’ll make it through that, too.  Just taking it one day at a time for now.

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Proud, But Sad

Sometimes, Moose’s accomplishments are almost as hard to take as his delays are.

I am so excited and proud every time he learns a new skill.  Every new accomplishment, whether learned at school or at home, is reason for great rejoicing, and a lot of praise.  It’s exciting to see him doing new things, saying new words, anything.

But, every now and then, it really hits me hard.  These things that I am rejoicing over should *not* be big accomplishments.  They should just be run of the mill stuff he’s been doing all along, like other children his age.

So, I of course continue to celebrate him and everything that he is learning to do, but a little part of me weeps inside, for the things that he should be able to do just because he’s three.

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Is This Weird?

Is it weird to continue homeschooling if one of your children *needs* to be sent to the local public school?

This is clearly a struggle of mine right now.  Obviously, I have no crystal ball, so I don’t know if Moose will ever be able to be home schooled.  But right now, I’m working under the assumption that because of his delays, he may always need to go to the public school, maybe even in a special class.  And even if he gets caught up, I’m also aware that his speech delays make him more likely to have difficulty learning to read, something that I may not be able to help him with.  So, it’s easier on me to assume that he won’t be home schooled, and just hope that maybe someday, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

But this is a weird area for me.  If he keeps going to the public school, what happens if Turkey and Bunny (and eventually Ladybug) decide that they want to go to school there, too?  Or, what if Moose hates that he has to go to school while his siblings stay home (which would break my heart)?  I know that as a parent I have to make decisions for the benefit of my children that they may not like, but it’s still weird.  And what if I also don’t like the decisions I have to make?  Why does this all have to be so hard?

It makes sense that they would all go to school at the same place.  Well, maybe not exactly the same place, because depending on the year, eventually they’d be spread out between elementary, junior high, and high schools.  But it would be strange to send one to private school and the rest to public–it’s equally strange to me to think of sending one to public school and keeping the rest at home.

And then there’s the whole financial aspect.  Homeschooling is expensive.  I suppose I could look for a different curriculum, but we really like Sonlight, so…  But finances are already tight, and it’s not like they’re going to get better any time soon, what with the economy and all.  And then I think that if all four of them were in school, I could get a job during the day, and actually help with finances, so not only could we save money by not having to buy curriculum, I could actually be bringing some money in.  I didn’t think of these things before, but now that Moose needs to be in school, I’m realizing how close I am to having all four of them in school–Turkey and Bunny could be in school all day right now at the public school if I wanted, so that just leaves a few years before Ladybug starts school, at which time I could actually be monetarily useful to this family again.  

But, I love homeschooling.  In some ways, it would be easier not to, but of all the things I wish I could get rid of in my life (cleaning being at the top of the list!), homeschooling is the last thing I would want to drop.  I love watching Turkey and Bunny learn, I love challenging them,  I love making sure they’re learning both what is important, and what is personally interesting to them.  But I can’t do that for Moose, at least not right now, and maybe not ever.  So, is this situation weird?  Why does this all have to be so complicated?

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Frustrations

I don’t even know who I’m really frustrated with.  The public school system?  Perhaps a little, but not really.  I guess mainly myself, but I really don’t care for that, either…

We’ve been enjoying learning about Christmas in our little homeschool.  Angels and shepherds, prophecies and fulfillment, Bible characters and customs from around the globe…we’re learning a little bit of everything that has to do with Christmas (except for the commercialized Santa nonsense), all pointing to the Greatest Gift, God’s own Son.

On the other hand, what is Moose learning about in school?  Reindeer and Santa.  I know he’s only three, but that’s so not what Christmas is about.  Now, of course I don’t expect our public school to teach him the real meaning of Christmas.  Those days are long past.  And, because I’m a reasonable person, I don’t even expect them to *not* talk about Santa leading up to Christmas (although I do wish they’d tone it down–I find it absolutely ridiculous that the real meaning of Christmas can’t be touched in public schools, but the whole Santa thing is not only accepted but embraced.).  But the whole Santa/reindeer thing is the bulk of what he’s getting, and so I’m frustrated.

On the one hand, I have two children (plus Ladybug, who likes to hang out with us in school), learning all about Jesus’ birth.  And then I have Moose, who probably needs to hear these things constantly more than anyone else in our family, and he’s not home for the bulk of the teaching.  Sure, we go to church on Sundays, and we say our prayers daily and light the Advent wreath and sing Advent and Christmas hymns.  But he’s missing out on all the stories we’re reading, from the Bible and not, and all the activities we’re doing.

And so, things seem unbalanced.  I could repeat all the stories with him, but it’s really hard to get him to sit still for that long, especially after he’s already been contained in school.  And, to be honest, if he was capable of listening and doing, he wouldn’t be in the public school in the first place.  So I’m left wondering if it’s fair and/or appropriate that two of my children are receiving a Christ-centered education, and one is not.  On the other hand, it also wouldn’t be right to deprive the rest of my children of homeschooling because one of them can’t be taught at home.

Will I ever feel settled about any of this?  I keep hoping for a miracle, that someday Moose will be caught up enough to join us in our homeschool.  But realistically, I don’t know if that will ever happen, so here I am, stuck between two worlds, and feeling guilty about them both…

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Maligayang Pasko!

(That’s how they say “Merry Christmas” in the Philippines, in case you were wondering!)

We continued our trip around the world to see how other cultures celebrate the birth of our Savior.  We enjoyed learning about what the people of the Philippines call the “longest Christmas celebration in the world.”  The official start of the Christmas holiday is December 16, and they keep on going right through Epiphany (the way it should be, in my opinion!).

The main symbol of Christmas in that country is the Christmas star lantern (or parol, as it’s called there).  So, today in school, we made our own (highly simplified) version of the parol.  Basically, we melted crayon shavings between stars cut out of wax paper, and the effect was really cool.  The first attempts were a little on the dark side, because Turkey and Bunny mixed a few too many colors too close together, but they learned from that and the next ones were much better.

We also talked about the song the “12 Days of Christmas,” because there is such a focus on the time between Christmas and Epiphany in the Philippines.  I told Turkey and Bunny about the possible Christian interpretations of the song, and we listened to a popular recording as well.  We’ll be continuing with that theme throughout the week as we use the “12 Days of Christmas” to do some math.

This country was a little harder than the others I have planned, because I couldn’t find any traditional Christmas stories or legends originating from the Philippines, and I’m not so good with cooking Asian foods.  At least we had a fun craft to do, though, and I also managed to find a World Book Encyclopedia book dedicated entirely to Christmas in the Philippines at the library, so we were able to look at some pictures of their celebrations, as well as many different styles (and intricacies) of parols.

Now, can anyone tell me how to pronounce the above “Merry Christmas” so I can figure out if I was even close?

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Kala Christougena!

Today was “Christmas Around the World: Greece” in our little school. Actually, it was more of a Greece/Turkey hybrid, but it worked. I had to throw in Turkey because we also learned about Saint Nicolas (since the commemoration of his death is tomorrow, I wanted to make sure we read the story today, and kept things timely), who hailed from what used to be called Lycia, but is now Turkey.  

It  was quite amusing hearing Turkey and Bunny attempt to say “Merry Christmas” in Greek (and I have to admit, my pronunciation of “Kala Christougena” wasn’t that great, either!)  We had a fun time learning about Greek children’s tradition of caroling to homes with triangles, drums, and sometimes, small boats, as a nod to their sea-faring tradition. They were very intrigued to learn about the treats the children often receive in response to their songs! Turkey and Bunny also enjoyed coloring a picture of this tradition from their new Christmas coloring books.

Turkey and Bunny were also quite surprised to learn that the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas a week later than most other Christians do.  They did find similarities in our celebrations, though: we all go to church to celebrate Christ’s birth, many of the foods are the same, the Christmas tree with a star on top is the same, the gathering of friends and family is the same, not to mention the giving of gifts!

The highlight of the day, by far, though, was the eating of the baklava. Although I should have chopped the walnuts a little smaller, and I wrinkled some of the phyllo dough a little too much, it was delicious (and a nice bridge between Turkey and Greece, as there seems to be some question from where it originates)!  I have to admit that I was a little surprised that Turkey and Bunny enjoyed it so much–I thought it might be a little too different for them, but they loved it, and had seconds after dinner tonight.  Making baklava might even become a family tradition for the commemoration of Saint Nicholas every year!baklava

We enjoyed our first stop across the world, and we’re definitely looking forward to visiting the Philippines, Italy, Mexico, and Germany in the next two weeks!

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Good News and Bad News

Did you know that there is a Lion Storyteller Christmas Book?

The Good News:  While browsing at the local public library last night (which can be a very hit or miss kind of situation!), I stumbled across The Lion Storyteller Christmas Book.  I, of course, checked it out immediately.  The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book is a favorite of both the children and myself in school (especially the tiger stories!), and I had no idea that there could be more Lion Storyteller books.  Never even crossed my mind.

The great thing about these books is that they are stories from around the world.  Some are familiar, some aren’t, but the illustrations are really fun, and we love finding all the countries on the world map.  As a matter of fact, I can give most of the credit for my children’s surprising geographical knowledge to Lion Storyteller.

After flipping through the Christmas version last night, I was not disappointed.  Bible stories, folk tales (some that are familiar, like the story of “Silent Night,” and some completely new to me), traditions around the world.  I’m so excited about reading some of these during “Christmas school’; as a matter of fact, I’d love this book to become part of our “permanent collection.”

The Bad News:  The Lion Storyteller books are published in England, and it appears that the Christmas one is no longer available for purchase in any American markets.  Sure, I could ship it from England, but I don’t even want to know how much that would cost (not to mention I know nothing of the exchange rate, so I really don’t even know how much they want for the book, American-dollars-wise!).

So, I’m going to hope that I can grab it from the library every year, and the heck with anyone else that wants to read it!  See, this is why I hate depending on the library for seasonal books–they don’t have a lot of them to begin with, and I’m either going to be the person who didn’t get ahold of it, or I’m going to be “that guy”–you know, the person who makes it impossible for anyone else to actually enjoy the book.  Oh well…I can live with that!