We can see!!!!

The call came from the vision center early Monday morning that the Cracker Jack's glasses had come in. We hadn't expected them so fast and so the kids became pretty excited. Everyone watched in fascination while the tech shaped the arms of the glasses to fit the children's ears better and the blinking look of shock on their faces when they looked around with them for the first time was a bit comical and heart melting at the same time.

I took these on Monday when they still weren't used to wearing glasses. These are both the first set for each of them. 

Younger Cracker Jack is much surprised by the fact that it's almost like wearing magnifying glasses on her face because the things she couldn't see in the distance are now closer and easier to see as long as she's wearing her glasses.

Elder Cracker Jack just likes the fact that he doesn't get so many headaches now when he reads... Although, he was slightly embarrassed by Mom coming into his Catechism class on Tuesday and (in front of everyone there who was quietly paying attention to the teacher) told him point blank "Get those back on your face ... they're new!" 

I believe I mentioned in a past post (but I may not have) that Peanut got her new glasses a little over a week before this and that for the first time ever she didn't choose pink. So, in the interest of not leaving her out (which she hates)...

Four days into wearing glasses I'm barely having to remind ECJ to put his on before reading or doing school work. YCJ still needs reminding to put hers on in the morning as she needs to wear hers most of the time. Of course Peanut still needs reminders not just to put them on but to take them off, even though she's worn glasses since she was two she's only just turned five and remembering is hard!

They're enjoying being able to see better now and finding it wonderful to be able to read without headaches and see what everyone else is seeing without having to squint. Daddy and I caught YCJ staring at us last night and finally figured out that it was the first time she'd seen us clearly at a distance in awhile.

I feel I should point out that each of the elder children had had several school vision screenings and vision screenings done at their regular doctor's appointments. I didn't know at the time that a screening wouldn't necessarily find every vision issue. I highly recommend that everyone take their child to an eye doctor for an exam at least every couple of years just to make sure that if there is a problem that it's caught early and addressed quickly.

Our week of not full schooling...

This past week was an interesting one for our little homeschool. We had many appointments for everyone but Mom and three birthday celebrations as well as schooling to do!

Peanut is starting to get the hang of her binder work. The fact that if she makes a mistake with a marker she can just wipe it right off makes her a very happy little girl.

YCJ still sometimes needs a bit of help with her binder, but she likes it too. She has chosen not to stress out about things as easily this year and ask for help when she needs it.

By Friday ECJ was going through his binder easily and moving on to his English lesson almost without prompting this year.

We took a break to get the wiggles out between English and Math...

And after lunch we worked on our computer work...

Monday - half of the day was spent at the grocery store and so we only got some of our work done on Monday.

Tuesday - we had two eye appointments, on doctor appointment, and the first religion class at the church ... we didn't get any school work done Tuesday.

Wednesday - we spent the day doing lessons and the afternoon with Noni for Peanut's birthday.

Thursday - Daddy had an eye doctor appointment in the morning and then the afternoon was for lessons.

Friday - We caught up with the weeks lessons on Friday! Well, all except for ECJ who made a deal with us to finish all of his Math on Saturday (which he did). We also celebrated Peanut's actual birthday that evening and ECJ helped make dinner...

I'm adding in this quick video of ECJ getting the wiggles out...

We also have one that was taken on the phone with all of us getting the wiggles out but I haven't quite figured out how to get it from my phone to the computer (it's pretty long). Once I do figure it out I will make sure that I post it as it's only fair to show Mom being goofy too sometimes.

If you missed Peanut's birthday post here's the link...

http://homeschoolcamper.blogspot.com/2013/09/birthday-celebrations.html

Birthday Celebrations

This past Friday was Peanut's 5th birthday and boy is she excited to be a whole hand!!! We spent months with her talking about it and now it's all about being a big girl because she is a whole hand old now.

The birthday song emberasses her.

There was deffinately a theme this year, and if you know Peanut personally then you've probably already guessed that it was Strawberry Shortcake.

 When Noni came by on Wednesday she brought Peanut her LeapPad Ultra (which is an awesome educational and fun device) and the much wanted Sweet Dreams replacement movie!

And ECJ was given Noni's old lap top for use for educational purposes. YCJ received Noni's old notebook for the same reasons. Both were extatic.



Then on Friday Peanut got a homemade strawberry cake with chocolate/strawberry frosting and strawberry slices inside. As well as a few gifts from us, including a learning game for the computer and an old fashioned doll.

She got a few other small things that night but it was a pretty relaxed birthday and the doll was the hit of the day.

Near sunset the sky turned pink on her birthday which made her so happy.

And this afternoon (Sunday) the "J" boys and "Aunt J" came over for a little party. The kids love when they get to all hang out together! 

Peanut mixing up the cupcake batter.

Strawberry Shortcake pictures we colored for the day.

Pink table cloth a must!

The cupcake cake.

Of course there were gifts and the eating of cake and icecream!

Peanut and Cracker Jacks and the "J" boys enjoying the birthday.

Amazingly enough with four boys and two girls from about age 13 to age 5 we only ended up with one minor injury due to goofing around.

Bloody nose.

And sometime within the next couple of weeks we'll celebrate again with the rest of the family. That is four celebrations for one birthday for one little girl. It does seem like a lot but it is par for the course for our family. Noni works midnights at a hospital as a critical care and intensive care nurse and usually can't make it out on the actual birthday or for a scheduled party and so she usually comes out for a day with the kiddos. We always do something little and simple on the actual birthday where the kids pick what is for dinner and they get gifts from us. And finally there is usually one or two parties for the rest of the family and friends. Four is a lot of times to celebrate one birthday but there was one year where ECJ had 6 celebrations over as many weeks!! It is one of the few ways we've managed to handle a large family with different schedules and each of our friends having different schedules as well and for us it works!

High Definition - by ECJ

OK, I do not have my own google mail yet so I'm going to use my mom's because she asked me to tell you guys what I do about my high definition (that is what I call my ADHD) that she might have forgotten to tell you guys. Mom opened up her blog thing and I got to choose what color and writing thingy I wanted to use and she says she's not gonna fix what I get wrong!

Mom calls me ECJ on this thing so that's who I am I guess and I have ADHD ... BUT I am NOT my high definition!  Sometimes I can't think about one thing at a time and it's like having a lot of stations going on on the radio and tv at the same time. I want to sing and move and watch tv or play video games all at once and think about all of them. But I am just like every other kid.

Writing down what I need to do every day really helps me. I do what mom puts on the schedule and I mostly know that stuff but sometimes there is other stuff I wanna do too and I write that down on a paper like a list so I can check it off.

I asked mom and dad to only tell me to do one or two things at once because I don't always remember a list of things they aske me to do.

Lots of times I get told to turn my high definition down when I get a little crazy and in our house it's my cue to settle down and it always makes me smile cuz I called it high definition first.

I don't think its fair that my sisters can have two glasses of cool aid a day without asking but I always have to ask because it had dies in it and sometimes that can make me more hyper and theres sugar in it to.

And I don't like having my video games and tv times being short because to much makes me hyper and forget things but mom and dad are right to do it even if I don't always think thats fair either.

I guess really just listen to your kids cuz we're going to tell you what we need sometimes and if we're being crazy because we have too much video games or cool aid or whatever then you gotta do something about it even if we don't like it. And make lists and do the same things around the same times. I know my mom told you guys most of this.

OK . That's it then.

ECJ - who has high definition but is NOT high definition ;-)

ADHD - Giving them coping skills.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has many many myths that go with it.
 One is that the child will outgrow it, this is NOT true and most pediatricians will tell you this. 
Medication is the ONLY way to deal with ADHD, again NOT true.
They are just acting out, in a truly ADHD child this is NOT true.

And so on and so forth.

My son, Elder Cracker Jack, is now 11. He was diagnosed (by 5 separate doctors) as being ADHD at age 5. I just thought he was a really active and forgetful boy until then. I had homeschooled his preschool just fine as I knew how to get him to pay attention but when he entered public school kindergarten the teachers just could not handle him. And many of them tried (we moved several times during his elementary years) some even gave him extra things to do to keep him busy. By the end of first grade he was on medication, then the medication was "adjusted", then upped, then changed, and the vicious circle continued. 

My happy go lucky, clumsy, aggravating, forgetful little boy was a zombie more days than not. I could not look at him like that any longer. The medication affected his appetite, his growth (he was never a very big child), and how he looked at the world. I talked to him about stopping the medication and asked him what he thought. "I like it because it helps me think," he said,"but I don't like it because it makes me not feel right."

How to teach an ADHD child how to "think" without medications was a tricky idea and new to me when he was at the end of third grade. But I decided it was best to give it a try. You can teach these to your child with or without the use of the medications.

Step 1 is routine, routine, routine. No one ever thinks about keeping these in place for a child after they reach second or third grade. But, having set things done at set times really does help children (and some adults I know) with ADHD. You don't always have to put times with it either ... my son's routine for ex. is:

Get up, get dressed, and do chores.
Breakfast
School (binders, english, and math)
Lunch
School (science/social studies/health/art)
Free time and afternoon chores.
Dinner
Free time (usually here he reads)
Get ready for bed, change to pj's, say prayers, and go to bed.

This works for him because he knows what order he does his chores in (they've been the same for several years now) and he does them every morning without fail. We eat around the same times each day and I try not to make things too late or early. If he has a doctor's appointment (or his sister does) then I begin by telling all the kids about it about a week ahead of time, and then bring that up each day at least once ... this lets him know ahead of time that for that specific day his routine is interrupted. 
We went for years with lists everywhere about what he needed to do in what order. They were on the back of the bathroom door, his bedroom door, the refrigerator, on the inside of the door he used to leave the house, in his backpack, just everywhere that I could think of that he might want to check his routine before doing the next thing. Eventually I cut that down to just one in his room and one on the refrigerator. And right now he doesn't have a list anywhere but in his head, but if he asked me to print one of them out (make one up and save it on your computer) I would do so immediately.

Step 2 is organization. Ok, those of you who've been to my house don't laugh at that. It's the CHILD'S organization you need to worry about most. Make sure they know where all the things are that they need each day. Make a special place for each group of things ... a basket in the bathroom with just that child's stuff that's always in one place, drawers in dressers organized so they know where to find their clothing items right when they want them, school supplies in one spot, and if you can organize their toys it helps too. Make sure they have enough folders for school (if you homeschool or not) and get them a student planner ... then show them how to use it and make that part of their routine. These things will help them each day in all the aspects of their lives (and their teachers will thank you when they start getting all of the child's assignments).

Step 3 is a private spot. This does not have to be a whole room or a large space. Just a place in the house that your child can go and know that they won't be bothered. Sometimes they just need a few minutes by themselves to get their heads back in the game of life and not running at a million miles an hour with fifty different thoughts.

Step 4 is to buy them headphones. This sounds counter-intuitive but trust me on this. Go to the dollar store and buy a small personal radio with headphones. Then allow your child to listen to some music while they concentrate on doing their homework (or other important tasks). Any music will usually do, and you want them to keep the volume moderate. This gives their brain something to think about (as well as what they're supposed to be doing) instead of veering off into several different directions. The more familiar the music is to them the better this will work. I started using this after I noticed my son humming often while he worked.

Step 5 is to catch them being good and PRAISE. No matter the child's age this is good to do. Any time they finish their school work in a timely matter praise them. They do their chores without reminders praise them (even with reminders if they do all the steps). When you see them going to their to do lists or when they come home and their student planner is filled out praise them. This reinforces what you want them to do like nothing else will.

Step 6 is to give them permission and understanding. This means to give them permission to forget and understanding when they act up. My son comes to his father and I and tells us when he's having a bad day (when he remembers to, usually we just catch it ourselves). If they know that you won't be upset by this (it can be hard) and that you understand that some days are hard for them they are more willing to come to you about it. We all have bad days whether we're adults or children, have ADHD or not.

There are more coping skills that I've taught my son and later this week I will be posting something he's written himself about it. Some things I'm sure he does without my knowing that helps him. I am not going to correct what he write for either spelling, grammar, or sentence structure. I feel that sometimes just letting him write it out helps him and perhaps what he chooses to write will help others.

Whether you choose to give your child medication or not these coping skills will help and many of them they will carry into their teen and adult years. Start them early so that these become habit and when they enter the workforce later they'll be better able to deal with the distractions and set up their own daily schedule.

This week in our homeschool

This week did not start out to be the best of weeks to begin our new year. I slept late on Monday and awoke feeling truly ill. Tuesday was errand day and I had planned that day off anyways but as I was feeling ill again on Tuesday our errands ran over into Wednesday. By Thursday morning I still wasn't feeling well but was intent that the children begin this new years curriculum.

Peanut got her new glasses this week which is a blessing. Her old pair are also still able to be used as spares as her doctor was judicial and raised her prescription not only according to need but with the eye for her being able to use her old set as a spare should something happen to these new ones. She chose something other than pink this time which is really amazing, but I think that these look so pretty with her red hair and brown eyes.

And it was late on Monday when Elder Cracker Jack came out of his room, where he'd been industriously coloring a Bible coloring book with Peanut, and quietly informed me that he'd been sinning for a long time and was truly sorry for it. I asked him what he meant and his response was, "I lie a whole lot to you guys and don't always listen, those are both against the ten commandments and I hadn't realized it." My response? To forgive him of course (with his promise to try to do better in the future) and print out this lovely picture to hang on our living room wall.

And meet the newest member of our family! Snow Angel was found by accident by us and adopted, the lady who had saved her had saved her from a puppy mill where this sweet little girl was not "producing as liked" at age three and about to be tossed out like so much garbage. The lady who had rescued her was wonderful but didn't have time to devote to her. And so, we with the always open hearts (if near empty wallets) brought her home.

She seems to be settling in very well after a couple of days. Although she is still a bit nervous and shy (and unable to go up or down our steps as they are too steep for her) she has barely uttered a noise and has yet to protest to any of our affection. Never minded her bath, her brushing, getting mattes out of her fur, or Peanut lugging her into a lap for a nice morning snuggle.

Peanut's binder cover.

All three made good use of some free time and designed and colored their English and Math binder covers.

Younger Cracker Jack's cover.

Elder Cracker Jack's cover.

 We spent several hours doing English and Math this week. And after a bit of a rough start with Peanut (who really dislikes writing as it hurts her hand she says) Peanut actually completely all 21 pre-writing worksheets in her SchoolZone workbook today!!! So very proud of her and she actually had fun doing it.

As a matter of fact none of the children so much as "huffed" doing their schoolwork for the entire week condensed into two days. And yes, I did mark the calender for this may never happen again in life!

Serenades at lunch. Afternoon nature walks. Elder Cracker Jack being completely excited by finding a "new" bug on this walk. After looking at our pictures, remembering the colors of it's wings when it flew, and looking it up online we are fairly certain that the picture to the left is actually a "Carolina Locust." The field area was practically full of them and although they could be "Carolina Grasshopers" the coloration leads us to believe they are the locusts as their wings are black and pale yellow and they're mostly brown in color.

ECJ tried really hard to draw a good picture of one of them from a side view and what he could remember of their wings. Boy, do those things fly fast! And if I do say so myself he's getting much better at his sketching and it's a wonderful talent he was born with and he works a bit on each day as he really enjoys it. Perhaps this year is the year to buy him a book that will walk him through some sketches and see if they help him reach the level that he wants to.

Peanut tried really hard to draw in her Nature Journal.

And YCJ did a wonderful job drawing and labeling in her Nature Journal.

They caught Mommy before her second cup of coffee and before fixing my pony-tail for the umpteenth time!

And because they were such good kids they asked to eat (and were granted the right) at their art table, well away from the parents. I smiled as I could hear the older two leading the dinner prayer and them giggling while they ate.

This week we completed:

English - ECJ   8 pages in Language C and 1 in Creative Writing

             YCJ   4 pages in Language 3 and 5 pages in her phonic book

             Peanut did 21 pages of pre-writing!!!!

Math -    ECJ   4 pages in Arithmetic 6

             YCJ   4 pages in Arithmetic 3

             Peanut did 1 page of the number 1 and counted everything~

Art -     We designed and colored our binder pages. ECJ helped Peanut with her water painting and YCJ worked on her crochet.

Science - Nature walk and started on our Nature Journals.

Social Studies - Talked about newspapers and how they are made and delivered. We will be spending time this weekend to each make a news article.

Religion - We dived into the ten commandments.

And each day this week the Cracker Jack's made lunch and Peanut took more responsibility for her room and Fancy Bird and is also helping with the Snow dog.

It was bumpy (I still don't feel 100%) and grumpy sometimes. But, we made it with very little tears and finished what we'd planned to do in 4 days in only 2. I truly believe it was harder on me than it was them as I tend to not like changing my plans (ECJ doesn't either but was more inclined to relax at the beginning of the week since mom wasn't feeling good and he didn't want to rush me into getting better *his words*).

Tuesday next week will be our hard day. 3 doctor appointments, grocery shopping, and the Cracker Jacks begin Religious class (CCD) at the church that evening. We will be on the run from the time we get up until we go to bed. I believe it is a crock pot night.

I found these sight words all made up and prepackaged at the Dollar Tree. I bought all 3 different sets (including the blank one) and plan on trying the girls on them in a week or two.

How did this week go for you?