Wednesday, August 14, 2013
soccer!
It seems I must give equal time to all 3 kids tonight, so my addition for Micah is this: he made the JV soccer team at West. Go Wildcats! There are several home games this season. Feel free to come cheer him on!!
just me and my daughter
I'm experiencing more emotions than I can count as we anticipate the start of a new school year and the boys heading off to public school. However, almost lost in the shadow of all the details of shopping for school supplies, having my youngest start school the same year the oldest begins high school, registration, and school meetings is one very special fact: I have Rachel all to myself this year!
We moved her desk upstairs and right in front of the window per her request. I can see why she would like this spot and may have to steal it from her someday. Will the desk ever look that clean again in the next 9 months?
It was really hard to choose where to place Rachel in the Heart of Dakota curriculum, as studying ancient history intertwined with Biblical history was so tempting. However, in the end it made the most sense to go with the middle ages because that is a better reflection of where she fits skill-wise. She also jumped at this study since it includes a Shakespeare unit: that means theater!! Since HOD is a 4 day a week program, we have time to read The Mystery of History: Creation to Christ on Fridays. The best of both worlds, so long as she can keep it straight in her head. Timelines will help.
Josiah is off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for 3 days, so Rachel and I are jumping in with half days this week. The curriculum is a lot like Sonlight (what we have used the past 2 years) in terms of being literature-rich, but very different with more hands on and writing/narrating/reflecting on what is being read. Almost everything we are doing this year is new: we are trying Saxon math and a different Spanish program, too. I'm anxious to see how it goes! But also wondering how summer ended so quickly...
getting ready for school
It's been a wonderfully busy summer. The kids found their niche in activities they enjoyed, we spent plentiful time with the neighbors (much of it poolside while our kids had swim lessons together), and we had a fun family trip to top things off this past weekend. It's so hard to believe school starts in less than a week!
To give an update on Josiah, the private school where we had planned to enroll him called me mid-summer and asked to set up a meeting ASAP. I had a sinking, empty feeling in my stomach about what was about to transpire. After receiving his evaluation from the psychologist, they recommended switching him to public school as an opportunity to have a strong start and receive more services. It was a time of learning something of God's wisdom being greater than my own, and humility in having to undergo such a meeting at all, swallowing all my "but you don't even know him yet..." comments. Yet through it there was a calm assurance that God is sovereign as He leads in this journey, and as always He can be trusted.
Our initial meetings with our local public school have been nothing short of incredible. The principal was on the phone welcoming me within hours after I emailed her, and she has done everything she can to make us feel at home. The sensory room at Josiah's school is top notch (wish I had one here!) and he will have access to the help he needs from his first day with adjustments and an IEP meeting as needed once he has a few weeks of school under his belt. I still have some jitters about how things will go, but have seen so many ways God has been working in preparing both Josiah and his mommy for the days ahead.
Another help this summer has been the start of occupational services through Easter Seals. Our OT has been wonderful and Josiah has responded well to the Alert program she is using with him. His "engine" (body speed) tends to run a bit on the fast side most of the time, and together we are implementing strategies to help him become more aware of his body and tools he can use to slow things down. I am learning words like "proprioceptive" (input to muscles) and "vestibular" (having to do with balance), and why swimming and gymnastics seem to be such favorites. His body craves the input those activities give him!!
It's a humbling experience to parent a child with special needs, and even more humbling when having to work with others regarding his educational plan. I think back to the days when I worked as a special education teacher and wish I knew then what I do now about how it feels to be on the other side of the table. In the midst of it all is a child who is precious, made in God's image and just the way He intended him to be this side of heaven. That of course doesn't mean we aren't going to do everything we can to help him learn to live with and manage some challenges.
Please pray for us, especially Josiah, on this journey! We so appreciate it.
To give an update on Josiah, the private school where we had planned to enroll him called me mid-summer and asked to set up a meeting ASAP. I had a sinking, empty feeling in my stomach about what was about to transpire. After receiving his evaluation from the psychologist, they recommended switching him to public school as an opportunity to have a strong start and receive more services. It was a time of learning something of God's wisdom being greater than my own, and humility in having to undergo such a meeting at all, swallowing all my "but you don't even know him yet..." comments. Yet through it there was a calm assurance that God is sovereign as He leads in this journey, and as always He can be trusted.
Our initial meetings with our local public school have been nothing short of incredible. The principal was on the phone welcoming me within hours after I emailed her, and she has done everything she can to make us feel at home. The sensory room at Josiah's school is top notch (wish I had one here!) and he will have access to the help he needs from his first day with adjustments and an IEP meeting as needed once he has a few weeks of school under his belt. I still have some jitters about how things will go, but have seen so many ways God has been working in preparing both Josiah and his mommy for the days ahead.
Another help this summer has been the start of occupational services through Easter Seals. Our OT has been wonderful and Josiah has responded well to the Alert program she is using with him. His "engine" (body speed) tends to run a bit on the fast side most of the time, and together we are implementing strategies to help him become more aware of his body and tools he can use to slow things down. I am learning words like "proprioceptive" (input to muscles) and "vestibular" (having to do with balance), and why swimming and gymnastics seem to be such favorites. His body craves the input those activities give him!!
It's a humbling experience to parent a child with special needs, and even more humbling when having to work with others regarding his educational plan. I think back to the days when I worked as a special education teacher and wish I knew then what I do now about how it feels to be on the other side of the table. In the midst of it all is a child who is precious, made in God's image and just the way He intended him to be this side of heaven. That of course doesn't mean we aren't going to do everything we can to help him learn to live with and manage some challenges.
Please pray for us, especially Josiah, on this journey! We so appreciate it.
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