Outer Banks, NC

It's been a very busy year! Well homeschooling PR went great. We had our rough days so I put in place a reward system and it really seemed to help.

We were nearly done with school my March, but since there is an 180 day rule here in NC we filled in those days with something. Hopefully they thought most were fun days.

Here is a picture of the 3 kiddos at Kill Devil Hills NC. Had a GREAT time. The in-laws came down and we went here with them. Since it was early April it was pretty chilly.

Then we decided to go to Michigan to see friends and Family in June for 10 days, another really great time. Then we were invited to go to Gaitlin burg with some of our Michigan friends. Wonderful time except getting lost on the mountain and having our breaks over heat and you could smell the burnt rubber. Gross!

After that trip we came home and started off our 2nd grade year with PR and Ry's kindergarten year. Everything was going smoothly then we decided to move back to our home state of Michigan. Grammy made us and offer we could not refuse. It's where we are suppose to be any way. So within the week we will be headed north. So we have put school on pause to pack and prepare for the move.

Today isn't going very well. Grrr....for one it's rainy and dreary and the kids want to be outside sooooo bad. It's hard to tell them no you can't play out side when it's rainy and cold.

School time was long and seemed like it drove on forever.

We start with Awans's memory work. He does great in this. Sometimes I have him copy the verse for penmanship practice as well. We read a page from the leading little ones to God about every other day.

We then listen to some music. Sometimes it's wee sing bible songs, or classical music sometimes it's sill song to get the kids up and moving around.

For History I started the Columbus book today it, actually kept PR's attention because they talked about "Pirates". He colored the columbus picture and did the best coloring job I think he's ever done. If you know PR, you would know he's not very creative, never the artys type unless it includes 2 tons of glue! So we're working on more coloring to help with those "motor skills".

For language arts we are memorizing "The Caterpillar" by Christina G. Rosetti (I'm sue that is spelled wrong) but it's a sweet little poem. PR is GREAT at memorization it is definitely one of his strengths. We also talked about all our (common nouns) family members.

No gym today unless you count driving Mommy up the wall several times LOL

For Math we have been working on time and money along with double digits and simple fractions. Paul really seems to enjoy math.

Science we are using Apologia Astronomy. I really thought PR would like this since he's a HUGE
Star Wars fanatic. It seems as if her dreads it. He did pretty well with the science journal notebook so we'll have to do more in that. But if it’s something I have to read to him or have him read a lot of he doesn’t want to do it.

For penmanship I've been having him write in this wipe off book, he likes having a marker to do his work.

He also does a daily journal entry. It usually states how much he misses Daddy because he's at work.

To much not enough? What do you think?

Conffessions

First off let me say that I have wanted to "home school" my children way before they were even conceived or before I was even married.

Second let me say that I married a school teacher, not any of mine of coarse but one who taught school. Well after we got married and moved to California he taught at public school. Then we moved to NC and he taught here for a couple years before he decided t wasn't for him.

So after one child was in the picture, we traveled across country two times and had two more children. We found or current home in North Carolina, it's not our Michigan but it's home for now and we like it here.

OK so that's 3 kids within 4 years time. Now we are at present day the children are 6, 4, and 2.


The confession: I put my oldest in Public school to prove a point to my husband. No one won. I knew in my heart it was the wrong thing to do. I will regret it as long as I live. I will say that I'm a coward and gave up fighting for what I thought was right and best for our son because my husband along with some other people we know said to put him public school.


So if you don't know us you might be saying so what what's wrong with PS (public school)? Why do you regret it? Well our son is not like most children, we know this. He beats to the sound of his own drum.

He fears nothing, never has until he went to PS. He went happily the 1st day as it was an adventure. That was it, the second day was torture as were many more. His Dad took him and he coward in a ball because he didn’t want to go in. He was having some major anxiety issues.

It’s not that 1st grade work was over his head it was the opposite. I will say except his hand writing everything he did in 1st grade public school was stuff he did at home in preschool. For 20 days he went to public school. On the last day his told his Dad he didn’t want to go to public school anymore. So his Dad filed the papers to withdraw him.

We knew PS was changing our child in many ways. It was squelching his love of learning. His bad behaviors were out numbering all the good. Everyday was an all out battle. Battle to get up, battle to get to the bus stop, battles at school I’m sure, and battles when getting off the bus, battles to do homework after he was already at school for 7 hours. Counting the bus ride he was gone for 8 hours a day.

During the time he was going to PS he asked on several occasions if he could do “our math”. He liked our books better than the mildew smell of the PS books. He said he got yelled at everyday and even for going around a book shelf the wrong way in the library. Still not sure what THAT was all about. He was beginning to raise his hand to talk to us, when he did want to talk to us. He began to become introverted, so unlike our child. Our child is the kid everyone knows he talks to EVERYONE. Not just the kids at the pool or play ground but the parents, the office workers the librarians, construction workers, neighbors, cashiers etc…

So what wasn't working? The system wasn't working for Paul Ryan. The teacher met with my Husband and told him that PR is a very bright child, reading grades ahead of his peers. But…because of his hand writing, the way he walks, him not looking her in the eye and of coarse the anxiety he was having made her think that he has ADHD or something.

It’s not like the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. I asked his Dr. when he was 3. He said no he wasn’t. The nurse said to give him caffeine as it would slow him down. I did try it but nope it didn’t work. So on with life we go. I will ask the Dr. we have here in Chapel Hill. PR & Andy are due for their yearly visits I’m just hoping not to take them right in the middle of flu season for a “well visit”.

I did read a little about ADHD and found several behaviors that PR does have that could be associated with ADHD.

This is what the Fiengold site had to say were symptoms of ADHD:

http://www.feingold.org/pg-symptoms.html


Behavior Problems

Marked hyperactivity
Constant motion
Running instead of walking
Inability to sit still
Inappropriate wiggling of legs/hands

Impulsive actions
Poor self-control, unpredictable behavior
Disruptive behavior / disturbs others
Unresponsive to discipline
Abusive behavior, unkindness to pets
Destructive behaviors: throws, breaks things
Little or no recognition of danger to self
Inappropriate noises
Excessive or loud talking, interrupts often

Compulsive actions
Aggression
Perseveration/repeating of an activity
Touching things or people excessively
Chewing on clothing, other objects
Scratching, biting & picking at skin
Workaholic habits

Emotional concerns
Low frustration tolerance
Demands immediate attention
Irritability
Overreaction to touch, pain, sound, lights
Nervousness, panics easily
Mood swings
Low self-esteem
Depression
Frequent crying
Suicidal thoughts

Learning Problems

Short attention span
Impatience
Distraction
Failure to complete projects
Inability to listen to whole story
Inability to follow directions

Neuro-muscular involvement
Accident prone
Poor muscle coordination
Difficulty writing, drawing
Dyslexia/reading problems
Speech difficulties/delays
Difficulty with playground activities, sports
Eye muscle disorder (nystagmus, strabismus)
Tics (unusual or uncontrollable movements)
Seizures (if combined with migraine or hyperactivity)

Cognitive andperceptual disturbances
Auditory memory deficits (difficulty remembering what is heard)
Visual memory deficits (difficulty remembering what is seen)
Difficulty in comprehension and short term memory
Disturbance in spatial orientation (up-down, right-left)
Difficulties in reasoning (simple math problems, meaning in words)


Health Problems
People who have symptoms of ADHD that respond well to dietary management also frequently have health problems such as:

Frequent physical complaints

Ear infections
Asthma
Bedwetting (enuresis)
Daytime wetting
Stomachaches
Headaches, migraines
Hives, rashes (urticaria)
Eczema
Leg aches
Constipation, diarrhea
Congestion
Seizures (if combined with migraine or hyperactivity)

Sleep problems
Resistance to going to bed
Difficulty falling asleep
Restless / erratic sleep
Nightmares, bad dreams


So there it is tell me what you think?

Also he is doing great in home school he is picking up books on his own once again and loves AWANA's and playing with his friends and star wars figures. He is a great helper and good big brother.