Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Incognito

As you may have noticed, the frequency of my posting has declined. The truth is, my life has had some extra stress the last few months and I've been unable to come up with anything much to blog about other than the "less than fun stuff" that we have been going through.

In fact "BlogHer" actually pulled my ad account, due to the infrequency of my posts. Not that I blame them, they are running a business. It may end up being a good thing because now without their restrictions, I'm open to take other opportunities and reviews, that I have had to refuse in the past. So you may see some changes here in the future, in order to makeup for the lost income.

As for my life, my son is now nine years old ( 9yrs old! I can hardly breath when I say that) and I have hit some road blocks with him that I am working on. Educating a highly gifted child has many challenges and I am learning that he also has some social behaviors that make working with others challenging. It's appears that he may be what they call "2e" or twice exceptional. Meaning he is gifted but with learning and/or behavioral difficulties as well. I'm in the process of figuring it out and will hopefully share what we are doing on the blog.

At the same time, my younger sister has been very ill with end stage Lymphoma and has spent much of the last six months in the hospital. She is stable at the moment and looking into clinical trials to maybe give her a little more time on this earth.

My pet sitting has been hit and miss, hence the need to bring in more income. I have spent what time I have in-between other things, working on my Etsy shops and trying to boost the sales there.

So that's about it. Just thought I should let you all know what's up and why I've been absent, without dwelling on it. I plan to continue to post about our home education and about my world, as soon as I get a handle on a few things. Thanks for listening, DJ :)

An Evening with Dr. Jim Delisle

I loved this video! It gave me so many insights about my own son, that I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Games for Writing

It's brilliant, really it is! Thanks to a great book I ordered, I found a fun way to challenge my reluctant writer. The book Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye, has given me dozens of way to engage and encourage my son to write.

Like many boys, he loves a good game and loves to try and bend the rules if he can get away with it. In this book, the author describes a game she calls "Word by Word".  You write a story with your child by taking turns adding the next words. The trick is you have to roll dice before each turn to see how many words you can use to continue the story.  So you start with a topic and then each take turns expanding the story.

At first my very controlling son refused to play because he didn't want me to change the direction of the story if he didn't have enough words to finish his thought. After a few tries as predicted, he was begging me to let him throw the dice again and use "more" words.

That's all it took (rules meant to be broken) for him to insist on writing. Brilliant I tell you, brilliant!
Half way through the story, we changed to me writing a full sentence and then him. He still threw the dice because he thought it was fun, but in no time we had completed a full page story.

I will be using this game again and again. There are many more examples in this book that will work for all types of children. However, if you have an intense, obsessive boy who likes to win games, give this a try!

*This is not a paid review. I purchased this book on my own and have never been contacted by the author

The Food Police Have Invaded My House!

Apparently the best way to make a lifestyle change and stick to it, is to share your plan with a hyper-focused intense seven year old.  I was telling my son about my plan to eat even more healthy than we already do, by cutting down on over processed food and sticking to whole foods. We already eliminated most simple carbs and we hardly ever eat any refined sugar.

I like the idea of the "Paleo" diets but thought we'd start off slow. Well that was not happening once my son decided he was on board (like he had a choice, lol). After combing through the fridge and cupboards he declared  "It all has to go"!

During our trip to the grocery store it was like shopping with the food police. He took as many things out of the cart, as I put in.  I can't even tell you how many times he told a store worker that they needed to apply more current thinking in their food stocking selections.

I just kept smiling and patting him on the head. Luckily they are used to him at that store. I've been shopping there with him since he was born. He made a name for himself correcting punctuation on in-store signs. Oy!

There's a new book out called "Eat like a Dinosaur" for kids that I was going to get for him. However, I don't think he'll need any more encouragement at the moment. I should have known this would happen after his over-the-top reaction to recycling. I must have three garbage bags full of empty toilet paper rolls in the garage.  :0

The Ancients Had The Good Life.

We are studying Ancient History this year and today while talking about ancient China and the Shang Dynasty, my son had a revelation. He suddenly stopped his work and said to me: " Mom, when it's too easy, it's boring!" 

At first I thought he was complaining about the lesson, which he does do if it's too easy.  I said ok then, lets turn it up a notch and go to the library. We can research pictograms or Ancient Chinese weapons.

While he agreed that would be good too, what he meant to say was that  "When life is too easy, it's boring". "I think we should go back to doing more things by hand, so our work will be more exciting!"

Apparently the stories of ancient people who worked with their hands, created their own tools, grew their own food and wove silk for cloth, sounds more exciting than ordering things from Amazon. Out of the mouths of babes indeed.  Just hoping he doesn't want to raise silkworms now! :)

Life of Fred, Our Favorite Math Books

My son has always had a knack for math. He enjoys patterns and geometry. When he began learning math, everything was new and exciting and then we hit a wall. All of a sudden the textbooks wanted him to do pages of the same problems, just using different formulas to arrive at the same answer. He didn't get it, didn't even want to understand it. He knew how to solve the problem, so why did they want him to waste time doing it ten different ways?  I know how he felt. I was the same way in school. If I arrived at the correct answer, why did it matter how I got there?

Then one day while I was reading posts in a gifted forum, I noticed many references to "The Life of Fred" math books.  I purchased the first one in the series at the time "Fractions". I read the 1st chapter and was intrigued. The best way I can describe them is as an interactive literary math journey.
My son who was six at the time, read it in bed over three days. He loved it! He read it again and again.

I have since ordered three more books including two from the new elementary series that was just completed. Now, I must tell you, these are not ordinary math books and what they have become in my son's world are so much more. They are a continuing story that points out the use of math in daily living and asks the reader to participate along the way. At the end of chapters, are problems for the reader to solve.

Included in the story are also many other facts relating to literature, history and science. Reading these books have sparked my son's interest in so many other areas! Most recently in writing. Currently he has begun writing his own book (adapting Fred's style) typing on the computer. He now has five pages complete. This from a boy who until now, would spend an hour or more writing three sentences!
Needless to say, I'm thrilled.

The best part, is that the series will carrying him through college level math. I'm sure we will do other things along the way, but I know that these books will always be good for when boredom and burnout sets in. The author does have biblical references occasionally but as a secular home educator, I did not find them to be an issue. So if you have a child who is bored with pages of problems and who likes to read, I highly recommend "Life of Fred"!

*This is not a paid review. I purchased the books myself. Just sharing great ideas!

Conversations with My Son

Son: Mom, stop the car!
Me: Why? Please don't scream like that when I'm driving.
Son: I lost a lego piece behind the seat.
Me: How many times have I told you not to bring legos in the car? I can't remove the seat.
Son: But I neeeeed that piece!
Me: Well, whose to blame for it getting stuck behind the seat?
Son: Darn gravity!

Me: If you keep using the wrapping paper to wrap up your cat and dog gifts (not really, he's just re-wrapping old toys), there won't be any left for your presents.
Son: That's ok because we need to save the trees by not wasting paper. Just put them under the tree as is.
Me: What about the paper you just used to wrap the cat toy?
Son: That's ok because he mostly plays with the paper, so it's not wasted.

Me: I'm making you eggs and bacon for lunch ok?
Son: What have I told you about eating eggs?
Me: What?
Son: Chicken eggs are supposed to hatch into chickens.
Me: Not these eggs, they are not fertilized.
Son: Well then, we need to get a rooster.
Me: Uhmm, yeah, no.

A Young Mathematician's Version of Art

All I wanted was a simple circle snowman or a stick figure reindeer, but that was not to be.  My son was trying to draw a picture for a Christmas card to send to his grandma. He used to draw wonderful detailed pictures when he was younger, but now he stares at blank paper unable to start.

He has elaborate ideas in his head but won't attempt to draw them, because they won't be perfect. It has taken a while for me to understand this. No amount of claims about art not needing to "be perfect" helps. I now realize that the reason his art work seemed more detailed than other children's art when he was younger, was because the thoughts and images in his head were also more detailed. 

However at three or four, they weren't so intricate yet that his hands couldn't still draw an image he was happy with. Now at seven, his ideas and thought processes have zoomed way ahead of his fine motor skills and he is unable to produce any drawn image he is happy with. It's also one of the reasons he hates to write words, because they are not perfect.

Today I thought I'd help him get started by giving him some Christmas shaped cookie cutters to use as templates. I thought I was onto something when I saw him busy putting pencil to paper. I was wrong.
Moments later I found him cutting out a ruler he had drawn, so that he could measure the different sizes of the cookie cutters.

He then used his "handmade ruler" to measure his work space and decided it needed to be expanded in order to be more useful. That led to drawing a floor plan, re-arranging furniture and constructing shelving etc, etc... Maps, diagrams, algorithms and so forth are all acceptable uses for a pencil in his mind.

So we do not have a Christmas card for grandma, but he does have a more functional crafting area, should he ever decide to actually craft! Oy.

Steve Jobs, His Company's Words...

They help me teach my son every day. This quote is on our wall and gives me courage to see my son with a clearer lens :

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." -- Apple / Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Thank you Mr. Jobs for your inspiration. May you rest in peace.

Vaccines Please, No Shots For Me.

While at the pharmacy yesterday, my son noticed the "Flu shots" sign posted. Being that I've worked in veterinary medicine for twenty plus years, using the word "shots" instead of vaccines or vaccinations, has always been a pet peeve of mine.

So I couldn't help but smile when my son mentioned to the pharmacist that his sign wording was incorrect and that it should say "Flu Vaccines". The pharmacist agreed with him and told him that using the word "shots" was probably too scary for some people (especially children).

I'm sure there was some eye rolling after we left, but I didn't care. It was a proud mommy moment for me!

Mom Questions

Why can't six year old boys sit straight, on the whole chair ? Do they always have to sit half-on, half-off, ready to bolt at any moment?

Why does my son pack enough of "his stuff" to play with in the car for a three day weekend, when we are only running a twenty minute errand?

Why don't the shoes I bought for him, two sizes too big last winter (on sale) for this summer, only fit for one month?

How can he eat chocolate ice cream and drink grape juice at the same time! Eeeee, it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it.

What happens to my son's hearing while he is playing Wizard 101 on the computer? Does the wizard world come with magic "invisible to moms" headphones to help tune me out?

Will he always look like my sweet little boy when he's asleep with a book tucked under his arm, even when he's not a little boy anymore? I hope so.

Vulcan Logic Abounds

Recent conversation with my six year old son:

Son: "Mom what does it feel like to be a mom?"
Me: "Most of the time, wonderful!"
Me: "What does it feel like to be a boy?"
Son: "Amazing!"
Me: "What do you think it would feel like to be a mom?"
Son: "Well first I'd have to be a girl, so I can't say".

Did I mention I'm raising another Dr. Spock? Logic rules above all. Sometimes I wish for just a little Dr Seuss, but alas he's just "too silly". Sigh....

Cycles Of Learning

Like many home educators, I worry sometimes that my son is not learning enough or that I'm not spending enough time on lessons. I'm not sure I would call us "unschoolers" but we certainly are life learners and relaxed homeschoolers. Also, being that my son has developed many skills asynchronously (reading and math levels 3-4 years ahead of writing) I had to adapt to his learning style and delve much deeper in some subjects while waiting for other fine motor skills to catch up.

Some days it seems as though we don't do any lessons at all and then there are the weeks he gets turned on by something, and I can't find enough for him to do. It seems we go through cycles of learning. When he was four and five, this drove my crazy. I would have all these plans ready for the week and come to find it was an "off" week for him and all he wanted to do was computer learning.

Now that he is six, I have figured out finally, that he is really very self-regulated. When he is going through a period of nothing but learning on his own through the computer, I'm able to relax and let him be. Then sure enough when he has had his fill, he wants to do more hands on work, projects, etc with me. He even goes through a "workbook only" phase every now and then.

Between it all, he has taken in an enormous amount of information and can add his own self-taught knowledge to our discussions and projects. This he loves! Teaching the teacher is one of his favorite things! We still struggle with writing anything of length, but I have no doubt now that something will spark his desire to master that as well and he will catch up quickly.

So if you have a child that loves to keeping going on to higher levels in some subjects but struggles (or avoids) others, I wouldn't worry so much, that is why we homeschool in the first place. We have time (and thanks to the internet, the resources!) to move at their pace, whatever that may be.

Mother's Little Math Helper

The most beautiful thing arrived in my mailbox today, a math dictionary! OK maybe not beautiful but incredibly handy to say the least. As my son is racing ahead in his learning, my brain has been lagging behind in the memory department. I was in need of a refresher in math vocabulary. So off to Amazon I went and ordered Math Dictionary for Kids: The Essential Guide to Math Terms, Strategies, and Tables (Grades 4-9)

No, my son is not doing 4th grade math yet, but we have skipped 2nd grade and are starting 3rd. This little book is perfect for what I need now. It will be great to make sure I'm using the correct term when talking with him and also to keep me one step ahead. It's amazing how much of the terminology you forget when you are not practicing math every day, yet you are using what you learned years ago!

You know what else is amazing? I never liked math, it was confusing and tedious to me. However, watching my son grasping concepts like fractions and pre-algebra equations, has left me in awe and sparked my own interest in the history and beauty of mathematics. If you would have told me ten years ago that at fifty, I'd be teaching my 6 year old son fractions, I would have laughed at you! Yet, here I am, doing just that.

Time For a Library Card

Mom is very, very happy! Happy because one of the things I had hoped for since my son was born, has happened. My six year old son loves to read! The fact that he can read is not new. He started reading just before he was three years old.

What has happened now is that he reads for pleasure, just for himself and he is going through the books I have for him at full speed. Every night so far this week he has gone to bed to read. He reads until he falls asleep (usually about two hours of reading!). To see him sitting up in bed, completely engrossed in a book, warms my heart.

So far he really enjoys the "Nate The Great" detective series and "Pixie Tricks" books. I have the first Harry Potter here for him to read as well. He also likes "The Magic Tree House" series.

Now I need ideas about other good chapter books to find for him. I grew up on Nancy Drew and Little House books, but I'm not too sure he would want to read those (wow, that sounds rather sexist). Maybe he would like The Hardy Boys (and Nancy Drew) though? Suggestions are welcome!

After hearing so many stories about children who don't like to read, particularly boys, I was worried that he would not grow to love books the way I do. I was also worried that the computer might take their place.

So, I am now proud and very happy to report: I have a reader!

The Vultures Win by One!

Last week went to the birds, literally! We have been counting and charting birds we see in the neighborhood. Actually we saw quite a few more, but ran out of chart space.

After naming the species, we noted feeding and nesting habits, plus our best guess on beak types.

When the week was through we added up the tally. Lo and behold, the Vultures win!

Not exactly sure what that says about our neighborhood (ha ha) but we sure had fun with this chart.

The History of Counting

In teaching my son about math, I found that I also needed to teach him about the beginnings of counting and why we needed it. My mother gave him The History of Countingfor Christmas.

This is a great book explaining how we as people started counting, the difference between abstract and concrete counting and how our current system evolved.

A light bulb went off in my son while I was reading it to him. We spent a whole day practicing Sumerian counting and writing the symbols for it. He now sees the need for counting things by tens.

I highly recommend this book to help explain the reasons and history behind today's math!

Virtual Worlds for Children

Virtual worlds was something I never thought I'd be interested in, let alone allow my 6yr old to play. Alas, as with most of my other ideas concerning technology and parenting, this one has also been drastically changed.

You see, I'm a dinosaur in technology terms. They were still teaching girls to take shorthand when I was in high school. I was thirty before I owned a computer and I still have yet to ever send a text message (doubt I ever will).

However, I love the Internet! The access to knowledge is so fantastic to me, it's like having The Smithsonian Institute right next door and open 24hrs a day. Without it, I know my son would not be getting the education he is. Yet, I still never understood the gaming attraction and combining gaming with the social networks of virtual worlds, just seemed bizarre to me.

My son, on the other hand is infatuated with the idea. He currently visits three online worlds, Roblox, Webosaurs and now Wizard 101. I have to admit Webosaurs (which is a dinosaur world) and Wizard 101 (which is a "Harry Potter like" wizard world) look like fun. I think they would be great for most children who like imaginary play.

I did have to limit which areas of Roblox he plays with because some of the games are too violent for my liking. Even though the characters look like Lego people, the Lego Co. has nothing to do with this website and many of the games are created by players that are supposedly children 8-18 years old. I just know that they spend too much time blowing up people and things for it to be appropriate for my son.

Both Webosaurs and Wizard 101 have led to great discussions and new vocabulary words. Since he has become interested in medieval times, I am going to start him reading the Harry Potter series. Webosaurs has educational videos placed in the game which have expanded his knowledge of dinosaurs and the prehistoric timeline.

I only let him play in safe chat mode (he only has a predetermined list of phrases he can use to chat with) and he only plays the free versions for now.

So I guess you can teach an old dinosaur a few new tricks and maybe teach your children something new at the same time. I'm sure there are other virtual worlds for children as well, but at least these two can be educational and fun.

Back to Plan A

Getting back to homeschooling after the holidays has been painfully difficult. At first I thought it was just because of all the left over excitement, but now I'm beginning to think he is just bored with the lessons we have been doing.

It's not like we have a schedule or anything that I follow, we have always been somewhat eclectic in our approach. Until recently that is. I've been trying to follow some sort of curriculum plan. I found myself getting hung up on skills that most curriculums dictate he should practice for his grade level. What I forget sometimes is that he is already two grades ahead for his age in most areas.

I've been reading more and more about autodidact learning, child led learning, un-schooling, etc. From the time he was an infant, he has been the one directing his learning. Almost everything he now knows and has mastered are the things he showed interest in on his own. All I did was provide the resources and he dove in. I couldn't have held him back if I wanted to, he insisted on knowing!

I think it's time to try that approach again. Perhaps with a little more encouragement to try new things and a less prodding to "show me his work", we will get back on track. Something has to change because he shows very little excitement about his learning right now and I'm pulling my hair out. I need to trust my gut on this and trust my son.

The Book Critic

A funny thing happened when my son started to read independently, he became a critic. Naturally I assumed he would have genres he preferred and authors that would become favorites, but I wasn't expecting him to dissect Dr. Seuss!

According to him, "It just doesn't make any sense!". I tried to explain to him that Dr. Seuss is supposed to be funny and silly but he says it still should make sense. So we have moved on to chapter books and adventure stories.

He also now loves to point out typos and grammatical errors, including my own. Good thing he doesn't read this blog! It's my own fault for teaching him how to write a complete sentence. So sorry Dr. Seuss, your just too silly!