Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Letting Go of Preconceived Notions
It has been rather hard for me to wrap my mind around how to "do school" here at home when it seems so antethetical to being at home. The biggest issue is that I have a number of friends with kids in public school, and I always am comparing Parker's progress to theirs in my head. Fears of him "falling behind", especially when I know how bright he is, often haunt me, and I feel like I am constantly researching to see what to do that feels right.
The most recent concern of mine is that Parker doesn't write much at all, and it doesn't look at all like his public school counterparts' writing. We don't write daily, and he claims to not know how to spell. He has been reading since he was 4-1/2 and is able to navigate online, including doing Google searches for things like Star Wars, Age of Kings, and how to fly an airplane just today. So, I've been trying to think of how to get him to write more, though making us sit down for a set amount of time each day just seems so unlike the free flow of learning that we've been doing. Talk about a cross-roads! What I think will work seems wrong and what feels right is wrought with fears.
So then, thanks to a friend sharing the Brave Writer site, I read a really interesting article about the homeschooling equivalent of "Keeping Up with the Joneses", in which the author discusses this mindset of comparing a homeschooled child to a regimented-schooled child. It was very refreshing and actually confidence-building to know that this is not a struggle that I'm having alone. The author suggests developing your own personal family philosophy about homeschooling, and I think that will be next on our list of things to focus on. I believe having it written out in a form that we can reference will be very helpful -- or at least consoling!
Labels: homeschooling
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1 Cents Added:
Hey Kristin,
Thanks so much for sharing your sentiments. I plan to homeschool when I have children one day (hopefully that will happen eventually!), so I'm really glad to read about your fears and concerns.
Good for you for homeschooling! I really admire people who can find a way to make it work and feel that it's worth the sacrifice. :)
Take care,
Gen
Monday, March 17, 2008
Childrens' Magazines and Censorship
So, we signed Parker and Kira up for National Geographic Kids (for Parker) and National Geographic Little Kids (for Kira) because we love NG and thought these would be kid versions and awesome. Well, we got Kira's first, and it is pretty good. Obviously very watered down, but we appreciated it for a young toddler age. Then we received Parker's first issue. WOW. It was so totally the opposite of what we were expecting! Not classy at all, and filled with all sorts of "crap" for lack of a better word that didn't seem in the vein of National Geographic at all.
You open it and see the table of contents, and the next page is a huge full page advertisement for "The Water Horse" movie. Move on and see a full page on video game tips opposite silly pictures of athletes and stupid captions for each of them. The back cover and inside back cover are advertisements for Goosebumps of some such and some food product, both just BLARING at you visually. And one of the two-page articles is about "Stupid Criminal Tricks" or similar. There was one VERY awesome article about lions in the whole things with NG-like photography, but all in all it was just shocking and disappointing to both me and Jeff. So, what were we going to do?
Luckily, we saw it before Parker, and were debating on whether or not to even give it to him. We both really liked a few things in it, and were torn on what to do. So -- here comes the censorship -- we opted to glue pages together and cut the back cover off completely. Isn't that terrible???? But, if we are not having cable in this house because of the commercialism, does it make sense to subject him to it in a magazine? I am still not sure we did the right thing, and when the next issue comes, I'm just not sure what we'll do. I am just rather appalled at how anti-NG this magazine seemed!!
Labels: homeschooling, parenting, Parker, Pop Culture
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
"I wanted the green knight to win"
Parker was in the newspaper:
Parker Stevens, 6, was among a few children dressed in medieval costumes at the event.
"I wanted the green knight to win," Parker said after the last battle.
We had an awesome time at the Medieval Knights display, and Parker was able to learn more about medieval weaponry (not that he needed to at this point!!), and the actual weight of it all.
Labels: cute phrases, homeschooling, Parker
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Little Drummer Boy
Today, Parker had his second drumming lesson at Studio Percussion. It is interesting to sit in the waiting area and hear Parker play along to his music of choice, Sweet, and sometimes match the rhythm and feel of the song, and then sometimes seem to go completely crazy. Still, he loves drumming, loves being there, and is calming down enough at times to match rhythms and read the music, so it is definitely a good thing. We are still in our evaluation month, so we'll have to see how he continues to do, and go from there, as the lessons are pricey.
Labels: homeschooling, music, Parker
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
Other Dimensions
Yesterday, Parker out of the blue said, "There could be another Earth where there are still Vikings!! Or even pirates!"
I, of course, tried to explain the theory of multiple dimensions, while Jeff told Parker about the existence of a television show of the same theme (SciFi's Sliders ... back when it was good, of course!!).
Labels: homeschooling, Parker, Pop Culture, science
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Counting by 10s
Jeff and I recently reviewed the Florida Sunshine State Standards for Kindergarten, to see what skills specifically we would need to work on to be sure Parker is "up to snuff" with the expected public school system, and one thing we noted he hadn't done before was the counting by sequence (you know, count to 100 by 2s, 5s, and 10s), though they specify doing it with a number chart.
Well, color me thrilled when today, when Parker and I were adding up some numbers (he asked me, "How much is 15 plus 16?" and I made him do it with me), and he started adding 10 to 10, then 10 to 20, etc. all the way to 100. I was so excited, I called up Jeff at work, and had Parker do it for him as well. And we never specifically sat down and taught him, just like we never taught him to read. A child's ability to simply grasp concepts without having them drilled in to them continues to astound me.
Labels: homeschooling, math, Parker
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Monday, September 10, 2007
The Barracks (with only pikes)
oral story by Parker, transcribed by Mama
The Barracks (with only pikes)
Once upon a time, there was a barracks and it had a village and a castle. But then, the village disappeared. And the people did, too. The only people left were inside the barracks and the castle. And they were the only ones left.
And the bad guys didn't return again. Ever.
The End
Labels: castles and soldiers, homeschooling, Parker, writing
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The Battle's Fight
oral story by Parker, transcribed by Mama
The Battle's Fight
Once upon a time, a castle with knights inside it had a king coming out. The king says, "The bad guys returned!"
"The bad guys are coming in shuttles," said the king.
"We must destroy the bad guys and keep them from coming to our planet," said the king. The knights have to go to war and attack them.
"They have to go hunting first. Hunting for deer, fish, rabbit, wild boar, and dolphins. After the knights get them all," said the king, "the villagers go to build a village."
The people did what the king said.
The End
Labels: castles and soldiers, homeschooling, Parker, writing
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Sunday, August 26, 2007
Scouting or Similar
I've been thinking a lot lately about finding some kind of Scouting group for Parker, since he's getting to an age that it seems appropriate. Growing up, I was a Girl Scout, and Jeff was a Boy Scout. And yet, nowadays, I don't think I like the concept of Boy Scouts, considering their well-publicized stance on exclusion based on religion or sexual orientation. Girl Scouts still has the motto: For Every Girl, Everywhere with the only limitation being one of gender.
And so, I've been investigating alternatives out there, though none seem as well established, at least not here in Florida. The ones we've come across are: Camp Fire USA, Earth Scouts, Navigators, Roots & Shoots, and Spiral Scouts. All of these are co-ed, which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing. Of course, none of them are established here in Gainesville, which means if we want an alternative, we'll have to start it. Of the options, I'm leaning towards Earth Scouts, using Roots & Shoots within it.
I guess the next step is to talk to Jeff about them all, and then see if there is any interest in local families. I'm hopeful to find something great, but hesitant because I know it is a lot of work.
The easiest thing to do would be to just suck it up and join the Boy Scouts regardless of our reservations, but when have we done the easiest thing?
Labels: community, homeschooling, Parker
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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
How To Determine What Books Are Too Difficult
I found this very informative post on an Amazon book discussion about choosing books for young readers.
"Here's an easy way teachers decide if a book is too difficult for the student. It's the "Rule of 5." Have your son read one page from the book and count the words he can't read on one hand. If he counts 5 or more, the book's too difficult for him."
Labels: homeschooling
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Teaching (and Learning) Life Lessons
While visiting PHAT Mommy's blog, a site I sometimes visit for inspiration, ideas, and just to spend some time, I came across a link from her site entitled "27 Skills Your Child Needs to Know That She's Not Getting In School". Intrigued, I went ahead and visited the link, and found a good list of skills that I'd like to give my children in life.
Of the ones they mentioned, I think we're already working on several, and need to be more proactive on others:
1) Financial: Jeff and I haven't specifically worked on this with Parker, though we've been talking about allowance recently. I think this is one of those really important ones that we still feel a little crippled by -- we've talked off and on about investing, but are still clueless enough to continue to not move forward with this.
2) Thinking: We do a lot of reading and discussing things out, so I think we're at least on the right track here. Perhaps we're still at too young an age to explore this more fully?
3) Success: I can't help but think this is something that is cultivated, not taught, and that the root of it is self-esteem. We are trying to instill the best self-esteem possible in our children, and hopefully this will be reflected in motivation and passion. My personal opinion is that procrastination is a learned problem. I know that I am a procrastinator, and part of that is due to fear of failure for some things, and the fact that it doesn't take me long to do others, and why do it before the due date or you'll be given busy work (the latter was learned very early for me in school).
4) Social: Being an "attachment parent" has led to really focusing on the social aspects, especially positive discipline, learning to express feelings instead of using hurtful actions, working together, sharing, etc. We use a lot of compassion/love talk, and although we do have occassional issues, especially with the two as siblings, they do pretty well in other settings. There is always continued work to do, especially in modeling how to resolve situations where feelings overshadow facts.
5) Practical: Oh, we're all learning this at the same time. I think it is an advantage to being home with the children -- they get to see what is involved in "keeping a house". Now the car part is also valuable, but we're not equipped to teach that.
6) Happiness: It feels that this is where our focus has switched lately, and it is also linked inextricably to the other categories. We've become much more involved in our community, including finding a spiritual home for our family (we became members this past Sunday of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville -- neither Jeff nor I have ever been members of an organized "church" of any kind before, so this is a pretty big step!). We (Jeff and I) are trying to be more in the present, and not so much worrying about the future, but that is harder, especially as a homeschooler, I think!
All in all, I think this is a great list to provide food for thought. I don't know that all of them can be taught as much as modeled, though, but luckily we still have a bit of time.
Labels: community, family, homeschooling, Jeff, Kristin, spirituality
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Monday, August 20, 2007
How Not to Make Playdough
We found a recipe for no-cook playdough that called for:
1-1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. salt
1-1/2 T. oil
1 C. boiling water
drops of food coloring
We made it, and found ourselves continuing to add flour to it to make it not sticky. And then, after playing with it for a while, it started to stick to fingers and the paper-covered table again. This led to us adding more flour, and hand washing, and finally, a big, huge mess. Obviously something went horribly wrong. We've made playdough with a similar quite successfully, but I've since lost the recipe. I guess we'll be back on the hunt for a good one ... a less messy one hopefully.
Man, I wish we didn't have wall-to-wall carpeting!!
Labels: homeschooling
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Friday, August 17, 2007
"I Don't Know How You Do It"
Just the other day at playgroup, I was talking with my good friends about the start of the school year. Everyone around us is thinking about the first day, filling their supply lists, going to "Meet the Teacher" days, changing their schedules to fit the school schedules (these three moms all have their children in schools with different start times: from 7:45 AM to 8:15 AM all the way to 9 AM), trying to plan what to do about after-school activities including our own playgroup that has been around for 5-1/2 years.
There are ads on TV for back-to-school sales, talk about how many schools aren't bussing all school kids to their schools on the news (because of Charter Schools, apparently), and a nervousness/excitement in the air all around. I am apprehensive already about traffic, since it seems everyone I know will be driving their child to school. All talk seems to be about school starting — it seems a force in and of itself!
Talk about our choice to homeschool lately seems to always be a topic that is driven by concern - what curriculum will we be using, how will we know Parker is learning what he needs to, what about socialization, how can we do it when kids drive us crazy sometimes, what about your business, etc. It is probably odd then, that I don't worry so much about those things.
What I do worry about is children learning the wrong things without proper guidance, which I think the current atmosphere of overcrowded classrooms of same age peers encourages. (I read Lord of the Flies in school. I think it isn't too far-fetched to think that some of this same type of interaction occurs in bullying, name-calling, intimidation, and exclusion that happens in school.) Everyone is always concerned about socialization, and may even choose school because of socialization fears, but there are plenty of ways children learn to be social. And when they aren't limited to same age interactions, like they are at school, they learn how to act with multi-generational communities, they see good and respectful interactions modeled by adults, etc.
What I also worry about is the need to "teach to the masses". Honestly, I prefer if I learn at my own pace, and do not need to wait for others to catch up or not completely understand something before moving ahead. I don't think it does young children, who already have impulse control, emotional control, and other control issues to be so frustrated over learning so early in life. Learning should be a joyous adventure, not tedious worksheets, time limits, and constant distraction. (Seriously, how many of you studied well in large loud groups in college? Wasn't the library an optimal place because of the quiet? Or in your own room when your roommate(s) weren't there?) Think of how loud your own children can be without 10-20 other friends around. Now, imagine them all in a single room, needing to be organized, cooperative at all times, sharing, and learning. That's what I don't know how to do.
This post inspired by Stephanie of Throwing Marshmallow's July 17, 2006 post entitled "I Don't Know How You Do It" at Life Without School, an online homeschooling community.
Labels: community, homeschooling, playgroup
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Thursday, August 02, 2007
Parker loves Alivia
Oh man am I in trouble!! We had our homeschooling group yesterday, and Parker told Alivia that he loves her, she kissed him, and then they did everything together holding hands or with their arms around each other. We got in the van at the end of the day to leave, and he told me "Alivia's dress was really pretty". When we got home and I was talking on the phone with my sister, he told me to tell her that he loves Alivia. AAACCCCKKKK!!!! Five-and-a-half!!!!!!
I am not going to survive parenthood.
Labels: community, homeschooling, milestones, Parker, playgroup
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Kindergartner Speech
Parker's speech is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. We've just started actively working on individual sounds so as to avoid the need for speech therapy. We are using this site: http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Eacadtech/phonetics/# which works really well at isolating each sound. He seems to be missing "sh", "j", and a few others. He also still has some of the cute mispronunciations, like aminals. I adore it, and I refuse to correct it. He knows the right pronunciation, so that isn't an issue.
Some well-meaning friends suggested I get him hooked up with a professional for services, which should be paid for by the state/county. In terms of qualifying for services, I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue. To be honest, I would prefer to not do it through the county, especially considering things I've heard about how it is done here, and also because I've been working with Parker on it for only 3 days, and he now has "r" and voiceless "th" and he knows we're working on a new sound tomorrow, so I'm surprised about the progress!
Here is what he seemed to be missing, in detail:
"th" in both thing and that;
"sh" like shoe and "zh" like vision;
"ch" like watch (I think he may have this one, but since it is the same general placement as the next, which he doesn't have, I'm not 100% sure);
"dg"/"j" as in job or cage;
"r" like in rope and far.
I plan to keep working with him on it, keeping it laid back, and go from there. Maybe I'll decide later to get professional help, or maybe he won't need it. He's still only 5, though!!
Labels: homeschooling, parenting, Parker
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
How To Create A Village
Here, Parker describes the parts of a village, in preparation for all out battle. Gotta love the creativity and violence of young boys.
Labels: castles and soldiers, homeschooling, Parker
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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Parker LiteBrite Art
I thought this was a volcano or teepee, but Parker informed me that it is a house with a person on top.
Labels: artwork, homeschooling, Parker
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007
He's Got Mad Skills
I promise that I haven't been showing him Amadeus over and over. Apparently, it is incredibly fun to change your perspective while playing the piano.
I have to say that although I know that both my family and Jeff's family are musical, it is still pretty surprising to me how well Parker picks up on things. And, he really seems to like playing music, so it was obviously a good decision on my part to bring out my old, but nice and complex CASIO ToneBank (notice the prominent branding?) for him to have fun and learn on.
Ironically, I received that keyboard for Christmas back in 1991. It is apparently still worth almost $100!!
Labels: homeschooling, music, Parker
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Friday, January 19, 2007
I'm just so .... tired.
I hate not having any time for myself anymore. I have totally over-extended myself, and I can't see how to slow everything down!
I essentially am working full-time, but my own hours, which means whenever I can find the time. I have my kids to care for as well. And Parker has classes two days per week for several hours. And we're members of 6 or 7 social groups (I've honestly lost track) which often have overlapping events that I feel we need to get to. I'm sure you are thinking, "Oh, woe is Kristin", and that the simple solution would be to cut some of the groups/activities, but how do I choose?
I have friends in these that I really don't see maintaining the relationship outside of, since that's when I get to see them. And some of the groups kind of are interconnected, so if I dropped one, it would be odd to drop another. And I'm a leader in two of them, though I just passed on leadership of another (whew!). And, I don't want to hurt feelings or feel like I'm "dissing" my friends.
I'm trying to cut back on the work, and we're upping our rates to that end, and taking on fewer projects. But last year, we made as much with our business as Jeff's work salary! (Now, he makes okay money, but it isn't spectacular, so it isn't like an option would be to quit his job with its enormous benefits and just do our business).
I've considered cutting Parker's classes, but he enjoys them, and it is time that is set aside where I cannot do anything else or think about anything else, which is really a good thing. Besides, where else is he going to learn tap and ballet, and have the opportunities that the art classes or science classes or even Spanish have, where I can actually be involved too, or observe if I choose?
But I know it is out of control, too, since there are days that I'm trying to figure out how to get to several events, bring food, and arrange for time where Kira can nap if she needs to (she's intermittent in her desire to completely forego napping).
Part of it is that even when I tell Jeff that I'm getting burned out, he can't even offer suggestions or give his opinions, because he's probably feeling similarly, between his job, our business and the kids.
Labels: community, homeschooling, Kristin, simplicity, sleep, stress
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Wednesday, November 29, 2006
About Sickness and Kids
So, we're in week 3 of sickness (which I just misspelled suckness, and I'm not sure why I changed!!) We've had a few bouts of "okay", but we're now in full-blown yucky over here! Parker still has a bad cough (though it gets better every day), Jeff is so miserable he's staying home tomorrow (all the better to try and get ME sick, I believe), and Kira is snotty and sweaty, and just ... blech! I really can't wait for wellness to come back. I am just hoping that we can all stay well for the week of/after Christmas when we're at Disney!!! I'm longing to be back in the "land of the living".
For those of you whose children are in school, how much time have they had to be out because of sickness? What are your school's policies on NOT coming to school? I honestly can't imagine if Parker were in school ... he'd have missed 1/4 to 1/3 of all classes so far!!
And the thought that being in a school setting builds one's immune system is valid, unless you have an underlying issue, like asthma, that means repeated ER trips, steroids, breathing up to 60 times a minute, etc. Every time someone around Parker gets sick, he does, and it is 50 times worse. He's been sick plenty and should have an awesome immune system, but his lungs protest.
Kira has rarely been sick, in fact when she gets sick it is so minor in comparison to Parker, that Jeff and I honestly are amazed each and every time.
In terms of this time, no, we haven't taken him in, but we've been in contact with the doctor's office, and it hasn't been for three weeks straight. It was for 3 days, 4 days well (Thurs thru Sun) -- Week 1. Starting to get sick for 1.5 days, then lethargy and illness for .5 day with high fever, and then 2 days of recovery (and to make sure he wasn't still contagious, and wasn't compromised immune to immediately catch something else), and three days of well (Fri thru Sun) -- Week 2. Then, well-ish for 2 days (occasional cough/sneeze), then moderate fever end of day 3, sick day 4 (Thanksgiving) including a 3-hour nap, cough for the rest of that week and into this one -- Week 3/4.
In terms of possible allergens, we do have many potential allergens (cats, carpets, stuffed animals), but the only thing that triggers him is getting sick. He always has the cold first. Once his coughing starts, it quickly progresses to rapid breathing that often won't calm down. He's never had issues with anything else, and the one time we thought he was having an issue with running around in the cold here (it was in the lower 50s), he was sick with fever the next day, so it was more than likely the combination of already having a virus along with the activity and cold. Our pediatrician considers him to have mild intermittent asthma, and doesn't feel it would be in his best interest, or proactive to have him on any maintenance medications. He actually said the best thing to do is try to keep him away from other sick kids! Like that is possible!!
Labels: health, homeschooling, Jeff, Kira, Parker
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Monday, November 27, 2006
BOO to Dr. Phil
Did you know Dr. Phil now airs at night? Well, the other night, Jeff and I stopped on it because Dr. Phil is talking about the "Great School Debate", and had some radical unschoolers on as well as some more traditional homeschoolers, and of course some teachers, public school officials, etc. We stopped to watch it, thinking it was going to be viewed objectively and with equal consideration for all sides. WOW. I was actually surprised at how ill-informed he seemed to be. Still, it didn't really upset me, because it was pretty much a "common" view. But Jeff -- I didn't know how passionately he felt about homeschooling until then!
Anyhoo, my point is that it was very biased and unbalanced. For example, he had a woman who had been homeschooled and felt socially-inept come on and essentially beg others to not homeschool their kids, but did not have someone who either had been public-schooled come on and say the same about that, or someone who had been homeschooled and loved it come on. That would have felt more balanced IMO.
The highlight was when this woman stated that she was scared for the kids of the radical homeschoolers and for herself, in case those kids in the future had her health in their hands ... I guess I found it funny, because her concern is that they wouldn't be "book-learned", even though she's neglected the fact that in order to BE in charge of her health, one would have to get into and complete college, and post-graduate work, probably Med school! Just seemed farcical to me.
I used to like Dr. Phil, and it isn't just this episode that has started changing my mind. I liked him much more when he was once a week, at the behest of Oprah.
Labels: homeschooling, Jeff, parenting
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Friday, November 17, 2006
Inspirational Kid's Site
I LOVE this site for inspiration: http://kiddley.com/ (I plan to do the wax-resist painting soon! AND I think the mantel-scape could be a good group project, though it would require a little prep from you)
Labels: homeschooling
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Local Education
In Newberry proper, there is 1 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high school.
- Newberry Elementary is recognized as an "A" School in 2004, 2005 and 2006. (according to their website), and yet is listed as a school that did not "adequately make yearly progress" towards meeting standards for the past 3 years, and is eligible for school choice for all students going there.
- Oak View Middle School is a "B" school.
- Newberry High School is listed as a "C" school, and joined the "did not adequately make yearly progress" this past year, but is not yet eligible for school choice.
Alachua County has 24 Elementary, 7 Middle, and 7 High public schools. Not sure about private.
So, if the elementary to middle to high schools go from A to B to C, it seems the foundation needed to continue improving isn't even there (if you believe these measures are fair and valid).
Labels: community, homeschooling
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Monday, November 06, 2006
Decision Made
We will be officially homeschooling next year. I am actually much more excited about it now, because I've found a whole group of moms and we're starting to do it now together.
Labels: community, homeschooling, Parker
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Friday, October 20, 2006
We went for Parker's 5-year visit on Tuesday, when Jeff was up in Tally on his interview, and the beginning part went EXTREMELY well. Parker was more than happy to see Dr. Wyatt, and he was very cooperative and not scared at all -- this was the VERY FIRST visit of his that he did so completely well! He used to be filled with terror when he was littler, so it was very nice change. He weighed 38 pounds (50%ile) and was 41.5" tall (25%ile).
They tested his eyes (20/30 for both, which they said was normal at this age??) and his hearing (he also passed), we talked about his virus-induced asthma, and he said we could call it mild-intermittent asthma or respiratory airway disease or whatever, but the thing is that he does not need to be on any kind of maintenance meds, like the Peds After Hours (Pediatric ER in town) said a few weeks ago when we were in for steroid treatment), but just to be rescued if and when it became an issue.
We also talked about his accomplishments, and he was impressed with his reading prowess, but also followed up on my concern about his speaking ability. To try and assist me to get help for him, he wrote a prescription for speech therapy -- my friend who is also a Speech Therapist is going to do an eval on him next week, so we can know the best ways to get him to speak more clearly, and to get him to say his dipthongs (double consonant sounds like "th", "tr", etc.). I know he can make the sounds, but he doesn't do it much on his own, and doesn't use them in appropriate ways. He also still isn't saying "r"s well, and also has trouble with some "L"s in words. For example, for "yellow", he says "yeyow" -- KIRA already says "yellow!!"
Finally, the shots. Parker was due for 3 boosters: MMR (measles/mumps/rubella--German measles), DTaP (diptheria/tetanus/acellular pertussis), and IPV (polio). He was going to be brave, and then he saw the needles. Oh my goodness did he freak!! He was screaming and crying and hitting and kicking ... it was HORRIBLE!! Finally, I had to drag him out of the chair in a fireman hold, sit him on the table, and then pin him down with my body while the nurse gave the DTaP and IPV in the left thigh, and then the MMR in the left arm. It was HORRIBLE. He was crying out for help ("Somebody help me please!!!!!") and asking the nurse to stop ("Doctor please stop -- owwwwww!!!") -- it broke my heart.
Afterwards, he was in SO MUCH PAIN!!! Seriously, it was PAIN and not just upset ... I felt like the shittiest mother IN THE WORLD right about then. 
He needed me to hold him for a good 10 minutes, and wanted me to carry him out to the van. Well, I had Kira too, so I couldn't do that, so instead, I took Kira OUT of the stroller, put him in, and we left, with Kira walking holding my hand, and me pushing Parker all through the hospital. Left and right, people said, "Oh, he must've just gotten some shots" -- like it was written ALL over him!!! He wanted to go straight home, so we did.
Well, next morning, I notice that his leg is swollen up about 25% of his other leg, BRIGHT red over much of the thigh, and HOT-HOT-HOT!! Called the doctor, but they said it was a "normal reaction, to be expected. Keep an eye out for secondary infection."!! It is finally starting to go down. The night we took these pictures, we measured his leg circumference and took his skin temperature (we're little scientists over here
-- nerdy too!!) -- normal leg was 11.75" diameter and 95.5-F; injection leg was 13.25" diameter and 99.0-F!! Difference of 1.5" of swelling, and 3.5-F SKIN temperature increase.
_______________Labels: health, homeschooling, Kira, milestones, Parker, vaccinations
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Playgroup sadness
My original local playgroup here is starting to break apart because of school starting, and NONE of us being in the same zone (and we're homeschooling). Makes me sad.
Labels: homeschooling, playgroup
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Is it October already??
My month of October is just crazy busy -- we have one website that is about a local art show, and it happens this weekend, so there are a ton of last minute changes, etc. (and I took this over from another mom-friend who is due the first week in November and took on grad school this fall -- and got overwhelmed), we have a new textbook to design, we just finished a 16-page brochure for a national health care campaign, and we're slated to do another brochure for the same organization to promote their educational courses across the US. We were just contacted by an apparently "very prestigious" man (according to Jeff, who decided we could take on a few projects after realizing who is was) to do some new identities for organizations he oversees/controls. We're still in the process of three rebranding campaigns, and completing materials for an international association's annual meeting. Oh, and then there are the two local political campaigns .....
I haven't had a chance to update picture albums or even denote major milestones ... like Kira starting to sleep through the night, having all but her 2-year molars, starting to count (OMG ... she amazes me DAILY!!), really getting into the independence/tantrum thing full throttle. Or like Parker finally drawing a self-portrait (yes, I cried. He just busted it out like he did it every day!! I was so proud!
), reading a CALVIN & HOBBES in the van and LAUGHING at it!!, writing all the letters of his name, and finally getting into art for the sake of art (and drawing recognizable things!!). Two of Parker's local cohorts have lost their first tooth, and I'm nowhere NEAR prepared for that! I don't know what we'll give him, or have a tooth pillow, or anything. 
Labels: artwork, homeschooling, Kira, milestones, Parker, politics, reading, Union Design Photo, writing
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Monday, August 07, 2006
How Parker's Fall Will Look
Parker isn't going to VPK this year, even though he is eligible. I am getting the voucher in case I change my mind though.
He'll be really busy anyways, with Karate 2ce a week, and Ballet, Tap, Gymnastics, and Science weekly, and we're on the waiting list for Creative Crafts (he needs more scissor/paste exposure than we do at home!!), and playgroups and events besides all of that!!
At least all of these things either allow Kira to participate, or are at a place where there is something for her too. This is important to us, since everything is at least a 30-min drive one-way.
Labels: homeschooling, Parker, PE, science
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Sunday, July 16, 2006
About Parker's Summer Classes
O2BKids is an "edutainment" facility (I hate that term!), and Parker is taking PreKarate, Lil' Mad Scientist, Music Fun, & PreDrama there this summer (he is also signed up for Sports Movement & Games, but he doesn't like it, it isn't well-organized, and it is outside in 90-degree weather ... so we're dropping it!). So, these classes are teaching him things I can't (well, except the science one! Okay, and the Music.), getting him the class setting/listening to other adult than family aspect, and he's loving it! I'm still around the building, and can be in the room when I choose, which is a good compromise for me. We still haven't made up our minds on homeschooling, though we are still leaning heavily towards it, and are keeping ourselves in that mindset.
Labels: drama, Florida heat, homeschooling, music, Parker, PE, science
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Tuesday, July 11, 2006
About School (Preschool, PreK, Kindy)
Am I just unrealistic?
I was looking at the Florida "Sunshine standards" for education, and it lists, as some of the standards for Kindegarten learning, things like counting 1 to 5. Can't all preschoolers count to 5? And learning colors. Like, PRIMARY colors. Again, don't they know that in preschool or before?
I really want to know if I am right to be shocked at the low-seeming expectations or not (i.e., am I misunderstanding, or is that really reasonable). What are kids supposed to be getting out of Preschool/PreK/Kindergarten??
Labels: homeschooling
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The Lost Art of Reading
Gosh, I used to love to read! I have a hard time finding the time (and quiet) to read nowadays (though I just finished The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory -- pretty good, not outstanding), so I don't consider myself an avid reader by any measure.
Parker obviously loves reading, moreso now that he can actually read some on his own!! Kira is really into books as well, and has one book she can "read" (she has it memorized!!). They really love it when we sit down and read books together.
I don't really have books I'm longing for my kids to read, though I have fond memories of some (like Jungle Book, Rootabaga Stories, and much older -- Alas, Babylon). Okay -- one book I'm longing for them to read (and "get") is The Prophet, but that is MY book, you know?
Labels: homeschooling, Kira, Kristin, Parker, reading
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Monday, July 10, 2006
Crazy Busy July
I can't believe how busy my life seems to have become -- my calendar just seems crazy! I am actually looking forward to mid-August, when Parker's classes end and everyone else is starting to get crazy with the start of school! We still haven't signed Parker up for preschool, and the closer we get to that time, it seems the less likely we are to do so, especially with the classes he's taking at O2BKids.
So, for me --
1) I'm still doing lots of work on our business, including a conference brochure, the birthday party company still, an architecture-related international service, and a couple of others. We have one client who is refusing to pay us right now, and they owe us about $600!! I'm very "put out!".
2) I am still effectively running the playgroup for Kira, which involves keeping about 10 moms, working and not working, organized enough to keep regular meetings. We've just completed our first complete 2-month rotation, and people are even more excited about it than before (before the whole group was going to just peter out, so this is awesome!).
3) I am now on the board of MOMS Club here, doing the newsletter, and helping as we sister a new group. It has actually been really fun, and I've already learned a lot more about my community.
For Jeff --
1) He's as swamped with freelance as I have been, as well as trying to revamp our entire website including a complete portfolio -- it is quite the undertaking!!
2) His work may be in for some upheaval, though I can't talk about it yet, since it doesn't go public until the end of the week.
For Parker --
I love this boy!! He can be a pain in the neck, but he's so sweet, so smart, and so full of energy!
He's really great with all of the family he's been meeting (though at times he's TOO friendly with strangers. I really need to work with him on a healthy distrust ...)
His big thing is that he absolutely WILL NOT let me cut his hair. I had to cut his bangs recently, but that was all he'd allow. I should have known this was coming with all the fussing he often does about it.
He totally loved having my mom (his Oma) come for a visit, and to go with them to his Great-Granny's house.
Of course, that means that I'm having to deal with him stealing my cell phone and calling them every chance he gets and him constantly talking about going to visit them or them coming here.
Parker mostly loved spending time with his 12-year old second cousin, Ross. They really had lots of fun and Parker talks about going back to see him.
That's them at the fireworks on the 4th.
Kira --
She's become such a firecracker! She's very smart -- I think moreso than Parker! She says lots and lots of words, uses a fork/spoon, already remembers/reads books, and is a pretty darn happy girl (until it is sleep time).
More than that, she ADORES her Grampa (my dad). Oh my goodness, I've never seen a child take to a non-parent like that! She often ran to him instead of to me! I loved it.
She also favored my mama, but not nearly the same. Still, it was a nice reprieve for me.
She was much more shy meeting the extended family, like her Great-Grandma Morris (Jeff's grandmother) above, and her Great-Aunt Kathy below.
She always seems to have a serious look on her face, like Parker did. It is almost like she is trying to completely digest and comprehend the world before she's 2!!
Okay, I'm including the following out of obligaton:
I have some videos I have to download from my camera to share. As much as I adore my kids, more and more I feel like we're done. Maybe I'll change my mind -- I'm only 33, and they are only 4-1/2 and 17 months. We'll see.
Labels: community, family, homeschooling, Jeff, Kira, Kristin, milestones, Parker, Union Design Photo
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Friday, June 23, 2006
Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum
Here in Florida, there is now universal Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) offered. Makes me kinda wonder when it'll become mandatory. Jeff and I have pretty much decided not to do it with Parker, even though his 3 close friends will be going to various pre-Ks. The question we are most often asked is what curriculum we plan to do this year for his education, which I find a little odd for 4-year olds.
So, no, we are not planning on any formal curriculum, though we do get the Brighter Vision Learning Adventure boxes each month (Parker asks EVERY DAY if there is a new box in the mail for him!!) which are really cool. I just take what we normally do in a day and figure out a way to make it into a life lesson. And, of course, we are doing additional things now (like his O2B Kids classes) that help with socialization and learning to listen to another adult.
I also keep track of what he's learned, is learning, and keep making sure he's progressing:
communication: reading, telling stories, describing pictures, logical progression, (need to work on writing and drawing), computer