Attempting to summarize the last couple months here.  Good news is that so far this winter, we have yet to see a breakdown with D like we did last winter.  Of course, we haven't had any stomach flu this year yet either.....   He's been doing quite well, with both anxiety and GI issues.  So, that's a big praise.

We've made alot of changes in school for David.  I think the last time I wrote, we were just getting ready to start the Verticy academy with him, as well as put together an IEP.  Now, it's February and we've been at it for a couple months.  He goes to the school for occupational therapy once a week, where the girl works on his handwriting mostly.  And, I can already see some improvement.  He goes for speech/language therapy twice a week and I don't see as much good from that at this point.  It's not bad, but I don't know how much it is really improving anything.  Maybe it takes time.  They are mostly discussing conversational skills.  A very good topic to work on with David, but like I said....it will probably take time to see results.

School with him has been grueling.  We are moving very, very slowly.  The Math especially seems to be too advanced for him, but I am sticking it out to the first test.  We may end up switching back to Math U See at that point.  The other curriculum is excellent....it is just alot of work.  The phonics/language is SO very multisensory, there are just lots of activities to do.  Phonics/spelling can take us almost an hour sometimes and so can Grammar/composition.  However, there is also alot of repetition built in.....so maybe we will get into a rhythm here and it won't be so slow. 

I still feel that he has really hit a wall with his dyslexia.  School has been SO much harder for him....he has such trouble remembering number sentences (math facts) correctly, and words.  He's at an age where they are throwing big terms around and asking him to remember them.  In History....Mesopotamia, Tigris, Euphrates, Hieroglyphics....don't get me started on all the Science terms and in Math even....Commutative, Associative, Identity properties of addition.  The concepts are easy for him to grasp.  The words look like a jumbled mass of letters to him.  He can't remember them. 

I just finished "The Gift of Dyslexia" by Ron Davis.  It made more sense than anything I've read to this point as far as how to teach a dyslexic.  There is a licensed Davis facilitator in Wausau who is doing an intial consultation with David next week to see if their week long "reorientation and symbol mastery" program would work well for him.  I suspect it will if he is motivated enough to go through it.  However, the cost of the week long program is out of this world.  So, this week I am working on finding funding for it.....going to see his pediatrician and see if we can't get insurance to help. 

I feel like I am constantly a detective on the hunt with him.  I've been reading book after book after book about medications, OCD, autistm, dyslexia, reading books written BY autistic people.....thus my fun reading list has been kind of non-existent these days.

The other kiddos?  Well, Johnny got his semester report card and had all A's again.  We are on the downside of his year, and 3rd quarter is actually looking easier than the first two.  He's studying astronomy in Science, a topic which we widely covered last year.  And Geometry in Math....my favorite!  He is reading the Magic Tree House series and devouring them....also the Henry Huggins books by Beverly Cleary.  I'm so happy that he finally found some fun books that interested him.   A funny...the other day, he saw his report card laying on the table and picked it up.  It was all A's.  Johnny's comment?  "What!?  No A+'s?  This is an outrage!"  Big snort from Matt, who was sitting at the other side of the table.  We are working on Johnny's perfectionist tendencies.

Anna is trucking along, wishing she were in the RVA....but mom can't handle the workload.  Especially at her age when really all she needs to do is learn to read well and memorize her math facts!  She is my neatest writer so far, and is reading spectacularly!  She reads a chapter or two every night from a Junie B. Jones book.  To herself.  I've never been a huge fan of Junie B.  But, I remember my friend saying her daughter just loved how Junie talks and thinks.  Somehow we ended up with one here, and Anna picked it up and read it cover to cover.  So...I give up. 

A couple funnies: 

The other day Johnny asked me about the "big feast we are going to have in heaven".  "Mom, will everyone be there.....even Moses?"  "Yes, Johnny, I think Moses will probably be there.  Cool, huh? How would you like to sit next to Moses?"  [long, thoughtful pause]  Johnny: "No, I think I'd rather sit by you and dad". 

Matt took Johnny with him last weekend on a trip.  He had several concerts and they went to a Chris Tomlin concert with some supporters one night as well.  When they got home, Matt asked Johnny what his favorite thing about the trip was while we were eating supper.  Johnny said, "The concert!"  Matt said, "Really Johnny?  My concert?"  Johnny: "No, the famous one."  Matt pretended to feel bad.....and Johnny reminded him that he doesn't want to be famous.....he wants to be nothing. 

The other day I was strolling through our local IGA, where I inevitably know almost everyone in the store.  Leah was sitting in the big part of the cart and I grabbed a pack of feminine products and tossed them in.  She said (and I write it in caps because that is how LOUD she said it...could hear it three aisles away at least): "MOM, I HOLD YOUR DIAPERS FOR YOU, OK?  OK, MOM?  I HOLD YOUR DIAPERS!"  Thanks, sweetheart.  I chuckled the whole way out the store.  And it got even funnier as we discussed it in the car, but I won't write that in here....maybe a bit too inappropriate. 

 

The last paragraph made me laugh. We've had our share of questions & conversations involving "mommy diapers", too! Usually, though, they reserve the loudest comments for describing their poop in public restrooms. Kids!