Friday, June 10, 2011

Homeschool Mother's Journal - Week 2



In my life this week…

We spent the first part of the week very grateful that we had a new window air conditioner.  The heat index for a couple days was over 100 Degrees F.  We're not used to that in Ohio.  The kids spent  alot of time in the air conditioning and pool.  We did manage to finish almost all of our schoolwork.  We fell a little behind in our Science lessons this week, but not a big deal, very easy to catch up.  The girls had their first American Girls Club Meeting.  It was fun.  We are studying Kaya for the next 6 meetings.  The boys are actually at Day camp the next couple days.  I went to an Autism Summit at a local University today to hear Temple Grandin speak......still not sure how I liked that.  It was upsetting in some ways.  Tomorrow we are going to drop the boys off at camp and then take the girls to the Farmers Market in Toledo and hopefully pick up a treadmill that we are purchasing from another homeschool family.  Depending on the weather we may even pick some strawberries.  The farm I want to go to still wasn't ready yet.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This next week we have been invited to an end of school year picnic.  The girls are really looking forward to this.  The girls and Joey have horse riding lessons and Brayden will have cycling.  The hubby has the follow up appointment for his next carpal tunnel wrist surgery.  The girls and I will go to the Humane Society to clean the cat room on Wednesday.

My favorite thing this week was…

I actually enjoyed watching the kids play in the water.  I read a book while they were playing.  It was very hot, but nice to see them having fun!

Things I’m working on…

I am actually working on finding an organization system that works for us.  I am also trying to find the daily balance for attention span and teaching our kids all the things they need to learn.  It is very hard to find that daily balance between teaching them daily life skills, social skills and actual educational items like grammar and math.......ohhhhh, do other parents who homeschool kids with special needs ever find this balance.

I’m reading…

I actually just finished reading A Regular Guy Growing Up with Autism by Laura Shumaker.  I have very mixed feelings about this book.  I now have started reading Game of Thrones by George Martin.  I am trying to use my husbands Nook Reader, but having trouble reading this book on this Nook Reader.  I am also reading Tears of a Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith.  I'm a fan of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency! 

Questions/thoughts I have…

How do you find the proper balance between teaching very important life skills to someone with autism and more acadmic pursuits?   I worry all the time that I am not teaching them enough academically.  But then I wonder will the boys really ever need to know all the parts of speech.  If they can spell do they really need to have spelling rules mastered....who knows why they can spell so well anyway???

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…


The boys learned how to play bocce at cycling yesterday.  Joey really enjoyed it and did very well.  They cycled almost 3 miles before tiring out!!!


5 comments:

  1. Looks like a great week! I have never played bocce ball, but have seen it played. Enjoy the weekend and thank you for linking up to NOBH!

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  2. Wow! Warm there! We had a few hot, humid days in Maine too. We don't normally see high 80s and low 90s this time of year! The garden is loving it though! LOL And the lake nearby make cooling off easy! No advice on balancing EVERYTHING with Autistic kids. I have a son with SPD though, and we take each day, living and learning all that we can.

    Jessy

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  3. Your family sounds delightful! It's hot here in Tennessee too, but at least there have been a lull in the thunderstorms lately. My favorite thing this week was watching my kids attempt to wash my car yesterday as they played. I didn't dare to read though... I'd have gotten soaked! Beautiful blog. I'm visiting from NOBH and I'll be back!

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  4. So glad you were able to get some AC! When it's hot and you have no reprieve it is miserable. I would love to be able to go to our Farmers Market back home-I miss it a lot. I will be praying over your DH's follow up appointment and for God's wisdom in helping you find a balance in regards to your childrens development and schooling.

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  5. Glad you got air conditioning in that kind of weather. I don't miss those days when I lived in the states. I worry about the same things, as I think all HS mom do. So give yourself a break and don't be so hard on yourself:). You are doing the best you can and the kids are happy:) Just think how little learning they would be getting if they were in school.

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