1st day of school

First day of 5th grade for EK. New campus, new teacher, new friends. We got to meet her teacher last Thursday and she seems really nice and excited to work with EK. A few kids from Eagle Ridge are in her class so at least they will be familiar faces. I'm also hoping she'll see her cousin occasionally in the halls and some other sweet kids from Eagle Ridge. I've been praying diligently for her school year, her teachers, her ability to transition and learn this year, etc. Always praying for her safety and that everyone will treat her with respect and kindness. :)


AC is a 4th grader this year. We started our homeschool year today too. We're easing back into our routine this week as I try to figure out 2 different grades (4th and K) and a 2 1/2 year old. Ha! This girl was excited to get started this morning. I'm thankful for that! We'll start a Wednesday co-op later this month where she'll take 2 classes (math challenge and chocolate molding).

This boy started Kindergarten today. There will be a big learning curve for both of us as we figure this out. His personality is so different from his sister (and it should be!) plus he has a noisy baby sister to add to the mix. He's starting to read but it requires a lot of concentration right now. My plan is to get more of his schoolwork done on Tuesday/Thursday once EJ starts preschool later this month. It'll be less frustrating for him and me if we can work without distractions. Of course, we'll get some stuff done on the other days as well. He's very excited about taking a math and science class at co-op this fall. :)

I could NOT get EK to smile this morning. She wasn't sad, just couldn't get any happy faces. We all took her out to the bus this morning. EJ was so very sad when she couldn't get on the bus with EK. She had her backpack ready to go and everything! ;) She got over it pretty quickly when I offered to make her some eggs for breakfast. Ha!

My 3 big kids!

My little one who dressed herself, wouldn't let me do her hair and had to hold a sign too.

Here's what I'm using with AK this year. We started All about Reading this summer but only did the first few lessons. Trying out Singapore Math. Will add All about Spelling in a few weeks. He'll sit and listen while AC does her history and science.

Here are most of AC's things: We're doing MFW Creation to Greeks and I'm so excited as Bible is tied into History., when applicable. We'll learn Jewish customs and ancient civilizations up to the Greeks. We are switching from Saxon math to Teaching Textbooks. She really struggled during math towards the end of the year, to the point of many tears. I decided we'd make a big change this year and so far, she loves it. It's been quite a bit of review so far but I really wanted to build her confidence and have her enjoy math again.We're also going to do several literature units this year using Total Language Plus (comprehension, vocabulary and spelling).

Excited for another school year and praying it's a year of academic growth as well as social, emotional and spiritual development.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Autism Awareness Day

It's hard to believe this is our 10th Autism Awareness Day. Ironically, I also sat in EK's annual ARD this morning. To be honest, life is so busy right now that I haven't had time to think much about this day approaching. Maybe that's good. When I have too much time to think about how autism has changed our family's life, I sometimes get discouraged. When EK was first diagnosed in February 2009, we thought that if we got her in the right therapies, she'd start Kindergarten in a mainstream classroom. That was our goal and early on, it seemed doable. We changed her diet (which by the way, I don't regret at all. I truly believe it's helped her to be the happy child she is.), we did occupational therapy, speech therapy, ABA therapy, vitamins/supplements, school preschool program for kids with autism and many other things. Fast forward a few years  and we saw no real improvements. In fact, she stopped talking a few months before her 4th birthday. Those begin...
Read more

3 days in a row...

EK started back to preschool on Monday morning. After 2 weeks off for Christmas break, I was a little nervous about how sad she'd be when I dropped her off and how long it'd take her to get back in the routine. When I picked her up on Monday, I was SO relieved to hear that she hardly fussed that morning. She was happy all morning long! She participated in music therapy by playing the guitar. She worked on fine motor tasks with her teacher and she colored with a marker! This last thing is a BIG deal. For some reason, the past 6 months or so, she would NOT hold a writing utensil. I'm not sure if it's because I used to tell her constantly to not put it in her mouth or if it became a sensory thing or a control thing. Whatever the reason, she just wouldn't even try to hold a marker, pen, crayon, etc. If you put it in her hand, she'd drop it or throw it. We literally had to firmly hold her hand around the writing utensil to keep it in her hand long enough to scribble ...
Read more

3 months ago today...

Most of you who are reading this know what our family is going through right now. It was 3 months ago today that we took EK to a developmental pediatrician. We left there with a diagnosis of autism. Even though we knew it was coming, it was tough to swallow. We've done so much research, reading books, searching on the internet, and talking with those who've been down the same road. There is so much information out there. We're trying to be proactive and do all we can to help her live a normal life and I'm praying like I've never prayed before. She's still our sweet 3 year old daugher, our firstborn. Her diagnosis doesn't change our love for her. I'm not even sure it changes our dreams for her. We know that God is able to completely heal her, but regardless of the outcome, we know that our God has a plan for her that will bring Him glory. I'm so thankful to be the mama to EK and AC. They are such sweet blessings, even on the hard days. :)
Read more