Bring on Summer

So I was already stressing about what to do for Thomas' education. Then I get a call from Timothy's teacher saying he needs help. Like he's two grades behind in math and reading comprehension help. They wanted to do some testing to see where he's at and what they need to do to help. He's an excellent reader and has a large vocabulary for his age. They call it "word calling". But when it comes to comprehension, he needs help. Well they did their tests and are moving forward with a plan of action. I really liked how the psychologist described Timothy as an "enjoyable youngster". I was uncomfortable with the OT's assessment and had to keep in mind he was just observing things in a general way. Yes, Timothy fidgets and fiddles with his ears and most times does not sit real still in a chair (mostly when he's not interested). This is all NORMAL. He's a nine year old boy for cripes sake. Show me one that sits still! Two pages of the report was dedicated to describing ways to manage the fidgets and any other sensory overload. Whatever happened to just making a kid sit in their chair and keep their hands to themselves? What is the purpose of placating and coddling them to make things softer and easier. What does that teach them? But I digress...

He is at a wonderful school with talented and educated staff that truly care for him. That is one thing I can say for living in a small community like we do. Our elementary school is the farthest out on the peninsula. It's like a big family really; everybody knows everybody and there are no secrets. At least none that can be kept for very long. ;)

After a lot of waiting and pages of paperwork, I finally have an appointment for Thomas with a developmental pediatrician in August. He has been doing so well at home. I am so amazed with his growth. I am beginning to see better each day what areas he is lacking in. At the same time however, he is learning so much everyday. My goal is to keep catching him up and see where he is in September. He won't be old enough for kindergarten, so he'd have to attend preschool again. I hope to get him caught up enough to attend Evergreen with Timothy. Then he could work with the specialists there. I went over his paperwork again. He was only getting 3 hours a month of speech at his school. As behind as he was, this was entirely not enough. They are only capable of so much though, and they cannot work with him one on one like I can.

So this is the condensed version, but you get the idea. I am thinking positively about the upcoming school year. Timothy will be a fourth grader! Thomas will be a preschooler (again)! First, we have the summer ahead of us. This is going to be a summer unlike any before it. We are going to try something new called STRUCTURE. We're also going to have a SCHEDULE. Timothy will be starting something new called CHORES. Yes, we have a busy summer ahead of us. Let's see how long it lasts. :)

Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde

I keep telling myself I should know better. I should know things can change at any moment. I am so aware of what my kids came from... :P

The last two days, Thomas has refused to go to school. I wouldn't call it "refusal behavior". When I told him lets get ready for school, he just hollered, "Nooooooo..." over and over. This is after he ran back to his bedroom and buried himself under his blankets. I tried to coerce him for 15 to 20 minutes, reminding him how much fun he has at school and his favorite things to do there. Nothing. He won't budge. Each time I say "school", he says "Noooooo". He's been in a perfectly fine mood, and he's not sick anymore. It appears after Spring Break that he genuinely doesn't want to go back to school. I can't imagine why after how much fun he has there. We've been pretty active at home outside with the beautiful weather turn. He's enjoying playing and just walking around the yard picking flowers. I'm not sure what to do about the school thing. He's not starved of learning, I'm teaching him stuff everyday. To quote a movie line from a favorite actor, "I'm sure a solution will present itself."

Time for Some Quiet

Thomas was home sick all last week. I had grown accustomed to getting that 2 1/2 hours to myself when he's at school. I like it quite a bit actually. I love having him home, he's really quiet and will play legos or whatever else he likes. It wasn't until the end of the week, I realized I missed that time. Once you get a taste of something...So finally he is feeling better. I took him to school today. It took about 15 minutes of convincing him to get ready, he kept saying "No go, no go." Finally we were on our way. I especially like Timothy's contribution: "Thomas you were home all last week so you have to go today. Its not fair if you get to stay home and I don't!" Sometimes stuff can be a fight if he just plain doesn't want to do it. I found that if I just stay positive and remind him how much fun he has at school, he'll want to go. He does like it a lot. I think he just got spoiled after a week at home. Don and I finally caught the bug after a week, but I don't think it will last long.

Timothy's conference went well. Basically same thing different day. He has trouble focusing sometimes. I know that he has a lot going on is his brain. I can guarantee when he's at school, he's not thinking about school. I'm glad that he is the same kid at school that he is at home. SO when she is tellling us about him, we just nod our heads in understanding. Math is a struggle for him as it gets harder. This is something we expected, as neither of us did well with math in school. He's really in a great school though, and they will do everything they can to help him succeed. Fourth grade is approaching fast!

Next week is Spring Break! Yay! Oh wait, that means I don't get my 2 1/2 hours....Hmmm....going to have to send the boys to Grandmas house for some Me time.

The Lazy Mother

Recently I asked Timothy a series of questions to see how much he knew about me. One question was, "What is your mom really good at?" He then turned to me and asked "Are you good at cleaning the kitchen?"

Family Genes

I couldn't be happier. Thomas is doing AWESOME in preschool. Turns out my instincts were right, and now when I drop him off, he turns around and says "BYE!" He is participating a lot and his teachers inform me he is talking more to them. He was starting to get lazy here and not want to use his words. I know that he has it in him. I truly think that he is just stubborn. Big surprise considering who he came from right?

Something I need to get out of the way. It has been mentioned before and again as of late by relatives that Thomas might be autistic. This is not the case. He has been evaluated by numerous professionals, and this has never been a concern. Based on his history, our reports, and professionals findings, they determined that he is simply age delayed with his talking. When I would say in the past "he's not talking" I realize now how people must have misunderstood that, especially those that have not met him. What I was saying is that he wasn't talking at whatever level was age appropriate. However, he has always communicated with us. So he's taking his time with talking and I can't complain. Timothy hasn't shut up since he started talking... :)

Speaking of Timothy, he is doing well at school also. He is still doing his math and pottery after school, and is now going to a Toast Masters class. This teaches the kids how to write for speaking, and speaking in front of a group. They work on nipping stage fright in the bud before it even starts. Its a wonderful program. I work hard on helping him stay focused during the week on school as he is waiting for the weekend to arrive so he can play video games. When we started playing a computer game in December, we weren't going to let him play for awhile. But Dad caved before me and he is now geeking out with us. What have we created? :)

Best Intentions (or Preschool Hell)

I had decided to keep Thomas home after Christmas break. He was finally responding to the sign language I was teaching him, and was learning up to two signs a day. I didn't want to take him to school as it seemed he wasn't learning all that much since September. Also, they had only taught him two signs during that time. After much hemming and hawing, I finally took him back to school today. I wasn't sure he was getting everything he needed there, and I wasn't comfortable with all of the adults. Instead of keeping him home and teaching him, I thought I will stay in the classroom and I can continue what I've been teaching him while he gets services there. I had originally not stayed there because I felt I would distract him. So today I stayed, and by the end of the day regretted my decision.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a horrible experience (except for the crying child next door that lasted 30 minutes). But I am in tune with everything around me. It was too much input for me. All the personalities, and different needs of the children was just too much for me. I wanted to focus on Thomas, and he seemed perfectly content on his own. I feel like I should be there for him with his needs. On the other hand, I'm beginning to think that him being in school (for now until he is talking more) is something I will never be completely comfortable with. I am more protective of him because of his needs. I came home and literally collapsed from exhaustion, and I hardly did much. I guess the environment was just too much for me. It made me respect the teachers that do that that much more. That is a job I could not do all day four days a week.

I've been back and forth on this since December. Its one of the hardest decisions I've had to make regarding Thomas's education. I've leaned heavily on my mom, and Don and I have discussed all of this. He left the decision ultimately to me as I'm the Mom Taxi. It wasn't like this with Timothy. There was the adjustment period, but I think it is harder since Thomas is the baby, and the last one at that.

Keeping up with the boys

Since we (the adults) are pretty boring, I decided to keep a blog on the boys for family and anyone who would like to keep up with what they are doing. Timothy is in the third grade this year, and Thomas is in his first year of Preschool.