My children have completed 10 days of school. In those 10 days of school, I have received the following:
5 discipline reports
3 calls home from the guidance counselor
2 bus reports
1 meeting with the guidance counselor
During the phone call today with the guidance counselor, she mentioned that we'd probably be getting another 2 bus reports as the bus driver had to walk Sam and Tom into school today for fighting with each other on the bus.
I often get asked what it is like to have children that have special needs. "Hard" is the answer I usually give. "Hard" doesn't really describe it though.
I was a fairly well behaved child in school, pretty much the classic overachiever type. I always did my homework, minded my manners, and played well with others. Upon occasion, I would get into a little bit of trouble. In my entire elementary school career, I had two detentions, one for talking during class and one for not minding a teacher's directions during recess.
Before having children, I always imagined that my children would turn out similar to me. I imagined that their teachers would say the sorts of things that my teachers used to say about me. I never once imagined what I have to deal with on a daily basis.
Back to school night is always a nightmare for me. It never fails that when the teacher says "please find your child's desk," I will be sitting in my child's desk, right up next to the teacher. There's always a mom or two who make jokes about how they hope they aren't the ones who have the naughty kid up front. Then I have to sheepishly take my seat up front. There is a big stigma and a negative perception that goes along with being the parent of the child that can't behave during class.
It's more than just hard to be the parent of the child who stabbed another boy with a pencil on the third day of school. It's not easy to have to talk with the teacher whom your child screamed at and called a stupid idiot the two days ago in front of the entire class.
It's very easy to judge the parents of children like mine. How we must not be loving them enough or maybe we are loving them too much. How we must not discipline them enough or maybe we are so strict that the only time the kids can have fun is at school. How we certainly don't seem to care because we haven't medicated our child to make him conform. When classmates tell their parents about a boy throwing a fit during class and knocking over his desk, those parents tell the kids to stay away from that boy.
Well, that boy is my son. And he is a beautiful and loving boy, but it's hard for him to show it sometimes.
Showing posts with label Sam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sam. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Playing catch up
I haven't forgotten about blogging. It just has taken a back burner for a while. I am pretty much always two steps behind on everything.
So I am here to do some catching up.
Last month, we had our Spring school holidays. As usual, it rained, but we vacationed anyway. Jay got back from Korea and 14 hours later, I shoved everyone into the car and drove 6 hours. We drove south to Callala Beach. It is located on the southern coast of New South Wales. It's very beautiful down there and full of tourists.
We had a few days with less rain, and we were able to get out and see the sights. We visited Booderee National Park, Fitzroy Falls, and Carrington Falls. We had a nice relaxing week.
For the second week of school holidays, I took the boys camping with some friends of mine. We all left the dads at home and had a gals week of camping with the kids, 4 moms and 9 kids in total. We drove two hours north to Seal Rocks. Seal Rocks is a laid back beach area, only reached by driving 5 kms on a gravel road. There is not much in Seal Rocks besides a small general store, beaches, a lighthouse, and the holiday park where we camped. It was beautiful!
We had a really enjoyable and relaxing time on both trips, but we were glad to get back to normal. At least for a little while...
So I am here to do some catching up.
Last month, we had our Spring school holidays. As usual, it rained, but we vacationed anyway. Jay got back from Korea and 14 hours later, I shoved everyone into the car and drove 6 hours. We drove south to Callala Beach. It is located on the southern coast of New South Wales. It's very beautiful down there and full of tourists.
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| Booderee National Park |
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| Booderee National Park |
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| Stars over Jervis Bay |
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| Kiama Light House |
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| View from Saddleback Mountain |
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| View from Barren Grounds State Reserve |
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| Fitzroy Falls |
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| Nellie's Glen |
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| Carrington Falls |
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| View from Wallis Chair lookout |
For the second week of school holidays, I took the boys camping with some friends of mine. We all left the dads at home and had a gals week of camping with the kids, 4 moms and 9 kids in total. We drove two hours north to Seal Rocks. Seal Rocks is a laid back beach area, only reached by driving 5 kms on a gravel road. There is not much in Seal Rocks besides a small general store, beaches, a lighthouse, and the holiday park where we camped. It was beautiful!
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| Tom and Josh, brrr it's cold |
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| The oldest kids, walking to the lighthouse |
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| view of Boat Beach |
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| Can you spot the whales? |
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| Tawny Frog Mouth Owl |
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| Sugarloaf Lighthouse |
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| View of beach, from lighthouse |
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| Seal Rocks |
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| Joe |
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| Joe and Tom |
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| Lighthouse, a very steep walk up to the lighthouse! |
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| One of my friends grew up near here and was childhood friends with the last lighthouse keeper's daughter |
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| Youngest and oldest kids on the trip, Sam and Sarah |
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| Tom |
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| All 9 kids on the trip |
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| Silliest faces |
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| Fun with sparklers (Tom on left and Joe on right) |
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| Sam's first sparkler, EVER! |
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| Tom |
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Photography class, week 2
For week 2, we needed to work on using our AV (aperture priority) and TV (shutter priority) settings.
AV setting allows me to choose how wide the aperture will be on the camera. The smaller the number mean the wider the aperture. Wider apertures allow more light into the camera and also makes a shorter depth of field. More narrow apertures allow for an increased depth of field. A wide aperture gives a nice soft background to a focused object. Here are my AV photos:
I probably took 100 photos with this setting, but the three best just all happened to be of Lacey.
The TV setting allows me to adjust how long the shutter stays open. Faster shutter speeds allow the user to capture people and objects in motion without any blur. Longer shutter speeds allow more light into the photo and are best for low light situations.
AV setting allows me to choose how wide the aperture will be on the camera. The smaller the number mean the wider the aperture. Wider apertures allow more light into the camera and also makes a shorter depth of field. More narrow apertures allow for an increased depth of field. A wide aperture gives a nice soft background to a focused object. Here are my AV photos:
The TV setting allows me to adjust how long the shutter stays open. Faster shutter speeds allow the user to capture people and objects in motion without any blur. Longer shutter speeds allow more light into the photo and are best for low light situations.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Really Quick Update
I have started my photography class, and I am really enjoying it. Our paid babysitter, Elle, is probably not enjoying it. My kids love her to pieces, and she stalled when I asked if she could come back for the 3rd Monday in a row. She still hasn't given me an answer. I hope she'll be able to, but I do have some backups. I am also using a younger babysitter on Saturday to watch the boys. She'll have her mom there as well, as she is only 13. I am going to a field trip for my class, and I don't think the other students would enjoy having kids running around while they are trying to photograph.
I have friends who are coming over to scrapbook tonight. It is so exciting!
Joe is doing really well at school right now. He's had a few weeks with no problems at all!! Joe starts a social skills learning group today at school. I am pretty happy that he was invited to join this term. Perhaps it will give him some much needed friend-making skills. Joe really enjoyed participating in the music festival last week and can't wait for next year's festival.
Tom is still having some ups and downs at school. On the days that he seems to do better in the classroom, he does worse outside. We are still waiting on the school counselor to get together with us. We can't move forward until she gives us all the needed reports and forms.
Tom is out of the sling. He has x-rays again tomorrow, with his final (hopefully!) specialist appointment on Monday. He will then have another 6 weeks of reduced activity in order to let the bone continue to heal.
Sam is being a challenge right now. He is trying to assert his way, which isn't going very well. This morning, he refused to make his bed. It is a house rule that it needs to be done. He went back into his room for a short bit, then came out. Sam announced that he couldn't make his bed because it was wet. He'd peed on it last night. Normally, this isn't a big deal. I change the sheets and be done. The problem was I knew that his bed was dry a few minutes earlier. Sure enough, he'd gone into his room, pulled down his pants, and peed on the bed!! All just to avoid making the bed!! Well, he had to strip the sheets and he'll have to help put them on when they finish drying. He will then have to make the bed after the sheets are on! Goodness! I hope he moves out of this phase soon.
Jay is still in Korea. We have no idea when he is going to show back up in Australia. He was supposed to return on the 21st. That got bumped to the 27th, which got bumped until the 1st or 2nd. On Monday, Jay said probably wouldn't be until the 3rd or 4th. A coworker told me last night that I shouldn't hold my breath about him coming home then either.
So, he will come home when he comes home. Until then, we are holding down the fort...sorta...kinda...well, we're trying...
I have friends who are coming over to scrapbook tonight. It is so exciting!
Joe is doing really well at school right now. He's had a few weeks with no problems at all!! Joe starts a social skills learning group today at school. I am pretty happy that he was invited to join this term. Perhaps it will give him some much needed friend-making skills. Joe really enjoyed participating in the music festival last week and can't wait for next year's festival.
Tom is still having some ups and downs at school. On the days that he seems to do better in the classroom, he does worse outside. We are still waiting on the school counselor to get together with us. We can't move forward until she gives us all the needed reports and forms.
Tom is out of the sling. He has x-rays again tomorrow, with his final (hopefully!) specialist appointment on Monday. He will then have another 6 weeks of reduced activity in order to let the bone continue to heal.
Sam is being a challenge right now. He is trying to assert his way, which isn't going very well. This morning, he refused to make his bed. It is a house rule that it needs to be done. He went back into his room for a short bit, then came out. Sam announced that he couldn't make his bed because it was wet. He'd peed on it last night. Normally, this isn't a big deal. I change the sheets and be done. The problem was I knew that his bed was dry a few minutes earlier. Sure enough, he'd gone into his room, pulled down his pants, and peed on the bed!! All just to avoid making the bed!! Well, he had to strip the sheets and he'll have to help put them on when they finish drying. He will then have to make the bed after the sheets are on! Goodness! I hope he moves out of this phase soon.
Jay is still in Korea. We have no idea when he is going to show back up in Australia. He was supposed to return on the 21st. That got bumped to the 27th, which got bumped until the 1st or 2nd. On Monday, Jay said probably wouldn't be until the 3rd or 4th. A coworker told me last night that I shouldn't hold my breath about him coming home then either.
So, he will come home when he comes home. Until then, we are holding down the fort...sorta...kinda...well, we're trying...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Rambling
I am just ramble about our life.
Sam:
His behavior is off the charts. Bad, with a super capital B. Holy moley! He's stealing, hitting, throwing fits, breaking things, rude and grumpy. Not my typical Sam. I am hoping that he is growing or something and that this phase will be over quite quickly. I don't like it and I am not real sure how to handle it.
Tom:
He is still hanging out in his sling. We go to a specialist tomorrow, in order to find out if anything else needs to be done. It is looking better now than what it did when he broke it two and a half weeks ago. We did have an x-ray done, but the break looks worse than it did. I have no idea what's going on, but we'll see what the specialist says.
Tom's mid-year report was fairly good, with only minor problems in his social interaction. I was quite pleased with it. Then we had a sit down talk with his teacher, and she is much much more concerned about his social behavior. I was quite surprised. Tom can strike up a conversation and make friends with any kid on the playground. He allows them to control the play and I have never seen a problem with other kids (not counting his brothers.) His teacher paints a different story though. Tom is too silly in class. He bothers and disrupts the other kids to the point that they avoid him. Many of Tom's behaviors are way over the top. She has requested that the counselor come evaulate him. Yea...
Joe:
Joe is doing quite a lot better at school lately. We have set up a system with his teacher. His teacher writes in a behavior book, 3 times a day, 5 days a week. The days is split up into morning, mid-day and afternoon. Joe's teacher writes about Joe's behavior for each session. If Joe gets good notes every session for three days in a row, he earns a new chapter book. This system works well and seems to be motivating him a lot. Joe's mid-year report was pretty much what we expected. Joe does great work, when he wants to do the work. Joe listens to the teacher, if he feels like listening. Joe is good at writing, if he's in the right mood. His teacher is really happy with the progress that he has made, but his social skills are still at the bottom. His teacher has worked quite a bit to stop a lot of the bullying, but it still happens. Of course, part of the problem is that Joe reacts and gets really upset about minor things. At soccer, all the boys were joking and joshing around and there was some name calling going on. I don't know what names were being called, but Joe was getting and giving. Then, a boy called him something that upset him (he won't say what) and pretty soon, he stalked off and was bawling. This doesn't help at all. Then the boys start calling him baby. It's hard to watch your child go through that, and I try to give him strategies to cope. It doesn't always work though.
Weather
It rained hard for 6 days. We were soaked, the ground was saturated, and we all missed the sun. Now, a week later, it feels like late spring, though we have a whole month of winter left. I think the hardest thing about moving back to the States will be the weather. How can we go from a winter with days on the beach to a cold, gray, slushy mess?
With nice sunny days comes bright clear nights.
Part of being out where we are is that we don't have a lot of light pollution. It's awesome! I love being able to see the Milky Way.
Me
Lacey and I have finished the first two stages of dog obedience training. This Sunday starts stage three. We will have to test out of stage three before moving on. It will be more intense and will require more work. Lacey is also starting to do basic "find" excerises. We hide a toy and she seeks it out. She does well at it. Later this month, we will be skipping a day of dog training in order to go to a tracking trial. We need to learn how to track and the easiest way to learn is to go watch a trial. There is a trial on the 7th and the 21st. Since the 7th is the first day of stage 3, we will have to wait until the 21st to go to the trial. I wish that more of these things took place during the week, when the kids are at school and I have idle time on my hands.
I am taking a photography class starting on the 15th. It is supposed to be all about digital SLR cameras. I am excited for the six weeks of this course, but a little bummed that it only takes place on Monday evenings. It means that I will have something on Monday, Tuesday and Jay has something on Wednesday.
Friends
I am still trying to find "my crowd", but I think that I am making progress. One of the biggest problems is that I am done having children and many friends are just getting ready to have another. It's two very different stages when your youngest is getting ready to start school full time and their youngest is a tiny baby. I have managed to make a few friends who are at the same stage as myself, so we'll see how it goes. I discovered on Saturday that a lady I know scrapbooks! This is a big deal to me as I haven't found any locals that scrapbook. I have met ladies in Sydney, but that's a ways away. Anyway, this lady is the mom of one of Joe's soccer teammates and is also one of the teachers at Sam's preschool. (Gotta love small towns!) She is the mom of four boys (though her youngest is 7). We are planning to scrapbook together soon.
Sam:
His behavior is off the charts. Bad, with a super capital B. Holy moley! He's stealing, hitting, throwing fits, breaking things, rude and grumpy. Not my typical Sam. I am hoping that he is growing or something and that this phase will be over quite quickly. I don't like it and I am not real sure how to handle it.
Tom:
He is still hanging out in his sling. We go to a specialist tomorrow, in order to find out if anything else needs to be done. It is looking better now than what it did when he broke it two and a half weeks ago. We did have an x-ray done, but the break looks worse than it did. I have no idea what's going on, but we'll see what the specialist says.
Tom's mid-year report was fairly good, with only minor problems in his social interaction. I was quite pleased with it. Then we had a sit down talk with his teacher, and she is much much more concerned about his social behavior. I was quite surprised. Tom can strike up a conversation and make friends with any kid on the playground. He allows them to control the play and I have never seen a problem with other kids (not counting his brothers.) His teacher paints a different story though. Tom is too silly in class. He bothers and disrupts the other kids to the point that they avoid him. Many of Tom's behaviors are way over the top. She has requested that the counselor come evaulate him. Yea...
Joe:
Joe is doing quite a lot better at school lately. We have set up a system with his teacher. His teacher writes in a behavior book, 3 times a day, 5 days a week. The days is split up into morning, mid-day and afternoon. Joe's teacher writes about Joe's behavior for each session. If Joe gets good notes every session for three days in a row, he earns a new chapter book. This system works well and seems to be motivating him a lot. Joe's mid-year report was pretty much what we expected. Joe does great work, when he wants to do the work. Joe listens to the teacher, if he feels like listening. Joe is good at writing, if he's in the right mood. His teacher is really happy with the progress that he has made, but his social skills are still at the bottom. His teacher has worked quite a bit to stop a lot of the bullying, but it still happens. Of course, part of the problem is that Joe reacts and gets really upset about minor things. At soccer, all the boys were joking and joshing around and there was some name calling going on. I don't know what names were being called, but Joe was getting and giving. Then, a boy called him something that upset him (he won't say what) and pretty soon, he stalked off and was bawling. This doesn't help at all. Then the boys start calling him baby. It's hard to watch your child go through that, and I try to give him strategies to cope. It doesn't always work though.
It rained hard for 6 days. We were soaked, the ground was saturated, and we all missed the sun. Now, a week later, it feels like late spring, though we have a whole month of winter left. I think the hardest thing about moving back to the States will be the weather. How can we go from a winter with days on the beach to a cold, gray, slushy mess?
With nice sunny days comes bright clear nights.
Me
Lacey and I have finished the first two stages of dog obedience training. This Sunday starts stage three. We will have to test out of stage three before moving on. It will be more intense and will require more work. Lacey is also starting to do basic "find" excerises. We hide a toy and she seeks it out. She does well at it. Later this month, we will be skipping a day of dog training in order to go to a tracking trial. We need to learn how to track and the easiest way to learn is to go watch a trial. There is a trial on the 7th and the 21st. Since the 7th is the first day of stage 3, we will have to wait until the 21st to go to the trial. I wish that more of these things took place during the week, when the kids are at school and I have idle time on my hands.
I am taking a photography class starting on the 15th. It is supposed to be all about digital SLR cameras. I am excited for the six weeks of this course, but a little bummed that it only takes place on Monday evenings. It means that I will have something on Monday, Tuesday and Jay has something on Wednesday.
Friends
I am still trying to find "my crowd", but I think that I am making progress. One of the biggest problems is that I am done having children and many friends are just getting ready to have another. It's two very different stages when your youngest is getting ready to start school full time and their youngest is a tiny baby. I have managed to make a few friends who are at the same stage as myself, so we'll see how it goes. I discovered on Saturday that a lady I know scrapbooks! This is a big deal to me as I haven't found any locals that scrapbook. I have met ladies in Sydney, but that's a ways away. Anyway, this lady is the mom of one of Joe's soccer teammates and is also one of the teachers at Sam's preschool. (Gotta love small towns!) She is the mom of four boys (though her youngest is 7). We are planning to scrapbook together soon.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Theft
On Thursday, I found Sam playing on the couch with this.
Me: Where did you get that?
Sam: It's mine.
Me: Where did it come from?
Samm: I found it in my room.
Me: Try again.
Sam: I found it outside.
Me: Where did you get it?
Sam: I found it in my room...no outside...It's mine.
Me: Did you take it from somewhere?
Sam: (shrug)
Me: Where did you take it from?
Sam: I don't know.
Me: Did you take it from playgroup?
Sam: No
Me: Did you take it from school?
Sam: (long pause, then very quietly) yes
So, Sam stole these bits of plastic from school. I've never seen them before and I have no idea what they are. On Friday, we spoke to the director of the pre-school. He would not say that he took them. He told the director that they accidently came home with him. She did prompt him, and he did finally say that he took them. They are bits from a large construction set. After Sam apologized, she and I talked a bit.
This is the first time that he has taken something bigger from somewhere. He has stolen toys, markers, books, etc. from his older brothers and from me. He has stolen hair bands and paper clips from preschool before, but this was the first bigger thing from school. I have a feeling that it is just a start. We talk about how stealing is wrong and taking things is wrong, but he just can't seem to understand that he shouldn't take things that don't belong to him.I am not sure how to get him to stop taking things. He doesn't seem to feel much remorse about stealing it in the first place though. Sigh.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Devilish Charm
Today he stole a pair of Joe's scissors and cut one of Joe's brand new books.
Someone else in the house has been a bit distructive lately.
Plus Sam and Lacey are two of a kind...
A kookaburra has replaced the magpie as the resident bird of the deck. For the first several visits, we'd all point, look, and comment. It doesn't matter that kookaburras are quite common (and sometimes annoyingly loud) around here.
We've a very nice winter so far. My parents enjoyed their visit, and we had good weather almost the entire time. In fact, the weather for the whole winter has been much better than last year, less rain and warmer days. The weather is supposed to get colder and wetter later this week though.
In case you haven't heard...
The kids will head back to school tomorrow. They've been off for just over two weeks. I am certainly ready for things to get back to normal a bit around here.
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