It was just such a cute photo that I had to include them all in one post. Going to separate them, though, in the post.
Elf
Elf went to special-needs preschool and did well in kindergarten. He had a lot of extra help in kindergarten, though, that wasn't provided when he reached first grade. When he became a first-grader, it became necessary to do most of the schoolwork at home in addition to sending him to school each weekday. It was so much work to teach him at home AND send him for a couple hours each day (of course not during the same time Emperor was at school; that would be too convenient) AND be ready for those phone calls each day ... that when we finally made the decision to homeschool Elf, it was actually WAY LESS WORK. And, I have to add, that I enjoy teaching little Elfie at home. He's decided that he likes school and is ready to learn every weekday. Sure, it gets a little old to homeschool through July and August, but we have a lot of fun together.
Emperor
Emperor made it into special-needs preschool because he wouldn't do the test. Well, he meant to, but as he walked over to start he went, "OH, FIRETRUCK!" and jumped over to look. Then he jumped back and did part of the test, but launched into a monologue about "other things that are blue" in the middle of a timed matching test. Which means he flunked, thus qualifying him. The teachers and others mostly really liked him. He'd remember everyone's name and a few things about them, but he is a bit... energetic, so people who don't like rambunctious children really don't like him much at all. In fact, those people just despise the kid, but he didn't pick up on that very well. In kindergarten, after the first two suspensions in the first two weeks for silly things like splashing water in the bathroom and not standing properly on line, we pulled him out to homeschool him as well.
I can't say homeschooling these guys is always easy, or that they're "socialized" properly. Yep, they're a little odd. We're working on things, though.
J
Currently, J has been refusing to speak and throwing more tantrums. We've been trying to get him to bounce on his big ball and helping him with massaging his head and arms, etc., but he's having a hard time. We'll try to incorporate more "sensory" things this week and try to get him to make eye contact. The pictures I post are *extremely* deceptive, as the child rarely looks you right in the eye. It's been very hard.
I'm not going to do a post on educating baby S just yet as she pretty well is educating herself. She thinks we're all pretty funny.
That is a darling pic. Yes its a continual balance and continual juggling act to keep abreast of developements in our kids. Hopefully in the long run it will all pan out and we will raise ourselves some great little people!
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm not overstepping the mark here, when I say this: education and socialisation are not the be-all and end-all. We all want our kids to 'fit in' to mainstream society, however some kids just don't! And that's ok. What is important is that they have a healthy self-esteem and a 'can-do' attitude, a positive outlook. Your kids are physically healthy, adorable, individual little guys, and you so clearly want the best for them that I honestly think they will be 'ok'! If all kids were loved as much as yours, I don't think we'd all be so hung up on stuff that doesn't really matter much! Please, please don't take this as any form of criticism- far from it. I acknowledge and validate your fears and concerns. I just so admire what you are doing for your kids. I guess I'm just trying to give you some unbiased, positive feedback!! Please try to take it in that spirit.
ReplyDeleteMrs. D, I can see you doing that in Tink alllll the time. :]
ReplyDeleteTracey, I know what you're saying and I appreciate it. I'm just going to admit up front that I can't be a perfect teacher AND magically socialize my kids at the same time. We took the children out of public school because we felt *overall* it would be better for them to be home. But I acknowledge that with the special needs in the family, the boys are missing out on some socialization. (Unfortunately, I consider locking Elf up constantly to more than make up for the "positives" we found in public ed.)