Roadbump

We have had a month of 5th grade at this point.  Things started out rocky.  H was missing assignments, wasn't studying, and in general was failing everything but math by week 2.  However then I met with the teacher and explained how H does not understand verbal instructions well.  We talked about what was expected, and I was able to pass that along to H after we got home.  Things improved significantly after that, with Bs on tests and mostly passing homework (she forgot to turn in a few assignments and got a zero).  But now the worst thing possible has happened.  Due to tragic circumstances, her teacher is out for a while and H has a substitute.  We ran into this back in 2nd grade.  No matter how hard they try (and I think substitutes are saints to attempt what they do) substitutes cannot run the class the same way as the regular teacher.  And H only does well when she knows what is coming up and what is expected.  Again, she does not take verbal instructions well and therefore doesn't handle a change in the schedule very well.  This past week has been a disaster.  According to H she hasn't had any written assignments, reading was skipped twice, and math skipped once.  And I cannot contact the sub by email or phone to double check any of this.  I sincerely wish we had gone ahead with the integrated listening program during the summer.  We will definately  do it next summer, if not sooner!!!
My plan as of this point is to meet with the sub tomorrow after school to find out what is happening.  And then I think I need to start calling some of the parents to check on some of H's claims about not needing to do some types of assignments.

Crafts-part 2

Another project we started this summer was to make a bed for my son.  Since he and the youngest share a room, they are in desperate need of space.  But I really don't like loft beds or bunk beds.  Both are hard to make and hard to get onto if you need to lay down with a child due to a nightmare.  So we decided to get a bed that was high enough to put under it his BIG container of duplos as well as several of the large imaginex toy sets he has.  But we couldn't find anything that was just right.  So we went to anawhite.com and modified one of her plans to make this bed.  It is high enough to put his toys underneath it, but low enough that he doesn't need a stool to get up or rails to keep him safe.

Before we ever tried this though, I wanted to see if I could actually build something.  I started with the doll farmhouse bed from Ana White.

I was pleased with how it came out, so I tried a birdhouse for my son's scout project:

This made me realize I cannot just make things without a plan.  It is functional, but just barely.  The birds shunned it for the longest time (I think they only used it after all other possible nest building sites were taken).

However the bedside table I made for the youngest one turned out pretty well.

So with all of that experimentation done, I tackled the big bed.  It took about two weeks, start to finish.  It only cost about $125, which I was thrilled with.  And when I was sick of the precision wood building demands (I prefer hobbies where I can make mistakes and still recover, like crochet or cooking), I made H some things to hang in her door (she previously had some plastic kite tails there):

This was ALOT easier to do and alot more relaxing.  I just did a little bit here and there, as I had time and energy.

Since school is about to start again, I think I will stick with small, easy to do projects for a while.  My son needs a bedside table for his big bed, H is asking for another stuffed animal, and she needs a simple desk for her room.  That should keep me busy for a while.

I hope your summer was fun too!

'Chelle

Crafts-part 1

We have had a wonderful summer.  We ended up not doing the Integrated Listening therapy, due to financial reasons.  But H has still done well.  She does get wild if she gets sugar, but that is about it.  We have also been doing some homework, and she seems to remember her school skills.  I am hopeful for next year, but a bit anxious as well.  I am planning on meeting with her teacher (once I know who he/she is) and explaining H to her.  I am praying for a good year.


Off the topic of H: I wanted to show off some of the projects I have done in the past year.  I learned how to crochet about a year and a half ago.  This was done to combat the frustration and boredom of having to sit next to H for hours to keep her on track with her homework every night.  Here are some of the projects I have made: amigurumi animals for the kids, a scarf, a purse, and several amigurumi pokemon for H.

Finishing up

Today is the last day of 4th grade for H.  We met with her teacher last week.  H is going  on to 5th grade, and even better, made all As and Bs the last quarter.
I feel like we are almost done with our journey through ADHD.  We are still going to do auditory exercises for H to help her in that area, and are still going to keep her on a low sugar diet.  But overall she is now behaving like a normal child.  At the end of the year her teacher and classmates all said that the words that describes H best are joy and love.  She has such a joy of life, is a joy to be with, and loves almost everyone.  This is such a huge contrast to the child she became while on ADHD medicine.  I can't tell you how thankful I am to God that we found this therapy, how thankful I am for H's therapist, and how thankful I am for H's teacher who supported us in our journey to help H without medication.
Since we are basically done with this ADHD journey, this blog will now morph into a more normal one.  From time to time I am sure I will give you an update on H, but mostly I will be blogging about any fun recipes or projects I do.  I hope you enjoy it!
'Chelle

Gluten free German Chocolate Cake

This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz's german chocolate cake recipe.  It is so moist, so delicious!  The best chocolate cake I have ever had.  Next time I might decrease the amount of sugar by 1/4 C though.  We don't tend to go for really sweet stuff.  I didn't use David's recipe for coconut filling, mostly because I was out of cream.  So I used the recipe in Crazy about Cupcakes for coconut filling, and everyone loved it. 

German Chocolate Cake
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
6T water
8oz butter, unsalted
1C sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 C each of oat flour, tapioca flour, rice flour and buckwheat flour
1/4 C flax meal
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1C yogurt
1 t vanilla
4 egg whites and 1/4 C sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour (I used cocoa powder) two 9 inch round cake pans.
Melt the chocolate and water together.  Let cool.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light yellow and fluffy.  Add in chocolate and then the egg yolks.
Mix the flours, flax, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.  Mix in the chocolate and the yogurt/vanilla in batches until smooth.
Beat the egg whites and sugar until double volume.  Fold into the batter.  Pour batter into cake pans and bake 45 minutes.

Coconut Filling:
one can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 C coconut
1 C chopped nuts (we used walnuts)

Combine the milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a saucepan.  Stir constantly over medium heat until thickened and golden brown (this took forever).
Toast the coconut and nuts in a 350 degree oven.  Mix in with cooled carmelized mixture.

Chocolate Icing:
8 oz chocolate bittersweet
2T corn syrup
1 1/4 oz butter
2/3 C cream

Combine the chocolate, corn syrup, butter in a bowl.  Heat the cream until boiling, then pour it over the chocolate mix.  Let it sit one minute, then stir until smooth.

To put together:
On top of one cake layer spread the coconut filling.  Place other cake over it.  Spread the rest of the coconut filling on the top.  Spread the icing around the sides.
You won't regret making this cake!
Chelle

A first!

Wow, we had a breakthrough today!  H actually realized that I had missed an item when packing up her backpack for school.  This has never happened before.  I can hardly believe how much more mature she is!
That said, I think the only thing left to really work on is her auditory short term memory.  When doing the word recall list, she can still only get 5 words consistantly; sometimes 6.  That is WAY below age level, and we can't seem to move up.  I think we will just keep doing the same exercises for this last month of school, and then during the summer try something new.
We also had her birthday party recently, and I made a gluten-free german chocolate cake that came out delicious!  Better than any german chocolate cake I have had before.  I will try to post the recipe soon.
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring!
Chelle

Back again

I'm sorry I have been gone so long.  There were several reasons: we had received information about H that I wanted to see which way it would go (more below), my several part-time jobs collided and I was extremely stressed for a while, and my kids were driving me crazy (probably due to the preceding problem).
Anyway, what happened with H was that her teacher met with us to tell us that H was not doing 4th grade work and would have to repeat 4th grade unless she started doing better.  By better, she meant that H needed to write in complete sentences, write in pencil, not crayon or marker, and fill in the whole worksheet, not just the first 3 questions.  I couldn't argue with her.  And I decided that if she said H needed to stay behind a year, we would do it.
The problem was that I wasn't sure if H was not doing the work because of inability to focus or because of laziness.  Her therapist thought it might be both.  To counter the latter, we started doing writing exercises as part of the therapy; to help with the former we continued the oral memory work.  The therapist suggested we use Integrated listening systems, which we still might do.  However the price is a bit more than we can afford just yet.
Part of what started me thinking that it was laziness was a comment H made about not wanting to work as hard for things she found boring.  So for the next few weeks we continued to talk about having to put forth just as much effort in the boring, tedious stuff as in the interesting, fun stuff.  She acted like that was a concept she had never thought of before.  Go figure!  H was also very motivated by the thought of not staying with her friends in 5th grade.
All that was a month ago.
I just heard from her teacher a few days ago.  H has made significant improvements, to the point that "we don't have to worry about her" anymore.  Thank God!  She will make it to 5th grade.  I was very proud of her.
Of course she still has to continue doing good work in ALL areas, not just fun ones.  And we are still continuing the therapy exercises.  But there is now a light at the end of the tunnel!  I can't believe we have made it this far!
'Chelle