Parent-teacher conference

We had our first school-wide parent/teacher conference day this past week.  I went into it feeling pretty good, since H has brought all of her grades up to C, B, and even a few As.
So I was pretty shocked when the teacher told me H is not adjusting to 5th grade.
Her comments mainly seemed to center around the fact that H does not catch much from verbal instruction.  And most of a classroom is verbal instruction.  Her comment, which I thought was very accurate, was that H's mind is like a carosel, turning roung and round.  She only catches what is said when the carosel of her mind is turned forward, which is seldom.
In the end, I was actually okay with the situation.  We know H does not listen well.  That is why we have started the Integrated Listening.  And while the teacher is comparing H to the students around her, and seeing how far behind she is, we are comparing her to where she was 2 years ago and seeing how far she has come!
So I am still hopeful.  We are continuing what we were doing, and at the same time telling H to make sure she completes her math and writes neater (two additional complaints the teacher had).
I will keep you up to date.
Chelle

School again-good news!

H. is doing well at school!  She has brought all of her grades up to a A or B with the exception of spelling, where she has (barely) a C.  She is doing much better about writing down her assignments and completing her assignments, though I have to stay on top of her about that.  She is still having trouble following verbal instruction at school, and still gets bored easily (maybe because she isn't understanding most things?).  Because of this we are starting the Integrated Listening system which her therapist recommended.  It was pricey, but it has the complete program which is about 2 years worth of therapy.  And it isn't too hard.  She listens to a program for an hour a day, and spends 15 minutes of that hour doing some exercises (one of which is a balance board, which she LOVES) and some time getting a massage.  Other than that we just have to tell her she can't wrestle with her brothers while having this expensive equipment attached to her :-)
I'll keep you updated as to whether it seems to have any affect.  One of the frustrating things about this and similar programs is it is hard to find reviews on them that aren't company sponsered.  Maybe this blog will help.
'Chelle

Relief

I met with the substitute teacher, and she seems wonderful.  She is very willing to work with us, and  has been very helpful this week keeping me up to date at what H is not doing at school.  Most of it seems to be not filling in the work required.  I have to wonder how much of this is distraction and how much of this is laziness, since H hates to write.  I think we need to start up the writing therapy again.

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