Homeschool Update

Dear Kiddos, 

It's been about a month since we've started homeschooling and I'm happy to report that it's going quite well. More about this later, but last Monday, we all went to the orthodontist. Nathan, you were there to get your palate expander put in and then the girls, you both were there to get your jaws also assessed by the ortho and she suggested that I take you both to see the ENT. 

Waiting at the ENT office

Fast forward to this Monday when I took just you girls to the ENT and he basically said that we needed to see how you both are sleeping at night. Both of you snore on your backs, but when sleeping on your sides, you are pretty quiet sleepers. Apparently kids should be completely silent when they are sleeping. Hailey, you demonstrated really quickly to the doctor when you screamed and kicked as he attempted to look into your ears. You have always been a very wiggly sleeper, and that is also a sign that someone is not breathing well when they are sleeping. I am also thinking that there is a correlation between sleep quality and your crazy tantrums. 

At this point, I think we will probably go ahead with surgery for Hailey, but not for Hannah. 

Ok, let's go back to last Monday. Nathan got his palate expanders put in and will have to keep them in for about 6 months. We need to turn the appliance each night for 16 nights. You were sore for the first few days, but it seems like it doesn't bother you much anymore. 

After the appointment, we stopped by a duck pond to feed the ducks. Hailey, you had watched a show and expressed to me once that you wanted to do it, so we did. I read that bread was actually not a nutrient dense material to feed the ducks and that oatmeal was a better alternative, so we brought oatmeal and compared to previous times, it's just a fact, bread is tastier than dried oatmeal: even the ducks know it. 

I thought Hailey, you would freak out when the herd of ducks started waddling our way, but you were not. You cautiously stood around me, but you didn't freak out. So, feeding ducks was our field trip for the week last week. 

Homeschooling is pretty lax, almost too lax. You guys whiz through your lessons pretty quickly and so we have lots of time to do other things. Too bad we are stuck at home! It actually just finally hit me last week when I realized that we've been stuck at home for almost 6 months! I grieved for all of the experiences that you guys are missing. I grieved for missing and not being able to see our friends and family. (Thankfully we were able to see Auntie Momo and play with some neighborhood friends). Up until then, I was pretty ok with the situation, but for some reason I just felt like I'm done with it all. I imagine we are all in the same boat. I pray that our leaders would just have the gumption to tighten the belt, nip things in the bud so that we can all go back to more normalcy soon. The conflicted messages that we've been receiving from the people in charge has been disheartening. Our roller derby association had a better return to play plan in July than what we have in our city. Anyways, I'm just ranting now, but I'm just over all of this. 

We are trying to come up with things to keep us busy. Hannah, you still love crafts, and drawing. You have also been eager to help out in the kitchen. Whenever I start to cook dinner, and you are home (because sometimes you are next door), you will wander into the kitchen and ask, can I help? I gladly accept because it's now something that we get to do together.  

Hailey, you still love to cut things up. I really have to be vigilant about making sure your brother and sister don't leave scissors laying around. Luckily, you will usually come and ask if you can cut something up. 

We have been enjoying our science time with another family for the time being. It's been nice to have another friend to learn with. They are going to be doing virtual school when it begins in a week, but we will enjoy our time with them for now. This past week, we learned about physical properties. 

Spelling and language arts for Hannah is exactly where it needs to be. Nathan's spelling list is mostly pretty easy, with a few tricky words that pose a challenge for you, this is a good thing. The Language Arts curriculum that we use is faith based, so we are able to incorporate some bible stories and verses in the lessons. 

Nathan, you are starting to learn typing on the computer. You are getting frustrated with the game that I found, so I'm going to have to either find another program for you to use, or we can wait another year or so before you start trying again. 

For math, Nathan, you are doing a lot of mental 2-3 digit addition and subtraction of 2 or 3 numbers. These problems usually come in the form of puzzles, so it encourages a lot of mental math, which you are so good at! The word problems are also pretty tricky because they usually give you more information than you need, so you are learning to slow down and read carefully. 

Hannah, you are currently learning to add and subtract 2 digit numbers and also learning about number families and getting better acquainted with them. For an activity, we created a balance and had to balance both sides with various snacks. This helped you understand the concept of an equation, which is what addition and subtraction problems basically are. 

Hailey, you are learning your shapes, colors and sizes in both English and Chinese. One day as I was cooking dinner, you pulled me over, asked me to get the nesting dolls down and you climbed on the table to play with them independently. 

You then called me over and pointed out, "big," "medium," and "small" for the magnatiles and the nesting dolls. You did this yourself! No prompting or anything! 

For P.E. you big kids have been doing martial arts M-Th in preparation for your belt test this week. For music, we've been dancing, playing a Michael Jackson dancing game on the Wii, and Nathan' you've been practicing your piano daily. Once a week, Hannah, you and I are working through a music theory book. 

For art we made toilet paper sculptures! Hailey, you continue to love and want all things purple. You painted a purple octopus.  

Nathan and Hannah, you both were able to complete the entire project by yourself. 

Some days we can go the entire day, staying at home, lounging in our PJs. Some days, we are more productive, some days not. When depressing thoughts try to creep into my head, I resort to prayer and thoughts of Thanksgiving to get me past the hump. There is hope and light at the end of the tunnel. 

Another thought that hit me the other day happened when I was just sitting on the stairs and observing each of you interact with each other. I suddenly realized that I had a toddler, a first grader and 2nd grader: totally mini, small, little people who I feel like I see as more mature than they actually are. I've recently realized that I have the same expectations from you 3, who are almost 3, newly 6 and almost 8, as the 14 and 15 year old students that I used to teach! This past week, I've lowered my expectations and I'm really starting to see all 3 of you differently, in a good way. It's hard for me to explain, but I think by lowering my expectations, we are able to connect more intimately. 

Perhaps my high expectations are causing Nathan to be a "rule follower" and Hannah to grind your teeth. But I am trying to undo the damage by explicitly reiterating, I don't like what you just did, but it's ok that you made a mistake, because you are a kid and you are supposed to make mistakes. (Instead of just yelling at them and blaming them, which was what I grew up with). 

You three see the best and worst of me. I think there's a lesson to be learned from that, I'm just not sure what that is yet, but I think I'm getting close to figuring it out. 

Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy (AKA "Baby" by Hailey sometimes who is "Mommy")