Monday, August 7, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Home School 2017/18
For the 2017/18 school year and after very careful consideration, Craig and I have decided to home school Ella as a third grader. Our school year started officially on July 10 and we are so excited to have logged over 60 hours of instruction already - 900 are required by the State of Ohio for any given school year. Ella will be working with both Craig and me as well as with a certified intervention specialist who will come to our home for four to six hours a week. Our beloved Ms. Rie, who is a Montessori certified educator, will take Ella on field trips at least twice a month.
We work daily on math, spelling, writing, reading and PE. We work in units for art, music, science and social studies. We have already completed our social studies unit on the Pledge of Allegiance and are now focusing on science with patterns in the sky and the solar system, culminating on August 21 with the solar eclipse. Health and safety are easy and enjoyable to teach at home - Ella made banana bread for her first lesson in this content area.
So far, the flexibility of home school is wonderful as we have already had two field trips, can easily incorporate neurological re-organization therapy into our day, and can tailor our lessons to Ella's academic strengths and weaknesses as well as to real life happenings, such as the solar eclipse. Home school allows us to meet Ella's sensory, social and emotional needs, minimize distractions, work at just the right pace, and give Ella time to continue bonding and attaching.
Wish us luck as we venture down this road for the first time and feel free to let me know of any great resources you might come across for our third grade home schooler.
We work daily on math, spelling, writing, reading and PE. We work in units for art, music, science and social studies. We have already completed our social studies unit on the Pledge of Allegiance and are now focusing on science with patterns in the sky and the solar system, culminating on August 21 with the solar eclipse. Health and safety are easy and enjoyable to teach at home - Ella made banana bread for her first lesson in this content area.
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| Ella working on her spelling |
So far, the flexibility of home school is wonderful as we have already had two field trips, can easily incorporate neurological re-organization therapy into our day, and can tailor our lessons to Ella's academic strengths and weaknesses as well as to real life happenings, such as the solar eclipse. Home school allows us to meet Ella's sensory, social and emotional needs, minimize distractions, work at just the right pace, and give Ella time to continue bonding and attaching.
Wish us luck as we venture down this road for the first time and feel free to let me know of any great resources you might come across for our third grade home schooler.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Take Your Child To Work Day
Our eldest had so much fun today at Take Your Child To Work Day. P&G does a great job with these events and there were eight hours of solid programming for the kids, including science experiments with an infrared camera and with diapers, pottery painting, obstacle courses and stretching, and a carnival at the end. To make her parents proud, Ella won the toilet toss.
Throw in some spaghetti and meatballs and icecream and quality father daughter time along with animated conversation after coming home and you've had yourself a good day.
Throw in some spaghetti and meatballs and icecream and quality father daughter time along with animated conversation after coming home and you've had yourself a good day.
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Medical Trauma and Progress
There's no doubt in my mind that Emilia experienced some medical trauma during her time in Bulgaria. She was frequently sick and in medical isolation and underwent regular heart check-ups. Later, after joining our family, she had open heart surgery which magnified her fears of doctors, medical equipment and hospital settings by a million. Therefore, the last few years have been tough for Emilia in terms of medical appointments.
However, last week Emilia surprised us by staying perfectly calm during her annual pediatric check-up with our wonderful family doctor. She did not cry or cover her eyes and ears or ask for all finished, even when the doctor was taking her blood pressure and looking in her ears - her least favorites. Craig and I were so proud of her and praised her for days.
Then today, we had a scheduled dental check up. On the drive there, Emilia kept saying, "First dentist, then home" and I continued to affirm it for her. When we arrived at the office, instead of clenching her teeth, refusing to lie down and crying and screaming, Emilia asked for "no lie down, sit daddy's lap" and then proceeded to cooperate with the entire exam and cleaning. I was holding back the tears watching her.
And when she was finished, she was overjoyed and super proud of herself, jumping up and down... as am I, minus the jumping.
However, last week Emilia surprised us by staying perfectly calm during her annual pediatric check-up with our wonderful family doctor. She did not cry or cover her eyes and ears or ask for all finished, even when the doctor was taking her blood pressure and looking in her ears - her least favorites. Craig and I were so proud of her and praised her for days.
Then today, we had a scheduled dental check up. On the drive there, Emilia kept saying, "First dentist, then home" and I continued to affirm it for her. When we arrived at the office, instead of clenching her teeth, refusing to lie down and crying and screaming, Emilia asked for "no lie down, sit daddy's lap" and then proceeded to cooperate with the entire exam and cleaning. I was holding back the tears watching her.
And when she was finished, she was overjoyed and super proud of herself, jumping up and down... as am I, minus the jumping.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Our European Adventure June 2 - June 4
June 2 - We arrived in Armenia in the wee hours of the morning and were so glad to see the familiar face of our driver who had assisted us during the adoption process at the airport. He took us to our apartment for a few hours of rest and after breakfast we headed to Rex's former orphanage for a visit with another friend from our adoptions as our translator.
After lunch, we set off on the two hour trek north to Gyumri to visit Ella's former orphanage as well as her friend Lilit who is now at an older child facility. Ella was welcomed back like a celebrity and given great access to see where she used to live and she had a wonderful time with her friend.
June 3 - Venturing south of Yerevan for over two hours to a beautiful part of the country we had never been, we visited Ella's birth family in their home town. We were about 30 mins from Azerbaijan at that point and maybe five hours from the border pass to Iran. Crazy to picture us on the map there.
We were warmly welcomed by Ella's birth parents and siblings who had a whole day planned for us, including an Armenian barbecue and a visit to the cave at Areni and to Novarank. We also got to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
June 4 - After a morning walk to the Cascades (Craig made it up the steps in 3 mins 29 secs- just 14 seconds slower than his 2011 time), we had breakfast with a friend and shopped at the Vernissage market.
Later, we met up with Rex's and Ella's birth families at the Yerevan Children's Railroad for a fun afternoon. It's been over three years since we first met Rex's Armenian family and it was a joyous reunion. His birth parents and grandparents were so impressed with his progress and happy to hear about all of his new accomplishments and adventures.
We ended the wonderful day with lamajun and shwarma and peach juice and CCCP icecream - a feast.
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| The very spot where the love was sealed between Craig and Rex in 2010 |
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| Rex in the hallway leading to his group room |
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| Rex at his favorite perch by the changing table: 2010 and 2017 |
After lunch, we set off on the two hour trek north to Gyumri to visit Ella's former orphanage as well as her friend Lilit who is now at an older child facility. Ella was welcomed back like a celebrity and given great access to see where she used to live and she had a wonderful time with her friend.
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| Ella with her favorite caretaker Naira and with Satenik |
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| Ella next to the bed in which she slept for years |
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| Friends reunite |
June 3 - Venturing south of Yerevan for over two hours to a beautiful part of the country we had never been, we visited Ella's birth family in their home town. We were about 30 mins from Azerbaijan at that point and maybe five hours from the border pass to Iran. Crazy to picture us on the map there.
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| We had wonderful views of Mt. Ararat along much of the way |
We were warmly welcomed by Ella's birth parents and siblings who had a whole day planned for us, including an Armenian barbecue and a visit to the cave at Areni and to Novarank. We also got to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
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| Ella and her birth mother and brothers picking delicious cherries in the family's garden |
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| Ella's birth father cooked a big Armenian BBQ for us |
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| Rex pigging out on lavash - #notGF |
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| The cave at Areni - this is where the famous shoe was found |
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| Novarank may be the most beautiful place I have visited in Armenia |
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| Our big group of 15 lit candles at Novarank and then Ella decided to put all of the candles together as one - telling, isn't it? |
June 4 - After a morning walk to the Cascades (Craig made it up the steps in 3 mins 29 secs- just 14 seconds slower than his 2011 time), we had breakfast with a friend and shopped at the Vernissage market.
Later, we met up with Rex's and Ella's birth families at the Yerevan Children's Railroad for a fun afternoon. It's been over three years since we first met Rex's Armenian family and it was a joyous reunion. His birth parents and grandparents were so impressed with his progress and happy to hear about all of his new accomplishments and adventures.
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| Rex and his Armenian mom on the rollercoaster |
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| Ella and her Armenian mom on the rollercoaster |
We ended the wonderful day with lamajun and shwarma and peach juice and CCCP icecream - a feast.
Friday, July 7, 2017
The Cat In The Hat
The Children's Theater of Cincinnati put on a sensory-friendly performance of The Cat in the Hat tonight and we were there with bells on. I am so pleased with the ever-increasing inclusion our city offers to residents with medical and developmental challenges.
And to paraphrase Dr. Seuss who was not writing about kids with special needs, but it applies nonetheless to our children (minus the whole box thing because we really don't keep them locked up):
"In this box are three things I will show to you now.
You will like these three things,”
Said the Cat with a bow.
“I will pick up the hook. You will see something new.
Three things.
And I call them Thing One, Three and Two.
These things will not bite you.
They want to have fun.
Then, out of the box came Thing Two, Three and One!”
And to paraphrase Dr. Seuss who was not writing about kids with special needs, but it applies nonetheless to our children (minus the whole box thing because we really don't keep them locked up):
"In this box are three things I will show to you now.
You will like these three things,”
Said the Cat with a bow.
“I will pick up the hook. You will see something new.
Three things.
And I call them Thing One, Three and Two.
These things will not bite you.
They want to have fun.
Then, out of the box came Thing Two, Three and One!”
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