The Reader

There was a point in time a few years ago when I thought none of my children would share my love of reading and literature, but guess what?!  Well, let me back up.

When Big Girl joined our family, she was six.  She had some, but not all skills that would commonly be considered for Kindergarten readiness in this country.  She was eager to be enrolled into the half day K program at our local public school, so we made the decision to try it out.  K was a relative success and Big Girl managed her way through first grade as well.  Being an English Language Learner was a hurdle, but at the end of first grade she was only slightly behind with her reading skills compared to the average peer.

Enter second grade with homework, increased academic and social demands, and a less than ideal fit with the main classroom teacher's methods.  Big Girl quickly fell behind and an IEP was instated.  And still, she became immensely frustrated with nearly every aspect of school.  Our home life suffered as a consequence giving us, at the end of each day, only the worst of our child.  In April of that school year during a parent teacher conference we were informed that her educators did not expect Big Girl to pass the state mandated Third Grade Reading Guarantee test.  But we were not to worry because no matter what, she would be moved into fourth grade no questions asked.

Considering all of the above and more, we decided to home school Big Girl for third grade.  We didn't worry about tests or the curriculum and went back to the basics.  In terms of reading, Big Girl had missed out on the years where children hear stories read or told to them, so that's where we focused.  During third grade, we read about 300 books with roughly 30-40 pages each and lots of illustrations.  She read, I read, we looked at the pictures, we made up our own stories, we found connections between different books, we researched things that had sparked our interest... and at the end of the school year Big Girl passed the Reading Guarantee.

Big Girl is now in 8th grade.  At the end of the last school year she passed the state reading and math tests without having spent any amount of time on targeted preparation.  At the start of this school year, her IEP changed from one that focused on catching her up to grade level (she's caught up) to one that seeks to further improve cognitive processes to make it easier for her to attain her goals.

And more importantly Big Girl now loves to read for fun.  She gets antsy when she's gotten through her stack of library books and we're not sure when we can pick up more.  She carries a novel "just in case" when we're out and about.  My mornings often start with an excited recap of her bedtime reading.  And she suggests her favorite books to others.  Every Christmas, she gives her BFF a copy of her most favorite read of the ending year.

Here are her recommendations so far from her 2023 literary adventures.

January 2023 Home School

This home school month has felt really productive as we worked with the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

Little One: phases of the moon, the 5 senses, Lunar New Year, winter crafts

Middle Kiddo: phases of the moon, bowling, winter crafts

We seized every mild day to get out for walks and into parks and stopped by the library a couple of times to boot.

We also used this month to make a decision about some changes for Middle Kiddo's academic services and will be starting with a new plan in February.  In the short term the transition may bring some challenges in our child's home school adventures, but we hope that long-term we're going to see good things happening.

Happy Thoughts

Here are a few things that have made me happy lately.

During a mid-year evaluation of the ballet program that Little One and Middle Kiddo participate in, the children had a chance to add comments to the evaluation sheets.  Little One wrote, "I am Billy Elliot."  Enough said.

Since Middle Kiddo does occasionally wander to places or people he likes, we have a safety plan in effect with one of the neighborhood families whose property seems to be of special interest.  It was wonderful to see the safety plan perfectly executed by said neighbors one night with nothing but patience, understanding and kindness.

I was so pleased when our family doctor at a recent routine visit referred to our child as neuro-divergent and encouraged us to make a medical decision based on what achievements may be possible in our child's future rather than the opposite.

Even though it maxed us out on sweets for a while, receiving four plates/boxes of homemade treats from neighbors the week of Christmas reminded us that we are part of a great community here on our little lane.

Little One often does well when she receives information in writing.  So, these messages silently and gently passed from a trusted, long-time therapist to Little One were just perfect.

Those Old Plates

Kids, here's a story for you.  And it's not a story about homemade lemon poppyseed muffins for Sunday brunch.  It's a story about the plate the muffin is sitting on.

When your dad and I were in college, we rarely had extra money.  But one summer we were going to live in an apartment in West Virginia so your dad could complete an internship at a power plant.  We had an air mattress and some bedding which basically sums it up as to our useful household possessions at that point.

Out of obvious necessity we bought a set of dishes, 16 pieces, off the clearance shelf at K-Mart.  It cost four dollars.  We felt like kings having found this treasure and we gave no concern to style or color.

To this day, we have some of the dishes from the original set of 16 in our kitchen cabinet.  And every time I use of one them, I think back to a different era in our lives, a magical adventurous time where so much was still ahead of us and we knew that together we could take it on.  So perhaps to you it's just an ugly old plate, but to me it's a memory and a promise of things to come.

December 2022 Home School

I learned in my first year of home schooling three children (2020) that no one in this family is well served by a challenging home school curriculum in this particular month.  So, we always plan December with few academic demands and lots of connective and regulating activities.  We had a book for the month, but it was a bust, so I won't mention the title.

This month's home school adventures included many hikes at local parks, making cinnamon ornaments, various seasonal crafts, a trip to the driving range for Middle Kiddo and a short, live holiday concert for Little One.  We read aloud books and sang carols.  Social skills were practiced at holiday gatherings and in the community.  

And lots of free play!  Like independently creating a harp from household items and performing a Christmas angel concert.

Christmas 2022

When you have an exquisitely sensitive child with vulnerable mental health who loves the holidays, you have to be very intentional with how you thrive or survive through the season.  We carefully and gently paced ourselves through the month, seeking a balance between meaningful special events and a lot of no pressure downtime at home as well as outdoors when the weather permitted.

Week 1 November 28- December 4

A visit and party with a Sensitive Santa and decorating the tree at home

Week 2 December 5 - 11

St. Nick's Day at home and a performance of Hot Chocolate at the Aronoff

Week 3 December 12 - 18

Lights in the Woods (a Christmas walk with friends) and a holiday open house with extended Ohio family 

Week 4 December 19-25

Our traditional Christmas Eve picnic on the living room floor and a quiet Christmas Day with just the five of us at home - Santa couldn't have made her any happier than he did with this record player

Week 5 December 26- January 1

Christmas/birthday/New Year's combo gathering with our Indiana family and a mini icecream social with our cousins who live one street over

IAC Results 562-569

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 562 held on October 7, 2022:

1) Spanish dossier from November 2014 referred a male child aged 7 years and 1 month

2) US dossier from December 2019 referred a make child aged 2 years and 4 months with features in health status

3) Canadian dossier from February 2020 referred a male child aged 3 years and 4 months with features in health status and a family history

4) Maltese dossier from July 2021 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 563 held on October 14, 2022:

1) US dossier from November 2021 referred a female child aged 1 year and 10 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from February 2022 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status and a family history

3) Italian dossier from September 2022 referred a female child aged 10 years and 10 months with a family history

4) Italian dossier from October 2022 referred a brother and sister aged 6 years and 8 months & 9 years with a family history

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 564 held on October 28, 2022:

1) Spanish dossier from April 2015 referred a female child aged 9 years and 7 months with features in health status

2) Italian dossier from September 2016 referred brothers aged 2 years and 10 months & 4 years and 10 months

3) Canadian dossier from April 2017 referred a brother and sister aged 3 years and 1 month & 4 years and 1 month

4) Italian dossier from December 2020 referred a male child aged 11 years and 6 months, clinically healthy

5) US dossier from March 2021 referred a female child aged 1 year and 5 months with features in health status and a family history

6) US dossier from October 2022 referred an identified waiting child

7) US dossier from October 2022 referred an identified waiting child

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 565 held on November 11, 2022:

1) Italian dossier from July 2022 referred a female child aged 10 years and 11 months with features in health status and a family history

2) US dossier from November 2022 referred an identified waiting child

3) US dossier from November 2022 referred an identified waiting child

4) Italian dossier from November 2022 referred an identified waiting child

5) US dossier from November 2022 referred an identified waiting child

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 566 held on November 18, 2022:

1) Spanish dossier from November 2013 referred a male child aged 7 years and 6 months with features in health status

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 567 held on November 25, 2022:

1) Italian dossier from August 2015 referred a male child aged 3 years and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

2) Canadian dossier from September 2019 referred a female child aged 5 years and 1 month with features in health status

3) Italian dossier from April 2021 referred a female child aged 12 years and 6 months with features in health status and a family history

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 568 held on December 2, 2022:

1) French dossier from December 2014 referred a female child aged 9 years and 8 months with features in health status

2) Luxembourg dossier from June 2022 referred a brother and sister aged 4 years and 9 months & 3 years and 8 months, part of a larger sibling group that must remain in contact

3) Canadian dossier from July 2022 referred a female child aged 1 year and 6 months with features in health status

4) Luxembourg dossier from October 2022 referred twin sisters aged 7 years and 6 months, part of a larger sibling group that must remain in contact

5) US dossier from November 2022 referred an identified waiting child

 The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 569 held on December 9, 2022:

1) Italian dossier from November 2015 referred brothers aged 6 years and 3 months & 7 years and 5 months

2) Italian dossier from August 2020 referred a brother and sister aged 4 years and 3 months & 6 years and 8 months, part of a larger sibling group that must remain in contact

3) Italian dossier from August 2022 referred brothers aged 9 years and 1 month & 5 years and 7 months, part of a larger sibling group that must remain in contact

4) Canadian dossier from September 2022 referred a female child aged 6 years and 11 months with features in health status and a family history

5) US dossier from December 2022 referred an identified waiting child

6) US dossier from December 2022 referred an identified waiting child

7) US dossier from December 2022 referred an identified waiting child