And the really GREAT part is, guess where the pediatric cardiologist is located? DOWN TOWN. Blech.
So, on the homeschool front, we had a decent week. However, I am not sure that our purposes are being served as they stand. The boys are pretty even when it comes to math. Jude might take a smidge longer if something needs to be google translated, instruction-wise, but once he understands the instructions he does fine for the most part. That being said, he was never taught things like circle, square, triangle....it rears it's head in other subbjects, so there is no getting around it. We have to do some preschool overview to identify and fill in those gaps. I don't think I am moving at a rapid enough pace to keep Owen engaged, and I am not going deep enough to make sure Jude is getting new concepts. This is compounded by the boys' competitiveness. So if we can get in, we are enrolling Owen in a cottage school, two days a week. It still has him home with us more than he would be if he were in a traditional school, and it still has me homeschooling him two to three days a week. But the boys will have different curriculum, so it will be hard to compete head to head there. And I will have two 4 hour blocks of time each week to focus on just preschool type things with Jude. Owen is distraught, and feels punished, and wants me to "send Jude to school instead". However the acceptable options available for Jude right now are nil. So here we are.
On the bonding front, I think things are OK. Not awesome, but OK. Due in part to our expectations, and inexperience at this. On what I believe is a positive note, Jude hit Owen today (as opposed to the other way around). This was positive because a) Owen didn't hit back b) instead he came and told me c) J ude was apologizing profusely, chasing Owen down the hall, trying to shut him up before he told d) Owen decided to give Jude another chance and forgave him. this is progress on a numbber of levels. Jude is usually the provacateur, with Owen reacting wildly. The fact that Jude hit Owen, to me, seems less orchestrated? More normal? Owen usually reacts before he thinks. The fact that he didn't just lash out to what ever provocation that Jude dishes out is a step toward self-control. Then there is the implied understanding that we apologize for wrong-doing (even if it is just an attempt to save our own skin) exhibited by Jude's willingness to apologize without prompting. Lastly, Owen's willingness to be "kind" and forgive, as opposed to wanting retribution is a HUGE stepforward.
Jude's English is coming along. In the past two weeks he has started with at least three-word original sentences (not catch phrases). I think it is a relief to him to be able to communicate, because the boy is a talker. I know it is a relief for me. An example of one of his sentences is," Mama, tan I ask Daddy.....shoes......Power Ranger....RED?" Translation: can I ask Daddy if I can have some red Power ranger tennis shoes? I am not sure, but I assume that I often pawn off things I don't want to make a call on, onto Jim. ("Can i play a video game?" " wait until Daddy gets home and ask him.") I can't think of any other reason Jude would think that Jim would be involved in clothes/shoe shopping. :) Owen's language on the other hand has taken a nosedive. He hardly strings two words together anymore without performing some kind of charade or sound effect, even though Jude doesn't need a lot of that now. He was trying to get Jude to say 'Captain America' and he said," you know. Like Captain Hangzhou, only it's America."......yeah. Figure that out.
Ow en's birthday is Monday. Since Jim works all day, followed by class that night, we opted to celebrate on Sunday. Owen already got a portion of his birthday gift, in the form of a ridiculously expensive Darth Vader alarm clock. Therefore the remaining funds allotted to his birthday went toward a Star Wars beach towel (his request), and an Iron Man mask.
We have FOUR loose teeth at out house. F.O.U.R. Owen's two bottom teeth are mildly loose, and have been for some time, but that boy has absolutely not a drop of the Thompson I-will-pick-any-blemish-or-scab-until-I-hemorrhage blood in his veins! He leaves mosquito bites alone. He leaves itchy eczema alone. And he has left those two teeth alone for 6 months, until last week. Last week, Jude was eating his favorite corn on the cob, when Jim asked me if I noticed how he was trying to use the side teeth to eat? This was a new development, as we eat corn on the cob AT LEAST once a week now, and he hasn't done this before. I asked if his teeth hurt, and he gave me this sheepish nod and pointed to his lateral incisors. Both of them. Since I have plenty of the afore mentioned Thompson blood, I stuck my fingers in there and gave them a brisk wiggle. Sure enough, they were loose. Owen then launches into a convoluted charade that vaguely resembles the story line to the movie Rise of the Guardians. When he got to the part about the tooth fairy and money, Jude perked right up! I have no idea what he thinks about our bizarre custom of leaving teeth under the pillow, not hey! Money is money! And our boy likes his money. He likes to keep and count his money as well. He is not afraid to spend it on something he really wants, but he weighs it against how much he will have left, and then usually opts for a less expensive item. Oh, if only that would rub off on Owen, who can't keep a quarter without nagging to find a gum all machine!
And as a bonus, we have NO doctor appointments this week! Yeah!
Elizabeth - I read this post and know exactly what you mean about the "holes" in their education and trying to teach two different levels. FWIW, we use a video curriculum (BJU Press) for Math, English, and Reading to keep the girls moving forward during the morning while I work with each individually. The math assumes that we may have just brought them from public school and goes over all concepts (like recognizing shapes, etc) in each level. My older kids skip that stuff, but my newbies need it - especially British measurement, etc. The BJU Press Reading 1 class is Composition, Phonics, Handwriting, and Reading - all in one video - and the Composition in particular helped my girls with their English and figuring out sentences, etc. After they complete that, I move them on to English 2. My 12 year old thought the Phonics was particularly worthwhile - despite her age. If you need help, they're terrific programs! I laughed about your "driving downtown" rant, haha! I do the same thing since our medical appointments take us into the city and out of the suburbs. I feel more comfortable in my local digs. Great pics - and loved the update! Your boys are precious!!
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