So I realized it’s been a while (what’s new) and decided to get on here and post (with a little nudging from Dan), and Maya starts growling. Yup, growling. She’s playing with this little blue plastic toy, and she’s growling at it. And now she’s laughing. It’s amazing how entertaining toddlers can be, to themselves and others.
It’s the middle of January, and I realize we haven’t updated since before Christmas, so I guess that’s a good place as any to start. Christmas went well. The kids loved their gifts. Grandpa Jay’s presents stole the show, and are in active use today. Jaydn rides his scooter everywhere, even in the house (much to my irritation!) . Rowan has run through about 8 sets of batteries on her dance piano. Shirley’s MP3 player has done the same. Ari’s bike isn’t quite in use yet. It was missing a few parts that Dan has to pick up so she can ride it safely, but Maya’s wagon gets used every day. It has become Ari and Maya’s primary mode of transportation on my morning walk with the children to school. That is, when it’s not too cold for them to go.
Yes, I just said too cold! It’s been beautiful lately. A few days ago I left for my walk with frost (!) on the ground. It’s been warming up again, and rained all last night. It’s cool, and gloomy, and overcast out right now, which is such a nice change from the constant sunshine. Yes, I admit I am weird, what else is new?
Rowan’s birthday was last week and Jaydn’s birth is in a little over a week. Rowan got a pair of ruby slippers for her birthday. She’d been asking for them for months, so she was very happy. It’s hard to believe she’s 7 already! Birthdays cement just how fast time passes, and it seems like every year it goes by a little bit faster. Jaydn will be 9. He’s growing into such a handsome young man.
My pregnancy is going well. Baby is getting bigger by the day, and I already feel huge. He seems to be a night owl, because that is when he’s most active. He’s big enough now that when he kicks you can see my tummy jump and roll. It’s kind of weirdly entertaining to watch. I expect he’ll be another gargantuan football player like Jaydn. I’m past the half-way point so we’re on the “official” count down, not that means much since I’m always late. You’d think someone would figure out to include a calendar in there.
Despite me calling him a he, we don’t know his gender yet, and we wont be finding out. But as with the others I’m pretty darn certain this one’s a boy. We’ve been given a *ton* of baby girl stuff (bedding, clothing, etc) so that kind of cements it for me he’s a he.
We’ve been throwing names around, but nothing we’re totally in love with yet. I’m determined to have a name picked out before he gets here. I’d like to avoid the last-minute renaming that we did with Maya (although I am glad we did). She is a much better Maya than Kytheria *grin*. I still like the name Kytheria, but that’s a hard one to give to a kid. We have enough people asking how to pronounce Arienne, I expect Kytheria would be even worse. What we’re really short on are male family names. We have a tradition with the kids so far, that each one gets a family name. Vicki sent me some the other day, but the mores the merrier! We need all the help we can get.
On the whole the kids are doing well. We’re having a few problems with the school this year, mostly with the administration, but a bit with the teachers as well, and we’re seriously looking at pulling them out to home school. Shirley has been complaining for months that she’s bored, and her homework has only been reading for just as long. With her speech and reading/writing delays, she shouldn’t be complaining about boredom and reading the same books Rowan is. She really needs to be challenged to get up to grade level, and it doesn’t look like that is happening. Jaydn who started out the year strong, and excelling in math has started complaining that everything is too easy as well. I kind of expect it from Jaydn, after all this is his second time through 2nd grade, but I don’t expect it from Shirley. Rowan has complained everything was too easy from the start.
The only reason we haven’t pulled them already is me. It’s a huge responsibility to take over the kids education. I know I can teach myself, but can I teach them? The school doesn’t seem to be doing it, and that really bothers me. Education is so important in todays world. I just don’t want them to fall through the cracks. I’ve known some wickedly smart home schooled adults though. I know it can be done. So I’ve been looking into it. Right now I’m lost in the sea of curriculum. Specifically curriculum with the price tag of *free*. Dan and I just can’t afford an expensive curriculum right now. Fortunately there seems to be an abundance available on the internet and through local groups. It’s just a matter of figuring out where to start. So far I’ve been told that depends entirely on my kids. We were going to join a public virtual school (online public school), but they don’t have any space left for this school year.
Now before you start in on the whole socialization thing, don’t. Joining a homeschooling group has got to be a better quality of socialization than what the kids are currently getting at school. I can understand having to learn to deal with negative people, opinions, and situations, but some of these are downright abusive, and nothing is being done about it.
So that’s where we are right now.
