Ug At and Op!

In the on going efforts to help Lissa's reading continue to blossom I have found a nice set of easy read books at the library. We get out one a week. The majority of the words in the book focus on word families.  Like 90 per cent will be words that use op in last weeks literary masterpiece..  As in hop, mop, top plop etc.  When we finish the book, I have been making simple board and card  games that keep the words in use for her.

It seems to be working pretty well.  I am still a bit concerned that retaining words is clearly much harder for her than it is for any of my other children, except for Fiona.  It is this facet of her learning abilities that has prompted me to have as many ways as possible to use/play with the words that we learn. Remembering the sounds of letters is still hard for her sometimes.  I have   verbal mini games I do for that too.

I have yet to find a good way to learn the more traditional sight words.  They typically are less phonetic and are harder for her to retain. But we are making progress and what we are doing she feel really good about.  Despite how challenging reading is for her, she has a very thirsty mind. She is very good at math and able to do things with numbers that surprise me.  I know too that reading readiness and mastery is most typically on a continuim.  Although our society pretty much expects full reading capability by 6, studies have shown that many children are not ready to read till later than 6.  And Lissa only turned 6 2 months ago.

As with all my kids, I fret over anything like this.  Does she have a learning disability that I should be looking into more closely?  Is this a legacy of the substances   that she was exposed to daily in utero?  Am I doing the best possible thing working on this with her myself or should I be turning to professionals?  And as usual, I can only say, I. don't. know.

I do know that at my core, I believe she is learning.  And that in a more traditional learning environment, her self esteem could well be at risk.  Here I have been able to protect that self esteem, to ensure that she remembers the things she is good at.  And that I also believe that in large part, people blossom in their own time.  I call it the Leo the Late Bloomer syndrome.  It is my favorite Leo Leonni book.

Happy Birthday!

 In addition to the big 29 inch dropping snow storm of yesterday, it was also my wife's birthday.  She considered the blizzard a birthday gift, lest anyone be feeling badly for her.  She is a weather junkie extraordinaire AND it also ensured the day off so we were all together the whole day.  Because she loves to eat Chinese food on her birthday, we chose a Chinese New Year theme this year.  Above are the placemats the kids made.  According to google that is the kangi for love.

 Party favors with pencils artfully arranged to look like chopsticks in faux take out boxes. . .

 Goofy older boys ready to chow down on Chinese food and have party fun . . .

 Eek!  It's the year of the snake!!! Can you tell which one of my children willingly held a real python at a young age?

My wife showing off her garden ornament , not knowing that KC was making bunny ears behind her.

And the cake the kids helped decorate.  KC and Rob did the painting of the roses, and helped with the "scrollwork" on the sides.  KC put the birthday letters on top.  It was lots of fun.  Now all that lovely snow can melt so we can start garden dreaming in earnest!

We survived Snowmagedden!

The Blizzard was a big storm, but not awful for us at all.  We got about 29 inches, less than my mom in Maine where her little town was mentioned repeatedly on the Weather Channel.  They topped out at 35 inches or so I believe.  But we did not lose power, she did not lose power and over the course of the day we moved the snow.

I was actually lazing around this morning as I knew i could not shop, dance was cancelled and the bank and library were closed.  So I meandered downstairs at 7:20 a.m. (seriously late for us!) and put the tea on. I had plans to do a light breakfast in bed for my wife as today is her birthday but there was a knock on the door. The plow guys from next door needed to have me move my car so that they could plow.  I don't park in our driveway as I own a space next door.  So out I went in boots and my PJs to try and move the car.  they had thoughtfully cleared it off for me, but must have thought my Scion had Hemi power or something.   There was a ton of snow behind the wheels and that poor little hamster powered car wasn't going anywhere. Between the three of us, we eventually got it out and to the side of the road. But it took so much time my wife was up and had gotten her own breakfast. :-)

Over the course of the day, the kids and I shovelled. We did our driveway, behind my car again after the plow went thoughtfully by, and the boys did our elderly neighbors across the street.  The littles "helped" which means they went along throwing snow back into the areas where we had all ready shovelled. But it was fun, despite the wind and the cold.  When we finished our shovelling we celebrated in a truly unique fashion--Rob, KC and even I jumped off the railing from our high back porch into the giant snow piles below.  Yup, we are crazy folk!  Later I'll post pics of K's birthday which was also today.

The storm called Nemo

I think naming snow storms is weird!  Then again, I am not a "weather junkie."  My wife is. Her idea of fun is looking at a United States map of wind patterns.  Um, go ahead, dear!  LOL But if I WAS going to name this storm that is arriving tomorrow, I would name it Hysteria!  Folks are in such a dither that it is silly.  I suppose it is partly because this is coming around the anniversary of the great blizzard of 78.  (sadly I am old enough to remember that one!) And perhaps the fact that we have had a relatively snow free winter is a component as well.  But this is New England.  It snows.   I don't like it all that much but it is a fact of life here. I got the last few items for K's birthday party on Saturday.  She might have it sans Chinese food (unless she will settle for a home made stir fry) if there really is as much snow as they are forecasting.  But we will see.  At any rate, we will have fun. We will all survive. And I will not go to the grocery store to buy their last dozen eggs!

Soulful Sundown

I checked my Facebook tonight and Rob's girl friend had posted this picture of the two of them.  They are such a cute couple--but I am biased !  They are good for each other.  His low key demeanor balances her high energy drive.  It was her second picture that floored me though.  I would have happily posted it but it came out kind of dark.  It was of my son, reading in the evening service at church.

Rob has always hated public speaking and once we got out of the public school arena, I have not forced it.  He has blossomed slowly but steadily over the years, speaking in small groups but always avoiding any large public audience type setting. More typically he participates in other ways--letting his beautiful piano playing impart his feelings, or helping others with tasks in the service. Yet apparently last night at Soulful Sundown he read a long piece of some significance. I had opted not to go back to church for this, even though I really love these twice monthly evening services.  They are more contemporary, the music is a bit different, and the church looks lovely in only candle light.  In true Rob fashion, he didn't brag about it. Didn't mention it.  Came home and watched football with me  instead. I suppose some folks might have been upset by that, but I'm really not. I want my kids to do the things they do for them--not because they think I want them to or because they think that is a way to get my approval.  That he was brave enough to stretch past his comfort zone, because he wanted to, that is exactly what I want.

Sunday Morning Successes!

This morning's experience at church was so great!  It was an intergenerational Sunday morning, meaning the kids stayed in service for the whole time, not breaking out mid way to attend classes.  The focus of the morning was the story of Stone Soup, of all of us giving just a little and something great coming out of it. The story was acted out in an exuberant fashion but the kids as well as adults were also part of the rest of the service.  One of my favorite moments was watching my Rob help a younger boy light our flaming chalice.  Rob has been a "special buddy" to this  young man since his family began coming to church this fall.  I taught the class that this lad is in and he is, um a handful.  I am sure there are myriad issues there but am also sure I am not asking. When you have a kid that is different, you get asked enough.  Parents and kids need a break from that.  However the class also needs to be able to function and what the program director tried doing and which is working wonderfully, is having Rob be a special helper for this little guy.  There is less classroom disruption as a result and Rob's quiet demeanor is a great match.  Also, let's face it.  Rob not only has a tender side that draws young kids to him.  He also has day to day experience from Chet, understanding that we all process the world we live in differently.

After service, we all adjourned to Fellowship Hall where in lieu of the typical coffee and finger desserts, we had our own "stone soup." Everyone had brought a one cup portion of soup ingredients.  Mine was a cup of finely chopped carrots, parsnips and a little frozen corn thrown in as well.  The melange that was created was heavenly.  There was barley, mushrooms, spinach or chard, every veggie you could think of in this pot!  And it was well seasoned and really delish.  With it was fresh bread, a nice salad and lemonade.  A dessert table rounded out the meal.

The hall was packed and my one regret was that I could not really effectively circulate and be as welcoming to newer folks as I would like.  However I had welcomed in a couple of new families at the start of the morning and that will have to do. When there is hot soup being carried around in close quarters, I am hesitant to do much traipsing about.  I suspect this stems from a hot bowl of soup that was dumped accidently down my shoe when I was a kid in school, but I digress . . .

The other thing I am excited about is that gradually but very noticably, our congregation is becoming more colorful.  One of the new families today was a young black  mom with three little kids, her daughter a bit younger than my Lissa.  They had almost the same 'church hair' going on and looked like an easy friendship was developing. Maria and I hit it off well and I hope she returns.  Unitarian Universalism has had a challenge reaching out beyond the realm of the white educated professional, but more and more there is an awareness that we need to be relevent to all. We have I think always been welcoming but there is a difference between welcoming and relevent.

 This is of course of paramount importance to me, as a parent of children of color.  When families of color begin coming, we sort of find each other quickly--it is kind of funny really.  But I love meeting new folks always, and my kids are good ambassadors for the top notch religious ed program that our church provides.  Especially having kids in all aspects of the program at the same time, I can speak to almost any aspect of R.E. with some level of authority.

Dress Shirts and Daffodils

It's one of those crazy Saturdays for us.  I have been fighting a migraine for days now.  Being more than slightly off put by the side effects of migraine meds and more than slightly western medicine resistant, I tend to just tough it out.  Today was a "sunglasses day"  Indoors and outdoors.  My kids know when they see that the level the headache has risen too.  They tend to try to dial it down a notch in the noise department with varying degrees of success.  I don't say too much about the head pain. My mom had chronic health issues when I was growing up (ironically not migraines though!) and  I remember being very fearful of her health.  Worrying for her and about her.  In retrospect I think I knew a bit too much about those things.  I seemed mature, but I was still very much a kid  as well.  The bottom line is, it is my head, my pain, and I don't want my kids worrying about it.

We had fun at dance class today and then later there was the bank, the library and meeting up with a friend whose troop (and daughters) were selling Girl Scout cookies.  I have to tell you that buying Scout cookies is a testament to friendship as I am a scratch cook who avoids store bought cookies like the proverbial plague. But I balance that with the fact that in my past I was also a Scout leader and I know the funds this sell-a-thon brings in does much good for the kids and the troops.

Then it was time to get Rob to his girl friend's house for the afternoon.  Not a day I wanted to drive but absolutely needed to.  I respect the way these 2 young people have handled their relationship thus far.  T is a lovely young woman who is also blessed with a lot of ambition and various interests, all of which are good fodder for Rob to be exposed to. Rob is also a very patient big brother who deserves a few hours when he is just with teens.

While Rob was at her house, I took some of his outgrown dress shirts and dress pants to the local consignment store. Rob is a sharp dresser and in the past few years grew so quickly that such clothes were maybe worn three times max before they were too small.  Unfortunately the store won't accept long sleeved shirts this time of year (Why?  I asked, since Easter is early, people would surely need them)  But rules are rules, so I consigned a portion, "bought" the littles some things they needed with my prior store credit, and will Craigslist the shirts.  Even if I get $5.00 each for them I'll be happy.

At the grocery store this morning I bought 2 little bunches of daffodils.  I love buying these. They come tightly budded and unfurl in just a day or so in the comparative warmth of our home.  However as I was prepping them for the vase I saw that this  years bunches come from Ireland.  I love all things Irish but sheesh, that is too big a carbon footprint for me for a $3.00 bunch of daffodils.  Guess i'll have to wait for the real thing to pop in our garden from here on out.