Math

dys·cal·cu·li·a

/ˌdiskalˈkyo͞olēə/

noun

PSYCHIATRY

1. severe difficulty in making arithmetical calculations, as a result of brain disorder.

Do you have a child who has severe difficulty with math concepts? This includes time, money, and all things you normally think of as "mathematics."

We have one. But I have hope!

She's 14 now, and this year we are going to tackle the Alpha set of Math-U-See. Yes, fourteen. Up until now nothing has stuck in that pretty head. But, as I said before, I have hope!

Math-U-See utilizes this set of blocks, along with some other manipulatives that were very helpful to my redhead (Bryan didn't need them).

I am hopeful that we will get to move into Beta before the summer's over, which deals with addition and subtraction of multiple digit numerals.

Uh-Oh. I don't think he meant it.

Last night, John looked at my new yarn and said, 

"What?  Where did that come from?

How is that different from all of that over there?" 

Well, it is COTTON.  And it's the same size as the other yarn, but it's COTTON.  

Which makes it special. 

Then I started hunting up crochet memes, and found this.  

I told John that this guy doesn't mind all the yarn.  

He asked who the guy is, but I don't know. 

I just know that he's a movie star, 

but I don't know what he's been in, 

except a bunch of funny memes. 

So we found some more funny stuff. 

...

...

Then I found this, which is exactly what I told John I'd like to do in our dining room, 

and smoosh the table over to the corner to use the new seating.  

And move the overhead light fixture.

And then put Mom and Dad's hutch in the (very small) dining room when it gets here, because it would fit if we did what Ryan Gosling said (again, I don't even know what he acts in).

Resistance is Futile...Except in Art Class

Luci is taking an art class in Huntsville this month.  Thursdays for an hour.  I sit outside the classroom and listen to the hub-bub inside.

Luci has learned about colors, shades, tints, complementary colors and secondary and tertiary colors (although she probably could not tell you what a secondary or tertiary color is).

Here is today's lesson--Color Wash Over a Wax Resist, Using Complementary Colors (if I use capital letters, it sounds more School-y)

Teaching Reading

I guess it's not a surprise to any of you that our daughter has taken longer than most to learn how to read.  We've tried everything (well, I have), going through quite a few curricula. (That's the plural of curriculum--see here.  Who knew?  Not me, until now.)  We are now using Level 1 of All About Reading and it seems to be working.  Maybe it's working because Luci is just ready for it now.

Dyslexia is one of the struggles we've diagnosed, which was rather apparent today in the switching of "d" and "b" throughout.  That is a classic sign.  Until a few months ago, entire words were moving on Luci and she could not sound out even the easiest of words.  I am so thankful she is overcoming some of this!  Her brain has developed more, I suppose, and is able to comprehend.  The other struggle is Auditory Processing Disorder, which is closely related to dyslexia.  Dyslexia covers so much, that it is all intertwined and quite a puzzle to figure out in this little girl.

Today Luci had her LPS (Littlest Pet Shop) characters reading.  She set them up in a "classroom" and had them come up two-by-two to read each line.  They got a little crazy and I had to have them start over a few times!  This method works well with Luci.  If we had more children at this stage, it would be quite crazy trying to "get it all in," but with one, it is not too vexing for the mama.

Four LPS characters were stuck behind at their desks, taking tests, according to Luci.

Back to School Ice Cream Social

Our church prays for each student and teacher, and all the support personnel as the new school year begins.  This has been a tradition for several years.  Different men, involved in schools somehow, take turns praying for preschoolers, elementary kids, junior high and high school kids, college kids, and all those who work with them.

John was given the assignment last night to pray for the homeschoolers.  As "principal" of our school here at our house, he was qualified as a school leader and prayed for the small group of homeschoolers at our church.

At the end, we have an ice cream social!  Or, as the preacher put it, "Let's get these kids sugared up for school in the morning!"  (paraphrased, but that's pretty close to what Bro. Frank said!)

Luci with Rachel.  I told Luci to "sit still!" and this is what I got.

 Betty scooping up her homemade ice cream.  It was great!

Luci looking too grown up in her mod dress.

Luci with Lyric

JT even stood still for me!

And the happy (?) JT with Bryan this morning, on the first day of a new college year.  JT's taking a dual-enrollment course, which means he is still in high school and the course counts for both college and high school.  Pretty neat!  Bryan is ready for his new year of study, or maybe he's just fooling his mama. 

I think it's pretty nice that they both still pose for me.

Here is the very first time Bryan posed for me:  His very first day of Kindergarten in 1997:

and now he's almost as tall as that hutch! 

Sometimes, at least one of my children needs a reminder that I am a real teacher (okay, sometimes I need that reminder, too!):

Notice that it says it does not expire--it is a teaching certificate for life.  Texas quit giving those out not long after I got this.  So thankful to have it!

Santa's Village

Field trip yesterday...I felt so guilty for being able to do this with my youngest as the community in Connecticut had a nightmare unfolding in their midst. 


We went to Santa's Village in Huntsville's Constitution Village.  Everything was Santa-fied.  It was a lovely trip, and Luci lapped up all the Christmassy goodness.  She is such a total believer in Santa. 

Here goes:

 Group shot #1

 Group shot #2

 Santa's blacksmith

 The candy-making room

 Learning about customs in different countries...when Candy, our docent, told about Mistletoe in England, Luci said (very loudly), "Oooh, Disgustin'!"

 Making gingerbread cookies...this was a germy craft.  The kids were told to roll their dough up into a ball for the next group of kids.  Can you say, "Influenza?"

 It's always fun to watch a group of young homeschoolers get into a line.  Not something we practice at The Willingham Academy for Exceptional Children.

 Still sitting in a W.  That's something we were supposed to train her out of years ago...I thought we did, but here she is practicing again.

 Mrs. Santa reading I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell.

 Group shot #6 (there were others I left out, for your enjoyment).

 Finished a cute craft.

 Group shot #7...

 and #8.

 Reindeer!

And we have a Winner!!

JT participated on a BEST Robotics team this year.   The teams from different schools get a set of materials and have to build a robot to complete certain tasks.  JT went to training to learn CAD drawing with SolidWorks, a form of CAD that lets you draw in 3-D.  JT was in a group of homeschool students.

Well...JT did so well with his drawings that he earned third place with this competition!  There were eighteen teams participating.  I am so proud of JT, and so happy for him.

John was one of the adult mentors with JT's group.  Which means he showed up at the first meeting and ta-dah! he was signed up.  :) 

 JT's team out on the floor.  The object was to have the robot climb the metal pole and deposit balls into the plastic container at the top.  There were also 2-liter bottles that were to be moved from the top to the ground.  JT is not in this photo, but later on in the competition he did drive the robot and got two balls moved into the container.  I'm sure John went wild watching JT!  Unfortunately, the robot's arm locked and knocked the balls out.   Luci and I missed it--we were there for part of the morning and JT worked in the afternoon. 

There was a huge, noisy crowd.

Did I mention it was NOISY?

Creekside Technology's booth.  (JT's homeschool group)  The team also won first place for their t-shirt design and second place for marketing.  Great group of kids!

Some participants really got into the "robot" and "space" theme.

A good luck hug before competing.  This is my favorite picture.  Luci is stingy with her hugs!

First Day of School

Yes, we began school earlier than the public and private schools around here.  We also got out of school last year a whole month before they did, so this starting date makes sense.

Annual shot of the schoolkids in front of the hutch:

Hey!  Where's Luci?  Move over, JT!

And, since JT feels like he's incarcerated every school day, we have the mug shot:

Look at my babies in the school photo from 2007:   JT has grown so much!  So has Luci.  I love that each child has their signs either backwards or upside down; in Luci's case, also in front of her face!  So cute.

Something I tolerate in our school room:  Passing Notes in Class.  Luci makes a "nest" below the table to do her school work.  She wrote a love note to JT.  :)

Which Song Comes to Mind?

John is helping JT with his final project for the year, after our study of Human Anatomy:

The Visible Man.

As they worked on the skeleton, and inserting the brain, this refrain from The Wizard of Oz kept going through my mind...

If I only had a brain!

JT's GPA for his first year of high school is 3.44.  Way to go, JT!

From the Heart

Yesterday was a Day of Awful Proportions.

Not a Happy Homeschool Day, that's for sure.

We had one who was reacting to some scents he had been exposed to, and one who thought noon was just an idea, since he rarely sees it with his eyes open.

So.

After supper I spent a great deal of time convincing (convincing is "Susan-ese" for talking extremely loudly) the boys to clean their rooms.  They did, but they were not happy about it.

After that melee, I took my Kindle Fire and went to my own bedroom and had a nice, quiet time.  Until Rock Band exploded in the living room!  Wowzer!  All three kids, getting along, and playing nicely!  Nice and LOUD.

Since this was a rare occasion, I took a photo.

The music went on for several hours.  Luci found some sunglasses, a wig and a cool hat.

And it's going on again, tonight!  It is NOISY.

And NICE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight I was figuring out JT's grades (he did well this year!) and putting them into our online reporting program.  Since the dates of JT's birthday and Bryan's birthday are so similar, I had JT come check to make sure I got it correct. 

This discussion brought Luci...who has studied right along with JT and his anatomy classes this year...

Mama, when is my birthday?

October 26!  The best day of the year!

I wasn't born in your tummy.  I was born in your heart.  And believe me, it is not pretty in there!

from Apologia Science text