tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28524586648756608092024-02-07T01:28:19.081-05:00We're All Mad HereHomeschooling Hatters:
The Adventures of a Gifted, Asynchronous, Eclectic, Homeschooling FamilyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-21368387218638887562015-08-24T10:00:00.000-04:002015-08-24T10:00:00.905-04:00Review! Gifted, Bullied, Resilient: A Brief Guide for Smart Families by Pamela Price<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7PolF5dOQp48AA6CzmjgatReCEOdXamSMK6DI3HHaM6kjIzSpzemm-uy5XctrgpLsipRLN8_n6y2MwtXhWNA03lK3ZtTWPjARSDvNm2CuPqhK_J0vScq_khwP2eBYdN-lbmXHcFCgVc/s1600/GBR+Front+Cover+Only+RGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7PolF5dOQp48AA6CzmjgatReCEOdXamSMK6DI3HHaM6kjIzSpzemm-uy5XctrgpLsipRLN8_n6y2MwtXhWNA03lK3ZtTWPjARSDvNm2CuPqhK_J0vScq_khwP2eBYdN-lbmXHcFCgVc/s320/GBR+Front+Cover+Only+RGB.jpg" width="218" /></a>The first thing to say is that I did receive a copy of this book for review purposes. However, given that the author is on my auto-buy list (which means I'd have been buying it as soon as I heard of its release), and the subject matter, it was going to end up in my hands sooner rather than later anyway.<br />
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Now. Given Skeeve's, my, and Mad Natter's struggles with bullying, this was a huge book for me. I've been anxiously awaiting its release for at least the last six to eight months, and that's all I can reasonably remember - it might have been a lot longer. The digital copy arrived in my <br />
inbox this afternoon, and I promptly dropped everything, picked up paper and a pen, and immersed myself in the book. Mad Natter was out playing with the neighborhood kids, I had some time... I'm sad that I finished reading before I started dinner, and only partly because dinner's about half an hour late. Mostly because I want more.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I'm a reader. We all know this. And what I love best is when the books I enjoy continue on. This is why I trend toward series-reading - I finish the book I'm reading, and I may have to wait a while, but there will be more coming down the pike soon enough. Depressingly, this is not the case with this book, though if Pamela decided to write a follow-up that happened to be several hundred pages (I'd say thousand, but let's not scare her too badly!), I'd happily buy that and read it all up, too. <br />
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For further disclosure, Pamela is a friend of mine, a relationship that began when I was fortunate enough to win a seat in one of her <a href="http://redwhiteandgrew.com/homegrown-kids/homeschool101/" target="_blank">Homeschool 101</a> workshops - gosh, over three years ago now. Much like I do with Jen at <a href="http://laughingatchaos.com/" target="_blank">Laughing at Chaos</a>, I tend to feel these friendships are a bit one-sided (after all, what can my impostor-syndrome-suffering-self have to offer these wonderful gifted-advocacy gurus?), but the relationship is there all the same. <br />
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I sought Pamela out all those years ago because I really appreciated what she had to say, as well as how she said it - and that hasn't changed. Her prologue is filled with stories from the gifted community, which, while not identical to my own life, are similar enough to be eerie. Throughout the book, she takes the reader through an overview of what will come, and then goes into more detail. Despite what I'd have loved to see (because I am <i>so</i> not the benchmark reader), this is a slim, nuts-and-bolts, "essentials guide" book, and it covers all the basics. It is helpful and easy to read, without being overwhelming with new information.<br />
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Through the course of the book, we see Pamela's own journey and the context from which this book is brought to us. The pervasive nature of bullying, the complexities of <a href="http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/ghf-press/gifted-cubed/" target="_blank">Gifted Cubed</a>, and how these sorts of things track across generations are all covered, complete with a very interesting story from a woman who was so distressed by the bullying of a clearly gifted child that it stuck with her for decades. Definitely food for thought, and it made me think of the sorts of sociological conventions we're fighting against here, and how difficult this battle really is likely to be.<br />
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In the third chapter, Pamela relates the stories of the gifted community itself. How the crux of the issue itself is in a power imbalance, and how it isn't always kids bullying kids, but that there are teachers and parents who do it as well. The chapter would be spectacularly reaffirming (in a very "we're not alone" sense) and equally depressing, were it not for the closing vignettes of people who handled these sorts of situations incredibly well, thus lending hope to those who may be stuck in the situation now. She then moves on to a quick-and-dirty guide to dealing with bullying. If your child is in school, and is being bullied, these are clear, concise, easy-to-handle steps to take to navigate the situation - which is exactly what someone like me (who is very much a "NUKE IT FROM ORBIT!!!" type person) needs.<br />
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Pamela also covers the aftermath. When are counselors necessary? Can a child <i>really</i> develop PTSD from bullying? What can be done to alleviate the terrible feeling bullying leaves behind? What can be done before bullying starts to help bully-proof your child? Pamela has some great suggestions, and includes the websites and contact information for looking up these precise resources yourself. Even more importantly, she reminds us of the primary thing I am perpetually forgetting - <i>parental</i> self care. You can't look after your child's emotional needs if you haven't looked after your own - just like the air masks on a plane.<br />
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Lest the book close without a mention to homeschoolers, chapter six is dedicated to the myriad places homeschool families are likely to find bullies - and how to try to avoid them if you're thinking of getting involved in the more formal organization of a co-op.<br />
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In the end, this book was informative and succinct. It was exactly what it claimed to be - a slim volume of "what to do" for when you're just getting started, and need help right-this-now. Like I said above, I would be overjoyed if Pamela decided to write an in-depth follow-up to this book, as the need to know more, to learn more, to understand all the things just a little better takes over. Unfortunately, that is exactly the opposite of the niche this book is meant to fill, so if I want that information, I'm going to have to go track it down myself. And you know what? That's okay.<br />
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All in, Pamela took a very large and complex topic, and was able to boil it down to its most basic parts, then take on each part in an easy to read, easy to implement fashion. There are quite a few resources I'm already looking at bringing into the house, and I expect there to be many more as I go through the book on the reread and take in the things I missed the first time around. This is exactly the kind of primer that is needed - long enough to get the information out, and short enough to not alienate those of you who don't like to read lengthy tomes. In short (laughably, after the length of this post!), this book is exactly what it needs to be, and Pamela has done a wonderful job of not only presenting the information, but doing it without losing the easy feel of her writing, and without swamping her audience in the kinds of stories that these conversations bring about. Well done, and I'm still going to be buying the book when it comes out. Just sayin'.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-52616453291992431032015-08-01T00:00:00.000-04:002015-08-01T15:53:14.875-04:00Learning About Giftedness<div class="P1" style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif';">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 11.1999998092651px;">This post contains affiliate links to materials discussed. Purchases via these links help support our family at no additional cost to you. Thank you for choosing to support my little blog. </span><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/p/white-rabbit.html" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 11.1999998092651px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Read my full disclosure statement here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> </span><br />
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I wish I had started blogging long ago, keeping better track of the things I thought were odd. I wish I'd kept tabs on that moment I had the OMG, GIFTED epiphany. It seemed at the time like something I'd remember forever, but now we're three years down the road, and it's all so blurry looking back.</div>
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Slogging through everything I'd ever written anywhere, I finally figured it out. I had realized that Mad Natter was on track to complete the entirety of our local Mooselandia standards for exiting SK (JK being kindy for 4yo, SK being kindy for 5yo) by the time he was four – at the latest. He would have finished their whole kindy curriculum by his fourth birthday, if not sooner. I was confused, and unsure what that said about me, about Mad Natter, about anything. If that meant anything, or if it was supposed to mean anything. A month later, I was in the bookstore picking up a set of BOB Books, trying to keep Mad Natter's interest, hoping and praying that the next set would be a little more fun than Pat sat on the mat. Pat and cat sat on the mat. Cat sat on Pat. Mad Natter was <span class="T1" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0px;">rapidly</span><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> losing interest in BOB books, finding them boring. So, I was hoping to find something, anything, to help keep his interest while he was still sounding out CVC words. This didn't strike me as odd, even though at the time, Mad Natter was a whopping three years old. </span><span class="T3" style="margin: 0px;">Here's what I said at the time:</span></div>
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<span class="T8" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, hirakakupro-w3, osaka, 'ms pgothic', sans-serif; font-size: 9.75pt; margin: 0px;">I went to browse the parenting books, as I'm wont to do. I came across one of those "for dummies" knock-offs, "The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising a Gifted Child." I looked at it. I shrugged. I walked away. I went back. I looked at the back of the book. The first bullet point was "How to determine if your child is gifted." I blinked. We haven't had [Mad Natter] tested, and likely won't. Not because I don't want to know, but because we haven't got the money, and I'm not putting him into school just to test him. So, in this book, I'm about 15 pages in, and it gives me the search terms I needed - "gifted indicator checklist." So, I'm off. I pull up three different checklists, including one from a gifted education center. [Mad Natter] meets a *ridiculous* number of the qualifiers that would point to additional testing. Like, of a list of 25 items, he meets 20 of them, and three of the five he doesn't, I can't make an accurate guess on because I don't have exposure to a ton of other children his age. I think I'm going to ask his teachers to check off a list - see if they see the same things in him that I do. At this point, it appears he may be twice-exceptional - potentially both gifted and sensory-seeking.</span><span class="T6" style="margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">That was my first step on the journey. From there, I found Twitter's #gtchat, and I hesitantly joined in. A couple weeks later, I had my heroes in the world, and I was trawling blogs looking for anything that might look like Mad Natter. I bought </span><span class="T1" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0px;">all the books</span><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">. I am not kidding. There are zero books even peripherally about giftedness on our local bookstore shelves that I don't own. I own some that aren't on those shelves. I bought a book for Hammie and Buppa. We stumbled into the </span><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2015/02/resource-review-5-levels-of-gifted.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Ruf Educational Assessment</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">, and I plunked down our money to run that, too. Three years old, three years before the test/assessment is supposed to be valid, he scored as a “level 3” gifted child. This equates, roughly, to being “extremely gifted” and there being only one or two children like him in any given grade level. Given our socioeconomic conditions, it is very likely he would be the only one (so say-eth the reports, anyhow). I was floored. What do I do with this? How do I manage with this? What does it mean – for Mad Natter, for Skeeve, for me?</span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">It is now three and a half years later. I've got a nearly-seven year old doing fifth grade work with relative ease. Every few months I have an internal meltdown over what we're doing, what we're not doing, all that stuff. But, I have found resources.</span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">First, I found Mrs Warde over at </span><a href="http://sceleratusclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Sceleratus Classical Academy</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">. She walked me through one of my first meltdowns, and we've been thick as thieves ever since. When you find a friend in this community, you stick with them. They're incredibly valuable – not just because it's someone to ping things off of, but you will never find someone who understands better than another parent of a gifted child.</span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Second, I found blogs. Namely, </span><a href="http://www.laughingatchaos.com/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Laughing at Chaos</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">, </span><a href="http://my-little-poppies.com/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">My Little Poppies</span></a><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">, and </span><a href="http://crushingtallpoppies.com/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">Crushing Tall Poppies</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">. </span><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">I'm including </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gtchat" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">#gtchat</span></a><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;"> here as well -</span><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">b</span><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">elieve me, the chats, even when not inherently relevant to your </span><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">immediate situation, are incredibly helpful. Plus, you get to network some more and find more people who are living the same life, and may have advice.</span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Third, I found books. Oh, books, my beloved means of engaging with new information... I wish I had more shelves. The best to date, in my experience, have been “</span><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/10/book-review-everything-parents-guide-to.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising </span></a><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/10/book-review-everything-parents-guide-to.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T4" style="margin: 0px;">a </span></a><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/10/book-review-everything-parents-guide-to.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Gifted Child</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">” which started me on my way, “</span><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/09/book-review-if-this-is-gift-can-i-send.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">If This is a Gift, Can I Send it Back</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">,” which helped me to not feel so alone, and “</span><a href="http://amzn.to/1VS2RIi" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Giftedness 101</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">,” which explains many of the acronyms, </span><span class="T4" style="margin: 0px;">options, and idiosyncrasies of this whole life, and “</span><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/10/resource-review-parents-guide-to-gifted.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T5" style="margin: 0px;">A</span></a><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/10/resource-review-parents-guide-to-gifted.html" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T4" style="margin: 0px;"> Parent's Guide to Gifted Children</span></a><span class="T4" style="margin: 0px;">,” which is a friendly and gentle introduction to what raising these kids may have in store for us – and how to cope with that.</span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Communities. Oh, where would I be without communities? </span><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Hoagies' Gifted</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> is a big one – I prefer the website to the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HoagiesGifted?fref=ts" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Facebook page</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> (this is largely due to Facebook algorithms, and not a reflection on the content!), but Hoagies has a lot of very user friendly, easy to digest information. </span><a href="http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">GHF</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> is my other mainstay. I'd be lost without GHF, honestly. The community there – both on the website and on the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GiftedHomeschoolersForum?fref=ts" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">Facebook page</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> – has a close-knit feel that is very, very strange for a group reaching several hundred thousand people. These sites are free to use, both the Facebook </span><span class="T1" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0px;">and</span><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> the websites, and both offer a huge amount of information and resources. These are my go-to communities, the place where it doesn't matter whether you're gifted poor or not – you're not excluded just because you can't cough up hundreds of dollars to join.</span></div>
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<a href="http://sengifted.org/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">SENG</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> – SENG... I'm lukewarm on SENG. Not because I don't like their definitions, their information, or anything else. I do. But, they're Pay to Play, and I'm poor. Leaves us out most of the time.</span></div>
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<a href="http://abcontario.ca/" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">ABC Ontario</span></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"> – ABC is our local gifted resource site. They are not, technically, for gifted children. It is the Association of Bright Children of Ontario, which means high achievers on upward. They have some good groundwork in place, and I can see a glimmer of what will be a fantastic community one day, so I mostly mention them in case you're somewhat local to me and this may help you connect with others locally.</span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">All in all, this is a journey with no particular end. There are huge amounts to learn, both about your child... and about yourself. The thing to remember, though, is that you are not alone – and if you really feel a connection to anyone in the communities above, reach out. We're a really welcoming group, I promise. We all band together, we all help each other. We're all in this together, even when we're all at different places in our journeys.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.HoagiesGifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_101.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68e84Rk7ZTaUC85MiFP9gMQ0dJq47rl_zJGOVVmy5Bc8OhOwLo6nedT8V0EVxT-JcB_0lWT-RpQKVrs36L4lxMMEJfqkNLQ5fGQ3drNETEGpOd152v5gBaSPO72SLbntPO5O5VWQKppk/s1600/Hoagies+G101.jpg" /></a><span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="T2" style="margin: 0px;">This post has been a part of the Hoagies' Gifted Education blog hop; Gifted 101.<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_101.htm" target="_blank"> Click on through</a> to see more posts on the subject!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-78757338736514820492015-07-22T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-22T10:00:00.883-04:00It's Parenting The Gifted Week!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlCOtNjP1ty2GeV2cVQ-qHyOalAFSITdhMJNLH7HQUkD2qHnTKNfrUGBRqmSRGq3jN7kJ05JdvMB1oXCphDJCRsUVJn99NzqqLAAebOkIplLqU_RJ4YyKKByLSTi7_FZC1-z79Hs2CQw/s1600/poppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlCOtNjP1ty2GeV2cVQ-qHyOalAFSITdhMJNLH7HQUkD2qHnTKNfrUGBRqmSRGq3jN7kJ05JdvMB1oXCphDJCRsUVJn99NzqqLAAebOkIplLqU_RJ4YyKKByLSTi7_FZC1-z79Hs2CQw/s320/poppies.jpg" width="320" /></a>Congratulations, all you wonderful folks raising gifted children, this is Your Week! Jen, from <a href="http://www.laughingatchaos.com/" target="_blank">Laughing at Chaos</a>, is <a href="http://www.laughingatchaos.com/hey-parents-its-your-week-what-do-you-need/" target="_blank">looking for suggestions</a> on what kinds of things parents need - swing by and let her know what would make your life easier. As for me, I have my own take on these things. What would make life easier? Recognition of the gifted poor.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>NAGC views giftedness as achievement. What do you do, what have you accomplished, that you call yourself gifted? Looking at our house, Skeeve in a call center, me a stay-home homeschooling mother, neither of us is gifted at all. We haven't accomplished enough. As a result, our child clearly cannot be gifted, or his parents would be successful as well, and as that is not true, then the conclusion follows.<br />
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SENG views giftedness as wiring. It is a function of who you are, not of what you do. The personalities living in this house are pretty much a dead ringer for three 2E people in one house. Skeeve and I clearly demonstrate this gifted wiring, despite our lack of high-paying careers, and our child demonstrates it as well - making us all quite clearly gifted.<br />
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Great! So we know what organization we're likely to support - the one that supports us, right? Makes sense. But, there's a problem.<br />
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Both organizations have annual conferences and meetings. It's a wonderful opportunity for members of the gifted community - advocates and children alike - to gather in one place, learn a lot, meet each other face-to-face, and build relationships that will carry them through until the next conference. Or, you know, so I hear. Because to put it quite bluntly, we're too poor to attend. We have been completely eliminated from <i>our own representative organizations</i> because we're poor. Who is going to speak for the gifted poor, if the gifted poor aren't able to be present at the meetings where these things are discussed?<br />
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I did a whole bunch of research, hoping I'd be able to meet up with the wonderful advocates I know online at one of these conferences. Running the numbers, and if we're very careful, I could probably manage to attend one conference - ONE - every other year, more likely every third year. I could manage every year, sure, but we couldn't buy any curricula for Mad Natter. We couldn't enroll him in any sports, we couldn't enroll him in any classes. There are several classes he's in now that we've only managed to get him into because Skeeve got a surprise extra week of vacation pay, and we were willing to sacrifice getting parts of the car fixed, and saving money full stop, to get him in. We would have to spend the entirety of our tax return on airfare, and then Skeeve's vacation pay on the conference itself - every year. Needless to say, that's not a very feasible solution.<br />
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That's where the difference in the organizations strolls on in. To attend the NAGC conference, it costs between $570 and $600 USD, depending on when you register. There is no children's programming beyond the first day, and they offer no scholarships. If you can't afford to join the NAGC, you're pretty much hosed. Then add in airfare. And hotel. And food. You're well over $1500 just that one conference week, and if you've brought your child with you, you have to find something to do with them for the duration of the conference - and if you haven't, you need to find something to do with them at home, both options which cost a fair amount <i>more</i> money. I don't know anyone personally who has $1500 kicking around not doing anything, and to be completely honest, if we <i>had</i> that $1500, I strongly suspect it would go to finding newer, more in-depth curricula for Mad Natter, in the hopes that a year's programming might actually last him an entire year (right now, our track record is one year lasting six months, though there have been some instances in which an entire year's worth of material has been completed inside of eight weeks). There is a very prominent reason why I don't have funds around - they go into trying to educate my child.<br />
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Fine. NAGC is likely out. I <i>might</i> be able to wrangle actually being in Phoenix during the conference (we have a friend who might be willing to put us up for the duration), but there's no way we could afford the conference itself. What about SENG? Well, for starters, SENG has built-in children's programming. Yes, it makes up the difference between the cost of the SENG conference versus the NAGC conference, but you're not having to <i>find childcare</i> which would likely run you more than what you're paying in programming + airfare. SENG, for adults, runs about $350 to $425, depending on when you register. The kids programming is $265, full stop. SENG <i>does</i> offer a scholarship for one child and one adult, if you are able to prove financial hardship. However, one of the primary criteria for receiving the scholarship (I was not able to find any information on how many such scholarships are available) is that the applicant be "culturally diverse." Being a Canadian/American citizen is not culturally diverse. Being blindingly white is not culturally diverse. While I absolutely approve of the presence of scholarships for disadvantaged people of color - <i>particularly</i> to a gifted conference! - I am a little saddened that the <i>only</i> scholarships available are for families of color, regardless of the socioeconomic status of the applicant. Mostly, I wish that if there were ten scholarships available, one of them would be for <i>any</i> financially disadvantaged family. Just one. But, such is not the case. As a result, we run into the same problem with SENG as we did with NAGC. There just isn't enough money to go around. We simply cannot afford to participate in the organizations designed to represent us.<br />
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Now, there's some noise that SENG will be traveling to near Hammie and Buppa's house sometime in the next few years. If that is truly the case, we would be able to attend. Or, more specifically, <i>I</i> would be able to attend. Mad Natter would likely spend his time at Hammie and Buppa's instead, leaving me to conference however I like. Until then, though, I'm left to dream. To wonder what it's like to be surrounded by people who really <i>get it, </i> to spend a week learning the very skills and information that might help our family plow forward without screaming at each other, to keep up to date on what may be coming down the pike for Mad Natter, what his educational options are, what they eventually will be, and how to make those things happen for him. To meet the friends who are, right now, words on a screen attached to old videos or clever avatars. To truly feel the support the gifted community has to offer. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-54641560301380789222015-07-20T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-20T10:00:00.056-04:00I'm not allowed to watch TV anymore...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUSixyO0mEPEKhfGOBcafka8hbY0OgRVyD1U5do8RWd8R95-AhBucegMEqBKn_-QQWdTuU2IaL_QY2tNKmYIEQwelFcGLThlkiw8EpvGe0Lcv0S49-q6Mor13NElP_CDizRVyc3L7Rck/s1600/television.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUSixyO0mEPEKhfGOBcafka8hbY0OgRVyD1U5do8RWd8R95-AhBucegMEqBKn_-QQWdTuU2IaL_QY2tNKmYIEQwelFcGLThlkiw8EpvGe0Lcv0S49-q6Mor13NElP_CDizRVyc3L7Rck/s320/television.png" width="320" /></a>So, I learned something about myself while we were visiting Hammie and Buppa for the 4th of July. I, apparently, am no longer allowed to watch network television. Of all the things! Here at our Mooselandia home, we only have Netflix and YouTube for television viewing - and, of course, DVDs/Blu-Rays - so I've long since fallen out of touch on what is present in standard media anymore. <br />
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We were watching America's Got Talent. Okay, fine, whatever, it's background noise, right? So the first few segments of the show go by, nothing to speak of, and then these four college guys get up, and they're going to perform. They've been together as a group something like a month, but hey, they're going to give it a whirl. They call themselves "Vox." Okay, cool. Makes sense, right? Singers, Vox, cute. <br />
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They get up on stage. They're having their intro chatter, and Howie asks them "Why Vox?" I figure this is a valid question, I'm used to knowing weird words people around me don't. So, they answer, "It's Latin for voice." Here's where I get irate. Howie replies, "So why not just call yourselves Voice?" and "Okay, go show us your voxes. That's Latin for voices." I twitch. Voces is Latin for voices, not voxes-rhymes-with-foxes. On top of that, they didn't use Voice because they liked "Vox" better, because they knew what "Vox" meant, because any number of reasons, but making fun - even if you're a comedian by trade - because these guys are smart? Thanks, but NO. These guys bust out in opera. It was amazing, four part melodies and harmonies, it was absolutely spectacular. Howie now understood why Vox - OPERA, HELLO - and was dumbfounded. I shouted at my mother's television, something to the effect of "Stick <i>that</i> in your smart-shaming, HOWIE!!!" and my mother jumped about a foot in the air, and being familiar with me, just shrugged it off and kept on about her thing.<br />
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A couple folks later, we have a woman on who wants to run a kissing clinic. Is this worth a million dollars? Whatever. Anyway, apparently the gist is that the judges who don't want an act to proceed, buzz them. Like the gong show, but with more electronics and a big red X. So, the people in question are about to kiss, and... Howard Stern buzzes 'em. Seriously? HOWARD STERN? Ready? He decided it "wasn't appropriate for the audience." HOWARD STERN is going to lecture people on the public acceptability of behavior? HOWARD STERN is going to buzz this chick because her content is "inappropriate?" Are you <i>kidding</i> me?!? HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY! I'm shouting at the television again, this time throwing yarn. If you're going to buzz her, at least have the decency to say you don't like her schtick, don't be all "morality police" when you're HOWARD EFFING STERN. Seriously. Have a sense of internal consistency.<br />
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As a result, I'm not allowed to watch regular television anymore. I can't deal with the smart-shaming and the lack of internal consistency, decency, honesty. Apparently, it was good I stopped while I was ahead - The Bachelorette was on next.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-87811208962450982062015-07-15T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-15T10:00:00.903-04:00Movie Night!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63FMXLQxk6OgZ8U_eppGY51RDbgn6rEE5Rfxyi0FDvi46FEDwW9U0UXoFCm4lyWpc2kRj01CRn-UhdI67RDX1KzXzMM2WExeLUUN1uLOYBigwbTHC320sOzptUWyyiE68aZkj-BoIB0A/s1600/cinema-strip-350555_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63FMXLQxk6OgZ8U_eppGY51RDbgn6rEE5Rfxyi0FDvi46FEDwW9U0UXoFCm4lyWpc2kRj01CRn-UhdI67RDX1KzXzMM2WExeLUUN1uLOYBigwbTHC320sOzptUWyyiE68aZkj-BoIB0A/s320/cinema-strip-350555_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a>Once a week, on Tuesdays, our Mooselandia home is turned into Gaming Central. We have between three and five guests, plus at least one person Skyping in. However, the game tends to run well into the night, which leaves Mad Natter out from playing. And so, in an effort to make sure he doesn't feel unwelcome or left out, I instituted Movie Night. Every Tuesday night, we retire to The Big Bedroom, turn on a movie, eat popcorn in the bed, and hang out together.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>What this means for us is pretty simple. Mad Natter is not wreaking havoc all over everyone's RPG night, he's "contained" without any kind of fuss, and I have the opportunity to introduce him to pop culture as we go.<br />
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You see, Mad Natter and I have a kind of schedule. He picks two movies, then I pick one. So we see things like <i>Frozen</i>, then <i>The LEGO Movie,</i> and then <i>Monty Python and the Holy Grail</i>. The next cycle was <i>Wreck-It Ralph,</i> and <i>The Avengers</i>, and then <i>Back To The Future.</i> We typically have popcorn, though we're now starting to branch out into Twizzlers, and Mad Natter and I get time to just sit, relax, watch, and be together without there being any kind of outside influence - video games, kids outside, whatever.<br />
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It works out really well, honestly. We get time to repair any rifts in relationship from the prior week (which, honestly, when you have two of us with almost identical intensities, happens more frequently than I'd like), we get time to sit and snuggle, and Mad Natter slowly learns most of our movie references. In fact, the other day he fell, skinned his knees, and shouted "It's just a flesh wound!" and went back to play.<br />
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It's been a godsend, actually, just relaxing and giving Skeeve and Omero time to play games together, and allowed all of us to help manage balancing our lives together. Entirely too helpful to keep the notion to myself. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-22786107867831119822015-07-13T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-13T10:00:01.508-04:00It just keeps turning up.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh, the "All kids are gifted" meme. It's like a bad penny. It just keeps coming back. I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea, or when it became appropriate to co-opt medical diagnoses for feel-good purposes, but there it is. This week has been worse for it than most. This week, I got an emailed notification of a new comment on a blog. I'd been back-of-mind dealing with the "all kids are gifted" trope to begin with, and one specific comment threw me for a loop.<div>
<a name='more'></a>It was fairly innocuous as far as comments go. I suspect the comment's author was trying to be helpful, and as far as I could grok from the wording, and the actual content of the comment, the author has a high achieving child, but not one with the wiring specific to gifted children. There were two issues I took with the comment - first being that whole "all kids are gifted, just in their own way!" stuff, but then a second half of the comment absolutely floored me. The author outright stated that perhaps some of our gifted children bring their ill treatment, teasing, mocking, bullying upon themselves. By being so different, by thinking they're gifted, they are, in effect, <i>asking for it.</i></div>
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Excuse me? Here's where I start having some massive issues. You see, Mad Natter wasn't yet three when we realized something was unusual about him. Skeeve and I had already been hearing for months that there was something "wrong" about him. That we should be disciplining him (read: punishing him), that we were lax parents, that no child would do these things if their parents had enforced rules from the start. People treated him differently, because he was different from other children. So, he somehow <i>asked</i> for that, despite his still announcing his presence as "I'n Sanyo!" (quite obviously, his given name is <i>not</i> that of an electronics company, no matter how tech-loving we are) A child still unable to pronounce half his words properly, with a bitty baby voice, was <i>asking</i> to be treated as a social misfit? </div>
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Or maybe it was at Mad Science classes. We signed him up for the homeschool program's test run. We brought him, he was just ahead of his sixth birthday, the absolute minimum age for the program. He was treated poorly there, too. He didn't raise his hand "properly." He shouted out too often, he volunteered information when it was unnecessary, he didn't sit still, and he didn't sit "criss-cross-applesauce" like the other children. Barring his ADHD and his sensory issues, this still leaves a little boy who really wants to participate... but is left out. He would be reprimanded for his lack of hand-raising, and then no matter how nicely he'd sit and raise his hand for the rest of the class, he wouldn't be called on. Not once. And then, when he got frustrated with being ignored, he'd call out answers, and be reprimanded for that, too. But, you know, he was asking for it. </div>
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At the end of that class, he was the first to receive his certificate of completion, and <i>every child but one</i> in the class groaned and complained and muttered, "why <i>him</i>?" when his name was called. But I suppose he asked for that, too. And he asked for the boys to jump on him - with intent to hurt him - at a playplace, too. And to punch him with a closed fist? He asked for that, too, right? Brought it on himself by being so... gifted?</div>
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We would never suggest that <i>any other</i> child who was different from the norm brought their bullying on themselves. It would be appalling to suggest that the child in a wheelchair brought her taunting upon herself. That the blind child was <i>asking</i> to be made fun of. That the autistic child <i>deserved</i> to be picked on because they were so convinced they were "special."</div>
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It's not the parents of gifted children making the problem. It's not them explaining to their children that they are different from others, and their difference has a name. It's not talking to children about what it means to be gifted. It's not teaching a child how to work with what they've got. It's external influences, who believe that gifted is a value judgement rather than a wiring issue, that bring this issue on. It's people who believe that the gifted are special and haughty that perpetuate the stereotype and bring this stuff down on our children. Because believe me, there is no child in the world that is <i>asking</i> to be treated the way we as a society treat our gifted children.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-72220979130227737642015-07-10T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-10T22:33:56.620-04:00Resource Review: All About Spelling!<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 11.1999998092651px;">This post contains affiliate links to materials discussed. Purchases via these links help support our family at no additional cost to you. Thank you for choosing to support my little blog. </span><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/p/white-rabbit.html" style="background-color: white; color: #015782; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 11.1999998092651px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Read my full disclosure statement here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnMIu_PNZpYtWpP4QIMAbTj4-o3ktrR8XGS-UBdQ54y3wwR79m51_RUfjS_haFbsGHYoUGeZ-XZzJ0ro9xIQbtWvITGLPIsER7mErYDW6FHk-B42P51tgbx_dvS5dkF_2-XN8oslZVdU/s1600/aas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnMIu_PNZpYtWpP4QIMAbTj4-o3ktrR8XGS-UBdQ54y3wwR79m51_RUfjS_haFbsGHYoUGeZ-XZzJ0ro9xIQbtWvITGLPIsER7mErYDW6FHk-B42P51tgbx_dvS5dkF_2-XN8oslZVdU/s320/aas.png" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Something I realize I haven't talked much about has been Spelling. We all talk about language arts, but somehow spelling gets forgotten in that. At our house, that's less because spelling is a non-starter, but because it, like science, is one of the few subjects that gets done with very little fuss. And for that? I completely credit <a href="http://allaboutlearningpress.net/go.php?id=917" target="_blank">All About Spelling</a>. Mad Natter, who absolutely hates review, will ask me if we can do spelling work. Mad Natter, whose handwriting is years behind his mind, <i>will ask me to do spelling</i>. This is astounding to me.</span></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">All About Spelling is billed as a seven level, multi-sensory program that teaches the rules and logic behind the English language. The general sales pitch is that it teaches the rules that will cover 97% of the words in the English language, and the other 3% are handled as "rule breakers" and also given special attention. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDBCX6gZjlakZ3SZOh_YKCVvowYCSGsrdkBRWX6JZmdKz2PU6u-LF1gYjB83NpZpq3Ot1J-E5Ww0xkgpOTB8rprdhaEMYK9a8QfBc2mBV9oRJgjpbH3NXdEsAgVNOFRgKg8HIgs_EffI/s1600/IMG_20140221_140016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDBCX6gZjlakZ3SZOh_YKCVvowYCSGsrdkBRWX6JZmdKz2PU6u-LF1gYjB83NpZpq3Ot1J-E5Ww0xkgpOTB8rprdhaEMYK9a8QfBc2mBV9oRJgjpbH3NXdEsAgVNOFRgKg8HIgs_EffI/s320/IMG_20140221_140016.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad Natter using All About Spelling at 5y</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In our house, All About Spelling has been what was used since day one. My very first box day came with Spelling Workout in place for spelling, but I looked at it and just shook my head. There was no way that was going to work, not with Mad Natter. So off I went, and it wasn't long before AAS made it in front of me. It's expensive, particularly compared to Spelling Workout, but it is beyond doubt worth every cent of the price. For the first level, we paid about $80 (SW was about $10). That's a lot of additional cost - especially over the course of all the levels, which individually work out to about $40 each. It's worth it. Included from the get-go are letter tiles, an entire setup for spelling using those tiles, cards, the manual, stickers, everything you need to use the program. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mad Natter <i>loves</i> the letter tiles. He builds words with them, sure, and after spelling is done, he also builds castles, towers, really anything he wants. Because of his energy levels, he's able to do his spelling not only standing, but he stands on his bumpy cushion while he spells, allowing him to shift and rock and keep his focus. The cards are easy enough for us to use, though I tend to prefer to use the manual, the cards are great for keeping track of what we have and haven't done, and for mixed review.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Speaking of the manual - it's so easy. So very easy. The lessons are pre-scripted, so you have an idea of <i>how</i> to teach each lesson, even if you've never even thought of what the letter "C" says when it comes before an "E," "I," or "Y." Crazy easy. For Mad Natter, whose handwriting is a challenge, and he hates to write if he doesn't have to, we skip the actual writing practice, instead choosing to spell with the tiles on the board. We purchased a giant magnet board last year, and it has been one of the best things we could have done. Mad Natter loves this crazy thing. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even better, he enjoys doing spelling. There is no fuss, no fight - not unless he wants to spell more and we're already late for whatever we're supposed to be doing for the rest of the day. The program, in a nutshell, has been a godsend. Not only does it have plenty of room for the adaptations we need to make in a 2E household, but it also allows Mad Natter plenty of freedom to move at his own speed. I've been hearing all along that most of the levels will take more than a year to complete, which is why All About Learning Press is able to say that once a student has finished level seven, they will be spelling at a high school level. Mad Natter, however, has taken to finishing a level in about six months. Then we spend the remainder of the year in quick reviews - spelling phrases from each lesson on one day, and sentences the next. I've been leery about buying more than one level of the program per year, which is why he's not already into level three or four by now - I've been deliberately keeping things slow and easy. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7pqNblrHWn8r4VtL5Bi0HBz9gf3Y2KPkXFUhWRmqEFBOHt8yukyrZOwqdK3B5zbNtTy6a_js2yC25fjmFAW_xdnZ_Y-hW2Cu1UrrJw6R4pDINozl9-n5E8XzRJ6ndeFJWEh1uGKUYQM/s1600/GHF+Resource+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7pqNblrHWn8r4VtL5Bi0HBz9gf3Y2KPkXFUhWRmqEFBOHt8yukyrZOwqdK3B5zbNtTy6a_js2yC25fjmFAW_xdnZ_Y-hW2Cu1UrrJw6R4pDINozl9-n5E8XzRJ6ndeFJWEh1uGKUYQM/s320/GHF+Resource+Review.jpg" width="256" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year, we're moving to having spelling four days per week instead of two, and I'm hoping to spend the full week on each step in the book. I suppose we'll see where we end up, but knowing Mad Natter, it wouldn't surprise me if he took this one in a year as well - he's already completed levels one and two, and we've loved them every time we've seen them, so I'm fairly certain that will continue through the next several years as well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Easy to use, easy to set up, easy to work with - for both parent and child - and making spelling interesting? I'll take it - every single time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This post is one of many available via <a href="http://www.giftedhomeschoolers.org/" target="_blank">Gifted Homeschoolers' Forum</a> in their Resource Review section - <a href="http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/ghf-blogs/resource-review/" target="_blank">click on through</a> and see what else has been reviewed!</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-73410764401220035982015-07-08T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-08T10:00:00.405-04:00Inside Out!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPpYwyV0NNZv1asiH0qqYWI-_ik0dfJ22QrUCuwC0YrEQADQv6qV4-dASbL3Nw-qdzjGBZyz9lZI8rjq27yiezKV3hBmL-g-YnZwDoOcaHlh2di0RuVfjKG2vajTFaffZS0U7zovXE5I/s1600/Inside+Out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPpYwyV0NNZv1asiH0qqYWI-_ik0dfJ22QrUCuwC0YrEQADQv6qV4-dASbL3Nw-qdzjGBZyz9lZI8rjq27yiezKV3hBmL-g-YnZwDoOcaHlh2di0RuVfjKG2vajTFaffZS0U7zovXE5I/s1600/Inside+Out.jpg" /></a>So, I'm late to jump on the Inside Out train. However, Mad Natter and I went to see the movie with Hammie this week, and it honestly deserves a post of its own. You see, it's a Pixar film, which means it's going to be amazing, that's just because it's Pixar. But, it was more than that. Even though the Vat O' Fruit Punch Mad Natter got before the movie meant we had to leave to pee three times between the middle and the end, the film was still <i>so astounding</i> as to absolutely merit talking about it. And honestly, the number one reason is because of Mad Natter's first comment after it was over: "You know, Mama, I think I have all those characters from the movie inside ME!" SOLD.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Inside Out is, as is aptly summed up in a Tumblr meme running around, the story of "what if feelings had feelings?" We follow Riley, an eleven year old girl, through a big move - from Minnesota to California. Being eleven and being pulled from the place she knows as her home? Emotional upheaval ensues. It's just the nature of people, right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDecWfxgTDfyqTpdKFOM8EsvYH8-jZJCDQbf16hKKz5lW7J53Zhm9ZW2aBfzFOcJJJG02NO1klg3iUOOOOyynD8w-87E6B3EW5mvl81dwUSdfH5fF52-ywqHCeAniPXQkTBeXi319MsRs/s1600/Inside+Out+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDecWfxgTDfyqTpdKFOM8EsvYH8-jZJCDQbf16hKKz5lW7J53Zhm9ZW2aBfzFOcJJJG02NO1klg3iUOOOOyynD8w-87E6B3EW5mvl81dwUSdfH5fF52-ywqHCeAniPXQkTBeXi319MsRs/s1600/Inside+Out+2.jpg" /></a>We get to see inside Riley's head. She has this console. And at any given time, one of her emotional centers - Joy, Fear, Sadness, Disgust, or Anger - has control of the console. They use the console to help Riley drive and process her life. Each individual event that comes into play is handled by one of the five centers, and Riley processes scenarios differently depending on which center is in charge.<br />
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Even better, we get to see that Riley's mom? She has those centers and console too. So does her dad. So do the bus driver, the party clown, and pretty much everyone else - including the dog and the cat. The basic gist of the movie is that every emotion has its place, including sadness, and that a person is not how they handle one situation, but the sum of their life to date. Okay, great. It's wonderful, of course, it's standard Pixar fare - it can't be anything <i>but</i> wonderful.<br />
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The movie itself... Mad Natter watched most of it with his hands over his face, like he didn't want anyone to see his reactions. He thinks the movie was, and I quote, "epically awesome!!!" He's not pleased he had to miss parts to use the bathroom, and he wants to get this movie as soon as he can for the house. For me, it was enjoyable. We got to see the parents as people (without Disney's long-standing habit of creating intolerable or just dead parents), fallible, but well-meaning, we got to see Riley as an imperfect and real child... the movie was engaging and clever to me as well as to Mad Natter, and it's one I could deal with watching several times over in a short span, which is <i>worlds</i> apart from many other things he's been taken with recently.<br />
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But then. Oh, that's when Mad Natter's comment came to the fore. In that instant, I realized the invaluable parenting tool Pixar has just provided me with. "Mad Natter, who's at the console now?" This may just be the best thing to ever happen to our household. We can work with Mad Natter about who is driving his console, who he <i>wants</i> to have driving his console, and how to get there. We can have discussions about how sadness? It's not a bad, shameful thing he needs to hide, and his anger need not dominate his other emotions. I have no idea if Pixar meant to do this when they made the movie, but I am not kidding when I say this movie is a game changer. This is huge. We have a common reference point now for talking about emotions and how they influence us. I am so excited I can barely stand it - Joy has my console, and she's not giving it up.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-64871635793189610142015-07-06T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-06T10:00:01.591-04:00No, it really *is* what you do with it.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBeQ251yE5JUrj4H5dIp2_ukqLW_fBh4hUH139SK98nUok8_cJBONlLV_-OOORi_lkoD5CqliDWTwSI_VZbHtmkznLpkvWJ4JcMUHvy67f1jdg9GvtV30E9fCkNUbytGg9LuxJ0yAPR8/s1600/gifted+smarts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBeQ251yE5JUrj4H5dIp2_ukqLW_fBh4hUH139SK98nUok8_cJBONlLV_-OOORi_lkoD5CqliDWTwSI_VZbHtmkznLpkvWJ4JcMUHvy67f1jdg9GvtV30E9fCkNUbytGg9LuxJ0yAPR8/s320/gifted+smarts.jpg" width="320" /></a>I've had a bit of a thought recently, and I haven't really had time to follow it all the way to its conclusion. However, I've been guilty of skimming the comments of Facebook posts. What do you want, I've been stuck in the house trying to heal. Anyway, I learned something new, which is completely astonishing to anyone who has EVER read any comment section anywhere: being gifted? It doesn't mean you're actually smart.<br />
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I was happily reading away, some weird BuzzFeed or Homeschool Snark Shark thing, and there it was. A commenter I've known for a while and generally dislike everything she says, is in quipping about how IQs are overblown anymore. After all, her IQ was 135 back when IQ scores meant something. And it hit me. Being gifted alone does not mean you're going to be smart. You can be wired for giftedness and still not live up to your ability. Just because you have the capacity, doesn't mean you're going to use it – and the nature of the human brain is such that you won't even realize you're not using that capacity. <br />
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I'm used to being smarter than a lot of folks. This is what happens when you spend hours and hours poring over everything that interests you. I've forgotten more about computers than most people will ever know. I know more about my areas of interest than really are ever considered to be a good thing (unless you're playing pub-trivia). Sure, there are a number of things about which I know nothing. But, generally, I have the good sense to not start talking about them as though I'm an authority.<br />
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I don't write this as a reason to be pretentious. I don't write this as a means to toot my own horn. I was, honestly, quite stunned that someone could be gifted, and yet I have this lasting impression of their ability that does not match what I have come to expect from people who are gifted. It's, I suppose, another way the world goes out of its way to say it isn't only what you're given, but what you do with what you're given that matters.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-64514255446560563112015-07-03T10:00:00.000-04:002015-07-05T12:12:58.125-04:00A Review of Khan Academy: Math<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXQZj4uIUhkJbImym-Ekv5nuKsS1ju5FsJQqC-yaDhTL71SHA4HEcEqKcp4zUMeJ7H-Cn3SUPlurr5iN0Ro2Kiyz2t_GvLLsR5gtWO6GHO0l15ZoF0IdwoEnq8zJdU9wl9vRTQHKU9rU/s1600/Khan+Academy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXQZj4uIUhkJbImym-Ekv5nuKsS1ju5FsJQqC-yaDhTL71SHA4HEcEqKcp4zUMeJ7H-Cn3SUPlurr5iN0Ro2Kiyz2t_GvLLsR5gtWO6GHO0l15ZoF0IdwoEnq8zJdU9wl9vRTQHKU9rU/s320/Khan+Academy.jpg" width="320" /></a>Alright. As we all know, I've been off my game recently. As a result, many things slid, and the homeschool year ended abruptly on my surgery date. I'd spent a good amount of time looking for something for Mad Natter to do to keep his math from atrophying over the summer, and it seemed like The Time to start it up, especially since I had a recommendation from our next door neighbor as well. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>First thing, you create your own account, which is nice - particularly if <i>you</i> want to learn new things. Then you create an account for your child. You get a card on your parent checklist, which lets you monitor your child's progress (or add additional children) and see what, precisely, they've been looking at on the site.<br />
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The "Activity Summary" lets you look in detail at what's been going on - how long your child has been on the site, all the skills they've learned (leveled up in), all the videos they've watched, and all the progress badges they've earned. You can choose from time frames of the last day, the last seven days, or the last thirty days. You also get a look at how far the child is in their current "mission" - what Khan Academy calls their courses.<br />
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You can set what your child is working on, and then... let them to it. When they log in, they have the option to resume any mission they haven't completed - things like "Elementary Math" and "Fractions" as well as "Arithmetic" and "Multiplication and Division." Once they've chosen what to work on, Khan Academy offers them choices. Would they like to complete a Mastery Challenge? Would they like to practice some other skills first?<br />
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In the Mastery Challenge, your child has the ability to level up skills. Beginning at "Needs Practice" they move through "Level 1" and "Level 2" to finally arrive at "Mastered." Each question they answer correctly in a Mastery Challenge will move them up a level, and each question answered incorrectly will move them down a level. If your child has never used Khan Academy before, the site automatically dumps them to a Mastery Challenge. The child continues through Mastery Challenges until they reach items they do not know, or answer incorrectly, at which point the site knows roughly where to place them, and off they go.<br />
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In addition, there are lessons available on the site. If your child gets stuck and doesn't know something, they can watch the lesson on the type of question they've gotten stuck on. Once the lesson is completed, the child is able to return to the question and try again. There is also a hint feature that will give the child clues on how to solve the problems... but those hints are limited. Your child can continue to watch lessons, or they can continue with mastery challenges or practice problems.<br />
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Now, if your child is one that needs to write down their work, they don't keep it all in their head? Khan Academy has that covered, too. There is a built-in scratchpad with most questions, allowing the child to use the mouse (in our house, I mouse, Mad Natter talks) to write down their work and keep track. The scratchpad has multiple different colors of "ink," allowing for differentiation when needed.<br />
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Here's another one. Mad Natter, as I've said before, <i>abhors</i> review. Anything that even remotely approaches "review" to him, and he's screaming the house down about how he already knows this, OMG, why am I *torturing* him?!? Things like this are why I have "Doubles Addition" charts and "Multiplication Tables!" pages hanging all over my house. He memorizes through use, which is probably the better way to do it anyway. Mad Natter... still doesn't love math, which is kind of surprising since he's really rather <i>good</i> at it. But, he does do the work. He's not enamored of it, but he doesn't hate it. And since Khan Academy's Math is really the only schoolwork we're doing, it seems that's "the thing" to grouse about.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0aouNK5pUx3F40YICeiudqFUcx2dAv2aBxdrUVREI06tbUS3lxVlwsj3hIgh71L6ewuimzVFGWVDVzDsSWaj5VE8-gZjAi-FUA8I6cau7cFm4BbLef01FuSc76ZlJCttr8YleTrHMuo/s1600/GHF+Resource+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0aouNK5pUx3F40YICeiudqFUcx2dAv2aBxdrUVREI06tbUS3lxVlwsj3hIgh71L6ewuimzVFGWVDVzDsSWaj5VE8-gZjAi-FUA8I6cau7cFm4BbLef01FuSc76ZlJCttr8YleTrHMuo/s320/GHF+Resource+Review.jpg" width="256" /></a>All in all, Mad Natter has made incredible strides in using Khan Academy. I'm uncertain how much is due to the format, how much is due to the single task at a time nature, and how much is due to being able to keep him focused on the task better, but he's gone from mid-second grade to mid fourth grade inside of a month. And he's still going. I'm calling it a resounding success... even if it is threatening to give me a heart attack. <br />
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This blog post is also available via <a href="http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/ghf-blogs/resource-review/" target="_blank">Gifted Homeschoolers' Forum's Resource Reviews</a>. Please click on through and see what else has been reviewed from a Gifted Homeschooling perspective!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-35019338792407624662015-07-01T00:00:00.000-04:002015-07-01T00:00:02.088-04:00Makin' It Work!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYO6jivG59OescxQu7IptXFaAB6FPpHGKNjH_5w1EDV5Q_NEHiq_QvHD_tryacX8YzK1g1Dgw5mXpvhQCc_r-I1vjWxk8p7yBu21UFs6zDfSGU38SFhbthZfw2Z3Ypsx3ZkEYxnqP7ePM/s1600/relationships.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYO6jivG59OescxQu7IptXFaAB6FPpHGKNjH_5w1EDV5Q_NEHiq_QvHD_tryacX8YzK1g1Dgw5mXpvhQCc_r-I1vjWxk8p7yBu21UFs6zDfSGU38SFhbthZfw2Z3Ypsx3ZkEYxnqP7ePM/s320/relationships.jpg" width="320" /></a>In the course of talking about gifted education, we often criticize pull-out programs, because you know, gifted children aren't only gifted one hour per day, or one day per week. But the thing that gets less attention is a continuation of that same fact – gifted people aren't only gifted when they're children, and they aren't only gifted when they're in an academic setting. So, how do three gifted people with varying overexcitabilities, needs, and degrees of introversion manage to live in a house together – without killing each other?<br />
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As is the case with probably literally everything else to do with gifted people, this gets complex. Our lives are often like a dance. Mad Natter needs much more social engagement than Skeeve or I do. Not because “others” say so, but because he's just social that way. I'm the midline. The translator. I manage to bridge the gap – Mad Natter, who needs ALL THE PEOPLE, ALL THE TIME, and Skeeve, who needs OMG GO AWAY, I'M INTROVERTING. In this aspect, I'm the lynchpin on which the entire system rests. Skeeve cannot ensure Mad Natter gets out. It's taxing, it's overwhelming, it's detrimental. So this is the part I play. I step in, and I manage my own introversion by sitting up in bleachers, or at the back of the room, or out in the car. Mad Natter gets out, I get out some, and, Skeeve gets to hang back and recharge.<br />
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At the same time, Skeeve is exceptionally laid back. On the intensity-meter, he rates somewhere in the -10 area. Mad Natter, however... is both a different story, and his mother's child. We both rate somewhere between “drama llama parade” and “fireball just exploded in the living room.” This is where Skeeve fits in. He is able to see when tensions start running high, and he can interject. He's able to diffuse situations that could easily end in shouting matches as Mad Natter and I both come to the end of the day, our patience is frazzled, and we're tired, and... Prone to explosion.<br />
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While Skeeve and I both suffer more at the end of Mad Natter's day, it seems to work out for us. We're compatible in exactly the right ways. Mad Natter reaches the end of the day and wants someone to watch his every move, watch his videos, watch this face, watch this-watch this-watch this. None of us handle this terribly well, and it's one of the most trying times of the day. It can end in shouting from all parties, but Skeeve and I are making an active effort to try to explain to Mad Natter that we are not merely an audience, but are independent people who sometimes like to do things that don't involve staring at him. Mostly this is well-received, but again, as it's at the end of the day, the discussion tends to happen approximately every five minutes. We all do the best we can to keep ourselves on the level, but make no mistake, being gifted factors into every aspect of our lives. Certainly into our thinking and processing, but into our relationships as well. While we wouldn't trade ourselves for the world, it's not a particularly easy row to hoe.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.net/blog_hop_gifted_relationships.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMzRvKjBxxhnj-dwPhO62Kik_-qBfH_v2ERFtZ1jXRkuYNjtM6nlW5mZxefg4HQJuGz3SoZ7yO9-5lwssR9uL38PSRs6ZOR2dxYV7a01xR7pyC7m81fX4AJfZllcUvnfvM-5nUNkwTJg/s1600/Hoagies+Relationships.jpg" /></a><br />
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This post has been part of the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Education</a> Blog Hop on Gifted Relationships. Please <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_relationships.htm" target="_blank">hop along</a> to see what others have to say!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-29303306578403160222015-06-29T10:00:00.000-04:002015-06-29T10:00:00.429-04:00Recovery!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRY5VqkoQazmdFAkezxljappkpb_aQl9B_WzdSQ6w4nN3ceD2n9c_crtmcOfCPB4XuI2VI11rezo0dj_3CvAv6zrelUjWYDHgSgaRniA6CRAP4L-zQnhGMagMx67TnQKqWmn6_PuNJnWM/s1600/recovery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRY5VqkoQazmdFAkezxljappkpb_aQl9B_WzdSQ6w4nN3ceD2n9c_crtmcOfCPB4XuI2VI11rezo0dj_3CvAv6zrelUjWYDHgSgaRniA6CRAP4L-zQnhGMagMx67TnQKqWmn6_PuNJnWM/s320/recovery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Hiatus. It is finally ending. Entries might be a bit sporadic yet, but I'm hoping to be back with at least some regularity now. Almost three weeks ago, I had day surgery. My team was excellent, and I was home and in a very minimal amount of pain within about eight hours from when we left. But, the surgery was a surprise, so everything has been all out of whack because I wasn't able to prepare. Then add in coaching and general chauffeur duties, and it's been... chaotic would be understating.<br />
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I learned something rather important about myself in this whole event. I am crap at taking care of myself. Absolute crap. I can take care of others, and ensure they don't over exert themselves, make sure that everything gets done, and keeping some semblance of normalcy to the environment. But when it comes to doing this for myself? There's a reason it's been three weeks since surgery, and I'm still not fully recovered. <br />
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The first week went well. I was healing pretty well, nothing was amiss, and everything was managed by appropriate medication. The second week... Well, I started it going out to see if I could at least keep score at Mad Natter's baseball game. That turned into some catcher-dressing, a little boo-boo kissing, and suddenly, I was flat on my back until Wednesday, when I called in volunteers to run the practice. I overdid that a little too, but not nearly so badly, so I was only laid out most of Thursday. This week, I've been trying to keep back. It mostly worked, but we had big rains Monday night, and... You see where this is going, right? <br />
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Sure enough, I spent some time mopping, doing laundry, and carrying things around – even after practice – so I spent a lot of time stiff and sore again. I learned that I don't really listen to my own body, no matter how much I might wish I did. I learned that I really need Skeeve to keep an eye out, to keep half an eye on what I'm doing, to shout me down when I start doing too much. I have an issue – I need to do ALL the things, and I'm not happy when I'm not.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-66934287568101047392015-06-06T11:46:00.000-04:002015-06-06T11:46:14.928-04:00On HiatusSorry, folks. I'm out of commission for probably the next two weeks. I'll fill you in when I'm able, but until then, nothing life-threatening is happening, I'm just spinning so quickly I can't get anything coherent enough to post. I'll be back soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-71795889057764764592015-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:002015-06-01T00:00:00.151-04:00The Value of Free Time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikCK-WYIxywhSX4SwNLl7sgabQ_gpm_umR78d9t4F5baCXmPPpZ5P83s1iQGVWLQfzQd5YXkXyraN_tMPUtgJi8q2UmVpDinAcIaSvXylfJQtbnCfLDc4GGWY06GFym4kJ9hKmY3zrVL0/s1600/free+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikCK-WYIxywhSX4SwNLl7sgabQ_gpm_umR78d9t4F5baCXmPPpZ5P83s1iQGVWLQfzQd5YXkXyraN_tMPUtgJi8q2UmVpDinAcIaSvXylfJQtbnCfLDc4GGWY06GFym4kJ9hKmY3zrVL0/s320/free+time.jpg" width="320" /></a>I never quite seem to appreciate what we have when we have it. I'm not sure why that is, but it's the case regardless. Every fall Mad Natter goes into hockey, and I whine and complain about being out of the house at the crack of dawn (literally) on Saturdays and Sundays from September to March. Then the summer comes, and I revel in the not-early mornings. This year, though, I let a few voices get to me.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>This year, Mad Natter is enrolled in ALL the summer activities. He's in Taekwondo, he's in baseball, he's in LEGO Robotics. He's also running through some interesting activities with another pro on Fridays. For those keeping track, that means he's out of the house on T/Th, M/W, Su, and F. Now, we'll add on that I'm coaching baseball. I don't want to be, but if it's coach-or-no-team, here I am.<br />
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I'm suddenly out of the house six days per week, two of them involving attempting to teach children a sport I can't play (I keep a mean scorebook, but I do <i>not</i> play), with minimal support from the league, as resources have been trickling in at best. We have schoolwork four days per week, and there are zero of our weekend days where I'm not involved in bringing Mad Natter somewhere for something.<br />
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Quite honestly, I miss our free time. More often than not we hear about how homeschooled children need more social opportunities. However, this is ridiculous. I'd be okay if I weren't coaching. But honestly, this is just too much. There are far too many activities, and I can't keep up with them all. We're running out the door half-prepared for things because we're not sure where we're going.<br />
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But what's really been missing is the downtime. The time I get to myself to regroup before attempting to be more "wife" and less "chauffeur." And worse than that, Mad Natter's downtime is missing as well. He is now awake most nights well past midnight, and there is very little we have been able to do to correct this. Skeeve and I are *on* from the moment we get out of bed in the morning until the moment we crawl into it at night. It's exhausting! People often would tell me that in order to get your child to sleep in the summer when it's still light well after bedtime, you run them around, get them good and wiped, then pour them into bed. In our house, this has turned into running Mad Natter around, getting Skeeve and I good and wiped, then trying to stuff an unwilling octopus into a plastic bag. It's a futile effort for everyone, and the only thing that ends up happening is the stuffers get cranky and the stuffee gets ink all over everything. No good.<br />
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Going forward, I'm going to be taking some advice I wish I had before - one sport/activity, one class, that's it. No more. None of this two sports, two classes, hope for the best stuff. It's borking up Mad Natter's sleep, Skeeve and I can't function appropriately, and we're all just a mess. We NEED our free time!<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_free_time.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeQ9iKum8XzB2YGVc051pmowsg8MAtrKPAD4Vk21hQhDJDy9UQqH19iKRw0GiFz7WrI-Iy2mJwOk6sUsUrB3RTIU31mO3Bjg0EhZiysko8DPIPO9fPI-SgJxwxzbbBYrtjfYXsXlrOrM/s1600/Hoagies+Free+Time.jpg" /></a>This post is a part of Hoagies' Gifted Education's blog hop on The Gift of Free Time! Please <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_free_time.htm" target="_blank">click on through</a> to read some other perspectives!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-8891923082993541512015-05-25T11:00:00.000-04:002015-05-25T11:00:00.428-04:00Intersections<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9HYpb0RRpsW35tZEcVvoDrkd0c5Uk6ZMwIG7rU6eO0zeBK3La1mqvPrd0GXFWmIAFoboBildF3P5jOyvFDJbqVhLrTLEbzAV3kICQTU6-VFbdZ7YEnM2MUvk6va75KwsVx9HhQ3udqE/s1600/intersections.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9HYpb0RRpsW35tZEcVvoDrkd0c5Uk6ZMwIG7rU6eO0zeBK3La1mqvPrd0GXFWmIAFoboBildF3P5jOyvFDJbqVhLrTLEbzAV3kICQTU6-VFbdZ7YEnM2MUvk6va75KwsVx9HhQ3udqE/s320/intersections.jpg" width="320" /></a>The recent kerfuffle about bullying gifted children in the mainstream media has a lot of people talking. And some of what they're saying is reasonable and level-headed - things like<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow">@TODAYshow</a> highly gifted and profoundly gifted are not jokes they are actual psychological terms for people in the top 2% of IQ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gifted?src=hash">#Gifted</a></div>
— Becky Lichucki (@rlichucki) <a href="https://twitter.com/rlichucki/status/602517280912756736">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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There's no way to defend mocking <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gifted?src=hash">#gifted</a> kids. Mocking Parents of Gifted Kids Isn’t Funny <a href="http://t.co/qJv9hn2iHO">http://t.co/qJv9hn2iHO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow">@TODAYshow</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SWilderTaylor">@SWilderTaylor</a></div>
— Celi Trépanier (@CeliCeliC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CeliCeliC/status/602467164214398976">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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But some other folks, whose comments <a href="http://giftsforlearning.com/wp/mocking-parents-of-gifted-kids-isnt-funny/" target="_blank">have since been deleted</a>? They've said some seriously hurtful things, along with the usual party line of <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/03/its-not-all-sunshine-and-roses-no.html" target="_blank">"god, unclench."</a> with a side of "well, not *real* gifted kids, <i>duh</i>" for good measure.<br />
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The question becomes, though, with giftedness in specific, how do you know the "real" gifted children from the ones you feel are "fake" gifted? How do you tell the difference? Do gifted children look different? Is there any way to tell? Should we tattoo their IQs on their foreheads (and what do we do about the musically, artistically, linguistically, emotionally, athletically, and other gifted children?), or carry their test results with us to <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/10/gifted-versus-pushy.html" target="_blank">"prove" we're not hothousing</a> them?<br />
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We've hit an interesting point of intersection. Giftedness is, by its very nature, invisible. There are no clear markings upon a gifted person to tell society at large that they are gifted. There is one other place in my life that this plays out: disabilities.<br />
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My family, on both sides, runs heavily to autoimmune disorders. No nobody's going to battle my Aunt RA over her handicapped parking sticker, as she has serious mobility issues that obviously, visibly, require said sticker. But my father, who also has serious mobility issues, doesn't like to use his placard. Whether it's stubbornness or hairy eyeballs that's behind it, he doesn't like to use it. I get guff personally when I park in the closest possible parking spot. I don't qualify for a parking pass, but <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/07/injury-interesting-times.html" target="_blank">when I'm in mid-flare,</a> it often takes me several minutes just to be able to get out of the car. And in doing so, I'm subject to all manner of looks and snide remarks. Not just about my parking so close, but about my weight (which must obviously be the reason I'm in pain, and not at all the inverse), and my not <i>looking</i> like there's anything wrong with me.<br />
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Veterans in Veteran-Specific parking spaces? They get that guff as well - particularly women - and you'll hear reports of veterans being left nasty notes on their windshields for <i>daring</i> to use veteran parking when they don't look like a veteran.<br />
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So what are we to do? I know this is a pretty novel idea, but how about we live and let live? If I tell you my kid is gifted, you take me at face value. If you tell me you're disabled, I take you at face value. If that woman on the street has just parked in veterans-only parking... How about assuming she <i>is</i> a veteran and thanking her for her service? How about we give each other the benefit of the doubt? Treat each other as we would want to be treated? Isn't that one of the first things we teach our kids? The Golden Rule?<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-67138722901537111322015-05-21T20:19:00.003-04:002015-05-21T20:28:30.677-04:00When Mainstream Media is the Bully<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFvr9FjcFE6YVeQxnliQt-qjGZZWm-adw2wT5aioezJJLQBMrDUfc-LoX2Vthd_JrfjwntjJ4MaLB-Sit7mXbzrVseYEOwV3O4t9X0QaCmYulruBde2u261YnRxr8p_jfbR1PnDW04cA/s1600/bully.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFvr9FjcFE6YVeQxnliQt-qjGZZWm-adw2wT5aioezJJLQBMrDUfc-LoX2Vthd_JrfjwntjJ4MaLB-Sit7mXbzrVseYEOwV3O4t9X0QaCmYulruBde2u261YnRxr8p_jfbR1PnDW04cA/s320/bully.jpg" width="320" /></a>Apparently, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, and Stefanie Wilder-Taylor think it's<a href="http://www.today.com/video/author-warns-of-the-perils-of-overparenting-448748611634" target="_blank"> great fun to laugh at gifted children</a>. Yeah, same old trope, all children are gifted, blah. But then, Ms Wilder-Taylor quotes out the oft-accepted 2%-5% of the population is gifted stat, followed by the mockery that parents then have to one-up each other claiming their child is "highly" gifted. Wow. Because "highly gifted" is completely different from "left handed." My question, though, is this: Would they all be so quick to point and laugh at the other side of the curve?<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The highest recorded IQ I could find in a simple search was 225. This is nine - count 'em, NINE - standard deviations from the norm, assuming the usual 15 point standard deviation. We're all familiar with a bell curve. For the sake of comparison, let's use a measured IQ of 190.<br />
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Here's how that breaks down:<br />
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Five SD Left: 10<br />
Four SD Left: 25<br />
Three SD Left: 40<br />
Two SD Left: 55<br />
One SD Left: 70<br />
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"Normal" : 85-115<br />
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One SD Right: 130<br />
Two SD Right: 145<br />
Three SD Right: 160<br />
Four SD Right: 175<br />
Five SD Right: 190<br />
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Those SDs on either side break down to Mild, Moderate, Severe, and Profound on the left side of the curve, and Mild, Moderate, High, Extreme, and Profound on the right. Tell me, if Ms Wilder-Taylor had gone out of her way to quote that 1-5% of the population was intellectually disabled, but then 'It's not enough for them to be intellectually disabled, they have to be <i>severely</i> intellectually disabled..." Would Al Roker and Natalie Morales been laughing then? Would the segment have continued as a lighthearted chat about a new book? What do you think?<br />
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I think that had she made that statement, Roker and Morales would have been aghast. There would have been some nervous tittering, and a quick end to the interview. They might have mentioned the author, but probably not her book, in the rush to get her the blazes off their stage before the PR Nightmare hit. There would have been some measure of "the opinions of guests are not those of NBC..." tacked to the bottom of the video, if it was posted on the Today website at all. But because these children - equally far from the norm as their disabled counterparts - are to the right of the curve, they're fair game. <a href="http://crushingtallpoppies.com/2015/05/21/im-a-mom-of-a-gifted-child/" target="_blank">It's okay to mock them.</a> And, <a href="http://www.laughingatchaos.com/that-time-the-today-show-mocked-gifted-kids/" target="_blank">it's perfectly fine to insult their parents</a>. Nobody really cares anyway. And that, my friends, is a tragedy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-86103284826495308242015-05-20T11:00:00.000-04:002015-05-20T11:00:01.222-04:00Making a Change<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAinenpvvigyIImOZBoA5cqKly-8hH9DLoakC5WN3SFGyaCHAOoACFDqspLIphWA9gQ9CgjiKPw2_yHghr-dk-azvv7w_wSs1C0FwlgMnDqwCUdyUERCqaCv_G3QZOCeO3nflLfLcy7GE/s1600/change.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAinenpvvigyIImOZBoA5cqKly-8hH9DLoakC5WN3SFGyaCHAOoACFDqspLIphWA9gQ9CgjiKPw2_yHghr-dk-azvv7w_wSs1C0FwlgMnDqwCUdyUERCqaCv_G3QZOCeO3nflLfLcy7GE/s320/change.jpg" width="320" /></a>Several years ago, I was looking at math curricula, and stumbled into Beast Academy. I was upset at the time that it didn't start until grade 3, and even then was only grades three and four. But, I was determined to wait it out. So, we started Right Start, and went with it, then moved over to Math Mammoth. Now, Mad Natter is at a place where he could easily manage Beast Academy, but there's a problem.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Mad Natter is, in many ways, his mother's child. We are so very alike, we are oftentimes eerie. This isn't something that's foreign to me, as I am my father all over again, but the difference is that Mad Natter and I are missing the rough patch between us that had my father and I butting heads all the time. One of the things, amongst many, that Mad Natter has gotten from me is my dislike of change. I love new things, yes, but for the things I do often, I thoroughly dislike change. I don't like when Skeeve's work week changes, I don't like when our weekly game is cancelled, I don't like when we're not doing grocery shopping every other Tuesday. I love new things, I hate change. Weird.<br />
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Mad Natter seems to be much the same. He dislikes having his routines disrupted. He is able to handle it well, but that doesn't mean he likes it. He also deals significantly better if it turns out the change is for a reason he likes. Going to Hammie's? Loves it. Switching from one math program to another? No, wait, <i>what? </i> You want us to <i>what?</i> No. I'm fine, thanks.<br />
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Today was the day. I introduced Mad Natter to the concept of changing math programs. He immediately declined the change, despite the more interesting format of Beast Academy. So, I printed out some sample pages from Beast Academy, and set them with his Math Mammoth book on the arm of the couch... and we left for Taekwondo. When we came home, it was an interesting thing. He stopped on the way to the bathroom, before he took off his shoes, before he got his snack, before he got a drink... he stopped at the couch, and took in the pages. He read the three pages, then nodded, and took off to do his thing. He didn't freak out and tell me this was math and he didn't want to work on it, he just read it, nodded at it, and moved along. This, combined with his habit of underreaction, tells me that yes, a change would go over well. And so, I asked. He went right back to nope! I'm fine! I like our math! But he's not fine. He's not loving our current math (he understands it, and he's willing to work on it, but he doesn't love it), he likes the pages from Beast Academy, so what's the problem? It's a change, and change is difficult.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-89504834989914148722015-05-18T10:00:00.000-04:002015-05-18T10:00:02.496-04:00A Very Quirky Life<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lEkR0OyWKEV9TcvgJs1gAIPDqObRNok0rXuwBhqkl40AfXEaQdUcW-_6lq-kBxFmGp888GGWAc5v8PO9FLeplRHKnRzrYtN8QcxkVNLL6ziAgXdglx2iTWVa-pB0fsZ1fX4YsChgEmQ/s1600/Quirky+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lEkR0OyWKEV9TcvgJs1gAIPDqObRNok0rXuwBhqkl40AfXEaQdUcW-_6lq-kBxFmGp888GGWAc5v8PO9FLeplRHKnRzrYtN8QcxkVNLL6ziAgXdglx2iTWVa-pB0fsZ1fX4YsChgEmQ/s400/Quirky+Life.jpg" width="400" /></a>It's been hectic. No end of hectic here. We now have activities five days per week, and my being a moderately introverted homebody means I'm up to my eyeballs, and not particularly digging it. But, it's just for the summer. I can manage for the summer. Anyway! Blogs may be a little sporadic as I try to keep my sanity as best as I can. One of these seasons I'll remember to not overschedule the blazes out of us, but it seems this is not the season. It does, however, bring me rather neatly to my point for today: the quirks of the gifted. How does this fit? Easy - one of my own quirks is the driving need to DO ALL THE THINGS!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Mad Natter and I actually share quite a few of the same quirks - we sleep better when we can hear someone else breathing, we don't do things if we can't do them well, we will watch the same movie over and over, repeating the dialogue as we go... I think that might just be us, though. <br />
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Anyway. Some of the more common quirks that we see here in our Mooselandia home are fairly widespread amongst other like-type people:<br />
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<i>Moving</i>: Mad Natter needs to move. Not a little, and not sometimes. Not for exercise, and not for the sake of moving. He needs to move to think. To talk. I do the same thing, I've realized - I can't have a steady conversation (especially not on the phone) if I'm not somehow in motion. For me, it helps me keep a train of thought together from one end to the other. For Mad Natter, it seems to burn off some of his excess energy, allowing him to learn, concentrate, talk, and work - whether that's on math, or on LEGO.<br />
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<i>Chewing</i>: Oh, goodness. We have chewies all over the house. Mad Natter went through a phase of chewing his shirts, which is happily past now, but we have these chewy necklaces which allow for focus. For me, when I get stressed, I chew. I chew the inside of my cheeks, I chew my tongue, I chew my fingers, and I used to chew my fingernails. Mad Natter, we seem to have curbed with the chewies. For me... I'm not so fortunate. It's a lot like the moving. I need to do it to keep my mind steady, to expend nervous energy. I can't chew on my own shirts, it's not socially acceptable - so I learned to chew where nobody could see it - inside my mouth. I can always tell the high-stress days, my mouth is sore from molar to molar, all the way 'round.<br />
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<i>Many things at once</i>: This is one that Mad Natter, Skeeve, and I all share. It is very rare that you will find any of us doing just on thing. Right now, I'm blogging, yes, but I'm also half-listening to Skeeve playing League of Legends, and to Mad Natter's Stampy video. And that's not counting the myriad other things I'm thinking about - like when to make time for blogging, what drills to run at baseball practice, what tomorrow's school day looks like, and when our downtime is. Mad Natter, while I'm doing all this, is eating dinner, watching his Stampy video, and playing The LEGO Movie game on his DS. This isn't an uncommon state of affairs. We're all usually involved in several activities at once, and those of us over four feet tall usually have a minimum of two books we're reading at the same time. I'm not sure how it works, but we all seem to be able to focus better if there's something going on in the background. We're actually exceptional multi-taskers, and it's something we actively need to be doing in order to keep our thoughts corralled, and keep us moving in the right direction.<br />
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<i>Disinterested in Sustained Effort: </i>This seems to apply to Mad Natter more than to either Skeeve or myself, but there is a definite preference for all things to be easy. If an activity requires time to master, Mad Natter is not interested. If it doesn't come easily, he will often just decide he either knows it, or doesn't want to know it, and he quits. This is something we're working on, and something that I seem to remember being a challenge in my own childhood. Now, I'm perfectly fine with sustained effort, and I often choose it (blogging, anyone?), but as a child? Nope.<br />
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<i>Preference for Adult Company</i>: This is unsurprising for Skeeve and myself. We're grown people, if we preferred the company of children, we would likely be viewed with a large stink-eye. Mad Natter, however, also prefers the company of adults. When given the option, he would much rather hang out with his coaches than with his teammates, he would rather stay in and play with Omero than go out and play with the neighborhood kids, he would rather chat with MY aunts than with his cousins. Some of this is due to the cognitive peer / age peer thing, but often, when given the chance to interact with other gifted children, he would still rather stay by the grown ups - at least, until the kids get a good game of running and screaming going. Then he'll go play.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zE7ibfBiRtdIgfY9fLEMlm2cGQPRth66zLsWD5oGmVuJTQacZ1xR55C753E-PphdRrprKbvbCZz6YFwygV5yWJ6-85A3dy-dOKKpliio9_q65J-n4TMYoqW4pdwTErNFjOBVAnyzNyM/s1600/Quirks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zE7ibfBiRtdIgfY9fLEMlm2cGQPRth66zLsWD5oGmVuJTQacZ1xR55C753E-PphdRrprKbvbCZz6YFwygV5yWJ6-85A3dy-dOKKpliio9_q65J-n4TMYoqW4pdwTErNFjOBVAnyzNyM/s320/Quirks.jpg" width="256" /></a>There are a lot of quirks involved in gifted households. There are probably at least a dozen more I didn't touch on because I don't realize they're quirks because <i>we all have them</i>. However, this is a blog hop! I'm sure that any one of the entries that can be found at <a href="http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/" target="_blank">Gifted Homeschoolers' Forum</a> will cover more quirks in more interesting ways than I have here! Please, <a href="http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/blog-hops/perfectionism-gifted2e-quirks/" target="_blank">go take a look</a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-26014299261755998562015-05-13T11:00:00.000-04:002015-05-13T11:00:00.550-04:00Summer Plans<div>
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The school year is ending, summer is practically around the corner, and naturally this means that there is exactly NO relaxing going on in our Mooselandia home! Between our general status as "year rounders" and the usual sort of summer activity, there is no end of craziness happening here.<div>
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<a name='more'></a>Yes, this partly explains why updates can be sporadic sometimes - it all depends on whether or not I've had a chance to get ahead before the next batch of crazy strikes. But honestly, looking at our schedule on an objective basis? We're up to our eyeballs over here!</div>
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Through the summer, Mad Natter will continue having grammar lessons until he's finished his Practice Island book. He will also have math daily, though significantly less volume. In addition to these, we've also got outside-the-house activities.</div>
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Baseball: This summer, Mad Natter will be playing baseball! It's machine pitch, and on Monday and Wednesday nights. The league, it seems, is so hard up for coaches that they've taken to calling around trying to find anyone they can to coach a team. As a result, I am now Coach Care. I'm mildly terrified, and am hoping I can pull this off.</div>
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Taekwondo: Tuesday and Thursday, we have TKD. Mad Natter is <i>loving</i> Taekwondo. He's found his groove this week, earned his first stripe, and I suspect that we'll be staying in this for a long time. </div>
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Robotics: We're hoping to get Mad Natter into a LEGO Robotics course, but we're not sure if there are spaces still open yet. We have to wait until Friday, and then mostly just hope. That'll be on Sundays if we can get him in.</div>
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Then, we add in the various trips and travels - we'd like to go to visit Hammie and Buppa at least twice over the summer, we've got a wedding, and we're hoping to get to the Poconos again as well... I thought summer was supposed to be relaxing!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-40003261793119419962015-05-12T23:48:00.001-04:002015-05-12T23:48:16.178-04:00Year-End Round Up<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAl540t4t2TJ7DWYnFjVaFLxcDdZ9hi5iJlxk3R8NHq6mUqW-38xxQ7fa-VHhIY2P_Lg87IZ43tFsZCnt2FXW9UJy1e40goQqPOWYbCyL8FswRHNX2RuwxQxwp8HOMtJc0JTS559rYCg/s1600/Year+End+Wrap+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAl540t4t2TJ7DWYnFjVaFLxcDdZ9hi5iJlxk3R8NHq6mUqW-38xxQ7fa-VHhIY2P_Lg87IZ43tFsZCnt2FXW9UJy1e40goQqPOWYbCyL8FswRHNX2RuwxQxwp8HOMtJc0JTS559rYCg/s320/Year+End+Wrap+Up.jpg" width="320" /></a>Well, this week went a little more pear-shaped than I expected. I found out I'm coaching a pee-wee baseball team, <i>all</i> our care practitioners called to make appointments for the week, and then we had the usual hustle of said baseball meet-and-greet / photo day, Taekwondo, and those appointments... It's been a little harried. However, the end of the year is upon us! Already! Good grief, where does the time go? <br />
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And so, I wanted to leave the update for how the year progressed for us, versus how we had planned for it to go.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Looking over <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/p/playing-cards_19.html" target="_blank">our plan</a>, it looks like we actually managed to get quite a bit of it done, and even the things that didn't get finished have enough progress made to make the end of the year fairly solid.<br />
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<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Magic School Bus: The Giant Germ</span></span></span></li>
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The Giant Germ was actually really easy for Mad Natter, which was probably for the best, because this was well before we were able to get help addressing his attention issues. He enjoyed the book, even if we only read two pages at a time, and he isn't particularly interested in reading aloud. I think it's partly because it demands he focus and follow steps in order, neither of which are activities he enjoys. Chronicles of Avantia: First Hero actually turned out to be a really good read - for both of us. Mad Natter wants to get the second book, and I plan to try to add that to next year's reading activities, so there's something I know <i>he</i> wants involved as well.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Children's History of the World has been interesting for us. It's been a bit of an edit-on-the-fly read, as it is very Christian-centric, but Mad Natter has been willing to sit and listen, which is really about all you can hope for with a read-aloud. The plan has been to read-aloud one chapter per week, which I think has been far too slow, but we'll be starting over with the ancients again next year, which will give us another shot at getting the actual history, but with Mad Natter's interacting with the material, and his having a basic grounding in the concepts before we start, which is never a bad thing.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> Math Mammoth has been a ridiculous blessing. Mad Natter had such a hard time with Right Start that I was worried about his math. Yes, I knew this when we did 1A last year, but still. It warrants saying again. Math is not Mad Natter's favorite, again with the needing to work at the material, but he is actually retaining the material now, which is leaps and bounds ahead of Right Start. He has started and finished Math Mammoth 1B and 2A, and he has finished all but the last chapter of Math Mammoth 2B, which will carry us through to the beginning of next school year - and this was done purposely, so that we wouldn't see any skill atrophy over the summer break. The plan is to do 3-4 problems per school day, just to make sure that we don't need review time at the beginning of the 15-16 school year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Thames and Kosmos Little Labs:</span></span></div>
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<li style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Botany: The Experimental Greenhouse</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Magic School Bus Science Kits: Slime and Polymers, Microscope, and Chemistry</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Oh, goodness, the science. We go through more science than should be feasible. Mad Natter ran through all the Magic School Bus kits, and we're now midway through the Botany lab. He adores all things science, and I'm really happy with how that's going. Granted, using lab-kits seems to be one of those things that's going to have to change if I want him to get a more thorough science education, but at the same time, I don't want to remove it completely. As usual, each of the kits needs things from home, and most of them don't tell you what up front. Most experiments got done, and those that didn't had their lessons retained in other ways, so everything that really needed to get done, did. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Logic Safari... I was a little disappointed with Logic Safari. I was hoping it would be organized like Lollipop Logic, where it had deduction, ordering, analogies... Sadly, Logic Safari was entirely deduction. Now, personally, I enjoy deduction. I do those sorts of puzzles for fun. Mad Natter, however, didn't care for the lack of change, and is still vaguely irritable that one of his favorite things to do has turned up as kind of boring and repetitious. We still made our way through the first two books, but it was a bit more of a slog than I would have liked.</span></div>
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Oh, Song School Latin. We actually really enjoyed this program. I enjoyed it, as I learned at the same time as Mad Natter did. Mad Natter, in general, enjoyed it, but he was both ridiculously averse to actually saying the Latin words, and also very opposed to the Derivative River, as he really doesn't care about etymology. However, he enjoyed all the stories, and I still catch him humming the songs under his breath. I'm calling it a win, and I'm sad we're shuffling to French next year instead of continuing with this.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Handwriting Without Tears Grade 1-2, practice pages</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> Handwriting Without Tears remains one of the best things I could have hoped for. We took a break midway through the grade 1 book, and put in more practice pages, and again it turned out to be a wise move. Mad Natter wasn't ready for the full-poem copying that was expected in the book, and once we made our way through all the upper and lower case letters, he was ready for the rest of the book. Grade 2, however, will wait until next year. I'm happy that his handwriting is on grade level, as it was well below when we began. He's doing really well, and he's trying really hard to improve his writing, which is one of the best things I could have seen.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.4;">Spelling: </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 1.4;">All About Spelling Level 2</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> Mad Natter adores All About Spelling. We did finish level 2 this year, roughly by January. We've been continuing a review (using the phrases and sentences along the way) since then, and Mad Natter still loves it. Since we've gotten his attention issues sorted, his performance in spelling has skyrocketed, and I honestly think that the multi-sensory format of the program has a lot to do with this. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.4;">English Language:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Michael Clay Thompson's Grammar Island</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> Grammar, not Mad Natter's favorite. He loved the stories, and even if he didn't much care for the actual "name the part of speech" portion, he did enjoy the vocabulary, the writing book, and even some of the poetry. All in, this has been a fantastic series, and Mad Natter has retained significantly more than I ever remember learning about the English language. I'm extremely impressed, and very pleased with the end result.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Computers:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Looking for a good typing program!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> Depressingly, I never did find a good typing program. However, Mad Natter did take it upon himself to learn how to use Google, YouTube, and in-game chat for Terraria, so while I'll still keep an eye out for a good typing program, I'm not going to be panicking about it in the meantime.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.4;">Physical Education:</b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Hockey 2x/week</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Park Days 2x/week</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Hockey went very well, and while park days were pretty much out due to crummy weather, followed by monsoon-style rain, hockey went well is a good thing. We have since moved into martial arts twice a week, and Mad Natter is learning the difference between an individual sport and a team sport. He's having fun, he's getting a lot of exercise, and we're all pretty happy.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">All in, I think we've had a pretty good year. We accomplished the vast majority of what we intended to, and Mad Natter took very well to just about everything, which is helpful. I'm actually looking forward to 15-16, to outlining our plan for the year, and for making use of the resources that have come into the house.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-50179167760352112862015-05-08T11:00:00.000-04:002015-05-08T11:00:00.201-04:00Bean Boxes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeomMNxtSzqTIsfN2l8YLM9Q9Gw9fc-vCte08U6EYTio3r5MgGUxvSpINPhoQK14LDu5RAG6-WjABisQMxve-1JVXge-r5lsRH7IiYWtvIBXXMAQ42SneNxfcmelRafvBfUIFQ0Mji0c/s1600/bean+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeomMNxtSzqTIsfN2l8YLM9Q9Gw9fc-vCte08U6EYTio3r5MgGUxvSpINPhoQK14LDu5RAG6-WjABisQMxve-1JVXge-r5lsRH7IiYWtvIBXXMAQ42SneNxfcmelRafvBfUIFQ0Mji0c/s1600/bean+box.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>One of the wonderful things we got tipped off to when Mad Natter first started showing his sensory issues was the concept of a Bean Box. This turned out to be one of the best things ever. Not only was it less messy than a cookie tray full of shaving cream, and more interesting than playing with sandpaper, but it was something to explore, which seems to have made all the difference.<br />
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I grabbed a box from the dollar store, basically just the size of a sheet of paper. I emptied a bag of black-eyed peas and another of lentils into the box, and put in several handfuls of dollar store toys - light up rings, plastic dinosaurs, some rubber worms, things like that. You wouldn't think this would be a long term activity, mostly because there aren't a lot of toys in there, and it's not really a large scale toy of any kind.<br />
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This past weekend, though, Mad Natter asked to pull the bean box down. He hadn't played with it in a while, so I figured he'd play for a little while, and I could get lunch on the table. Apparently, I underestimated the amusement value of the bean box. He spent the rest of the afternoon, and on into the evening, playing with the beans and the toys. He made up games, he sifted the beans through his fingers, it was a long, quiet playtime. And, surprisingly, the box only spilled once (and Mad Natter had help knocking that over). It was a lovely, quiet, peaceful afternoon, and one I'm looking forward to seeing if we can repeat. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-40705839139705855562015-05-06T11:00:00.000-04:002015-05-06T11:00:01.017-04:00LEGO Robotics<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHrtjpVDE8s3djRXp0DVYc8Hi-FyJ1xr__oPgCCgj96MqC5aC9M_h7jfbygqSFCMRKlMHRyFxvq56PwZiYGv8ExvwVhtDBhA2m9qKnGxIcpQp8n0X4xsOI9yQ6XjrJP476Eeb7zuUuf0/s1600/robotics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHrtjpVDE8s3djRXp0DVYc8Hi-FyJ1xr__oPgCCgj96MqC5aC9M_h7jfbygqSFCMRKlMHRyFxvq56PwZiYGv8ExvwVhtDBhA2m9qKnGxIcpQp8n0X4xsOI9yQ6XjrJP476Eeb7zuUuf0/s1600/robotics.jpg" height="320" width="267" /></a>We had an amazing opportunity this week - Mad Natter had the chance to enroll (a year early) in a LEGO Robotics class with our local Sylvan Learning Centre. Because it was with our local Association of Bright Children, he was able to squeak in without their usual "age 7" guideline. And so, on a lovely Sunday morning, we went off to the centre and I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>We tend to not have a lot of good experience with outside-the-house classes of any kind. Sports seem to be okay, but in general, anything not designed around physical activity winds up not getting anything done, because Mad Natter seems to take the lack of activity as a challenge. So I brought him, and hoped. I can't keep him home forever, right?<br />
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It was a resounding success. He built the robot he was supposed to build, did the experiments he was supposed to do, and has been asking daily if we're going back. He built several other things, in addition to the robot birds (which he named Kirby), and has been really excited to go build more. We're hoping to get him into the spring program, but with there only being three open spots, and our not being able to confirm until the 15th, we might have to wait until summer.<br />
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I'm so excited for him. He's really taken to this, and I'd like to keep his interest. The wonderful and heartbreaking part, though, was when I asked him what he thought, he said to me, "They didn't <i>do</i> anything to me, Mama - we just talked!" He does need the additional social time out, but after our last few trips to PlayPlaces and such, I've been leery to get too attached to any given social group. It looks like this will be a good thing, though - and it all came as second nature to him, so it sure can't hurt to enroll him.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-52448904848585787992015-05-04T11:00:00.000-04:002015-05-04T11:00:01.813-04:00Mad Natter versus Training: Round Two<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JnSIZQr9cC2MmqwZ1HTeewi2G7ZVr0fp7tyP2qwm-J9K-ZQhzbx1hjnMkcSCyqe0HngirNsJ7tUrLq4rmpVQPWLlul4Cls-7LgjUjIMoGyGijIhBF2SyXYYXjGAvGaP6bHKRdKH0JSQ/s1600/round+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JnSIZQr9cC2MmqwZ1HTeewi2G7ZVr0fp7tyP2qwm-J9K-ZQhzbx1hjnMkcSCyqe0HngirNsJ7tUrLq4rmpVQPWLlul4Cls-7LgjUjIMoGyGijIhBF2SyXYYXjGAvGaP6bHKRdKH0JSQ/s1600/round+2.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>Almost precisely two years ago, I talked about <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2013/05/monkey-versus-training-ready-fight.html" target="_blank">Mad Natter enrolling in Taekwondo</a>. While we went for a month, we wound up pulling out until Mad Natter was in a better place to actually participate in the training. After the events at the end of the winter, we figured another trial run was in order. Our park district offered an eight week class at the same dojan we were using originally, so we went for it. Eight weeks shouldn't be too bad, even if everything went off the rails.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The first day was shaping up to be a nightmare. Mad Natter, despite originally being excited about returning to Taekwondo, when the first day of class came... Nope. There was screaming, and fit pitching, and a whole lot of "I DON'T WANT TO GO!!!" This could play out one of two ways - we could say "okay, don't go," and cave on it, or we could say "you wanted to start going again, so we signed you up. It's important that you at least try." We went with option two, with the caveat that if he wanted, he could sit out the class and just watch it with me instead of participating. Sure enough, we got there, and he was right in the mix with the other kids. No problem at all.<br />
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That first class was enough to tell me we'd done the right thing. Mad Natter, having come out of hockey, when called to make a circle with the other kids, took a knee. After all, you don't sit on your butt on the ice, you'll never get up! So, as he took a knee, the kiddo next to him took a swipe at him to try to make him sit. Our new Sir saw it happen and called it out - immediately. He told all the kids that they do not hit each other - ever. There are no excuses for hitting in his class. The relief I felt after several bouts of bullying at public play areas was a tangible thing.<br />
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Mad Natter has been doing fairly well this go-around. We have to be careful about the timing, as his medication tends to wear off around 5:00-6:00, and his class runs 4:45-5:30. This is fairly evident in his variable levels of concentration and precision. However, even his worst day was leaps and bounds better than his best day the last time we tried, and Mad Natter seems to enjoy this class just as much if not more than the last. He'd still drop it like a hot potato in favor of hockey, but he's more than happy to give this a go, too.<br />
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He's learning. He's learning that his actions have consequences. That there are limits, and he is expected to handle himself accordingly. Sir sets a high standard, and Mad Natter, in general, meets that standard. I'm extremely proud of the effort he's putting in, and I'm making a point of telling him what I saw when he gives it his best. He's encouraged by the group dynamic, he's fitting in quite well, and he's having fun. This will just be all around good for him. The question is, do we continue it once hockey starts - because Mad Natter would rather cut off his arms than give up his hockey.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-87677520253902485152015-05-01T00:00:00.000-04:002015-05-01T00:00:02.836-04:00Twice Exceptional Hatters<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2dUf05r6g1x42NZeicjSg6LtqMXpwjIhw3jZTlUMKiVuBlXtIsHXtNuring6SVpMpVP1tB64sBtQ72kADwhQCFQYC6vyV1kUX2oAAuEheMv40iuGOERYljTNWT9FlgLkEc6f-bZ3fhM/s1600/2E+Hatters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2dUf05r6g1x42NZeicjSg6LtqMXpwjIhw3jZTlUMKiVuBlXtIsHXtNuring6SVpMpVP1tB64sBtQ72kADwhQCFQYC6vyV1kUX2oAAuEheMv40iuGOERYljTNWT9FlgLkEc6f-bZ3fhM/s1600/2E+Hatters.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>I've written before about <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2013/10/homeschooling-gifted-or-2e-child.html" target="_blank">what having a twice-exceptional child looks</a> like here in our Mooselandia home. Of course, by now that snapshot is two years old, and as with everything else, changed with time, experience, and the work and care of people we can trust. Let me bring you up to speed. If you've never heard the term "2E" before, it means "twice exceptional." This is commonly a child who is gifted with some form of learning disability - ADHD, SPD, ASD, really anything. These kids are often overlooked in the school system, as either their increased ability masks their disability, or the school's penchant for treating the disability first means the ability is never recognized. But, being homeschoolers means that I get to see the full spectrum of my child - his good moments, his bad ones, and what is more "normal" for him than not.<br />
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I've been so excited recently, our good days are outnumbering our bad ones. Until today, it had been over a month since the last time Mad Natter went to bed and I called it what Skeeve and I like to affectionately refer to as A Boozeahol Night.<br />
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Yesterday started out poorly. Mad Natter did not sleep well the night before, which means he was in our bed and flopping around at 3am. When faced with the choice between a wailing child and a sleeping one, I went with the only solution that sounds sane at 3am - the sleeping one. So he slept beside me. When he woke up, he was obviously having a hard morning. I asked him to please use the bathroom, then come back to play a game on his Innotab (he's recently found it again and wants to use it). He did... and then leaned over and blew a kazoo-horn in my ear as hard as he could. Then there was the jumping on the bed, the punching, kicking, and grunting at invisible enemies, dashing up and down the hall, jumping on me... and this was all within ten minutes of his using the washroom. Hoo-boy, doozy of a day incoming. But, we went downstairs, I got my hearing back, we got our medicines taken... and the rest of the day went well. A little more squirrelly than normal, but well. Crisis averted. Last night, he had a bad dream. Yes, I know. I need to kick him out of my room. He's six. He's not going to want to cuddle much longer, so I really don't care. He slept in his space in the big bedroom, but he slept. And he slept long. Finally. This morning, he woke smiling, and snuggled, and went to use the bathroom, then came back under the covers and said "Mama, after our snuggle, can we go downstairs?" So much better than yesterday, crisis averted for sure!<br />
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Never say "for sure."<br />
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We went downstairs, got our morning underway, did extra science experiments (which absolutely made his day), and then came up to math. It was Mixed Review Day. I've also <a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.ca/2014/09/math-facts-with-kid-who-hates-review.html" target="_blank">mentioned what review is like here</a>. He abjectly hates review. It doesn't matter what we're reviewing, he hates it. Today, we were reviewing addition with carrying. Starting with 27+9+35+25= it took half an hour for that one problem. Why? First there was fifteen minutes of fussing and fighting about whether or not he needed to review, and why wouldn't I just believe him that he knew it without doing a single bit of addition? Then bathroom break. Then trampoline. Then cuddles. Then working together. Then, finally, agreeing to do the one problem. I stepped away to let him work. He gave me back 16+10+20+30+20, and didn't understand why that wasn't correct. Another ten minutes spent in explaining that I do not want him to get the answers wrong, but he needed to give me an answer, and not another problem before the light clicked and he said "Oh. 96 then." and that was it. Mama wound tighter than a lute string, Mad Natter irritated that I'd make him show me he retained addition with carrying. At least silent reading was up next. <br />
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Mercifully, a break. For both of us, from each other. He sat and read his Star Wars LEGO Encyclopedia, I read some articles on anxiety. We both calmed down. Mad Natter finished, went and jumped on his trampoline some more, we did grammar together, and he listened to history - it was the Greeks versus the Persians at Thermopylae, he loved it. And then... the rest of the day was calm. He helped me cut fruit for lunch, he helped me get things together for dinner, he played and built with LEGO and watched a Let's Play of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.<br />
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Most kids, I assume, have ups and downs. What's unusual about 2E kids is that those tend to be just as extreme as everything else they do. In our house, it means remembering first and foremost that these extremes are not his fault. His body and mind are seeking out stimulation. If he doesn't get that stimulation constructively, he will find other ways to get it - and those kinds of days usually end in boozeahol nights.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_2e.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlALsYiUsrYpDfdG85C6EnxsOLRe-E5zqbl26q735yaQmzZn2T1h_l_0zk6Rx9vNZCl2eEnCWuIF5GlAhzJdZf83d9CdRO1TGQBVU_EeZEMUNpO1yYXhqwj-cmCrcUIF5NUkWEueyCJM/s1600/Hoagies+2E.jpg" /></a><br />
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This post has been brought to you as a part of the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted</a> Blog Hop on 2E Kids! Please feel free to <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_2e.htm" target="_blank">check around the Hop</a> for more perspectives, or browse around here - our life is a twice-exceptional circus!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2852458664875660809.post-88589305802943874492015-04-29T11:00:00.000-04:002015-04-29T11:00:00.411-04:00The Backpack of Holding!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ckxDKVfreW4nC7LHXGVoHWHnZLh62unDph0C5vi__6Jf11k6LgpVVRRtYgfXoNpgPHKbtBhNydXtphSqIYqZpbabTlrS78bXKGyPPAoaEaAKvwUdnlQEju-oE4543Q_qg4ulZ84XPrY/s1600/1e69_backpack_of_holding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ckxDKVfreW4nC7LHXGVoHWHnZLh62unDph0C5vi__6Jf11k6LgpVVRRtYgfXoNpgPHKbtBhNydXtphSqIYqZpbabTlrS78bXKGyPPAoaEaAKvwUdnlQEju-oE4543Q_qg4ulZ84XPrY/s1600/1e69_backpack_of_holding.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a>Okay, so no big secret I'm a gamer. My preference is for RPGs, be they tabletop or MUCK/MUSH. This means that, quite naturally, a <i><a href="http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Bag_of_Holding" target="_blank">bag of holding</a></i> was hugely attractive to me. Skeeve has the original Bag of Holding messenger bag, and I've come to inherit a <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1e69/" target="_blank">Backpack of Holding</a> from him. My geeky heart sings.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>First. It's brown. I'm not a big fan of brown in general, but it works here. The bag rarely if ever shows dirt, and it's been taken out, kicked around, stood on, and otherwise beaten up just like most bags in a house with kids are. You can't tell. The brown totally works - and the bag really is that durable.<br />
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Alongside durability, it's also comfortable. I bring this bag with me when we walk to the store up the block, which means I carry home our errand-running-fruits in there. Even when it's heavy, and I'm talking 20 pounds or more, it's easy to carry and doesn't strain my shoulders or back. This is a huge improvement over really every bag I've had since my Jansport in high school.<br />
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Now, it's called a Bag of Holding. That's a big name to live up to - those things are miniature TARDISes, much bigger on the inside than the outside, and capable of carrying immense loads. Given the size of the bag itself, I would posit that according to the Bag of Holding tables, it should be about 20 cubic feet on the inside, and capable of carrying up to about 100 pounds. Those are some big shoes to fill, wouldn't you say?<br />
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The Backpack of Holding has two interior pockets and three exterior pockets. I have one exterior pocket for myself. It holds my wallet, my glasses (or sunglasses), and a bottle of aspirin. The front pocket is only half filled, and it currently contains an entire box of Fruit by the Foot. The last side pocket is full up - it has half a bag of Craisins and 2/3 of a box of Cars gummis in it. Long term food storage, required to keep the hangry at bay if we're out of the house.<br />
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The interior always has two bottles of water, and one complete change of clothes for Mad Natter in. This is because Mad Natter is six, and seems to have some kind of mud-puddle sonar. I don't have spare shoes in there, but I've got everything else. Now, in addition to those things, I took my bag to the store yesterday, and picked up two twelve-packs of soda and a pair of energy drinks for Skeeve. In the tall cans. I put all of it into the Backpack of holding, and headed out. Everything stayed in, and was easy to carry. Heavy, but easy. It's not twenty cubic feet, but it is, for sure, much more sizeable than it looks when it's empty.<br />
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I took this bag with us when Mad Natter and I went to visit with Hammie and Buppa. It was my car-bag, meaning it took the place of my purse while we were in the car. This bag rode shotgun, came into truck stop bathrooms, carried all the various things we need while we're traveling - including passports, snacks, toys, games, books... And it carried them well. I have yet to encounter a situation this bag hasn't been good for - even when dealing with the lot of variable changes-every-day things we have happen here. Totally worth the money. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452291011927614117noreply@blogger.com0