So many things to blog about... where do I start?
Well, the creative process is as good a place as any, right? So there we shall start.
I'm a creative person but lack the time, space and energy for the projects I would love to work on. Who can forget I'm short on money for such projects too. It always seems that when a projects comes up that I want to do there is an equal amount of obstacles preventing me from doing said projects.
Somethings I would love to work on are my won scrapbooks. Right now I have 4 scrapbooks, not for me, that I need to get done. I have yet to start any of them. The easiest one is for little Egan. I made a scrapbook for him already but now I just have to put the pictures in it. First I need to receive pictures from his mom and dad... Once I get them finishing the book will be a breeze, if I could ever find the time to do so. Next I have Adam's graduation book. I cannot work on this one until after the graduation though as I will need pictures from it to complete the book. My friend has a scrapbook she started for her daughter. She lost interest in doing it so passed it on to me to work on. Again, I need to print the pictures to complete it. I have to find the time to go through her pictures to even know which ones to print. Lastly, I have to make a new scrapbook complete with pre-done pages. This is for a new mommy to be. She is due in November. Then to top it off I am planning on making some sort of wall art for another mommy to be.
That sounds like it is too much to handle in my life right now but in reality it's not IF I plan well enough. The key is sticking to the plan. That's my problem. That is my problem in almost every aspect of my life. I hate sticking to plans. I love to go with the flow. In this house that is not a very good option though. I wish it was. I miss going with the flow and not having a care in the world.
My life is a jumble of other little lives all mixed up. Adam's, Daniel's, Egan, Mike's, my siblings, extended family, church family, friends. The list goes on and on. Out side of people there are the list of things to do; church things, school things, house things, me things and my projects of course. How on earth do I get all this done without forgetting anything? LISTS LISTS LISTS and following them!
I am a list maker at heart. I write everything down. Multiple times. It's not writing them down that I get into trouble with. I have to follow the lists that I make. Usually I am good at that and can get most of my list done. Recently though, I have not been very good. It has taken me a long time to complete easy tasks only because those tasks are time consuming. That needs to stop.
What can I do? If you have this problem, what can you do? Make more then just an effort. Make it a priority. Set goals and time frames. Be determined. These are things I can do to help stop this progression of not following through... If you can think of more ideas leave them in the comments section.
Thanks for reading!
God's goal for you in life.
Life goes on, move with it
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Sensory Kids
Special needs families.
Children with difficulties.
Understanding their needs.
Hi, this morning I have special needs families on my mind. Mine is a special needs family but I know it is not the normal type of special needs family. Is their a normal type? I'm not quite sure there is but anyhow, I thought I would describe some of our challenges.
Emotional misunderstandings... Have you ever thought you understood how someone else felt only to find you out you really didn't? Have you ever done something to someone only to find out later they felt hurt by what you did even though you were trying to help? My oldest has this issue... It used to happen a lot but now he has improved. He still has no clue about some emotions that others express. He has no clue (most of the time) about his own emotions nor how to express them.
Life can be confusing; especially for those who already have a problem understanding themselves. Someone recently asked what it means to be a "sensory kid". I thought I would take the time to elaborate on what sensory problems are and how they affect people, especially those who suffer from it. I recently posted this on muy facebook so you might have seen it already. If you have, I'm sorry. :o)
What does Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) look like?
When our brains receive too much or too little sensory input it tries to compensate for the lack of or too much input. This is referred as a sensory processing (or integration) disorder. It can do this by creating a need to touch everything (as a result of too little input) or to not wanting to be touched (as a result of too much input). It can lead to behavioral issues such as meltdowns, avoidance to stimuli, acting out, crying, hitting and more. This can be interrupted by those who do not understand the needs of the child as that child is acting out, being bad, disobeying or over reacting. When in reality the child is just not able to handle the amount of sensory input they are getting. By adjusting or adapting the environment for the child that child can then handle things much easier and is able to live a more normal life.
Both my sons, myself and my husband all have sensory processing issues; all to a different degree. When kids are young they have not learned how to work around their sensory issues. As adults most of us already have learned to cope so the problems are not apparent to those around us.
I do not always recommend changing the environment too much for the child (depending on the severity of the sensory issues) but rather teaching the child coping skills. I have always held the belief that the world will not change for people but rather will expect the person to change for the world. Of course this depends on the child and the environment.
I hope this has helped you understand it a little better.
Children with difficulties.
Understanding their needs.
Hi, this morning I have special needs families on my mind. Mine is a special needs family but I know it is not the normal type of special needs family. Is their a normal type? I'm not quite sure there is but anyhow, I thought I would describe some of our challenges.
Emotional misunderstandings... Have you ever thought you understood how someone else felt only to find you out you really didn't? Have you ever done something to someone only to find out later they felt hurt by what you did even though you were trying to help? My oldest has this issue... It used to happen a lot but now he has improved. He still has no clue about some emotions that others express. He has no clue (most of the time) about his own emotions nor how to express them.
Life can be confusing; especially for those who already have a problem understanding themselves. Someone recently asked what it means to be a "sensory kid". I thought I would take the time to elaborate on what sensory problems are and how they affect people, especially those who suffer from it. I recently posted this on muy facebook so you might have seen it already. If you have, I'm sorry. :o)
What does Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) look like?
When our brains receive too much or too little sensory input it tries to compensate for the lack of or too much input. This is referred as a sensory processing (or integration) disorder. It can do this by creating a need to touch everything (as a result of too little input) or to not wanting to be touched (as a result of too much input). It can lead to behavioral issues such as meltdowns, avoidance to stimuli, acting out, crying, hitting and more. This can be interrupted by those who do not understand the needs of the child as that child is acting out, being bad, disobeying or over reacting. When in reality the child is just not able to handle the amount of sensory input they are getting. By adjusting or adapting the environment for the child that child can then handle things much easier and is able to live a more normal life.
Both my sons, myself and my husband all have sensory processing issues; all to a different degree. When kids are young they have not learned how to work around their sensory issues. As adults most of us already have learned to cope so the problems are not apparent to those around us.
I do not always recommend changing the environment too much for the child (depending on the severity of the sensory issues) but rather teaching the child coping skills. I have always held the belief that the world will not change for people but rather will expect the person to change for the world. Of course this depends on the child and the environment.
I hope this has helped you understand it a little better.
The question of the day - ???
To blog or not to blog; that is the question.
Well, for a bit there I was blogging more frequently. Of course it wasn't on a daily basis or even weekly but it was often enough for me. Then I stopped. Blogger.com changed their format of their site. I didn't like the new changes. So, I stopped blogging. Life moves on and I got busy. Blogging became a thing of the past. I missed it though. That is where the question of the day comes in to play...
To blog or not to blog...
I like blogging. I like sharing my thoughts and my world with those who find it interesting. I like that I can open up my mind, my heart and my home to people who otherwise would never get to know me. I feel God has things in my life to further His glory. If I do not share then I am hindering the Holy Spirit's work in and through me. Maybe I am delusional, I don't know. lol All I do know is I like blogging.
I hope this means that you will see and read more blog posts from me.
I pray that God uses this blog to further His kingdom. How amazing would that be? For God to use something so trivial and insignificant as my blog to further His glorious kingdom? I am humbled and honored!
Please continue to read, share and comment.... I love to hear your input and your thoughts.
For now, well, I shall see you around the next bend and in the next blog.
Well, for a bit there I was blogging more frequently. Of course it wasn't on a daily basis or even weekly but it was often enough for me. Then I stopped. Blogger.com changed their format of their site. I didn't like the new changes. So, I stopped blogging. Life moves on and I got busy. Blogging became a thing of the past. I missed it though. That is where the question of the day comes in to play...
To blog or not to blog...
I like blogging. I like sharing my thoughts and my world with those who find it interesting. I like that I can open up my mind, my heart and my home to people who otherwise would never get to know me. I feel God has things in my life to further His glory. If I do not share then I am hindering the Holy Spirit's work in and through me. Maybe I am delusional, I don't know. lol All I do know is I like blogging.
I hope this means that you will see and read more blog posts from me.
I pray that God uses this blog to further His kingdom. How amazing would that be? For God to use something so trivial and insignificant as my blog to further His glorious kingdom? I am humbled and honored!
Please continue to read, share and comment.... I love to hear your input and your thoughts.
For now, well, I shall see you around the next bend and in the next blog.
Our home - school, fun, church, worship, armory, bank
How to describe our home... That is the question of the day.
I occasionally read other people's blogs about their lives, their homeschools, their hobbies. So I think to myself how would I describe our home? There is not one word that describes it.
In our home we are able to be who we want to be. We are able to explore and delve into the things we are interested by. We are able to worship the Lord in the way that makes our hearts leap with joy. We learn, teach, scream, cry, laugh, shoot, and create. In our home we are allowed to be ourselves.
Growing up I didn't have that experience. My parent's house was prim and proper most of the time. I was unique but more often then not I was unique when not at home. I didn't have friends over, I didn't get to watch or listen to things that interested me, I didn't get to make messes very often. Don't get me wrong, I loved my childhood years. I still think of them with a smile on my face and in my heart. I have such wonderfully fond memories of growing up in a foster home.
When not at home I listened to music everywhere I went. I watched cable tv at my friends' houses and when I babysat.School projects were done at friend's houses, hardly ever at home. My parents liked a clean house, a quiet and well respected home. There is nothing wrong with that. That is not how my house is though.
In my hosue my kids can make messes, and I make them right along side of them.
In my house the radio can be blared on occasion. My son listens to the radio (Christian stations only) full volume every time he gets a chance. Someone always has a project they are working on. Sometimes that entails sawdust and hand tools in my living room or clay in the bedroom. Sometimes it means scrapbook stuff is laid out in the bedroom or on the kitchen table. Conversations about the oddest things come out of no where. School stuff is rarely put away. Dishes are rarely ever completely done.
My house is not the cleanest, but it is lived in.
My house is rarely quiet, when it is I worry why.
We homeschool but we do not replicate school.
We search the internet, netflix, the woods, the craft cupboard for anything that stikes our interest.
We make things out of whatever we find.
We love nature shows, This Old House, cooking shows, Sons of Guns, How It Works. We love PBS.
We fish, catch bugs, snakes and other creepy animals.
We have had mice and gerbils, taken care of hamsters, snakes, birds and cats. Our newts escaped and our hermit crabs killed each other.
We all have guns now. Some have pellet guns, some have airsoft guns and some have 22s. We all love to shoot. We all know how to handle and care for our weapons. We all are responsible.
Our school doesn't look like school. The kids are on the couch or in their room. We walk while doing spelling. We learn by talking and researching, not because we read it in a textbook. The librarians know us by name.
Now we have Egan. He's a year old now. We have watched him since he was 9 weeks old.
School. Home Economics. Child Care.
The boys know how to change diapers, make bottles, wipe up drool, feed him baby food and entertain him.
They are learning valuable lessons.
They are learning to be good fathers.
They are learning responsibility and accountability.
All in all I can't really sit down and give a simple answer of how we homeschool. I can only say we live life; therefore school is accomplished. Yes, we use some books, but we use life experiences more.
We are who we are and are only confined by the limits of our imagination. We homeschool.
I occasionally read other people's blogs about their lives, their homeschools, their hobbies. So I think to myself how would I describe our home? There is not one word that describes it.
In our home we are able to be who we want to be. We are able to explore and delve into the things we are interested by. We are able to worship the Lord in the way that makes our hearts leap with joy. We learn, teach, scream, cry, laugh, shoot, and create. In our home we are allowed to be ourselves.
Growing up I didn't have that experience. My parent's house was prim and proper most of the time. I was unique but more often then not I was unique when not at home. I didn't have friends over, I didn't get to watch or listen to things that interested me, I didn't get to make messes very often. Don't get me wrong, I loved my childhood years. I still think of them with a smile on my face and in my heart. I have such wonderfully fond memories of growing up in a foster home.
When not at home I listened to music everywhere I went. I watched cable tv at my friends' houses and when I babysat.School projects were done at friend's houses, hardly ever at home. My parents liked a clean house, a quiet and well respected home. There is nothing wrong with that. That is not how my house is though.
In my hosue my kids can make messes, and I make them right along side of them.
In my house the radio can be blared on occasion. My son listens to the radio (Christian stations only) full volume every time he gets a chance. Someone always has a project they are working on. Sometimes that entails sawdust and hand tools in my living room or clay in the bedroom. Sometimes it means scrapbook stuff is laid out in the bedroom or on the kitchen table. Conversations about the oddest things come out of no where. School stuff is rarely put away. Dishes are rarely ever completely done.
My house is not the cleanest, but it is lived in.
My house is rarely quiet, when it is I worry why.
We homeschool but we do not replicate school.
We search the internet, netflix, the woods, the craft cupboard for anything that stikes our interest.
We make things out of whatever we find.
We love nature shows, This Old House, cooking shows, Sons of Guns, How It Works. We love PBS.
We fish, catch bugs, snakes and other creepy animals.
We have had mice and gerbils, taken care of hamsters, snakes, birds and cats. Our newts escaped and our hermit crabs killed each other.
We all have guns now. Some have pellet guns, some have airsoft guns and some have 22s. We all love to shoot. We all know how to handle and care for our weapons. We all are responsible.
Our school doesn't look like school. The kids are on the couch or in their room. We walk while doing spelling. We learn by talking and researching, not because we read it in a textbook. The librarians know us by name.
Now we have Egan. He's a year old now. We have watched him since he was 9 weeks old.
School. Home Economics. Child Care.
The boys know how to change diapers, make bottles, wipe up drool, feed him baby food and entertain him.
They are learning valuable lessons.
They are learning to be good fathers.
They are learning responsibility and accountability.
All in all I can't really sit down and give a simple answer of how we homeschool. I can only say we live life; therefore school is accomplished. Yes, we use some books, but we use life experiences more.
We are who we are and are only confined by the limits of our imagination. We homeschool.
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