living gifted

time... keeps on slipping

2010-10-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

nearly a year has gone by since my last post.. for that I am very sorry.. I have NOT forgotten about this beautiful little blog.. I have simply been busy with other blogs and with the educating of my blessings..

Life with 2E children is VERY busy... VERY engaging... and VERY full...
I confess... I have struggled with this blog.. though the topic is a passion of mine..
I am passionate about my blessings..
Passionate about education
home education
gifted education
and about the education of the twice exceptional and those with special needs in general.
and I am.. believe it or NOT.. a passionate blogger

: - )

yes... yet I struggled.. HOW could I share information with YOU dear reader.. that I did not have myself..
WHAT was wrong???
What was the diagnoses???
What was UP with my munchkins...
So bright they shine... and yet.. something so clearly amiss...
oooo I am certain there are those of you out there in cyber land who can relate..... the waiting.. the quest to find answers to WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH MY CHILD???

Dysgraphia is fine.. but we've done this therapy.. yes.. and THAT therapy... and yet.. so little progress.... and she is so defeated...
Fatigue
difficulty concentrating
vision worsening
poor hearing
anger yet extreme compassion
hyper sensitivities
visual disturbances... certain lighting upsetting to a certain child
hearing disturbances.. bothering to other children is certain sounds...
allergies to so MANY things
kidney issues
heart issues
and the list goes on and on and on and on....
and so did the list of doctors... of specialists.. of therapies... and supplements...

Last December.. I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease.
I was asked by the doctor, and my support group, if my children had any symptoms..
any bizarre un related, unexplainable issues..

hmmm ???

yah.. ya think??

I was told at this point that Lyme disease.. the spirochete Borrelia Burdorfi, can be transferred to your child during pregnancy... That they ought to be tested...

Each of my birth children tested positive for lyme disease...
Each of them have identical co-infections to mine...
It is believed that they each have Congenital Lyme disease.. there is NO reason to believe otherwise.
We are now in treatment.
Treatment is Long Term Antibiotics and supplements...
We are officially Gluten Free.. low dairy... low to borderline no soy

LIFE this year... has dramatically changed for our family.
School is still coming along... but it too looks different... Finding ways to challenge them, while trying to have a flexible enough schedule to deal with their days of being just plain ILL from medicines is hard...

My eldest son C.S.(age 14) has been diagnosed with
POTS (postural orthostatic tachicardial syndrom) he mee
possible siezures (he goes in soon for sleep studies)
HHV6
Babesia
Bartonella
Lyme

Daughter Princess KI
Dysgraphia
Babesia
Bartonella
HHV6
Lyme

Son Buddy
Bartonella
Babesia
HHV6
Lyme

oh... all that excitement.. and I failed to share we adopted!!!!!!!!!!!! yes!
a beautiful little boy! it all happened at right about the same time we were learning about this... He is a joy, and is just now learning to sit, and pull up to things :)

So...
Living Gifted... will perhaps expand.. to the giftings of life with 2E & raising kids IN REAL life, with illness, chaos and strife :)

because that is my world :)

Hope you are glad to have me back friends!
because I am glad to BE back!

communicating.... speaking.... conversing.... basically HELP :)

2009-11-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." -Proverbs 25:11

"87% of everything we do during the day is communication related. While you may manage to live your entire life without making a speech, you will not get through one day without communicating something to someone! Effective communication touches every aspect of our lives:

Marriage

Parenting

Defending the Faith

Learning Skills

College Prep

Getting a Job

Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Owning Your Own Business

Making and Maintaining friendships "

This is a direct quote from The Art of Eloquence.... and I happen to be sort of cyber pals with the developer of these amazing products... I thought you too might benefit from checking out her sight.. Often times 'gifted children' especially 2E, as well as HSC, can be very uncomfortable performing in front of strangers... JoJo (the developer) has masterfully put together program after program, depending upon age and ability, to help YOUR child or even YOU develop better communication skills... we may not all have to give big speeches, or be called to perform anything in front of anyone, but each of us needs healthy, solid communications skills as part of our foundation to get along in every day life..

If you are looking for help in communicating, or teaching communication skills to your child, PLEASE check out The Art of Eloquence. I truly believe you and your child will be blessed with any purchase you might make!

WHAT is a "highly sensitive" child??

2009-11-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

"A highly sensitive child is one of the fifteen to twenty percent of children born with a nervous system that is highly aware and quick to react to everything. This makes them quick to grasp subtle changes, prefer to reflect deeply before acting, and generally behave conscientiously. They are also easily overwhelmed by high levels of stimulation, sudden changes, and the emotional distress of others." E.Aron PH.D

Elaine Aron PHD wrote this book, that I SOOOOO want to read! Have you read it?

Well, it's on my Christmas WISH LIST, and I hope to have a review for you soon!

I thought her expanation of "sensitive" was quite helpful, so much that in the quote above I highlighted it for you :)

is your blessing sensitive too???

2009-11-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

Living With Live Wires is a blog I enjoy... and I recently saw this quiz!

Is your child sensitive...

I am having the blessings take it this week...

how about YOU?

Let me know how it goes...

sensitive....

2009-11-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

Gifted Children can be very sensitive... be it from being incredibly astute, aware, perceptive and blending that with their youth, innocence, raw honesty... i do not know... I just know that most gifted children I know, are very sensitive...
NOT in that wimpy sort of way all to often depicted by Hollywood...
no...
but in a REAL way... in a RAW way..
like they get it..
LIKE they get some aspects of life and CARE
while we "get it" but have grown apathetic..
and IF we stopped to THINK their thoughts
we'd need ... help
therapy...
some serious stocks in a good tissue company, and plenty of the product in our home...
Really!

The emotional stress these kids can endure is intense.. Because they are thinking beyond what the typical (is there such a thing) kid is thinking, they are going beyond the general thought process with each and every issue...
Moving is Stressful
Traveling around the world is FUN, but has it's stressors
Packing is Stressful
being sick is stressful
having sick siblings is stressful
having an ill mother is stressful
watching a beloved grandparent (or ANY loved one) struggle desperately with Cancer is STRESSFUL
being told you are TOO young to visit anymore because of H1N1 is STRESSFUL
the list goes on and on and on...

I haven't written much on our blog since back from our little adventure abroad.. In fact I have neglected my little "gifted blog" all together...
I have been swept up in my 3 blessings...
doctors, illnesses, and preparing to move...
(VERY stressful to ANY child... all the more... for a gifted or Twice Exceptional child)
add into that THE Oma (German Grandmother)
has taken a turn for the worse in her battle for Cancer... and been in hospital for a time...

These issues, and a variety of others.. are HUGE, dare I say DRAMATIC times in the lives of Gifted children...
I am learning that walking in Grace... in Faith... is a challenge..
Offering them room to breathe, room to grieve, room to think,
and still challenge them is some days an inner battle...
I am thankful for the knowledge that there are "counselors & therapists" who work with gifted children... This is wonderful to know...
Yet as followers of Christ, what does THIS mom do?
Well, the children consider chatting with such a person as a thing quite POINTLESS; if they can find NO "Nouthetic Counselor" who is trained to work with the "gifted community" they have no desire to meet with anyone.......
and they have a point...
What ARE they more... Christians... or Gifted....???
that is the question...
They are Gifted because GOD made them that way...
They are Christian because Called them, saved them...
and yet...
my frustration lies.. in WHY does the Christian Community, the Nouthetic Counselors, Biblical Counselors, show NO involvement in the "gifted community"... why can I find NO connection
it's as if Christianity can not IMAGINE that such a people exist...
it is AS if.... they have in the West totally embraced egalitarianism............
that we are NOT all fearfully and wonderfully made.. each unique and different ... worthy of appreciation, as the handiwork of God...

and yet... dare I stand apart from my Brothers and Sisters and Christ on this point...
standing firmly UPON the Rock, and declare
that we ARE all fearfully and wonderfully made....
I am, no, WE are separate... and yet because of Christ ..UNITED...

excuse my ramblings...
I am on the hunt,
for a NOUTHETIC Counselor trained in working with Gifted Children...
eyes wide open
heart full of love
hands open in prayer...

prayers are welcome, thoughts or suggestions welcome... If you have come across this, & found some victory, or an answer to this ... please comment! :)

Learning French....

2009-05-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't been reading LONG, one thing that would be good to know is that we are learning French... or attempting to. We are living here, in Lyon France temporarily on business. Our decision to home educate years ago really has been a blessing, affording us the opportunity to travel with the head of our home, my wonderful husband and best friend in all the world. We follow him where ever the good Lord leads, and this adventure has brought us to France.

We did not plan on learning France, we did not happen to study French. Though I adore the methods of Charlotte Mason, and follow her teachings fairly closely, I chose the language of my people, German, to be the first foreign language my children would be exposed to. After they seemed to progress fairly well, we moved on to Latin, and were plugging along nicely... when word came... French was needed.

Isn't it always the case... Utter rebellion will leave you hanging in JUST such a way. Is it rebellious to teach my blessings the language of my people.. NO.. it is not. Is it rebellious to have started Latin... no.. not at all. none of the above... but can I confess... somewhere deep in my gut, I remember studying Charlotte back 7 years or so ago, and having the distinct PANG to learn French... that what do you call it... burden...

I remember actually talking to her manuscript, and saying NO. I do not think so. Why do WE need to learn French. There IS NO REASON that I will EVER need to know this language.

I remember it bothering me... all night... I remember reading and reading, and trying to get my mind around it, that perhaps ANY language would do.. and perhaps any would... but I KNOW that I was supposed to learn French...

And God shall not be mocked... right...

so here we are LIVING in France on an extended business trip for several months... ha ha...

Learning French :) German ... all those years of German they barely remember ANY of it.... ha ha...

and why is that... well, frankly I know why... because I did not take my own advise... have you ever KNOWN something, and taught it, shared it, believed it, and yet when push came to shove, you just didn't follow all the way through on every last detail, and then you saw how right you were, and how wrong it was to have NOT taken your own medicine... so to speak? It really is one of those life lessons that feels a bit like a kick in the teeth... but than again, these moments often pop up in parenting... let's move on...

what am I talking about anyways?

Making inroads into their minds. Think of the mind as a wheat field. Beautiful, lush, golden wheat. Each time we attempt to learn a new thing, we are walking through that wheat field. The more frequent the walk, the more diverse the methods, and directions, the more varied we are, frankly the more creative, the deeper, the wider those little footpaths become. They become like little highways of information in the mind. Now because in life things can come at us from a variety of different circumstances, it is important we make as many inroads and tributaries to the main roads as possible, and get them as firmly entrenched as well. Some will choose a more artistic path, some more musical, some are very visual, some are very audio. This is the basic reason we choose to sing, spell, read and write new concepts to little children. It just plain works. For some children the singing will have little effect where as the writing will have significant, and for others, the learning will simply not click until each sense is fully applied. Each human being have been fearfully and wonderfully made. Discovering how you learn, and how each of your children learn can be quite a joyful adventure in and of itself!

Back to why German did not stick.... we only did Rosetta Stone. Is Rosetta Stone a good program.. YES... Sure we did dozens of other programs BEFORE Rosetta Stone... but, we, or rather I, bought the whole "they are the best" gimmick hook line and sinker, and left those wonderful supplements on the shelf to collect dust. Is Rosetta Stone the Best? They very well MAY be.. you can see from previous posts I happen to be a huge fan. Yet one thing I have to be is utterly honest.

Rosetta Stone is big business, they are smooth, the program is streamlined, very put together, very visual, so very tailored to the visual spacial learner, frankly they are just down right impressive with QUITE the advertising department to boot! As we purchased the 'home school' edition, there were even options for me, the teacher, to decide upon, as to which "course" each of my students should take. This frankly impressed me to NO end, as did the whopping price tag! Sold! And thus I broke my own rule and trusted a single curriculum to do the job, when I am well aware that no curriculum is capable of covering all the basis... (this is my firm and very biased opinion... sorry)

Needless to say I did not see the error of my ways until such time as I purchased Rosetta Stone French. Yes my second program with Rosetta :) Which was in fact, an upgraded version. Having REGISTERED my German program, I was very annoyed to find several friends were able to upgrade at a MUCH reduced price, after receiving notice from Rosetta about the upgrade. I called them to see if I too could upgrade my German program and was ... rather rudely informed that I had missed the 6 month window... ??? how is THAT possible, seeing as I paid somewhere near $300 for this program, and registered it, and YOU didn't call me... or email... or ... Now I began to worry about my French...

Well all was fine until, God in His Sovereignty, chose to allow my computer to get hit with a virus, and then a Trojan horse, and then with 13 Trojan horses... all within a few weeks... I was unaware that each time i reinstalled Rosetta Stone (both versions) due to my computer being wiped out, that I lost a licence, and would not be able to install it again... Not with out a drama of a phone call, during their nice comfy hours mind you... It was through this process that I learned, regardless of the fact that I purchased the "home school edition" I did not have enough licences even for each of my users computers... and to purchase additional licences (very afford ably done with certain software companies) was in fact to repurchase the $300 product all over again!!! Well that means when I hit the road for France (like we are now) my whole family can only use this computer to do French... The kids can not do their studies on their own PCs. This is NOT always functional...

Well... They may be the best of the Best... and I can attest to the rapid learning of my children, I can also say, they lost a LOT in the drama with the licences, which they should not have, and they simply did not retain hence... I deduce that I think it is essential for additional materials to supplement. And frankly, I hope the homeschooling community really takes a look at some of Rosetta's policies. As for this family, we are.

As for additional supplements we are using with Rosetta :) YES we use Rosetta. It is great! I hope nothing I wrote makes you think otherwise. I think they have bad policy writers, and their customer service department needs some attention for sure, but the program is good, just perhaps NOT worth quite that much money... but the market dictates, and it is only worth what people are willing to pay... and frankly right now, folks are willing to pay pay pay!

We really have had fun with Speak in a Week

There are four weeks to go through, and really you learn more than you think you will. It starts from the assumption that you know nothing. Even though we had been doing French a little while, I liked this presumption, and am glad I bought all four, as it covered things in a very funny way, and in a very different approach than Rosetta. This was great in the car, in the house, really anywhere, because we could do it together. It was not one person in front of one computer alone. This took our family's individual learning and made it corporate for the first time! Something we had been doing with Latin, but NOT with German. hmmm ... It is audio, and the speaker speaks the phrase in English and then in French twice with time for you to repeat after. The flip chart shows funny cartoons so you can follow along. This is so NOT sophisticated, just practical, charming, and frankly helpful... They have several languages so check them out too!

Yet speak in the week could only go so far, as could our little pocket books and so the hunt here in France began... yes I know... what is a mom to do... We really stink at French, and the only "French" people talking to us... REALLY are mostly people like US who are from other countries all together, who speak French as a second, third or even fourth language. We still are not .... connecting... and my face goes blank at the grocery store, because now that I go enough, they want to be friendly, and I really, haven't a clue what the nice gal said to me... my book didn't cover that, and I needed help!

Bein-dire to the rescue! I hope :) Bein-dire is From France for learners of French! As I understand it, those that put this together are NOT native French, but those who came here to live and discerned that which was lacking in their own French, and what they REALLY needed to live and breath! This is a Lyon based company, and they have hired real Native speakers for all their audio CD's :) Makes me think, it really sometimes is a blessing to talk to someone who's BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT... and here is a company that is all about that, ya really can learn to get by with a little help from your friends. If you expand YOUR definition of friend to include those great folks that make up the staff at Bein-dire !

They have curriculum, a newsletter, and a magazine! The great thing about THIS magazine is, their are vocabulary sections for those words you are working on, and for a bit more euros you can get a CD to come with it, and have the whole thing read to you, so you can learn how it should sound!!! Fantastic yes?! This is perfect not only for the adult learner, but for the student as well. They even have discounts for Group Subscriptions. Ordering outside Europe is a bit more money, but well worth it. There are only 6 subscriptions in a year. You CAN order back issues, get a discount on a full year, or if you are unsure, order a 4 issue subscription! Again, this is a magazine that you can get with or with out the CD! How cool is that!!!

as far as curriculum goes, this IS the perfect supplement! Taking the Speak in the Week gang to the next level. They have NO English spoken, It is pure unabridged FRENCH from the start, and have a variety of topics to choose from...

some are

Master French Numbers ~ The Good Pronunciation Guide ~ Social Conversations ~ Dialogues pour tous les jours ~ La Politesees ~ Bon Appetit! are some of those that I purchased :)

Each of these comes with a CD and a booklet to read along as you go, these are fabulous. I can't tell you how helpful it is to listen to the French speak a conversation, and to READ along... Reading French is easier than listening to it, and if you can see it, and hear it, wow! This is one thing that helped with Speak in a Week. Bien-dire hit's it on the mark!

I just got this series so, I will do more on them in the weeks that follow, letting you know how the children and I are progressing in our learning our French. A program is only good if you use it, and try it out. So we need to give it a good hearty try... I think though that this program will be a great supplement to any small group wishing to learn French, to any family, or home school group, especially Charlotte Mason fans, who want to not only speak proper French, but to know what to say to the Fromage Man about his Fromage :) Oui?

It is my understanding that this program also has optional flash cards. I have not seen these, and so do not know if they are visual spacial or more audio sequential cards, if and when I do see them I will make note of that here. So far I would say this program is meant for those who want to know how to "do life" , how to live and breath simply in France. This is not just for the student wanting textbook French on a transcript, but for the person with a heart to learn the language, the mannerisms, the people, so that relationships can be formed, conversations enjoyed, memories shared and made. As is this is a simple book with an audio CD, very audio sequential... The magazine is where things get more visual... Hence this is more a audio sequential supplement, but even with my visual spatial learners I am not dismayed, I am very excited....

More on other foreign language materials used by me, on this great French adventure, coming soon...

Splash into Reading this Summer

2009-05-27T01:24:00.000-07:00

Summer is nearly here,

and with it come

Summer Reading Programs!
They come in all shapes and all sizes,

and for many gifted children they can be a real snore.

I know that my children can walk in to the local library,

fill out the card to join,

and walk in the next week with the whole Summer Reading Program Done,

having not broken the proverbial sweat.

Yes mine are readers.

They read and read and read.

These programs are designed to get children who are not readers to read,

as well as reward the reader who does

so as to encourage the reading

that they don't one day decide to just

stop reading...

ok well...

if you too are looking for another

Fun and perhaps MORE challenging

SUMMER READING PROGRAM

for YOUR child

as I always am

check out

The Old Schoolhouse's

Splash

into Reading

There are levels for younger children as well as for older children

it is a 10 week program,

one in which YOU help YOUR child set some goals

meaning...

it can be as challenging

as NEEDED :)

ha ha ha

I LOVE IT ALREADY

perhaps splash is just what your under challenged gifted reader needs...

SPLASH

Jessica Hulcy

2009-05-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

Jessica Hulcy,

author and publisher of Konos

homeschooling curriculum,

has been in a terrible car accident

and the family is asking for prayer.

Please click on her name or photo to learn more.

Rosetta Stone LATIN for FREE???

2009-05-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

So perhaps you have been wondering WHAT we use to learn French for our trip to France? Well, the same thing we use to learn German! Rosetta Stone of course! We add additional supplements, because, well, I AM the supplement Queen, but I want to address Rosetta Stone right now, because they are offering an opportunity to WIN something ... CHECK this OUT

Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.
This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.
To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!

A good fieldtrip Now and Again!

2009-05-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

I happen to be a HUGE David Macaulay Fan! His books are so detailed, so well thought out for the more inquiring mind, even for the not so inquiring mind. Frankly he goes through the trouble of answering questions that no one else bothers to answer. He does NOT have ALL the answers, sometimes he leaves you with more questions than you could imagine, but that is all part of the wonder, the delight that we call LEARNING.... that we desire in the process that IS Education....
As Yeats said.... Education is NOT the filling of a bucket, but rather the lighting of a fire... I am indeed paraphrasing.. the POINT is still the point, and Macaulay, is a fire starter. Seeing as we were on our way to France I packed many of my Macaulay collection leaving behind things such as ....well Ancient Egypt, we rather don't need the pyramids RIGHT now... This week I decided to really delve into the book he wrote called Cathedral. I plan on re addressing it further next week. We read it, chatted about it, and THEN, we went walking to our local Cathedral HERE in Lyon... we don't have any in America... none quite this old, built around the same century Macaulay is writing about anyway! What was fun too, was the "imaginary Cathedral" written about in this Caldott winner, is indeed located in France !!!

What I had the children do, was to locate certain things from the book, I wanted them to find for me... Reason we will do further work NEXT week? Well, I didn't make it challenging enough, and left the book at home. I went from my fallible memory, on what I THOUGHT were important... the Rosetta window, the Arched doorways, the Flying Buttresses, things like this, but David gives far more details the children told me, and we COULD make quite a game out of it IF only MOTHER would TRY a little harder... I thought I WAS trying... Thankfully they are sweet children :) really, and eager to sprinkle grace, and go after the game again next week! Wonderful!!! Above is one of the 3 doors See how large the door is compared to the people... Please note that I will not change the zoom of the people for the Rosette window.

We estimate the Rosette window is about 3 people tall, perhaps four, it is difficult to tell for certain, because of the height, because we do not know the average height of the person at the time it was built... Isn't it magnificent?

Here is my attempt to show the gargoyles.... Not grand I know, but it would seem they were water spouts, like gutter spouts, so when the rain ran, it would appear the water was shooting out of their mouths... Spewing sort of... I wonder what the Biblical reference for creating these creatures on a House of the Lord IS exactly...... David left the children wondering that ...

This was a special Clock.... we heard a rumor that there is an astronomical clock located close by, but we are uncertain as to where, and this does not appear to us to be it... we are uncertain, if anyone of my readers can tell if it IS that would be most helpful.. As my French gets better, I am sure I will discover where that clock is... If this is indeed THAT special clock, I will inform YOU... Otherwise, let us note.... there IS a clock on the church!

There is a priestly looking man atop of the church blessing it, or so it would seem... I wish my zoom was better to determine all the fancy things upon the church... My son informs me he can zoom on the computer and google what things are... well that is helpful.

The church with it's well before it... From here you can see the Tri doors... Inside would be the LARGE opening with the two more narrow openings but still airy thanks to the flying buttresses!

This is part of the original very first church of Lyon. It is a ruin that was discovered, and the year slips my memory..

The flying buttresses taken from the side of the church! How exciting to have read in David's book HOW these were constructed, How a church like this could take at LEAST 100 years to build, where as I believe this on took over 200! Amazing the perseverance of the Saints.... to hold fast to the dreams of their forefathers, to stay true to their parents and grand parents and great grandparents generations.... so Odd so foreign in our day, when each man seems to live for self.

here is a close up a a gargoyle or some such creature spitting out the water at the well. The well was four sided, each side having a creature spewing fresh cold water.

Here is the original baptismal place. It was excavated when they found the original church. I thought this was pretty neat! It is enclosed in glass protection, I was able to get my lens in the opening.

The children thought this was terrific. So wonderful to read a book like this one and then to go explore history of something like it and dissect it, hunting it down like spies or something... It was grand. I have no intention on heading to Egypt any time soon. But I do have his book on Castles... so, perhaps.... we need to do that soon too...

Is there something you could explore with your blessings, some grand adventure that awaits you? Is it time to find some living books, and build a fire in the hearts of the children in your life?

May education be like a bonfire in your life this season.... may your whole family gather about you, may the roasting of marshmellows commence before summer is over!

Traveling with these Gifts abroad!

2009-04-28T02:14:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are in the Gastronomical Delight of France, that IS Lyon. It is such a pleasure to be here. Such a wonderful opportunity, we are so glad to embark upon! I highly recommend traveling with your children whenever an opportunity presents itself, Carpe diem! We have with us no electronical toys to amuse them, other than their laptops for school, and old fashioned CD players to listen to their music... (we are still so uncool as to not have ipods..... oh well) Yet still, their is little grumbling, little irritation, little but anything but enthusiasm and eagerness to embrace this beautiful experience! This is a view of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) as looking across the Saone River!

Things one learns when visiting other cultures! In America we have traveled a bit... We learned in some places in the south, you can buy boiled peanuts at stands; we learned some places in Chicago sell Hotdogs at street vendors; we've been to places that sell, gyros, popcorn, and here in Lyon France the THING that is all the rage, is CREPES!!!!!!!!!! yes! Buy a crepe and YOU choose your filling, sugar, or jam... razzberry, blackcurrant, pear, apple, apricot, who KNOWS what else... and it is quite fun just to stand on the street and watch one of these men make their crepes... rather mesmerizing... It took a few days for us to feel brave enough with our French, but we finally had one each, and OOO la la! Delicious! A MUST have if you ever come to Lyon! The kids were amazed at how he did it, how fast he did it, and how wonderful the flavor... a new flavor each time perhaps for one, and the same EVERY time for the other? I do not care, they are so happy, and it was only $2 Euro each

Here are some photos of a Medevil festival that was held this past weekend in Lyon, they put on quite a production, and it was not just held in this square but through out the whole of Vieux Lyon, there were many political proceedings, people being tried, fake executions, gypsies, artisians, things to buy, and many many people dressed up acting their part... It seemed as if nearly the whole town were in on playing some part or another! The children really absorbed so much! They were so excited to see things that they had only read about in their books ALIVE in the very place they had read about!

Here is one of the Renissance dances! I am amazed at how many connections are being made in the minds of my children, the sights the smells, the colors, the music, the sounds of the French language and the many other languages being spoken about them; the feel of the cobblestone beneath their feet.. all connecting with the countless books, history and literature read over months and months, turning into years and years...... all coming together in these moments.... I am so thankful!

Some fancy men with flags doing some fancy French thing... It is a shame my French is not better! But perhaps it WILL be! All the same, were learned much, and were glued to the proceedings!

Here is a view from the Roman Ruins of the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere. It was actually built in the late 19th century... disappointing I know...

Here is a photo of the time we went to the open air market! So much to see so much to learn! This really gave the children a different idea of food, where it comes from, and different ways it is bought and sold. The Walmart way of life is but ONE way, and as much as we try to tell this to our children, there is nothing like bringing them to a culture that simply LIVES differently than we do.

Here are the photos of the Roman Ruins. Here I let them explore.... I followed behind, but NOT all together too closely, keeping my REI whistle around my neck, incase I felt as though they or I were lost. Here all their reading, and re reading of David Macaulay's books and various others, really kicked into HIGH gear, as the children began telling me what they had found, what certain things were, why things were laid out the way they were... It was like the flood gates of their minds had opened and the words could not pour out as fast as the thoughts.... We will definately be coming here again and again, picnicing, walking, till they can be here and talk in complete rational sentences ... breathing between words....

Funny that later this past weekend my husband had some collegues from work come and stay with our family in the city. They wanted to see the ruins, it was raining in a bit of a downpour by the time we got there, and some of us decided not to go up and explore, but to stay down below and enjoy the view from a somewhat sheltered spot. The two older of my children however, volunteered to take the one American gentleman who was so interested in history up for a guided tour.. I don't think he expected QUITE that guided a tour... He couldn't believe all the things the children showed him, the tunnels, the secret spots, the chambers, the inner rooms, nooks and spots he simply would NEVER have seen. He hasn't STOPPED talking about the tour they gave, and thinks they'd make grand tour guides... :)

Fear NOT traveling with your gifts, they JUST might amaze you, even IF you have to make a routine out of your day ... (I DO), even if they have health issues (YOU SHOULD just see the medicines we had to bring, the dr note too !) It might not be as impossible as it seems... perhaps ... worthy of prayer and consideration anyway...

For us, these trips have become a way of life... always a bed of roses, thorns and all!

home "schooling" abroad.....

2009-04-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Vie va La France!!!!!!!

We are preparing to leave our wonderful home, our comfortable haven, our hectic all to busy "American" lives, for the great big wide world out there. Our lives as of now, are busy with much packing, cleaning and preparing, for life abroad....
and not just any life...
no
life in France....
and not just life in France,
not just 1/4 a year in France,
but
home educating 3 crazy fantastic kids, with a quench to see, to experience, to read and to discover everything there is to learn. How exciting and maddening is this? VERY!!!

First off packing for readers isn't easy.... especially now with weight restrictions on the airlines. I confess we are SERIOUS readers.
Readers of Math,
(as previously mentioned, not only do we DO math, we READ it as well!)
Readers of History
Readers of Literature
Readers for leisure
Readers to research
Readers of our Faith
Readers
pretty Charlotte Mason style readers....
Readers with ferocious appetites.........
So we got ALEKS on our computers to help out a bit...
and
Rosetta Stone to help with German and French!
Spelling, and the wonderful world of http://www.amblesideonline.com/ to help with MUCH of our literary needs....but
readers still read books,
and books we have a plenty, many many books, and put together they weigh a bit... tricky very very tricky... what to bring, what to leave behind.... to be.. or not to be with a particular book............

but it will work out in the end. What i find MOST interesting however, is how MANY folks offer advise to you, when they discover you are traveling on an extended trip, or out of the country... However the sheer volume of opinions on an EXTENDED trip ABROAD, is simply staggering.... yet very little of it helpful... because I have not "bumped" into many people who have traveled on extended trips.... or been out of the country for more than a couple weeks, or who have done either while home educating, eclectic, gifted kids.... yes, I have met some.... who have met one or more of those criteria, and their counsel, I CHERISH!!!!!!!!!!! Another blessing is, that we have done many extended trips for 2 or more months away... and experience... is quite helpful... Don't get me wrong, there is MUCH for me to learn, much that I do not know, and I long for good advise, but some, is simply funny.... some advice given to me, does not take into account who my children are..... and that is something as a mother I must always consider... always.

For example there is the all to frequent..."perhaps you should stop schooling while you are away...." I would heartily agree for a trip of 3 weeks or less; but that would not constitute an extended trip abroad. THAT is a vacation. :) Do people really do this? For 3 months? Do they imagine children coming home from a 3 month "vacation" sometime in July and suddenly desiring to stay indoors to do pre-algebra, history, and some Shakespeare? Mine will want to come home and HAVE a mini vacation, time with friends at the beach, in the pool, at their grandparents house, time to ride their bikes, skateboard with friends, time to just breath, before the crisp autumn air hits their faces....... which in our neck of the woods will come sooner than imagined.... no, taking that amount of time off, would mean summer in doors, chained to a desk.... NOT a healthy place for lively, sunshine loving explorers like mine!

I wondered also at this suggestion..., would you stop eating because it is extended trip.... I think perhaps this is simply a difference with gifted children... books, knowledge, math, computers, it is food for them...Do some children desire a complete BREAK from thinking, learning and discovery? Mine seem to do it all even in their imaginations, even climbing a tree! They often seem like starving children; have a great piece of literature at your disposal to toss their way when the hunger grows, there is a meal for them, some "comfort food" to bring safety and security, we will need that overseas...some semblance of the idea that... "we are still us, even if WE are in this strange NEW place with different food, different dress, different music, and different words and sounds."

Sure, we will be delving into French culture, eating French cuisine, seeing all the French museums, going to the parks, and all the many historical places; we hope to make many French friends, and learn to speak their language, understand their plights, and come away really knowing something about the people of France; the heritage, the history, the heart of this ancient land. Yet in the midst of that, there need be some normalcy, something comforting, from their own home, and "school"; something that is safe, familiar, recognizable, to come to each day, or even every other day...I hardly plan on being the strict teacher demanding eight hours of lessons each and every day...

What I hope to offer my blessings, the MENU so to speak.... :)
Math (living and virtual via www.aleks.com and Life of Fred http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html)
Literature & History (some books & www.amblesideonline.com )
Geography (BEING in France, having Maps & www.amblesideonline.com has some great resources !)
Art/Music (Being IN France, The Teaching Co.'s Great Courses http://www.teach12.com/ )
Writing (I have each of the older children doing daily journals of our "family adventure" on their own "safe" blogs, )

With no intention of doing EVERY subject every day, I think this "Menu" is a good one, a very feast, with all the basic "academic food groups", for ferocious yet finicky eaters..... add in some Culture, literally LIVING History, (some history in the making) along with getting to see Roman Amphitheaters, Gothic Churches, going to places we have only READ about, walking in buildings from Before the time of Christ our Lord... Museums, fabulous food, a new language and culture; frankly, this shall be the TRIP of a lifetime, an Academic Adventure of a magnificent magnitude, and many memories in the making.....

but with just 8 days to go, till we are "leaving on a jet plane", I best get back to packing! :)
Hope you stop by for our Academic Adventures as we continue to live gifted................

Life of Fred

2009-04-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

There are a few of you out there who know me outside, in the sun, in the wind, in the fresh air; who know the color of my hair, the gate of my walk, the sound of my voice, and know what my blog readers will learn right now.... I have a math addiction, along with my children....

It goes way back. I used to love math... I was in "advanced math" classes as a child... tested well (beyond well) or so I am told ... by my mother... in mathematics.... and then disaster. It really only takes one bad year, one train wreck of a teacher, one awful curriculum, one bureaucrat, put it all together and you really will turn a gifted kid on their heads....
It was college before I liked math again.... It wasn't until I was homeschooling my kids before I found my LOVE for math again....
and so
I am a little Math crazed...

it is ok, because, It is THEY who are the driving force. It is their hunger that feeds me, and is awakening in me a desire to play at numbers. Solve the problems, challenge myself a little.

It was perhaps my own awful experience that drove me to never rely too much on any one curriculum. To never be apathetic when it came to the universal language of mathematics, music on paper, science made sense, theory proven fact.... never allow apathy.... and so, I have about 5 curriculum's in my home....

And many "Living Math Books". What is a "living Math Book".... I suppose, though I confess I have NOT actually done the proper research to be "certain"; that it was probably inspired by the Biblical times, even the Greeks and the way they taught, and most likely rekindled by the Charlotte Mason approach to education. In a nutshell, the concept of bringing to the child a story, so "alive" so delightful, inspiring, that it ignites learning, ignites a desire to learn more. Living Math books take the math concepts and put them into stories, that bring the math alive, help them to know what the radius is, the diameter and circumference, NOT because they memorized it, NOT because they did 100 problems reinforcing the "concept" but because they read a story that was so wonderful, perhaps so funny, that they simply KNOW what is what, and will know forever.

I have many such books lining my math shelves, and we read them, and enjoy them. I was always sort of sad at the thought that NOW that my children are becoming so advanced in their math, while still so young, would no longer have the opportunity to learn advanced mathematics in this way. It seemed to me that their minds learned these early concepts so well, the books brought SO very much to the table of their minds, linking concepts, bridging gaps, it seemed a shame that their would be no such blessing with pre-algebra, algebra, advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, etc.... so sad....

Then I discovered........... THE LIFE OF FRED by Stanley Schmitt http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html
Oh the delights of my mind!!!!!!!!! I researched, I read reviews, I read sample pages, I could BARELY believe my eyes............. I bought the whole set!
Fractions
Decimals
Algebra
Advanced Algebra
Geometry
Trigonometry
Calculus
Statistics
and YES there are books to go along with the books for additional problems.........
It is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wonderful wonderful

as you read along a day in the life of Fred, mathematical problems arise, which you (the student) need to solve.... Fred is in the first book just 5 1/2 years old, and a professor at a University. He is a really gifted but adorable little boy! Each book appears to be 1 day in the life of Fred. By the last book, if I think I understand it correctly, Fred will be 6 years old.

While my children could have started farther along, I really wanted them to "meet" Fred at the beginning. So we began with fractions. A rather fun review! But what I was NOT prepared for was just HOW much is covered in the LIFE OF FRED that is not covered in the other materials we use.... again just PROVING to me that no curriculum has it ALL :) They still were able to get through 1/2 the book in just 3 sittings, so I am comfortable that it IS a review, but they are not bored, and can NOT wait for the next time with FRED!

Really, it is rather funny... "mom, when can we read Fred"..... "mom, is it almost time for Fred?"
... "oh MOM, please ONE, just ONE more chapter, PLEEEAAASE!!!!!!!!"
who am I to say no to children so desperate for more .... math! :)

What do we do, well, we snuggle on the couch, they each get pencils, and notebooks, and I read, but they read along. When we get to a part that says "your turn to play", they start doing the problems and when those problems done (all done in story format, or in correlation with the story), they tell me the answers and I tell them if it is right or wrong, if wrong....just try again!
Every few chapters is a "bridge", which MUST be crossed before they can continue.... The author has allowed 5 opportunities to cross the bridge, which is about 10 challenging problems. The review is worked into the process beautifully!

Mr. Schmitt the author mentions in his book, that if your child finishes successfully all of these books, they ought to test into their Jr year of college.... (all the books not counting statistics)!

For those of you worried about ALEKS.... :) We ARE using Aleks as our core curriculum, and shall continue to as we move to Europe to live for the next few months. Fred is my supplement... And may become my core eventually. I just needed "something" that was ALIVE, so math didn't become sterile for them, or for me........... Aleks is great!

ONE negative comment with Aleks....... if you the parent find yourself in a situation where your child is ill, for a week or more, and you come back to Aleks, and your child needs to take an assessment (a TEST), you do not have the privilege of postponing it so that they might spend time reviewing, remembering, or re looking at work previously learned, to study...... if they do poorly, they will just be put back several levels, which for a 2E kids who has frequent bouts with illness can be VERY emotionally trying. There is NOT a lot of grace with Aleks. So have them take good notes in a book, or help them to take good notes for review....One must be the energizer bunny, and just keep going and going and going.......... Something to consider :)

night and day

2009-03-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

just different...

Linda Silverman was explaining at a lecture that I was at recently that gifted persons are more different from one another than one average person is from another.... I thought that little tid bit rather interesting... how do they go about "proving" this, let alone "discovering" this...

She explained it makes categorizing them in little cliques rather impossible...

yesterday I saw yet another example of how my kids are so different.

compatible, but different.

Some similarities are that they both gifted, and both have their "issues" and would most likely be labeled "twice exceptional" because of these issues.... One issue they both have is vision tracking, though that is where the similarity stops. HOW the tracking issue manifests is different, what sort of therapy each of them needs to correct their issue is... different... how bad the vision is for each of the is... different... and how it manifests itself in everyday life is... you guessed it ... different... so the only thing the same is that they both have some sort of eye muscle/visual tracking issue.

Yesterday they both started an art class. Taught by another home school mom, who is an art teacher. One child loved it! Loved the drawing big, the cluing, cutting, painting, learning about design, elements, color, really felt free with her brush. This was my daughter. She told me she would love to have paper as big as the room, many different brushes and walk barefoot just painting!

This distressed my son. who likes to draw, but with a pencil, small pictures, not large. Not with a paint brush, not with paint. Not with big strokes, broad strokes... He found the whole experience frustrating... He really liked the teacher. He really liked the other kids. He was glad no one was mad when he sprayed them all with paint on accident, trying TOO hard to BE broad with his stroke...

What went wrong? Why was he actually "frustrated"...? It is one thing to NOT be an artist, another to be actually "frustrated".

I prayed about it, and asked questions, and decided it was the fact that his eyes jump, they dart, and he was always drawing in his comfort zone. This nice new teacher was asking him to step out of his comfort zone. His eyes couldn't track that brush and what it was doing, and it was stressful to him, it took sooo much energy to focus on the tip of that brush, he was spent, exhausted, wiped out.

Yet my God is good, all the time, and He had my day planned in such a way that I had BEEN frustrated ALL day. After art class was the chiropractor/therapist (who does occupational/physical & some vision therapy with my children) and then off to the eye doctor at Costco. It would be a crazy, traffic laden afternoon, one I was dreading!

I told the therapist about his dislike for the "large painting project" the problem with the broad strokes, and she pondered this, asking him questions about what those movements were exactly... and altered his therapy after discovering some significant issues not noticed previously... Praise God. At the eye doctor we discovered his eyes were worse. My husband who met us there, asked why, why are they worse every time we come? The answer... His muscles are weak, and cross when he focuses on anything like a word or anything, that is why two different scripts, that is why bifocals. I asked, what about Vision therapy? She looked confused....

I don't want to bash my wonderful Costco Optical Dr. Frankly she is terrific. She is however like most in her field, not willing to tell us to go for therapy, to work out those muscles, to learn how... rather than just have another script and watch our sons eyes get worse and worse and worse.

We brought our daughter in a while ago, but she passed the tests at Costco... Her "vision" was fine. Its ONLY her tracking that is bad. Glasses won't help her, and so it seems to me, the therapy they are getting is great, but at some point we MAY need to see a real live, in person Vision Therapist! What do you think?

Oh and their paint wheel.... One is all gloppy, a huge mess (his) and one is perfectly pretty, numbered and everything (hers), utterly different, utterly night, and day....

Emotional Stress........

2009-03-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

I am told, and I read, and I experience each day the fact that gifted children are VERY sensitive. Their sensitivities are at times almost hyper, acute, and painful to witness. They FEEL things more intensely, things hurt MORE, rejection cuts deeper, grief pins itself harsher, joy a bit broader, louder, or just more... They are perhaps a brighter shade of the same color, a more vibrant color, a deeper color....

When things are bright yellow, they are BRIGHT and light and brilliant, and when they are gray, they are like storm clouds rolling in over the waters, rich and deep, making you want to board up the house and pack away the glass.....

My mother is ill with Cancer... my mother is very close to my children. We made choices, my husband and I, to put family before academics, before their hungry minds... We chose to put their hungry souls, their need for meaning, purpose, belonging first, and let academics always come second.... So, our school week has made a point as my mothers health has deteriorated the last couple years to include one full day a week with just her. The diagnosis of cancer is new... but her health, has not been tip top for a while...

We have always tried to reach out to family, especially to those in the family who were reaching out to us... Some don't. Some are fairly busy in their own lives, their own worlds, their work, friends, schedules, we are not a priority to them, and that is OK... it really is. They can't all be a priority to me either. So, I choose those who reciprocate a bit, and don't go chasing after rainbows....

So my mother, she is close to them, and they to her. She is the storyteller, the magic weaver, the craftier, the baker, the laughter, movie watching, encouraging, always ready to hear their hearts, wanting to KNOW their achievements as well as their struggles grandmother, known only to them as Oma...

Now she is ill. We take her every third week to chemo, we pick her up. We visit each week, some weeks are good, some are not. This week she's been hospitalized, this week they've visited her everyday..

Perhaps its too much. Perhaps I should take a break. I know I am tired, worn down with all the quick meals, rushed lessons, driving everywhere....

But there is that grayness, that only lifts when they SEE her, and know it isn't worse than they imagined in their lay in bed time before drifting to sleep last night... There is that look on her face, of sadness that is gone as soon as she sees them! There is the Light that turns on for all of them when they are together, that makes me go back each day. Somehow they can't believe a phone call, they won't take my word for it... something in them is so afraid, so concerned, so in love with her, they simply must see,....

They have faith in God you see, not faith in Dr's or hospitals, and certainly not faith in cancer. It took too many they know already...

My daughter wants to find the Cure sitting on the bed just expecting it to go away NOW! My oldest son is withdrawing, and forgetful, and my youngest is loud, and emotional., very dramatic..

I am tired....

I am glad to not shelter them from this harsh reality, I am honored to shepherd them through it... frighting as it may be.

Somehow their brightness, sees more, understands more, and because of it, pat answers do not work, and so the comfort, the time, the space needs to be their. The prayers, the patience, the walking through this with no expectations of one another, is the most important... Because Cancer sucks, that IS a fact of life. And Love conquers all, if we just DO it, and LET it, and learn HOW....

still learning.....

ALEKS.... cintinued....

2009-02-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

COULD it be??? a mathematical match for our extended European trip??? I do believe things are looking good ... mathematically speaking...
Thus far, my children are really enjoying the addition of ALEKS to their day!

Did I say ADDITION? You betcha! I don't have the time to throw out perfectly working curriculum to "see" if something May or May not work... So we are PLOWING full speed ahead and simply adding ALEKS to our day.... and they are LOVING it!

When they sit down in the morning and login to ALEKS, they are greeted with their personal colored pie. The pie is broken into pieces; each piece identifying with a different area of study. They have the option of choosing which area they want to study that day. There is also a review area to check out.

So what is there to motivate them to review, or to pursue anything at all, BUT whatever interests them... Well, every time they master something, that section of the pie gets bigger... Once the pie is all FULL... they are on to the next grade level! That is pretty motivating! Just the idea that they can move a grade level at THEIR will and motivation, with their own determination is huge!!

I liked that there is a nice review section. I liked that it shows the percentage via a fraction circle in the parent/administrator section of approximately how likely my child has actually mastered the material.... and will continue to review it until full mastery is achieved.
I like the section in the parent/admin area that shows me how many hours my child worked/vs how many skills per hour my child achieved.... I just liked it... I found it so ... I don't know... refreshing :)

So thus far the beginning of my "free month" is going pretty well. But I will hold out a little longer. I found having to upload and download, and unload different versions of Java a BIG pain in my neck! A pain that is STILL there, and now occasionally causes my computer to just freeze....

But ALEKS really does keep it's promise to remember JUST where your child was at :) so that when they reboot and re login, they pick up exactly where they left off, no data lost. :) good to know

more later!

so what IS "gifted" anyhow???

2009-02-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

What exactly is gifted anyhow? What is all the buzz about, can you "make" your kid gifted, can you eat certain foods to encourage giftedness in your child? Is everyone "gifted" in their own way? Isn't calling your kids "gifted" being a bit snobby????
Well one of the BEST lists I have seen to help you assess your child to see if they may be "gifted" is from the Gifted Development Center. (Linda Silverman)
Here is the Link to the List

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/What_is_Gifted/characgt.htm

If you just are unsure, but suspect, because perhaps your child is simply NOT the same as his or her peers... check out the list. Please keep in mind 2E children may mask some of these attributes... like reading well, if your child has a vision tracking issue, reading well is simply NOT going to be on his list.... so keep in mind your whole child and any suspicions you may have of learning disabilities... if you have questions about 2E scroll down and read the post on this topic

a great bibliography

2009-02-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

by a favorite in the gifted community..
kathi kearney!
http://www.hollingworth.org/homebib.html

I am not certain where to obtain all the information listed in it, but I plan on hunting for it and posting links to articles here as I find them. If you find one that I do not post as an attatchment here, PLEASE send me the link and I will add it to this Post! And give YOU the credit! If you have a blog of your own, be sure to add the link :) Let us network together for the sake of the children!

ALEKS... so far

2009-02-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we have officially had both children "assessed" with ALEKS.... One thing I didn't like was that I had to decide a level to assess them at... I felt that I was a bit unprepared for this. What if I was underestimating their ability, what if I was overestimating it? so stressful! In the end I decided to go for Pre-Algebra for both children, figuring if they rocked, the program would move them ahead, and if they bombed, it would regress them... or I WOULD :) They scored dead center within 4 points of one another. What that means is, they are half way through the Pre-Algebra level, and my best "guess" was a pretty good one...

What I really liked about the assessment...

It did NOT tell the student if the answer to the question was right or wrong... ever. It gave them a pie in the end showing them in a rich color all they knew and in the fair color the information they would "get to learn" ! :) This made it fun, like it just didn't matter if something was right, or if something was wrong, because ALEKS just wanted to know them, and to know what they knew, so ALEKS could be a good tutor. It was a relief...

I also liked that the test WAS NOT timed, and they had as much time as they needed to work out the problems.

I also thought the tutorial explaining HOW TO use ALEKS was very neat, and each of my children were very excited about starting the assessment afterwards.

My children took between 1 1/2 -2 hours to complete there assessment... they have some testing anxiety, and a rowdy 4 yr old in the house. Things like phone calls and other distractions could not be helped. I think with a quieter atmosphere it would have taken much less time.

So far they have each begun to work on their fair colored sections of their pie with great enthusiasm, and like the program very much. But then, we HAVE only begun... so more information on ALEKS as they progress..... :) but so far... so good... we may have our solution for FRANCE :)

oh ... to check out ALEKS you too can get a free one month subscription @ http://www.aleks.com/

SIDE BAR - funny parenting moments :)

2009-02-07T00:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Mrs. China....

So, one of my blessings is an extrovert exuberant boisterous boy, I refer to in Cyber World as Buddy. :) He is my youngest darlin' and he is just now 4! :) I think the cake was only recently finished, is how JUST 4 he is :) cute as a button!

Buddy is in a fixation right now with trucks, cars and recently added, the wonderful helicopter. This new addition seems to be crowding in on last years obsession with trains... though he still loves trains, he seems to, at least for now that is, have exhausted his need for knowledge of them. And so begins my story, the little boy who needs to line them up, and then rearrange in appreciation of color, will then, rearrange them, by make and model, and then, by size, and , or who KNOWs what ... always ordering them, rearranging them, and then, the testosterone kicks into gear, and he just has to, HAS to know, which cars and trucks and helicopters are really worth their salt. He will let them rip, flying into walls, crashing into moms feet while making dinner, rushing nearly flying over the living room sunken in steps, and if it survives all these crashes, then, THEN he will drop it from the 2nd story when you are NOT watching, to see what comes of it.. We have all taken to walking carefully and calling out his name before walking out from under the loft to the designated drop spot. Matchbox cars, and remote control hummers HURT when they land on your head! Please note the other two children are in fact INTROVERTS, and this REALLY stresses them out :) Makes for an interesting day sometimes.... Yes, anyway, he NEEDS to know... If a car makes it, he will ask his brother, what it says underneath, and make a mental note. If a car does not, again he will inquire what the car says on the bottom and make a mental note.... now that you are updated, on to the story....

We all go to the Chiropractors each week, for adjustments and the two older children for physical therapy, this story takes place in the office. Buddy decides he NEEDS to chat with Ms. Merry behind the counter, so ever the extrovert, he simply walks into the office space and begins to chat... Ms. Merry by now rather enjoys these visits from Buddy each week. This weeks choice conversation is about Buddy's disgust with CHINA.

MS MERRY: why are you so upset with China Buddy?

BUDDY: They are all China's cars and trucks...(he pulls out an example or two to display... poor wretch things that may once have been cars that rolled on the floor... but no more) NO one else makes these junkie things, they don't pass any of my tests, you should see! a broken Axel Look here, (he flips it over for her to see the mishaphed and clearly disfunctional axel... that he knew it was an axel was sort of endearing I thought...) it is awful! LOOK Ms Merry, someone ought to tell china Her toys stink, they all break, and then you don't have them anymore because you have to throw them away.

Ms MERRY : Do all the cars and trucks break when you play hard with them Buddy?

BUDDY: OOOOOOOOOOOO no! Tia wan and USA and maly asia they do great!! you should see! No NO, it is China that can't do it right. ( head shaking in utter disappointment for this poor China, who ever she is)Always it is my china cars and trucks and helicopters that break... china! ( he is not ranting, but talking calming, tapping his feet and using hand gestures to make his point take more effect... he looks very adorable, and very serious ) no quality, like they don't care what they are making.... My German toys, and French and English toys don't break as easy... no, just china It is soo frustrating... (clenched fists pounding the little legs! He was so emphatic!!!)

Ms Merry : Maybe you should write them a letter

BUDDY: (goes to show her on the computer that she should type it) and begins the dictation ... Yes, lets write a letter!!

Dear Mrs. China......

what is a mom to do...? I thought to blog it, so I'd not forget how sweet 4 can be :)
oh, I had to show him where China lived on the globe when we got home so he might know where to send his letter when he finished it... He just shook his head, and said she was soo big.

Having FUN with your Gifted Child

2009-02-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

you may have already noticed, but at some point Shoots & Ladders just stopped cutting it with your kid... Perhaps you are looking for some games that are a bit more strategic, more intellectual, but NOT so dark as dungeons and dragons... IF you know what I mean :) Along with the card games, I do reccomend getting a good book on Card games at your local book store, one like Hoyle's. This will give your gifted child countless opportunites to learn, think, and strategize! But be WILLING to play :)

Well, some great games for we have found so far, as well as classics that frankly will probably NEVER go out of style :)

Settlers of Catan ( and their are additions to this and variations too!)

RISK

Carcassone

Yahtzee (yes this is fun even our 3 yr old would play, he's now 4 )

Monopoly (we play by the cultural rules because the rules on the box are too stiffeling)

Rummy

Poker (we use chips not money... I think it teaches them how to read people)

Sadoku (we have a fun wooden board from Smart Minds! use colors or wooden number tiles!)
http://www.sodokuboardusa.com/

Domino's (great for playing Mexican train dominos... this is sooo fun!!!)

War ( a classic card game - goes back to my own child hood)

Strategeo (for two people)

Battleship (for two people)

Pente (for two people GREAT strategy game)

Othello (for two people)

Scrabble (only IF you have a good dictionary though... to many arguments otherwise)

Chess

Now as far as educational games.... While I would agree that the above all have STRONG educational qualities, and it could be argueed that they are indeed very educational for games, below are what I would consider more... educational games...

World Wise Geography Card Games (available Asia/Africa/Europe/America's editions.)
http://www.globularinnovations.com/

Game of Trees Juniper from Naturegraph (by Ruth Wheeler)
PO Box 1075 Happy Camp CA 96039

Game of Wild Flowers Goldenrod from Naturegraph (by Ruth Wheeler)
PO Box 1075 Happy Camp CA 96039

Lucy Hammett Games Bingo
PO Box 905 mineola TX 75773 (888)420-7585 http://www.lucybingogames.com/
these are bingo games but so great for visual spacial learners, fact filled cards learn all about bugs, or ocean animals, horses, nature, YOU name it Lucy probably came up with a bingo game for it! she is so creative :) She really took Bingo to a whole new level!!! Take it with you to your next co-op or visit to the Nursing home :)

Think it Through Tiles from Discovery Toys
http://www.discoverytoysinc.com/

Money Money
http://www.discoverytoysinc.com/

Five Senses Game from Lake Shore Learning
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/search/results.jsp;jsessionid=JJGKzJJGggpWMpJzLpKJHJVsnhGVQP3fLms2PtDTy5yLHh1LYdBn!1286615813!2046199723
this one is for younger children, but older ones don't usually mind participating, it is rather a fun game!

The Incredible Word Building Game CHUNKS by Smart Kids
1-800-458-0024
This helps make learning patterns of whole concepts fun, kids SEE blends and ends in a game!!

Number Rings by Discovery Toys
http://www.discoverytoysinc.com/

Famous U.S.A. Landmarks from Learning Resources
http://www.learningresources.com/

There are several games I would like to try, so as I get my hands on more I will clue You in, as to what we think of them... Feel free to reccomend games to me and my family in the comment section!! We are always on the look out for more fun things to do together as a family!!! I will hopefully have a list of my favorite places to SHOP up and running soon just for YOU :)

Is it a Cheetah

2009-02-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite articles about gifted, please read it if you feel led!
Stephanie Tolan wrote it... it is simply wonderful :)

http://www.stephanietolan.com/is_it_a_cheetah.htm

VISUAL SPATIAL LEARNERS

2009-02-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

So, I mentioned previously this term... the VISUAL SPATIAL LEARNER... and these terms can get bantered about, tossed to and fro in conversation, and we can feel when reading them, that we really don't have a grasp... We can feel like the child on the playground in the spiel of Monkey in the Middle... the ball is JUST at the tip of my finger but I can never reach HIGH enough to grasp it... those other kids just keep thowing it so high, so fast, and won't let me have a chance...

Christianity, like the Gifted community, can do this sometimes... honestly, I don't think either means to do so, they are really just very busy talking amongst themselves... They do have each their own versions of Outreach, to find their own you know... but they have been communicating so long in and amongst themselves they sort of have developed their own lingo... a language unique to them....

So what is this Visual Spacial Learner... How can one identify a Visual Spacial Learner in the Home School, in the Co-Op, in Church Sunday School, or in a regular Classroom (welcome to you too if you are a traditional teacher :) ! )
Well, the child who is Visual Spacial really thinks, dreams, imagines everything in pictures, just like the name illudes, rather than in words. The child MAY use words well, to try and describe the pictures they see in their head, but WHAT they are seeing, HOW they think, well it is in pictures.

The child who is "Visual Spacial" is strong visually, will learn better with those diagrams, flannel grams, photo rich books, always, yes always leaning in to see if their is a picture in the book you are reading.... Unlike their counterpart, the auditory learner, who needs you to "repeat that"... The Visual Spacial Child won't say "could you repeat that", but rather, "can you show me again..."

The Visual Spacial Learner learns and grasps the whole picture before YOU are ready for them too, and frankly stresses most of us out... They are NOT step by step sequential learners, they do not do well walking through most curriculum choices we make, they FLY, or skip, or if we don't let them, they become frustrated. The complex concepts come very easy to them, it is often the simpler concepts that they struggle with. This is the child that will learn Algebra in 1st grade and not know their multiplication table..... (or third grade... feel free NOT be hindered by my example) This child is a synthesizer of information rather than an analytical thinker.

Frustrating to detail oriented teachers, and neurotic homeschooling mothers :) this child sees a BIG picture only, and never the details, the world is painted in broad strokes, and the world is complete, and working, and he/she is studying it in WHOLE, while the Auditory or also called Sequential Learner is very detailed, painting in nice neat strokes, learning JUST whatever is before him or her.... Very easy for teacher, very managable, very relaxing.... NOT like our Visual Spatial Child at all.

The Visual Spacial Child is the One who will draw the map for you giving you logical directions, most likely using North, South, East and West, and land marks, this child can read a map very well as well, and will enjoy geography class!

The Visual Spacial Child reasons through his mathematics, grasping full concepts but not always as successful with computation, for as stated above he is not detail oriented, and hasn't time to be bogged down with such details. Visual Spacial Child also learns whole words very easily, and this works even better than phonics for him or her... though throwing out phonics isn't necessary, more than one approach to anything is good for the Visual Spacial Child. Yet to do spelling well, this child generally will not memorize spelling words sequentially, as you and I were taught.... but as a word picture... as a whole, for information on how to help your struggling speller, check out my link to http://www.diannecraft.com/ for excellent resources and ideas, she even has a book to teach you some great ways to TEACH a right brained child :) including spelling !

The Visual Spacial Learner prefers the Keyboard to the pen, yes it is true, they would prefer to sit at the computer, the typewriter the notepad than sitting at the table with pen in hand to write you that essay or short story. The Visual Spacial Learner is NOT that organized child, with their room all tidy and nice; clean and dusted; bed made military fashion; clothing neatly put away; no Alex P. Keaton was NOT a Visual Spacial Learner.... a far cry from it... these children have ways of organizing that some would concider unique.... I am still considering...

Yet intuitively, as if with direct connection with God, these children will make the right decision, coming to the correct solution to various problems... unable to explain to you why... they have an inbred street smart, a common sence, a natural wisdom. They do not learn best by rote memorization, but rather by seeing relationships. So even if learning something like medicine, the child would learn better the parts of the anatomy, if they learned by seeing the relationship of the parts to the WHOLE, as well as one to another. It simply requires looking at EVERYTHING out of the box in a totally different way.

This is a child that has a long term visual memory, but may not remember what you just said :) frustrating I know, so, it might be a great idea, to look at them, and have them look at you, when you give them something to do, and have them say it back, and laugh together, so emotion, and relationship are there, and will be remembered. The memory of YOU will help. This child learns conceps PERMANENTLY. Skip the drill and repetition, it will NOT help, will not work. If they haven't got the concept, they haven't GOT it yet. Drilling into their heads will only frustrate them and YOU> and this does not make a happy family situation, does not build the relationship at all, and does not honor who God made them to be. You'll need to do some homework to find a NEW way to teach that concept, and step away from it for a season and let their mind rest a few days... Come back refreshed and try again.

The Visual Spacial Child will come up with their "own way" of doing things, their "own way" of solving problems, and the development of this ought to be encouraged not discouraged. Being that you are dealing with a "child" you have to grasp, it may be very difficult, very challenging for them to even be able to explain their methodology to you. The only question worth answering is this... does it work? Does it work every time? If there is continuity to their method, let them use it. If you are afraid, and are not sure of it's continuity, because of the LACK of detail on their part, here is my suggestion.... Let your child run with it a while, not long, and then say "can I see?" let them show you.... then say "wow!" yes BE enthusiastic :) and add...."that is sooo neat!" they NEED PRAISE! :) continue with " I do it so differently, can I show you how I was taught??? " usually the child will say yes... be sure to tell them how great their method is. How you plan to look up in your old college books to see if it is one of the methods used, ... and tell your child they are free to use BOTH methods... show your child EVERY method to math... don't hold back because a teacher manual says to. It is unfair, let their minds soar.

ok back to Examples :) You may have noticed my many comments about your approach, your attitude towards the child, well, that is because these children are sooo sensitive to YOU, to your attitude towards your moods. Highly sensitive infact, unlike counterpart who will learn despite the day you are having...

These children also learn asynchronously, quite so, or unevenly, their grades may be uneven, the may do well in algebra, but they enjoy geometry and physics, they master language from immersion rather than a class. Meaning put them with text books and their French is not so hot, but buy them tapes, hang out with French People, get Rosetta Stone, Games for French, French Books, (yes these kids cost more).... they need to be immersed... go to France :)
Visual Spacial Learners are NOT academically talented because of the way we set up our academics. What they are is Creative, Vibrant, Mechanical, Technological, Emotional, and a pure delight!

Much of the information I have in this post is based on information I obtained studying under Linda Silverman at a Seminar, and much of it is based on my own understandings and observations. I want to give credit where Credit is due, Linda is a wonderful speaker, teacher, and advocate for the gifted, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to meet her and study under her, if ever tooo briefly. Perhaps in a different season of my life it could be longer, but for now, it is what it is and I am so thankful.

more on Visual Spatial Learners and Twice Exceptional to come :)

Algebra Algebra, where art thou o Algebra!

2009-02-03T15:17:00.000-08:00

So far we are in a rather pre Algebra sort of place, children ages 10 & 12. That is all my fault you see. They were quite ready a few years ago.. But having my 1st grader and 3rd grader jumping into solving for x and other wonderful things just rather FREAKED me out... can i just be honest with you...
especially when I was struggling to comprehend at the time how a 1st grader could grasp algebra when said child still didn't have the multiplication table memorized, and all her peers were still doing basic addition.... It was a bit of mental overload frankly... But the Lord is patient, and full of grace and tender mercies, and so are my children, PRAISE GOD! and so here I am, flying through curriculum I bought back then.... flying literally, and having fun... understanding a little more now about 2E, and how they LEAP ahead and fill in gaps as they go, or don't and that is why you are there...
not to teach them everything sequentially, but to fill in the blanks as they leap and bound, to research and prepare for the next bound, the next leap, to anticipate and to pray they land safely.
sometimes they don't and there is a bump or bruise, and feelings are hurt, and someone is misunderstood, and we must be there to tell them they are sooo smart! That everyone has an "off day"; a "bad day" a day when things just don't "click", where the lights don't "go on"... They need us to rub their shoulders and soothe them, because these are the days they just feel....

STUPID....

even on the smart days, they remember the bad ones, and believe them.... it's like believing LIES from the pit of hell.... it haunts them, telling them, "they aren't as smart as people think", look at how hard they have to work at this, or at that.... "must be pretty dumb".... they start believing these good days are flukes....

It is our job to remind them, to fill them with the truth, to bathe them in it. That the Sun shines on us all, and the rain falls on us all, and we will all have gloomy days, stumbling bumbling days sometimes weeks, when we trip over our own feet... Blustery Days as Winnie the Pooh would say... and they can make EVERYTHING seem soo much darker than it really is...

WE need to be hopeful, full of LIGHT, full of TRUTH, and ever mindful, that our children, are REAL people too, with real fears and doubts, real trials and real stress.... and they need real counsel, not pat answers and easy dismissal...

And so... I am learning.... and I am back to Algebra, the basics, the Pre stuff... The getting their minds pumped and primed and Rearing to rock and roll, and mine are VISUAL SPACIAL LEARNERS... ( I bolded that because you may want to google it... and I wanted to remind myself to blog about that another time... sort of a note to self :)! )

Fun additions to what we are doing right now in our Math Class are Pre Algebra BLAST OFF by Josh Rappaort, published by Singing Turtle Press.... This is very fun, it has a great comic book style story line to give children a great grasp of zero, and positives and negatives and how they work in linear equations. Also in this book are fun worksheets, and game pieces to give the hildren who learn more concretely or kinestheticly a better grasp... it is great for the Visual Spacial Learner, very fun and the story is great to refer back to again and again!

Another wonderful, and I would consider a more core curriculum in regards to preparing children for Algebra is HANDS ON EQUATIONS by Henry Borenson. This is VERY very excellent for the visual spatial, kinesthetic learner, as well as the linear! The rules of Algebra are laid out much like the rules of a game, and the children learn them incrementally, it is very fun, and there are only 10 problems per page.... 4 problems on the new concept and 6 review problems... GREAT program

For our main curriculum we use Singapore Math! We like this program very much, but because my children are sooo Visual Spacial ... we found that Singapore just wasn't cutting the mustard when it came to FRACTIONS, and so for that we opted to run over to Steve Demme with MATH U SEE!!! I was hesitant at first, thinking ... what am I crazy... so much math,.... so many curriculum... oi vey... but I have not regretted my decision one minute! It was great for my family, especially since sometimes they can become a bit fixated on a topic, and then need a complete break, but not be done with numbers... This was a wonderful solution for us....

This month I am going to be trying a "trial membership" with ALEKS.... an online math community for my children... To see if we enjoy this educational option for those months we are on the road traveling... I think it may suit our needs, and be less for me to pack in my suitcase. Packing for oversea's long term trips is NOT easy, with kids who LOVE to learn, so, I would love to hear from any of you who have used ALEKS, both any pro's and any con's to this curriculum would be helpful. I will blog about our thoughts as we go through our trial. Each child is different, so what works for one, may not for the other, and I will be sure to blog about the opinions and thoughts of each! Be sure to come back and read!

Also, any thoughts, opinions or suggestions for Algebra I would be well received, as I am researching NOW :)
They are flying, and leaping and bounding, and wh, ,o KNOWS when they will finish what I have for them.... next month? I must be ready.....

Educating Homestyle

2009-02-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

we home educate, home school, unschool, classic school, eclectic school, call it what you like. we just like learning, growing, and each other, in the grace and mercy of the Good Lord Jesus.
Things I hope to do here on this blog are chat about curriculum, stuff I love and stuff I don't.... Things that work for my kids or others kids and things that haven't... Trends I see, trends I would like to see.
About me, well, I'd like to keep this a bit less personal, but I will share a few things. I am educating 3 blessing. They are what some would categorize as "gifted" or to be more technical 2E... that means Twice Exceptional.
Twice Exceptional does NOT mean twice as nice as your kid, or twice as good as... no not at all.
Twice Exceptional children are people who are gifted but have some learning struggle, disability, something hindering them.... I would like to quote Linda Silverman

"How is it possible for a child to be both gifted and learning disabled? When giftedness is thought of as learning-abled, it seems incomprehensible that a person could be simultaneously learning-abled and learning-disabled. However, when giftedness is seen as developmental advancement or as advanced abstract reasoning ability or as asynchrony (the discrepancy between mental and chronological age), it becomes conceivable that a bright student may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, calculating, or organizing. Giftedness can be combined with blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, other physical handicaps, and psychological dysfunctions. It provides no immunity against physical diseases and accidents that impair functioning"

While my children are gifted, and have each their own personal struggles their own demons to wrestle, they know the risen Lord, and it is on Him we lean, :) It is He who has blessed them with both their strengths as well as their weaknesses, and it is to their Papa and I the great task of raising them up has been given, and we all stand in awe. For where we fall short, and all too often it seems that encompasses all too much, the Lord fills our needs, covers our failures, wraps us in grace and keeps us so gentle and humble.

As a Christian there are areas of our Western Church at large that frustrate me. Those topics may come up on this blog, please do not be offended, and feel free to discuss all matters with grace and humility, as I am just a mom, just a gal, a sinner, a wife, only saved by grace... I am not above discussion. For those of you who stumble across this who do not share my faith, please don't let that aspect of who I am frighten you off. Why ever you have come, I hope you find rest, peace and an ounce of acceptance here.

One comment about the church at large I find frustrating that is very much prevalent in the culture today is the assumption that "gifted" is to be "proven" or to be "accomplishment" driven... a real "what have you done for me lately" sort of mentality... as well as the driving force of the egalitarianism that is shifting gears. This thought process is simply wrong in my view. God has made us each unique and beautifully, we are as the psalmist wrote, "fearfully and wonderfully made". Unless you are gifted that is... Then you should hush down, shut up, fit in, conform, hide yourself, be less noticeable, learn what meek is according to someone else, and stop being weird, because it JUST isn't popular. Really THINKING, I mean OUT of the BOX thinking, is JUST unacceptable in today's culture, especially in today's Christian Culture.

Well you won't get that here. It was minds like C.S. Lewis, Ravi Zaccarais, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, that finally got my attention as an adult. Before that I thought all Christians were mindless blind followers of some pansy "jesus".... I read the Bible on a sort of personal challenge, and it shocked me, shook me, changed me, challenged me, and I was riveted and reborn. But those deep questions, I needed answers, and found them among the intelligentsia of Christianity, and frankly don't want my kids questions hindered by some smooth talking fancy pants pastor who smells of Cologne and dresses better than a girl, and has a professional rock band to set up his sermon for him, the sermon he bought on line, cus he was too busy @ Starbucks to actually think thru theology class.

So I have opinions, and I want to be free to have them here. It is MY blog after all. So don't be mean, It isn't nice.

Be prepared for fun links, fun ideas, interesting curriculum options and so forth :)

ta tah for now :)