The Hickory Chair - Co-op FIAR Volume 4

Just an update on some of our schooling.  We spent today at the museum with our FIAR group and then went to a local park for lunch.  It was a beautiful day and the children had a great time running around and playing while the Moms had time to talk.  I really enjoyed this time!

Last week, we had another wonderful co-op with our FIAR volume 4 group.  This time we were studying The Hickory Chair.  We started with reading the book (as usual) and then moved into learning about the eye.  So many interesting things to learn about the eye that I would never have thought to discuss or explore.  I love that my children are benefitting from the talents of my friends - and so happy they are willing to share.

They learned about the various colors of eyes - and what causes these different colorations.



They learned about how an eye works.  I wish you could have all heard the explanation as this mom is incredibly creative and interesting and really knows a lot about science topics!



After learning about how an eye functions, each child then made their own copy of an eye. 



I have to think that making this learning hands-on helps the children to really understand the parts of an eye and also to remember the various functions of each component. 



They each put in the iris and a lens.  There was the optic nerve running out of the back of the eye and the muscles on the outside of the eye.  This wasn't a kit either, but something put together by the above mentioned creative moms teaching the class.



Next was a fun game.  I love seeing how others teach using games as it helps to get my mind going as to ways I can do the same.  I think that several of mine are really going to need this type of instruction and I'm trying to learn all that I can.

First, the children were given a variety of animals to look at and talk about. 



Then they matched the animal with a picture of it's eye.  How cool is that?!



The last game was one using "blind sight" as in the story.  The children were put into pairs.  One child was blindfolded and the other helped to lead them around the house.  Their task was to find a color-coded strip.  These had been out in plain sight around the house during the morning and now they had to find them. 





It was a fun time learning about the eye and sight!

Rebecca also made up a fun activity for her brothers.  (The story in the book centers around a young boy who is blind and his grandmother hides notes for the family to find after she dies.  Each note begins ... "for my favorite" and describes something about that person.)  Rebecca hid notes in a couple of rooms in the house for her brothers to find.  You wouldn't know until you read the note whether or not the note was intended for you. 



For a challenge, they were blindfolded so that they would have to feel around for the notes.  This was really hard for them to do  - using their sense of touch instead of sight.



She added coins to the backs of the note for an extra incentive for finding them.  (The notes in the story led to a gift of the item in which the note was found.) 


I just thought this was a funny picture.  Joshua didn't appreciate where one of the notes was hidden (vaseline I apply to his dry hands at night). 



The boys wasted no time in putting their coins away (in a bank or a bank book). 



A fun activity totally thought up and planned by a thoughtful sister!  Thank you Rebecca.

Hope you enjoyed a peek at some of our fun with this book.

Blessings

Leslie

JDRF Family Retreat Week-end

Last Friday afternoon, I left with 4 of our children to attend the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Family Retreat week-end.  It was just an hour from our home and the cost was quite a deal!  We stayed in the beautiful Grandover Resort. 

We arrived late afternoon after making a short stop at Target to buy snacks for the week -end for all of us.  First we signed in and registered for the classes we were interested in attending.  They had seminars for both children and adults.  I wasn't sure what Daniel would be interested in doing and honestly didn't really plan ahead well for him.  (Note to self:  take playdoh and wikki stix next year to keep him entertained quietly while sitting with me.) 

Then we checked into the hotel.  The boys enjoyed exploring the room.  The bathrobes and closet were both a lot of fun for them.  LOL

We ate dinner in a large ballroom.  I had not taken all of our diabetes supplies (like a scale and carb counting book) as I had been told that there would be carb counts there.  There was a list, but it was not complete, so I found myself guessing at some things.  I also asked a couple of the moms around me for some help as we were all in the same boat.

During the dinner we listened to a speaker - the man who founded the website Children with Diabetes.  He talked about diabetes and things that made people more successful in managing it.  (One of the factors were people who checked in the middle of the night - we do.)  He talked about statistics and the improvements that have been made.  (The lifespan for a Type 1 diabetic used to be 15 years shorter and that has been cut in half and is shrinking even more with good managment!)  He was very interesting and Joshua listed this as one of his favorite things of the week-end.

After dinner, we explored the hotel a little more.  We went to the game room and enjoyed some foosball.

We went by the pool, but it was VERY crowded and most of the kids (all but one) wanted to pass on going in.  So we went up to the room and watched some of America's Funniest Home Videos and then went to sleep.  Rebecca and I worked on our Bible study before finally going to sleep too.

The morning started early with a loud alarm (that amazingly only woke up some of us as we tried to figure out how to cut it off).  We went to breakfast.  All of the meals were served buffet style which is nice.  We ate in the same large ballroom.  We shared a table on Fri night with a family that arrived just prior to the speaker starting so we didn't get to talk.  We shared breakfast with a family that was reading the newspaper - so again, no conversation. 

There were two morning seminars.  Rebecca graciously agreed to give up going to some of the teen sessions in order to help Daniel.  For the first seminar, Joshua and Isaiah went into a kids session together.  They played some games and seemed to have a good time.  Rebecca, Daniel and I went to a session put on by The Diabetic Chef.  It was set up like a cooking show and was a lot of fun to watch.  (Rebecca and I both enjoy watching the cooking channel, but don't get to do it often as we dont' have cable.) 

His goals were to create healthy foods that also really tasted good.  He was trained as a chef - and found out he was a Type 1 diabetic during this training.  He has several cookbooks out and we bought both of them.  I'm looking forward to trying some things out!  We spent some time talking with he and his wife at the end of the day and they were both super nice.  You can check out his website by clicking on his name above.   

For the second session of the morning, Rebecca went into a young child's room with Daniel while I went to a seminar on adherance.  Yeah, I wasn't really sure what it would be on either.  She talked about ways to help your children stay the course of managing their diabetes.  Some of the information was really good and some if it I didn't necessarily agree with either - but know that is because I approach life from a different view than some people (in terms of relationships with children).  One of the statistics that she gave I found very interesting.  She said that 40 percent of parents have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at diagnosis of a child with diabetes.  She said that there was no other chronic illness were this was also true.  In some ways, a sad thing to hear.  in other ways, really validating of how very stressful this disease is to people.

Next was lunch.  We put our things down at a table and went to get our food.  When we returned, we found a family sharing our table and this time we were able to talk.  Turned out that they lived in the same city and also had a boy Joshua's age with Type 1.  I told them we hadn't met anyone yet (boy Joshua's age) and was excited to talk with them.  We had a good conversation with them (they even knew the surgeon that operated on Eliana's heart), but no further contact. 

After lunch, Joshua told me that he didn't want to go to the kids sessions anymore.  Isaiah went without him and Joshua came with me.  We attended a meeting of people from our area of the state.  They talked about a variety of topics, but something I heard a lot of was that people felt disconnected and so did their children.  This mirrors our experience too.  There is a mentor program set up through JDRF which we have tried several times to get involved in and have just fallen through the cracks - repeatedly.  I'll keep trying though. 

The last session was one on research for me and an active/exercise one for all of the children.  I only stayed through part of it because a worker brought Joshua to me saying he felt low.  They had not checked him (because I had his kit), but had given him a juice box.  We decided to leave the session and go talk to some of the pump representatives.  This was a good time to try out the pumps (pushing the buttons) and see how they worked.  All the reps were really nice and gave us good info.

It seems that *everyone* is on the pump.  We saw lots of pumps this week-end and I never saw anyone giving shots (though I'm sure there were others there too).  Joshua is getting more interested and excited about getting on the pump and we'll follow up with that now.

That was the end of the day.  We arrived home in time for dinner.  It was a fun trip and we got some good information.  I wish we had been able to connect with a family that we could have had more contact with once we got home.  Perhaps that will come with time too.  Or maybe, like me, Joshua can find a friend that he can talk with online instead of in person.  We'll see.  I know God has good plans for us.

Blessings

Leslie

PS  If you haven't yet - please check out the giveaway on the post just below this one!  Thank you to those who have donated via chip-in and also through sending a check.  Please remember to let me know if you are sending a check so I can add you to the drawing.

Beautiful Necklace Giveaway

All of us have things that move our hearts and spur us to act.  All of us have passions and things we feel like we need to do.  Since having Eliana and learning about the plight of orphans with Down syndrome, I've felt called to make a difference.  For our family, that has mostly involved lots of prayers and donating our money.  This month, we thought we would try something different. 

Rebecca has made a beautiful necklace to use in hopes of raising some money for Anya.  I know, the title says Giveaway.  You don't have to donate anything in order to be eligible to win.  We are hoping though that some of you will be encouraged to give just a little (or a more) in order to help this sweet girl find a family.

This is Anya.



We want to give her a chance to live in a loving home.  The cost of adoption holds back many families.  By helping to raise money for a grant for her, we hope this might encourage a family to step forward to make her their daughter.  Won't you help us? 

Here is the necklace from several views.  I also wanted to show it on different backgrounds as well as some close-ups.   The lights sometimes reflects and catches it in different ways.  It is silver though it can appear gold in the photos.  Isn't it lovely!













Here are the rules:

1.  You will be entered into the drawing 1 time for each $5 donation you make.  The minimum donation using chip-in is $10.  If you want to make a donation smaller than $10, please mail a check to the following address:

Reece's Rainbow

PO Box 4024

Gaithersburg, MD 20885

The reason for this is that the paypal fees for donations under $10 is 30 percent!  We want as much money as possible going to help Anya and not paid as fees!  If you do mail a check, would you let me know so that I can enter your name in the drawing?

2.  If you share this giveaway on your blog or facebook page, you will get an entry for that too.  Just post a comment here letting me know what you have done that so I can enter your name.

3.  The giveaway will be open until January 31 at midnight! 

That's it.  Please help spread the word and prayerfully consider making a donation.  There is a chip in on the right side of my blog in the sidebar.  Thank you!

If you have questions about this, please post them.  This is my first time doing this and I've probably missed something big. 

If I'm slow in answering, I"ll get back to you as soon as I can.  I will be taking some of the children this week-end to a Family Diabetes Retreat while Roger is home with the rest of them.  We are excited about this opportunity and I'll share more when we return.

Blessings

Leslie

Snowflake Bentley Co-op

We love our co-op!  Do I say that each time I post about it?  I'm so thankful to be a part of it!  Each time is so much fun!!!  This time is was my turn to co-teach. 

We started with reading the story and then moved to a storytelling game.



We took words from the story and put them on index cards.  Each card had three words on it. 



Each child drew a card and was asked to use at least one (but could use all) of the words on the card.  One child started the story and then we went in a circle with each child adding a bit more to the story.  It was a very creative one - with twists and turns that didn't always please the group.  lol  It was fun to hear what they came up with and how they used their words.

The next activity was an art project.  We did block prints.  Each child was given a square of florist foam in which to carve a picture or design. 



They used a pencil to draw their designs.  What I forgot to tell them was that their print would be the reverse of what they had drawn (my test design was symmetrical).  Some of them figured this out when they tried to write words.



I loved seeing the variety of designs.  Once the design was deep enough, they were ready to paint.



They painted the block with white tempera paint and the pressed the block to the paper.



Sometimes they needed to have more or less paint to get a good print. 



We then took a break for a snack and then another art project.  This time we focused on the photography lesson.  We didn't use cameras though, we used the sun!  Thankfully we had a beautifully sunny day!  This is the type of solar paper we used in case you were interested.



Each child selected some things that they wanted to use - tools, foam shapes, items from nature, etc.  Once this was decided we went into the sun to place the items on the solar paper. 



We had the children shade their papers until they had completely layed out their items.



Then they waited a few minutes as the sun began to fade the paper.  You can see in this picture that the one on the right has been in the sun longer.



After several minutes, they then took the items off of the solar paper and then submerged it into water.  Notice how the color has begun to darken again.



These are Daniel's prints after they have dried and darkened.  Pretty neat, huh?



Our next activity was a game on snow facts.  We thought it would be a fun way to see what they knew as well as to teach them some new things.  Here is how the game was made.  I found some images of the actual pictures Snowflake Bentley took of snowflakes and printed two of them.  One was the base of the game and the other became the pieces.



For the pieces, they were cut in half.  One half had a question on it and the other half the answer. 



Each child was given an answer.  Several were true/false, several were numbers and several were places so that hopefully none of the answers was too obvious.  When a question was asked, the children tried to guess the correct answer.  They were able to see if they were right by seeing if the picture on the back of their card matched the picture on the back of the question.



It's a simple way to learn some facts and an easy way to review things at home.  Hopefully I'll remember to use this technique again.

We ended with a snowball fight - paper - since we clearly had none of the real stuff!



A fun day.  I love learning in a hands-on way and I'm motivated to do some projects for co-op that I might not have the energy to do on my own.  I think it's a great opportunity for me as well as for my children.  Thank you friends for a fun day!  Looking forward to the next one!

Blessings

Leslie

Just made me laugh

I was looking over pictures that had been downloaded and when I came to these, they just made me laugh!



I could tell that Rebecca and Eliana had been playing and having fun taking pictures of themselves.



Eliana loves to imitate and when we find it funny - so does she!



Funny faces and cute ones.



Are you smiling yet?



I wasn't sure if Rebecca would mind these being posted. 



I asked and she didn't mind.



Pucker up!



Laugh, smile and spread the joy!  It really is contagious!

Love
Leslie

Random January Happenings

Things remain busy around here.  Even though I really try hard not to commit to much or take on too much, still things are busy.  I thought I'd share a few things that have happened this month in a kind of catch up post.

Christopher ran in his first race.  It was a 5k on New Years Day.

He has been diligent in training and setting up his own schedule of running to meet his goals.  He is planning to run in another race next month.  I'm proud of him for setting goals and working hard to reach them, for choosing his own interests and pursuing them. 

He is also busy with schoolwork and looking into colleges.  We attended a workshop at which several admissions counselors were there to talk about their schools.  I can't believe we are at that point!  I'm not ready.  I know though that he is quickly becoming ready and I pray for us both as we approach this new time. 

Rebecca has started doing more babysitting.  I know she is a blessing to the moms and to the children.  I know this because she has SOOOO much experience with a variety of younger children - typical and special needs and really enjoys them.   

She has been wanting to babysit for a long while so she could earn some money.  Want to know what she is doing with her money?  For the first two months of babysitting she is donating all of it to Anya.  I love her heart for others. 

She also auditioned for a play this week - and was chosen to be in it.  (Charlotte's Web)  It will be a heavy commitment for her for the next several months, but also a lot of fun I'm sure.

Joshua is doing well.  He is staying healthy (all of us are for which I give thanks daily!).  Diabetes continues to be a rollercoaster ride - and not always a fun one!  He is still in his "honeymoon" which means his numbers can really fluctuate.  Maybe this won't change when he is out of it either.  I really don't know.  He had his lowest low a week ago - 41 - and didn't even feel it.  :-(  I think this will make him a candidate for continuous glucose monitoring though I'm not sure if he'll want it.  (Another thing attached to you that will take constant readings of his blood sugar) 

We weren't able to attend the pump info night last month.  My parents had just gotten into town and he wanted to stay home.  (Which I think was a really good choice, after all the pump can wait and people are more important!)  We'll see about going this month.  We are attending a Family Retreat sponsored by the JDRF later this month.  I think we'll all be going.  It will be nice to try to connect with some others and other families dealing with diabetes.  I'm hoping this week-end will be a blessing for all of us able to go. 

Isaiah is doing well too.  He is really enjoying some of the new games we have (as are the others).  The karate on Wii and Civilizations are huge favorites.  I'm amazed at all that he learns from playing them and the retention of information from them. 

We are still working on figuring out how best to help him learn with some of his unique learning challenges.  He is an incredibly smart little boy and I want learning to be fun and interesting and not leave him feeling frustrated.  He was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder (this week) in addition to the other diagnoses earlier this year. 

It hurts my heart sometimes to know how hard things are for some of my children.  I know it could be much harder and that there are children facing much more.  I'm praying that working through the challenges that they face will help them cultivate understanding, patience and strength - and that through these challenges they will learn how to rely on God.  I know that God has a plan for each one of them and I pray that these challenges will prepare them well for what God has in store for them.  While I sometimes wish that the road was a little smoother, I'm so thankful to be walking it with God!  I pray that God would give us the grace, patience and wisdom needed to encourage them, prepare them and just love them as they are! 

How am I handling the news?  Pretty well.  I haven't had a lot of "feelings" over it (which is probably good since usually the feelings are stressed and overwhelmed).  Am I finally just learning to accept things?  Did God prepare my heart?  Am I finally learning to rest a little better in His arms?  I'm not sure, though I'm certain it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with God.  Perhaps it's just that He is holding me and all that I have to carry.

I do know that none of this is a surprise to God.  He has great plans for each one of us - and these bumps in the road will not deter His plans!  I continue to remind myself of these truths - He is good.  He is in control.  He loves us very, very much! 

It's hard to know how much to share sometimes in a public forum like this.  I hope that some of what I share will be of help or encouragment to someone else and at the same time don't want to share anything that would be upsetting to my children.  Please pray for our sweet boy and all that he is dealing with.  Please pray too as I try to learn how best to teach him, encourage him and help him navigate life. 

Daniel has lost his first tooth!  I can't believe my baby has already reached this milestone!  The earliest of all my children.  He also got his first tooth the earliest too - at 5 months (yes, I do remember it!). 

Daniel and I have scaled back on some of his schooling and are rowing again the Before FIAR books.  It's a relaxing time when he has me all to himself.  I think it's a sweet time for both of us.  He is still little and there is plenty of time ahead for him to be a big boy.

Eliana is doing great.  While I've missed seeing our therapists, it has been nice to have more free time in our days and in our week.  We have several days now where we have nothing planned!  It's nice to have the freedom to make the days what we want them to be. 

We've started doing workboxes officially with her and I think it is helping to have some routine in her day.  At this point, the routine is more that she is getting more done in a day and that the children working with her have specific things to do with her.  I know that actually building some timed routines in her day will be a good thing too, but that hasn't happened yet. 

Roger's work is going well and he has a birthday coming up soon.  No news on how we'll be celebrating as he does read here. 

Me - I'm staying busy.  We are working on getting into a good routine with schooling and so far things are going well.  I've started a new Bible study which has been encouraging.  I'm also going to be doing a new study thanks to the gifts of some sweet friends.  I look forward to seeing what God is going to teach me!

This is getting long and I realize needs more pictures, but I'm going to post and more pics will have to come later.  Its late as I'm up checking Joshua who has been dealing with lows tonight.  Trying to make sure his numbers stay well - and hoping that maybe I can get a nap in tomorrow!

Blessings

Leslie