First Day!

Yesterday, we started homeschool! LB was quite eager so we started around 8:30am. I suspect that will get pushed back closer to 9am most days but that is the great thing about homeschooling - flexibility! I gave him a tour of the school cart and he was most excited about the new slime, colored pens, and the mini whiteboard. We started with our agreements for homeschool. I try to use that word instead of rules because I think it gives him a sense of ownership. I wrote down three agreements that were important to me and asked him if he wanted to add any. In the moment he couldn't think of anything so we both signed our names to the three agreements. He insisted we sign in cursive so I obliged. I told him we can add more as we go if needed. Then I showed him our notebook where I will list the activities for the day. This is something we did in the spring so he knows the goal is that we want to be done with everything by 3pm and he can choose the order. In the spring, we usually finished the majority of the list by lunch time and he liked to save his independent reading time for the afternoon. We ended up following that exact pattern on the first day. We did the intro lesson in the Big Life Journal, started practicing our weekly spelling words, and we planned out our country project. During the shutdown, we started a 50 States Project. He used drawing pad paper and put the name of the state at the top along with the capital, he drew the shape of the state, wrote the population, drew the flag or flower, drew the state bird and usually included something about a sports team in each state. It was truly so impressive. By the end of May, he had completed all 50 States. Over the summer, we talked about exploring countries and he wanted to explore the country based on his favorite soccer players. I found a template on a homeschooling blog and showed it to him. I gave him the option of doing a similar format as the 50 States Project or using this template. He picked the template and then decided he would draw the soccer player on the back of the page. I also printed these great maps from the website, Settera. One of my goals for this project is for him to find and identify each country on the map. He picked Portugal as his first country because he loves the soccer player, Ronaldo. He already had the flag memorized. Here is the template we are using. He will finish it up tomorrow.

I also found a recommendation for this National Geographic Kids World Atlas. That is where he found a lot of the details on the template. It is very easy to use and has great visuals. I had flashbacks of my mom (a retired librarian) getting excited about looking things up, using the table of the contents, and finding the answer. I remember rolling my eyes. I walked LB through the same process today. 

I am excited that we have a plan for this project and I think once we get a few countries under our belt he will be able to complete this somewhat independently. I am not much of a cook but for some of the countries I am hoping we can explore food too. I also had him pick our country for next week so I can start planning. Next up will be Argentina - Leo Messi!

The funniest part of the first day was when I told him I wanted to use Khan Academy to do some review of 4th grade math. His 3rd grade teacher used that website so he is familiar with it. LB said, "Mom, I really don't think I need that. I am good at math." I explained that we hadn't done much formal math over the summer and that I thought it was a good idea. His response was, "You'll be hearing from my lawyer." I have no idea where he hears this stuff! Thankfully, he obliged and breezed through the two review lessons. He saved his independent reading for the afternoon and chose to read in the hallway to the dog. 

We did it! We survived the first day! It felt good to check the first day off my list. Onward!

Getting Organized

When it became obvious that this school year was going to involve some level of learning at home, I knew I needed a new system for staying organized with school stuff. We found that working at the kitchen table was really the best place to spread out and be able to work together but we also like to eat at our kitchen table (imagine that!) so it was a constant shuffling of where to put things. LB is also not a kid that likes to be alone so a desk in his room wasn't going to work either. D suggested we use a cart that we can store all the stuff we need and then at the end of the school day wheel it back into the study. When it comes to organizing, D is usually right on the money. He found one at Target, assembled it, and I love it! I picked out a couple other little bins and storage containers and I think I have it ready to go for the first day.

The top shelf has all of our notebooks, folders, Big Life Journal, and writing utensils. The little Rise & Thrive pouch has a few essential oil rollerballs, fidgets, notecards, erasers and a glue stick. I also have a clipboard and a white board. The second shelf has his chrome book. At the moment, the third shelf has scrap paper and a bin with a few books, stickers, a dictionary and more fidgets. My plan is to roll out the cart in the morning and then ask LB to roll it back in the afternoon. He will have the responsibility of charging his chrome book each night. I feel like that is a good habit to implement. We have a separate organizer for all his creative stuff like markers, colored pencils, how to draw books, stickers, etc. So we can always pull things from those bins as well. It's strange the amount of joy I am getting from this little cart but it's the simple things, right?

Blogging Again - 2020 Made Me Do it

Wow! 2020 has been quite the year. It seems that the insanity of 2020 has compelled me to log back into blogger after a 6 year hiatus. LB (our 10 year old son) and I will be embarking on a new adventure this school year - Homeschooling! I wanted to find a fun way to document this time together so I'm hoping I can find the energy to blog fairly regularly. 

LB attended our small and sweet neighborhood school from Kindergarten to 4th grade and he had wonderful teachers, made great friends, and it was truly a soft spot to land when he was five years old and adjusting to full time school. However, our district (the largest in the state) is starting the school year virtually and may or may not eventually go hybrid. The district made the right decision to be virtual, given our COVID numbers mid-summer, but we had a hard time envisioning LB being on the computer for long stretches of the day. He is active, likes hands-on activities, and is a social kid. We are incredibly privileged to be able to make this decision. I am grateful we had choices, as I know many do not. These are crazy hard times. I tossed and turned many nights wondering how we should proceed with this school year. There were some days when I experienced anxiety that I hadn't felt since somewhere in the midst of our adoption process. However, once we made the decision and I started to really envision what we could do and how we could spend our days, I started to get really excited. LB is also going to be able to attend a two day program at a school nearby that offers outdoor education for homeschoolers. As an only child, this opportunity to socialize with other kids is crucial for him.  So he and I will homeschool together three days a week and he will go to this new school two days a week (assuming COVID numbers don't spike). I have mentally prepared myself that we might be full time homeschooling in the event of school being closed. Thankfully, his soccer team has been practicing all summer and was recently cleared to start playing games. Being able to see friends and do the thing he loves most has been such an emotional boost for LB. We feel like his team has implemented good safety procedures and since the kids are outdoors we feel comfortable with letting him play. LB also started tennis lessons about a month or so ago and has enjoyed doing that with a few friends. 

We are officially starting our homeschool year on Wednesday, September 9th and he will start his two-day program on September 17th. It will be a fairly low-key first week, as he has a playdate and meet the teacher with his new school and his annual well-visit with his pediatrician scheduled. My plan is close out the week on Friday with an at-home service project through an organization I love called, Seeds of Caring. I am sure I will blog more about them at a later date.

Before I delve into homeschool stuff, I do want to document a project that I finally finished. During the shutdown, my neighbor emailed me a fun COVID-19 time capsule project that had all sorts of activities for LB. He filled out an All About Me page, wrote a letter to himself about quarantine, drew pictures of our house and activities we were doing to keep busy, etc. It gave me the idea to create an actual time capsule. So I collected some of the school projects we did in the spring, the artwork we had on the front door, a mask, and a few other things and put them all in a plastic bin. I also created a photo book on Shutterfly with all my favorite pictures from March - May that depicted how we kept busy. The photo book arrived today so the box is now complete.

Well, wish us luck! I am excited to share about our successes and challenges along the way. I feel like I learned a lot about how LB learns over the spring shutdown and I am planning on giving him a healthy dose of agency in projects we tackle and how we go about tackling them. I also hope this blog here holds me accountable and keeps me on my toes. We can do hard things!

Training for Tomorrow

When I returned from Ethiopia, I wrote a post, Fridays in Ethiopia, about our experience visiting three orphanages. It was an incredibly difficult day but it's been memories of that day and the faces of the children we met that have partly been the impetus and inspiration for the volunteer work I am doing for Studio Samuel, a non-profit started by my friend and fellow adoptive mom Tamara Horton. There are nights when I am in bed and I can't fall asleep and my mind wanders to Ethiopia. I think of the kids we met and their living conditions. I think of the older girls getting ready to age out of the orphanage with no support system or skills and that sadly many of them will end up as prostitutes. I tear up as I think of them and the heart ache can be unbearable. But that heart ache is not enough. My tears are not sufficient. 

Of course, my mind also wanders to LB's family. What are they doing? Do they have enough food? The loss that they sustained is enough to bring you to your knees. My love for LB and his Ethiopian family is the other big piece driving me to work past my tears. There have been countless times when I have gone over the details of his story and what led to his arrival at an orphanage in Southern Ethiopia. I know his story is not unique in Ethiopia. So what could have been done to prevent it? Was there a way to keep more children with their families? I couldn't shake these thoughts. The underlying answer always went back to women and mothers. Better education for women. Less child brides. Access to pre-natal care and birth control. I read statistics and quotes like:

The number one cause of death for girls 15-19 is childbirth. - World Health Organization

Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school. - UNICEF

and

"When you educate a girl you educate a nation." - UNICEF

"If we are going to see real development in the world, then our best investment is women." - Desmond Tutu

I also felt strongly that I didn't want to be part of something that felt like a handout. The Ethiopian people are smart, capable and proud and I think all of us who have been there see that they are on the rise. It's amazing what one can do with education, resources and opportunity. In 2012, Tamara launched Studio Samuel with the mission of providing life skills to vulnerable young women with the mantra Empowerment Without Pity. I knew I had found my place. I was so excited when Tamara asked me to join the board. Studio Samuel has accomplished a lot but we have more we want to do.

Our newest program, Training for Tomorrow, is quite the endeavor but we are committed and believe it will make a huge difference. 

Training for Tomorrow is a  two year sponsorship program that will provide 40 young girls with:

Occupational Training

Life Skills Training

Healthcare Courses

Counseling & Mentoring

Karate Classes

We have partnered with Children's Heaven, an organization on the ground in Addis Ababa that provides programs for vulnerable young girls. Most of them have lost one or both of parents to AIDS. 

The sponsorship fee is $30/month. That is less than $10/week and about a $1/day. 

You will receive a photo of the girl you are sponsoring along with her name, age and her goals. You will continue to receive updates on her progress and will have the opportunity to exchange letters. You will be making a difference in the life of a girl. And if all the data and research is true then you are impacting a family and a community as well. This project is so important!

Will you join me?

You can sign up now to sponsor one of these precious girls. Thank you so much, friends!

Christmas 2013

Let's see if I can wrap up 2013 before it's February 2014!

Tulsa and Kansas Christmas:

Christmas this year was so much fun! Since driving went fairly well last year we decided that was the way to go again this year. Unfortunately, we were faced with a bit of crummy weather in the form of sleet and freezing rain but thankfully it didn't slow us down too much and the road conditions were fairly good. LB did amazing on the drive thanks to one of my best parenting decisions yet. Drumroll please. I put an end to the Ipad right after Halloween. I felt like it was getting out of control and was more of a pain than a help. Every time I told LB it was time to turn it off he would try and negotiate "five more minutes" or would just plain throw a fit. I love some of the educational games and puzzles we had for him on the Ipad but the netflix and movies would just suck him away from actual play. So I told him the Ipad was going bye bye until our drive to Tulsa. He shockingly handled it pretty well and didn't really bring it up that much. However, we hadn't even pulled out of the driveway and he asked for it. HA! But I didn't even care because it kept him so entertained. He did play with some of the other stuff we brought for the drive and did a little sleeping and snacking but mostly he was content to play with the Ipad and that was fine with us!

He was asleep when we pulled into the garage at my parents' house and I wish I could have captured his face when he woke up and saw my mom standing next to him! My parents and my sister doted on him the whole time we were there and LB was just as happy as can be.

The morning of Christmas Eve, my dad and LB were playing a fun game of hide and seek. My dad decided to hide in the closet where LB's gifts from Santa were hidden. (In my dad's defense, he was not aware that was the designated hiding place and was just being a good grandpa indulging LB in one of his fave games.) Well, LB found my dad and since he has excellent plane radar he spotted the planes right away! My dad felt badly but in the end it worked out. We told LB that Santa delivered some of his gifts early and LB played happily with his new planes until it was time to go to church. He didn't spot his drum that was also in there so he still got to be surprised by a Santa gift on Christmas morning.

LB continued his tradition of doing a great job at the Christmas Eve church service. He got a little antsy at times but I just gave him a snack and he was fine. He loves all the singing and that helps keep him happy. We sat next to my friend's family and her daughter and LB kept each other happy prior to the service.

At one point, the minister said "King of Jews" but all LB heard was juice, which he then exclaimed quite loudly. I hope I never forget that. Too funny. My mom got a nice shot of D and me as well.

Last year during the candle lighting, I got a really sweet picture of my mom and Ezra with their candles and this year it was D's turn to be with LB. All I can think of when I look at this picture is the line "Wonders of His Love" from the song "Joy to the World." Two of my loves.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. LB got his drum and my parents spoiled the rest of us as well. We had a yummy breakfast and LB spent the entire day in his PJs. Perfection!

Before LB was in the picture, our family would make the trip to Kansas City to spend time with my mom's side of my family. Several of my Christmas memories from childhood are from time in Kansas City with my cousins and grandma. When LB came home, my aunt, uncle and cousins offered to come to Tulsa instead so we could limit our travel with the little one. We appreciated that so much but found after a few years we wanted to get back to Kansas. So this was the year. The day after Christmas we said goodbye to Tulsa and drove to KC. LB adores my cousins and aunt and uncle and includes them in his nightly prayers even though we usually only see them about once a year. They go all out and play with him from morning until night and it makes such a big impression on LB. Gathering around the table for a post Christmas meal with my family is always a little bittersweet for me. I think we all feel the loss of my Grandma Virginia and Uncle David but we bring up their names often as we happily look back and reminisce and that helps greatly. They would have both loved LB so much. I wish I would have taken more pictures but many memories were made and that's what matters.

Christmas in Yellow Springs:

We celebrated Christmas with D's side of the family the first weekend in January. D's cousins had already opened most of their gifts from Nana and Poppy on Christmas Day and they were very patient while LB opened most of his gifts. D's parents held back a few and we gave them gifts but it was mostly LB opening gifts. He got some great loot, including a scooter, and the kids had a fun afternoon playing together.

I love that the three cousins are so close in age. They are tight and watching them play brings me a lot of joy. I know that D's parents feel the same way. 

Christmas 2013 will be tough to top. This stage is so magical and I hope we have several more years of it.

End of 2013 Recap

So it appears any attempt to thoroughly recap 2013 is a lost cause. This will be my lame attempt and then it's time to move on to 2014.

Halloween 

In the months leading up to Halloween, I was pretty sure LB was going to be a pilot. I had this super cute costume picked out and thought he would love it. As we got closer and started talking about it, he was not enthused about the pilot idea. I didn't get it. He's Mr. Plane. Right around that time we discovered the TV show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." It's on the Disney Channel, which we don't have, but we found it on Netflix. This was also around the time that LB discovered the movie, Peter Pan, which he fell in love with. I did not remember all the sexist and racist comments in Peter Pan so I cringed through the first viewing and thought maybe LB wouldn't like it. WRONG. He's obsessed. He started to say that he wanted to be a pirate for Halloween. It was a tad confusing because his "r" sound still very much sounds likes a "l." So I kept clarifying by asking him, "You want to be a pirate like arrrghhh matey or a pilot that flies planes." He would always answer back "argghhh matey." I found a Jake costume online and showed it to him and we had a winner! As soon as we got it, he had to put it on right away and we also got him a little Jake kit from Tar.get that had a sword, spy glass, gold coins and a map. He was pumped.

Halloween morning they were having a parade at school and the kids were encouraged to wear costumes. I got his out and was super excited. LB decided he wanted nothing to do with it. I was all of a sudden devastated. He flat out refused to wear his Jake costume. My mom had come to town for the week (which was great since D was out of town) and she had brought with her a Pilot shirt from the new movie, Planes. She convinced him to be a pilot for the parade at school. Although he refused to even put the pilot shirt on until we got to school. In hindsight, I think he was overwhelmed by the idea of the parade and kids and teachers wearing costumes. But once he got to school and realized none of the costumes were scary he relaxed and seemed to enjoy it. I would also say that I set my expectations WAY too high for the day and didn't act with a whole lot of compassion towards his refusal to be Jake at school. Expectations always get me in trouble.
Here are a few pics from school:

Yes, his best bud was also Jake and they would have been SO CUTE together but oh well. He's a cute pilot too.

Thankfully, he totally embraced being Jake for trick or treat and he had such a blast that night. My mom is the most amazing grandma and dressed up like the Cat in the Hat. LB has the coolest grandma ever. We have a tradition of trick or treating at our friend's house with another family and they have the perfect street for the kids. Lots of street lights and friendly neighbors. It was such a fun evening! Oh and D made it back in time for trick or treat, which was nice!

November

I tried to do some cute Thanksgiving crafts with LB in the week leading up to the big day and I would say our favorite one was his thankful turkey that we made out of a paper plate. I cut out the feathers and asked him to list 5 things he was thankful for and I wrote them on the feathers. I also cut out the other parts to the turkey and then LB glued everything together. He was really proud of it and we had it displayed in the living room through Christmas.

The weekend before Thanksgiving we met LB's cousins at the zoo for the holiday light show. It was freezing but we endured the cold and had a fun night. The kids also got to see Santa, which ended up being a nice reprieve from the cold, and since not too many people were brave (or stupid) enough to be out in the cold we didn't have to wait in a long line. LB asked Santa for "a plane and a drum." I didn't realize you could ask Santa for two things but I guess LB decided it was okay. He stayed consistent with those requests all through December. (Confession: We ended up seeing Santa 4 times before the big day. LB is a fan.)

Actual Thanksgiving day was a bit of a bust. D's parents were hosting Thanksgiving but not until Friday to accommodate every one's schedules. So our plan was to chill at home on Thursday and put up all our Christmas decorations. It was a good plan but LB woke up in a foul mood and I think I was in a bad mood too. I was missing my family and just felt blah about the whole thing. So the tree got put up and we did some fun Christmas crafts but overall it was just an okay today. Not what I hoped. Thankfully, Friday was fun and we stuffed our faces and LB played with his cousins. Somehow I managed to take zero photos. I must have been too busy eating and drinking.

December

We got a fair amount of snow in early December and LB had more stamina this year in terms of being willing to play in the snow. And he has learned to put his gloves on all by himself which meant I cursed much less this year. Is there anything more annoying than trying to get gloves on a toddler? I think not. 

We had several fun playdates with old friends and new friends. I have loved watching LB develop good friendships at preschool this year and to see him seek out his special friends.

LB had his Christmas program and party at school. I was in love with the shirt I bought him for it. I'm biased but he was so darn cute.

Okay, so I lied. I have rambled enough and I still need to recap our trip to Tulsa for Christmas. That will have to come later. 

Until then..... I hope January is treating you well, friends!

Update Time

Is anyone still out there? I can't believe I haven't posted since October 14th. It wasn't intentional. Life got busy. And a certain three year old decided he no longer needs naps. Yes, we are going through the dreaded transition of not napping. My typical time to sit down and read other blogs and update my own was beloved nap time. That only happens a few days a week and it seems I have twenty things to get accomplished during that precious free time. Here is a quick update of the past 6 weeks and hopefully I'll find new motivation to blog at night because I do miss this space.

*I got a job!!! Oh yeah, another big reason life got busy. Well, it's a super part time job. I work for a non-profit, Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS), and am part of their after school tutoring program. ETSS started out as serving the Ethiopian immigrant community in Columbus but have expanded their services across the city and serve a wide variety of immigrants and refugees. I know the director of the non-profit because of some volunteering I did for ETSS a few years ago. I emailed him to let him know I was interested in applying for any positions pertaining to teaching English as a second language. He let me know those positions had been filled for the school year but he would keep my resume on file. That was ideal because I wasn't really looking for this school year but wanted him to know I was still interested for next year. About a week later, I got an email from the manager of the after school tutoring program and he said he needed to fill some positions and asked me if I was interested. I decided it didn't hurt to interview and see what they were looking for. I wasn't sure we would be able to make it work in terms of child care but wanted to get my foot in the door. I interviewed and it couldn't have worked out more perfectly. The position is only 9 hours a week and 6 of those hours are spent on site twice a week. The other 3 hours are for prep time that I can do at home. I work at their East side location which serves the children of Ethiopian immigrants! The other great part is that the site is about 5 minutes from D's office. So twice a week I drop off LB with D at his office and then I head to work and they head home. I started a few weeks and so far I love it. I did get puked on by a kindergartener on my third day and also caught a cold from one of them but I guess that is what you expect when you work with little kids. But I love being surrounded by kids who look like mine and share his culture. I will probably learn a lot from them as well. I'm enjoying meeting their parents and hopefully I can be of some help in terms of communicating with schools and providing tutors with extra resources. It's a good outlet for me and I feel really lucky. I also feel like LB is in part responsible for this job. I love how his adoption has had ripple effects on our life.

*LB is going to be 4 years old in two months! I can't believe it. He continues to go to school twice a week and it's been going well so far. There have been a few mornings when he's said he doesn't want to go but he eventually comes around and drop offs have been tear free! I had my first parent teacher conference about a month ago. I was nervous! But it was fine. They have him nailed to a tee! His teachers described him as joyful, social, smart, easily distracted and a bit wild. He also struggles with "walking feet" in the classroom. No shock there. But I love that he has some favorite friends and that they get excited when they see each other. It's especially great when we run into these friends outside of school and they go nuts with excitement. I worry a bit (a lot) about how small he is compared to the kids in his class and most of these friends are actually several months younger than him. But for the moment he seems to hold his own and doesn't let it hold him back. I've been happy with his school. I wish there were more diversity but his teachers have been working with preschoolers for a long time and seem to do a great job with the kids. He comes home with cool crafts and stories of looking at bugs on the playground or pretending to be rabbits with his best buddy. The teachers send me a photo about once a week of LB doing one of the scheduled activities and they post their lesson plans online as well so we can see what they are learning. I'll say it again. I wish there were more diversity. I suppose no school is perfect. Here's his school picture.

*My mom came to visit Halloween week and we had a lot of fun. I hope to do a separate post on Halloween. The timing of her trip was great because D was in California for work and it also ended up being the week I had my interview so her help was a huge gift! We went to the zoo, the OSU airport and she bought LB a new bike. A few weeks before her visit, I was backing out of the garage and clipped the side of his bike. It was officially broken. I felt like the worst mom EVER! LB handled it pretty well. Thank goodness Meemaw came to the rescue.

*So back to this no napping nonsense. In a nutshell, it sucks. The silver lining is that he goes to bed at 7pm on the days he doesn't nap and it's nice to have a full evening to relax with D. One of the first nights he went to bed to 7pm, D and I looked at each other around 8:30pm and couldn't believe how early it still was. I also like not feeling rushed to get back to the house around lunchtime so he can be down for a nap by 1pm. He'll go about 2 or 3 days without a nap and then be in desperate need of one. That seems to be our current pattern. The days feel long that's for sure. I'm working on implementing some quiet time to replace the nap so that I can still get a little break mid-day and he can do something restful. I recently tried to explain quiet time to him and we were brainstorming activities he could do. One of his suggestions was "playing my drums." Clearly, the concept went a bit over his head. We're still working on it. LB has always been such a good napper and I was convinced he would be a regular napper until kindergarten. Sigh. But I should be grateful he lasted this long as I know some kids who gave up their nap at 2. I'm trying to count my blessings. Here he is asleep on the way to the grocery store on a no nap day. It's tough being 3.

*We continue to do music class weekly and we both absolutely love it. The final session for the year was the week before Thanksgiving and I am not sure how we will make it to January. Music is becoming a really big part of his life. I found out about a marching band competition going on at the high school in our neighborhood a few weeks ago and we took LB. It was cold that day but he loved it. We sat in a stadium for 2 hours watching marching bands and he still talks about it. We kept asking him if he was too cold and wanted to go home but he insisted on staying. On Thanksgiving, we were watching the parade and sadly they didn't show too many bands but when he got a glimpse of one he would get really excited and he kept asking us to "check and see" if there were any bands we could go see that day. I'm constantly scouring the internet for cheap and/or free musical events going on around town. I'm excited to take him to Tuba Christmas again in a few weeks. I also can't wait to see how this love of music continues to develop and what it means for him. Maybe nothing. Maybe something big.

That's our past six weeks with a few holes that I plan on filling in soon! I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! One more picture before I let you go.