Starting Second Week of School

Well the kids have started their second week of school.  So far they like their teachers.  JD is happy and seems to be adjusting well to the 4^th grade.  He is at that point in his life where he wants to be treated like he is grown but is still a child.  He wants to be responsible but lacks responsibility.  I am not sure how to handle this because it seems to be a crossroads.  He is just growing up too quickly.  Add to it that we have some of the first signs of puberty.  I actually bought him deodorant and he has had his first pimple.  I am not sure what to do with him or how to help him through this.  As far as school is going he seems to be doing well. 

While Amanda is doing well in school so far at least I haven’t heard anything from her teacher.  The bus has been a different matter.  Because David and I have both had our pay reduced she and JD are now riding the bus; we just can’t afford after school care.  So far if I leave work exactly on time I am able to get home just before the bus.   Anyway the first day Amanda cried during the ride home.  I think she was worried I wouldn’t be there when she got off the bus.  The next day it seems she had an incident where she was defiant with the bus driver.  I only know this because JD told me when they got off the bus.  We explained to her she has to listen to the bus driver and discussed the rules regarding back packs.   As far as I know there has not been another incident. 

So far this school year seems very hectic.  We shall see what it has in store for us.

Navigating To Camp

For the past week we have been playing a game on the way to camp.  Each child takes a turn navigating either to camp or back home again and we alternate who gets to do it. My dad use to play this game with my brother and I when we were young.  Today it was Amanda's turn to navigate to camp and JD will navigate home.  While Amanda was navigating, JD asked if I realized that Amanda was learning her the difference between left and right by navigating.  I told him I did and I thought it was a fun way to learn it.  But they are both learning so much more or that is my hope. For one thing they know how to get home and as we play the game they will learn how to get to other places.  My hope is that they are realizing that even if they take a wrong turn they can still get to their destination.  That there are many ways to get somewhere; some are faster and some are slower but eventually if you keep your mind on the goal you can get there.  As we navigate I take the time to point some of this out.  JD now knows what "No outlet" means.
I am not sure what I learned when my dad use to do this but I must have learned something because I started it with my children.  Thanks Dad

Getting Ready for School

I think I finally have all the things the kids need to start school.  It is funny how each kid is so different.  Buying stuff for JD is difficult.  I picked up most of the clothes for JD when he wasn’t around and the only thing I needed him for was to try on his new shoes.  Amanda on the other hand had to try on everything and try on various sizes to make sure we bought school uniforms that were comfortable.  Buying shoes are especially stressful for her.  To find the right shoes took 2 visits to the store.  She tried on a few shoes at the first store and while they had shoes that she liked nothing was comfortable.  So we called it a day.  I have learned that I can only push her so far before we reach the point when nothing will work.  As we got ready to go shopping the next weekend to finish up, Amanda questioned why she couldn’t wear her play shoes to school and to be honest they would have worked for a few weeks but I knew that eventually she would have to get new shoes and her shoes would wear out twice as fast since she was using them for play and school.  I was also a little scared to not have a back-up pair in case something happened to her shoes.  She only has 2 pairs of shoes she will wear; a play pair and a pair of sandals that she wears to church.  I don’t think I ever have to worry about her becoming a shoe hoarder.   Well we lucked out with the second pair I tried on her; she got so excited she actually put them on and ran around the store.  Amanda wanted to wear them all the time but I explained she had to wait until school started.  She has never had that reaction before.  Usually she gets a determined face and lets me know she will deal with the shoes.  It usually takes a few days of wearing them before the tantrums die down and she wears them without a fuss. 

I sometimes feel like I gyp JD when it comes time for shopping because I spend so much time with Amanda trying to find just the right clothing.  I know that is because of the SPD and if I don’t spend the time on the clothing than it will lead to so many other issues when it comes times to wear them. 

So now after 2 shopping trips with Amanda, one of which included JD, and a trip to 4 different Wal-Marts to find Amanda’s school socks.  I knew what kind of socks to buy I just couldn’t find her size and didn’t want to take a chance on buying the wrong socks again.  A trip to Target for school supplies and David making 2 trips to office supply stores to find the composition books Amanda needed for school.  I think we have all the material things to send the kids to school.  Hopefully now we can concentrate on the important things now.