The end of the tunnel is coming...

I am amazed that my last post was so long ago! The weeks are flying past! That surely is a good thing... So how has this term been? Overall I think things are going well and the fact that I haven't blogged in so long is probably a reflection that there hasn't been anything particularly of note to write about which I think is good! We have plodded on with our routine this term as much as we can. We are getting through the workbooks and topics and have accomplished quite a lot academically this term. The sun and the heat have been unusual obstacles for us to overcome! Neither of us are very good at dealing with the heat so it's just as well this is a rare problem for us to have! Having said that it did work to our advantage! For example, a lot of our maths this term has been revision of what we have done through the year. Symmetry came up. This was one topic that didn't quite click when we looked at it at first. This time though we were studying it when we were sitting outside at the "new" garden table which has an opaque black glass top. I pointed out to S the reflection of the objects in the table and how that was just like symmetry. It was lovely - the penny immediately dropped and we were off! Basic symmetry is now sorted! Over this term I have begun to realise just how much I depend on a routine as much as S! I'm so aware that a lot of home school mums are beginning to wind down as summer approaches and that there are so many distractions that things can change quite a lot. I don't find that so easy. S certainly doesn't find that easy and if we have one different day I pay for it by having two difficult days until we are back into the flow of it. I don't think that is helpful or fair for him and so try as much as possible to keep our maths, english and topic (which does change every day whether it be geography, history or science) going every day. Afternoons are totally flexible and that seems to work. I have been struck this week though at how tired S is. His stammer is returning and his stress levels are beginning to rise. The point of home schooling is to avoid this so I'm going to reassess my planning for the next 3 weeks to see if I can somehow change it to take the pressure completely off. I don't want to undo all the positives of the last few months by him becoming so exhausted that we go backwards! As my confidence is improving on the teaching side of things I am also beginning to see where we need to help him in other areas. I am very fed up of the moaning and groaning that comes with the beginning of each home school day. S has such a big moan and then once he gets down to work is great and seems to forget it. I however find it far harder to listen to such an exaggerated moan and then put it behind me! So, I have had to spell out consequences for his moan! We now have a points system and for everyday that he has monumental moans he loses a point and will fall down a point on the ladder. If he ultimately gets to 1 then I will phone a school! If however he doesn't moan and works hard he will stay up at home. We got to 8 this week but no further down and having just introduced the system this week it transformed the atmosphere in the house! We'll see how long that has mileage but i did explain to him that a positive relationship between myself and him was so important to me and if that was spoiled by home schooling then we would have to rethink the whole thing! I am so aware I need to start introducing more work on strategies to help him to deal with things in life he finds tricky. This is one area I so wish I knew more home schooling mums of kids with special needs! We have so much appreciated all our home school friends that we have made (mums and kids alike) but none of my friends are dealing with children on the spectrum and that can be a lonely experience! As our time together goes on it is fascinating seeing the areas that S really likes. He loves History and Geography! The reading books that we have done (Time Capsule - Oxford Reading Tree) have been fantastic in introducing different times in history. A big favourite was one about the 2nd world war which led us to look at Anne Frank. We found a great website that let us tour the Secret Annexe. S was fascinated by it! We have also been looking in Geography at maps and different continents. Again he has loved this and has really enjoyed finding out about different countries and cultures. This is so interesting for me. I never really liked history! To be honest I found it quite boring! Geography was similar although I did enjoy doing a crash higher in it in 6th year but think I would have hated doing a higher the traditional long way! This really tests my teaching though as I need to keep history and geography alive for him as he is so interested! I'm so pleased to see him so interested! My mum came over one day this term and spent the day teaching S. It was great! Mum was so creative with him and S just loved it! It was so special hearing them working together and really gave me such a break! It is good that what she did with him was so different and he coped really well with that. Hopefully we can do this more. Some folks have offered to help out and I think next term I might start taking them up on the offer more. So, my attention is now beginning to shift to next term. I am amazed we have made it to nearly the end of our 3rd term and it's gone so well. The other 3 kids are very happy too which is fantastic. I am starting to plan next year and S is happy to chat about it to. There's a LOT to happen before then though.... So, a long post but hopefully an encouraging post to update you on some of the things that have happened. I'll hopefully write again before the end of the school year!