First Report Card

I met with Jared's teacher on Friday and I received his first report card. Wow! I was pleasantly surprised. He did sooooo well! I'm still shocked by how well he's doing, but more importantly, I'm so proud of him! His teacher also commented on how well he's memorizing things, considering everything she's read about APD. I agreed with her regarding that. I'm still in awe of his memorization skills. Hopefully I can post some video of him reciting his verses this month.

Rise up, O Lord, in all your power. With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts. Psalm 21:13 (NLT)

The "Girlfriend"

There is a girl in Jared's class named Emma. Apparently, she has a huge crush on Jared. He has never mentioned anything to me about it. A friend of mine, who's daughter is in his class, told me a few weeks ago that Emma kissed Jared at school. When I asked him about it, he smiled and said that she got in trouble. I hadn't really thought much about Emma, until I met her mom this week.

When I introduced myself as Jared's mom, she immediately said, "I am so sorry. We are really working with Emma. She's just very tactile." I had no idea what she was talking about, so I said, "Oh, you're Emma's mom?" She proceeded to apologize more. It was very strange. That same day, when we were leaving school, Jared saw her (I still haven't seen what she even looks like!) and said, "Bye, Emma". All I heard was, "Bye, Cutie!" Of course, I laughed at how vocal she was... from across a parking lot.  "Jared, does she always call you 'cutie'?" He said that she does. Hmmm. weird.

Upon furthering my investigation, I flat-out asked him if she was his girlfriend, because I wanted to hear his response. He said "no". I said, "well, is she pretty?" He said "yes". The high school girl came out in me, because I don't know what this girl looks like (and I'm trying to visual all the girls at school pick-up). "Is she prettier than Ryan?" He said "no". "Is she prettier than Ashley?" He said "no". Hmm. Who is this girl? He told me she gets in trouble a lot at school. And there's another girl in the class who gets in trouble more than Emma does. Once I found out that there were 2 kids in Jared's class whose behavior received many more marks than Jared's does, I could care less about the girlfriend issue, as I was so elated to not have the child with the most marks in the class... for the first time!

When I mentioned Emma to my parents, they both growled. My mom said, "I told the teacher not to let her by Jared!" My dad said that Emma was holding Jared in a bear hug and refused to let Jared hug him. Apparently, they were appalled at how she couldn't keep her hands off him on Grandparents day. Emma's grandmother was even telling her to keep her hands to herself. This explains why her mother felt she needed to apologize upon meeting me. Little did she know that my parents hadn't even mentioned any of this.

I really want to see what this girl looks like, so I can put a picture to her name. Even though she sounds annoying to Jared, he still likes her and thinks she's funny. And, what can I say? She's got great taste!

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Galations 5:22 (NLT)

Setting Goals and Scoring Goals

Today was our 6th soccer match of the season. This is an odd season, as Jared really doesn't seem to enjoy soccer anymore. In fact, he didn't want to play in the game today. So, as we were driving over there Ray and I were talking about him not playing a 6th season (next spring) and possibly swimming instead. I quietly said to Ray, "He's not very good at soccer. I can't believe he hasn't even scored a goal this season. I guess he's just not meant to play soccer." This is the first season he hadn't scored at least one goal. Ray agreed and said, "Well, the last 2 games proved that. He doesn't want to be on the field. He just wanders around the field." With those words, I was already prepared to start the research on swim options.

However, I quickly came up with a plan. I had 8 cake/cupcake orders due in the few hours before that moment and a number of them paid in cash. I normally don't have cash laying around, so I blurted out, "Jared, if you score a goal today, I'll give you ten dollars." Immediately, Jared started praying out loud, "God, please help me score a goal today so I can buy a toy snake."

We walked over to the pitch and reminded him again the direction of his goal and that there was a $10 prize. Within a minute of him playing the match, he scored a goal. He was so proud. We were so proud. The crowd was cheering, as the other team wasn't an easy team to beat. In fact, they had already scored a goal or two before Jared subbed in and scored his goal.

The mom next to me was the one behind my inspiration. She had promised her daughter $20 if she scored a goal. At the time I thought it was ludicrous. It has been 6 games and she still hasn't scored a goal. She was cheering so  loud when our plan worked and Jared scored a goal. And, wouldn't you know? He then scored a second goal after half time. Some parents came over, cheering, as if to say, "There he is! I was wondering where he was this season!" The funniest part of all is that another boy, Roman, who hadn't scored this season scored two goals today. When I asked his dad (jokingly) if he had promised him money, he said YES! Now we know what motivates 6 year olds! I'm just worried that my little boy is going to want more money for the last 2 games.

As we were walking back to the car Jared said, "I prayed to God and he helped me score two goals!" Ah... that was my favorite part of the day.

“Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!” Proverbs 15:23 (NLT)

Cooler Weather

The weather has cooled a bit and we are loving it! Last year, by this time, Jared had already had a couple big asthma problems and allergy attacks. This year, it's been really good. I don't know if it has to do with taking dairy out of his diet a few months ago, or if it's just the change in the air. Nevertheless, it's great.

He's successful with his school work. There was a big test today on some spelling/sight words. Since we had already memorized them last summer, he was ahead of the game. His reading skills are progressing, but he still continues to "guess" at the words. I don't know if this is normal or if he's just making up for his learning disability. For example, if there's a picture of Sam on the beach with shells and the text says, "Sam and the shells are in the sand." Jared will start out reading the beginning of the sentence and then just kind of make up his own, according to how he views the picture. "Sam and the shells are on the beach." He's more about the "big picture" than actually having to slow down and read text. This is how he was with his flashcards for today's test. I held up one flash card and he proceded to tell me that word, and another 6 words after it (before I had even switched the card). He had them memorized and was letting me know he was finished with the flash cards. Haha. This all goes back to what Dr. Champagne told me last spring. Jared likes to do things his way. He doesn't slow down enough to figure out what's going on. He "makes up his own rules".

Obviously, that's a "red flag", as no parent wants their kid making up their own rules. So, right now we're working on slowing down and listening to instructions and then doing exactly what was asked. With Jared, it truly is harder than it sounds.

Here are my boys, enjoying this morning's cool weather.


Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

Avoidance

I often wonder if people dread Parent Teacher Conferences as much as I do. This morning, I actually started weighing pros and cons of homeschooling because I didn't want to attend the meeting with the teacher. Yes, I definitely have avoidance issues. It's still a couple weeks away, but I really don't want to go. I didn't want to go to Zane's meeting either, and it turned out fine.  Unfortunately, he likes to wrestle during class time, which we're working on stopping. And Jared's issue? Well, he talks too much. He talks when he's not supposed to talk.

I talk to Jared about not talking in class, or when the teacher's talking, or at lunch time (kids aren't allowed to talk for a required amount of minutes, so they can eat). He knows he's not supposed to, but I guess it just comes down to self control.

Part of me is jealous of folks who have it so easy with their kids who don't misbehave at school. Then I remember that my parents had two of those kids. So, perhaps this is due to me. I'm still trying to figure out what I can learn from this and how this can help me develop into a better person... perhaps a person who doesn't write out pros and cons just to avoid a 15 minute meeting.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Memorization

I took a break from this blog and now I don't quite know where to start. Business has been very busy, so the spare time that I do have is spent working with Jared on memorization.  I have always been known for my memory. In school, it was the top thing I never had to worry about. There are times in my life where I have begged God to erase ridiculous numbers and events that, I was certain, were cluttering up my brain. Every time there was a puzzle or anything to do with memory, my friends would often say that no one needed to write it down because I was there and would just remember it. Let me tell you, remembering a lot of things can be a blessing and a curse. I don't expect either of my kids to have a memory like mine, however I also know that memorization can make things a lot easier.

This school year, I am in awe of Jared's memorization skills. I guess I had read so much about APD kids not memorizing well, that I had already sentenced him to a life without memorization. Each week when we work on his scripture memory, he not only memorizes a few sentences, he also remembers the scripture later, when you ask him. Sure, there are a few "the" and "a" and adjective mishaps, which is normal for APD. However, he has said each one with perfection, at least a couple times. The reference numbers are more difficult. He sometimes can't distinguish between 13 and 30 when he hears it. Psalm 13 soon becomes 30 or 14 becomes 40.

The students in his class are numbered. They do things in order of their numbers. Jared is number one. So, he actually has to say his scripture first. He doesn't even get to hear others say it to remember it. This makes me so proud.

You know what else makes me proud? All that home schooling we did last summer is now sprouting benefits. The students are memorizing words and Jared already knows them! We worked on them throughout the summer, so he's ahead of the game. That gives us extra time to go over some really hard words that will be more difficult for him to spell. Yesterday morning, when he woke up, he even grabbed his 100 flashcards of words and started drilling himself! Go, Jared!

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NKJ)