13 Months Home

Last year around this time, I remember how determined our kids were about not wasting food. I made apple pies on Columbus Day last year, and not a single scrap of apple peels or core, (or stems!) went unconsumed. Just the other day I smiled to myself when I noticed Adam peeling his apple before he ate it. He "doesn't like the peels now," he said. He's come a long way. Food was such a friend of his for so long. And, I guess it still is to a point. He will still ask for seconds and thirds until we say "no" sometimes. But, his apple peel left on his plate said a lot to me about how he's done this year.

Last year this time, we were trying to teach Adam his numbers and how to count, and even how old he was. It took ForEver to even teach him how to do a simple dot-to-dot. Now we know that this has to do with the way his brain was formed, and that math will probably alwayss be extra-difficult for him, but even so, he is now not only knowing how old he is (!), but can do dot-to-dots to whatever number we pick, can count, and is memorizing math facts. They come hard for him, but I'm so glad someone directed us to Math-U-See. He understood and could say his "+9" math facts after just a few days with that curriculum. I sure wish I had had it when I was in school! It teaches the "why" of math better than I have ever heard. "A 9 always wants to become a 10, so it will suck one away from that number 7. See how the whole in the top of a 9 looks like the end of a vacuum nozzle? It uses it to suck up, or steal from the number it is being added to. Then, look what you have. You have a 10 and a 6. What number is that?" All the while, it uses blocks (very hard to explain here), but you can SEE the math happen, which is what Adam needs. If we had sat him down with flashcards and insisted that he memorize them, there is Absolutely No Way he could have done it. Now, instead of using the blocks, Adam can just visualize what is actually happening with the math, and he can understand it better. Such a blessing to find this curriculum. So, so relieved.

Speaking of homeschooling, we had a trip to the library and afterwards the park the other day, and while we were there, a lady was there with her toddler. She was SPEAKING RUSSIAN to her kiddo! Our kids followed this lady around the park like she was their long-lost best friend. She was from Russia, and I was *sooooo happy* to find out that when she spoke Russian to my kids, that they could actually still understand her! They responded in English, (which she understood too, thankfully!), but it was very interesting to know that the kids' Russian is still floating around in their brains somewhere. It was also interesting that the kids didn't avoid her like the plague. I've heard of so many other kiddos who, once home, would actually walk away from Russian/Ukrainian speakers they met, and really want nothing to do with them. The part of me that truly grieved when they began to lose their Russian was absolutely elated to see that it was still in their heads somewhere.

Anyway, this lady said she would try to make it to the park once a week to speak to our kiddos in Russian. *happy, happy Shelly* So glad for this opportunity for the kids. Hope the weather stays nice for a while!

Aleksa has been going to town with her learning too. She had been in a fog for a long time when she came home last year. I mean, a FOG. I really wondered what her future was going to look like. Well, she's really caught up. Knows her colors, her shapes, and most of her letters (by sight), all of her sounds. She can count up a storm, and loves to do so. I've noticed her attention span for stories with few pictures go up really well too. Last year she would sit through a few paragraphs and then climb down and want to play with her dollies. She'll sit through (and comprehend) them now. Loves to be read to, and always has, but the types of books she's ready for are changing.

Liana is doing great in school. She overhears me teaching Adam something, and pretty-much, it is hers. She's gained a lot of confidence in reading over the summer, and she's really flying. She's also not-so-patiently awaiting the loss of her first upper tooth. She even tried to tie dental-floss around it and slam it in the door. It wasn't ready, and the knot wasn't tight enough, so, her tooth is still in her head.