First Week of School!

We have completed a successful first week of school around here and although it is sad that our "lazy days of summer" have gone, it feels good to get back into the swing of things.

Aidan went to summer school again this year which was every Tuesday and Thursday for two 6 week periods with a two week break in between. He started back on August 20th at a new school this year. Now that he is 6, he has graduated from the Developmental Delay program into a full-time Autism Program. The one at his old school, Roosevelt, was full, so he is going to a school near the University called Monroe. They will be slowly trying to include him into a general ed kindergarten class, so we will see how that goes. Aidan is adjusting well to his new school and teachers. He is going all day this year from 7:50am to 2:40pm. That is very hard for me, especially on the nights that I work because I don't get to see him much on those days. However, we still agree that this is the best thing for him at this time and will see how he does with this new school and program. He no longer gets the one-on-one tutoring with ABA, however he still receives speech therapy and has his own assistant that goes with him to kindergarten.

I started school with the "big girls" on August 25th. Madeline is doing 2nd grade and Evelyn is doing PreK. For Madeline, we are doing the following:
Spelling - ABeka Spelling and Poetry 2
Phonics - The Parents Ordinary Guide to Teaching Reading
Grammar - English for the Thoughtful Child
Math - ABeka Arithmetic 2 and speed drill/tests Arithmetic 2
History - the Story of the World Volume 1
Science - Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 2 (for now)
Madeline will be going to "homeschool PE" in 2 weeks. It will be every Monday from 9:45 to 11 for all the 1st and 2nd grade homeschoolers in Norman. Afterward, she will be going to another homeschooling mom's house for poetry and literature class. In October, I will be teaching a Science class on Fridays and another mom will be doing Geography.

Evelyn is very enthusiastic about her school this year. I took her to the store to pick out her own school supplies. She picked out a binder that she has filled with notebook paper and has covered in letters and numbers all on her own. I have some workbooks for her to practice writing her alphabet, upper and lowercase, and writing numbers and she is flying through them. This year she is more keen on following the directions and is doing a great job. If she continues at this speed, I may begin her on reading this year.

Lillian is content to sit in my lap or rotate from her swing, to her exersaucer, to her quilt on the floor during school. This is helpful and I am cherishing this time while she is not too mobile. It will be a whole new experience in the next couple of months though!

Neal started teaching August 26th. He is teaching two courses this semester, Contemporary Philosophy of Religion and Metaphysics. He has quite a following at the University and has several students taking his classes that have had him before and several who were recommended to take him by other students. He always has great reviews from students. We all know that God has blessed him with the gift of teaching and I am so glad he can use this gift for his career.

Well, more posts to come...next ones with pictures! Our desktop computer got a terrible virus and is still out of commission, so we have been using the laptop. However, it did not like "talking" to the camera. Neal figured out the glitch and now they are "talking", so I will put up a post soon with all the new things around here! But now, I am off to work.