Tuesday, June 3, 2014
On another note... she has dyspraxia. Her OT called tonight with the results of her latest Beery VMI et al test.
Perhaps that could explain her poor showing at gym lately, when things are getting harder, her struggles with messiness, with working, with Chinese.
Pray for how we can help her, how we, as parents, need to change the way we deal with her, how I, as her teacher, can help her to make little improvements every day so that she feels a sense of achievement.
Perhaps that could explain her poor showing at gym lately, when things are getting harder, her struggles with messiness, with working, with Chinese.
Pray for how we can help her, how we, as parents, need to change the way we deal with her, how I, as her teacher, can help her to make little improvements every day so that she feels a sense of achievement.
How do we deal with disappointment? Once again, disappointment is often a subset of personal pride and of jealousy. Sarah has been 'demoted' from her squad (Performance Squad 2) to the Advanced Competitive group for the next term. This whilst all the rest of her classmates have been promoted to Performance Squad 3. So next term, they'll do 12 hours a week, and she'll do just 6, down from the current 8. How do I deal with this emotionally? I don't quite know. Some of my thoughts :
1. She really deserves this because all this semester, she's been distracted, disinterested and disengaged. By her own admission, she did not pay attention in class, and hence did not improve or learn anything.
2. I feel she should be given a chance in PS3 still. Because I found the problem out just recently, and we have made many steps to improve her focus, and help her out of her emotional state. Maybe it was too late.
3. How do I make an appeal to the coach? What should I say? Does Sarah have the necessary skills to make it to the next level? I'm sure she does. It just didn't come through this semester. I don't want her to stagnate and become bored.
4. I'm also ashamed of her :(. I'm sorry. But I am.
How???? I saw this coming, but when it has come, I'm still stressed and depressed by it. I've prayed for it, but it is still affecting me so much. Please pray that we can get Sarah to try out for PS3 for one semester, and if she really cannot make it... she can go back to advanced.
1. She really deserves this because all this semester, she's been distracted, disinterested and disengaged. By her own admission, she did not pay attention in class, and hence did not improve or learn anything.
2. I feel she should be given a chance in PS3 still. Because I found the problem out just recently, and we have made many steps to improve her focus, and help her out of her emotional state. Maybe it was too late.
3. How do I make an appeal to the coach? What should I say? Does Sarah have the necessary skills to make it to the next level? I'm sure she does. It just didn't come through this semester. I don't want her to stagnate and become bored.
4. I'm also ashamed of her :(. I'm sorry. But I am.
How???? I saw this coming, but when it has come, I'm still stressed and depressed by it. I've prayed for it, but it is still affecting me so much. Please pray that we can get Sarah to try out for PS3 for one semester, and if she really cannot make it... she can go back to advanced.
Friday, September 6, 2013
A Random Post first...
Having not posted for quite some time (again), I really WANT to be more regular. I think I will make some plans for my future posts. This blog is actually a personal diary of our homeschooling journey. For all you readers/followers out there, sorry, this is not one of those blogs that natter about everything under the sun, nor does it give helpful advice on how to do this or that.
However, now that I'm embarking on my 2nd official homeschool application (for Benjamin), I have plans for the following :
1. How my 'Classical' Christian homeschool is getting along (aka what's so 'Classical' about my homeschool)
2. Sarah's Progress
3. Ben's Progress
4. Struggles of our daily schooling
5. The joys and fun of our homeschool life
OK. So that's the next 5 posts. See you here real soon!
However, now that I'm embarking on my 2nd official homeschool application (for Benjamin), I have plans for the following :
1. How my 'Classical' Christian homeschool is getting along (aka what's so 'Classical' about my homeschool)
2. Sarah's Progress
3. Ben's Progress
4. Struggles of our daily schooling
5. The joys and fun of our homeschool life
OK. So that's the next 5 posts. See you here real soon!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
What to teach?
Homeschooling gives us the liberty to teach our children many things, and opens the doors to many new worlds. I'm terrible in that I'm something of a neophile. I'm always excited about new things to try.
Lately, it's been Literature, and soon, it will be Writing. Yes, reading and writing. Heh. I've always been terrible at Literature. I had lousy Literature teachers at school and never could fathom the aims and objectives of the subject. But I'd like my children to grow to love good writing, so I thought I should introduce them to good stuff. So I've started Sarah on The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. We've chosen to read the unabridged version published by Simon & Schuster, under the Aladdin Classics label. I'm still floundering, still trying to figure out how and what to teach her.
I've ordered a set of writing and reading books that should be arriving here soon. Amongst them is a book called Reading Strands which supposedly will help me to teach Lit. Hope so. I never did get it, and don't know if I ever will. In the set is Writing Strands, which is supposed to be an excellent writing curriculum. Sarah will need to be able to write good compositions with 'complex sentences' if she wants to do well for her PSLE. I don't ever recall having been taught how to write. I just did it most naturally. But her writing to date has been too simple in my opinion, and not well-organised. Some of her compositions have great introductions, a confused middle section and practically no conclusion. So I had to get her some help.
Then, in the same shipment, I expect to receive a new set of Latin texts. At the moment she has finished with Prima Latina, so I'm starting her on Latina Christiana I.
My part time helper had a relapse of her cancer and will no longer be working for us. So this past week, we have had a homeschool break for Major Spring Clean. I think we'll be taking school breaks every 8-12 weeks for this Major Spring Clean (or Summer, or Autumn, or Winter). And every 4 or so weeks, we'll take another break for minor spring clean. No more do-nothing homeschool holidays. But at least the children all chipped in to help. I'm very proud of them. They cleaned without complaining, and did quite a good job. Today is Thursday, I should have finished, but I have not done the kitchen. Fever has stopped me. Anyway, I think I need to do the kitchen another time.
The government has implemented 'cooling off' measures to curb the skyrocketing COE prices lately. Now, car buyers must pay off at least 50% of their car's price, and the remaining loan can only be spread out over 5 years. I'm happy. Hope the car prices come down. Maybe owning another car after this present one 'dies' might not be such a pipe dream after all.
Lately, it's been Literature, and soon, it will be Writing. Yes, reading and writing. Heh. I've always been terrible at Literature. I had lousy Literature teachers at school and never could fathom the aims and objectives of the subject. But I'd like my children to grow to love good writing, so I thought I should introduce them to good stuff. So I've started Sarah on The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. We've chosen to read the unabridged version published by Simon & Schuster, under the Aladdin Classics label. I'm still floundering, still trying to figure out how and what to teach her.
I've ordered a set of writing and reading books that should be arriving here soon. Amongst them is a book called Reading Strands which supposedly will help me to teach Lit. Hope so. I never did get it, and don't know if I ever will. In the set is Writing Strands, which is supposed to be an excellent writing curriculum. Sarah will need to be able to write good compositions with 'complex sentences' if she wants to do well for her PSLE. I don't ever recall having been taught how to write. I just did it most naturally. But her writing to date has been too simple in my opinion, and not well-organised. Some of her compositions have great introductions, a confused middle section and practically no conclusion. So I had to get her some help.
Then, in the same shipment, I expect to receive a new set of Latin texts. At the moment she has finished with Prima Latina, so I'm starting her on Latina Christiana I.
My part time helper had a relapse of her cancer and will no longer be working for us. So this past week, we have had a homeschool break for Major Spring Clean. I think we'll be taking school breaks every 8-12 weeks for this Major Spring Clean (or Summer, or Autumn, or Winter). And every 4 or so weeks, we'll take another break for minor spring clean. No more do-nothing homeschool holidays. But at least the children all chipped in to help. I'm very proud of them. They cleaned without complaining, and did quite a good job. Today is Thursday, I should have finished, but I have not done the kitchen. Fever has stopped me. Anyway, I think I need to do the kitchen another time.
The government has implemented 'cooling off' measures to curb the skyrocketing COE prices lately. Now, car buyers must pay off at least 50% of their car's price, and the remaining loan can only be spread out over 5 years. I'm happy. Hope the car prices come down. Maybe owning another car after this present one 'dies' might not be such a pipe dream after all.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
One reason I don't blog very often is that I've just been lazy. Every time I have seen the "Blogger:Dashboard" bookmark on my bookmarks bar, I have told myself "nah, I'll do it another day". I guess that "other day" has come.
We've just started a new year, and a new year of homeschooling. The year-end holidays were a good break. Our family went to Phnom Penh with a few other members of our church. It was a busy time. There were relationships to cement with Pastor Narin Chey and his family, the boys at the Alpha-Gamma-Omega-Dormitory, and the lovely folk from Mission To The World.
(Photos to insert from other laptop)
All in all, the experience was one of great humility for us, to see the fervor shown by these Cambodian Christians whose history had been so fractured. Their simple faith in our Lord to provide all their needs made us realise that we have too much here, and thus we fail to depend fully on God for everything. I made many new friends. We should go back again soon.
Another event took place before this mission trip. It happened right at home, in Sarah's bedroom. Her tiles exploded one Saturday morning with a frightening noise and tile chips flying. It has made me somewhat paranoid about those hollow tiles that are everywhere in our home. Anyway, HDB replaced Sarah's tiles for free, since they had laid the original ones in the first place. In the meantime, all 3 beds plus 2 wardrobes managed to fit into the boys' room, and they lived in this 'dormitory' for over a month.
We have been fighting many fires lately. In summary, besides the tiles, there was the leaky toilet, the fried router and its replacement, terrible coughs and colds, the passing of a friend in a horrific car accident in Tasmania, as well as difficulties in character training for our children. Some changes for 2013 - Sarah's great gym coach Nicole Tolhurst returned home to Perth, so now she has an ex-SEA games Philippines gymnast Coach Ronnie. I want to teach her Composition in a more systematic way, so I'm ordering a book "Writing Strands". Our family started on a new guide for Family Worship - Long Story Short. I started on a new Bible Reading plan "Discipleship Journal".
I'll promise (again) to blog more regularly.
We've just started a new year, and a new year of homeschooling. The year-end holidays were a good break. Our family went to Phnom Penh with a few other members of our church. It was a busy time. There were relationships to cement with Pastor Narin Chey and his family, the boys at the Alpha-Gamma-Omega-Dormitory, and the lovely folk from Mission To The World.
(Photos to insert from other laptop)
All in all, the experience was one of great humility for us, to see the fervor shown by these Cambodian Christians whose history had been so fractured. Their simple faith in our Lord to provide all their needs made us realise that we have too much here, and thus we fail to depend fully on God for everything. I made many new friends. We should go back again soon.
Another event took place before this mission trip. It happened right at home, in Sarah's bedroom. Her tiles exploded one Saturday morning with a frightening noise and tile chips flying. It has made me somewhat paranoid about those hollow tiles that are everywhere in our home. Anyway, HDB replaced Sarah's tiles for free, since they had laid the original ones in the first place. In the meantime, all 3 beds plus 2 wardrobes managed to fit into the boys' room, and they lived in this 'dormitory' for over a month.
We have been fighting many fires lately. In summary, besides the tiles, there was the leaky toilet, the fried router and its replacement, terrible coughs and colds, the passing of a friend in a horrific car accident in Tasmania, as well as difficulties in character training for our children. Some changes for 2013 - Sarah's great gym coach Nicole Tolhurst returned home to Perth, so now she has an ex-SEA games Philippines gymnast Coach Ronnie. I want to teach her Composition in a more systematic way, so I'm ordering a book "Writing Strands". Our family started on a new guide for Family Worship - Long Story Short. I started on a new Bible Reading plan "Discipleship Journal".
I'll promise (again) to blog more regularly.
Monday, October 22, 2012
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good
news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who
publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7)
I love being reminded about the good news of Jesus Christ. It is such a joy and encouragement for a weary heart to hear the gospel preached from week to week in church. Jesus reigns indeed! Thank God for a gifted preacher in Pastor Chris Seah of Proidence Reformed Presbyterian Church.
On the homeschooling front, things have been moving along. We have decided that Sarah is really Dyspraxic, rather than ADD. Ben is still exhibiting ASD characteristics. Gabriel is as cute and clever as ever.
But academics aside, there is still this constant struggle to shape and mould our children to follow Christ. Obedience has been the greatest struggle. Obedience, being a submission of heart 'right away, all the way, and with a happy heart'. These precious years are going by so quickly.
For mummy, the constant mess that the house is in is a cause of stress. But I have to learn to look the other way most of the time, and be content with little clean-ups, which don't last long enough.
Still, there is much, much love here in this household, and we are so privileged to have the Lord our God with us each and every day.
I love being reminded about the good news of Jesus Christ. It is such a joy and encouragement for a weary heart to hear the gospel preached from week to week in church. Jesus reigns indeed! Thank God for a gifted preacher in Pastor Chris Seah of Proidence Reformed Presbyterian Church.
On the homeschooling front, things have been moving along. We have decided that Sarah is really Dyspraxic, rather than ADD. Ben is still exhibiting ASD characteristics. Gabriel is as cute and clever as ever.
But academics aside, there is still this constant struggle to shape and mould our children to follow Christ. Obedience has been the greatest struggle. Obedience, being a submission of heart 'right away, all the way, and with a happy heart'. These precious years are going by so quickly.
For mummy, the constant mess that the house is in is a cause of stress. But I have to learn to look the other way most of the time, and be content with little clean-ups, which don't last long enough.
Still, there is much, much love here in this household, and we are so privileged to have the Lord our God with us each and every day.
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