Finally...

Spring has arrived at my house! K went around snapping a few pictures:




One of my hardy magnolias

















Another magnolia




















Hyacinth
















Forsythia















And this is where the morel mushrooms are waiting for me!

What do you do when you feel stressed?

I have had a stressful week this week - nothing big just a few added stressors that I usually don't have.

To top it all off, I had a very rude awakening this morning. I mean I literally had a rude awakening as I was awakened by the shaking of my house! I live about 200 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake that rocked the midwest today at 4:40 a.m.

What do you do when your stressed?

I cook! I leave everything behind as I peel, chop, slice, stir and tweak. I am very happy in my own kitchen creating feasts for my family. Today was only a minor feast since hubby is away.

Our mini Thai feast - my favorite cuisine and I like it Thai hot!



Sticky Rice
Thai Fried Rice
Pad Thai
Green Curry

Lots of carbs and lots of calories!



If hubby had been here, we would have had another curry, Chicken Satay and perhaps Thai wontons.

Why is it so hard to take food pictures?

Homeschooling and Down Syndrome

We made the decision to homeschool very early in the lives of our children. Once we made the decision to educate our children at home, I read everything I could get my hands on about homeschooling.

As we moved through our homeschooling journey, much of what I learned about homeschooling and Down syndrome (DS) I learned the hard way by working with my daughter. Initially, I didn't have internet access and therefore no access to information on how children with DS learn or even others homeschooling families with children with DS. Professionals were not really helpful because they had little specific knowledge about DS. We even engaged a consultant with a Masters in special education as an educational consultant. He gave us suggestions for curriculum and general information about learning in children with cognitive challenges - and information about academic and developmental skills progression in typically developing children. He also gave me the confidence to homeschool our daughter with special needs but did not have the answers on how to overcome the challenges we faced. It wasn't really the fault of the professionals we worked with - it takes a LONG time for research to trickle down to those working in the field. In fact, with R, I had to unlearn much of what I knew about homeschooling and learn with her, about her & her unique needs. I now have a room (seriously) filled with research into how children with DS learn along with my regular homeschooling stuff!

The fact is children with Down syndrome learn differently. Simply put, they are wired differently. Methods used for typically developing children may eventually work I suppose, but to lessen frustration all around & increase learning potential (and keep motivation high) they need their specific learning profile targeted for success. The learning profile is a list of strengths and weaknesses common to children with DS - different from typically developing children and children with other causes of developmental delays.

Today, there is a great deal of support for families homeschooling children with DS primarily found on the internet. For more information:

Homeschooling and Down Syndrome
A family oriented list.

Home Education and Down Syndrome
A list for committed homeschooling families that focuses on the special learning needs of children with Down syndrome - resources, curriculum, strategies for teaching etc.

Homeschooling Kids with Down Syndrome
A list comprised of only homeschoolers with children with Down syndrome. It is a closed list but I have pull :-)

National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network (NATHHAN), a Christian support network for those homeschooling children with special needs, also offers e-mail support for those of us homeschooling children with Ds. Send me an e-mail and I'll give you the contact information.

Of course, I also love to read about the lives of bloggers who homeschool their children with DS - the numbers are growing rapidly given the lists I moderate and the bloggers I am meeting. I know two families via the blogosphere with older children with Down syndrome - Barbara and Laurie who share their wisdom, insights and experiences - and many families with younger children. There is no need for anyone on this journey to do it alone like I did for all those years!

Sweet Sixteen...

And how sweet she is!

I am richly blessed by K for sixteen beautiful years. She is just a great kid - loving, affectionate, sensitive, fun...I could go on and on and on. Happy Birthday!!!

I have the best pets...

And I feel very blessed to have them!



This is Miss R with her new kitten, Orla Rose, wrapped in a blanket. This kitten is so very good to Miss R. She will let her hold her for hours and not move a muscle. I had to ask her the other day if the cat was alive. Orla Rose was on her back with her legs straight up - not moving a muscle!


Every pet we have met (ours and others we know) seems to instinctively know to be gentle with Miss R, my daughter with Down syndrome. Even the most rambunctious pup (like mine) will be cautious around her. I asked her last night why animals were so kind to her. She said, "I talk to them with my mind."

Life with this young lady has taught me many things and you know what....

I believe her!


Here is Lil 'O snuggling with Orla Rose. The animals even get along with each other - another blessing!

A Day to Celebrate...

Eighteen wonderful years married to the love of my life! My dreams of marriage never looked like the reality I know today - what is better than to love and be loved! I am humbled and blessed by what the Lord has done in my life. What an awesome God we serve!

My daughter's homeschooling experience

"Share your children’s home education experience in their own words. What have they said about their education? What are their likes and dislikes? Share some stories, some quotes, or turn your blog over to your children for the day."




From K, my 15 y.o. - what every homeschooling mama wants to hear...

"I’ve been homeschooled my entire life. I love being homeschooled. I have never wanted to attend a public school. My mom is a wonderful teacher and I have gotten a wonderful education. As a homeschooled child, I’ve had to work hard, but in a good way. I have a wonderful Bible class and work with a Christian curriculum. I get my work done early so I have free time to do things I enjoy - like reading, writing, and drawing.

I love spending time with my family. We enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling and take frequent vacations - quality family time with lots of learning opportunities! I have seen London, Hawaii and Israel and much of the U.S.A - places I doubt I would have seen if I hadn't been homeschooled.

I can honestly say that I am grateful for the fact that Mom wanted to homeschool me. I’ve learned so much and the experience has been wonderful - and that’s an understatement!"

Just so you all will know, we have had many a challenging day where we (well, mostly me) have all been in tears. In our early years, I admit to looking in the mirror first thing in the morning and saying to myself - I could have this whole day to myself - but then reality sinks in. I never tell anyone this journey is easy but with perseverance it all comes together - things click and you find what works for your family. It is process that becomes a lifestyle. I will never regret the investment I have made in my children. Things like time alone, lunch with friends or shopping 'til I drop - things I may have missed because I homeschool seem superficial when I look at the way my girls are growing up. They know what is really meaningful in this life - loving the Lord and loving their neighbors. I love being their mom...

See more about Home Education Week at: Principled Discovery

Show and Tell

"Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game."

Most parents take for granted that their children will ride a bike with relative ease. Not true for most children with Down syndrome. They have a great deal of difficulty losing those training wheels.

A couple of years ago I sent Miss R to bike camp - a camp for children with special needs. It is a five day camp with a huge success rate...and lots of hard work for the kids.

Have you ever wept with joy?
















See more about Home Education Week at: Principled Discovery

Recipe

"Share a recipe...figuratively, as in two parts love, one part creativity, or literally, as in a super quick, nutritious meal your kids scarf up."

Literal today - busy, activity filled day! I made this for my girls last week and they scarfed it up!



Noodles Romanoff

8 oz wide noodles – cooked and drained
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream (I used light)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. grated onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tblsp. butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper (optional)


1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika

Cook noodles according to package directions.

Combine remaining ingredients except last Parmesan cheese.

Add noodles and mix well. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with Paprika.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sorry, no picture. It went so fast I had no time to grab a camera!

See more about Home Education Week at: Principled Discovery

Challenges

"Share your greatest challenge."



I have faced many challenges through the years on our homeschooling journey but the greatest was unlocking the key to learning for my youngest with Down syndrome (DS). We decided early in her life that the system in our area could not meet her learning needs and began our homeschooling journey. Children with DS commonly have auditory processing challenges with impaired short-term memory, difficulty with attention, delayed language acquisition and articulation issues, impaired cognition, and gross/fine motor delays - significant issues.

I, like most other parents who have children with special needs, spent a great deal of time in research about my child's condition. The more I learned, the greater confidence I felt that I could parent this child AND meet her learning needs by homeschooling her.

Homeschooling is a natural extension of what parents do to care for and nurture their child's growth and development - homeschooling begins at birth. A child with Down syndrome needs specific instruction in skill acquisition and development in areas that are often taken for granted by parents of typically developing children due to the challenges they face. Fortunately for families with children with DS, our children face etiology-specific (specific to DS) learning challenges and DS is the most well-researched syndromes that causes intellectual impairment. There is a great deal known about the way children with DS learn BUT it takes an information junkie and a great deal of persistence to find it. I confess to being an information addict which has blessed our lives in the knowledge I gained.

So, overall I am very pleased with where we are on our journey. I can't take away the challenges my daughter faces but I can give her the tools to help her be more functionally competent in this world. More challenges remain but I have faith that the joys will continually outweigh the discomfort that challenges bring.

See more about Home Education Week at: Principled Discovery