I Goofed

I just sat down to catch up on my blogs and realized that I goofed big-time the other night. I was enthusiastically promoting my friend Laurie's new blog and I wrote the wrong address. It is NOT "dreamer of better days" as I wrote, but instead, http://dreamerofbetterlives.blogspot.com. Now, you may go to it and enjoy it and appreciate Laurie, as I do.

Nothing new to report this morning. Will spent the night with a friend, so it's just the younger boys and I today. I got dinner ready early since we'll have to run up to Social Skills class at 2. The kitchen is still a mess, though. I'm having a hard time getting motivated to pick up, which is not an uncommon occurrence, actually! I did do a bit of school with the boys. We have just started multiplication with Ben and David. I didn't think they were ready for the mult. flash cards yet, though, so I had intended to just do subtraction. Well, we couldn't find them. I'll have to pick up some more. I think I spend half our money replacing things we can't find! So we worked on the mult. flashcards and David got frustrated. Math is difficult for him, even Math U See, which I would have loved to have learned math through. But anyway, I was trying to find easier ones for David and he kept asking for a harder ones, which then, he couldn't do. So I finally packed up the cards and David burst out, "I wanted an 'excellent'!" It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. When the boys answer a more difficult problem correctly, I usually commend them by saying "excellent!" - something I didn't even realize I was doing. But, apparently, it's meaningful to them!

Poor kid. He'll get it. Yesterday David figured out that I held him back for the third grade. I was under the assumption he knew that - apparently not. What did he think we were doing all year? He was not happy, even though I tried to explain that with homeschooling, age and grades really mean nothing, since moms make different decisions about when to start and graduate their kids. I don't even have a grade for Ben! Finally, David tearfully asked me, "But what am I good at, Mom?" I felt so bad because I never wanted him to feel dumb. I spent most of my school years feeling that way and that was the last thing I ever wanted for my own children. But David's in a difficult spot. He sees Will who excels at things very easily and then there's Ben, who has difficulties, but his are easily explained by his brain injury. And then there's David, whose brain is healthy, but he still struggles academically. I was quick to point out to him his wonderful people skills, his compassion and empathy for others, his great communication skills, and his emerging gift of creative writing. He did seem to feel better after that. I can totally see David as a pastor or a counselor someday. I don't want to tell him that because that leading needs to come from God, but those are his areas of strength. So, we'll plug along with math, but my emphasis with him is going to be on the more literary and verbal parts of learning, things he might use someday!

Ok, lunchtime and then I'll catch up on my blogs. This was a detour!