When we first met Hayden, we discovered he would steal Nina's jewelry, take it to school & sell it for snack money. I was wowed by the fact that a 6 year old child would think of such a thing in detail. Two years later, Hayden is still stealing. He stole $200 dollars from Nina's piggy bank for snack during break at dance class. He obviously didn't realize how much $200 was & thankfully the person in charge of the snack counter called me to verify whether Hayden should have that much money with him or not. Then he was stealing snack from our pantry, sneaking it up to his room so he could chow down, I figured out that is why he wasn't eating breakfast with us any longer. THEN, then he took some gum from a convenient store! The next day he went back to the store & had to tell them what he had done & do some work for them, cleaning out garbage cans, sweeping etc. Of course he had to come home & do some yuckie jobs for us as well. But that wasn't enough to deter him either. I just don't get it with this kid. If he wants something & you don't give it to him he is going to take it.
On the one hand I admire his tenacity that he doesn't take no for an answer, but the boy is 8 years old now & hasn't slowed or shown a disdain for stealing. I'm worried what he is going to be like as he grows older & more clever. I will reiterate Hayden will either be a terrific business person or a really bad criminal.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Hayden nominated himself to run for secretary in our local 4H club. He did great & since this is political in nature, I was in my element. I love this stuff! Anyway we made posters, H put on his dress clothes & tie, handed out candy, and delivered a speech. Best part is he won! Here is Hayden delivering his first public speech! Hayden's 4H Speech
November already
Last I wrote summer was just ending. A lot of things have happened since then & I have to say life has been pretty exciting.
First of all turns out Nina wasn't pregnant after all -- thank the Lord -- she just wanted everyone to think she was, why? we will never understand the workings of a twisted mind. I have to say if you have to win friends by lying about being pregnant you are most likely hanging with the wrong crowd. Seems pretty obvious to me guess not to everyone, go figure.
Nina is now working at a job where the managers know her troubles & are working with her an us to keep Nina honest. I am grateful, she also brings home a time clock ticket indicating when she clocked in & out for breaks as well. She is taking some college courses and seems to have her head screwed on correctly for the time being. We even gave her a raise due to her performance here at the house improving, I couldn't be happier about that.
Secondly Hayden is now part of the family officially. The adoption is final and it feels different for some reason. We actually have a little boy that is basically ours. Weird.
Thirdly, Hayden has finally turned a developmental corner. It is neat to see him evaluate peers behavior. He knows they are being "bad" & wants no part of it. He will stand back & just observe. We are working with him on what is appropriate, now that he is aware of what is inappropriate. I think this is really neat & I am truly encouraged.
We have been able to leave him without our supervision for periods of time now & when I pick him up, caretakers will actually look me in the face to say Hayden has been good. When they can't look you in the eye you know something is amiss. ha
Scholastically, Hayden is doing well. In his many clubs he has had to preform against his peers, reading out loud, solving problems etc and he, in most cases is the best reader in the group, or is able to figure out things before any other students. This is especially encouraging to me since we home school and for most part I have no gauge if Hayden is in-line with other 8 year old, or behind. Seeing him performing amongst his peers, he is ahead of them scholastically.
Since the start of school, we have been involved in several activities. Let me list them Football, Soccer, Dance, Horse riding lessons, 4H, Church and scouts. Might not seem like a lot but we are doing something everyday except for Fridays and most Saturdays we have to choose between Scouts, Soccer, or Football. Sometimes leaving a soccer game early to get to the football game or vice versa. I thought things were going along pretty well, hectic but well until Hayden told me, two possibly three times, he felt rush and that we were doing too many things. I asked him what he wanted to cut back on & it was hard for him to choose. Hard for me as well since I enjoy all the activities he is engaged in.
We decided since he holds an office in 4H we couldn't stop 4H. Scouts is such a great program & I hold an office there we couldn't drop scouts. Football and Soccer will all be over this coming weekend so there are two things that will be wiped from our schedule. Of course since we have horses, we can't drop that so the only other thing was dance. Hate it but I don't think H is enjoying it as much this year as he was last year. He is doing Jazz, & I think we should have stayed with Tap. Oh well you live & learn.
So this time next week we will be three activities lighter and hopefully we can enjoy some down time, just hanging out time. Won't that be terrific!
First of all turns out Nina wasn't pregnant after all -- thank the Lord -- she just wanted everyone to think she was, why? we will never understand the workings of a twisted mind. I have to say if you have to win friends by lying about being pregnant you are most likely hanging with the wrong crowd. Seems pretty obvious to me guess not to everyone, go figure.
Nina is now working at a job where the managers know her troubles & are working with her an us to keep Nina honest. I am grateful, she also brings home a time clock ticket indicating when she clocked in & out for breaks as well. She is taking some college courses and seems to have her head screwed on correctly for the time being. We even gave her a raise due to her performance here at the house improving, I couldn't be happier about that.
Secondly Hayden is now part of the family officially. The adoption is final and it feels different for some reason. We actually have a little boy that is basically ours. Weird.
Thirdly, Hayden has finally turned a developmental corner. It is neat to see him evaluate peers behavior. He knows they are being "bad" & wants no part of it. He will stand back & just observe. We are working with him on what is appropriate, now that he is aware of what is inappropriate. I think this is really neat & I am truly encouraged.
We have been able to leave him without our supervision for periods of time now & when I pick him up, caretakers will actually look me in the face to say Hayden has been good. When they can't look you in the eye you know something is amiss. ha
Scholastically, Hayden is doing well. In his many clubs he has had to preform against his peers, reading out loud, solving problems etc and he, in most cases is the best reader in the group, or is able to figure out things before any other students. This is especially encouraging to me since we home school and for most part I have no gauge if Hayden is in-line with other 8 year old, or behind. Seeing him performing amongst his peers, he is ahead of them scholastically.
Since the start of school, we have been involved in several activities. Let me list them Football, Soccer, Dance, Horse riding lessons, 4H, Church and scouts. Might not seem like a lot but we are doing something everyday except for Fridays and most Saturdays we have to choose between Scouts, Soccer, or Football. Sometimes leaving a soccer game early to get to the football game or vice versa. I thought things were going along pretty well, hectic but well until Hayden told me, two possibly three times, he felt rush and that we were doing too many things. I asked him what he wanted to cut back on & it was hard for him to choose. Hard for me as well since I enjoy all the activities he is engaged in.
We decided since he holds an office in 4H we couldn't stop 4H. Scouts is such a great program & I hold an office there we couldn't drop scouts. Football and Soccer will all be over this coming weekend so there are two things that will be wiped from our schedule. Of course since we have horses, we can't drop that so the only other thing was dance. Hate it but I don't think H is enjoying it as much this year as he was last year. He is doing Jazz, & I think we should have stayed with Tap. Oh well you live & learn.
So this time next week we will be three activities lighter and hopefully we can enjoy some down time, just hanging out time. Won't that be terrific!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Summers Over?!
Well summer is coming to a close. We have had a busy summer & I kinda hate to see it all end. It has been nice having all these camps that last a week or two. Really get Hayden to open his interests with lots of different things.
We have had football, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, art, and sailing. I have had a ball. Due to our full schedule we didn't get as far along in school as I had wanted, but I do think Hayden had a full summer & learned lots of new things. He was able to deal with different people and work on his social skills. We had a few bumps in the road, but over-all I'm looking at this summers work with a positive light.
You may have noticed that the spelling of Hayden's name has changed. We are moving along with the adoption process. Hayden wanted to change his name to a more common spelling, so he wouldn't have to keep correcting people. I was kinda use to the old spelling, but I do think it will be easier in the long run & we honored his decision.
On a more dismal front, really insisted Nina get a job, & she did. We were thrilled, then I noticed there were inconsistency's in what she was saying, such as her managers wouldn't let her leave when she was suppose to get off, they were asking her to come in before there was 8 hours between shifts, checks not adding up to hours worked. I even stopped by once & observed Nina with a male customer -- very inappropriate, actually the boy chased Nina through the restaurant. Wanted Nina to quit that very second, but she said she needed to stay with her co-worker & she did quit soon after. She got a job across the street. Well one night she just didn't come home. Said she got off at 9pm & at 1am I went looking for her. Needless to say I had already called at her work place & they told me she didn't work that day. I spotted her out & followed her home. Of course she told me she had been at work. Well she had been lying about hours and hanging out with these undesirables. The ship hit the fan. Now a few weeks later she is growing larger & larger, we are afraid she is pregnant. We will get a test this afternoon & see what it says. I'm holding my breath & crossing my fingers that she isn't. If not I think it is time for her to move on. I believe the military is the best place for her & we will help get her into the Coast Guard. There she will have a job, a career, a home, & an income. When she gets out of line the military will put her back in. I really hate to see her go, but I don't like where her life is going & I don't want to babysit a grown person, whom I don't trust & really don't like. Things will never change because Nina is unwilling or unable to change herself. She lies to everyone & I mean everyone, us, the people she works with, her friends. God only knows what she says, I have heard some stuff. I just don't want this kind of bull in my life & it is time for her to go away. What saddens me the most is that things could have been wonderful, but she won't let them be. She isn't welcome here anymore, & it is time for her to go. More on this later.
We have had football, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, art, and sailing. I have had a ball. Due to our full schedule we didn't get as far along in school as I had wanted, but I do think Hayden had a full summer & learned lots of new things. He was able to deal with different people and work on his social skills. We had a few bumps in the road, but over-all I'm looking at this summers work with a positive light.
You may have noticed that the spelling of Hayden's name has changed. We are moving along with the adoption process. Hayden wanted to change his name to a more common spelling, so he wouldn't have to keep correcting people. I was kinda use to the old spelling, but I do think it will be easier in the long run & we honored his decision.
On a more dismal front, really insisted Nina get a job, & she did. We were thrilled, then I noticed there were inconsistency's in what she was saying, such as her managers wouldn't let her leave when she was suppose to get off, they were asking her to come in before there was 8 hours between shifts, checks not adding up to hours worked. I even stopped by once & observed Nina with a male customer -- very inappropriate, actually the boy chased Nina through the restaurant. Wanted Nina to quit that very second, but she said she needed to stay with her co-worker & she did quit soon after. She got a job across the street. Well one night she just didn't come home. Said she got off at 9pm & at 1am I went looking for her. Needless to say I had already called at her work place & they told me she didn't work that day. I spotted her out & followed her home. Of course she told me she had been at work. Well she had been lying about hours and hanging out with these undesirables. The ship hit the fan. Now a few weeks later she is growing larger & larger, we are afraid she is pregnant. We will get a test this afternoon & see what it says. I'm holding my breath & crossing my fingers that she isn't. If not I think it is time for her to move on. I believe the military is the best place for her & we will help get her into the Coast Guard. There she will have a job, a career, a home, & an income. When she gets out of line the military will put her back in. I really hate to see her go, but I don't like where her life is going & I don't want to babysit a grown person, whom I don't trust & really don't like. Things will never change because Nina is unwilling or unable to change herself. She lies to everyone & I mean everyone, us, the people she works with, her friends. God only knows what she says, I have heard some stuff. I just don't want this kind of bull in my life & it is time for her to go away. What saddens me the most is that things could have been wonderful, but she won't let them be. She isn't welcome here anymore, & it is time for her to go. More on this later.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Summer School
Don't you just love it when you are trying to do the right thing by your child, foster child, adoptive child, niece, nephew, etc & another adult who just doesn't get it ruin it for you?! I really wish people would think before they speak.
A friend of our, whom Haidyn loves for some reason even though he doesn't know him very well, said when he found out we were doing summer school "Oh man. What a bummer. Let the poor boy off to have some fun!" Poor boy, he only does 2-3 hours of school on average, a day. Poor boy, he is out sailing when his kid is sitting in a classroom bored to tears or fighting peer pressure. Poor boy! He goes on more field trips, has more weeks off than his kid going to public school & he gets a better more well-rounded education! Poor boy my foot!
Twenty-three percent of all knowledge is lost when kids stay out of school for a month, twenty-three percent! Poor boy, I could have kicked our friend in the shin!
Haidy just looked at me as if to say, do I really have to do summer school......?
Thanks friend.
A friend of our, whom Haidyn loves for some reason even though he doesn't know him very well, said when he found out we were doing summer school "Oh man. What a bummer. Let the poor boy off to have some fun!" Poor boy, he only does 2-3 hours of school on average, a day. Poor boy, he is out sailing when his kid is sitting in a classroom bored to tears or fighting peer pressure. Poor boy! He goes on more field trips, has more weeks off than his kid going to public school & he gets a better more well-rounded education! Poor boy my foot!
Twenty-three percent of all knowledge is lost when kids stay out of school for a month, twenty-three percent! Poor boy, I could have kicked our friend in the shin!
Haidy just looked at me as if to say, do I really have to do summer school......?
Thanks friend.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Childs
"These people have childs with them" Haidyn said
"There is no such word as childs, try again" Donna corrected
"I'm saying childsssssss." Haidyn
"Yes and I'm saying childsssss is incorrect. There is no such word. What is the plural of child?" Donna
"Kids!" Haidyn
"So Nina and you are baby goats?" Donna
"No, no, no, no." Haidyn
"Then that is incorrect as well. What is the plural of child." Donna
"Boys!" Haidyn
" So Nina and you are Patrick and my 'boys'?" Donna
"You and Patrick are adults." Haidyn
"Yes, yes we are. But what is the plural of child?" Donna
"Children!" Haidyn
"Woohoo! I was beginning to get scared." Donna
"There is no such word as childs, try again" Donna corrected
"I'm saying childsssssss." Haidyn
"Yes and I'm saying childsssss is incorrect. There is no such word. What is the plural of child?" Donna
"Kids!" Haidyn
"So Nina and you are baby goats?" Donna
"No, no, no, no." Haidyn
"Then that is incorrect as well. What is the plural of child." Donna
"Boys!" Haidyn
" So Nina and you are Patrick and my 'boys'?" Donna
"You and Patrick are adults." Haidyn
"Yes, yes we are. But what is the plural of child?" Donna
"Children!" Haidyn
"Woohoo! I was beginning to get scared." Donna
Monday, May 23, 2011
Coming To An End
Second grade is almost over! We will be working through summer to help Haidyn catch up. I don't understand how at one point I thought he was so far ahead and now it seems as if he is so far behind.
Patrick was off for two weeks which was wonderful, but we tend to not stick to our schedule when he is around. The first week we totally blew it, but I counted it as our Spring Break, however the second week I tried harder to maintain our schedule. I did better but not as well as I would have liked.
I'm wrapping up our work, & I think the transition into Summer School will be flawless. The only thing I don't think we will finish is our study of Dinosaurs, it is a pretty thorough one & fun.
Haidyn seems to be doing well with most subject if you help him. For instance, he will ace a test if I allow him to take it orally, however if he sits by himself to take same test he will literally fail it. What's that all about? I'm hoping this is a maturity thing & it is something we will be working on over the summer.
Have to watch what I say these days, I'm always joking about how I don't like children (but am I joking?) & not sure how I ended up with two, Haidyn & Nina. Haidyn has started hugging me when I say that & commenting that I love him etc. I think it makes him feel insecure & probably always has but I believe he is starting to really love Patrick, Nina & I & the thought of leaving us is tragic to him -- to be honest to me as well. Nina often tells Haidyn that she loves him & I'm glad of this. For lots of reasons, 1. She fills a need she has to be demonstrative with her affection 2. she fills a need that Haidyn has to hear that he is loved, both good things.
I have also come to the determination that Haidyn doesn't push me, behaviorally, as Nina did. That just isn't in his nature. Sometimes due to his age he gets things confused. We have started looking confusing words up in the dictionary. Today's words were Hare, Pane, & Timid. I really think he got a kick out of looking them up & I think it is finally dawning on him that he can actually learn from looking things up. Hopefully it will also help him remember the words & their meanings. That remains to be seen.
Dance recital is next Saturday & I'm so excited to see Haidyn strut his stuff. We have signed up for dance next year -- Jazz.
This summer we have a pretty full schedule, Tennis which he is really enjoying, twice a week for two week intervals. The next two weeks he will be swimming at the YMCA. I put him in an advanced class. Hopefully he will do well & be challenging to him, more so than the baby class I had him in last year -- but who knew! ha
Also he will be doing Sailing for two weeks & then a terrific Art/ Nature class for a week. All exciting stuff!
Patrick was off for two weeks which was wonderful, but we tend to not stick to our schedule when he is around. The first week we totally blew it, but I counted it as our Spring Break, however the second week I tried harder to maintain our schedule. I did better but not as well as I would have liked.
I'm wrapping up our work, & I think the transition into Summer School will be flawless. The only thing I don't think we will finish is our study of Dinosaurs, it is a pretty thorough one & fun.
Haidyn seems to be doing well with most subject if you help him. For instance, he will ace a test if I allow him to take it orally, however if he sits by himself to take same test he will literally fail it. What's that all about? I'm hoping this is a maturity thing & it is something we will be working on over the summer.
Have to watch what I say these days, I'm always joking about how I don't like children (but am I joking?) & not sure how I ended up with two, Haidyn & Nina. Haidyn has started hugging me when I say that & commenting that I love him etc. I think it makes him feel insecure & probably always has but I believe he is starting to really love Patrick, Nina & I & the thought of leaving us is tragic to him -- to be honest to me as well. Nina often tells Haidyn that she loves him & I'm glad of this. For lots of reasons, 1. She fills a need she has to be demonstrative with her affection 2. she fills a need that Haidyn has to hear that he is loved, both good things.
I have also come to the determination that Haidyn doesn't push me, behaviorally, as Nina did. That just isn't in his nature. Sometimes due to his age he gets things confused. We have started looking confusing words up in the dictionary. Today's words were Hare, Pane, & Timid. I really think he got a kick out of looking them up & I think it is finally dawning on him that he can actually learn from looking things up. Hopefully it will also help him remember the words & their meanings. That remains to be seen.
Dance recital is next Saturday & I'm so excited to see Haidyn strut his stuff. We have signed up for dance next year -- Jazz.
This summer we have a pretty full schedule, Tennis which he is really enjoying, twice a week for two week intervals. The next two weeks he will be swimming at the YMCA. I put him in an advanced class. Hopefully he will do well & be challenging to him, more so than the baby class I had him in last year -- but who knew! ha
Also he will be doing Sailing for two weeks & then a terrific Art/ Nature class for a week. All exciting stuff!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
No Counting Backwards
Almost had a melt down when Haidyn couldn't count backwards by two's today. But I must say I was proud of myself when I left the room to go eat my sandwich & let Haidyn to work on his own. This gave me a moment to get un-irritated & refocused on what was really important.
I have a growing list of what we need to touch on each day. I have a new theory that we should touch on some difficult area for only 15-20 minutes each day to keep it fresh in Haidyn's mind. I'm adding counting backwards to the list.
When working with time/clock today Haidyn did very well. We had subtraction problems where we need to borrow & he did excellent. Spanish was okay. Sometimes I just don't know where he comes up with the stuff he comes up with when translating. I had "Cuatro calles cafes" which means four brown streets. Haidyn said this was four people handing out brown paper --- hahah what!? Where did that come from. ha Oh well....
I have a growing list of what we need to touch on each day. I have a new theory that we should touch on some difficult area for only 15-20 minutes each day to keep it fresh in Haidyn's mind. I'm adding counting backwards to the list.
When working with time/clock today Haidyn did very well. We had subtraction problems where we need to borrow & he did excellent. Spanish was okay. Sometimes I just don't know where he comes up with the stuff he comes up with when translating. I had "Cuatro calles cafes" which means four brown streets. Haidyn said this was four people handing out brown paper --- hahah what!? Where did that come from. ha Oh well....
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Headache Time
I hate trying to teach school with a headache & my hat goes off to those teachers who have a classroom full of noisy students. At least I have one & having said that I trudged onward.
School went well today. With my new format of touching on each subject for only 15-20 minutes, we don't get bogged down if Haidyn doens't get something & I don't get a chance to blow my top! Win win
Today must have been a good day for Haidyn, he got all his Math & Time questions correct & did pretty well on a spelling pop quiz ( I didn't realize until after that we had not gone over these words) & went through Spanish without any complications.
I am thrilled & wish everyday could be like today! (minus the headache.)
We didn't get to our dinosaur unit and I may have to trade off dino unit with another science unit. Right now I have two science books. One that Haidyn came home with from Resurrection which I love & one I got from Abeka, plus our dino unit! I just love Science.
Over the summer I would love to do an Astronomy Unit -- we'll see!
School went well today. With my new format of touching on each subject for only 15-20 minutes, we don't get bogged down if Haidyn doens't get something & I don't get a chance to blow my top! Win win
Today must have been a good day for Haidyn, he got all his Math & Time questions correct & did pretty well on a spelling pop quiz ( I didn't realize until after that we had not gone over these words) & went through Spanish without any complications.
I am thrilled & wish everyday could be like today! (minus the headache.)
We didn't get to our dinosaur unit and I may have to trade off dino unit with another science unit. Right now I have two science books. One that Haidyn came home with from Resurrection which I love & one I got from Abeka, plus our dino unit! I just love Science.
Over the summer I would love to do an Astronomy Unit -- we'll see!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wow how time flies
We have been homeschooling and things are moving along..... slowly! Seems like the more I put into the cirrculium the more Haidyn doesn't know! I swear it really seems like it goes in one ear & out the other.
For the past five months we have been working on reading, our letters, & vowels! My o My, I think I just might commit homiside! We have been working only on "A", the long "A" & the short "A" -- 5 months! I have read boys learn slower but come on!
I have considered that it may be my teaching methods, so if there are any suggestions I am all ears. However I must say I have tried several different things. Right now we aren't doing vowels at all. I'm hoping perhaps all the work we have been doing will sink in. I will keep you posted.
I really am having problems with my own dissappointment. I see myself giving up on him making any progress & just settling in to the fact that this kids won't be able to learn simple things. Unfortunately it comes out in my voice & remarks. I have no idea what I really expect. Coorporation is what I say, but what does that mean? ha I will keep plugging on.
Must say we just finished a fablous segment on the Civil War & eventhough Haidyn made an 89 on the test, I think he really learned a lot. If you ask him things he can tell you. Perhaps his test taking skills just aren't up to par just yet. If you want to check it out the url is.... http://www.ckcolorado.org/units/2nd_grade/2_civilwar-uwp.pdf
Only thing I took issue with waa the pictures of the Union & Confederate soldiers. I found better ones online.
Have a great day!
Later...
For the past five months we have been working on reading, our letters, & vowels! My o My, I think I just might commit homiside! We have been working only on "A", the long "A" & the short "A" -- 5 months! I have read boys learn slower but come on!
I have considered that it may be my teaching methods, so if there are any suggestions I am all ears. However I must say I have tried several different things. Right now we aren't doing vowels at all. I'm hoping perhaps all the work we have been doing will sink in. I will keep you posted.
I really am having problems with my own dissappointment. I see myself giving up on him making any progress & just settling in to the fact that this kids won't be able to learn simple things. Unfortunately it comes out in my voice & remarks. I have no idea what I really expect. Coorporation is what I say, but what does that mean? ha I will keep plugging on.
Must say we just finished a fablous segment on the Civil War & eventhough Haidyn made an 89 on the test, I think he really learned a lot. If you ask him things he can tell you. Perhaps his test taking skills just aren't up to par just yet. If you want to check it out the url is.... http://www.ckcolorado.org/units/2nd_grade/2_civilwar-uwp.pdf
Only thing I took issue with waa the pictures of the Union & Confederate soldiers. I found better ones online.
Have a great day!
Later...
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