Friday, April 8, 2011

Mother of the Highly-Distractable Child Blog



I'm thinking about renaming my blog.  I mean, why not?  I think that THIS title is WAY more apt to who I REALLY am.  If you have ever heard of or read anything by Carol Barnier ( http://tinyurl.com/5v6pqhk ), you probably know just what I am dealing with here.

This child is darling.  Adorable, even.
His heart is a big as the sky and his curiosity is too.
He is a highly-motivated learner and, need a say it, a kinesthetic learner.

He NEVER stops moving.  Not even while he is peeing.  He is singing, dancing, moving a million miles a second.  When he is in the bathroom, any moment you will hear a crash, LOUD singing, or the child simply talking to himself through whatever toys he carried in with him.  He is often completely unaware of the noise he is making, the ruckus he has begun, or the looks of irritation coming to him from his sister.

I am always charmed by how his imagination works...and works...and works.  For some reason, he is able to stick with his own stories in his head for hoursHEY!  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

There is no doubt about it, this child has energy in unlimited supply.  This is probably why he crashes so hard at the end of the day.

While we find ourselves testing driving ideas for helping him to focus and stay on task, and this is an ongoing struggle, we also find ourselves overwhelmed with love for the unlimited goodness in his heart.  He may spill the butter while doing it, but he will sweep the floor because I mentioned how crummy it is.  He may step over a pile of shoes and coats, but he will pick up the trash and take it out.  He may have to squiggle out from under a pile of cushions and move the minions and weaponry, but he will set the table when asked.  He may run in a mad dash to open the door for me, but he does it by running through the cars of the parking lot.  He Still doesn't get it!  It's a total fright.  He is ten  years old and I still hold on to his hand in the parking lots and always will until he is holding the hand of a child of his own!

This is another child of mine who is SUCH A GIFT!

When it comes to lessons, I have tried everything that Carol Barnier has suggested.  I have even made little paper targets to put in front of his eyes to redirect him back to his work.  And sometimes these efforts work.  Sometimes, they don't.  But what he gets from these efforts of ours is that his energy is OK.  His distractability is not a "learning deficiency" or in need of "special ed".  He knows that, the more we work on keeping the busy side of him in motion, the better the thinking side can engage.  And, through this process, he is learning HOW to learn.

And THAT is what it is all about.


In the Nick of Time...Line


For my store and for my family, I have spent literally hours online looking for really great materials and resources for homeschooling.  Science is one of those places that I still am not satisfied with what I have found for homeschooling consumers.  I would love, one day, to write a series of books for the homeschooling family.  Leveled, comprehensive, intelligent, and fun.  One day, that day, far off in the future, where all of my thoughts aren't interrupted with a hundred commas...but I digress.

One of the things that I have looked and looked for is a great webpage with a great timeline.  I have found two that I LOVE.  Let me begin with this website that is an online timeline:  http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
This website has a comprehensive timeline with links to click on.  It "starts" at "cosmology" and "astronomy" and works to the present.  Click on  the French Revolution, Akbar the Great, or Stone Structures in Zimbabwe and be carried towards more and more information.  While I have not looked through the entire timeline and website, I am particularly happy with the pages on "people in history" and "Maps".  I freaking LOVE maps.  You can order a hardcopy of the timeline itself for about thirty bucks, Which AIN'T BAD.  But the easy click features on this website will keep even the least interested kid...well, interested.

You can click on "Events in History" and read about everything from Vikings to Voltaire to Verdi to  Viruses and Pandemics.  And current events ARE Events in History!

Clicking on artists, writers, dancers and other interesting people in history and in many cultures will take you to further pages within the website itself OR to other pages on the web with more information.  Honestly, this is the website I, the homeschooling history nut would create if I had any time.  It's not perfect, but it's good enough for now.

The second place I recommend checking out is the Pandia Press timeline!  WHY?  Because I love it!  This is a timeline from the makers of "History Odyssey" materials.  Check them out at:  http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html

THIS timeline is not for printing out, but for ordering.  But if you, like we, are the type to have a timeline down the hallway with lots of writing and pictures and such...this timeline, I like.  Plus, they have these really cool packs of stickers to use on the timeline, or on the wall.  This set of timelines can go into a three-ring binder OR can streeeetch twenty feel down your hall way...it's GREAT.

I am not going to kid you, my kids are less enthusiastic about history and time in general.  But I try.  And these cool website have kept them clicking for awhile now...and I'll buy that.
So, there you go.
AND, both of these options are secular.

Also, I'm a HUGE fan of Michael Crichton's book "Timeline"...way better than the movie. Gerard Butler notwithstanding, the movie was pretty lame.  But the book was a terrific and fast-paced read.  Suspend reality for awhile and give this Crichton a read!

P.S.  On the Pandia Press timeline page, read Kate's "Timeline Story".  I'm actually mentioned in the story...I'm the "angel"...though I NEVER mentioned her "butt" to her.   LOL