Once again here we are, wrapping up another school year. The years seem to stretch before me, being pregnant there are so many left, but having a middle schooler there are also too few.
We are spending the week finishing things, finding things, putting together the portfolios, writing up next year's objectives, and doing final activities to complete the 2011-2012 school year. This year also includes re-writing the log book that got destroyed by the cats.
As always, there are so many things that we do that cannot fit in the portfolio. Sometimes we do huge projects, but that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about the things that there is no section for, not rubric, no entry in the log book. We have overcome so much this school year, from the loss of our Hope, to the loss of pets. Major sickness in family members, struggles finishing some school work, and long days of extra to make up for the lost days. Also, each of the children have had personal conquests.
Angel hit a school year in which it was not longer all easy work. At the beginning of the year she would struggle with work and it would be the end of the world if she got a problem wrong. Never mind if it was not on a test and she could simply fix it. There was frustration, tears, anger, and more tears. Now, she was doing long division and realized during the checking portion that she made a mistake on a worksheet. She was frustrated, but she redid the work. Several times. Until she got it right. And there were no tears. Only a huge smile because she prevailed. I have always had so many reason to be proud of her, and now there is one more!
Faith's progress has been measured in leaps and bounds since she was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. At times it was super hard, and at other times it was easier, at least in comparison. This year has been full of changes for her. Her gecko, Liz, died. She lost her favorite Behavior Specialist, and several came and went quickly. The last was also very good with her, and just left us. But on a positive note, this does not only mark the end of her time with that Behavior Specialist, but of her services altogether. She has progressed so much in recent months that there is no more a Behavior Specialist can do for her, for us. We are handling any problems that come up, and there was a recommendation to limit her services so much that it was about the same to quit receiving them, and so we all agreed that was the best option. And so as we look toward the next school year we are simply using the techniques we have learned in the past 18 months.
Isaac. Oh, Isaac. He is good at so many things, and he keeps me on my toes. In school he is great at math, but not so great at focusing. Once I get his attention, I only have a limited time to work with him. We have been working on some other issues as well, like anger, attention to work, and thinking through his actions before acting. I have seen some progress in these areas. I know the struggle is real, because he does not just have focus problems in school, but even in things he enjoys. With charts, reminders, rewards, and patience we will prevail. And past experience with other active children in my life lets me know that they slow down a good bit after hitting the teen years. May not pay attention, but at least they start to sit still for longer.
David is growing so fast! He is not doing school yet, of course. However, Angel does activities with him. He has spend the past few weeks having a great time as Mariah comes over to play. They love to paint, play, swim, and watch Blue's Clues. He has been showing a lot of interest in letters and numbers. He learned how to swim. He even goes under water. He still loves anything firefighter, and even got to help Pappy put out a fire!
And as usual, they are not the only ones learning and growing. I have been trying to keep ahead of them in their school, do my own school, write VBS, and keep growing this baby. I have dealt with my biggest fear, the loss of my baby. I struggled so much through the miscarriage and for months after, and am pulling through now. I have relied heavily on the grace of God, and my husband's support. And I am doing OK. And I know that doing great lies ahead. I have gone through a fire and am going to come out stronger, closer to God, and while I may never know the purpose of my loss, I know that Hope's time with us, however brief, served a purpose, changed us in many ways, and will bring God glory.
Still so much to do to finish our year, but this time when I close that portfolio after the evaluation, I have even more than ever before that we have accomplished, and my heart is full.
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