Thursday, October 08, 2009

peace!

01. after a nail biting week, the pediatrician's office called and let us know that olive's EEG came back completely normal. praise God! i wasn't freaking out about the results but the waiting is annoying and difficult. horray for that being behind us! there is no way to know what exactly happened but i, along with her doctor suspect it was just that she held her breath and passed out. thus far in her life we haven't had a reason to take her to a pediatrician until now and i've been a-okay with that choice. i am low-intervention but certainly not no-intervention.

02. my good friend [info]kjames and i went to see one of my heroes - greg mortenson - speak on monday. it was all that i hoped it would be, well plus some annoying/awful music being played while we waited for him to come on, which i loudly criticized, later learned it was his daughters cd. whoops. if you aren't familiar with his work or book Three Cups of Tea, brother or sister get on the bus and read (about) it. he is making huge strides towards peace by way of educating children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, with an emphasis on educating girls. i believe karen and i both were sniffling through our clapping throughout the evening. it was incredibly moving and i just want everyone to know about this amazing man and his work. did i mention he has been nominated for the nobel peace prize this year? december 10th better bring good news on that front, that's all i gotta say. i mean otherwise i might kill someone. over the nobel peace prize. yeah, i said that.

03. this batch of pumpkin cookies works as a serving of vegetables if i eat enough of them right? TOTALLY

04. augustine is now 3 weeks into school and his teacher pulled me aside as i was dropping him off and expressed concern that he doesn't like to try very hard at things he doesn't feel confident in. trying new things stresses him out (always has) and she said they've had to talk to him about it because he just won't even take a crack at certain things. i believe he is kind of behind as far as learning to write and drawing. he has never shown interest in either and add to that a fear-of-failure personality and i'm a teensy concerned about his abilities in those two areas. every day we draw and practice letters but it is a struggle and he breaks down crying sometimes because he doesn't want to try something he doesn't already know how to do no matter how many times i talk to him about how it's perfectly fine to make mistakes and practice makes progress and all that. i am confused about how i am raising a child who is afraid of failing or feels pressure to succeed!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you ever read the books or watched the animated show "The Magic School Bus"? It's one of my favorite educational programs because it emphasizes a creative, child-led approach to learning. I especially love the teacher's motto "take chances, get messy, make mistakes!"

Elise

Sarah said...

did Augustines teacher suggest anything? Ian is 3now, and he is the same way. he won't even put his own jacket on or pull up his own underwear after going to the toilet. if you hear any good tips, please share!

Anonymous said...

Check out a program called "Handwriting Without Tears" is involved using blocks to make letters before you move on to the writing and can be motivating for kids who aren't motivated by writing :)

Olive said...

here's what i've been trying to do. like stepping down easier and easier until he's flying solo.

draw his name let him trace it
draw his name using dots for him to trace
make boxes for him to put each letter in
drawing one box for him to put his whole name in

the next step will be to get him to write his name independent of help. he does great with those 4 steps at home but at school he won't do much by way of effort. it's always terrible and illegible

Anonymous said...

Yay for Olive!!! So glad everything is okay!

Momof2boys said...

Jenny-get ahold of me I have the program Handwriting without Tears...it was sent to us by Cody's homeschool people. Also I have a spongebob phonics set that might would help with the whole writing/reading issue.

So happy for Olive!

Carly said...

I /love/ Greg Mortenson! I read Three Cups of Tea earlier this year and felt so inspired. I would love to hear him speak!

Sparrow said...

so glad all is well w/ olive and that it was a fluke thing. i'm guessing that you don't vax? just wondering b/c i am convinced that a vax reaction can cause a seizure.

how old is augustine? my daughter is 4 and we don't do formal preschool, i am following her lead on things. of course, she's my 3rd and i was so sure i had to preschool my first 2. if he's not ready, i would say let it go and come back to it when he shows readiness. if preschool isn't working (ie you're feeling the pressure and consequently he is too) it might not be the right time.

and have you ever heard of sandpaper letters? the concept is the children trace the letters with their fingers and it readies them for handwriting. they are self correcting and tactilely pleasing.

just my 2 pennies, FWIW. ;)

Olive said...

tiff - hmm maybe give it to karen if you see her and she can give it to me? i never see you! but i really appreciate the offer and will use it!

carly - he spoke at OSU this past monday. so amazing. check his website to see if he's coming near you anytime soon maybe

cachet - no we do not vax. oh and augustine is 4 1/2 and of course he is my first. i think a big part of this is that he is a first child who is by nature timid about trying new things. of course im hyper-dissecting everything i do to see if it is something *i* am doing though. he loves school very much but i think he is lacking the connection that school isn't just about playing, it's about learning. ill look into the sandpaper thing. my friend tiffany, above, is going to let me borrow her handwriting without tears program

Sparrow said...

i get where you're coming from (hugs). have you checked out mdc?? I *know* there are other moms who are/ have been where you are and can help.

Lacy said...

The lady at the pumpkin patch said pumpkins are fruit :)

Glad your baby is okay...Maria mentioned it too.
It sounds like you're being very gentle with Augustine, good for you. I struggle when the tears come over things like ABCs and counting to 10.

Allison said...

Hi Jenny. I'm a Primary (like Kindergarten) teacher and when we do printing practice, I'll model the letter formation and while I point out what to remember, our conversation goes something like: "Now yours isn't going to look just like mine. Why is that?" "Because you're a grown up." "Yup, I've been printing for a looong time and you're just learning and that's ok."
Hmmm . . . that sounds dorkier than what happens in the classroom but I hope you get the gist! I find when I give them permission to fail (as long as they make a valiant attempt), there's not too much frustration. Hope that helps!

Olive said...

pumpkins are a fruit! oh you ambiguous foods!!

allison - thank you for the tips!!