This past week dealt a lot with life in the past. Bella had her first field trip last Thursday and I came along as a chaperone. Her class and the other upper elementary classes went to a park in Lillydale that is known for having many fossils to find. I had never been there and I had a somewhat warped view of what it would be like. I pictured a park (grassy field maybe) with a section of rocks along the shores of a river where kids would sort through and find fossils. Reality was a bit more challanging. It was basically a huge park where you HIKED to find fossils. There were lots of hills including one so steep that kids had to dig their feet in to prevent sliding down, while they reached down and searched in the sand like rock for fossils. I will say there were a ton of fossils for kids to find. Mostly ancient coral and some plant stems.
It was fun spending time getting to see the dynamics of Bella's new class. She is still getting used to the new class, the new teacher and making new friends. She does know a few of the classmates from last year. Still, there is always an adjustment both for Bella and the class to understand how Bella is different with only attending half day and also having cochlear implants. I don't have many worries. Bella thrives on being social.
Adjustment at homeschool to the new year might be more of an issue. This summer we did work on some things, but Bella fought me a lot, saying, "It's summer vacation, Mom." Still I did get some math and reading in. She promised she would stop fighting me when Fall came and we returned to the regular schedule. I had my doubts. Now I am seeing those doubts were justified. Bella at age 9 1/2 is starting to exhibit some pre-teen behaviors of rebellion. No longer does she listen to what I want and comply without question. She is constantly negotiating and challenging me, especially on things she doesn't like to do. So Math has become a daily battle. She is well aware that math is hard for her and takes much more concentration and focus that she is willing to give. I have tried all avenues to get her back on track: yelling, pleading, bribing, and reasoning. I bought a book that talked about how somethings are hard, but if you keep pushing through it gets easier and you feel like you really achieved something by sticking with it. Bottom line message, "You can't give up even when things are hard." I had wondered if she had heard me, until yesterday. Things have become so hard with Bella and school, that I have seriously contemplated putting her in another setting. A traditional school with special ed support or all day at her current school with a special curriculumn. Bella said she wants to keep things like they are now. I told her I'm not sure we can do that because I don't want to fight her every day to do her work. And how does she respond? "Mom, just because things get hard, you can't just quit." So Rowe Academy continues, for now...
Last weekend, I really needed a fun day. Due to all the battles with Bella, in addition to various other incidents with the other kids, I needed a break! So Erick and I headed off to the Renaissance Festival, all by ourselves with some tickets I had won. When we told Becca we were going alone, she said it was only for families and "young people". I explained we had gone before she was born and she said, "Yeah, when you were young." Below are the pictures of some fun things we saw at the Renaissance Festival when we were acting "young".
And to top off the week, Bella has a new look. She had about 5 inches of hair cut off. Too many struggles with tangles. Swimming has really done a number on her hair. Her hair texture is course and spongelike so it absorbs everything! We tried every expensive swimming shampoo and conditioner out there, including other shampoos for clarifying and yet there were still massive amounts of tangles. I had to fight every day to keep her hair from forming dreads underneath in the back. Was Bella excited? No, not really. But now after about 5 days, she is really happy with her new hair and says she may keep it short.
Having had a lot of focus on the past, I am ready to face the future...
It was fun spending time getting to see the dynamics of Bella's new class. She is still getting used to the new class, the new teacher and making new friends. She does know a few of the classmates from last year. Still, there is always an adjustment both for Bella and the class to understand how Bella is different with only attending half day and also having cochlear implants. I don't have many worries. Bella thrives on being social.
Adjustment at homeschool to the new year might be more of an issue. This summer we did work on some things, but Bella fought me a lot, saying, "It's summer vacation, Mom." Still I did get some math and reading in. She promised she would stop fighting me when Fall came and we returned to the regular schedule. I had my doubts. Now I am seeing those doubts were justified. Bella at age 9 1/2 is starting to exhibit some pre-teen behaviors of rebellion. No longer does she listen to what I want and comply without question. She is constantly negotiating and challenging me, especially on things she doesn't like to do. So Math has become a daily battle. She is well aware that math is hard for her and takes much more concentration and focus that she is willing to give. I have tried all avenues to get her back on track: yelling, pleading, bribing, and reasoning. I bought a book that talked about how somethings are hard, but if you keep pushing through it gets easier and you feel like you really achieved something by sticking with it. Bottom line message, "You can't give up even when things are hard." I had wondered if she had heard me, until yesterday. Things have become so hard with Bella and school, that I have seriously contemplated putting her in another setting. A traditional school with special ed support or all day at her current school with a special curriculumn. Bella said she wants to keep things like they are now. I told her I'm not sure we can do that because I don't want to fight her every day to do her work. And how does she respond? "Mom, just because things get hard, you can't just quit." So Rowe Academy continues, for now...
And to top off the week, Bella has a new look. She had about 5 inches of hair cut off. Too many struggles with tangles. Swimming has really done a number on her hair. Her hair texture is course and spongelike so it absorbs everything! We tried every expensive swimming shampoo and conditioner out there, including other shampoos for clarifying and yet there were still massive amounts of tangles. I had to fight every day to keep her hair from forming dreads underneath in the back. Was Bella excited? No, not really. But now after about 5 days, she is really happy with her new hair and says she may keep it short.
Having had a lot of focus on the past, I am ready to face the future...
