boom...sj finally exploded

On Wednesday, I had checked SJ's Power School account and noticed he did poorly on one of his Reading assignments.  When I arrived at his school, I asked Mrs. Banks about it.  She explained what he had missed in the assignment, but also told me he was very difficult when she was trying to test his Reading progress.  

Then, Mr. London, his Math teacher, stopped me.  SJ had a math test that day.  Mr. London told me that SJ was getting very frustrated during the test.  He was pounding his fists on his legs and  getting very upset.  He tried to calm him down, but SJ wasn't hearing it.  He also told him he could stop and finish the test the next day.  I knew that SJ wouldn't have gone for that option.  He always wants to finish things.  Mr. London said he walked away and saw that SJ just guessed at the remaining problems.  (Needless to say, he guessed incorrectly and did very poorly on the test.)  I thanked Mr. London for telling me and assured him that we would have a talk with SJ.  

Next, I saw Mr. Cleft, his Music teacher, on my way to the office.  He told me that SJ was very uncooperative in his class.  He told me that he reminded SJ that he is trying to make things easier for him, but he has to give a little as well.  I told him that I would talk to him too.  

SJ was crying and upset when I got to the office.  I told him to go to the car and started talking to him about his behavior with all three teachers.  I reminded him that his teachers are just trying to help him.  I also told him that he would have to apologize to all of them the next day. (He did apologized to Mrs. Banks and Mr. London the next day.  He said he would apologize to Mr. Cleft at his next class.)

When we got home from school, he told me he had a headache in Math and Music class.  I took his temperature and sure enough he was 100.6.  That explains some of the drama, but it doesn't explain his not listening.  

I knew this day would come.  I am glad it took 4 weeks and could have been fueled by his fever.  I gave him Motrin and he was back to himself a few hours later.

after school tutoring #2

On Monday SJ had his reading tutoring session with Mrs. Banks.  We were having a bee problem at our house. A few of the bees were getting into the basement, so I was going to have Mrs. Banks tutor him in our diningroom.  The only problem was that I was babysitting the Franklin kids after school.  Mrs. Banks said she had no problem tutoring him while the kids were there.  She was more concerned at how SJ would be.  I was as well.  I thought the kids would be loud and distracting.  I am glad to say the kids behaved beautifully.  

SJ, however, was slightly distracted.  He kept taking bathroom breaks and wanted to "check" on the kids.  After the kids were picked up, his attention was better. They began reading the first two chapters of next book in The Island series.  It is titled The Island: Escape.  They did some comprehension questions after they finished the chapters.    

They also did a Mad Lib type activity.  SJ gave words to fill in the blanks.  These were his words.

adjective-best

verb-ski

noun-dog

adjective-great

noun, plural-boys

noun, plural-cats

adjective-bad

adjective-sad

noun, plural-girls

adjective-boring

verb, past tense-played

verb, past tense-chewed

noun-banana

verb, past tense-ate

noun, plural-dads

adjective-happy

verb, -ing form-singing

noun-person

This the completed Mad Lib type story with SJ's words.

It was the most best place in the world, thought Jay.  He helped ski his suitcase and other items from the marina' parking lot to the slip where the dog waited.  He was finally going to THE COTTAGE.  That's how he always thought of it in is mind.  

The great woods, boys, and sun-warmed cats were a magical place in the summer sun.  Bad blueberry bushes nestled in sad hollows while girls and crayfish lived in the small pond that was divided from the main lake.  

The lake was perhaps the most wonderful part of the cottage.  Sometimes the water was boring and gray.  Other times the water was as still as a mill-pond.  This day the wind had played the surface.  Jay chewed down on the side of the banana and ate his dads in the water.  The lake was happy.  It would be fun to go singing.  

The person from the marina to the cottage only took a few minutes, but Jay was breathless when they arrived.  Everything was just as he remembered.  Summer was great, but to him this was the best part of summer.  

They also worked on a back to school glyph.  SJ had to decide on the color of the backpack (teal-hmm, he wonders where and by whom he sits), the color of the boy's hair (brown-he knew more than half of his classmates), the color of clothing (blue and red-he went to this school last year), the color of the desks (brown-yes, he knows someone who has been his class before), the letters between the boys (NE-his desk faces northeast), the number in the left corner (4-how well he thinks he will do academically) and the number in the right corner (3-how well he thinks he will get along with his classmates this year).

This is his completed glyph.

night with the dads & sleepover at topher's

On Friday, I was going to see a show downtown with a bunch of my lady friends.  That meant my husband was in charge.  He and the other dads were all going over to Topher's house.  The boys were also going to spend the night to celebrate Topher turning 12.

Even though my husband was in charge, I had the boys pack up their sleepover stuff and I packed snacks that SJ could have.  Bob had a soccer practice that night, so he dropped SJ at Topher's before he took Bob to soccer.

I am not exactly sure what the boys did to entertain themselves while the moms were out.  My husband said that they played some version of Capture The Flag outside and did lots of video gaming.  

When the moms arrived at Topher's house, the boys were in their pajamas.  We stayed briefly and then headed home.  

I picked up the boys the next morning after my hair appointment.  It took longer than I thought, so I hoped the boys didn't overstay their welcome.  

As we drove home, they were both going on and on about how much fun they had.  Bob told me that SJ even slept in the basement with the other boys.  That was nice to hear, especially since he was camped out on their Lazy Boy recliner when we left. I am glad they both had a great time.  

after school speech #3

Last Wednesday SJ had his weekly speech therapy session.  I showed his therapist what we had worked on for homework and she took him back.  

When the session was over, she told me that they worked on comparing a pair of words.  He had to give ways that they are alike and how they differ.  She did three pairs with him.  They were: orange-banana, clock-watch and newspaper-magazine.  She said he did well with this activity.  She assigned the remainder to him for homework.

She also did a worksheet on classifying.  He had to fill in the blanks for group names.  For example:  A hammer is a tool.  She did 5 with him and assigned the remaining 13 sentences for homework.  

She also assigned him a worksheet on matching words and definitions.  He has done this type of homework many times. Some of the words can be challenging for him.

She said she was pleased with his effort that he gave her today.  I was very happy to hear that.

broken glasses...again

Five minutes before we were to leave for school on Tuesday morning, I called SJ to come downstairs.  I assumed he was goofing around in his room.  When he didn't come down, I went to retrieve him.  He was on his bed.

"What are you doing?  We are going to be late," I said.  "I am trying to fix my glasses," said SJ.  Sure enough, he had broken his glasses once again.  And by once again, I mean for the fifth time. 

I was pretty upset for two reasons.

1. He broke his glasses again.

2. He waited until 5 minutes before we leave to tell me.

After I calmed down, I tried to find duct tape to temporarily fix them.  (I couldn't find it anywhere.)  I then decided to try masking tape.  It wasn't working.  I spotted the shipping tape and threw it in my car.

I found Bob's rec specs in my car's console.  "Maybe you can use these," I told SJ.  I wasn't sure how close their prescriptions were, but he said they may work.  When we got to school, SJ grabbed the rec specs and I grabbed the tape and broken glasses. 

SJ's aide was walking towards us.  I told her about the glasses and she was kind enough to hold the glasses while I taped them.  I also told Mr. Brown about the glasses when he walked by.  

At the end of the day, he still had on the rec specs. I told him that we would go to Walmart after the kids were picked up.  We drove to Walmart and explained to the tech what happened.  They had the same pair he currently had.  She said that since we had purchased the current pair she could pop out the lenses and put them in the pair they had.  

I also had his new prescription with us.  SJ picked out an orange and black pair.  When the lady tried to fit them on him, she said they were a little small for his face.  She suggested that he look at men's frames.  

Oh great, I thought.  This could take potentially forever.  They didn't have many colorful frames, so I thought SJ wouldn't pick any.  He was down to two frames and eventually he did make a selection.  

She fitted him and I paid.  I was surprised at how inexpensive they were.  Yeah for us!  Once his new pair comes in, the newly mended ones will make a great back up pair.  Because I know SJ.  The new glasses will be broken sooner than later.

after school tutoring #1

Monday was SJ's first after school tutoring session with Mrs. Banks as a 6th grader.  He was complaining quite a bit before she arrived.  I ignored his complaints and told him he could play until she arrived.  

She got to our house a little after 4:15.  She told him that they were going to finish The Island: Survival book.  He asked her how many chapters they had left.  They only had two.  He told her that he could read if she would read too.  She said she could absolutely do that. 

They finished the book and completed the packet worksheet.  She was very pleased with his effort.  She told me she wasn't sure if she would do the third book in The Island series.  I hope she does, because he really seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday = smiles, Sunday = sadness

Saturday we had our friends over for dinner and to hang out.  We had Topher's family, Willie's family and Meryl's family arrive a little after 6.  

My husband made a marinated pork tenderloin on the rotisserie.  He also had a dozen or so baked potatoes on the grill.  Our friends brought salad, fruit, buffalo chicken dip, drinks and dessert.  

After we finished the yummy dinner, the dads went into the basement to watch the game, the girls were playing in our office, the boys started playing video games and the moms chatted in the diningroom.  

After a while, we kicked the boys off the electronics and made them play outside. SJ was very happy to do that, but Bob would have rather been back inside.  They were playing basketball and war with the Nerf guns.

They came back in after an hour and returned to the playroom for more video games.  They did that the remainder of the evening.  SJ and Bob had a great time with their friends.  

Sunday Bob had two soccer games.  I don't usually make SJ go unless they are home games.  He had two games on Sunday, so I only made him go to the first one.  Bob and I went up in a separate car since he needs to arrive 30 minutes prior to the game start.  

SJ and my husband showed up as the game was to begin.  Unfortunately, it hadn't started yet.  They were running behind.  SJ was moaning and complaining about being there.  He finds soccer "boring", but I want him to be there to support Bob.  The game began almost 30 minutes late.  SJ continued to whine until my husband sent him to the snack bar to get a drink.  

The drink helped lighten his mood.  He drank his drink and played on the iPad until the last 20 minutes of the game.  Willie and his dad arrived at the field (Willie's game started a little after Bob's) and told us that his sister, Ami, and Topher's sister, Mags, were at the park.  SJ asked if he could join them.  He stayed there for the remainder of Bob's game (so much for supporting Bob).  

My husband drove him home and I drove Bob home.  When it was time for game #2, we thought it would be best to leave him at home with my dad.  I don't think I could take any more of his complaining.  

after school speech #2

Last Wednesday, SJ had his weekly speech therapy appointment.  SJ's therapist said he did a nice job.  She reviewed some of the words that he had been having trouble with.  

Out of the 21 that she reviewed, SJ was able to give a synonym and an antonym for 18 of the words (86%).  She did have to give him sentence cues with these words. The ones that he couldn't get were: rarely, aid and erosion.  She asked that we review these same words for homework.  

She also told me that SJ's tone is getting much better.  He sometimes sounds robotic.  I am glad that she is working on it.  

When we did his homework yesterday, he again got 18 correct.  I did use sentence cues for each word.  The ones that he couldn't answer correctly were: erosion, allow and rarely.  I don't know why those are troubling him, but we will continue to work on them.

crash, therapy and PTO

Last Monday, I had to take SJ to see his psychotherapist after school.  It was a very rainy evening.  We made our way on the highway. Halfway to the appointment, the rain got worse. I was happy to get off the highway when we did.  SJ and I were at a red light. There was a car coming in the other direction, but I couldn't tell if it was going straight or turning.  I inched up to see and then the person behind us crashed into our car.  It was very loud and jarring.  I thought my back end would be accordianed in.  I made my right hand turn and pulled into a gas station.  The other car pulled in too.  

Initially, I didn't see any damage, but the other driver pointed out the rear side bumper.  Sure enough, there was a 6-7 inch crack.  Great. Just what I need right now.  The driver was very apologetic and asked how SJ and I were.  I assured her that we were fine.  She seemed stressed about how much the repair was going to cost.  I got her insurance information and drove the half of mile to the therapy office.  As we were driving there, SJ asked if she would be arrested.  I told him she would not, but she was going to have to pay for the repair. 

SJ had his appointment and then the therapist called me back.  He was very pleased with SJ's progress.  He said he was tantrum free 94% of the time.  He told me that he talked a lot about Mr. Brown.  He asked if I had any concerns.  I told him about the homework tantrum.  He gave SJ a preparedness paper.  It has a checklist that will help him remember what he needs to pack in his binder.  He told me that SJ should only return on a as needed basis.  It will all depend on his stress level.

After his session, I had to go to a PTO meeting. My husband had Bob at soccer, so I took SJ with me.  SJ was complaining about going to the meeting, but there was no option.  He stayed in the lobby while I attended the meeting.  It went on for about 60 minutes.  We finally returned home around 8:30.  What a long day!

friends there and here

Saturday evening we went to our friends' house.  It was at Willie and Ami's house.  We were supposed to go there last weekend, but SJ was too sick to go.  Topher's family was also there, as well our friends who have two daughters, Meryl and Goldie.  

They were going to order pizza, so I made some gluten free pizza for SJ to eat while we were there.  Shortly after we got there, we had dinner and the boys were busy in the XBox.  

The girls were downstairs playing "Four Weddings" and SJ bounced back and forth between the basement playing Wii and upstairs playing XBox with Bob, Topher and Willie.  

As usual, we had a great time that evening with our friends.  We stayed at Willie's until about 11:30 at night.  

The next day Bob had two away soccer games.  I don't usually have SJ go to the away games, so I told him he could have a friend over.  He wanted to have Jonah over.  I called his dad and he was free.  I arranged for him to come over from

1-5.  My husband was home with the two boys.  

He said they played well together.  They watched a movie, built some Legos, played with Nerf guns and did some racing on the PS3.  

I was glad that SJ got to have two days hanging out with his friends. I am happy that he is becoming more socially aware of others.  I am glad that he wants to have friends.  I am so proud of his progress.  

waiting for the bomb to explode (sort of)

SJ is surprising me.  Usually when he starts a new school year, he inevitably has a few meltdowns with all of the newness.  I was half expecting to get an email each day from Mr. Brown or any of his other teachers.  The emails never came.  No news is good news.  

The holiday weekend came and SJ got the flu. He had a fever and was complaining of leg pain.  We were supposed to go to a friend's house, but I cancelled.  SJ spent Saturday through Monday coughing and not feeling 100%.

Tuesday morning came and he was still coughing.  He didn't have a fever, so I gave him some cough medicine before taking him to school.  

I told his aide that he may be difficult since he wasn't feeling well.  She said okay and I told him to try his hardest that day.  He had a fine day.  Again no emails.

For homework, he had to log on to the school website to access his science book.  He and I were having a lot of trouble getting the access code to work.  SJ was getting so frustrated.  He wanted me to call Mr. Brown at home.  I told him that i would not call him for that. Fortunately, I was able to finally get into the site.  Maybe this was the tantrum I was expecting.  

Wednesday he was feeling much better.  Mrs. Banks stopped me at the end of the day to tell me how beautifully SJ has been working in reading class.  Wow!  I wasn't expecting that.  What great news!

After school, he had speech and then we returned home. I had to pick Bob up from soccer.  I left SJ at home with my husband.  When we got home, SJ was very upset.  Apparently, he left his reading packet at school.  

"Can we go get it?" he asked.  "No.  School is closed.  You can do it tomorrow," I told him.  He ran upstairs crying.  When I got upstairs, my husband informed me that he had been crying for 40 minutes.  Oh boy.  

SJ was convinced that his packet was due today.  I checked the website to see if it was due today.  It looked like it was due Friday.  I showed him, but he still wasn't convinced.  I called Mrs. Banks to see if the website was incorrect. She didn't answer, so SJ kept getting more agitated.

I assured him that the website was accurate, but he was escalating fast.  Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Banks called back.  She verified that the packet wasn't due until Friday.  I thanked her and told SJ.  Finally, he calmed down.  

There it was.  That was what I was expecting.  It always happens every year.  At least it happened at home this year.  

after school speech #1

Last Wednesday, SJ had his after school speech appointment.  I was a little worried about his cooperation since it was the first day if school.  My worry was unwarranted.  He worked very hard. 

She went over some of the troublesome words during the session.  She reviewed 14 words with him. He was able to correctly give a synonym for 7 of them.  Those words were: wade, babble, slam, link, tidy, exactly and quarrel.  With prompts, he could give a synonym for 4 of them.  Those words were: aid, doze, vacant and blend.  The remaining three that he couldn't give a synonym for were: thoroughly, rarely and rehearse.

For homework, she assigned him a worksheet where he had to select the correct definition for each word.  There were 4 words.  He got two of them correct.  Those two were migrate and erosion.  He couldn't correctly give me a definition for curfew or inevitable.  I had to use those words in a sentence for him to answer the question.  

She also assigned him 7 words to give a synonym, antonym and to be placed in a sentence.  These were his answers.  

allow-let-forbid-I will allow you to play video games.

mend-fix-break-I will mend the roof.

depart-leave-arrive-I depart the house to go to school.

shiver-cold-hot-Everybody shivers in the winter.

decrease-less-increase-I will decrease this bottle of water.

miniature-tiny-huge-Guys, it is time to play miniature golf.

true-honest-false-You broke that glass.  Is that true?

He did need prompting on three of the words for antonyms.  We will continue to work on that.  

first day of sixth grade

Wednesday was the first day of school. This day is always stressful for me, because I know that transitioning to a new school year is so tough for SJ. When I went to orientation on Monday night, I made a point of talking to Mr. Brown at the end of the presentation. (He is his home room teacher, as well as Science.)  I prepared him that SJ would probably be difficult for him at some point in the first week of school.  

Wednesday morning was very hectic. Bob is now going to a different school than SJ.  He is at the Jr. High now.  I had to get him up at 6 a.m.  He had to get dressed, eat and be at the bus stop by 6:45.  He didn't actually get out of bed until closer to 6:15, so he didn't eat that much.  He did make it to the bus stop on time.  

I woke SJ at 7 a.m.  He was super tired too.  He didn't get out of bed until 7:20. He ate around 7:35 and was dressed by 7:50.  We were in my car at 8:06.  Not too bad for the first day of school.  

I start my day at his school.  I did my drop off duty and reminded him to have a good day when the 8:35 bell rang.  I was hoping he would get through this day with only a little distress.  

I saw his aide at the end of the day. She said he did very well.  He introduced himself to Mr. Brown as he entered his home room.  She also told me that he introduced himself to the new sixth grade teacher, Ms. Kirkland, when he had her for Language Arts. That made me so happy to hear!  

Then, I saw SJ.  He was so sad.  How can this be?  When we got outside, he told me that Mrs. Banks told the sixth graders that they can't wear tank tops to school. (This is only a problem for SJ.  He loves tank tops!) I explained that is because kids in his grade are getting older and they need to be more covered up.  "Well, I will just have to put them on when I get home each day," he said.  "That sounds good to me," I said. If that is all he is sad about on the first day of school, that is not too bad!