Reading with Daddy

Reading with Daddy

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Busy Days!

School has been difficult lately as we have been crazy busy. Jodi Lin is doing school work wherever we go and we are doing as much as we can on the days Dominic is in school. Jodi Lin has finished the kindergarten hooked on phonics and is working her way through grade one and still picking up on all of it quite quickly. Dominic is enjoying school, what a big boy he is getting to be. It is kinda sad to see my baby growing up so quickly. His speech is improving slowly but surely. He wants to talk just like any other kid...you can tell, but it is just not something that is coming easy for him at all. I am considering sending him to school when he starts JK as he will likely still need the social time, but I feel that I will very likely need to homeschool him on the days he is home. I truly hope I can find a way to send him to the christian school.

Anyway I have set nothing in stone, they may both go to school next year. We will just have to see how things turn out.

Thanks for checking in!

Jenaia

P.S. I am now down about 13 pounds.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Some Time With Just My Girl!

Dominic started at his preschool on Wednesday he is going from 9:15-11:30 on Wednesday and Friday. He cries when I tell him that we are going there, but goes in fine and really seems to enjoy himself. At this preschool they work on teaching the kids how to write their names and Dominic is learning. We have been working on tracing letters at home and trying some by him self too.....he does have good fine motor skills and is doing well with this. The teacher said she had to take him out of the car room (where the kids play with all the cars) because he kept smashing the cars. This is a sensory thing that he has done for along time and has always been a bit of a concern for me as he can't play cars well with other kids because they all get upset when he smashes their cars. I explained his issues, so hopefully she understands him a little, but obviously taking him out of the room is the best option. One cool thing is that his teacher had heart surgery when she was five, so Dominic and her have matching scars, not that she is showing hers off or anything.

Jodi Lin and I have had a great time with Dominic in school. We went to McDonalds on Wednesday where she had some breakfast and we did some school work and then she played in the play structure with me watching her and only her. I think she really enjoys having one on one with me and I enjoy having this with her too. McDonalds was quiet and she did well with her work, she finished much quicker then she does at home. On Friday I took her to the library. We found a nice quiet table and did some school work, she did really well again. We learned a little about counting money and she did great counting dimes and is beginning to understand what a penny, nickel and dime are and what they are worth. She pretty much learned all of this on Friday at the library. It was kind of neat to because about 20 feet away from us and older lady was teaching a middle age women how to read in english. So as Jodi Lin and I were doing her phonics you could hear the other lady going over her list of words. Sounded very similar to how Jodi Lin is learning. I was able to explain to Jodi Lin that sometimes adults need to learn how to read or sometimes they know one language but they want to learn how to read in English.

When we were finished in the workbooks, she found a computer and played some games while I looked for books, games and movies to borrow. I borrowed a ton again! I love our library, there are so many options. I got out some books on thanksgiving so we can learn a little about it before next weekend. We borrowed like 6 movies and 3 computer games for Jodi Lin and 2 for Dominic. They love the computer games and they are alway educational ones.

It is so nice to have Dominic in preschool and have some time with Jodi Lin. I really think that our relationship has gotten so much better since we have been homeschooling and that Dominic being gone a couple of mornings will only make it even better. Dominic is learning a lot too at home. He now knows all his letters (I think!). He doesn't say them all but he can normally point them out. Actually last week Jodi Lin for some wierd reason was pronoucing a W like a U and I told her "no that's not a U, what is it?" she kept insisting it was a U and Dominic looks over her shoulder and says "dubawoo". What a smart kid! He knows some of the sounds now too and is doing really well with trying to write the letters. Most of the time he seems to know his colours and is getting his shapes. He has just recently picked up on patterns as well.

Homeschooling is definetly working out well for me and my kids!

Thanks for checking in!

Jenaia