Thursday, January 29, 2015

Week 3... and a bit of reality.

The girls enjoyed their lesson last week on St. Francis. What better saint than him for two girls who absolutely adore animals? Here is e's MLB:

The spring chorus semester has begun! Oh the happiness...

E has been wanting to carve soap for a while now. Much easier than wood! e hung around, waiting for the chopped-up leftovers to mash into slippery playdough.

I finally finished the yarn I spun on my new drop spindle! Aren't the colors amazing? It makes me happy just looking at them. What shall I knit?

E and I spent his week's lessons on Mesopotamia.

We read Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean. Oldest recorded story, found on shattered clay tablets....what could be more intriguing?

 

Then there are Hammurabi and Shamshi-Adad. One believed everyone should follow a common code of conduct, while the other cut off heads and displayed them on stakes. Good thing Hammurabi won out in the end.

Animal stories galore for e:

 

 

And her forms:

 

With a bit of math thrown in.

 

Now comes the part about reality...

This. Based on the results of some functional medicine testing, we are giving E a whole lotta supplements. Lo and behold, he suddenly has his energy back. And I do mean back! Plus the attitude, the impulsivity, and noise level, too. Which is overwhelming for me. The cooperative, focused, relatively calm child that I have had the past few months is gone. Poof. Our new rhythm was working not because E had matured, but because he was chronically tired. Tired. I knew he was tired, he said he was tired...but the kid does 16 hours of gym a week and never stops moving, so of course he's tired. Thus I find myself getting mad and overwhelmed by him now being himself. Everything I loved about the past few weeks/months was possible because he wasn't himself. What does that say? It's awful. What kind of mother rejoices that her child is ill? It's heartbreaking!

 

So...now what? e has been blindsided by this also and raised defenses. They've been fighting, bickering, yelling. E tries to focus on lessons, but it isn't really happening. He's pushing back. The noise and energy levels are high.

 

I had a chat yesterday with Melisa of Waldorf Essentials, not really even knowing what I needed, and she gave me some insight and more info on temperament. Interesting stuff. Best of all is that she was able to reassure me (as the mother of a puzzle herself) that parenting and teaching a child like this is difficult, but it can be done. I can do this. I can also forgive myself for being so happy at his expense. I didn't know. That's pretty much how it goes- we don't always know. Like the time I made him walk his own bike home with a concussion. I didn't know.

 

Then my wonderful friend S took the girls to chorus (thank you!) while I dropped E at gym and, well, just breathed. Alone with my thoughts in the woods. I ran for a bit before the cold air made my lungs rebel, and had a good cry...

 

I can do this. I'm not sure how yet, but I can. E can, too. We are actually already halfway through week 4 now. Two days until we switch blocks. Two days until the end of our trial rhythm, but I feel like we need another 30-day trial because we've changed. For the better, right? Deep breath, first step- to the pool this morning.

 

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