Happy 2009!!!

Well, Christmas is over and another new year begins! We returned to school work this week. I was without one of Samuel's helpers while she was on vacation with her family. In spite of that we got by okay. Samuel had much fewer outbursts, even with the demands of school work being put upon him. We'll see how next week goes, when I try to get more work in.

I think Samuel may have FINALLY learned how to zip his jacket! We have been working on that for so long. I realized that the kind of jacket we had him wear was too difficult for him to work with. We usually get Land's End jackets, which are wonderful, but the way the zippers are covered makes it way too difficult for Samuel to maneuver it. He has a very hard time getting the separate parts of the zipper together. I bought a cheap jacket at a local discount store that doesn't have a covered zipper and it's much easier for him to work with that.

I have started using Saxon Math with Samuel. His younger brother has been working in it. I was reminded that Samuel's teacher had used it with him when he was younger. So, we're repeating first grade math again, but I am much more confident he will be successful in this. I was having to make too many alterations to the other workbook curriculum I was using for him.

Seton Home Study curriculum is what I am using for my youngest and oldest sons. While we are provided with a daily schedule for each subject, I did find this statement in the curriculum materials, which I take great comfort in given that we deviated from the schedule after about Day 2 of the school year:

There is no "getting behind" in homeschooling; the pace should be according to
the needs of the student.

Granted, I could be a little more organized, but I don't think I'm doing too bad given all the preparation that has to go into getting Samuel's lessons together and all the chaos our days sometimes holds because of his behavior.