Hi MD. I have no idea what Tai Chi involves, but I am glad you are enjoying it
I ended up deciding on a very small school again. We tried one slightly bigger but he still just isn't there. I specifically returned at lunch to watch the social interaction and he was lost, spit hand washing (massive anxiety tell sign) and then a barrage of angst driven yelling at everyone and everything on the way home. Then we had a trial day at the smaller school and he came home calm and happy. He just cannot integrate into busy school yard play, as much as he wants to and looks to be, he just is just that bit out of sync itms. He seems fine when it is only a few other kids though. I know that in the long run getting used to the bigger class would be better but I am taking the easy out because the reality is that we all have to keep living with him and it is pretty hard going when he is a ball of anxiety.
Also he paces himself in class when there are lots of kids around - he was given a worksheet he could buzz though in a couple of minutes but only finished the first segment and got some wrong just like the kid next to him...
Tai chi/chi kung is basically lots of standing and swaying and waving your arms around in very precise ways while breathing deeply and relaxing. LOL It seems too simple to be something to produce much of an effect, but I was fully in the zone. It must be a chi thing.
It's brilliant that you got to "trial" both of the schools. I remember being that age and how terribly wrong one of the kindies I went to was for me, and how fabulous the other one was for me. Funnily enough, it came down to the busy school yard factor. So I can imagine how different those schools would be for him. It's really important for kids to feel comfortable in the environment where they spend so much time. How are you all settling in to your new place?
Arte: woah! that is some epic driving man hahaha! we so cannot manage more than 2.5 hours before a break. but i think that if we had a DVD player or video game the older girls would be ok...but Miss E would still go cray cray on us.
I reckon that there is no worries with him going to a small school. it is a very rare occurrence in life to be thrown into a large, contained crowd of people and told to spend all week exposed to them in a uniform way ITMS. At least when you are in the workforce you have a bit more autonomy and can choose to socialise with some people and politely not have much to do with others...whereas at school you are required in most situations to all work it out together. this is what Miss L is really struggling with in the new school. i think it has a lot to do with the classroom structure but it is getting better and her teacher is working really well with us to achieve as harmonious space as possible. it helps that he knows the school she came from and the approach they had, that's for sure.
MD: work from home?! wow! how is that? I guess with your Miss E being at school there is actually a chance of getting work done lol....in my house i have buckleys chance haha. ahhh the joys of small people!
I had a mate that swore by his tai chi training. still does it almost 15 years later. he found it really centering and grounded him as a teen.
AFM: not much new here. just enjoying the awesomeness that this season is throwing at us and enjoying the changes in the colours of the trees. the two youngest have taken to collecting all the leaves for craft projects which usually just means that they get crushed up on my new rug.
Thanks guys. I am feeling alright with the small school system. As long as they don't shut down on us then we will be fine. He is rather unsettled atm with the changes but hopefully he will find his place soon and everything will right itself. Cass, I entirely agree with the school class systems not being a false system that won't occur anywhere else in life. The whole ASD thing is only a problem if it is a problem and as long as we stick to what works then it isn't an issue. Not sure what we will do when it comes to high school but that is years away yet and probably its own tangle of impracticality.
W started scouts tonight, looked like lots of fun. I think I need some ideas for indoor things to do after school - the current regime of everyone irritating the hell out of each other and subsequent screaming and yelling isn't really doing it for me lol.
Hello, my lovelies - I don't have much time but I did want to pop in and say hello while I've got my lappy open... I do too much BB surfing on my phone and it's hard to find our lovely September babies home that way.
Anyhoo, I'm here now. How the goshdarnheck is everyone?
Cass, working from home is a dream... when the family is out. LOL. There was one day in the school hols when they were at home, and well, let's just say it wasn't my most productive day ever LOL. How's the countryside now that the seasons are shifting? Starting to feel more settled?
Arte, how's things, luv? Scouts sounds awesomesauce. DD1 did scouts briefly before swapping over to Guides - I found the Scouts to be more activity-based things while Guides there seemed to be more of a social-learning kind of feel to it (which was what DD1 needed). Just realised last week that Miss E is probably old enough to join the fluffy ducklings group (or whatever it is that Brownies is called now that it's not Brownies). They've just started a Ranger group in our area too, much to DD1's delight. Any progress on after-school activities? It might help to have a weekly routine, eg, Mondays is craft, Tuesdays we walk to the park, Wednesdays is cooking, Thursdays we go to the library, Fridays you're allowed to sit on your bum and watch telly all afternoon (LOL). Just a thought...
I'm waiting for MP to drop back in and tell us all about her new furry four-legged family member...?
Hi MD I am floating around but I got a kindle for my birthday and that has been taking up most of my free time
Thanks for the day of the week activity. We had already started doing that but honestly the behaviour is just making it not worth it. Hopefully things will settle down soon.
Last edited by Artechim; May 30th, 2014 at 08:55 PM.
Ha - love that you've discovered the Kindle joy!! Best reads so far? I'm currently wading into Finnikin of the Rock - which is kind of a YA fantasy by Melina Marchetta who wrote Looking for Alibrandi... slow start but *everyone* says it's worth hanging in there for. It's not on my Kindle though... which means every night I fall asleep and lose my page (!). LOL
How's the after school stuff - improving I hope. E goes to after school care on most days, but we still get a load of grumpy off-ness of an evening. I put it down to tiredness & also all the moments of holding in the way she's feeling during the school day. I've started encouraging her to relax with things like an earlier bath, a back rub, drawing it out (DIY art therapy LOL), and I'm also thinking of teaching my mob some mindfulness & relaxation techniques. I learnt a good one the other day 7-11 breathing. You breathe in for the count of 7 and then breathe out for the count of 11 (challenge). The inhale adds oxygen and the exhale builds the level of CO2 in the blood, which acts like a natural betablocker & lowers BP, etc. I've practiced this my whole life, but it's the first time I've heard of the 7-11 timing - but it works like a charm, and "Seven Eleven Breathing" is a quick way to refer to it with the kids. Am thinking of adding it as a permanent agenda slot to our family meetings. LOL. These days I'm all about getting them ALL ONBOARD so I'm not the only idiot pushing the bus forwards while everyone else sits back having a free ride.
In other news, Miss E surprised me yesterday by bringing out a novel that we had started reading together a couple of months ago & then set aside, with a bookmark inserted two chapters from the end. Apparently she's been sitting up in bed every night reading it. ie = actually reading, not just lying there looking at the pictures (!!). It's only one of those easy reader things (rainbow fairy style) but it was a thickish one. She watched the first Harry Potter movie on the weekend, and I told her she couldn't watch the next one until she'd read the book - and she's taken that as a challenge. She's determined to prove that she can read well enough to take on HP. Unreal. This never happened with H, who poo-poohed all my early novel reading suggestions for years & then suddenly picked up a really random book and read it.
Re: Babies Born ~ September 2007 #75
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