Horsey Dreams and looking to the future.
Daughter doing well at school.... finally found motivation! Something that I have been trying to do for quite some time now, is to find a way to motivate my little one to actually DO her schoolwork. Everything that I had tried in the past barely did the trick.
Summer was over and school was about to start again. She was not happy about this. Even though we arranged for her to get the same teacher that she had last year, she was still depressed. She really likes Mrs. Brooks. My little girl loves to run up and hug everybody. This lady gets a lot. *headscratch* I'm wondering if it's driving her crazy yet.
Anyway, on the way to school on the morning of the first day, she was just sitting there looking so gloomy. I suddenly got a feeling to talk to her about her one true love... horses. I told her that we may never be able to buy her one, and that I was upset that my hubby and my MIL told her that we would as soon as we moved to where we are now. Yes she's heard me say that before. (They all have heard me fuss at them about getting my little one's hopes and dreams up like this when they know that we can't do this. It's cruel!) It's too expensive to buy and maintain horses. Plus we don't know anything about them. I told her that doesn't matter if we won't be able to get her one, that I have no doubt that she will be a horse owner sometime in her life. I felt prompted to mention that I could see her with more than one if she worked for it. Her love of them is that strong. She really was paying attention to my words. What I was saying was sinking in. I felt prompted to go further. I told her that the harder she works at doing her best in her schoolwork, the better grades she can get. The better grades you get, the better job she can get. The better job she can get, the more money she might make. The more money she can make, she might be able to buy her horse... in fact more than just one horse, maybe a whole ranchful of horses. Her eyes got really big! With her short memory problems, didn't think she would really take this to heart. She has been making strait "A's" in class. OK so this was the material that she went over last year. But the difference this time around, she's putting forth the effort. Her teacher has written nothing but great notes home to us. My little one has not yet been sent home with a note stating that she refuses to do her work period.. that was last years notes mainly. This time she is wasting no time at all. Every morning as I drop her off at school, I would remind her to work for her dreams and every time she catches herself daydreaming, I tell her to think about her horse ranch that she wants someday then get back to work because that is the only way she can get it.. and that I know she will. Funny thing, I have noticed more completed assignments come home that also, have little doodlings of horses on the back.
Now that my son is 18 years old, he only gets to stay in high school until he's 21. We have been thinking about his future lately as well. It seems like all at once this has been creeping up in other conversations with other people in my son's life..... one of his neurologists, his teachers the other day.. and the two of us this past month. We know that there is this program that he has been working up to since he was about 12. Well, more than that really. Anyway, we think it's time for us to get him enrolled somewhere, just so the transition will flow more smoothly from being a student to being involved in the comminity. There is a good place, that we already have heard about for some time now, that will come pick him up on the bus and take him there every day. He has visited it himself durring field trips the past few years at school. It's time we go check it out ourselves. It really sounds great. And with my hubby being a medic, he does calls there to that facility and it has a good reputation. His teachers are very impressed about this program and recommend it. And these teachers are very protective of their kids. He has some really wonderful people in his life.
Summer was over and school was about to start again. She was not happy about this. Even though we arranged for her to get the same teacher that she had last year, she was still depressed. She really likes Mrs. Brooks. My little girl loves to run up and hug everybody. This lady gets a lot. *headscratch* I'm wondering if it's driving her crazy yet.
Anyway, on the way to school on the morning of the first day, she was just sitting there looking so gloomy. I suddenly got a feeling to talk to her about her one true love... horses. I told her that we may never be able to buy her one, and that I was upset that my hubby and my MIL told her that we would as soon as we moved to where we are now. Yes she's heard me say that before. (They all have heard me fuss at them about getting my little one's hopes and dreams up like this when they know that we can't do this. It's cruel!) It's too expensive to buy and maintain horses. Plus we don't know anything about them. I told her that doesn't matter if we won't be able to get her one, that I have no doubt that she will be a horse owner sometime in her life. I felt prompted to mention that I could see her with more than one if she worked for it. Her love of them is that strong. She really was paying attention to my words. What I was saying was sinking in. I felt prompted to go further. I told her that the harder she works at doing her best in her schoolwork, the better grades she can get. The better grades you get, the better job she can get. The better job she can get, the more money she might make. The more money she can make, she might be able to buy her horse... in fact more than just one horse, maybe a whole ranchful of horses. Her eyes got really big! With her short memory problems, didn't think she would really take this to heart. She has been making strait "A's" in class. OK so this was the material that she went over last year. But the difference this time around, she's putting forth the effort. Her teacher has written nothing but great notes home to us. My little one has not yet been sent home with a note stating that she refuses to do her work period.. that was last years notes mainly. This time she is wasting no time at all. Every morning as I drop her off at school, I would remind her to work for her dreams and every time she catches herself daydreaming, I tell her to think about her horse ranch that she wants someday then get back to work because that is the only way she can get it.. and that I know she will. Funny thing, I have noticed more completed assignments come home that also, have little doodlings of horses on the back.
Now that my son is 18 years old, he only gets to stay in high school until he's 21. We have been thinking about his future lately as well. It seems like all at once this has been creeping up in other conversations with other people in my son's life..... one of his neurologists, his teachers the other day.. and the two of us this past month. We know that there is this program that he has been working up to since he was about 12. Well, more than that really. Anyway, we think it's time for us to get him enrolled somewhere, just so the transition will flow more smoothly from being a student to being involved in the comminity. There is a good place, that we already have heard about for some time now, that will come pick him up on the bus and take him there every day. He has visited it himself durring field trips the past few years at school. It's time we go check it out ourselves. It really sounds great. And with my hubby being a medic, he does calls there to that facility and it has a good reputation. His teachers are very impressed about this program and recommend it. And these teachers are very protective of their kids. He has some really wonderful people in his life.