Hello world
Hello again LJ!
It's the last week of school and there's such a huge sense of relief, it feels like a holiday already. In only 4 days, grade 5 will be over and we can wave buh-bye to a very long and very challenging year for our whole family.
I wrapped up my last Roots of Empathy teaching project last week and I am sorry to say that I am not the least bit sad to see the end of it. I had hugely high hopes for this program but was completely unprepared for the amount of work it entailed. And although there were moments of brilliance, I don't feel that my students - GMinor's classmates - really *got* it. They didn't feel empowered to make a difference in their community; they didn't feel empathy toward their classmates; they didn't become caring, inclusive children who stood up for each other. They loved the baby and maybe they learned that parenting is really hard work. But ultimately, I think they are much as they were before - basically selfish, self-absorbed little brats. Fortunately, the instructors in the younger grades had more positive results. Get 'em when they're young. So thank goodness I can remove this responsibility from my list and pass the torch to someone else who may have better luck than me.
Our street is under construction now. They have already replaced the sewers on our street and have yet to replace the water mains and the storm sewer. Giant 15 foot deep pits have made their way from one end of the street to the other and back again, with accompanying screeching, banging, thumping, and omnipresent beep-beep-beeping as various large equipment eternally backed up. By 3 pm each day, I was looking for a rifle and a clock tower. GMajor graciously offered his office in the back of the house and that has helped enormously. So much quieter. We have a brief break from the digging now as they assess the water before beginning that next step. The water main is broken in at least 4 places on our street currently with large cesspools forming as the water seeps up through the mud and gravel of the road. The lines are so brittle with age, that even the vibration of the large trucks is enough to shatter them. So we've been stockpiling water to prepare for the next water shutoff, which happens a couple of times a week with no warning. Another couple of weeks and the water line will also the replaced though. Another big relief. They've been finding lead pipes and connectors on the water mains, so replacing it seems like a really good plan. I know I can't afford to lose any more brain cells.
Because the street is such a mess, we invested in an above ground pool. Not the inflatable kind, but slightly more durable than that. It's been a huge relief from the heat. It's also intended to appease GMinor who can't play in the front this summer as she usually does. She's already had some friends over to swim, so the magnet effect of the pool is also working well. We'll have to stock up on popcicles and freezies. The pool has been placed where the old pergola once was. Afer this past winter, the pergola started leaning rather alarmingly. Upon investigation, we discovered that the posts had not, in fact, been cemented into the ground, or actually put in the ground at all. The whole structure was built on deckblocks that has been buried a few inches underground. Hence, the leaning. It's sad to see the pergola go, but we never really used the space and the pool is much, much more fun. I just need floating drink holders for my Pimms and it will be perfect.
My foray into home schooling had some success and I learned a lot from the experience. Not sure how much GMinor learned! Home schooling isn't something I can multitask. I can't work on a project and have GMinor work independently. She doesn't and then I get frustrated with conflicting responsibilities. Then there is yelling. So, if I plan to do this next year - and I hope not to - I will have to be tremendously more organized and accept that I simply can't work on this days. I am hoping that GMinor will return to her regular gifted class, but I have my doubts. I don't think it's a great fit for her, but taking one day a week off work is financially challenging, especially when we are so close to the edge already. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
GMinor is much better with her anxiety issues, but stil not back to her "regular" self. She had one successful sleepover at my Mom's - her first in a year! And she doesn't hyperventilate before school anymore. So much better! But she still expresses her anxiety about school by screaming at me in the mornings and just being horribly hateful and sarcastic, which is pretty hard to take. She's working on it, but it's hard on us. And she still has worries about too many things and some new ones cropping up all the time. My current least favourite is dying in her sleep. Fingers crossed that that one goes away soon.
Not much else is new with us. We've been bascially battening down the hatches and weathering the storm that is grade 5. I imagine next week will feel very strange. Relief! What a concept!
It's the last week of school and there's such a huge sense of relief, it feels like a holiday already. In only 4 days, grade 5 will be over and we can wave buh-bye to a very long and very challenging year for our whole family.
I wrapped up my last Roots of Empathy teaching project last week and I am sorry to say that I am not the least bit sad to see the end of it. I had hugely high hopes for this program but was completely unprepared for the amount of work it entailed. And although there were moments of brilliance, I don't feel that my students - GMinor's classmates - really *got* it. They didn't feel empowered to make a difference in their community; they didn't feel empathy toward their classmates; they didn't become caring, inclusive children who stood up for each other. They loved the baby and maybe they learned that parenting is really hard work. But ultimately, I think they are much as they were before - basically selfish, self-absorbed little brats. Fortunately, the instructors in the younger grades had more positive results. Get 'em when they're young. So thank goodness I can remove this responsibility from my list and pass the torch to someone else who may have better luck than me.
Our street is under construction now. They have already replaced the sewers on our street and have yet to replace the water mains and the storm sewer. Giant 15 foot deep pits have made their way from one end of the street to the other and back again, with accompanying screeching, banging, thumping, and omnipresent beep-beep-beeping as various large equipment eternally backed up. By 3 pm each day, I was looking for a rifle and a clock tower. GMajor graciously offered his office in the back of the house and that has helped enormously. So much quieter. We have a brief break from the digging now as they assess the water before beginning that next step. The water main is broken in at least 4 places on our street currently with large cesspools forming as the water seeps up through the mud and gravel of the road. The lines are so brittle with age, that even the vibration of the large trucks is enough to shatter them. So we've been stockpiling water to prepare for the next water shutoff, which happens a couple of times a week with no warning. Another couple of weeks and the water line will also the replaced though. Another big relief. They've been finding lead pipes and connectors on the water mains, so replacing it seems like a really good plan. I know I can't afford to lose any more brain cells.
Because the street is such a mess, we invested in an above ground pool. Not the inflatable kind, but slightly more durable than that. It's been a huge relief from the heat. It's also intended to appease GMinor who can't play in the front this summer as she usually does. She's already had some friends over to swim, so the magnet effect of the pool is also working well. We'll have to stock up on popcicles and freezies. The pool has been placed where the old pergola once was. Afer this past winter, the pergola started leaning rather alarmingly. Upon investigation, we discovered that the posts had not, in fact, been cemented into the ground, or actually put in the ground at all. The whole structure was built on deckblocks that has been buried a few inches underground. Hence, the leaning. It's sad to see the pergola go, but we never really used the space and the pool is much, much more fun. I just need floating drink holders for my Pimms and it will be perfect.
My foray into home schooling had some success and I learned a lot from the experience. Not sure how much GMinor learned! Home schooling isn't something I can multitask. I can't work on a project and have GMinor work independently. She doesn't and then I get frustrated with conflicting responsibilities. Then there is yelling. So, if I plan to do this next year - and I hope not to - I will have to be tremendously more organized and accept that I simply can't work on this days. I am hoping that GMinor will return to her regular gifted class, but I have my doubts. I don't think it's a great fit for her, but taking one day a week off work is financially challenging, especially when we are so close to the edge already. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
GMinor is much better with her anxiety issues, but stil not back to her "regular" self. She had one successful sleepover at my Mom's - her first in a year! And she doesn't hyperventilate before school anymore. So much better! But she still expresses her anxiety about school by screaming at me in the mornings and just being horribly hateful and sarcastic, which is pretty hard to take. She's working on it, but it's hard on us. And she still has worries about too many things and some new ones cropping up all the time. My current least favourite is dying in her sleep. Fingers crossed that that one goes away soon.
Not much else is new with us. We've been bascially battening down the hatches and weathering the storm that is grade 5. I imagine next week will feel very strange. Relief! What a concept!