My oldest!

Well I am beginning to consider trying to get my oldest son tested for autism again. I put it off in the past because he was much such great improvements. Though his behavior was still the same things were starting to click educationally. He has had an evaluation, actually a couple, and always the same response, which is basically we don't know. The last eval he had the doctor, I swear should not have been in the field he was, he tried telling me that my son certainly couldn't be autistic, because 1. he was friendly, and 2. he would sometimes look you in the eye for a split second. Needless to say I wanted to smack that doc upside the head for being so ignorant.
Anyways...back to why I am considering it again. My oldest has been known to have violent outbursts, and to hit himself. Now he is having at least one outburst a day, usually in the morning, where he screams extremely loud, hits himself in the head, throws things, slams things, and occationally hits others if they are in the way. It is a bunch of screaming and hitting and throwing. He often hits himself in the head, like multiple times a day, it is kinda alarming. He has trouble eating things that have a squishier consistency. He cannot handle bright light(like the sun), in fact it can cause him to start crying if you make him hold his head up. He cannot handle water on his head, at all, so we have resorted to buzzing his hair and using washclothes. Now he can be cuddly at times, but it is on his terms, when he wants it. He often sounds like a parrot, repeating the same things over and over and over again. He copies things he hears on tv, sometimes repeating entire commercials. For his birthday one of his presents was a lego power miners set. And this is what he said when he opened it: "Lego Power Miners, each set sold seperately, by bin master." Of course I cannot put the inflections of voice into my writing, but it was the commercial. Oh and he loves anything lego right now. Lego star wars, lego batman, lego indiana jones, lego mars missions, lego spongebob, well you get the picture. He also loves lego video games, again lego star wars battle game(as he calls it), lego batman, and lego indiana jones. He says battle game after each of them.
He has been able to work a dvd player since he was two, and I mean plug all the wires into it and the tv too.
I don't know the list goes on and on of current and past behaviors. I guess I just needed to vent a little. You know get my frustration out of me and on to something else. Hey it always easy being cheesy. LOL
Well that is it for now...
On to another day.

Uggh...The first year really is tough. I am getting ready to order more books, ones like Saxon Math grade K, as I want a more formal math curriculum to start off. I should have a couple more Janice Vancleave books on the way soon, just love these books, they make learning fun. Another favorite series of books of mine are The Complete Book Series, these books have lots of info in little bite size chunks for kids, a great little series. And some more of the books from E.D. Hirsch Jr's Core Knowledge series, which is also a good little series, great for homeschooling.
D.L will be five in a couple days. Boy where has the time gone. It seems only yesterday I brought him home from the hospital just a wee thing. Now he is four feet tall and towers over most kids his age. He is often mistaken for a six or seven year old, simply for his height. Those who have followed other blogs of mine, I have decided a while ago not to go through with the autism testing now. He has shown such remarkable advancement that I no longer feel it is something to worry about. Sure he still has all the classic signs, but who really needs a label put on them anyway. Teaching him myself is proving to fit us as a family anyway. And if he were labeled there would be such pressure to place him on medication. Isn't it already bad enough he spent most of the first year hooked to a monitor for sleep apnea, and that he has Hashimotos Thyroiditis, and will eventually have to be on meds for that too. I don't need my highly energetic(though sometimes annoying), lust for life child to be walking around like a zombie. Seen that with some before and no thank you.
Boy can I ramble...
D.J is doing great. Growing like a weed and advancing everday. He doesn't speak much(like his older brother didn't until he was almost four), but I can see his inner gears kicking into high gear. LOL and he can say some rather cute things(albeit only a few, but so adorable none the less).
Little Miss is also growing like a weed. She is getting so big, hard to believe she was born about four months ago. She is still so quiet and laid back, though when she wants something she will let you know, in her little yelling coo she does.
Well enough of my mindless ramblings for today...

What am I reading

Right now I am starting The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. So far it is an interesting read if you skip over the Bible section. It has info about a huge range of topics. More on that book as I get into it.
I am also still reading, or should I say finishing, Unit Studies Made Easy by: Valerie Bendt, this book is so helpful when starting out. It is the compilation of three of Valerie Bendts books in one. Great resource for anyone interested in trying out the Unit Study method of homeschooling. It even has a bunch of sample units. A must read in my opinion.
Also Everything You Need to Know about Homeschool Unit Studies: The Anyone Can How-to Guide by: Jennifer Steward. I have only begun this book but already it is quite useful. It comes complete with sample forms in the back.
The last book right now on my desk is The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start by: Linda Dobson. Only just started reading this one, should be an interesting read, though most of the information in it I pretty much already know from years of researching books and the net.
Yeah I know I am a little strange in reading multiple books at once. But this really is just the tip of the iceberg. At any given time I can be seen reading many many books at once. Not to mention the internet.
Till later....

Book Review:

The Organized Home Schooler by: Vicki Caruana

In my opinion this book is aimed at trying to convert unsuspecting non-christian homeschoolers to convert. It is overly preachy, with what I have seen as very little interesting information. There is mention of God or Bible on just about every page, and multiple times at that. Despite it's preachy nature I am still trying to wade through the bull to find a glimpse of good. I purchased this book from amazon not knowing what was really awaiting me. I am always looking for good ways to help me be less organizationally challenged. Since I paid for this, I feel obligated to give it a little more of a look, but I find it so hard when there is so much of a christian slant. More on this book later if I ever pick it up again. Just wanted to give a heads up, buyer beware!!

I have been reading Valerie Bendt's Unit Studies Made Easy. It is a highly informative book, although a little too Christian for my liking. Why does it seem that everything pertaining to homeschooling is Christian? What is a pagan to do? I find myself skipping over chunks of the book just because of its christian views. Oh well, all in all it is still a great read. My plan for homeschooling is unit studies. I believe my oldest would benifit most from this method. However I do plan to use a more formal approach for mathematics and maybe some phonics too. We will see how it goes. Our first unit study is going to be on the Human Body, I think, but mainly on beginning nutrition and fitness. Of course we will learn about the senses and some other stuff too. On to another day of reading.