The Return

 Summer is over and school has just begun!  It was a busy summer, and I suffered from what I call "summer brain."  So I told myself I would start blogging again once school started, so here I am!  This is the first year since the Bug was 3 that he didn't have summer school.  He didn't qualify because he retains his skills!  So his amazing teacher said she would work with us over the summer with a packet and weekly phone calls.  She was a life saver, and she always had an idea of what we could do to help him.  I am forever grateful for her, and so excited that he gets her as his teacher again this year!

One thing I knew about being home all summer is that we needed a schedule, and having that made all the difference.  His teacher even made a picture schedule for us so that he could see what was coming up.  It worked really well, and I loved it when he would go get it to tell and show me that he wanted something like "toys."

Doing "school" with the Bug was a unique challenge.  He has a hard time focusing and gets frustrated and I took a lot of hits.  It was hard for me not to feel upset too, because there I was trying so hard to help him, and I at times felt it wasn't working.  

One day I had an amazing experience while trying to do math.  I was starting to feel extra frustrated because he wouldn't focus when the thought came, "It is more important that you show him you love him than teach him math."  It was a turning point for me, and it became my focus.  I would try to remember that as we worked, and I found myself having an increase of patience.

It was wonderful to see him progress and seeing things "click" for him.  His pre-reading skills are really coming a long, and he is able to recognize several words.

The summer was long, and not without difficulty, but it was worth it.  Toward the end of the summer, I started to have a really hard time and felt "done."  It would be really easy to let myself sit there in pity, and have my whole day be ruined because of the things he was doing. What I had to start doing was letting myself have that moment of sadness, or anger, or whatever and move on.  It was only a moment when he was cracking eggs all over the kitchen floor or painting with yogurt, and there were always moments of joy and preciousness that out weighed the bad.  

He is so in tune with other people's emotions, especially mine.  So if I were to feel extra frustrated, he would act out more.  I am just so grateful for prayer and whisperings of the spirit, for that is what truly makes the difference.

On another note, we finally have a fence!!!  It was finished at the first of July, and we spent hours out there.  So here are a few pictures of our summer and some awesome drawings from the Bug.