I can’t sleep. Yesterday was so exciting, seeing all these children so excited about science, watching my DS talk about how perseverance and hard work is what helped him succeed. YES!!! Never give up; face a failure not as a reason to give-up but as an opportunity to learn and to try something new.
Ahhh, he has it!

There will be around 2500 students attending this 4-day National Science Olympics Competition. lAnd so I’m searching for hotels in Bloomington, IN. And checking out Indiana University, and the schedule of events at IU during the event; speakers, departments will have open-houses, and of course the day-long competition. Wow! And I must help MilitaryKid prepare for his Elementary Science Olympiad competition on April 8th. So much to do!

On top of all this excitement, today is my 23rd wedding anniversary. I would do it all over again. It has been a good 23 years; we’ve each been very good for each other. I haven’t planned anything for the day, and imagine that we will just rest, relax, go to church, and do the normal Sunday stuff.

Today was Delaware’s Jr High Science Olympiad Competition. Our team home school was one of 60 teams competing in Dover today. ScienceKid and his teammate had 3 events:

Storm the Castle—he built a trebuchet that used a counter-weight to throw a projectile ’some’ distance. The counter-weight and projectile weight were unknown until after the vehicle was impounded. Once given this information he then had to tell the judge where to set the castle such that the projectile hit the target. The score was based upon a portfolio containing data and graphs, distance thrown and accuracy to the target. ScienceKid took FIRST PLACE!!!

Wheeled Vehicle—he built a rubber-band-powered car that had to travel some distance between 5-10m, and stop just prior to the finish line, and he had to predict how long it would travel before stopping. The distance was given to the student after the vehicle was impounded, and ScienceKid had built-in a break mechanism so the vehicle would stop at the finish line. ScienceKid took FOURTH PLACE!!!!! (ugh, if only it had been lined up better…)

Ecology—this was a study event, and the students were told to just study this topic, no real guidelines for what to study. ScienceKid took SIXTH PLACE!!!

Many kids walked away without receiving even one medal and ScienceKid did quite well to medal in all three of his events.

On top of this Home School Team finished in THIRD PLACE, and as such is once again going to the National Competition, being held at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.

Whenever I hear a story about a child being spanked, or beaten two thoughts flood my memory. The first is from my own childhood; the scene starts in the dining room with a mother instructing her young child to go to the server to retrieve the paddle and to bring it back to her. The young child does as she is told, and then is spanked on the butt. I do not remember the pain, but I do remember the hatred it conjured up in the young child toward the mother. The offense is forgotten, the pain is forgotten. but the injury to the relationship between the mother and child is never forgotten.

Fast forward to another home where the young child is now a young mom to a very active, spirited 19month old boy. Grandparents are visiting for the weekend, and the young boy is climbing on the chairs, up walls, and getting into all sorts of rough-house mischief. The young mom reigns in her son, tries to put the child into time-out but must restrain him in his chair. The young mom would not learn until several months later that her consistent but gentle restraining and refusal to spank this spirited child has taught the young boy that time-outs are much shorter if he sits still in his time-out. He learns to use this time to settle himself down. It would be many years later before this young mom learns that her spirited boy also has ADHD and has severe auditory processing disorder making it difficult for his brain to quickly process the sounds in his world. But on this particular day the young mom is urged by the grandmother to spank the boy, that all he really needs is a good ol’fashion spanking to fix his behavior. The young mom refuses to spank the boy, and even though the grandmother further protests that the young mom’s methods are obviously not working, the young mom refuses to spank her child.

The young boy is now a young man who has never been spanked. He is a well disciplined, well behaved, a thoughtful young man who diligently does as he is told, appropriately questions as he feels fit and is a pleasure to be with. How thankful I am that I rejected the punishment methods used upon me and found an alternative means to train up my child with love. And so last night when it was brought to my attention that my blog was housed on a site supportive of corporal punishment of children I found an alternative location to blog.

I will boycott The Pearls, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Homeschool Blogger, and as always urge parents to learn discipline methods that do not rely upon a rod or other physical punishment to train up a child. To read more about this boycot and the reason behind it, please visit this blogpost:

http://asmallcornerofnowhere.blogspot.com/2006/03/open-letter-in-support-of-boycott.html

SPANKING IS WRONG. THERE IS NEVER, EVER A REASON TO HIT, STRIKE, or SPANK a child. We have a mind, use it.

ScienceKid is participating in Science Olympiad, for the first time. Last year our hs group went to the National competition at the U of Illionis, and asked ScienceKid to join the team as their only alternate. He would only get to participate if someone got sick or couldn’t go at the last minute. Pat and I looked at this as an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance of going to a National Competition. How could we pass this up? ScienceKid and I drove from DE to Il, took in every SO program and lecture, attended scores of SO events, and had a fabulous time. I came back kicking myself for not having signed my DS up for this team.

This year ScienceKid joined the team and was assigned Storm-the-Castle; he built a trebuchet and must hit a small target on competition day, wheeled vehicle; he built a rubber-powered car that must stop on a target and get there in the shortest time possible; and Ecology. ScienceKid has had a great time learning to use his Dad’s woodworking equipment, constructing the objects with his Dad, and discussing the mechanics of how to do what needs to be done with his Dad. This past weekend was to be data-collection time, however early on Saturday ScienceKid learned that the Trebuchet’s arm was warped and had to be re-built.

Today ScienceKid came into the house and said ”Mom, Do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Having just learned that one of our Elementary Science Olympiad families, with 2 kids in ESO, needed to drop-out due to a family health crisis, and as coach I need to find two replacements, I was in a sour mood. “Give it both to me, quick.”

“The Good News is that the arm is throwing straight and hitting the box every time. The Bad News is that the arm is throwing about 3′ further than it did before which means we need to collect ALL the data over again.”

“That is Great News. Reproducible and further!”

Oh, great! Now we have to somehow get back into the Public School’s Gym to do a bunch of throws, collect data, make new graphs, and the competion is just a week from Saturday. Nothing like crunch time. I guess we could use this as an excuse to throw in the towel, like one ESO mom wants to do upon hearing that her DS’ partner had to drop out from ESO due to a family health crisis. But what would that be teaching the child?

No, when life throws you lemons son, you make lemonade. When you encounter a problem, or a set-back, use it as an opportunity to figure out a work-able solution, try it out, and if it doesn’t work, then try, try again. That was the first poem both my DSs memorized;

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

To learn about Science Olympiad, visit:

http://www.soinc.org/index.htm

Last evening I had a lengthy conversation with my Dad who is 87. He shared that the latest CAT scan found several new cancer spots in his liver and the Dr is hoping that the chemo will take care of these spots.

If only he had taken care of himself. A medic in WWII he always shyed away from visiting a Dr, or having any of us visit a Dr.

Then last spring some blood work indicated that some things were out-of-wack. His Dr of 15 yrs finally insisted that Dad have that colonoscopy that he had been avoiding. Almost as if avoiding a medical test would prevent some terrible medical illness, my Dad had avoided routine medical tests over the years.

Dad went in for the colonoscopy in July to learn that he had a 2″ tumor in his upper GI. Surgery in August removed the tumor, however it had metastasized across the GI wall, into the nodes along a section of the GI track, and as we learned a month later, metastasized to the liver. In early November Dad had 1/3 of his left liver removed and several tumors in the right liver ablated.

In January Dad returned to have 2 more tumors in his liver ablated. If only he had taken care to have a simple colonoscopy done every 5 or 10 years. I know it is a simple test since I have gone through one, and I will go through one again in 5 years. Not because they found something with me but because my Dad was found with something.

Colonoscopy; make sure your older family members have had their colonoscopy. It is a simple test, and it could save their lives, so that they can be a grandparent to your child. This is the last grandparent my boys have, the only grandparent that they even know. If only it wasn’t so.

“Mom, only 5 more days.” MilitaryKid shouts knowing that i know just what he means.

“Yes, only 5 more days, but hasn’t being 9 been fun?”

“Nine’s been the BEST year.”

And so it goes throughout the day; just as it has gone everyday for the last 28 days, MilitaryKid reminding us of how soon until his birthday, how soon he will suddenly be a double-digit. All too soon. Enjoy the journey.

I have been sicker then sick the past 3 weeks; first I had bronchitis, then the flu, and then in the middle of the flu I came down with the stomach virus my kids had. Last week I celebrated….no, I didn’t go out drinking and dancing but just enjoyed the days knowing, or thinking that I was healthy since I didn’t need any medicine to help me combat some ailment. Then on Friday my throat began to get itchy, and a good ole’fashion cold came on me. Yesterday was a wash-out but the boys knew the routine and read and read. That’s what they’ve been trained to do when Mom is either sick or away.

It works. Amazing how kids can be trained.

Today I was able to try out our new schoolroom. Ahhh, it worked great. ScienceKid and I did math at the table with the sun streaming in, while MilitaryKid sat at his desk looking up English words steming from Latin roots in the dictionary. We did a little school-seat work in other areas of our home but I think that’s because everyone is still adjusting to the new organized space. Later the boys moved into the living room and I listened as ScienceKid read Lord of the Ring to MilitaryKid on the sofa. So nice. It was a good school day. What a great journey!

Several weeks ago school was not going very well at all. MiltaryKid would float from room to room, trying desperatly to find a spot to do math, or spelling, or writing. When he would try to work at the same table as ScienceKid, ScienceKid would yell and complain, tell him to go elsewhere, and little school work was accomplished. I did not care for the school mess in the family room AND the living room AND the kitchen AND the dining room. Desperate for help I called in my HS friends, Kristi and Terri to brainstorm how I could rearrange; how I could organize this crap so that we might school in peace; how to not have a house littered with HS stuff all over the place.

I wanted all the HS stuff in one room. I did not want to send the boys off to their rooms, nor did I want a school desk in their rooms. Face contact is important to me plus I need to be able to keep an eye on ScienceKid and help him to stay focused on school work.

So Terri, Kristi and I drank coffee, and chatted, and brainstormed. Suddenly Terri, aka Organizational Queen, noted that a workarea all along the one dining room wall would look really cool. I listened, I could see it working. The following day I measured, drew up my plans, and chatted with another friend about my plans. I ignored her comments and went forward with Terri’s and Kristi’s ideas. I do not have dining room furniture and I don’t see us obtaining any such pieces anytime in the near future.

This is MiltaryKid in front of his new desk. Terri’s plan for a workarea wall; a bookcase, a desk with drawers, bookcases perpendicular to the wall to act as a visual barrier between the boys, a desk for ScienceKid, and another bookcase can really be seen in this photo. Each boy has a bulletin board over his desk, his own lamp, and his own trash can.

We still have a hs table but now it is in front of our east facing bay window.
Continuing around the room; for now this little corner is our paper and pen storage area. I’d love to find a little corner unit to hold the PC but so far I haven’t had any luck finding that.
From the little corner we have a doorway into the foyer and then this area. Yes, that’s a full 8′ air hockey table DH purchased for the family for Christmas. I told him he wouldn’t be able to get it downstairs to the basement, but he purchased it anyway, so here it sits. We do enjoy playing it and there’s plenty of room to play anytime. We have a few more bookcases and some fun posters the boys picked out.
For now we have some milk crates stashed in this corner for all the library books we bring home every week. And so we have made our little tour around the school room.

I love the room. All the HS stuff is out of the living room, AND the Kitchen, AND the family room, AND into its place in our new school room. Now I just have to patch all the holes from our bulletin boards and the dings from the bookcases in the living room walls, then I can paint the living room. But that will be in another season.

PS—the room has worked really well, the boys still work on the floor in other rooms or we cuddle together on the living room sofa for reading time, but we all are not wasting time looking for their books, and stuff is not all over our home.

What shall I write? A story of our trip to IKEA where we picked up 2 desks and more bookshelves? We’ve been hs’ing since ‘99 and afterschooling before that, but we are finally turning one room into a designated schoolroom. The boys need it. MiltaryKid needs a place where he can call his own, to write his narrations or do his math fact sheets. ScienceKid needs a spot he can spread out in but yet is restricted also so he doesn’t spread his papers, books, and what’s not all over all horizontal surfaces.

We have turned our dining room, aka empty space holding an air hockey table and a work table into our school room When it is completed I’ll post some photos. But this is not the reason I started this blog. I am doing this for me, for me to write a record of our journey through the high school years. It is unreal to me that my son will enter 9th grade in the fall. I remember my own high school years, how I became so distant to my parents. I welcome the knowledge and the stories of parents and kids staying close due to HS’ing through high school, but also fear that my son and I will become distant. I do not want that. ScienceKid is so special; he deals with ADHD and CAPD, is borderline genius, and often exhibits maturity well beyond my years. Ahh, but then his childish frustrations at his brother can be heard above his Dad’s calm instructions of how to assembly the desk. Such a tightrope we walk.

And at times I need someone to talk with, to lift my thoughts off my shoulders and so this will be the place for that too.

So, welcome friend. Come in, have a cup of tea or a glass of wine.