Another great week. School - for some reason sadly unknown to me - is going so smoothly this year. I've thought about it a lot and have come up with two possible reasons for this.
First, my second son has always had a problem focusing. This slows him down in his schoolwork which frustrates him. It also makes me nag him a lot which irritates both of us. Apparently this is not an isolated problem among boys. This summer I was reading one mom's solution. She has her son wear an ipod which is playing classical music. So in desperation but not holding out much hope I asked my husband to load an ipod with classical music. The theory is that with the music playing directly into their ears through the earbuds it helps to drown out other distractions, and listening to classical music is good for brain development.
Well, let me tell you - it works. About a week into school the ipod battery ran out so we had a day without it. I could not believe the difference. I was back to nagging every five minutes, and it took my son so much longer to get through his work. I'm sold. I'll be interested to see if his overall average this year is higher than last year. I think it might be. Even though he's finishing faster, his marks are the same or better than last year so I know he's not finishing faster just because he's rushing through to be done.
Secondly, I've come up with some activities for my toddler that he can do on his own or with minimal input from me. This is important. My toddler is a high needs little guy. I'm going to do a post soon on all the activities we've come up with for him to do. He's so much happier this year - less tears = less stress. Now if someone could only tell me how I can cut his hair without him acting like he's enduring unspeakable torture.
My baby is working hard to grow up faster than I think he should. He pulls himself up now next to furniture and occasionally lets go to free stand. He's also climbing the stairs so we have to keep an ever watchful eye out for that. He's also in the middle of his first cold. True to his nature, he's the happiest sick baby I've ever seen.
I've lost 24 pounds now on my diet and I'm seeing numbers on the scale that I haven't seen in about eight years. It feels so good.
My oldest son is still visiting cousins, and I miss him a lot. It's so wonderful though that he can have this time to cement his friendship with his oldest cousin (on my side) especially. I know he'll come home with a lot of good memories, and I can hardly wait for that day.
Pretty soon I will hit the 100 posts mark. My husband and I have been talking about what we can do to make this special - since I never thought I would make it this far. So be on the lookout for that announcement.
That's about all for now. A great all-round week. How do you help your children focus? Does your toddler scream when he gets his haircut (at the same time he was assuring us that it didn't hurt. I ask you then - Why scream?)?
Recap from this week:
Library Time Week 9
Triple Twist Bun
Tradition, Tradition
Recap from this week:
Library Time Week 9
Triple Twist Bun
Tradition, Tradition
I'm going to have to try the music thing with Sara bcs she also distracts too easily. As for Teddy, he screams, cries, wriggles, you name it when we cut his hair. He says it hurts. I've even tried just using scissors but even then. :(
ReplyDeleteAn iPod with classical music... What a great idea! My youngest (7 years old) is the wiggler and just cannot concentrate. We use a stress ball or gum or a ball to sit on, but I'll have to try classical music too. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteJoy - Ethan sobbingly assured us that it didn't hurt, but asked every thirty seconds if we were done yet. This explains why his hair looks a little longish before I cut it.
ReplyDeleteWanda - I wish so much I had learned this iPod secret years ago. It really is almost like magic. Let me know how it works for you.