I thought you were exaggerating.

My son who started college 3 weeks ago is feeling overwhelmed as he creates his “to-do” lists for his classes.  This is what we hear during and after the list making process:

“How am I supposed to get all of this done?”

“I have a project and my homework to complete for Statistics!”

“I need to read, take notes, and write an essay.”

“When am I supposed to _____?”

Background

My son was homeschooled for 7 years throughout middle and high school.  We knew he planned on going to college.  We prepped him for it.  We made sure he had the classes he would need. We worked REALLY hard to get him to practice and utilize good study habits. 

The challenge my son has in implementing good study habits (setting a schedule, organizing himself, time management, etc) is that he has ADD so these are not traits that come easily to him.  

Every year, every day, we have talked through strategies that might be helpful to him.  We have read information.  We have shared information.  We have asked for input from him to try to figure out how to best help him help himself.  

We have used wall calendars.  We have used Google Calendar and the task list.  We have listed work on a white board in order of priority after talking through the process of prioritizing.  We have talked about reasonable time limits for work.

High School

As S made his way through high school, we continued to stress the importance of having a list, a plan, a schedule, etc. to get his work done in a timely fashion.  This would allow him to have free time which we all need.

As college became a reality, my husband and I told him that the work was going to be more difficult.  It was going to be faster. It was going to be a balance between the classes.  College professors aren’t overly concerned with the fact that you have a project, test, and paper due all the same week or day.

College

Now that my son is in college and can see all of his work up on his 4 month calendar, the reality of the pace and workload is upon him.  See the above quotes.

Yesterday, as we drove to campus, he was telling me AGAIN that the pace is just crazy.  

How are we supposed to learn that quickly?

You are in college.  This is how it is.  We have been telling you that for years.

I know, but I didn’t think you were telling me the truth.  I thought you were exaggerating to get my attention.

Nope.  Nothing but the facts.

I will be on the couch with chocolate, and I’m not exaggerating about that!

This school has closed.

The Final Wrap Up

My son graduated last month.  We took his party on the road and celebrated in Minnesota at the end of June.  While we were there, someone made a comment about our school.  My husband said, “That school is closed.”  He’s right.  The end of an era has come to our house.

We didn’t set out to be a homeschooling family.  In the end, we were a homeschool/public school family.  We had one son in each setting.  We were a “do what is best for each child” family.  

For S, we decided that homeschooling him was the best option after attending public elementary school.  He was homeschooled for half of third grade in California prior to moving to Virginia. Once we moved here, he attended public school for 2 ½ years.  We made the decision to start homeschooling him for sixth grade and continued on until the end.  It’s been quite a journey!

The past week has been spent cleaning out school “stuff” from our house.  It has been a process. I thought we had cleaned out quite a bit last summer.  There were still a lot of things shoved on the bookshelves, in binders, in closets, and in files.  We have three bins of stuff to give away to friends.  It is amazing how much stuff we had considering that my son did the majority of his work through computerized options.

We reorganized the office area that my son worked in and made it more of a college student type space.  It looks very different in there.  Times are changing here.

I’m not sure what this next year looks like for me.  It will be very different.  I will be busy as we support my son in his transition to college.

Now that my office is organized and my school is closed, there will be a lot of time for me to be on the couch with chocolate...

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Going to Minnesota is NOT relaxing!

My family just returned from an 11 day road trip to Minnesota the other night.  That trip is approximately 2800 miles round trip on top of the more than 300 additional miles driving around while we were there.  Why would did we do that?  My children have asked us that question many times.  The answer is simple:

He graduated, and we took his party on the road!

Why did we take his party on the road?  Because all of our family members live in Minnesota with the exception of my husband’s niece who came back from Nashville to celebrate with us.  We figured it was easier to get four of us to Minnesota rather than bringing so many people to Virginia.

[I told my children taking a long road trip like that gives them stories to talk about at future gatherings.  “Do you remember when mom and dad made us drive to Minnesota?”  J was writing during the trip because there were some very funny moments to be written down.]

We crammed a lot into our trip.  We took 3 days to get to Minnesota.

 

Pastries from our friend's bakery in Ohio.

My husband celebrating Father's Day in Iowa after two days of traveling.  

We toured the University of Iowa….

and I fell walking during the tour.

Made it to Minnesota!

Minneapolis skyline

We toured the University of Minnesota

We attended a Twins baseball game.

We went to the lake for a day of fun.

We attended a family reunion for my mother-in-law’s family.  It was for her siblings and their families.  There were approximately 100 people there. My husband hadn’t seen some of his cousins in 27 years since we had our wedding.  It was fun to visit with everyone.  The next day was….

The reason for the trip:  The Party

J had a creative moment with crayons and Goldfish crackers.

We drove home in two days...two very LONG days!

West Virginia

The western part of Virginia.  We live on the other side of the state.  We were getting closer!

For the Fourth of July weekend, we are doing nothing.  The boys want to stay home and not get in the van.  You will find me on the couch with chocolate or in the pool, depends what the weather is like.

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I think we should take my Bulgarian flag.

My son recently graduated from high school, and we decided to have his graduation party in Minnesota where all of our family lives (we live in Virginia).  Everything we needed for the party needed to be transported, so we had to be very organized and creative in our planning.

I spent hours going through pictures trying to find ones to display on the photo boards.  J put them together.  My husband spent hours some time going through pictures to create a slideshow before J took that task over on our drive to Minnesota.  There is plenty of time to do that when you drive 1400 miles.

The challenge we had for the photo boards which were displayed in chronological order (like a timeline for my son who is passionate about history) was how to handle the first 4 years of his life.  My son is very open about the fact that he was adopted from Bulgaria at the age of 4. Although he is very open about that fact, he doesn’t want to make any connection to Bulgaria. “That is in the past.  I live here.  I am American.”

We talked about the fact that he can’t ignore the first 4 years of his life.  We discussed ways to display that time.  We had a header for the far left side of the board, “Bulgaria”, and it listed the dates from his birth until his Gotcha Day.  We included a few pictures because that is all we had. He gave us the okay on the pictures we used.  We also included a map of Bulgaria showing where he lived and a map of Europe showing where Bulgaria is located.

The day before we left, this was a quick conversation that we had:

S:  "I think we should take my Bulgarian flag for the party.”

Me (astonished):  “I think that is a great idea!”

This was huge!  He even knew exactly where it was in his room which was also a big deal.

The Bulgarian flag stood next to his Bulgarian passport near the left side of the boards.  The far right side of the boards shows all the places he has been.  The pictures in between tell his story up to this point.  

It was so fun to hear everyone’s recollections at the party as they looked at the pictures. “Do you remember when….?”  

First day of PreK

Graduation

You will find me on the couch with chocolate enjoying life.

A Week of Milestones

The College Student

As you can see by my new heading, S has graduated!!  The festivities started last Friday when we headed up to Richmond to the Homeschool convention.  That day we checked him in for graduation, signed his diploma, and sent him off to the Senior Meet and Greet.  He originally had not planned on attending this event; however, he was glad he decided to go.  

Saturday was the big day.  We headed back up to Richmond for commencement practice and the commencement ceremony.  I have to give a shout out to HEAV for a phenomenal job on the commencement ceremony! I made contact with them back in the fall to check on accessibility for S, and everything was in place on Saturday.  The ceremony was very nice, and S was glad he participated in it (again, something he didn’t want to do in the fall).

After the ceremony, we were going to eat at The Cheesecake Factory except there was an hour wait.  We headed to Q’s Barbecue for supper and went back to The Cheesecake Factory to get cheesecake to go.  It was quite yummy!

On Monday, S found out that his College Algebra course has been approved as a transfer credit and his Math Placement Test was waived!  Tuesday he met with the Director of Disabled Student Services to get his accommodations put in place, and he is now registered for Fall classes.  He is starting with English Composition I, Statistics, and College Survival Skills.  We decided that it was better to start slowly and be successful instead of completely overwhelming him.  The Director talked to S about taking the German CLEP to test out of foreign language.  He is pumped up about that.  

Everything S wanted done before we head to Minnesota has been complete.  He is quite happy about that.  

The Junior

J is finally done with school.  He still had 2 exams on Monday:  English and PreCalc.  He is now done!

J hit a big milestone this past week also.  He finished his behind the wheel and passed his driver’s test!  He is a licensed driver.  Woo hoo!  

He has driven himself to/from practice starting on the first day.  It was a little stressful for me, but I know it is part of the process. The coach's wife has him text her when he gets to his car after leaving the gym, and he has to call/text her when he gets home. He has to let us know when he arrives at the gym and when he is ready to leave. He knows that everyone just wants him to be safe and know where he is at.

J missed practice Monday night.  My parents were flying home on Tuesday, so he wanted to spend time with them.  He also had his driver’s test at 6:50 AM Tuesday morning, so we wanted him to be well rested.

Next week, J has two college visits.  Busy, busy!

On the Homefront

We did it!  We managed to get S through middle school and high school.  My husband was very sweet.  He bought me flowers and gave me some cards thanking me for all of my hard work homeschooling S. He’s a keeper!

My parents flew in for the commencement ceremony.  It was a crazy week while they were here. J was doing his behind the wheel.  His school schedule was crazy due to exams.  He had practice.  

My parents and J hung out on Friday afternoon while my husband and I took S up to Richmond. We had the opportunity to connect with a college friend of mine while S was at the Meet and Greet.  It has been 14 years since we have seen her.  We had a great visit.  We may have been a little loud.  We met up with my friend again on Saturday before commencement.  She knows my parents.  It was another loud visit, but it was fun.  

The commencement ceremony was very nice.  J took pictures for us during the ceremony, so we were able to enjoy the whole experience and appreciate the moment.   

It has been HOT here this week.  The heat index has been in triple digits for too many days. Enough said!

Since J has his license, he has started driving himself to/from practice. My husband and I now have extra time in the evening. It is quite strange. We could get used to this.

What have I written this week?

Maintaining Birth/Cultural Ties

We will be on the road this weekend, so you won’t find me on the couch with chocolate.  You will find me in the van with chocolate (see below)!  

We used to eat Ritter Sports when we lived in Germany.
I found this box at Sam's Club for a very yummy price.

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An essay from my son: I have been able to be successful.

My son had to write an essay about himself this fall.  I think he did a great job of explaining himself.  I asked him if I could use it on my blog, and he gave me permission.  I have been hanging onto it waiting for the right time.  That time is now.  My son is graduating this weekend.  

You will find me on the couch with chocolate celebrating this milestone in my son's life. He has worked very hard to get here!

I have been able to be successful.

  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3 New International Version (NIV)) This was my confirmation verse and it has a special meaning to me because I have multiple disabilities. I’ve been able to be successful because of the people God has put in my life to help me on my journey. I think it is important to advocate for people who have disabilities, so they also have the chance to succeed in life as I have had so far.

I have three disabilities: CP, Low Vision, and ADD. My CP affects everything. However, the CP primarily affects my arms and legs. I started out using a walker. Now, I walk with crutches and I can also walk with one crutch. I can even walk short distances without any support. I use leg braces to help keep my legs straight when I walk. I use my own personal manual wheelchair to save energy and get around quickly when I have to travel long distances. I have always had problems with my vision; however, I recently received the label Low Vision. In the fourth grade, I was diagnosed with ADD. Even with my disabilities, I still have been successful in my life so far.

The reasons for my success are my parents, doctors, therapists, friends, other people and Faith. My parents have battled school systems to ensure that I’ve gotten a good education like everyone else. One school district suggested that I needed to be in a special school as a result of my disability. My parents said no and that I would be attending a regular public school. I have had good doctors and therapists. I have friends and other people who have helped me when I’ve needed help. My friends have made sure that when they plan activities that I can participate as well. At the end of the day, the number one reason why I am successful is because of my faith in Jesus Christ. I always pray for a better tomorrow, especially on the days that I’m physically struggling.

I think it is very important that all children and adults who have disabilities get the services and tools that they need in order to be successful. If they require certain adaptations in order to get tasks done and make their lives run smoothly, I think steps should always be taken in order that people with disabilities have access to them. If a person with a disability requires therapies, medications, or medical care, then I believe that steps should also be taken to ensure that they can gain access to them quickly without getting the run around from other people. I think it's very important to advocate for those who have a disability because I believe that everybody deserves a chance.

In conclusion, I do have a unique combination of disabilities. I have been able to be successful so far in life because I have had some help along the way. Everybody deserves a chance like I have been given.

Graduation is 8 days away!

The Senior

S has had an easy week.  He attended a luncheon on Monday to hear a speaker discuss the French influence on the construction of some Army installations near us.  He loved that. Tuesday’s chiropractic appointment was cancelled because the doctor was sick; however, I didn’t check my voicemail prior to leaving for the office in a massive storm.  Oops! Today he has horseback riding.

On the school side, he has been wrapping up his German IV course.  Graduation is in 8 days!!

Last week I wrote how S was waiting to hear from the community college about his College Algebra course but his transcript had disappeared.  It has been found.  He is now waiting on the official verdict as to whether or not he needs to take the Math placement test and if he will get credit for the course.  Looking forward to that decision being made so he can register for his classes.

The Sophomore

J had a great week!  His braces came off on Monday!!!!!!

He’s busy wrapping things up at school.  It is locker clean out time. Oh my word! High school is better than elementary school, but it is still a lot. He came home the other day with his PE shirt and books he had used for sophomore summer reading. We also had the AP History study book and flashcards. He had ideas as to who we could give these items too. Great idea! We are quickly handing things off to families with rising sophomores. The PE shirt is going to a rising freshman.  These families are helping us out by taking this stuff.
J's last day is June 15, a Monday.  Not only is it a Monday, they are taking finals so the kids have to be there.  Finals start next Wednesday afternoon.  He is exempt from the one Wednesday afternoon.  Thursday, Friday, and Monday are two exams each day.  He is exempt from the second one on Thursday.  Being exempt means he can leave campus. He likes that. They get the exemptions if they pass their SOLs (state testing).  They can be recommended to take the final if their final grade can be helped by it.

We scheduled J’s behind the wheel training to get his license.  That will start next Monday. These next few weeks are not going to be any less crazy around here.  We used to say “wait until things get back to normal” but we know that this is our normal.

On the Homefront

As noted from above, it’s been busy here.  We had a great time on our trip to South Carolina last weekend, but we were tired when we got home Sunday night.  

It was a busy week with appointments.  Tuesday we had bad storms and our power went out for 3 hours.  Of course, J had homework that required internet access.  Everything S wanted to get done on Tuesday afternoon required the computer and internet access so we read instead.  

It has been quite rainy here all week.  That makes it hard to get outside work done, and our backyard needs a great deal of TLC.  I happened to see an episode of “Yard Crashers” while we were in the hotel in South Carolina.  I need that to happen to us.

I have been cleaning off bookshelves. I started doing this last summer. Even so, it is amazing how much school "stuff" has accumulated through the years, and I have only homeschooled one child who did the majority of his work on the computer. We have friends from church who homeschool, so I offer my stuff to them.  I realized yesterday that I hadn't cancelled our annual subscription to ALEKS, so I got on that quickly. We have used this for S's math for 5 years, and it was a great fit for him. I have also been printing end of year/school documents: grades, transcripts, reading logs, course descriptions. I have one final letter to send to our school district stating, "S has graduated."

This weekend will be busy.  One of our pastors is moving to New Jersey.  Saturday afternoon their family and dog are supposed to come and hang out at our house while there is an Open House held at their house. That evening is a farewell dinner/program at church.  We are only going to the program.  They are expecting quite a few people which is good; however, it is very difficult for S to get around safely with that many people there.  

We are having friends over along with our pastor and his family Sunday evening for cake and ice cream.

My parents are flying in on Tuesday for S’s commencement.  There will be some house cleaning happening here!  They sleep in S's room when they visit, so he knows his room needs to be cleaned. It's not as bad as it has been in the past, so it shouldn't take him very long.

What did I write this week?

It has taken a village…

Celebrating Adoption Day

This weekend you will find me on the couch with chocolate watching the Dateline episode about medical marijuana on June 7.  My friend is in this episode.  She is an amazing woman!  

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