September 16

P is off taking his Praxis Math test. This is the test that he needs to pass in order to teach math. He will need to take a more general test later just to teach. If he doesn't pass this test, he can use it to figure out if he needs to take any math classes before he takes it again. His classes have been going well. The only problem now is that he stays on campus all day on Tuesday and Thursday. The good thing is that he gets all his studying done that day and that he is now signed up for the tutoring service. The bad thing is that he has one class at 8am and the next one at 5:30pm, so it's a long wait. But, it doesn't make sense to come home because of the gas involved.

L and C have been doing pretty well in schoolwork. We do have our bumps in the road and I'm having to work with them about making sure all the work gets done. I'm really excited about C's reading. He is reading much better, although he still has some trouble with the vowels in the middle of words. I'm really excited that he can write simple sentences. He has some special techniques that he has learned with his reading program to help him along like "sentence pounding" and "finger tapping". Sounds a little strange at first, but really works for him. Whether he's dyslexic or not, we certainly are seeing some improvement in his reading. L is improving quite a bit in art. The influence of a different art teacher is amazing. C is doing a lot more drawing these days, so I think I may add some art to his days as well. They are both doing Spanish on the computer with good results. The neighbor kids are bilingual, so maybe they can help L and C with their vocabulary and usage.

We have been watching Fiddler on the Roof because L has been studying Russia. There is a ton of stuff in that movie that I want the kids to learn, but we don't have nearly enough time to cover. I have decided that we're going to take a week off of Sonlight and do Fiddler on the Roof the week of September 25. L already knows a lot about Russia, but Chris doesn't, so I'll have him do some stuff to learn about the country and it's history. I would like L to learn about the history of the late 19th and early 20th century, especially the rise of Marxism and socialism. She's really not old enough to understand all the political, philosophical, and sociological ramifications, but I think she's old enough to study the history and start to engage those ideas. Perchik, in the movie, is a revolutionary, and I would like her to understand what that means. I want to spend a significant amount of time learning about Judaism and it's festivals, etc. From a historical perspective, the kids really are going to learn a lot about pogroms and persecution of the Jews. But, I want to follow that up with a discussion of Zionism and the formation of the state of Israel. They don't need to get into all the political ins and outs, but they need to learn about when and how the nation of Israel came about (something I didn't learn until I was an adult). So, I may be crazy to try this, but I think it will be a fun and educational week.

My disability insurance company is stalling again. This time, they are considering an independent medical evaluation. I am going to see another neurologist next week (not for an IME, just for another opinion about the migraines). I have weaned off my Topamax (almost completely) and my acute headache meds (although I had a migraine today that I treated - I use acute headache meds twice a week, three times if I'm desperate). My PCP and I have a plan to start another anti-seizure medication unless this neurologist has other recommendations. I'm really frustrated about the insurance. Every roadblock makes me feel like they think I'm lying. And I'm not. I'm certainly not in a position to return to work full-time, but I would be thrilled to be able to go back to part-time work. So, we'll see what happens.

A couple of days ago, I wanted to go for a walk with the kids. They didn't really want to go, but I told them they had to. We finally decided to go on the trail by the river, but then the kids wanted to ride bikes. So, we decided to ride bikes. I ride my bike every few weeks, but not for very long distances and not off-road (although it is an on-road/off-road bike). The trail we went on is generally packed dirt, but there are some sections that had recently added dirt, so it wasn't packed and the recent rain had made it mud. Several areas were deep enough mud that we had to walk our bikes. I didn't like going up the hills, but I really enjoyed when I got to coast down a nice gentle hill. I got to the top of one hill and was very ready to coast down, but the kids said that I needed to get off my bike and walk down the next hill. Indeed, had I ridden down that steep hill right toward the river, I would have likely ended up right in the river. The trail is much faster riding than walking, but I was seriously sore at the end of the ride. What a mess we were! Both kids and I had mud all over our shoes and on the bottom of our pants. We had a blast, though! And I'm looking forward to doing it again.