Redo!!!

Alex had a math test today.  It wasn't a particularly difficult test, but the directions kind of confused him.  The first question told him to use mental math, so he used mental math on ALL the problems.  Whoops.  The total score was 50%. 

I sent the teacher an e-mail explaining what happened and asked if it would be possible for him to re-take the test.  She reset it for us, and this time working out the problems, he got 100%.  If this had happened last year at the b/m school he was attending, I'm pretty sure the teacher wouldn't have allowed it.  I'm so glad we have this level of understanding and flexibility.

GOOD Days

The tantrums and whining were getting to be a bit much for us.  Last week, my husband and I had to sit Alex down and explain to him that this may not be regular public school, but he still needed to do the work.  He doesn't necessarily have to do it happily, but he at least needs to stop his fits and whining.  He wouldn't act that way towards his teachers when he was going to a brick and mortar school, and he shouldn't do it here.  We explained that he would be much happier if he didn't act out so much.  A change of attitude is a MUST.

We now have a reward system in order.  We keep track of his good, non-whiny days on a chart.  There are 30 squares on it.  When he has a sticker in every single box, he gets a special prize.  When we presented ideas for said special prizes, we included really big things like a day at an indoor water park, things that we sweated over because we knew they'd cost big bucks.  Imagine our surprise when he said that he'd much rather have a sleepover here at home with some of his closest friends!  And so far, it's working great!  All three days since the last bad day have been good.  He's gotten a few warning looks, but when he saw the looks, he shaped up immediately.

 
Another good thing that has come from this is that Alex's school days have gotten shorter.  He now realizes that fewer tantrums=work done quicker.  Work done quicker=more time to do the things that he WANTS to do. 

Also, now that he's trying not to whine or throw fits, he's actually having some fun with his different subjects.  He wrote a really fun story today!  Enjoy!

Hands-On Science

Alex had his first science experiment today. The school day was extra long because we had to make a Wal-Mart run this morning to pick up the things he needed for the experiment. We got a late start, but for the most part, it was a fun day.

The experiment was to observe how water moves through plants. We used celery and a white rose as our plants, and we used blue food coloring in the water so that we could actually see the water moving through them. Alex had fun with this experiment mostly because it got him out of the office for a change. :-) It was pretty cool to watch the leaves and petals turning blue, though.

Writing IS fun!

This week, Alex had to write a personal narrative.  At first this seemed a little daunting since he can't stand writing.  So I tried to help him think of fun things to write about.  This was supposed to be personal after all, and who doesn't like to talk about fun times they've had?  I thought I'd post the finished product on here for your enjoyment.  Feel free to comment and make suggestions for improvement!

The Big Championship Game

By Alexander Harbich

It was baseball season.  I was so excited!  My team and I were going to the championships.  We only had 1 loss and 13 wins!  All season I hit the ball.

During the final game, we took the lead.  Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, there was a terrible downpour!  And boy was I mad!  And I mean M-A-D!  We couldn't finish the game with a bunch of puddles on the field.  What were we going to do?

When the rain stopped, the coaches decided to clean the field with a leaf blower, a pail, a rake, a shovel, and a broom.  Then we went back out on the field to finish the game.

The final score was 6 visitors, 11 home!  We won!  I was filled with glee.  I got a trophy.  We took the water barrel and poured it on Coach Adam!

The End

Alex is also very pleased with his latest art project.  The assignment was to draw an animal and show texture using lines.  He's decided that he's really into huskies, so that's the animal he chose to draw.

We're loving this form of education so far.  Sometimes when he's getting to be whiny about the assignments he has to do, all we have to say is, "Ok, maybe we should call your old school to see if they'll take you back."  His answer is always the same.  "No!  I don't want to go back there!"  I'm glad he loves being home with me so much.  :-)

Alex's Favorite Subject

Alex has a new favorite subject this year.  It's art class!  Too bad he only has it one day a week.  On Friday he had to do a water color painting of a tree, so he chose to do a painting of the pine tree in our front yard.  I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt!

 This week is going better than it did last week.  At least we have been able to avoid major tantrums thus far.  There's been a little whining here and there when an assignment called for writing, but I've found that if I just leave the room, he at least gets going on it.  It still takes him a long time, but it's progress.