moving along

Sorry for the lack of posts. I used to be so good about posting, but lately it's been all-Jillian-all-the-time, plus a little bit of old fashioned feeling down.

Lots of things are going on around here. First off, we had Ted tested for his reading. While he can read at an acceptable level (for Horizons), it is frustrating for him, and for us. While no one is ready to slap a label on him this early, he clearly can benefit from some extra help. His friend, who was also struggling, began a reading program at CU. We aren't going to be as dramatic, but he is going to receive some tutoring and we are going to do some more phonics work at home. I could wax on about this for a long time. I'll make it brief, I promise. I was never one of those parents who had my kids do workbooks or flashcards. I sent them outside to play, read to them, and sent them to a play-based preschool. While the theory at Horizons (and in much of Europe) is that children shouldn't be "taught" how to read til 2nd grade, I still "feel" that he needs some solid "tricks" to decode reading. He has a math brain, like his father. It makes sense that he needs a "formula" to learn how to read. There is also a great "Reading Detectives" 2 week summer camp at CU that we may enroll him in, if he needs more support by the end of 1st grade. Anyway, that has had me very guilty and very sad for him. And preoccupied. Paul's dad, when he heard that Ted was without oxygen for a few minutes before the emergency C-section, had wondered if Ted would suffer from any learning disabilities as a result. Hopefully not. Hopefully the extra help will give him the boost he needs to take off. But whatever happens, at least we have a plan to help him.