Progress and Homeschool

"I recently went to the dr. and had only one complaint. Headaches. If it is a headache day it's over. The headache dictates that I accomplish nothing and will ultimately leave me wanting to die. I cannot predict them. They come. Then they go. I have no control. In the realm of family I have an attachment challenged child that is kind of like that. When that child is capable of acting calm and loving then the whole family is peaceful. When that child is not capable of being calm and loving then the entire family pays the price, I get nothing done but damage control, and I fall into bed that night feeling spent and stripped down to nothingness."



The quote above is me in late October. I don't remember what had happened to make me say it. That alone is progress. I truly feel a genuine bond, a genuine sense of love and security happening with G. And quite honestly I attribute it to homeschooling. Of course some days it makes me want to kill him and vice versa I am sure. But the amount of time we spend together creates lots of moments. Chances to get to know each other. Opportunities to make decisions about how we are going to interact. And lately we are both making better choices. Add to that the fact that school caused HUGENORMOUS amounts of stress for him and you now have a much more peaceful child. He is really making such progress in the areas of impulse control. It is both funny and scary that now instead of doing whatever pops into his head (slamming a door, throwing something, whatever) he dialogues it. This morning I asked him to do something, which in the past would have caused a tantrum. Instead, as he walked up stairs to do it he said, "I'm just gonna go downstairs and knock over the tree and break all the ornaments." Of course he didn't, and I think the fact that he heard himself say it out loud made HIM see the ridiculousness (is that a word?) of it. He did what he was asked and came downstairs in a normal mood. Progress.

I also have to put in a good word for a new curriculum I just found. Five In A Row. It is truly wonderful for any attachment challenged child. It is the most low threat curriculum I have ever found. It encourages snuggle time and is very adaptable to what your child can handle on a given day. So, if you need something like that, go check it out or email me for more details(: