Wordless Wednesday-Homeschool Organization

Please ignore the mess.

The contraptions on top are dish drainers. I copied the idea from Day by Day Discoveries.

This is a sideboard from the thrift store. It cost $15. I'll get a replacement handle eventually.

It Really Shouldn't Be This Hard

I am on a mission to find something that does not exist. The technology is readily available, but not in the form I seek. I need a big mp3 player. That's not too much to ask is it? Well it seems like it is.

My father-in-law is 84 years old and newly blind. He has mobility issues and a loss of fine motor skills. He is computer and technologically illiterate. He could not operate a DVD player before he lost his sight. He loved to read. Now he can't. He is depressed. I would love to load up an mp3 player with audiobooks to keep him company, but that seems more like a dream than a reality at this point.

I am running into several issues:

1. Technology is getting smaller. This is a most difficult issue. Small buttons, small screens, small device to get lost in the furniture.
2. The market for the blind is very small and very specialized. Blind friendly is not necessarily elderly friendly. Most elderly people are not going to learn Braille.
3. Products for the blind are ridiculously expensive. The companies assume some type of insurance or government assistance. It takes time to apply and qualify and receive (up to a year) and even then the product may not be suitable. We are working on this, but I would like to get him something sooner.
4. Children's products have big buttons but small storage capabilities. Thirty minutes to an hour of playtime is not enough.

What I want is one (really big) button operation with automatic bookmarking. It needs to turn on and start playing where it left off. We had hoped that he could use a Sansa Clip. It turns on and plays where it left off, but the slide that turns it on is tiny. He couldn't work it. If only there was one with a big button.

I posted my search on every message board that I belong to. I have some suggestions. Next stop is the Apple Store since they specialize in finding solutions.

Still Tired

I had hoped to post a health update about how great I felt, but that is not to be. I'm still tired (feels like an all day benedryl hangover). I do have more good days. I have hours during the bad days that I can function normally. That is a huge blessing and I am grateful. I need to go back to the doctor. I should have gone months ago, but with Wild Thing's medical bills and now a "fried" air conditioner, that has to wait longer.

Wordless Wednesday--Cicadas

Wordless Wednesday--Sanford NC Storm Damage

 
WRAL News : Sanford Storm photos

Perspective

My family is safe. I have a roof over my head. The families in my community have roofs over their heads. My husband still has a place to work.

There are those in Sanford who have none of these things.



The devastation is about 12 miles from our house. Our usual Lowes now lies in rubble. About 100 people were inside when the tornado hit. All escaped with only minor injuries. We have friends who live on streets where their houses survived while others are unlivable. We have no damage. Our power and landlines were out for about 13 hours. We are fortunate.

Once again, I am humbled before God. Thank you for sparing us and our friends and family. Surely Your hand protects.

Wordless Wednesday--Alice in Wonderland

The Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit

 

See more Wordless Wednesday photos here. Wordless Wednesday

Standardized Tests

The Crafter and Wild Thing take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills next week. Yearly testing is required in our state beginning at age seven. It will be Wild Thing's first time.

We work through a test prep book each year to prepare. We always find interesting holes in the children's educations. For example, this year Wild Thing had to complete the poem "I was walking by the lake. There I saw a black and yellow __________." His choices were a picture of a duck, a picture of a rabbit, and a picture of a snake. Poor Wild Thing was so confused. He asked if the duck was male or female. He was thinking drake. I said that my instructions didn't say anything about the duck and to go with the one that he knew. Sigh.

The Crafter needs to brush up on her emoticons. I kid you not. She was supposed to identify the one for being bored. On a serious note she also needs review her literary terms and some basic government. 

Next week shall tell the tale of how my homeschooled scholars measure up against the rest of the country. They may not do so well in "social studies", but I know the real story, and my son knows what a drake is.

Wild Thing Vs. the Magnolia

 or How I Earned My New Gray Hairs

We have a magnolia tree. It's an awesome climbing tree. All of my children are accomplished tree climbers. But sometime the tree wins. The picture below is not our tree, but it is very similar in height and shape.

As near as I can piece together the situation, here is what happened. Wild Thing took a piece of rope that he found in the back of the truck up the tree. He climbed up around 15 feet, looped the rope over a branch and jumped. The rope broke and Wild Thing fell.  He landed on his upper back and bumped his head. The Crafter came into the kitchen and yelled that Wild Thing fell out of the tree. He was screaming. His arms and legs were drawn up. I scooped him up and brought him into the living room. (Dumb I know.) He kept screaming and his breathing sounded rough. He said it hurt to move his arms or legs and his back hurt. I told the Crafter to pack a bag for her and Princess Pink. I put in calls to a neighbor to come help. Wild Thing said he was "churny" as he lay on the floor. I called 911.

Our neighbor got here first. Wild Thing stayed remarkably calm the entire time. I made some more calls and lined up a friend to come and get the girls. I could not get the Historian on the phone. He has changed numbers at his work. I hadn't memorized the new number yet. The new number was stored in my cell phone which was with the Historian. I tried his old number, but no one answered. The Crafter sent emails.

EMS arrived and went through their protocol. Wild Thing answered their questions, but kept getting a distant look in his eyes. One of the paramedics took me aside and said that he had put the helicopter on standby. They put a cervical collar on Wild Thing and strapped him to a back board. The decision was made that he could be safely transported by ambulance. My friend arrived and took the girls home with her. I boarded an ambulance with my son bound for the hospital. My neighbor followed us. It was tough keeping Wild Thing awake on the trip.

We arrived at the hospital. The helicopter pilot met us and said he bet Wild Thing was disappointed that he didn't get to go up in his whirly bird. I was not amused. We get to a room and Wild Thing said that nothing hurt anymore except that his back felt asleep. The Historian made it to the hospital soon after we got settled for our time of observation. Wild Thing's tests came out fine.  He had some bruising and a mild closed head trauma (code for concussion).

Thank you God for sending one of your angels to catch my son.

Wordless Wednesday--With Words

I've been battling insomnia and it's ugly friend fatigue for the past couple of weeks. I tried to keep up and continue to cook balanced, nutritious meals for my family. Today the tiredness caught up with me. I wimped out and succumbed to the temptation of an easy meal.

Inevitably the question came: "Mama, what's for supper?" The answer brought cheers of joy and dancing. What delightful morsel could cause such bliss?

I will try to not think of this as criticism of my cooking abilities.