Has It Really Been a Year?

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since my last post.  I am sitting here on the couch, listening to the kids play and considering my New Year's resolutions.  It is December 31, so whatever I come up with needs to start tomorrow. Maybe by listing them here I will be more apt to follow through...

1. Complete Project 365 - Take a photo a day for an entire year
2. Update this blog more regularly - NOT once a year :)
3. Take a photography class to learn how to use ALL the settings on my camera
4. Go on an individual date with each my kids each month
5. Go on a kid-less date with my hubby at least once a month

More to come, but I think it's a pretty good start.

Rebecca and I had the MOST wonderful meeting yesterday with her school!  Since Rebecca qualifies for Special Ed and has an active IEP (Individual Education Plan), the charter school Rebecca is signed up through is required to follow that IEP.  Therefore, they set up a meeting for yesterday.  We met with her Independent Study (IS) teacher, the principal of the school, the head of the resource department, and Rebecca's new resource teacher.  One word to describe this meeting was WOW!!!

First let me tell you about Rebecca's IEP meeting at her previous school.  I met with her teacher, principal, school counselor, resource lead, and in some cases reading specialist.  THEY discussed Rebecca's weaknesses and ways to help her.  As a parent, I am considered a part of the IEP team, but basically my job was to agree with and sign THEIR plan.  Any ideas I came up with were usually shot down due to budget restraints or lack of resources.  I was told to try my ideas at home.  For example, I felt Rebecca would benefit from OT (occupational therapy).  They did not so it was never put down in the plan.  I thought Rebecca should have her tests read to her.  They said that reading was all part of the evaluation process.  I thought she should have her text books on tape.  They said they didn't have them.  THEY were the experts on what Rebecca needed, and I didn't know any better because I had never been involved in an IEP meeting before.  I thought they were doing their best to accommodate to Rebecca's needs.  The end result was that Rebecca would be pulled from class 3 times a week and be put in resource with other kids with special needs.  Those kids were all boys from other grades and most spent a lot of time misbehaving which took time away from learning.  Her IEP also listed that her classroom teacher could make appropriate accommodations in class.  Her teachers were ALWAYS great and they did their best to follow accommodations we came up with together, but with a class of 30 something students, I totally understand how the accommodations were not met all of the time.

The minute our meeting started yesterday, my jaw dropped to the floor.  The first thing they did was turn to Rebecca and ask her to tell them about herself.  They wanted to know her strengths and weaknesses as she knew them.  Then, they asked me my opinion.  I am now the expert on Rebecca, not them!  At that point, they told me that they would be meeting with Rebecca once a week for 1:1 instruction.  They all looked at me and said "what do you want?".  I was speechless!  Rebecca will now be getting OT as well as help in reading, spelling and writing.  They are even going to work on math with her even though she has never been tested for math disabilities (even though she struggles). They accepted her diagnosis of dyslexia and dysgraphia and those who didn't know much about it were open to hearing about it and plan to learn more rather than give me excuses.  

I left the meeting with a big lump in my throat.  The hour I had just spent with them was THE most productive school meeting we have had for Rebecca in 5 years!!!  I should have done this years ago.  I've been thinking about it since 2nd grade, but always wanted to give the school that one more chance.  Our system works fine with the average students.  But not for the struggling students.  It's really sad that public schools can't do more.  I really think home school is the BEST thing for Rebecca.  We made the right decision for sure.

Success!!!

Rebecca took her first spelling test at home this morning. Before starting, we took a few minutes to talk about the spelling rule we were working on and I told her to take her time - feel free to tap out the vowels and finger spell the words she might be confused on.  She did not review the words as I wanted to make sure she understood the rule - not memorized the word.  She got 100%!!!!!!  This is the FIRST time she has EVER gotten 100% on a spelling test!  The look on her face was priceless and it validated my reasons to home school her.  It is a good day!!!

Happy New Year

With this new year comes new ideas, new lessons, new topics, new outings, and new goals.  I can't wait to get started.  Sure, we officially started home school in December, but we took those three weeks to ease into a routine that works for both of us.  Now that I know the direction we need to go, we are ready to get to the books.  All of my curriculum has been ordered.  I'm a bit disappointed, however, that it hasn't arrived before the first official day of school in January but we will make do with what we have until it does.  I need to make everything Rebecca learns multi-sensory.  She learns best by not only using one of her senses, but by using several.  In all honesty, I think I would have learned better this way as well.  It will take a lot of work, but it will make each and every lesson more fun!  For the remaining six months of fourth grade, we will be studying California History which is a fourth grade standard.  What makes learning this unit different in our home as compared to learning in school is that every core subject will be based around California History.  They will all be tied together in one way or another rather than jumping all over the place.  The first thing we will do is make a timeline.  From that, Rebecca will pick the areas she is more interested in learning about.  We'll do reports, experiments, outings, etc on each topic she chooses.  It's going to be a blast!!!  Let the learning begin!

We've Done It!

I am happy to report that the home schooling has begun.  Rebecca was pulled from Timber Point last Wednesday so we have been hard at work for a week now.  I am a bit overwhelmed, but it's getting easier each day.  Rebecca LOVES learning at home.  She is ready for each new task and I hear very few complaints.  However, the excitement has gotten the best of her and she has been early to rise each morning which means we are seeing lots of yawns throughout the day. I will be finalizing our curriculum plan next Monday in hopes that all of the materials will arrive during the winter break so that we can start a regular routine in January.  In the meantime we have been trying a variety of things - some we like and some we don't.  I suppose there will be a lot of trial and error as we go.

It's Almost Official

Our school change is becoming more real by the day!  I informed the principal today who was very supportive and shared ideas of his own to help make the process more successful.   I will be informing Rebecca's teacher this afternoon at her parent teacher conference, and then will send the letter below to our friends.  We are on the road to a new beginning...


Hi friends,

I wanted to let you all know of a big change in the Morganstein family.  After much thought, we have decided to pull Rebecca from Timber Point and have her do Independent Study (AKA home school).  As you are some of the important people in her life (and mine :)), it was important to us that we fill you in on what we are doing.  Our hope is that some of you can help your children understand what Rebecca's going through so that this transition will be easier for her.  Her biggest concern with this change is not loosing touch with her friends.

A little history on Rebecca (for those of you that don't know):  Rebecca was diagnosed as severely dyslexic and moderately dysgraphic (difficulty with handwriting) 3 years ago.  What this means is that Rebecca is a very typical, smart 9 year old little girl that has some learning differences.  Reading, writing, and spelling are difficult for her.   We've been working closely with the school and her teachers to find the appropriate accommodations to help her with her learning difference.  ALL of her teachers have been wonderful!  Unfortunately, though, Rebecca continues to struggle and is falling farther and farther behind.  Her brain works differently than the average student and she can not easily learn using traditional teaching methods.  She requires a multi sensory approach to learning in a more individualized setting of which our school can not provide.  We are sad to leave, but we need to do what is best for her so that she can be a successful student.  There is no doubt in my mind that she WILL succeed!  

Our goal is to try a new approach and teach Rebecca the skills she needs so that she can be re-enrolled in public school - hopefully in middle school.  We have enrolled in an Independent Study program through FAME Charter School.  They are based in Fremont, but have recently opened a learning center in Brentwood.  We will have a credentialed teacher visit us monthly to make sure we are staying on track.  Rebecca will be working on her studies at home with me, but will have an opportunity to take classes such as art, writing, science, etc. through the learning center starting in the spring.  Rebecca is VERY excited to start our new adventure.  We have spoken at great length about it.  Rebecca and I have weighed the pros and cons of home school and we agree that this is the best option for her right now.  As I said before, her biggest concern is her friends.  She is already asking about setting up regular play dates :).

Our new adventure will start soon, though we don't have a firm date yet.  Once enrollment process is done with FAME, Rebecca will be pulled from Timber Point.  It sounds like this may happen in the next 2 weeks.  Rebecca is very open to discussing her learning difference and home school.  In fact, she's been having a hard time keeping it to herself over the last few weeks that we've been discussing it.  We both believe that dyslexia not something that should be kept a secret or that she should be ashamed of.  Her dyslexia doesn't make her any less of a FANTASTIC kid, but it is a part of who she is - a part that will be with her forever.  Thanks for being there to support her (and I) in this journey.

Change is in the Air

I was feeling pretty good about school...in the beginning.  Things have changed.  Rebecca brought home a story she had written a couple weeks ago.  It was a FANTASTIC story.  Rebecca's creativity oozed from the page.  She was so proud; jumping all around the room in anticipation of me reading it.  Her first question was "What is my grade?"  I looked at the page and saw 1.5 out of 4.  I couldn't squash her excitement, so I told her she had received a good mark.  Before we started reading the 2 page story, I glanced at the grading rubric in which the teacher had highlighted areas that needed improvement.  Neatness and spelling/punctuation errors were noted.  Yes, we struggle with that.  Then I saw that the grading teacher couldn't find a clear beginning, middle, and end of the story.  It also apparently lacked creative details. This is what caused the 1.5 mark.  I then had Rebecca read me the story.  She had some difficulty recognizing some of her writing, but the smile on her face never faded.  It was by far the most creative, unique story she had ever written and was filled with amazing details.  It did indeed have a very clear beginning, middle and end.  The only thing I can think of is that the teacher couldn't read Rebecca's handwriting.  How else could she have gotten such a low mark on this very good story?  At that moment, I realized Rebecca couldn't be in this school any longer.  


Timber Point Elementary is no longer  the correct placement for my special child, not that it ever was.  They do not have the funding nor the training to meet Rebecca's needs.  I came to the realization that she will never be successful in this setting.  She is floundering and I can not... WILL NOT sit back and watch her fail.  Therefore, change is in the air.  The only way Rebecca will be successful in school is if she is taught the appropriate learning strategies to her special learning style.  I've spent the last week searching for a better placement, but there is none.  Our only option is Independent Study, otherwise known as Homeschool.  I found a charter school in Newark that is opening a site in Brentwood that will support our new adventure.  They send a teacher liaison to our home each month to check our progress.  They also pay for our curriculum and offer some extra curricular classes on site such as art, writing, and science.  


Rebecca and I have talked at great length about homeschool.  She was a on the fence in the beginning, but has sense become excited about the idea.  A few days ago, I knew I was on the right track.  We were driving to tutoring when Rebecca said to me "Mommy, I want to be homeschooled because I want to learn.  I am not learning in school.  I want to learn more."  There is something wrong with the public school system if a 9 year old doesn't feel as if she is learning in school.  There is no doubt in my mind that Rebecca will be incredibly successful in homeschool and in life.  Let the adventure begin!