The Angler

Reuben says Evan has a hook in his lip. He is totally obsessed with fishing. Ever since he was about 3, Evan has enjoyed fishing. But in the last couple years he has begun to be totally consumed with fishing. He reads about fishing. He watches shows about fishing he watches YouTube videos about fishing. He has even set up a pole with a weight so that he can practice casting in the yard. He takes his pole everywhere we go. When we went to Logan's baseball game Evan would practice casting in the grass. People would walk by and ask him if he's caught anything yet. 

Logan's love for building

Logan has a great imagination. He also enjoys building things. The funny thing is he doesn't care for Legos. For his birthday he ask for a circuit kit that made a remote controlled car. 

He struggles sometimes with going to the farm because Evan takes off and fishes all day long leaving Logan to play alone. So one day we asked grandpa if Logan could build something with the scrap would. Logan was able to build a work bench with just a little help from grandpa. I was quite impressed. Now he wants to build a fort. 

Awards

I'm not a big advocate for end of the year awards but... Evan and Logan got several awards this year. They both had a great school year and fantastic teachers. 

Evan's favorite things about fourth grade  

Fourth grade social, bowling

Field trip to the reds stadium

Economic unit

Student council 

His favorite subject is science

Logan's favorite things about third grade

Favorite subject is math and social studies

Field trip to the zoo

Sock hop

Student council

Two of the cutest baseball players!

Both boys played baseball again this year. Having two kids in baseball is a very busy life. We have had as many as 6 games a week for the two of them.

Logan was on the Mudhen team. Evan was on the Reds team. This year Reuben was assistant coach for the Reds and helped out a lot for the Mudhens. 

I realized that I only have video of Evan playing. No pictures. I'm not sure how to add a video. 

Beau the boxer

I was looking through old posts and realized I haven't mentioned getting a dog. In march 2014 the first weekend of spring break we decided to check out an animal shelter to look at dogs. I wasn't completely ready to buy a dog yet but we wanted to start looking. 

We went to Animal Friends in Hamilton. They have a very nice facility. They had a variety of dogs to choose from but they also had a lot of pit bulls and pit bull mixes. We walked down one isle and down he other. Both Reuben and I came back to the same dog. He is a small male boxer with brindle coloring. He was not barking or jumping on the sides of the enclosure. We got him out of the enclosure and walked him on a leash and played with him. I think we all fell in love with him right away. 

We brought him home and the rest is history. Beau is the best dog. He already knew basic commands like sit and stay. He is definitely a pack dog. He stays with us wherever we are in the yard. He has never run off, even when people walk their dogs by the house. 

He is ours and we are his. We love our Beau boy. 

Landscaping

This summer we hosted an elders quorum party. This gave me the motivation to spend some time improving our landscape. Debbie went to Lowes with me to pick out some plants. She also split some of her hostas for me.

I planted some grasses, some knockout roses and a few other plants in our front flower bed. On the side of our house I planted the hostas and long grass split from the front yard. 

I'm really enjoying beautifying our home. 

The Gift of Dyslexia

Logan was just recently diagnosed with dyslexia.  As a parent this news was devastating.  As a Reading Specialist, I felt embarrassed.  I have had so many different feelings since receiving this information, everything from anger, frustration, guilt, and sadness.  

I know how important it is to read to your baby, to expose your child to books, play word games, and use a wide variety of words to improve their vocabulary.  There are so many early literacy skills to teach children at a very young age.  These are all things I did with both of my boys from the time they were born hoping to lay a firm foundation for literacy.

Logan did struggle with pronunciation of words some times.  But I chalked it up to "cute and funny" things he said and eventually he'll say words correctly.  Logan had two years of preschool.  During kindergarten I began to realize that he was struggling with print and writing.  Then during first grade it became more clear that he could not retain his sight word recognition.  He also was beginning to really demonstrate his love for math and science.  These were definitely areas of strength for him.  He also developed a great memory, reasoning skills, and fantastic oral comprehension.  Logan began receiving reading intervention in first grade.  This intervention continued through second and third grade.  

When Logan began third grade, I knew there would be the threat of retention due to the "Third Grade Guarantee".  This state law says that if a child does not pass the Ohio Achievement Assessment he cannot go on to fourth grade.  I knew that Logan was not going to pass the OAA.  When Logan took the OAA in the fall he took the entire 2 1/2 hours allowed for the test. (Nobody takes the whole time allowed.) He did not finish and only answered multiple choice questions.  He did not attempt any of the written response questions.  Of course I was not surprised that he did not pass. *We are still waiting for his spring score to come in.

Halfway through the year we had to make the decision to proceed with the RTI Process (response to intervention).  I knew this would end with Logan getting placed on an IEP or individualized educational plan.  This would mean that he would begin receiving services through special education.  This would also exempt him from being retained in third grade.  I felt that another year in third grade was not going to magically help him to read.  So an IEP was the only alternative.  But I also knew there wasn't anything a special ed. teacher could do either to help him.  

My motherly instincts were not satisfied.  I know Logan is an intelligent kid. He just can not figure out how to decode print.  I began researching forms of reading disabilities. The one thing that I kept coming back to was dyslexia.  I scheduled Logan to be examined/tested by a psychologist to determine if he does in fact have dyslexia. Once we had the diagnosis we needed to figure out how to intervene with programs designed for dyslexics.  Like so many other people I was terribly misinformed about dyslexia.   I went to a local book store and bought "The Gift of Dyslexia" by Ron Davis. This book completely changed the way I think about people who can't read.  I found a woman in the Cincinnati area that does the Ron Davis approach.  We met with her and scheduled Logan to begin therapy in July.  

This whole process has just come together step by step by different people in our lives.  It started with excellent teachers.  Then a speech pathologist that recommended Dr. Macks, psychologist, who recommended Dyslexia Ohio.  I am so excited for Logan to begin this journey to literacy.  It is my hope and prayer that this path that has been laid out for us will help him learn to read.  

The Gift of Dyslexia 

Chapter One

Usually when people hear the word dyslexia they think only of reading, writing, spelling, and math problems a child is having in school. Some associate it only with word and letter reversals, some only with slow learners. Almost everyone considers it some form of a learning disability, but the learning disability is only one face of dyslexia.

Once as a guest on a television show, I was asked about the "positive" side of dyslexia. As part of my answer, I listed a dozen or so famous dyslexics. The hostess of the show then commented, "Isn't it amazing that all those people could be geniuses in spite of having dyslexia." 

She missed the point. Their genius didn't occur in spite of their dyslexia, but because of it! 

Having dyslexia won't make every dyslexic a genius, but it is good for the self-esteem of all dyslexics to know their minds work in exactly the same way as the minds of great geniuses. It is also important for them to know that having a problem with reading, writing, spelling, or math doesn't mean they are dumb or stupid. The same mental function that produces a genius can also produce those problems.

The mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift in the truest sense of the word: a natural ability, a talent. It is something special that enhances the individual.

Dyslexics don't all develop the same gifts, but they do have certain mental functions in common. Here are the basic abilities all dyslexics share:

1. They can utilize the brain's ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability). 
2. They are highly aware of the environment.
3. They are more curious than average.
4. They think mainly in pictures instead of words.
5. They are highly intuitive and insightful. 
6. They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses).
7. They can experience thought as reality. 
8. They have vivid imaginations.

These eight basic abilities, if not suppressed, invalidated or destroyed by parents or the educational process, will result in two characteristics: higher than normal intelligence, and extraordinary creative abilities. From these the true gift of dyslexia can emerge -- the gift of mastery.

The gift of mastery develops in many ways and in many areas. For Albert Einstein it was physics; for Walt Disney, it was art; for Greg Louganis, it was athletic prowess.

A Paradigm Shift

To change our perspective of dyslexia from disability to gift, we must start with a clear, accurate understanding of what dyslexia really is, and what causes it. Doing this will bring out the positive as well as the negative aspects of the situation and allow us to see how dyslexia develops. Then the idea of correcting it won't seem far-fetched. Going a step beyond correcting the problem, we can also recognize and explore this condition as the gift it truly is.

Before a dyslexic person can fully realize and appreciate the positive side of dyslexia, the negative side should be addressed. That doesn't mean the positive side will not surface until the problems are solved. The gift is always there, even if it isn't recognized for what it is. In fact, many adult dyslexics use the positive side of dyslexia in their life work without realizing it. They just think they have a knack for doing something, without realizing their special talent comes from the same mental functions that prevent them from being able to read, write or spell very well. 

The most common disabilities of dyslexia occur in reading, writing, spelling, or math; but there are many others. Each case of dyslexia is different, because dyslexia is an unintentionally self-created condition. No two dyslexics have created it exactly the same. 

In order to understand the gift of dyslexia, we need to view the learning disability known as dyslexia from a different angle.

Dyslexia is the result of a perceptual talent. In some situations, the talent becomes a liability. The individual doesn't realize this is happening because use of the talent has become compulsive. It began very early in life and by now seems as natural as breathing.

Read more: http://www.dyslexia.com/library/gift-chapter-one.htm#ixzz3eUrB6tzM