The Hunnicutt Homestead

Update on the Hunnicutts

Well, after much nervousness on my part, the boys did very well in testing to enter the local Christian school.  N was a joy to the teacher and C tried very hard.  C did get tired of sitting and writing for such a continuous period of time-something he is not used to at home.  So, much to the teacher's surprise, C got up during the middle of working on one of the worksheets to do hand and leg exercises.  I'm sure that that is not something she experiences everyday.  C is our one child who has difficulty keeping his rear in the seat for mealtimes.  It will be interesting to see what wins out in the classroom-pressure to conform to sitting or his need to move.  The nice thing is that his teacher is willing to let him stand while doing papers if he feels the need.

For those of you still very focused on homeschooling be encouraged- I was schooling the boys approximately 2 hours a day plus supplemental reading.  They were still ahead in many areas of learning than in the school.  I am amazed at how little is needed in order for them to learn.  Of course, I feel my boys are particularly bright (what mother can help thinking such a thing?), and even with all of the complaining and stresses of our changing lives, they have proven to be exceeding my expectations and adapting very well.

Additionally we have had our transition meeting for the girls to go to preschool.  There are multiple areas of concern with the girls pointing to possible cognitive delays in addition to delays in motor skills and language.  The girls will be going through more evaluations to see what additinonal services they may need to receive in the kindergarten classroom or if they will be better off attending a special ed school.  The girls will also be seeing the opthamologist in Feb to determine vision needs.  As some of you know, the girls have nystagmus and have been diagnosed with spasmus nutans.  We have also been told that D will probably always have depth perception issues due to her corrective eye surgeries.  We are not as pleased with the eye professional here as we were with our former dr. in ABQ, but specialists are hard to come by and you take what you can get. Note- I will be a bit pushier next visit to make sure the girls get the proper attention needed.  At times this physician can seem a bit too nonchalant regarding some of the girls' issues.  It is infuriating as a parent to hear some one treat your child's struggles as if they are not a big deal and as if I need to resign myself to accepting them without trying to improve or help the situation.  When you love your child you always continue to try to help them, to strengthen them for the adult life to come.

S has begun the paperwork for his window cleaning business, as well as becoming certified to be a substitute teacher when his schedule is slow.  We are also still planning out our 1/4 acre fruit and vegetable garden for the year.  I need to get my seedlings started very soon, however my home is a bit upside down right now due to a basement that is the process of being disinfected of mold and repaired for leaks.  Once all of the basement storage gets put away I will have the room needed to set up my seedling station.

I have decided to not pursue a Masters at this time.  The schedule is not conducive to our family life.  Instead, I am focusing on learning Russian on my own and have contacted several folks who can hopefully provide links to local persons with a Russian or Ukrainian background with which to practice speaking.  I will be continuing to write on my own as well.  We will see where all of this leads. 

The boys have started a Jiu Jitsu 8 week class at church with S.  The three of them love it.  I'm glad they have found an outlet outside of our living room for them to wrestle!  That is one thing I really dislike- lots of noise and rough-housing indoors.  I just don't understand all of the physical energy and rambunctiousness that seems to be a requirement in the life of a male.

Time for breakfast-have a great day!