The Gift of Dyslexia

For the past two weeks Abby and I have been working through the dyslexia program outlined in the book "The Gift of Dyslexia- Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read...and How They Can Learn." By Ronald D. Davis

One of the main points of the book is that people with dyslexia think in pictures, so as they come to words in reading that they have no mental pictures for (what is the picture that comes to mind when you think of "a" or "the"?), the running mental picture becomes confused and the mind disoriented. The program first works to help the person find their "orientation point" in the brain which helps them be able to make sense of the information the eyes are sending them, then to help give them the pictures they need to be able to read without becoming disoriented so often.

Abby has been making clay figures of the most common "trigger words" (words that trigger disorientation) to give her pictures so these words should be easier for her to read. I remember being so frustrated with her when she was seven years old and could never seem to read "the" or "and" or any number of small words. As I read through this book, I was filled with sympathy for Abby's struggles. I am always amazed that although reading has been such a challenge for her and it is so clear that she doesn't see the words the same way I do, she has never given into discouragement. I admire her gentle, patient persistence so much!

We are hopeful that this program will help Abby be able to read with more ease and fluidity.

A few of Abby's clay figures- the word "doesn't": clay figure of an oven- it doesn't work.

"a": a bunny

"isn't": It isn't cold outside (so why are you all bundled up?)

"the": the snakes

"into": It is turning into fall

"was": It was a beautiful flower (and now it's not)

We also made clay figures of all punctuation marks and math symbols. We looked up their meanings in the dictionary and reviewed everything several times. Last week Abby made the entire alphabet, upper and lower case, to see if she had any "trigger" letters- she triggered on "G". She had to say the alphabet backwards and forwards from memory smoothly without any mistakes (I still can't say the alphabet backwards without peeking!).

As we put more words into pictures for Abby, we hope to see her reading become easier for her. She feels that just being able to find her "orientation point" before reading or working on math has been helpful.

If nothing else, this program has shown me how creative and detailed Abby is with clay figures!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

On Saturday we celebrated Abby's entrance into teenagerhood with a cake decorating party. (Notice how clever the mom is to have her children decorate their OWN birthday cakes!)

Opening gifts from friends

The girls ate the cake that Abby decorated. Each of the party girls decorated their own cake to take home. The day before the party, Hannah made 6 two-layer cakes and a batch of cookies for decorating. Whew! I think she deserves some kind of prize for that!

A happy party girl!

A friend decorating her cake

The table set for the tea party afterwards. Cucumber sandwiches with mint, chicken salad sandwiches, fruit salad, cheese, fresh vegetables, fudge, little candies, cake (of course), and tea with sugar cubes with pastel flowers.

Since I do not publish pictures of other people without their permission (especially children), I am not showing the cute pictures we have of all the girls. But trust me, they are fun!

Useful Latin

While picking out books on Latin at the library, I came across "Latin for all Occasions". I offer this example for your reading enjoyment and intellectual stimulation:

Salve, o alienigena! Est mihi nomen Midas. Rex sum Phrygiae, terrae clarae quae in Asia Minore est. Propter casum infelicem, omnia quae tango mutantur in aurum. Cuius multa milia librarum mihi sunt hoc autem quasi vexatium onus deponere pervolo! Ergo transmitte mihi, sis, numerum rationis tuae in argentaria taberna, et numberos chartularum fidei tuarum, et numerum chartulae largitionis senioribus publicae, et monem avi tui materni. Numeris receptis, ilico tibi remittam navem onustam lateribus aureis. Mihi gratum facies manus meas exonerans his rebus! Tibi multas gratias ago!

Translation:

Greetings foreign person! My name is Midas, and I am King of Phrygia. Owing to an unfortunate accident, everything I touch turns to gold. I have tons and tons of the stuff- I'm dying to get rid of the darn stuff! Please send me your bank account number, your credit card information, your social security number, and your mother's maiden name, and I will immediately dispatch to you a boatload of gold bricks. You'll be doing me a big favor by taking it off my hands! I am much thanking you!


And we feared Latin might be dull and outdated.

Abby wearing the skirt she just made from a 1950's pattern. That skirt took as much fabric as an entire Regency dress. There is no way that skirt could be gathered any fuller on the waistband.

It was windy last week, so Jacob and Hope flew kites. The weather this week is supposed to be cool and this morning it is foggy and rainy. We have "felt" fall coming early and it really seems to be the case these past few days. We are watching the aspens and maple tree daily to detect any fall color.

Trip to Creede, Colorado

Over Labor Day, Brian, Hannah, Abby and Jacob went to Creede to visit Grandpa and Grandma. They stayed in Grandpa and Grandma's motor home and enjoyed looking around at all the beautiful scenery.

View of the motor home. The building behind the motor homes is where they went to church on Sunday.

The kids played "Sequence" with Grandma. Abby is on the phone with mommy in this picture.

Lots of good food. This picture is Grandpa cooking steaks on the grill. Love the plant hanging from the front side mirror!

Playing with Sloan, their service dog in training.

Abby

Hannah

As they drove around, they came across a house where the owner had artwork compiled from scrap metal/junk in his front yard. This was my favorite one- of a man running away from a train.

Brian having fun with the camera

Downtown- it's not much.

The colorful hotel

In the motor home park there were many statues placed around. Here is one that is a war memorial.

Misty scenery from the trip home.

What's on your Shirt?

Earlier this summer, I wrote a letter to Lands' End customer service about my concern over their increasing number of their men's and women's clothing being made with treated fabrics. Before this, I had talked with a customer service representative, asking what chemicals were used to make their fabrics wrinkle resistant and she replied that she had no idea- and that she did not think that question had ever been asked of their office before.

When Brian and I were at Nordstroms last summer looking for men's dress shirts, the nice gentleman helping us informed us that ALL Norstroms dress shirts from that point on would be sold with a chemical finish (wrinkle/stain resistant) and not to worry- it was a "non-toxic resin" that was on the shirts.

Almost all the dress shirts sold at Eddie Bauer and a large percentage of LL Bean's men's clothing is treated. Most of the men's clothing we checked at the mall was also treated.

While those helpful customer service workers and store attendants do not know what their products contain, a quick Google search will tell you that the chemical that is used to make things stain or wrinkle resistant is TEFLON- not some "harmless resin". TEFLON has a history of documented health problems and lawsuits resulting from those issues. Many people have stopped using Teflon coated pans due to concerns over these health risks. Those risks include birth defects and reproductive problems (some articles I read raised concerns over thyroid hormone regulation, damage to the immune system and certain cancers). Teflon has been identified as "likely" to be carcinogenic to humans and is known to cause flu-like symptoms when heated past a certain temperature. It is also suspected to be an "immune system sensitizer" - exposure to the fumes can put you at risk for developing allergies and/or asthma. Now, I realize that shirts and pants are usually cool when they are worn. But what about when you put them in the dryer? What about small children or pets in the home breathing those heated chemicals while the clothes are being dried? Babies carried close to the shoulder who drool/suck on your shirt? Small children are especially vulnerable to chemicals such as Teflon due to their size and developing immune systems.

Considering that the long term effects of Teflon are not clear and in light of the fact that there are many indicators that it is not a benign chemical, why are companies so whole-heartedly treating their products with this?

As a mother of a child with a compromised immune system, it is my responsibility to keep her environment as "clean" as possible. While I know there is no way to avoid everything "bad" out there, I can control some things. For my family, I choose not to use products coated with Teflon (and that includes more than just clothing). When so many companies like Lands' End treat so much of their clothing (especially in their men's clothing), it is becoming harder for me to find "safe" clothing for my husband. I just hope more people will vote with their dollars (or letters and phone calls) and let these companies know that while the convenience of stain and wrinkle resistance is nice, good health for our children (and all of us!) is even better.

P.S.- A customer service representative did call me after she received my letter and let me know that she would be passing it on to those higher up. I am looking forward to seeing if they will respond to my concerns. I merely asked them to continue offering their customers a choice on whether to buy treated or untreated clothing.

A Small Reminder

For all these smallnesses
I thank you, Lord:

small children
and small needs;
small meals to cook,
small talk to heed,
and a small book
from which to read
small stories;
small hurts to heal,
small disappointments, too,
as real
as ours;
small glories
to discover
in bugs,
pebbles,
flowers.

When day is through
my mind is small,
my strength is gone;
and as I gather
each dear one
I pray, "Bless each
for Jesus' sake-
such angels sleeping,
imps awake!"

What wears me out
are little things:
angels minus shining wings.
Forgive me, Lord,
if I have whined;
...it takes so much
to keep them shined;
yet each small rub
has its reward,
for they have blessed ME.

Thank you,
Lord.

By Ruth Bell Graham
Sitting by my Laughing Fire

In the Sewing Room

A new set of pillowcases featuring vintage pink lace. Now the big question- who will end up with these pillowcases on their bed? Hannah has already put her request in.

Cake Decorating

The girls have been inspired by several cake decorating books from the library. They have been anxious to try their hand at it- too bad we don't know what to do with all this cake!

Brian picked up some "healthy" shortening at the store so that the girls could make icing and cake the "right" way- the way specified in the cake books. They made these cakes gluten-free with lemon flavoring. The icing tastes like wedding cake icing that I remember - soft and creamy. I had just the smallest taste on a fork and everyone else had a small sliver of cake last night.

Hannah's cake

I should mention that the girls made a two-layer cake but each decorated one layer- their cakes are not usually so short! Yes, gluten-free cakes will not rise the same as wheat flour will, but there is not THAT much difference!

Frisco, Colorado


Psalm 150

Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre;
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbols.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

In the Sewing Room

Hope in her new robe. The sleeves have been hemmed since this photo was taken. I had a robe made from the same pattern when I was her age. Mine, however, was made with Raggedy Ann and Andy fabric and had a red ribbon at the waist.

Dog Days of Summer on the Windswept Plains

It sure is hard for me to blog without my camera!! I look forward to it coming back to me after it's fixed. Brian's camera is a fancy one that takes pictures of a large size that have to be sized down first. That extra step makes adding photos seem harder than perhaps it is.

We are in our second week of school and so far so good. Despite my best intentions, I did not work with Hope with her reading over our break, but apparently this was not an issue as she is reading well at a second grade level. She is starting in the second reader instead of the first like the others did and is having the easiest time with reading of all of my children (and I have had two excellent readers before her). God is merciful - this gives me more energy to work with Abby in her reading struggles.

We are reading "Christy" for group reading and it has been a hit with the two older girls. Hannah requested LOTS of the series "Biography" from the library and we have enjoyed learning about Annie Oakley, Dick Van Dyke, Beethoven and others over lunch. Hannah and Abby have also been pouring over library books on cake decorating and they are anxious to get to the store for some supplies. They made a beautiful anniversary cake for Brian and I last week.

Even though I love summer break and the change of pace it brings, I miss the closeness of homeschooling- all the hours my children and I spend together, learning and laughing. It feels good to be back and "connected" again.

It has been HOT outside, with afternoon and evening thunderstorms every night. Last night we ate by candlelight because the lights kept going on and off due to all the lightning. There are not many days we long for air conditioning, but these are the times we do! We are grateful for our big fan that at least moves the air to keep us cooler. Even Abby, my lover of all things summertime, said she was looking forward to fall!

I finished a fall/winter robe for Hope (I'll try to post a picture of it) - nice cozy flannel- that she wears all the time now. Yes, it is terribly hot outside, but Hope is hotter still as she happily won't take that thing off! As the newness wanes, I hope we can persuade her to save it for cooler days and nights!

Looking forward to a delicious dinner- turkey breast cooking in the oven, waiting to be chopped up and put on a nice green salad!

Sixteen years ago today. How time flies!

Happy Birthday Hope!

Pictures of some of my favorite men

Family Reunion

A lot of hugging...especially by Hope

Face painting... With Jessica as Padame Amidala

Hope painted Uncle Jon, who looked like he had a bad rash by the end

Abby painted Danny as Jack Sparrow

Del was decorated by his children...

Abby and Karia

Chalissa getting ready for S'mores

Jacob and Mia

Singing with Jon

Jacob and Shepard playing down by the creek

Jackson was admired by all the kiddos

Danny and Del in charge of the cookout