Jon and I had that tour of Journey School on Friday. Overall, I really liked it and am excited about the possibility of the kids going there! We sat in for a couple of minutes on each class and also toured the campus itself.
First, the negatives:
- I researched parent reviews of the school in addition to the school's statewide "scores." The school's standardized testing scores were on the low side, which was expected. They do not "teach to the tests," and, because of the way they teach reading, their students are "behind" on language arts until 2nd-3rd grade (then they surpass average scores). The negative parent reviews I found were centered on two areas: 1) the school isn't academic enough/doesn't prepare kids for high school and 2) the administration is unorganized and has high turnover. I feel the parents who complained about the school's academics either hadn't researched what Waldorf education is about or just had no idea what they were getting into by sending their kids to this school. It's an admittedly alternative approach. Regarding the administration, I do worry a bit about accusations of lack of organization; however, the current head administrator has been there three years and has a pretty amazing background. It looks like things are moving in the right direction in this regard.
- I worry that, because Nate can already read very well, he would be extremely bored in a 2nd grade class where they are still learning the basics. Talking with some teacher friends of mine, I was reassured that any teacher will be able to identify Nate's ability in this area. If he were given a "special job" of helping some of the other kids, I know he would love that. My plan, if we attend Journey, would be not to jump right in and proclaim to the teacher that my son is a reading genius, but instead to see how the beginning of the year goes and see if Nate even minds the pace.
- Like any public school, presentation of religion can be sketchy. This school seems particularly "spiritual" but not necessarily in the right way--perhaps too much focus on Nature and general spirituality.
Now the positives:
- Sitting in the 2nd grade class (where Nate would be next year), I kept thinking, "Nate would like this." It is very participatory.
- The atmosphere of the campus. It was calm, clean--hard to explain but I liked it.
- Each grade has only one or two classes. Nate would be in a grade of one class, while Lucy would be in a grade of two classes (four kindergarten classes, but because they have kindergarten for two years, they move up to two 1st grade classes). This means all the kids know each other; there is a family atmosphere. It doesn't feel clique-y at all. (Regarding kindergarten being two years: Lucy would enter as a second-year kindergartener.)
- All students participate in music (recorder, moving on to violin, moving on to more choices like guitar, cello), "hand work" (knitting, etc., which is great for brain development), and gardening. Third graders do some woodworking as part of their math curriculum.
- Lucy would LOVE the focus on artwork, drawing, etc.
- Although some things in 2nd grade would be easy (too easy?) for Nate, there are also so many areas he could really grow in at Journey, particularly drawing/artwork, creativity, out-of-the-box/critical thinking, and imagination.
- The location of the school. It's tucked down at the bottom of a hill and has a lot of space. There is plenty of playground/open space outside and also trails just off campus, which they use for hiking. The kindergarteners go on full-day hikes/walks one day per week.
- Our chances of actually getting into the school are much, much better than at the other school I looked at. We were told that the chances of getting into the K classes are quite good, even being out of district. Then, if a child gets into a class and that child has a sibling, that sibling automatically moves to the front of the list for his/her grade. So if Lucy gets into the K (and chances are decent), then Nate would at least be at the front of wait list for 2nd. I would continue to homeschool him until a spot opened for him.
I am turning in our applications tomorrow. The lottery is March 14, and they notify you by phone within a week if your child makes it into a class (or by letter within 10 days if you're on the wait list). Pray! :)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Food & school
Things around here are busy, as usual. I feel like I spend every spare minute of the day in the kitchen--either cooking or doing dishes.
I've moved all of us along to GAPS stage 5, which means we can have roasted or pan-fried vegetables and meats (not just boiled now), some nut butters (nice for a snack), some raw vegetables (like cucumber), savory muffins made with almond flour, and more. It's nice to add more variety. I also ordered a juicer with my saved-up Etsy money, since fresh juice is part of the diet.
I also bought a ton of strawberries on sale yesterday (thanks for the tip, Amy!) and enjoyed rinsing them (strong Kangen water) in my beautiful new stockpot:
I'm trying this idea with them and hope they are good. They'll be a nice between-meals treat for the children.
In other news, a couple of weeks ago I attended a parent info meeting at Oxford Prep regarding their homeschooling program. After the meeting, I decided that Oxford is not for us. This is for a variety of reasons, the main one being that since we are out of district, we get absolute last priority in the lottery and in placement. Another big reason is that, with the 2-3 days at home, 2-3 days at school setup, it is different for each grade (and even month by month), so that Lucy and Nate would be at school on different days, different times (or same days, different times), making for non-stop pick-ups and drop-offs (sometimes 4 in one day).
Ruling Oxford out meant I was back to square one with a schooling decision. Then, after Casey visited and really liked it, I re-looked at Journey School, another charter school in the area (Aliso Viejo). I had heard of the school before but didn't look into it because it sounded a little wacky. Frankly, it does still sound a little "alternative," but it might be great! Neil and Casey really liked it for Bennett. I'm going to visit on Friday. It's still out of our district (we're in Saddleback; it's in Capo), but the chances of getting in are much, much better than at Oxford. I'll have a better idea after Friday.
I've moved all of us along to GAPS stage 5, which means we can have roasted or pan-fried vegetables and meats (not just boiled now), some nut butters (nice for a snack), some raw vegetables (like cucumber), savory muffins made with almond flour, and more. It's nice to add more variety. I also ordered a juicer with my saved-up Etsy money, since fresh juice is part of the diet.
I also bought a ton of strawberries on sale yesterday (thanks for the tip, Amy!) and enjoyed rinsing them (strong Kangen water) in my beautiful new stockpot:
I'm trying this idea with them and hope they are good. They'll be a nice between-meals treat for the children.
In other news, a couple of weeks ago I attended a parent info meeting at Oxford Prep regarding their homeschooling program. After the meeting, I decided that Oxford is not for us. This is for a variety of reasons, the main one being that since we are out of district, we get absolute last priority in the lottery and in placement. Another big reason is that, with the 2-3 days at home, 2-3 days at school setup, it is different for each grade (and even month by month), so that Lucy and Nate would be at school on different days, different times (or same days, different times), making for non-stop pick-ups and drop-offs (sometimes 4 in one day).
Ruling Oxford out meant I was back to square one with a schooling decision. Then, after Casey visited and really liked it, I re-looked at Journey School, another charter school in the area (Aliso Viejo). I had heard of the school before but didn't look into it because it sounded a little wacky. Frankly, it does still sound a little "alternative," but it might be great! Neil and Casey really liked it for Bennett. I'm going to visit on Friday. It's still out of our district (we're in Saddleback; it's in Capo), but the chances of getting in are much, much better than at Oxford. I'll have a better idea after Friday.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Recent pictures
Half of what Nate ate for breakfast that day (a little over a week ago. See how skinny he still was?):
Homemade Larabars. These are really good. Only two ingredients: dates and home-soaked/dehydrated walnuts:
Nate's first basketball game on Coach Scott's team:
Homemade Larabars. These are really good. Only two ingredients: dates and home-soaked/dehydrated walnuts:
Nate's first basketball game on Coach Scott's team:
Friday, February 10, 2012
GAPS progress
Despite dealing with the horrendous stomach flu the children all had, I was determined (stubborn?) to move forward with starting the GAPS diet. I started myself on it on the Sunday the kids were sick (that was January 29) and then introduced the foods to the children as each of them healed from the virus (or as they didn't heal, in Lucy's case).
Here's what I'm hoping, long term, this diet will do for us:
Me: reduce stress and fatigue, clear skin, bonus would be to lose 8-10 pounds
Nate: calm his "can't-keep-hands-to-himself" tendency, heal food sensitivities (eventually we'll be eating dairy on GAPS!), broaden his self-limited diet, improve his ability to interact with same-age peers
Lucy: help with sensory issues
Levi: broaden diet, heal any issues that were caused by the heavy doses of antibiotics he had when in the hospital as a baby
Here's how we're doing so far:
Me: this diet is easiest for me, since I'm the one who made the choice to do it. I've also found I'm an "all-or-nothing person" when it comes to eating: if I've chosen to eat very well, then I won't eat one bite of a banned food. On the other hand, if I'm being lax about my eating, I can eat an entire pan of brownies in one day. I've found many of the GAPS foods/recipes delicious, with some fails too (some of the soups). I also don't mind the taste of broth and drink it fine with each meal (a cornerstone of the diet). For the first few days, I had some definite cravings (coffee, sweets) and felt hungry all day, even though I was eating plenty. The cravings and excessive hunger subsided after about 6 days or a week, though. Honestly, I haven't been desperately craving coffee like I thought I would be. I've lost 7 pounds. I'm still as stressed as ever--actually, maybe more!--which is partially due to the huge increase in time spent in the kitchen these first couple weeks of the diet. That will get better as we move through the stages and add more foods that can be prepared in shorter times. My skin hasn't changed, but I'm still hopeful.
Nate: unbelievably, Nate is doing pretty well with GAPS! The first two to three days were the worst with him wanting his usual foods (ketchup, gf pancakes, peanut butter) and hating the broth. Then I made boiled (yes, boiled) hamburger patties into which I had kneaded minced carrot, onion, and salt. He loved these, and from then on has been chowing down like crazy: decent portions of broth with each meal, scrambled eggs (introduced on stage 3 of GAPS, which I moved us all to after 5 or 6 days since I was pretty sure no one was sensitive to them), lots of steak, ground beef, and modest portions of cooked vegetables. I'm still sneaking most of his vegetables into other foods. Did you know that you can blend a yellow squash with eggs and make delicious scrambled eggs? Nate has been salting everything quite a bit, but I'm not too worried about that since I bought a high-quality/nutrient-rich salt. As far as behavioral effects, I have noticed a calmer Nate this week; some of that could be from getting over being sick too, though. Another instance that sticks out is when Nate and Levi came to visit Lucy in the hospital: Lucy showed Nate several of the presents she had gotten for being in the hospital (a sparkly Barbie, a coloring book, and more). Normally, Nate would have gotten angry at her having gotten presents but him not; however, he said, "Cool Lucy!" I couldn't believe it. I know that's something tiny, but I noticed it.
Lucy: surprisingly, Lucy has been complaining. A lot. She was supposed to be the easy one with GAPS, since she is a great eater. I'm chalking up her complaining to a prolonged recovery from the stomach sickness. She has refused the broth each meal, even though the day before she got sick, she drank cups of it (hmm--maybe her body is associating the taste with the sickness). This morning she did love the breakfast sausage (ground beef mixed with minced garlic, ginger, parsley, cilantro, basil, and salt) and scrambled eggs, though.
Levi: Levi is kind of in between Lucy and Nate as far as success with the diet goes. He has been complaining about the broth and some of the foods, but he has also started eating foods he wouldn't eat before (cooked broccoli, scrambled eggs). He has been very fussy and whiny, but I think that's part sickness recovery and part diet.
All three children have been very lethargic. I attribute it--again--partly to sickness recovery but also partly to their bodies adjusting to this new way of burning energy (burning good fats instead of carbohydrates). It could also be "die-off" of the bad bacteria in their digestive systems. I'm hoping it resolves within the next week, but it could be longer.
Here's what I'm hoping, long term, this diet will do for us:
Me: reduce stress and fatigue, clear skin, bonus would be to lose 8-10 pounds
Nate: calm his "can't-keep-hands-to-himself" tendency, heal food sensitivities (eventually we'll be eating dairy on GAPS!), broaden his self-limited diet, improve his ability to interact with same-age peers
Lucy: help with sensory issues
Levi: broaden diet, heal any issues that were caused by the heavy doses of antibiotics he had when in the hospital as a baby
Here's how we're doing so far:
Me: this diet is easiest for me, since I'm the one who made the choice to do it. I've also found I'm an "all-or-nothing person" when it comes to eating: if I've chosen to eat very well, then I won't eat one bite of a banned food. On the other hand, if I'm being lax about my eating, I can eat an entire pan of brownies in one day. I've found many of the GAPS foods/recipes delicious, with some fails too (some of the soups). I also don't mind the taste of broth and drink it fine with each meal (a cornerstone of the diet). For the first few days, I had some definite cravings (coffee, sweets) and felt hungry all day, even though I was eating plenty. The cravings and excessive hunger subsided after about 6 days or a week, though. Honestly, I haven't been desperately craving coffee like I thought I would be. I've lost 7 pounds. I'm still as stressed as ever--actually, maybe more!--which is partially due to the huge increase in time spent in the kitchen these first couple weeks of the diet. That will get better as we move through the stages and add more foods that can be prepared in shorter times. My skin hasn't changed, but I'm still hopeful.
Nate: unbelievably, Nate is doing pretty well with GAPS! The first two to three days were the worst with him wanting his usual foods (ketchup, gf pancakes, peanut butter) and hating the broth. Then I made boiled (yes, boiled) hamburger patties into which I had kneaded minced carrot, onion, and salt. He loved these, and from then on has been chowing down like crazy: decent portions of broth with each meal, scrambled eggs (introduced on stage 3 of GAPS, which I moved us all to after 5 or 6 days since I was pretty sure no one was sensitive to them), lots of steak, ground beef, and modest portions of cooked vegetables. I'm still sneaking most of his vegetables into other foods. Did you know that you can blend a yellow squash with eggs and make delicious scrambled eggs? Nate has been salting everything quite a bit, but I'm not too worried about that since I bought a high-quality/nutrient-rich salt. As far as behavioral effects, I have noticed a calmer Nate this week; some of that could be from getting over being sick too, though. Another instance that sticks out is when Nate and Levi came to visit Lucy in the hospital: Lucy showed Nate several of the presents she had gotten for being in the hospital (a sparkly Barbie, a coloring book, and more). Normally, Nate would have gotten angry at her having gotten presents but him not; however, he said, "Cool Lucy!" I couldn't believe it. I know that's something tiny, but I noticed it.
Lucy: surprisingly, Lucy has been complaining. A lot. She was supposed to be the easy one with GAPS, since she is a great eater. I'm chalking up her complaining to a prolonged recovery from the stomach sickness. She has refused the broth each meal, even though the day before she got sick, she drank cups of it (hmm--maybe her body is associating the taste with the sickness). This morning she did love the breakfast sausage (ground beef mixed with minced garlic, ginger, parsley, cilantro, basil, and salt) and scrambled eggs, though.
Levi: Levi is kind of in between Lucy and Nate as far as success with the diet goes. He has been complaining about the broth and some of the foods, but he has also started eating foods he wouldn't eat before (cooked broccoli, scrambled eggs). He has been very fussy and whiny, but I think that's part sickness recovery and part diet.
All three children have been very lethargic. I attribute it--again--partly to sickness recovery but also partly to their bodies adjusting to this new way of burning energy (burning good fats instead of carbohydrates). It could also be "die-off" of the bad bacteria in their digestive systems. I'm hoping it resolves within the next week, but it could be longer.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Monday, February 06, 2012
Doing better!
Lucy is still at the hospital tonight, but she's doing so much better. She didn't want to eat anything all day today, but apparently what she needed was
In-n-Out. This was her second burger (protein style). :)
In-n-Out. This was her second burger (protein style). :)
Sunday, February 05, 2012
... or maybe not
I guess Lucy wasn't getting better. Here she is tonight in the ER getting IV fluids:
After a week of throwing up (which stopped I think on Wednesday night), not eating, and being really lethargic/exhausted (e.g., taking four or five naps a day, though she hasn't napped in over 6 months), she started throwing up again today. After four episodes of that, we (Jon) took her to the ER. The bloodwork came back showing dehydration (pretty severe, I think), but thankfully that's it. They admitted her overnight to keep getting IV fluids, and Jon is staying with her. Thankful for God's protection and for insurance, good hospitals close by, and a good husband/daddy.
After a week of throwing up (which stopped I think on Wednesday night), not eating, and being really lethargic/exhausted (e.g., taking four or five naps a day, though she hasn't napped in over 6 months), she started throwing up again today. After four episodes of that, we (Jon) took her to the ER. The bloodwork came back showing dehydration (pretty severe, I think), but thankfully that's it. They admitted her overnight to keep getting IV fluids, and Jon is staying with her. Thankful for God's protection and for insurance, good hospitals close by, and a good husband/daddy.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Better
The kids are finally better today. Lucy still hasn't eaten anything but she's obviously better than yesterday, when I was still worried about her. Yay!
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