A budding author...

As part of G's homeschool English work, he is given a list of around 20 random words and has to write a mini story that uses them all in reasonable situations. Nothing too 'out there' but still fun.

Off his own bat, he decided that the individual stories wouldn't be stand-alones, but each would be a chapter in a little novel! Great use of the brain there lad.

So far, 5 'chapters' are done, and he's still finding it fun('ish) to do... so that's great. Though the story is, by necessity, a little wonky in places in order to include the list of words, he's doing a great job of trying to keep an overall consistent plot. Well done!

On top of that, he has taken a real shine to writing product reviews on the toys, books, movies and activities he experiences thanks to the 'hobby site'. The results have been amazing there too, with reviews being written that read more like a 10-12 year old, rather than a boy about to turn 9 (in just over 5 weeks!)

Thats the sort of stuff that makes my chest puff out in pride. :)

His efforts in looking after his little brother are patchy at the moment, as he goes through one of those 'awkward' phases where he forms new self-image engrams in his head... which alas also means his manners are suffering random blackouts... or more accurately, random patches of actually being there, scattered randomly throughout an ocean of self-absorbtion and absent-mindedness.

The joys of kids eh... but we still love him all the same, even if it is hard to show it at times.

"There ain't nothing up in that cavity on top but stale air, rattly pipes and cobwebs..."

Today Gordy was awesome! I have been having trouble with the wireless networking connection to the office, so out of sheer frustration I decided to make use of some of the holes the previous tenants have made in the ceilings (I assume to run TV aerial cables around) to run a wired connection to the office from the broadband modem in the dining area.

After purchasing a 35m cable, I shoved it up a hole into the attic cavity, and sent Gordy up through the access hatch. Sure enough, he was able to grab the cable, and following instructions REALLY well, he ran that cable down the length of the house and into the cupboard in the office, where I took hold and figured out how much to pull through, plus a bit extra to allow for awkward corners.

So, some pocket money earned, some 'proud' earned as well... and a great job done. Not grizzles, no hassle, no fuss. He had great fun, but wasn't too keen on those cobwebs all over his face and clothes when he made his exit. -lol-

Well done son, and thanks!

Homework

For quite a while now, Karl and I have been giving Gordy extra homework after school... usually maths, as that seems to be one of his weakest subjects. But after reading a book by Ian Grant titled “Growing Great Boys”, a story in there inspired me to give Gordy homework of a different kind. In this book, Grant mentions a favourite book of his “Gifted Hands”, by Dr Ben Carson, and tells how Ben grew up in the slums of a large city, and how his mother cleaned houses for a living. Not wanting her boys to become members of local gangs, and realising the one thing the homes of the successful and educated people she cleaned for had in common was books, she’d take her boys to the library once a week and get them to get a book out and read it...then write a report on it. With help like this from his single, uneducated mother (it turned out she didn’t know how to read or write...just simply marked the reports in appropriate places), Ben went from street kid to a famous neurosurgeon. So now (starting this week), Gordy and I will go to the library once a week, and he’ll get to do the same... pick a book, on a topic of his choice, read it, then write a report on it. Considering in later years in school he’ll be needing to write book reports anyway, this will be a darn good start for him. Plus it gets him out there learning about different topics. We gave it a small trial run the day we came home from the library... he asked to watch the “Emperors of Antarctica” DVD we have on penguins (he’d watched it once before and, surprisingly, enjoyed it). So I told him he could watch it for half an hour, then after dinner write a small report on 4 things he’d learnt in that half an hour that caught his interest. The result was a pretty good effort for a first try. So I’m looking forward to seeing how these reports improve over time. He also has a science quiz book we found in the “cheapie” tables at Whitcoulls a couple of weeks ago that he thoroughly enjoys working on. But until yesterday, he’d just been guessing at the answers. I decided to change that yesterday however, and got him to research the 4 answers he got wrong the 1st time he did that particular quiz. It took him quite a while to figure out where to look for each answer, but again, not a bad effort for a first attempt. I’m hoping to get him doing this more and more, to the point where he researches the answers BEFORE he gives me the quiz to mark, so that the answers are all correct on the 1st try!! We’ll just have to wait and see how it goes I guess (there it is again... the “hurry up and wait” game. Seems to be popping up everywhere!).
Well, Xani’s refusing to go to sleep, so guess I’d better go get him up again.

Big Brother Adoration

Finally, I’ve found time to get Gordy’s blog started. I am so proud of my not-so-little-any-more boy!! Here we were, worried that he’d get jealous, or act up, or something, when Xani was born, (evicting Gordy from his position as only child, which he’d had for close to 8 years, and instead giving him the position of oldest child and big brother.), only to find out that (so far, at least) we have nothing to worry about. Gordy is most definitely a doting big brother who adores little Xander, and is constantly trying to find ways to join in and help Xani in many ways. Everything from changing a nappy (even dirty nappies…DESPITE saying, before Xani was born, that he’d NEVER change a nappy!! Now he practically BEGS me to be able to change his brother’s bum whenever he sees me heading for the bedroom and the changing mat), giving Xani his Gaviscon or a bottle of expressed milk, cuddling or just entertaining him if I need to go get something or wash my hands after changing his nappy etc, to helping with his bath, picking out a fresh outfit for him, buckling him into his car seat, or just bouncing Xani in the bouncer in front of the TV (usually til Xan falls asleep) while I get a few things done. He just seems to want to be THERE, doing as much as can to be a part of his brother’s upbringing. Something that is seriously soooo lovely to see, and that I really didn’t expect at all. Watching Gordy work hard at being the devoted big brother has taught me quite a lot about my son, plus helped make certain traits that I had already known were there, far more obvious. Gordy is very much turning into a responsible, loving, intelligent, caring, helpful big boy…almost over night! Sure, I knew he was a wonderful kid, but since Xani was born, Gordy’s really come into his own. Areas he’d had trouble with before (being part of a team, WANTING to be helpful, learning responsibility) are definitely areas where he’s gained strength lately. His sensitive side shows up regularly too with things like not wanting to hurt his little brother (causing him to sometimes be OVER gentle when cleaning Xani’s bum, which can be a bit frustrating), fretting when Xani refuses to settle, or worrying when Xani starts to slip when he’s holding him… a side I’d known for years was there, but am enjoying watching it blossom even further in his concern for his baby brother.
However, there are times I worry that his sensitive side and intelligence hinder him more than help him – especially when it comes to school bullying. Having been bullied at school myself, it’s not something I want to see him go through, but it’s happening, and nothing we’ve suggested seems to be helping stop it. He walks away, they follow. He tells a teacher, the bully gets a talking to but doesn’t have to even apologise if he/she doesn’t want to. He tries to stand up to them, and simply ends up with both being bullied AND getting in trouble with the teachers. *sigh* what’s a parent to do?? How do you stop kids picking on your children? It’s things like this that make home-schooling all too tempting, but I know he needs the social interaction and physical activities he gets at school, and with him being so full on, I don’t think I’d really have the patience to go stick with it. But it is very tempting!! At least if he was home-schooled, I’d be able to encourage the artistic talent I’m starting to see form, plus help him stretch his brain more than he’s getting at school. He’s doing pretty good at school, better than in previous years, but I know he could do a lot better if he was encouraged and taught in the right way. Sure, I don’t have a teaching degree, but I know my son enough to know he’s not being challenged enough. I think half the reason why he acts up so much is from sheer boredom. That, and not feeling very connected with his peers. Ugh! As I said, very tempting, but I doubt it would work in his favour. So, we’ll just have to keep trying to find ways to keep the bullies at bay, and keep up with the extra homework at home to try and challenge him. At least he’s gotten used to that now, and in some cases, actually seems to enjoy it.

Anyways, time to load this up then go get dishes done.