generalparenting

Ok more fudge because this is a wonderful desert as well as a wonderful gift for almost everyone on your list. Jiff has some excellent recipes and this is just another one.

Ingredients:

Crisco butter no stick cooking spray

1 (12 oz) package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (16 oz) container of Pillsbury Fudge Icing

2 c mini marshmallows

1 c chopped nuts ( your choice)

Directions:

Line an 8×8 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with non stick cooking spray.

Melt chocolate chips in large pot until smooth. Remove from heat and add the marshmallows nuts and frosting. Spread in prepared baking dish and refridgerate until firm.. approximately 2 hrs.

Remove fudge from pan by lifting out and off of the foil. Cut into squares and you are ready to eat your fudge. If giving it as a present it’s always a nice touch to get that colored plastic wrap and ribbon to tie it with.

Again, this is an easy enough recipe that the kids can help as long as they stay away from the pan while it’s hot. They will love being a part of making this for the family and your friends.

Individualized Education Plan. If you are not positive and I mean %100 positive that your child will need this for the long haul consider this option carefully!

My son has been homeschooled for three years and returned to public school not to long ago. When he was in public school before he was tested for special education services and received an IEP ( Individual Education Plan). He received assistance in reading and writing. He was reading less than 1/3 of his grade level and needed a lot of help.

Now that my son is exiting homeschooling things have changed. My son started out as a child who struggled over Dick and Jane books and is now reading full chapter books like Maximum Ride, Vampire Kisses, Charlie Bone, and several.. I do mean SEVERAL other ones. He zips right through them. When he gets a book that catches his interest he can finish it in a matter of days. Homeschooling greatly improved his reading skills.

He is almost at grade level for his writing and his math. I admit his spelling could use a little work but it’s no worse than my daughters and she isn’t in special education. I went to the school about his IEP hoping she would tell me that he no longer needed services. That was NOT what I got.

I walked into the tiny classroom and the Special Ed teacher greeted me. She started right away saying that my son needed Special Education for his reading. I strongly disagreed, pointing out when he was tested at the other school he was only a few words a minute behind grade average. She insisted. I would not let up. I know my son doesn’t need these services and do NOT want him taking a step back just to appease a teachers ego.

Finally it took his regular teacher to interupt the battle saying she has seen no problem with my son reading books of grade level and above. She also noted that he is easily comprehending the books he is reading. I knew that! I tried to explain that to this ridiculous Special Ed teacher. And she wouldn’t listen.

The teacher was standing behind me. Not nearly as boldly as I was but she agreed with me all the same. Even with that this teacher, who was infuriating me, stood there trying to convince me that he needs these services. I’m coming to find it isn’t easy to get out of the system once he is in.

I finally told her that he would NOT be in Special Education this year for reading. If she wants to test him for Math or Writing that would be fine with me but he is NOT to be in Special Ed for reading. I don’t think she expected me to stand strong. My guess is that not many people challange her suggestion. She seemed shocked that I would not give into her. I have been teaching my child for three years, THREE YEARS, I think I know his capabilities! This school has no idea what they are dealing with when it comes to what kind of education my child is going to get. I’m afraid for them, this is going to be a rude awakening the remainder of the time he is there.

Because of the holiday my posts have actually been written a few days before the actual day and have obviously skipped things because I had already written ahead but, this I had to share with you. My son started school a few days ago and on his first day home he told me that he had made friends. My mom asked him if they were kids in his class he said “with the whole school”. I thought that was funny because he just won everyone over in a single day. It’s kind of cool. So the second day of school he came home and when I asked him how his day was he turned bright red and said these girls keep asking him out. I asked who and he said all of the girls in his class. I thought that was funny too. He is my little stud muffin I guess. He has a girlfriend, which I wrote about around Halloween, that he adores and is as serious as he can handle at his age. The hand holding is more than enough for the two of them which is FINE by me. So day one and two he is already full of friends and girls that want to be his girlfriend. I don’t know what he is thinking about all of this. I am excited for him because he has never had this kind of popularity, he has always been the kid that’s been teased and left out. He is older now, bigger now, and I think more secure in his own skin now. I really think homeschooling did him good.  

Yes we are doing it a day early. I am actually writing this early so that I have time with the family. I said in my other blog I am cheating this year and I bought a pre made meal. Well the only thing I have to do is make a relish tray. For those of you who don’t know what that is it is things like deviled eggs, celery and cream cheese, radish roses, black and green olives, pickles, cheese and crackers, quiche’, etc. Now this stuff is easy to get ready. The only real time consumer here is waiting for the eggs to boil and carving the radishes into roses. Everything else is a breeze and I’m making the kids get involved. They complain at first but end up acting like little kids helping in the kitchen and end up having fun any way. It’s easy enough to get them to help because they like having all of the little things to snack on so I simply tell them that if they don’t do it they won’t get it.. Lol. That always motivates them.

I am sooooo anxious right now. I dropped my son off at the bus stop at 7:14 this morning. We waited until the bus was actually there before I left him. He looked so scared as he drove away on the bus with his face at the window waving good bye. I really hope he does ok today. I want to call the school so bad to check on him but I know I am being to over protective. Ugh. I hope he is ok. I hope he like this school and is making friends. I hope the kids on the bus were nice to him. The kid that was homeschooled until this year rides his bus. I hope they get together. He was so nervous last night he kept asking what time it was because he wanted to go to bed. He said he was sick to his stomache this morning. I hope he is feeling ok now. He will just be in his first class right now. He doesn’t change rooms when he changes classes so that should be good. At least he doesn’t have to worry about getting lost from class to class and if he does have to go to different class for anything he is going with his whole class. That should ease some of his worries. I can’t wait until 2:05 when it’s time to pick him up at the bus stop.

We went to the school to check it out and it definitely seems like a good fit for my son. They are better equiped to handle a child with a mental illness than a public school is. He will be in a class that is mixed with both fifth and sixth grade students. He will be starting as a sixth grade student. We met the teacher who seems extremely nice and willing to be helpful. She also seems to be willing to meet with me whenever I feel there is a need.

The class room consists of 9 sixth graders and 10 fifth graders. He will be sitting at a table with three other boys, one of which was homeschooled until this year. Excellent placement if you ask me. The term ends on December 1 so my son is not expected to do any real work in class until the next term begins but my son is anxious to jump right in. The class is having a parents show room that they are displaying things they have learned about ancient civilizations that they have previously learned about. My son is at least a year ahead of them in this aspect but the teacher invited him to share what he knows about a civilization of his choice.

He has chosen the area of Zimbabwe and the ruins there. He is extremely excited about this project. He has been studying this at home with much enthusiasm. The class that he is going to be joining is far behind where he is in history but he will not mind going over the stuff because he LOVES history. Ancient civilizations and Archeological sites are a facination of his. I think he will have a lot to offer his classmates with his knowledge.

He will be starting tomorrow. It seems awfully soon for me but of course I am going to miss him terribly and am partial to him staying home. He is excited to start as soon as possible. When it was suggested that it was even a possiblity that he could start that soon he was thrilled and practically begged to be able to. I’m glad this is making him so happy though I am sad that I will no longer have creative control over his schooling.

I hope the strict schedule doesn’t throw him because being homeschooled if he wants to take some extra time on something he finds interesting he has that luxury. Ahhh I hope this turns out ok. 

You all know I have been trying to get my child back into public school at his request for the last couple of weeks or so and I’m still trying to do that. The counselor at the middle school finally called me and told me that the school had an IEP meeting ( Individualized Education Plan) about my son and had to wonder if maybe my son would be better suited for a different school. They want to send him to a much smaller school where he can have more one on one attention. The school runs from grades K-8 and there are 185 students total. I love this idea but.. does that mean when it’s time for high school he will still need the smaller size school? If so that is doable it just means he has to go to the alternative high school that has something like 50 students total for the entire high school. I like that idea but it worries me that he will be with a lot of kids who have been in a lot of trouble and that high school is their last chance at graduation. I know I have taught him well and I know this is still a few years away but I have to worry any way.

I am a member of several groups on the web site CafeMom. In one of the groups a lady suggested a few of the mom’s get together and share a journal. The first person that would get the journal would share whatever they wanted for an entire week at the end of which the journal would be shipped to the next mom who would in turn read the entries and do the same. Keeping a journal, writing poems, writing thoughts for the day, writing quotes, or whatever came to mind. This would continue until the last mom would get the journal. She would then add her entries and send it back to the first mom. I am mom number three out of four. I am finishing up my week and look back thinking this was an excellent idea. It’s a place where we can be real, share our lives, and build connections. I love this idea so much that I have suggested it in another CafeMom group which I am presently collecting addresses for so that we can get started. What do you think? Would you do something like this?

In times like today I am so glad my kids are not babies anymore. I woke up this morning with a cough that I wrote off as being part of my recent asthma problems but as the day wears on my head is starting to hurt. I fear I may be getting sick as I sit here typing and feeling every heart beat surrounding my brain. I have a nearly blinding headache as I try to stare at this screen to type. My kids are sweetly trying to take care of me. They offered to clean the house and acting like a mother themselves are ordering me to bed rest. I am glad they are older and can take care of the necessities. I remember how hard it was getting sick when my kids were little. All of my kids are only a few years apart. My youngest and oldest are only four years apart so when they were little they were all still little. I didn’t have the help they can and do now provide. It’s nice that they are so loving that they are trying to take care of me. They are good kids!!

All of these schools have requirements to get in and there are usually additional tasks they may require ex. one of the colleges require you to work on their running farm for a semester. From what I gather most of the schools are in the arts of some sort, with the exception of only one (don’t quote me) that is geared more towards science and math. When I first heard about this I thought surly this was a new concept as a result of our economy but after some looking into I discovered they have been around for a long time. Interesting isn’t it? I am still blown away by this whole thing. If you don’t believe what I’m telling you check it out. Google it ( I love Google) There are several schools doing this. It is for low income families that other wise would have to take out large figure loans starting these young adults, who are trying to climb out of poverty, with a large sum of debt. What better way to invest in our communities and our nations future than to educate our up and coming work force? I can’t think of anything.