Spring Break/Vacation

We have been on vacation for a few days.  It is hard to maintain a normal schedule when you are on vacation.  You are trying to see new and interesting sights and schedule all of it into a few days. 
Normal routines are very important to maintain stability in the life of a Bi-Polar child and a ADHD child, but very often normal routines end up getting thrown out the window due to the pace of fitting everything in.

 My bp child also has OCD which only complicates things a little more.  I have found that it helps to plan an activity every other day and to leave room for adjustments to be made if the need occurs.  It is important for  parents to be flexible and understand that the vacation will run smoother when you are open  to adjust activities if the children become too anxious or overwhelmed. 

It is equally important to let the children have a part in what you will see and the planning of when the sights will be seen.  Having a flexible but planned activities helps the children to transition easily and to know what to expect next.  We review the schedule the night before and plan what we will wear, what time we need to get up, when we will be leaving etc.

Always remember it is not how much you can fit in, but the quality that you experience it in.  You should be able to  accept that things don't always go as planned, and that is okay.  The most important thing is that you are getting the opportunity to be together as a family and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

 Our vacation has went fairly well due to the fact that although we are very busy trying to fit everything in we are still taking time to relax, rest, and enjoy the time away.   We are having a great time and having fun.

Home Schooling

I am now Home schooling John through Treca digital Academy. It is not the path that I wanted to take, but I knew eventually that  it was the road we would be on. 

Treca has a wonderful program which allows John to work at his own pace.  Treca works within a 12 block system in each subject, you can not move ahead until one block is completed.  John is completing one block  a week, this is not normal speed for students.  He will probably be moving into 5th grade by next month, I feel that Treca is a good choice for him for they will continue to challenge him.  The Public School was not able to challenge him academically and this sometimes caused him to become bored and frustrated.

I made the choice to home school him because the  public school system was not able to accommodate John's special needs, they did not feel he qualified because he has high academic scores.  The school system did not want to label him as having a emotional disability.

It is always very complicated when your child does not fit into the "normal" standards that most children do.  I often feel that our society expects all children to fit into a square hole and when your child does not fit into this standard they are not able to accommodate you.   I believe that our society feels that we should all fit into a uniformity and when we don't there is a concern.

Along with home schooling you still have to maintain your child having social functions for they can learn how to interact appropriately with others.  John is involved in boy scouts and through Treca he will be going on field trips. 

I have also found out through a variety of concerts of different types of music that Jazz seems to calm his rages.  Music can very often soothe are souls.  John is still on the same medications, but at times they make him very tired.