The Monster Bushes

Have you ever bought a few bushes for your yard only to find that the plant information was misleading? We did. I have decided that when they said the bush would not exceed 3 feet in height that they meant it would not grow more then 3 feet a month. That would better explain the monster bushes that we planted under our front living room window. Many visitors to our house June through October do not even know we have a front window.  Sometime I forget, and I live here!

So every Autumn I head out front with newly sharpened sheers and attack the monster bushes, a job that takes several hours of the course of a couple of days. The bushes have to be cut. The branches have to be cut up and put in the bags to be collected on Monday afternoon.

As with all things it would go faster if I did it on my own and sent Cowboy off to play elsewhere or put him in front of the TV. I choose not to do this because I believe that he is always learning and I want him to learn that fun or not, some things have to be done. I do not want him to learn that he can sit ideally by and not part take in life. I want him to understand that maintaining a home is something that has to be done and is not something that magically gets done. He learns this by watching and helping me. If he is not helping with the physical labor aspect of the job he is helping by keeping me company and talking to me.

Another very important lesson that he is learning is that work can be a reward. After we have mutilated cut down the bushes we are left with several long straight sticks and a lot of thin flexible branches. What does one do with all of it? Maybe it could be a fort? Hmm, just maybe. 

I took the long thick branches and stood them together and intertwined the ends and wrapped a thin flexible branch around the top. I left the rest to Cowboy. He took the rest of the discarded branches and piled them up around the edges to make the walls. He wanted more room on the inside so I climbed inside and pushed the walls out a bit. When it was all done there was enough room for both of us to sit inside and was about 4 and a half feet deep.

For the record it stood through a thunder storm, windy days and four little boys running around, climbing in, out and on it. After about a week and a half, when the leaves started to wilt and the newness wore off we took it down and bagged it up.

The Dyslexic Unschooler

We are unschoolers. There, it is said. There is no set curriculum being used. There is no predefined course of study being followed. There are no skills that must be learned in a certain order. Yet I already know my son has dyslexia that is caused by a problem with his brain understanding what his eyes see. And I know that he will not out grow it.

How can I, a mom, with minimal formal education, untrained to identify learning disabilities, know that a 6 year old, barely of first grade age, has dyslexia? Simple, I’m his mom. I have watched him grow. I have been with him throughout his journey of life. More importantly, I pay attention and I listen. I listen as he proudly exclaims that a magnet on the front of a friend’s refrigerator says “dog” when it says “god”. I have paid attention as he proudly says the letters and numbers that he sees and when I look I see that he has said the wrong letter or number. I have watched him struggle as he tries to tell colors apart but gets them confused. I have heard his cries of pain because no matter how much he wants to, he can’t.

I am even going to go so far as to say I know what the problem is and that I know what the solution is.

He has Irlen syndrome. He needs Irlen lenses.

How do I know? Simple: I am his mom.

That and I have Irlen syndrome and I understand his pain and how no matter how hard he tries that he just can’t. I understand the pain he is in unless he is wearing sunglasses. I understand when he cannot tell an “o” from an “u” or brown from gray or a “p” from a “6”.

Irlen lenses are not cheap. I am on a strict budget but my goal is to get Irlen lense for my son in 2011.

When it comes to dyslexia and learning to read it is not a matter or readiness. He could be 30 years old but unless the underlying problem is resolved he will never learn to read fluently.

I tried to find information about unschooling and dyslexia. I could not find anything helpful. Most of what I found was from other parents who believe that when the child is ready they will learn to read. I agree that a child with no learning disabilities that hinders their ability to process information and who has lots of exposure to an environment rich in the written word will learn to read and that the timeline will vary greatly. I disagree that every child, regardless of difficulties in processing will learn to read and I think it is a great disservice to the child to not treat the underlying problem and assume it will all work out in the e

  

To view sample distortions that people with Irlen syndrome see when trying to read please visit: http://irlen.com/distortioneffects.php