Our support system is 2 COOL 4 SCHOOL!

(They are trying to come across as cool, but are having difficulty holding back the grins.)

It is time to acknowledge our extreme support system (a great dad, a great sister, a great brother, a great grandmother AKA “The Peach”, and a great treasured family friend), AND to celebrate my 100th post on this blog site!  To mark the occasion, I am going to pretend that one of my skeptical relatives (certainly NOT one of the above) is grilling me about “Jane’s Cool School”:

1) Do you really do this study thing EVERY night? Yes!
     –  If my son didn’t like what we are doing, he would firmly escort me out of the room, and that would be the end of that.
     –  My son’s daytime regimented agenda keeps him content and occupied, but offers no intellectual growth.  I am not sure I could be okay with this.  I want him to have an opportunity for intellectual growth EVERY DAY.

2) Have you and your son read every book, listened to every piece of music, and worked through every story problem that has been posted in the blog?  YES!

3) The story problems are a riot. Where do you get them?  You are too kind.  I create them myself – usually based upon something I am currently dealing with at home.

4) You seem to flit from topic to topic. How can your son master anything this way?  Good question!  I am not going for mastery, I am going for awareness.

5) You don’t spend much time writing about your son’s autism, treatment, or behaviors.  Good observation!  It is a good thing that there are many websites and blogs dedicated to autism behaviors, treatment, and research.  I write about what we are doing to make a happy experience out of trying circumstances.

6) What has been the biggest surprise revealed in your nightly study time?   It has been surprising – nay, alarming – to see that ever so much of what I learned in school is incorrect, incomplete, or WAY out-of-date (for starters, think solar system).  

7) Do you think that parents of special needs children should run a program like yours?  Only if they love it – otherwise it would be difficult to keep this up night after night.

8) Regarding fiction selections, I notice that you avoid “coming of age” books. Why?  A lot of “coming of age” issues involve themes of “man’s inhumanity toward man”.  I think my son has enough to deal with without finding out that there is a significant percentage of people who are mean.

9) Do you like reading out loud? I LOVE IT!  It is not so much the act of reading out loud that I like, it is the joy of sharing a learning experience together. 

10) How long does it take you to write a blog post from start to finish?  Three afternoons, at a minimum.

11) Do you get feedback? Yes!  The story problems and the classical music selections get the most reaction.  ALSO, I have heard from a few authors of books that I have written about – HUGE THRILL!

12) So, why are you doing this blog?  This blog is a scrapbook for my son; something to document our study time together.  Every so often I look over the list of topics we’ve tackled, and it cheers me to acknowledge I am doing something worthy with my time.

13) What are you and your son are learning from this week?
          – “The Extreme Life of the Sea” by Stephen R. Palumbi (A+)
          – “Maphead” by Ken Jennings (A+)
          – “The Not Just Anybody Family” by Betsy Byars (A+)
          – we have been listening to recordings of harpsichord virtuoso, Trevor Pinnock (A+)

Well, here we are – my son and I – 2 Cool 4 School!

     

Welcome to the best part of my day! Happy 100th Posting from “Jane’s Cool School”!
– Jane BH