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Just an update to let you all know what's going on in our lives. I haven't been posting much lately. My husband is doing a bit better with his depression, but the insulin therapy doesn't seem to be helping the diabetes. We go back to the doc tomorrow and see what they think. I think we'll have a better idea where we stand with this doc after tomorrow.

My daughter is starting Unit 6 tomorrow in LHFHG. Yay! She is doing so well. My son is halfway through Unit 4 of Bigger, he is struggling with it and complaining about too much work. So we are doing Grammar orally and doing math on the chalkboard. I am doing most of his writing in his notebooks for him. I print out the bible verses for bible study and the science notebooking as well as the poetry in Startwrite and have him copy that. We have stopped reading the extension package readings for now. He just seems overwhelmed and his attitude is not very good. We are having trouble getting him to go to sleep at night, so he's overtired all day long. We put him to bed early but he won't go to sleep. I gave up and got in his bed at 9:10 and held him still till he fell asleep at 9:40 tonight. He is a very bright kid and I am sure that this program is just right for him but he is fighting me on everything right now, sleep, chores, school... everything. Anyone have ideas for getting an 8yo to go to sleep when they just don't want to?

Praise God! through it all, my husband is making the effort to get up and go to church with us again. It is so important to me that we are there as a family, but with his depression, he sometimes won't get out of bed on the weekends. I know that going to church with us helps to satisfy his soul and I'm sure that has to help with the depression. And since I sing in the choir, I'm happy to know that my kids are sitting with their Dad now in service instead of just sitting next to whatever grownup agrees to watch over them.

That pretty much sums it up. I draw strength from praying Psalm 35 for my husband as suggested to me by one of the older women at church and from reading Psalm 42 which someone suggested here. Thank you all ladies for listening to and encouraging one another. As others have already said, you are a blessing to me.

Hey netpea,

I am not sure if your son is having the same problem with sleep as mine has, but we use Melatonin to help him sleep. It is the natural substance your body uses to go to sleep, but some kids don't have enough. You can buy it at Wal-Mart, and it is inexpensive. Many kids can use it for a while and then get off of it, as their body is retrained.

Of course, if this is not your son's problem, I am of no help . I am glad that your husband is doing some better. I did not post on the other thread, but I am praying for your husband and family.

Lee Ann,

I'll be praying for wisdom for the doctor tomorrow as they try to help your husband (and for you if you think you need to go somewhere else). I'm glad you've seen some improvement. Praise the Lord! I'll be praying for your son, too. No advice on the sleep issue...we haven't had that. Do you think he's struggling with the tension from your husband's problems? Maybe you could talk to him about that (as you see fit of course).

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6-7

I'll gladly join you in bringing your requests to the Lord!
Kathleen

Kathleen wrote: Do you think he's struggling with the tension from your husband's problems?

YES. my son is angry alot, like his daddy. We are working on bringing the tension level of hte home down, but some days are better than others.

I would say it is probably the stress of things going on in the family...it does affect the kids too. Do you have a bedtime routine at home? It's something recommended for infants all the time, but I feel it works well for all of us. A nice warm bath, reading a book, maybe singing or listening to some praise music, and praying before bed. You may do some or all of these things already. These are just thoughts I had...

We have struggled with my youngest at times not sleeping well. I have not really been able to figure out why he has trouble. Sometimes it's been from something he was afraid of...either because an older sibling said something mean to scare him or maybe something he saw on a movie or cartoon. (strange how things we think are benign will still frighten little ones) I know when I was working and going to school full time, before I cam home for good and we started homeschooling, my youngest son would NOT go to sleep without me in the room...it took at least an hour. It affected all of us, because I couldn't leave the room until he was sleeping, my older ds couldn't go to bed until the younger one was asleep or the younger one would keep the older one awake by playing or screaming, and my husband was very irritated with me because I was spending all my time with the kids and none with him. It was a complete mess! It did not take me long to realize his problem was because he spent no time at home with me during the week. He was in daycare all day and he had been used to my being home with him since he was an infant. All that to say that changes in the home, good or bad, will affect our sleep habits. I don't know of anything else that is tried and true that I can guarantee will work. He may just need your reassurance for a time. We will continue to pray for you. Thanks for updating us on your situation.

netpea,

I'm so glad that you're heading to the doctor, even though it feels like you're not progressing. It can take time to nail down exact dosings and give them time to work. I applaud your diligence.

It's wonderful your little daughter is enjoying LHFHG. It sounds like your son is most affected by the health situations you're dealing with at home right now. So, in light of that, I'd recommend that you pinpoint the highest area of frustration in your son school-wise and do your best to eliminate it. Normally, I'd recommend slowly persevering through an area of weakness, but in your son's case, it's not a good time to do that. To me, it sounds like written work of any kind is the battle. So, I'd eliminate all or most of it. I would only require him to write for dictation or spelling, to copy the one Bible verse he memorizes each week, and to do all labeling and drawing for the science and history notebooking.

To speed things along, I'd do just as you're doing. Do the grammar and math lessons orally and on the whiteboard. You write the answers he dictates for grammar or do it orally. For math, have him do fewer problems (if he gets them right, have him be done). For each problem he misses, have him do one perfectly to replace it.

Eliminate all other writing. Allow him to dictate to you for the science experiements while you either write or just omit the science form. You can write any needed verses or copying from the text for the notebooking assignments for him before he does the drawing. For vocabulary, only do one word and have him dictate to you from the dictionary and use it in a sentence orally. Omit the picture drawing. If you're doing DITHR, do it all orally or on a whiteboard. Most likely this will be for this school year. If your hubby's health improves, you can go back to requiring more writing a very little at a time.

At this point you're not giving in to your son by requiring less writing, you're in tune with his emotions and frustrations. Once I heard Rick and Marilyn Boyer (parents of 13 homeschooled children) say that if you have had your kiddos in an "extreme situation" (like the zoo all day or vacation or going through a crisis of some kind at home) then give them an extra measure of grace before disciplining by realizing that their circumstances are causing the behavior. We use that rule at our house now all the time.

Anyway, you want to get back to enjoying time with your son during his school day instead of doing battle with him. You'll still be covering all the concepts, just not battling with the writing.

I'll be praying for you to find joy again with your son!

Blessings,
Carrie