In my last update I forgot to mention my progress with going gluten-free and its effects on my health.
Short recap: I had routine thyroid labs drawn in August which showed a significantly elevated TSH level. I went gluten-free a day after receiving those test results and have stuck with it for over 6 weeks now. My endocrinologist wanted labs repeated within 4 weeks of my appointment with him, so I had repeat labs drawn a week and a half ago.
Within 5 weeks of being gluten-free, my TSH levels have returned to normal range. I find that pretty impressive. Should I totally credit the gluten-free diet for this? Maybe, maybe not. But it's certainly enough for me to feel motivated to continue. Some days it's challenging to stay gluten-free when all I want to do is order pizza with my son, but feeling better is more important that a one-time fix, so I stay the course.
Here's to continually improving health!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Trial and Error
Last month just flew right on by and I have a feeling this month will follow a similar pattern. I love this time of year so very much but it passes much too quickly!
Homeschooling is still going well, but I've adopted a trial and error approach to what works and what doesn't. When I started the year, I didn't have a schedule as much as a task list. It wasn't a matter of when we did something, just that we did it. This worked for about 2-3 weeks and then Doran started to show signs of disinterest and resistance. I had resorted to what I know best, which is books and worksheets. I was the type of person who loved the rote memorization, enjoyed timed math drills, eagerly awaited the summer reading lists.
This is not Doran's style.
So we took a week off. I won't say we completely abandoned education, but we relaxed. We played games. We played outside. We played on the computer and watched TV. We talked. We read (because I just couldn't give that part up). We laughed. We cried. We were together and we were happy. And then I realized we may be more suited to unschooling than I originally thought we might.
That's not an easy path to take, but it's so much fun. We have no agenda. We just live in the world and allow it to teach us accordingly. We observe nature and its cycles. We play games that encourage us to use strategy, reading and math skills. We look at maps, I share my short travel history with him, and we plan future trips. He asks why and together we find answers. We read and read and read some more. And most of all, I have stopped placing so many judgments on the activities he finds entertaining and fascinating. When he wants to spend half an hour telling me the nuances of Minecraft, you better believe I'm all ears. And when he says to me, "Mom, it would mean so much to me if you would just try playing and see what it's like," then you better believe I'm giving it my best shot.
In the past month I've seen my son reemerge. He's more considerate, compassionate, attentive. He argues less at helping with chores and even volunteers to lend a hand when I least expect it. Don't misunderstand me, he's still sassy and impolite and disrespectful at times, but it's not the struggle it used to be. I chalk it up to normal growing pains and instead of feeling intensely irritated, I try to view those moments as more opportunities to model the behavior I wish I see. And you know what? I find myself growing as a person in the process too. It's not easy, but man is it beautiful to reflect upon.
I sometimes doubt myself and wish I had a more reliable measuring stick for how he's doing. But when I really look at the situation and see the kind of boy he is, I know we're doing the right thing.
His birthday is coming up soon, and I'm currently in the throes of creating a lovely but simple Minecraft party. So far he's excited about the ideas I've presented, so I trust it will be a success. Pictures will definitely follow!
Homeschooling is still going well, but I've adopted a trial and error approach to what works and what doesn't. When I started the year, I didn't have a schedule as much as a task list. It wasn't a matter of when we did something, just that we did it. This worked for about 2-3 weeks and then Doran started to show signs of disinterest and resistance. I had resorted to what I know best, which is books and worksheets. I was the type of person who loved the rote memorization, enjoyed timed math drills, eagerly awaited the summer reading lists.
This is not Doran's style.
So we took a week off. I won't say we completely abandoned education, but we relaxed. We played games. We played outside. We played on the computer and watched TV. We talked. We read (because I just couldn't give that part up). We laughed. We cried. We were together and we were happy. And then I realized we may be more suited to unschooling than I originally thought we might.
That's not an easy path to take, but it's so much fun. We have no agenda. We just live in the world and allow it to teach us accordingly. We observe nature and its cycles. We play games that encourage us to use strategy, reading and math skills. We look at maps, I share my short travel history with him, and we plan future trips. He asks why and together we find answers. We read and read and read some more. And most of all, I have stopped placing so many judgments on the activities he finds entertaining and fascinating. When he wants to spend half an hour telling me the nuances of Minecraft, you better believe I'm all ears. And when he says to me, "Mom, it would mean so much to me if you would just try playing and see what it's like," then you better believe I'm giving it my best shot.
In the past month I've seen my son reemerge. He's more considerate, compassionate, attentive. He argues less at helping with chores and even volunteers to lend a hand when I least expect it. Don't misunderstand me, he's still sassy and impolite and disrespectful at times, but it's not the struggle it used to be. I chalk it up to normal growing pains and instead of feeling intensely irritated, I try to view those moments as more opportunities to model the behavior I wish I see. And you know what? I find myself growing as a person in the process too. It's not easy, but man is it beautiful to reflect upon.
I sometimes doubt myself and wish I had a more reliable measuring stick for how he's doing. But when I really look at the situation and see the kind of boy he is, I know we're doing the right thing.
His birthday is coming up soon, and I'm currently in the throes of creating a lovely but simple Minecraft party. So far he's excited about the ideas I've presented, so I trust it will be a success. Pictures will definitely follow!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Benefits
If anyone actually reads this blog, she's probably bored to tears of the homeschooling posts. Unless, of course, she's a new homeschooler and avidly searching for other families like hers who are trying a new way of educating their children. Then this may be a welcome stream-of-consciousness experience.
Regardless, I wanted to share how excited I am that I get to learn new things along with my son. This week we've been learning more about the samurai, and today we watched a documentary on the samurai sword. When Doran first told me he wanted to learn about the samurai I didn't think I'd enjoy the research involved with teaching him. Boy, was I wrong!
First of all, there is so much chemistry involved in making a sword in the first place. That was fascinating in and of itself. Then, as macabre as it may be, there's the fact that some metal was able to cut through human bone and muscle. That's a strong metal! And naturally the social aspect is fascinating, especially when it comes to women's roles in samurai culture.
It was such a surprise to find samurai culture to be interesting to me. As I studied the things I could pass on to him, I found myself wanting to know more and before I knew it, an hour had passed since I started researching information. It reminded me of when I was a child and discovering my world, and it felt so amazing. I thanked the Universe for the beautiful opportunity to share homeschooling with my son and look forward to many more beautiful experiences of this kind.
Regardless, I wanted to share how excited I am that I get to learn new things along with my son. This week we've been learning more about the samurai, and today we watched a documentary on the samurai sword. When Doran first told me he wanted to learn about the samurai I didn't think I'd enjoy the research involved with teaching him. Boy, was I wrong!
First of all, there is so much chemistry involved in making a sword in the first place. That was fascinating in and of itself. Then, as macabre as it may be, there's the fact that some metal was able to cut through human bone and muscle. That's a strong metal! And naturally the social aspect is fascinating, especially when it comes to women's roles in samurai culture.
It was such a surprise to find samurai culture to be interesting to me. As I studied the things I could pass on to him, I found myself wanting to know more and before I knew it, an hour had passed since I started researching information. It reminded me of when I was a child and discovering my world, and it felt so amazing. I thanked the Universe for the beautiful opportunity to share homeschooling with my son and look forward to many more beautiful experiences of this kind.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Just another day
One of the things I love about homeschooling is its portability. He practiced math (his choice) while we were out having spontaneous breakfast.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Field Trip!
Doran and I took a field trip today. The books and videos I wanted to do on the next topic he wanted to study (Samurai) won't arrive until later this week, so we're taking this week to begin a nature journal and think about other topics we'll want to learn more about later. Here are some pictures of our first official nature outing as homeschoolers.
The greatest joy so far? Seeing my sweet boy show so much enthusiasm about, well, pretty much everything again. A few months ago an outing of this nature brought nothing but a stream of complaints and it was so much effort just to get him to come along, much less enjoy it. Today he was eager, interested and excited. I look forward to so many more awesome moments like this!
Spinning the wheel to learn about different trees
Creating a bonsai arrangement
Playing in the fountains
Sitting in silence, observing our surroundings
A tiny snail
Recording our observations
The greatest joy so far? Seeing my sweet boy show so much enthusiasm about, well, pretty much everything again. A few months ago an outing of this nature brought nothing but a stream of complaints and it was so much effort just to get him to come along, much less enjoy it. Today he was eager, interested and excited. I look forward to so many more awesome moments like this!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
I. Love. Homeschooling. I. Hate. Thyroid Disorder.
I realize we've only been officially at this for two days. I know challenging times are very likely ahead of us. But I love it. I love being with him, sharing with him, listening to him. I love being able to witness his enthusiasm for learning first-hand. I love how we can modify lesson plans moment by moment. I love how we can operate without lesson plans. I love my son!
On a different note, I had a visit with my endocrinologist today. He is perplexed at my labs and wants to investigate further. He mentioned immune disorder, and I deflated. He's giving me a month before more tests are to be drawn, and I hope that avoiding gluten in that time will affect my labs in at least a slightly positive way.
I did some internet research on autoimmune thyroid disorder and it is discouraging to say the least. I sat in front of the computer and cried this afternoon feeling completely defeated. The prognosis is so dismal! But I'm nothing if not strong and resilient, and I'm determined to create a positive outcome for myself. I've been passive for a long time and now I'm taking a more active role in my overall health. It may never go away but I'm so tired of it affecting my quality of life. I'm determined to live a full, energetic life. I'll do whatever I have to do to make that happen.
Look for fun pictures of our first week of homeschooling later this week!
On a different note, I had a visit with my endocrinologist today. He is perplexed at my labs and wants to investigate further. He mentioned immune disorder, and I deflated. He's giving me a month before more tests are to be drawn, and I hope that avoiding gluten in that time will affect my labs in at least a slightly positive way.
I did some internet research on autoimmune thyroid disorder and it is discouraging to say the least. I sat in front of the computer and cried this afternoon feeling completely defeated. The prognosis is so dismal! But I'm nothing if not strong and resilient, and I'm determined to create a positive outcome for myself. I've been passive for a long time and now I'm taking a more active role in my overall health. It may never go away but I'm so tired of it affecting my quality of life. I'm determined to live a full, energetic life. I'll do whatever I have to do to make that happen.
Look for fun pictures of our first week of homeschooling later this week!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Homeschool kicks off
Today was Day 1 on the books. Although I feel every day is a day of learning and educational opportunities, today was the first day we took attendance for record purposes. It went very well. At least three times in the middle of our day Doran exclaimed, "I love home school!" Guess we're off to a great start!
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