Repetition

Where does the time go?  I can't believe it's already the first week of August.  I always start out the summer with so many plans and expectations, and still the time just seems to fly on by.  When I started homeschooling Marisa I had a deep dread that our days would drag on and that I would feel lonely being home most of the day and spend my time looking at the clock and waiting until her Dad got home to make a much needed break.  Well, that didn't happen at all.  Our days flew by then too and I'd get to the end of the day and realize there was so much more I wanted to achieve within that particular block of time.  I am not the most organized person, and I know I could use some major help with time management, but we did still manage to get many  things done and keep making some semblance of progress.

The title of this post is "Repetition" because that is a fact of life that is even more relevant and necessary in educating our kids than what is needed for the "typical" student.  I knew I wanted to get back on track with our homeschooling activities during the summer so Roo would be able to retain what she had learned and use it when she goes back into the school environment in September.  We took many weeks off while pursuing other activities that kids do in the summer months - park visits, swimming, camps, etc., etc.; and now I'm trying to get serious about school work once again.   The problem with taking that break, and I did suspect it would be a problem but still went full speed ahead into other activities, is that we now have to go back a few steps and work on some skills that she had mastered but now struggles with again.  This is a known factor with our kids, and I need to not get frustrated, but it is hard to work day in day out on something, get it down, and then have to go back again instead of moving forward.  I know this is not uncommon with lots of "typical" kids, especially in the early school years, but I sure would like to be making progress at a slightly faster rate. 

That being said, I am still extremely proud of little miss, and know that she does try hard and wants to learn new things.   I am hoping/praying that the aid the school hires to work with her will form an immediate bond with her and figure out how to get her to work at her best level.  I've seen great things with my little Roo, not that I'm biased (!), and want her to show the world just what she can do.