Introducing Christopher

I'd like to introduce you to Christopher. He's the african-american little boy in the lakeside pic.
We adopted Chris when he was two. He had bowel surgery when he was an infant, and had a colostomy for a short time until they were able to rejoin his bowel segments. He's been pretty healthy since then, so we are grateful for that. Chris is a very auditory learner, and so I try to keep that in mind when homeschooling. Repeating information verbally is really helpful to him in learning things. He's also the one that often pops up with phrases learned on tv or elsewhere. He may or may not put them in the right context, which can be so, so funny. Chris is struggling forward, slowly, in his reading. It is quite a challenge for him, especially since Corey, who is 7 months younger, reads so well. That's the opportunity for me to talk about the gifts we have and the gifts we don't have. In this day of the whole "self-esteem" hype, I think it is useful for kids to grow up understanding that we all have different gifts and challenges (including mom and dad), and we just need to do the best we can with what we have. Others will often be put in our path to fill in or help in areas we struggle. I try to remind my kids, when they often complain, "It's not fair", that much in life will never be fair (examples are endless), and think about Jesus praying to his Father, anticipating and accepting the unfair treatment He would endure to provide a way for us to one day join Him in Heaven. Now, having said that from a homeschool mom point of view, I must admit that there are many times I also need a review of that same lesson. That's another of the great opportunities homeschooling provides-we learn as we teach, and we need just as much review as they do!! Look for pop-quiz in future post!!