MojoMommaMagic Homeschooling

Learning in Shark Infested Waters Who is this brave SCUBA diver? Peaceful….beautiful…calm. All words Liam uses to describe sharks. Liam’s love of sharks began as early as 4 years old, when he visited the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. He subsequently memorized all the shark types. From the time Liam was 6 years old, he was counting down the days (literally!) till his 8 th birthday so he could complete an Eye-to-Eye Shark Dive. Liam fell head over heels in love with Tippy the Blacktip Reef Shark who became his Valentine. She's one of his most treasured friends. Indeed on his 8 th birthday, he met Tippy underwater to celebrate. A Deep Date with Destiny To date, Liam has completed four shark dives. Liam has also become a fierce advocate for sharks. He is featured in the PDZA Orientation PowerPoint for all Eye-to-Eye Shark Dives. Here he was photographed signing the Shark Conservation Pledge on his last dive: Sharing the Conservation Message Liam has pres...

LOST: Where Did My Child Go? Between second and third grade, I have longed to figure out WHAT CHANGED. I've kept myself awake until 3 am this past fall and winter trying to figure that out. The summer before third grade we saw a startling jump in aggression and anxiety in Liam. We kept thinking it would get better with more structure when school started back for third grade. It. Did. Not. Four Months of Sheer Hell That's September-December of third grade. Same school. Same specialists. Same team. Same favorite buddy. All at the same school I'd fought hard to keep him in when our school boundaries were redrawn in second grade.  Every day was something fresh and terrorizing for him. Not because anyone was wrong or bad or intentionally trying to make this hard. We just all got it really wrong and underestimated the impact of changes AND 20 KAZILLION other factors that set us on the abysmal road to nowhere. He had his favorite "peer coach" right n...

A Park Revelation... Like any normal day. Except for us, it kinda is not. Since becoming a homeschooler, I like to think that I am more attuned to Liam's ebb and flow. We maximize learning. I provide structure that is flexible. We play. We rest. We laugh. We learn. A minor miracle and outcome is that he now has the reserve and energy to have a playdate on a sunny afternoon at the END of the day. In the past we (both) would have likely been taxed from the morning struggles, his school meltdowns and me desperately trying to prove to myself & everyone else that I could DO IT ALL. By DO IT ALL I mean, have the full time dual income career& cheerfully partner with a team of 10+ clinical/educational professionals. By that I mean ride every storm with a smile. By that I mean skip another work meeting to rescue him from underneath a table at school..to join him when his anxiety went into FIGHT mode--all while wearing a dress (which rode up over my butt so I mooned the prini...

Just Another Lipstick Tuesday (aka Our Arduous Road to Homeschooling) LETTER TO SIR L'S SCHOOL COUNSELOR- 7:42 AM 10/24/18 Good glorious morning! While I was making waffles, L went upstairs and painted his face, arms and hands with my brightest lip ink  lipstick . You know the ones? The LipSense that I paid way too much for because a friend had one of those cool parties ..... well, it gets better. He also painted Darla our Pitbull to look like a "zombie dog." Oh this kid! Ok, so he took a shower and we tried my makeup remover. I am trying in vain to find the goof proof from LipSense to no avail.  His arms and face have a weird red tint today.   I stayed cool and he is still embarrassed some. We talked calmly that  everyone makes mistakes and it is just part of life and learning.  Script:  Please either ignore it or if he brings it up just say  everyone makes mistakes and it is just part of life and learning.  At least i...