Week 8 Vision Development

A mountain in fall

This week LB had her evaluation by the developmental optometrist.  It was very interesting to watch.  I could tell that she was curious about the process and trying very hard to not have anything "wrong" with her.  After two hours of hard work, the doctor concluded that she has tracking problems and convergence insufficiency.  Essentially, when LB reads across a page, her eyes can't stay focused on the same point so words go into and out of focus as she reads, and she easily looses her vertically in the page.  It explains the way she reads, why she tires easily from reading, why words "jump around the page", and a lot of other things.  Now that I know more about how she sees, I understand a lot more about her reading, her lack of confidence about reading, and her resistance to reading despite her ability to read.  We're going to do some vision therapy starting in a couple a weeks.  Hopefully, it will help a lot.  In the mean time, she has chosen some really cute reading glasses that should make it easier to read when she has to.

LB and tiny aspen

That was LB's big accomplishment for the week.  I've spent the time since the appointment reconsidering the material we're using.  I understand why the simple, clean pages of R&S math work better for her than the other math books we've used.  I'm adding in additional read alouds for her and some daily board games.   I want some more art and less reading until we've started making progress in VT.  I'm keeping our science, poetry, copywork, and math just the way it is because it has been working well.

CC and more aspen

CC had a great week at school this week.  She wore a dust mask to orchestra to help with the rosin aggravating her asthma.  It was a huge improvement for her.  I really like that her school creates a culture of respect and kindness.  Instead of the other kids making fun of her, they expressed concern about her breathing, supported her and celebrated with her when it proved to be effective.

Family picture - I'm the tall one in the back

She had a history test this week covering Ancient Mesopotamia and did well on it (they used this book for this part of the history class).  She also had quizzes in Latin and Math and a playing test in orchestra.  She is still doing great in school and still loving it.

Or maybe I'm in red

This is what the top of the mountain looks like

Or this about 15 minutes later when the storm blows by