History Cookbook, Thoughts for Dena, Eyes Looking Upward
By Heather Idoni
Added Thursday, December 1, 2011
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========================================================== Vol. 12 No. 42, December 1, 2011, ISSN: 1536-2035 ========================================================== (c) 2011, Heather Idoni - www.FamilyClassroom.net ========================================================== Welcome to The Homeschooler's Notebook! If you enjoy this newsletter, please recommend it to a friend! And please visit our sponsors -- they make our publication possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ================= IN THIS ISSUE: ================= Notes from Heather -- Encouragement for Dena Winning Website -- Cookit's History Cookbook Helpful Tip -- Field Trip Ideas - U.S.A. Reader Question -- Son Keeps Looking Up Additional Notes -- Newsletter Archives -- Sponsorship Information -- Reprint Information -- Subscriber Information
=================== Reader Feedback - Life's Disruptions --- "Thank you! The reminder about life disruptions couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. Our disruption came in the form of building a house and the discovery that we put our trust in a crooked general contractor. It has turned in to an exhausting, emotional experience for us all. Needless to say, it also played havoc with our daily learning. Thanks for the reminder." -- Kathy H. --- Encouragement for Dena ---
"Hi, Dena -- I've been in shoes similar to yours. Off and on for the better part of 4 years, I cared for my father as he
dealt with serious health issues. My kids ranged from newborn to 8 years old when we first really started having to help my
dad. I am so sorry for the stress in your life right now, but want you to know that you will never regret having 'been
there', but you would regret not being there! Your children are very young and what they might learn from taking care of
grandma is irreplaceable. Why not take a week or 2 or even a month or 2 off from formal 'school' and just focus on the
household members. You might consider implementing a simple loose schedule. When my dad was so sick and we were in
maintenance mode, I just sat down and made a list of the things that would really make me feel more in control. My list
included things like having my oldest pick up the living room and vacuum every night as part of his evening routine. We had
a basket to put things in, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but it really made me feel better to get up in the morning with
one room that felt 'together'. I also focused on keeping dishes done -- it brought order to my life and gave my hands
something to do when I really just wanted to cry or pace. I swept the floor every night before I went to bed, but I really
let a lot of things 'go'. Again, having a room or two that felt 'together' helped keep me together, but I didn't stress out
about having a perfectly clean house -- we were in maintenance mode. Having harmony and a peaceful joy was more important
that having every room clean every day!
---
"My husband and I moved to his home town to help his sister who had recently been widowed and left with 5 small children.
Thankfully we were unified in our decision to move. Little did we know that we would end up being there to care for both of
his aging parents. At the time we were homeschooling 3 elementary kids, watching nieces and nephews and being the primary
caregiver for his parents, plus he worked out of town every other week! When I read
your note Dena, I immediately remembered all of the chaos that comes along with being the 'sandwich' generation. Caring for
our kids and parents at the same time. My house took a beating, but no one seemed to notice except me. My kids did their
school work in the waiting room of various medical offices. It usually sparked great conversations! My kids learned to help
grocery shop for two households, how to take a grandparent around Wal-Mart and Sam's club
and the importance of truly caring for family. The most important aspect of that journey was that through the relationship
our children built with their grandparents (who did not support homeschooling), my daughter led my mother-in-law to Christ
the week before she passed away. My daughter was eleven and knew her grandmother very well, and spoke the truth in love.
What a glorious reunion those two will have one day!
--- Thank you so much, Brenda and Heidi, for sharing your experiences and insight. I was very encouraged to read your stories and I know many of our readers will be, as well! :-)
-- Heather
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History Cookbook
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Planning Field Trips for 2012 (U.S.A.)
============================== "Hi -- I was wondering if anyone has a child (mine is a 12 year old boy) who at any given time will stop what he's doing and his eyes will 'look upward'. I know it's hard to understand, but I don't know if he does this because of lack of confidence, or maybe when he is overwhelmed by something. Is it just the age? He doesn't have a learning disability that I'm aware of. He excels in reading and history. I've never mentioned this to a doctor because I don't want them to run a series of tests on him just so they can put a label on him, but I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this with their own children. Thanks." -- CM
======================= "Dear friend -- Have you talked to your son about this? Is he able to respond and/or look anywhere but in the upward direction when this is going on? If not, it is possible that your son is having seizures. Some people do have seizures which cause them to look up. As far as labels are concerned, labels/diagnoses are tools which you may or may not use. The choice is yours. Two of my kids are labeled and it helped tremendously in our approach to school and other things in life. Provoking behaviors can also be a symptom of food issues. The thing is, if your son has a physical problem, it's probably not going to go away. If it were me, I'd talk to him about it just in case it's simply a habit and not really anything wrong. May God bless you with the wisdom you need to sort this out!" -- Esther ---
"I do stop what I am doing and look around when I am thinking. I think this is normal. There are books out there about how
looking at which way a person's eyes move when they are talking indicates what they are thinking (remembering an event,
making something up, etc.)
---
"My son is 11 and does something similar. He rolls his eyes up or closes his eyes completely so he can visualise an answer.
For example, in math he will roll his eyes up and say, 'Just a sec', while visualising the number chart. His answer is
always right. His dad is a physicist and says he can visualise things the same way without having to do the calculations.
--- "Dear CM -- Without more information about when these episodes happen (if your son is responsive during them, etc.), it is hard to know just what may be going on. As a nurse and home school mom of a grown son and 2 teen daughters, I wonder if it might be a minor seizure disorder. I would encourage you to definitely be in touch with your doctor about this. I do not know of anything like this that could be considered 'just the age'. Your doctor would review his health history, probably do an exam and go from there. All the best to you!" -- Betty in Maine --- "Hi CM -- My son will do the eye thing on two occasions. The first is when he is frustrated with his work and he is actually looking up to keep from crying. At this point I look at him and tell him to take a deep breath before we tackle the issue together. The other time he does this is when he is really thinking. It is almost as if he is taking his eyes off of all the distractions around him so he can focus on what he is doing in school. Sometimes I just sit with him and smile to reassure him during his work time. My son does not have any learning difficulties; he is just a kid who needs extra focus because he so wants to please. I hope this helps a bit." -- Tricia --- "There is a possibility that your child is having a type of seizure. You might want to mention it to the pediatrician." -- Annette --- "Could your son be having petit mal seizures? You don't mention if he seems suddenly 'unconscious' when he rolls his eyes up, or if it's obviously just something he does when he's thinking or avoiding something. Here's a link to a description of petit mal seizures: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000696.htm. Best of luck!" -- Erin C. --- "I don't know if this is what is going on or not, but I have read that spelling bee participants frequently 'look up' when they are spelling a word, in an effort to help themselves visualize the word they are spelling. I also read, not long ago, about having children 'look up' when you are teaching them to read, to help them focus and visualize. Maybe your son has developed this technique himself and is using it to help remember or 'see' how to do something. Have you ever asked him about it? I think that in a non-threatening way you could just say, 'Hey, I noticed that when you are doing (fill-in-the- blank) you tend to stop and look up -- what's that about?' Maybe he doesn't even know he's doing it. It might open up a lot of doors for both of you if you approach it in the right way!" -- Brenda B. ---
"Can you tell whether this is a voluntary or involuntary reaction that is occurring with his eyes? If he is deliberately
stopping what he is doing and looking up, he may be trying to absorb what he has just read. Sometimes you need a moment to
think on something new to make certain you understand it. If it is something he can't control, you should take him to see a
doctor. You might also point it out to him when it occurs and see if he can tell you why he does it. It's possible that he
has developed a habit he is unaware of.
--- "Your son may have a tic. Looking up with the eyes is a common tic. I had a child who started having eye tics at age 10. If it is tics, they may progress to other forms. I've heard various things to try to help, but don't know of anything that is sure to work. Be aware -- I did not know this at the time -- people who have OCD often have tics. OCD may not develop until later and often takes years to diagnose." -- KM ---
"I have a nine year old who does this and has for years. For him, it's due to an overload of sugar; a 'tic' comes on when he
eats too much sugar. It usually takes about 2 weeks for his system to clear out and get back to normal. He is not aware
that he is even doing it, but in the middle of something will just roll his eyes up and zone out, then will continue on like
nothing happened -- this can last anywhere from 2 seconds to 10 seconds, which, while you are in line at the grocery store
with the cashier staring, can seem like forever. While sugar is what causes my son his 'tic', I have a friend with a 12 year
old son who does this sort of thing when stressed.
---
"Two thoughts come to mind:
--- "I read this question then deleted the newsletter thinking that no, none of my children do this. Then I went back and retrieved it to answer as I realized that while thinking about it, I did that exact same thing! I am very visual and when I need to think about something I often stop and look up (less distractions upward) while I run what I am thinking about across the screen in my mind. It is highly likely your son is doing the same sort of thing -- refocusing himself while he takes time to process what is going on in front of him. As long as he is showing no signs of learning disabilities or delays, I wouldn't worry about it." -- El in Canada --- "As I understand in neuroscience 'looking upward' is a way to navigate through your hard drive. Specially if you are looking left you are looking inside the files of your visual tasks and long term memory storage that are stored in the right brain. Your left brain is responsible for auditory learning and short term memory. My child has learning disabilities and looks up regularly. To be honest I was very upset and even angry when I was trying to review a subject and he kept looking upward. Finally one day in one of my readings of 'brain training' I encountered a physiological/logical reason for his behavior. Notto mention I felt really bad for not being able to understand him. I hope this will help you too." -- Denise
===================== "My 12 year old son grasps math concepts, but he can not remember basic facts. We have tried Times Tales, drills, rewards, computer games, bribes, etc. I am not holding him back on progressing, and let him use charts. He still counts on his fingers, and spends about 1 hour doing 15 to 20 problems. I occassionaly let him use the calculator, but when testing time comes around he will not be able to use one. He has been tested for and has ADD and auditory processing disorder. We strongly feel he has dyslexia, but cannot afford any more private testing. Any help would be greatly appreciated." -- Betty ---
Do you have some advice and/or encouragement for Betty?
===================== Do you have a question for our readers? Send it to mailto:hn-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll answer it in an upcoming issue! ============================== Here is the page where you can subscribe to our newsletter: http://www.familyclassroom.net And here is our searchable archive: http://www.familyclassroom.net/archives.html =========================== There are opportunities for your business to be a sponsor of this newsletter! Read more about our VERY AFFORDABLE advertising here: http://www.homeschooladnetwork.com/homeschoolersnotebook.php ===================== All contributed articles are printed with the author's prior consent. It is assumed that any questions, tips or replies to questions may be reprinted. All letters become the property of the "Homeschooler's Notebook". [Occasionally your contribution may have to be edited for space.] Again, I welcome you to the group! Feel free to send any contributions to mailto:HN-articles@familyclassroom.net or mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net. Our main website is: =========================== No part of this newsletter (except subscription information below) may be copied and/or displayed in digital format online (for instance, on a website or blog) without EXPRESS permission from the editor. Individuals may, however, forward the newsletter IN ITS ENTIRETY to *individual* friends (not email groups). For reprints in paper publications (homeschool support group newsletters, etc.) please direct your request to: mailto:Heather@FamilyClassroom.net
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