We did several appointments with this neuropsychologist person for the Goober's school evaluation this week. One more to go. Then I hand-deliver reports and forms to the school administration office. Tuesday night they decide if she can start school. If not, I enroll her in the State of Pennsylvania cyber school (a branch of the public school system, one not run by ass hats) and sign her up for sports at the YMCA for the social stuff. Or art classes. Or dinosaur lessons. Or whatever. Something sociable. Either way, this kid's doing kindergarten this year. I'd prefer it in a classroom situation but I'll do what it takes. Hell or high water. Momma Bear and my Inner Bitch have held a meeting and decided.
The only news - that isn't really that shocking - from the neuropsych lady is, the Goob's having visual acuity problems. You know, the ability to soak up visual information. We think it's because she went through her early childhood with such bad eyesight. We got it corrected, but she still needs to learn how to use her eyes better. So we'll be putting her through some medical/psych program to help with that, too. Considering I score freakishly high on visual acuity myself, I'd like to do what I can for her to be as good at it as possible. I know first-hand that much of my 'smart' is just that visual acuity working its magic. It would be nice for the Goober to have that, too.
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The other day, we got home from the shrink's office, and the husbeast was watching Transformers 2. The Goob stood in the den, in front of the TV, mesmerized by the action. We had the following discussion, paraphrased a bit:
GOOB: OOoooooooOoo!
ME: You're not allowed to watch this. It's too violent.
GOOB: What's 'violent'?
ME: People hitting each other.
GOOB: I'm okay with that.
ME: I'm not. Upstairs.
GOOB, grumbling as she climbs up the stairs: You're no fun.
ME: I'm okay with that.
GOOB: Grrrr.
She also caught a few minutes of the original Star Wars and seemed fascinated. I'm considering letting her watch that one. There's no gore in it. People die, but, hell, people die on her CARTOONS. So I'm finding it hard to draw the line over that sort of thing.
"Saw" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" are out for the time being, though.
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I've been KNITTING! Zombie projects, because my brain can't do complicated while dealing with all this other crap. Hopefully the Goober will start school and I can spend mornings knitting like the wind on Christmas presents. For now, though, well. Hm.
Last night I tried to cast off the prototype Shrug-Wrap Thingie. Got about a quarter of the way through before I faced reality; I don't have enough yarn for the cast-off. So I've got to tink back about 200 stitches of the cast-off. Then the 550 stitches of the row before. THEN cast off. This does not fill me with joy. In fact, over on Twitter I mentioned the trouble last night. I think I used 'motherfucker' every other word.
In the mean time? I'm casting on a pair of socks. That's right. I'm finally in an environment cold enough to justify it, and I found some really pretty yarn the other day. Kroy Sock FX, in the gray/slate blue/pink color scheme. If I could actually manage Judy's Magic Cast-On properly (about to start attempt number three), I think it'd make pretty socks. I got enough for real socks that go up my leg, planning to wear them in winter. Usually I use about four hundred yards and knit ankle-socks, but not this time.
So, that's all there is to report. More red tape, some actual knitting. With luck, this weekend I will dye some merino/silk blend in the Purple Trainwreck color scheme. Having never done that before, I'm curious to see how it turns out. I'll be sure to take photos.
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12 comments:
Sometimes I feel like a purple train wreck. I don't know where all these bruises come from! 8^D It was a while before we realized our younger son was having vision problems. They would be screened every year in grade school, but not in middle school. The Dr figured the vision change was associated with a pre-puberty growth spurt, but I felt guilty that I had not realized how bad his eyes had gotten. After an adjustment period he did fine and with a period of eye exercise I'm sure Curly Top will too!
Judy's Magic Cast On - there's a way to do it so it doesn't end up with one needle full of twisted stitches.
Also, man. I don't recommend trying it with nothing but 8-inch dpns handy. The stabby. I had it.
Are you SURE your girl is only starting kindergarten? I mean REALLY sure? Cause that convo sounds more like a 7-8 year old than a little girl that just turned 5. (She is five right? years go by way too damned fast heh)
The ass hats are everywhere. Keep the Mama Bear close at hand.
Can you find some fun Wii games to help build her acuity? She's so sharp I'm sure she'll pick them up fast.
It's the Mama's job to be "no fun."
A KAL just started today (well, Friday) over on Ravelry for toe-up, magic loop (Turkish cast-on). No need to buy yarn from Appalachian yarns to participate.
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/appalachian-yarns-inc/1269161/1-25#
Re the "violence"...this is just a story...and I am NOT recommending Chainsaw Massacre or anything of the sort for a 5-year-old!!...I used to worry about my son's fascination with guns & explosions etc; he loved the Rambo & Scwartzenegger stuff when he was an adolescent. One day my daughter rented "Pet Semetary"; he refused to watch it. "It's too violent," he said. "In it, a cat dies and a toddler dies," and, true to his word, he left the room when she started the movie.
I had to watch, to see what it was that was too much for him; both deaths occur offscreen. You see the toddler; you see the truck; you see the grieving parents. Ditto with the cat.
I calmed down after that. The Goob, however, is still too young for you to be sure she "gets" the distinction. Anyway, she needs to know what you think; in my humble opinion, that matters more than her actual exposure.
I think it's great to have her watch the original Star Wars - as long as you skip the new ones. Those were crap. You gotta start developing her sense of nerd taste at an early age.
"You're no fun." "I'm ok with that." And another boundary has been tested and found secure. All things considered, there's a lot to be said for secure boundaries.
Nice to have found out about the visual acuity thing so early. I'm greatly curious about the corrective training for that. Maybe i can learn to actually recognize the dean when he makes his biennial visit to the department.
I think it's really weird that if you make the age cutoff for kindergarten, you can show up, no questions asked -- but if you're born after the cutoff, you're subject to all sorts of bizarre testing to see if you're qualified.
Kinda like people breeding like rabbits without anyone batting an eyelash, but if they want to adopt, they have to go through tons of hoops to bring home a child.
Like I said, weird.
Goobs will have a much better experience in school!
Good luck getting her into school.
About the violence . . . I grew up on horror movies, so I am bias to the belief that it doesn't really matter. I don't even blink with most violence on screen, my mind knows it's fake, in fact most of it is just ridiculous. I still cry every time Simba from the Lion Kind dies.
In the end, imagination is far more realistic than a television screen.
Uhm, yeah, Mufasa not Simba. :)
My kids have watched the start of Star Wars up to Luke finding his aunt and uncles bodies. Well, not the baby. Anyway, it's better to risk getting this one wrong than ending up with a kid who thinks Wall-E and others made those scenes up.
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