It's All About Perception

Today I'm feeling curious, motivated and relaxed.
Today, I will read more about how medication affects the brain.

Hi Followers and Fellow Bloggers!

I finished reading Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception by Thom Hartmann on Monday and reread it yesterday, taking a few notes. It's truly a different perspective on ADD/ADHD and I quite liked how Mr. Hartmann presented the information.  Although a bit wishy-washy on his stance with the medication, I think that he made great points in the 'For/Against' arguments for medicating.

The thing I liked best about the book was the reiteration that the ADD/ADHD traits are part of our children's personality! Like, their sense of humor or the color of the hair.  It's not a disorder, disability, and that there is nothing wrong with them.  They just don't fit into society's perceived models of 'normal'.  They are their own normal and there are so many others like them.

For example, he uses the comparison of a Hunter for children with ADD/ADHD and a Farmer for children without.  Hunters had to always be aware of their surroundings when looking for food. They had to know when danger was coming and adapt quickly to changes to be successful in the kill.  Modern day ADD/ADHD children exhibit these same traits! They are easily 'distracted', switch quickly from one activity to another, and have a hard time sitting still.  Farmers rose at sunrise, at breakfast, planted food, watched it grow, harvested and prepared.  Modern day Farmer children are very still in their seats for long periods of time, can focus on just one task at a time and often unable to multi task well, and enjoy the 'sameness' of their daily routines. 

He went into great lengths about how our modern school systems are quick to point out the 'disability' of Hunters, even though they just have characteristics that differ from Farmer types.  A very interesting thing I read and wholly agreed with was the way a Gifted program is handled. Hunters need to be constantly on the move, exploring, sensing and touching. They need to be able to handle the lesson and explore it. They are bright, inquisitive and often quite 'gifted' and intelligent.  These same traits keep them from excelling in the classroom because sitting, listening, and looking are so boring for them!  In order to qualify for most district Gifted programs, you have to have awesome grades. Just think about it: what if we adjusted this model and created classrooms for Hunters and classrooms for Farmers, where could really excel? The instance of modification plans (IEP's and 504's) would be cut dramatically. The thought was so provoking and I think it would be so awesome if we could get away from "ancient" school models of "Sit, Stay, Listen" and gear it towards "Look, Learn, Do."

Very interesting reading! Get a copy if you can and get ready to have a new perspective!
Leo

BUILD YOUR OWN HANGING WALL FILE

From the Storm Day Organizing post, here are the instructions for building your own hanging wall file.

First, you'll need to decide on how many folders for each child. I am using 3: FOR MOM, RETURN TO TEACHER, IMPORTANT FORMS. The original blog I found used one folder for each day of the week because they homeschooled. You could just use two for IN/OUT but the organization blogs I read said we should use very specific labels for Hailey to know exactly what can go in that pocket.

I chose to use standard 2 pocket, laminated paper folders. I matched up coordinating colors/designs for each child: they were cheaper than anything else.  I got everything for this part at the local Dollar General. I found instructions on wrapping plain manila folders with decorative Duct tape or mod- podge fabric to them: that's way too labor intensive for me but feel free to do that if you have the patience! I bet they'd be cute! I'm only providing instructions for what I did but you can alter them
easily.

Three sets of 3



Supplies:
File folders
Sharp Scissors
Scotch Tape
Duct Tape
Ribbon
*Washi Tape/embellishments (optional, if you wish to decorate it)
Hot glue gun and sticks
3M strips or hanging accessories


1. Cut the inside pockets out of the folders. Because they'll hang sideways, you won't need them and they will prevent the papers from sliding in and out easily. Save the scraps to reinforce the labels later.

 



Folder with pockets

Pockets Removed

 



2. Choose the order of your folders for aesthetics. You'll be starting with your bottom folder. Open it and lay it with the spine down.

In Order

 

 



Folder Spine Side Down

3. Choose the middle folder and place it, closed, along the top edge of the top flap on the bottom folder.  Using the sheet of paper, see if it peeks out of the top of the bottom folder, while leaving room to affix a label on the middle one. Be sure to leave enough room for the size of the label you are using: you don't want it covered when papers are inserted. Don't glue yet!

Bottom folder with the middle folder on back flap

 



4. Continue this process for each folder. Once you get it where you want, you can use scotch tape to hold them in place so they don't move.  Be careful NOT to stick it on the outside decorative part, as it will pull off the design when you get ready to affix it permanently. I also marked the inside of each folder so I would know how far down it should go.

What it looks when built



5. Now hot glue or tape the left and right edges and where they attach to each other. Be careful not to glue your opening slots (where the paper is placed in the photo).

6. Let the adhesive/glue dry! I waited 20 minutes just to be safe!

7. For more decoration and/or additional sturdiness, you can go along the left and right sides with decorative Duct tape or Washi tape. It also gives it a nice finished look. I skipped this step for now since our local Duct tape selection is limited and I wanted each set of folders to coordinate.

8. Time to label!  I chose to use plain paper and attached to one of the leftover folder pocket pieces to make it sturdy. Choose a font that is clear and easy to read and a color that shows up well. You could also use 3d stickers, etc. It should pop like advertising to grab the child's attention and be easy to read.

9. At this point, you have to decide HOW to hang it. Because punching holes with all these layers seemed like a Herculean task, I just hot glued cute ribbon to the back and reinforced with some duct tape.

10. I wasn't sure how much room I'd need for everything else so I chose to wait and buy 3M strips later and used small push pins to get it up.

 

 

 

 



Ta-da! So, you can see why I didn't go for a different process. This already had a lot of steps to it and my goal was a One Day project. One folder got ruined because I experimented with a straight blade. The cuts were a little difficult and I was glad I thought of the tape along the edges to make it look more finished.

You can also see on the right side that one set of folders is slightly shorter than the others: I was not feeling well and wasn't paying attention. :)

Did you try this? Did it turn out? I would love pictures and to hear how it went for you.  If I can clarify anything, please email me or post!

Be Creative!

~Leo

Storm Day Organizing

Today,  06/06/13, I'm feeling: organized, determined, relaxed.

We have tropical storm Andrea heading our way and I though it'd be the perfect time to get some things ready for the new school year.  I've been doing a lot of reading about organization: nothing new in this house. I'm fastidious about cleanliness and organization.  Even my cabinets and closets are organized in a specific manner and I change them if I feel negative when opening a door to anything. Yeah-I'm a little crazy, in a good way.

The problem I've found is they tell you WHAT to do but never show you HOW to do it. "Implement a filing system." Well, sheesh, there are a thousand ways to do that. So, I combed Pinterest and Google and blog after blog.  I'm cheap, so anything from a certain felonious home decorator (ahem) wasn't going to work. I finally found some ideas that I could combine for my own. I'm working on them today. So, that's what I'll tell you about. I included instructions for everything so the post may get long. I hate seeing cute things without instructions on how to do it. Look for split postings for more detailed how-to.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Step 1: Pinterest has some great ideas for command centers and there are so many DIY projects out there. Pick something easy because let's face it: dealing with some extravagant project is just going to add to your workload and possibly make you hate it.

Step2: Decide the options that will work best for you, snapshot that idea, and shop for the supplies you need to make it happen. I got nearly everything for mine at the hardware store and the local Dollar General.  You may want file folders for paperwork instead of expensive plastic hanging file bins. You may want a chalk board section instead of dry erase, etc, etc.

Step3: Decide the location.  I chose to put ours in the living room in a weird little space where nothing else fit or looked good.  Our desk and office area are right there, you have to pass it to exit either door in the house and it's very visible! Visibility is a great tool for us and consolidation will make it easier to find everything in ONE place. There was nothing more frustrating than 4 pages of homework being lost in drawers, in the bed, or under the couch!

Step4: Take your time. Make it work for your kids AND you! Label and color code everything simply. Use the same method for each child, maybe a different color scheme. (Hailey likes pink, Maddie likes blue and green, JC isn't picky.) And choose things that are heavy duty. It's a little more initially but how can you use it if it come apart? Things have a way of deteriorating at lightning speed with kids. ;)

Step5: Have fun! Be prepared to use what you create. I read an article last night from ADDitude.com about implementing a routine and running your house like Army barracks, minus the yelling. It does make sense: routine, routine, routine.

PROJECT TIME!

I chose to install, for each child, new sturdy hooks for backpacks and jackets, a 3 pocket hanging wall file for paperwork, dry erase planners for chores, and a clip board for displaying great work. You can tweak it for your own purpose. The original blog I found had used a folder for every day of the week (it was for homeschoolers).

Here is the space we chose. Josh is measuring to install a reinforced backpack and jacket center so they are no longer thrown wherever they land. We like this because it has two walls if we need to expand.

 

Here is the  installed rail. We chose a really sturdy board instead of standard chair railing or crown moulding because their backpacks are so heavy. Our school district doesn't have lockers in any school. We had the hardware store cut the board for us (no mitered corners.) to fit the space and drilled it into the wall studs. Find the wall studs to keep it strong!

 

 It didn't budge!

 

 

Next, I created the hanging wall file. There really were no instructions, it was a matter of trial and error and copying what was in pictures. I chose NOT to use decorative file folders but cute two pocket folders instead. They were cheaper, more accessible, and had more design ideas. I have the instructions for this on another post b/c it was detailed and long!

 

Once the hanging files were done, I decided a clipboard would be great to show off great work, so it went up.

 

We already have a chore chart (on the right side of the wall on a bulletin board) because my computer has a great template: I just change the dates for each week and color code them for each person.

(Here is Hailey checking her list.)

 

 

 I still thought a dry erase strip for important things would be good for the new year. Since they have different resource on different days, it'd be good to write those down for each child (music, PE, Library, etc.) Then, we can check that the night before and make sure they have what they need for that day. They are under the clipboards in the picture.

  

 

So, here is the almost final product: Driver Command Central Station. I need the label the folders.

I think I'll add a cute throw rug and some wooden initials near the border but it's fully functional!

 

 

 Be Blessed!

~Leo

 P.S. Notice the ones on the far right are a little off: I was not feeling good by that point and wasn't paying attention but for me, it's ok. Just remember to measure them if you want them all the same size!