This video was originally posted to YouTube, but for some reason, YouTube decided to strip out all of the sound. As you can tell, there is no music in the background (at one time, they were allowing videos to be posted but they removed all of the music from there, even incidental music that had NOTHING to do with the rest of the video). I’m not sure why the sound was gone, but I don’t have to worry about it; this is a video primarily for my friends and family and you can all see it from here.
I work evenings and don’t get to see Stephen a lot. Here is his reaction to me coming home early enough to see him one night.
open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions
Tags: stephen
This video was originally posted to YouTube, but for some reason, YouTube decided to strip out all of the sound. As you can tell, there is no music in the background (at one time, they were allowing videos to be posted but they removed all of the music from there, even incidental music that had NOTHING to do with the rest of the video). I’m not sure why the sound was gone, but I don’t have to worry about it; this is a video primarily for my friends and family and you can all see it from here.
This is just a quick clip of Gabryale enjoying a tasty beverage.
open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutionsTags: gabryale
Image by Image Editor via Flickr
When we were kids, my mother would buy me and my brother educational toys. Not just games that helped us with reading and writing, but things like erector sets, rock tumblers, chemistry sets, this thing that taught us about electricity and circuitry, magnets, etc. Plus, we always seemed to have a microscope or telescope around the house.
Even though neither of us went into careers that had anything to do with engineering, geology, chemistry, physics, biology or anything like that, I’m glad we were at least exposed to things like that as kids. Stephen knows how to use computers, but I wonder if I am not limiting his potential by not getting him the type of things my mom got for us. This is something that I have to think about.
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Stephen had taken a slight fall on the stairs at home. This is the post fall interview. I’m pretty sure he was about four at the time.
open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions
Tags: stephen
I have been putting actual content in my test messages and this is no exception.
This is a picture of my granddaughter. One that I don’t think I have posted before. Isn’t she a cutie?
Tags: gabryale
I was putting some of Stephen’s things away when I noticed that he got a new batch of flash cards. Since I have been very disappointed in the level of his previous words, I didn’t expect much from these. I was very surprised and pleased to see:
thousand
difficult
I’ve
describe
you’ll
separate
according
throughout
variety
particular
column
experiment
knowledge
original
indeed
chief
represent
develop
twenty
familiar
community
electricity
experience
purpose
When I asked him about the words, he didn’t remember where they came from, but he knew them all with no hesitation. I wanted him to take them to his teacher and let her know that I approve of these words for him, but for some reason he didn’t want to do that. I’m pretty sure it is because he didn’t want to be insulting. Like my brothers and father, my son has the ability to not say stupid and insulting things to people. Unfortunately, I don’t have that ability.
Personally I don’t think this list of words should be given to every first grader, but Stephen isn’t like most first graders. I used to work in a learning lab for adults returning to school after a long time (sometimes decades) and there were a bunch of computerized tests the students would take to determine their reading and learning levels. I always thought there should be something like for school age children.
While I don’t think it would be a good idea to take Stephen and put him in a higher grade the way the system is current configured, I would love to see the first month or so of the school year devoted to this sort of placement testing. After that the students could be grouped according to learning ability. Age would also be factored in because we don’t want slow teenagers in the same class with quick preteens. Despite the same learning ability, the maturity level might be drastically different.
I just wish I had the time and the knowledge to go the homeschooling route, but the main drawback with that would be Stephen developing stronger social skills. I know where my weaknesses are.
I have four children (Jaymie, Jazmyn, Araya and Stephen), two surrogate children (Jessica and Billy) and one grand-daughter (Gabryale). I wear bifocals, have arthritis and more gray hair on my chin than on the top of my head. And yet the one thing that really makes me feel old is a conversation I had with my mother where she told me that she might be retiring next year. I don’t know why it makes me feel old, but it does.
Out of all my nieces and nephews, I am probably closest with Jessica. She is around the same age as Jazmyn and we have always tried to include her in as much stuff as we could. So she has always been more like another daughter than a niece. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see or talk to her as much as I would like, but she knows her Uncle Derek loves her.
