Wednesday, December 28, 2022

 Wednesday, December 28, 2022

  I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep. I had a night like that a while ago. I just meditated. Meditation provides the same mental rest as sleep. I must have dozed on and off, but I never fell into a deep sleep.

  I worked with Mama K's crew and second grade M every day I could over the winter break because they were way behind. I didn't get feedback from second-grade M's teacher on what she needed help with in math. I used the published Hawaiian Common Core standards for second grade. We worked on addition with regrouping. She had trouble with this. I started working with her on math when I discovered she couldn't read a three-digit number. She mastered that. When she saw a four-digit answer to an addition problem, she had no idea how to read it. I reviewed how to read multi-digit numbers.

   I had Mama K's crew right afterward. Fourth grade K did much better with addition and subtraction with regrouping. I met with both Twin A & E and continued doing what I had been doing.

   I started trimming my out-of-control shrubs along the edge of the driveway. I got up on a step ladder to get to the top branches. The part of the branches just above the edge of the fence was within my reach. I grabbed two-to-three-foot branches as they fell and lay them on the driveway. The gardener will collect them with the remaining green waste when he comes later this month.

    Adolescent D revealed that he hates to use my procedure, starting with the vowel when decoding a word, because it makes him feel stupid. He has perceptional problems. He is not the only person I've worked with who indulges in self-hatred in response to personal issues. We've addressed his problem of self-hatred and shame before. It prevents him from working on his problems. Thinking about his inadequacies is so painful.

  For the second year, I used Charity Navigator for my end-year giving. Using the site influences which charities I gave to. When I found one I usually contributed to with a below 95 percent rating, I looked for another that served a similar function. After donating to nine or ten, my credit card was denied. I assume the fraud detection system kicked in. I will have to call tomorrow if they don't call me. The credit company called the other day to check for possible fraud after I had donated to my first round of ten charities. I leave charitable giving to the end of the year, except for the one or two charities I give to monthly. That way, I don't drive myself nuts wondering what I have and have not given. The appeals are endless.