Hen23's Journal~Goodbye

[FarmerDenise]

Oh, and fun looks..... Stop lights! When a sleeping goat lifts it's head and looks out the window at the car in the next lane...the looks on the faces are priceless!!!!

Oh I am looking forward to that one.

H23, nerve-wracking and exciting isn't it? One of our doelings is a nubian/laMancha cross, she is a sweety and not loud at all. It's our alpine/laMancha cross that cries all the time

 

[Henrietta23]

Just got back from a quick trip to drop off eggs to the folks and borrow dad's car for tomorrow....and on the way over, I realized I typed in the wrong town...it is Charlton, between exits 9 and 10 on the Mass Pike. Google it again and see what it gives ya!

Oh, much different and further east!! 51 minutes. Just past Sturbridge and we're up there all the time! We can either take 84 or avoid it and use back roads.
Sooooooo......I got your PM with the pic. Holy goat! She's a beauty alright. Do you want to contact him or should I do it myself? I'm a little concerned that we aren't ready though.
Just showed DH her picture. He was impressed and wanted to know more about Nubians.
Looks like we'll be fencing on Saturday!
The vet invited us to his meet the goat party on May 7. They're just having a bunch of people over from their church to meet the kids. He also said we could go sooner to meet them, which I think we will do so we can leave him a deposit or something so no one else falls in love with MY goats and decides they have to have them!

 

[Henrietta23]

We are about to head out to DS's Child Study Team meeting. I was relatively calm (except for all the goat excitement) but I'm starting to get anxious. :/

 

[Henrietta23]

Meeting over-yay! It went 'fine'. No battles, no big surprises. We got a chance to voice our concerns. I did come away annoyed that some of the issues raised were things that I brought up mid-year last year! I had asked for help for him in the area of social interactions with peers. At the very end of the year they finally had him working with the SW. It was too late by then. This year I jumped right on it and he was set up with a SW intern whom he sees once a week. He loves going but one on one interaction with an adult has always been easy for him. They do not seem to ever work with other students or do any role modeling of social situations. They do spend some time discussing situations that have already gone wrong. And we have not seen significant changes. Today the team agreed that he should work with the school psych directly on peer social skills. One of my biggest concerns is his self esteem. I think that caught them off guard.
We did finally get some solid academic feedback in a more organized manner. His teacher is so scattered sometimes that I don't always glean the info I need from the way she presents it. Academically he is more than solid, which is not what I came away from our conference last month with. She uses a lot of 'terminology' that is her own and it confuses things. Today the principal asked her to claryify some of it and asked for clear cut numbers as well. He has already passed requirements in reading for the end of second grade. He was just tested in math but she did not have the percentage figured yet. She could only say that he had done very well. Even in writing, which he loathes, he continues to make progress.
The concern is the attention and the fact that he doesn't do class work up the ability he demonstrates on tests.
The psych never came out and said he should be on medication but it was clear that that is what he recommends for next year. He will be doing an attenion screening himself. He was surprised that the pediatrician did not diagnose ADD as he clearly sees that as being what DS has. We stated our case that we are not comfortable with medication given his size and his unknown biological history.
they obviously have not received a release of records from the Catholic school yet. They spent just a few minutes discussing next year. It was subtle but I could figure out which teacher they were thinking he would do better with. It was the more organized structured of the two. That will aid my argument for why he will do better in a smaller, more structured Catholic classroom next year. Ha!
Now I get to get back to freaking out about goats!
Oh yeah, and working.....

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Yay!!! I'm so excited for your potential goats! Great news on the kiddo too

It is sure tough trying to get info from a school system, but I'm glad you are getting help from the principal. You're right, your son will most likely do much better in the smaller, more organized & structured environment.

Mine are Nubian and they do cry, especially when one of us first leaves the field. Its not annoying or terribly loud, unless I'm late with the milking, then Dixie gets loud. I'm changing the "same-time" milking habit thanks to a suggestion from free.

For my dividing fence, I'm getting 20' rebar & cut to 3 equal lengths, just over 6.5' long. Then round bar insulators will cover the rough tops & hold the top wire, with another 2 insulators. I can get 1 stick of rebar for about the same as 1 fence post, so it comes out a lot cheaper.

 

[Dace]

Glad to hear that the meeting was not too bad.

I hope that next year will be a world of difference for your DS!

 

[Henrietta23]

Thanks, I'm very relieved to have it done, even if there is still more information to come. I honestly had thought that DS was a solid average second grader based on what the teacher had said at conferences. He does indeed test above grade level. What they don't talk about is the number of kids who are not at grade level which is significant in our district. So while DS may not be gifted, if a lot of time is spent teaching at a level the other students need, it is almost as if the kids who are a little above grade level are gifted when you think about it.... Kind of. I can see that the material bores him.

I'm thinking a nubian is not going to be any louder than 18 hens, 1 rooster, 5 female ducks and three dogs. My two drakes are very quiet and don't count. althought they do get everyone else in a tizzy with their, um, antics....

 

[FarmerDenise]

I think goats are waaayyy more quiet than chickens or dogs, or male cats on the prowl!!!! And I don't think goats baaa at night either, like so many dogs do

 

[Henrietta23]

We could hear the ones that used to live around the corner from us. I think they were Saanens. They were all white anyway. It wasn't annoying loud. There are lots of other loud noises that don't eminate from my yard, like the little girls who live next door. They don't laugh when they're happy. They shriek at the top of their lungs! The 4 yo taught the 2yo and now there's a 6 month old who I am sure will learn as well.
There are lots of leaf blowers and chain saws that make more noise than my birds. The guy across the street mows his lawn every other day and starts at least by 7am on Sundays. He has large boulders sticking an inch or so out of the ground. He goes right over them. He's either trying to grind them down or sharpen his mower blade. In 20+ years it hasn't work but he still doesn't get it...
And of course we live within two miles of a small local airport so we get small planes flying over constantly.
Yeah, a few goats won't make a difference.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

If you are lucky, the maaaas will drown out some of the city noise!