More From Luke

A few weeks ago Cat was explaining that thermonuclear atom bombs (the reaction happening at high temperatures) and Luke asked, "So you can only use them in summer?"

Another day, Jack admitted that he got some spit on Froggy (Luke's preferred bedtime stuffed animal for forever) and when Luke checked to see if it was spit he said, "Yes it is.  Indeed, I felt it."

A few weeks ago Luke got in the car after school and informed me that he wanted to be in the Army or an electrician when he grows up.  When I asked him why he wants to be in the Army, he said because he wants to "fight for freedom."

"Whose freedom?"

"America's freedom.  Also, anger."

"What do you mean, anger?"

"Anger at other countries."

Recently I decided I wanted to read a chapter book with him at night (something I haven't done as much with Luke as I did with the older kids).  We looked through our shelves of chapter books and I made several suggestions of books I thought would be fun.  He finally chose one that hadn't been on my radar, but which definitely makes sense given his interest in the Army: I Survived the American Revolution, 1776.  We're both enjoying it!

On a related note... during a brief origami craze, Luke made these ninja stars.  So that he'll be prepared.  In case of attack.

Luke had a vision to make a giant gummy worm by melting gummy bears that were wrapped in Froot by the Foot.  He was so excited about the outcome that he shared it with everyone.  After he brought some to Ben, who was upstairs working in the office, he came down and excitedly reported that Dad had given the creation five stars.  I told him that Dad had never given anything I'd made five stars and Luke giggled to himself and said, "No offense, but that's funny."  Then after thinking about it for a minute or two he added, "And you've made a lot of things."

Ben took Luke to several stores to try to find new school shoes.  After striking out over and over again, they turned to Amazon, but still couldn't find the right size/option.  Ben finally checked Walmart.com and Luke immediately fell in love with these beauties.  He didn't want the rest of us to see the picture before the shoes arrived, and when they finally did come, he quietly sat on the chair reading and smiling to himself, waiting for everyone to notice.  He says he chose them because they're so colorful.

Luke has been struggling to get his homework done all year, and has had to stay in at recess several times to finish work that should have been done in class.  He particularly resists writing.  He's also a very fidgety kid, and almost never sits through a meal without getting up at least once.  He's had some trouble staying in his seat at school this year too.

We had him assessed for ADHD at the end of January but he didn't quite meet all the requirements for a diagnosis.  One of the suggestions from our pediatrician was to find a quiet place where Luke could do homework, free from distractions.  This had been on my mind but hearing it from the doctor motivated me to make it happen.  I cleaned off an old desk we had in the garage and made a place for it in the catch-all room in the basement.  Luke had been talking about Area 51 shortly before this so I suggested we call his new workspace Area 23 (to do with his birthday) and Luke agreed.  It's been very helpful so far!  

I also started looking for other options to help him reach his potential and be more successful at school, and decided to start physio neuro therapy.  It's a 6-month program designed for bright kids who are struggling.  We meet with a trainer once a week to review and learn new exercises, then I help him through the exercises at home 5 times a week.  The exercises are designed to create more efficient neural connections, helping him to have a better memory, an increased ability to focus, and better coordination.  He started last week and it's going well so far!  I cleaned out the multi-purpose room in the basement a little more so that we could set up the equipment for the exercises.  It worked out that we were already using that as a workspace for him!

UPDATED 3/16/21:

The day after I published this post, Luke told me he actually wants to be a detective.

When he was getting ready for bed that night, I told him he should collect all the dirty clothes in his room and put them in the dirty clothes hamper in the laundry room.  He replied with, "Oh, that's gonna be a big load."