It’s All in the Details

Posted byAbPosted inADHD, adoption, FASD, growth mindset, Parenting, schoolTags:, , , , , , , ,

An important lesson that school teaches kids is that details and presentation matter; and they help move average towards excellent.

Two weeks ago, we learned that T had to complete a diorama about a Canadian region of his choice and accompanied by a research report and presentation.

My first thought was “What fresh hell is this?”

A diorama is a three-dimensional model that replicates a scene and is often miniature sized.

For whatever reason, maybe a full moon, this caused the hubby great anxiety. I’m usually the one who stresses out about things, so it was amusing to see T’s project unfold over a week through the hubby’s eyes.

After confirming T wanted to do his diorama on the Canadian Shield, the hubby got supplies at the dollar store.

The hubby got T to design the scene and lay out items, such as rocks, animals and labels, and I gotta say, it turned out amazing! 💕

The hubby helped with harder tasks, like gluing the trees down using a hot glue gun – and added cool detail like the paper forest background.

He obsessed over it and even wondered if he should get water-textured puddy he found online and I gave him a big hug and said, “You’re not the one being graded.” 😂

Gentle teasing aside, details do matter.

Caring about details, such as his penmanship, double checking math work, giving depth in his writing, is a lesson we try to instill in T.

Given his ADHD and FASD dual diagnosis, it’s not easy but it’s important to keep trying.

With the diorama done, T had to write a research report, using at least two sources.

Guess which lucky duck had to help with this! 🙃

I wanted T to do as much of the work on his own but he needed to be set up for success.

I found two library books then wrote headings that he had to find information about – such as landforms, climate, plants, animals – based on the rubric his teacher provided.

I helped T learn how to use the book’s table of contents and index as part of researching and I asked him to write down two sentences per heading, because details are important.

I asked him to put the info in his own words instead of copying them word for word.

I aged about 10 years by the time he wrote his first draft – see below. But wait, there’s more!

One of the two pages of T’s research

Because I’m a masochist, I told T he had to type up his two pages of research notes.

He blew a big fit and said his teacher didn’t ask him to type his report.

I told him that presentation matters and that his handwritten report was good but looked sloppy.

Thus began a three-night journey where T typed up his report, little by little, after supper.

The only person that moved slower was George RR Martin working on the next Game of Thrones book.

This ADHD child got distracted by the most random things – like suddenly thinking it’d be fun to press down on a single letter for a minute to see it populate a whole page. God help me! 😂

But we got it done – and it was worth it!

T was one of the few students who turned in his assignment on the deadline last Friday.

His CYW proudly texted us photos of T presenting his diorama to his class.

She said he did the best job and was the only student who came prepared with a typed up report that he read out as notes.

His teacher agreed and gave him an A. It was originally an A+ but he lost the + for not making eye contact. Whatever… progress not perfection!

We told T we were so proud of him and said that his extra care and attention to detail paid off.

We celebrated with pizza for T and wings for the parents that evening. And I congratulated the hubby on his A too! 🤣

T came up with the title by himself! The photo is of him at Killbear, situated within the Canadian Shield. No bears were harmed in writing this report.
I came up with the headings, using a Q&A approach, for him to answer and to help him learn to organize his thoughts when doing research reports.

60 thoughts on “It’s All in the Details”

  1. That’s quite the in-depth assignment! Love T’s choice to focus on the Canadian Shield. The diorama looks fantastic! Glad to hear he got an A and was the only student who typed up his research report. He definitely nailed the details! And you definitely nailed finding a lot of humour during the process!

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      1. I think we’re all pretty much over the jet lag now and are settling back into our normal routine. And now onto the next trip to plan! No idea when or where we’ll go, but I always enjoy having a trip to plan and something to look forward to.

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      2. You are never ever in rest! 😂 And I love it.

        We have our summer roadtrip planned out. Returning to Northern Ontario, 5 years after our first visit and half of T’s lifetime ago. I can’t wait! 🙏

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      4. A week. We won’t venture as far as Thunder Bay this time. Instead will concentrate our time around the Lake Superior park area with stops at nearby towns on the way there and back. Can’t wait!

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  3. Oh. My. Thank goodness for a happy ending. “like suddenly thinking it’d be fun to press down on a single letter for a minute to see it populate a whole page.”

    😂

    You have so much patience! I’m so glad he did well. And that diorama really is smashing. Well done to Hubby, too! The background paper was genius, really.

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  4. YOU MAKE ME LAUGH! “What fresh hell is this?” and “aging 10 years over the 1st draft! As always, your wise parenting experience is important for families of children With and Without ADHD/FASD – Love your writing!

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  5. As a former elementary teacher for 31 years, I loved this story for so many reasons. The fact that you didn’t just throw up your hands and do everything for T, the way many parents do in such instances, speaks volumes about you and your husband. You are modeling resilience, which is such a great lesson for T, especially coming from his parents.

    I also love your honesty. Parenting is hard work, but then there are rewards like this, when you see the smiles and pride of your son at the end of the road.

    Your partner’s reaction to this project was no different than many parents. They immediately cringe and break into a cold sweat. The Science Fair produced the same reaction at our school. Some parents even went as far as writing hostile letters about it. We eventually gave children (and their parents by association) a choice between doing a Science Fair or History Day project.

    By the way, I seldom add another blog these days, Ab. I have a hard enough time getting to the ones I already follow. I remember watching your podcast with Wynne and Vicki, two wonderful people, and I was impressed. I’m glad I signed up to your blog today. Nice to meet you, Ab.

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    1. Thank you for your very thoughtful comment, Pete. 😊 It’s very nice to connect with people through WordPress as it reminds me there is always a thread that ties all our life experiences together. You’re the third teacher I’ve met on this and I always appreciate hearing the perspective from the other side – and the empathy! 😊

      And yes, I am looking forward to the Science Fair and History Day projects one day. They’ll likely be multi-part posts. 😂😂😂

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  6. T’s diorama looks wonderful. He did an excellent job. I love the way you and your husband support him, and help him learn the important lessons attached to both his learning and the exploration of his world.

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  7. Okay, you had me laughing at “What fresh hell is this?” and your George R.R. Martin comment! And I’m glad that you guys survived this challenging journey. Not just survived, but succeeded! You guys should be proud of yourselves, too, for the lots of effort put into the project 🌞

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  8. Oh, I love this. Especially, “The only person that moved slower was George RR Martin working on the next Game of Thrones book.”

    And I’m still laughing that there were no bears harmed in the making of this report. Love how you set T up for success and can totally relate to how slow it is to watch them type at this age. I often think that if one didn’t have to expend 10 words of chatter for every word typed, it would go faster. 🙂

    Huge congratulations to you all on a project well done — and you’re right, the details and presentation matter! And you all nailed it!

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    1. Thanks Wynne. 😊 I am genuinely worried he’s never gonna finish the Game of Thrones series before he dies! He still has two books to go. 😆

      As much as I wanted to scream watching him type, I will say that I was also surprised how much his typing skills had grown since grade 1. It was nice to see these skills develop on their own. 🙏

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      1. I didn’t realize that he had TWO more books to go. Oh yes, that’s worrisome. Yikes!

        You’re right about the step back and appreciating all the progress. It’s amazing all they are learning, isn’t it?

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  10. You’ve aged me with this one Ab!!! When you wrote that you made T type up the report and his response that the teacher didn’t say that . . . you took me back a few years. Oh my goodness, I was taken back to telling my kids the same thing and them fighting wtih me. Ha, ha. I’m not sure they stopped being mad at me on that one, but they sure liked getting better grades from it. Ha, ha.

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    2. I see a lot of parallels in our life experiences, Brian, and this is the latest one. 😊 Yes, our kids certainly gripe and hate us in the moment. And we probably hated ourselves for suggesting it. But it’s so worth it in the end, especially for the pride they feel! 😊

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  12. well done, all! and I still think he should have gotten the +, eye contact is very hard for many people, myself included, especially when given a presentation, but that being said, I love dioramas and glad you all survived it. very proud of him, as you both are and I learned something today.

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    1. Thanks Beth! 😊 Yah, eye contact is hard especially for neurodivergent kids like T, but I appreciate the teacher giving him something to think about for next time.

      I learned about what dioramas are through this project so that was a lot of fun too!

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  13. Wonderful work all around, congrats to everyone Ab! I love the systematic way you worked with T to accomplish his project. I think establishing those routines makes a huge difference and only strengthens the process for future work T will do. Also I just love diorama’s! They were popular waaayyy back when I was young and even my own kids all experienced them. Please tell T that I learned a lot about a place in Canada that I’d never heard described before.

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    1. Thanks Deb! 😊 I think one of the most important lessons I tried to share with him was to break his project into bite size pieces by starting early so he wouldn’t be scrambling at the last minute. I hope that lesson sticks with him. 🙏

      I’ll be sure to pass your message to T. I’ve been slowly sharing messages with him now that he knows I post stories about him. He likes hearing the feedback. 😊

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  14. Ah-mazing! As much as you and the hubby think you’re not the ones being graded, you’re absolutely being graded! T deserves the +!

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  15. “What fresh he’ll is this”, thanks for the chuckle before bed Ab. I’m sure I’ll be repeating that as necessary throughout the week.

    I am thankful too for you allowing me to share in T”s growth over the years. I feel like we are family. My children even tease when I speak of you as if we’ve been hanging out for decades.🤣

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    1. Thanks Tammy! 😊 I’m glad I can make you chuckle. 😆 The thing we parents go through for our children’s sake. 🤣

      I am so thankful for how blogging has allowed me to meet people such as you. It’s broadened my mind and it also brings me joy to know T’s story resonates just as yours has with me!

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    1. Thanks Diane! 😊 It’s funny seeing homework through the eyes of a parent. The things that used to stress me out as a kid doesn’t seem so big now. But then there are now other stresses such as getting them to finish the work! 😂

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    1. Thanks Margie. 😊 I thought you’d like the diorama. Maybe he’ll do an archaeology related project in the near future. And yes, survival is such apt term for this experience. 😂

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    1. Thanks Jane. 😊 It was a fun (and slightly painful) project! No, he doesn’t go to that school. I haven’t even heard of it and will have to look it up!

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  19. This is so great! Well done, T! and you and your husband, Ab! 😄 It’s wonderful that T learns the importance of details since such an early age. It will surely come handy once he enters the professional world in the future. I laughed at how T was distracted by the idea of pressing down a letter to fill the entire page. 😆

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    1. Thanks Bama! 😊 And I agree, I obsess over these details because these habits do matter once he enters the professional world in the future (God willing). 🙏 I can laugh about the distracted typing now but my goodness, I wanted to kill him while it was happening. 😂

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