Today is day three of Helana being off methylphenidate (Ritalin).  So far so good.  Yes, she's a tad more high strung and hyper but not much.  The biggest challenge has been in school.  She has more difficulty focusing and following directions.  It isn't that she doesn't want to.  It is almost as if I can literally see the marbles shaking around in her head.  When I hold up a flash card or write a word and ask her to read it to me, she looks everywhere but at the paper.  Then she tells me she can't read.  I assure her that she can read some words and that is why we "have school" so that she can learn to read all the words.  Is it dyslexia, ADHD or sensory overload?  Or perhaps all three?  She tries so hard.  I am beginning to think she asks for so many breaks because it is getting all jumbled up in her mind.  It is hard work, on her part.

The reality is, Mama needs to get her butt in gear and create a more sensory-friendly and stable routine.  We always manage to do school everyday, but I've scheduled it around her moods.  I now think she may benefit from something more routine to her routine.  I guess this is common in all first-time homeschoolers; figuring out what works and what doesn't.  Kindergarten has been our trial-and-error time.  Yep, we need a tighter schedule; now to create one that accomodates for a soon-to-be mobile baby.