Mind Retrofit

Archive for the ‘Home School’ Category

I have had it! I just want to write a post on something that is fun and happy. I have several blog posts that I have written and I just don’t want to publish them yet. They expose some of my thoughts that I am not sure I am ready to share. I want a happy, joyful post that gets me away from all of my seriousness and constant questions. My racing mind and the insane obsession with finding information about any given thing that pops in my head. I just want it to stop for a moment. One way for me to do that is to focus on my kids. This week we have been very lax and have spent our time creating story helps with our books, creating and playing. Well I guess that is school. Hm…

So here are some pictures of our week and some of the things we have created together.

There are some of Ariel’s paintings, our valentines that we created, Lego village that Joshua made, Daniel’s invasion of the kitchen table with all of his possessions that he needs surrounding him, (it is driving me crazy, complete chaos) and then our story adventures. This makes me happy. We all had a lot of fun and looking at these pictures helps to remind me to not be so serious all the time. Just sit back and enjoy life. (click on the images to make them bigger)

Simple is good and I just have to get to the point where I accept that there are some questions,  that just cannot be answered and I cannot allow other people’s ignorance or lack of wanting to understand take hold of my life. I gave this post the title for one very important reason, I really like saying “chick-a chick-a boom boom”, it makes me laugh. The best thing is when the kids and I march around the house reciting this book and make up our own chants as well.

Chick-a Chick-a BOOM BOOM!

Yesterday was awesome. We had one of those perfect days where all just went right. I have been having a hard time the last couple weeks with getting focused and staying on schedule. I have done it but it has been very hard. During the day I have had to take many breaks and stim.

The hardest thing for me is that the sensory input that Daniel needs happens to be the very things that sends my sensory issues into a tail spin. It has been really getting to me lately hence my expression of hate toward chalk. I want so much for my issues not to effect my children and I try very hard to do what I need to so I will not be irritable and have a melt down myself. I prayed the night before “God please help me spend the whole day with the kids, please help me just sit and be able to focus”.

My prayer was answered.

I was able to just sit and focus most of the day. I caught myself a few times running over to the computer and getting sucked into researching something but then I would realize what I was doing then get up and walk away. There were differences throughout the day though. Such as Daniel playing with Ariel and Joshua in the morning while I was getting breakfast ready. He continued to play with them after breakfast. Then he had enough and asked for a bath. After his bath he took a little break on the computer.

Ariel asked me to read a bunch of books that was not on our school schedule, I chucked the school schedule and went with their flow.

Joshua had asked me to play with him with his action figures and we all did. Daniel was still taking a break during lunch but he continued to come out and play a little then go back. During this time David had found a really cool online art program and we purchased it. (I have been looking for art curriculum and supplements.)
Here is the link: http://www.madcaplogic.com/index.php It was fantastic we all sat at the computer and learned about hue,variation, saturation, Issac Newton and how he used music notes for color. And on and on.

Then came the spinning color wheel.

Daniel wouldn’t stop and he started to get a bit aggressive so I had to stop the art lessons. I had Ariel and Joshua play together then I took Daniel to his room and sat with him. He was angry and hitting me so I just started to sing and clap “what does Boo want mommy to do, huh?” Over and over again I sang it and he jumped on his bed then he started laughing. He ended up singing it with me. When I could see he was going to be ok, we went into the living and played with Ariel and Joshua.

He snapped out of it!

The great thing is he can tell me colors on a color wheel and knows that if you mix colors you get other colors. We will work on the fact that the color wheel is not just for spinning but the big news is he was able to come out of it and let the color wheel go. All of that plus we had an adventure at Target too!

Side note: I really do not like sharing about Daniel’s melt downs. It breaks my heart that he goes through them I have been able to discern the difference between a melt down and a tantrum and I am handling them both the same way. I try to get a sense of his feelings that day and either just sit with him while he works it out, sing, get him focused on a spinning thing, or some other toy. I do whatever I can to help him get back to the state where he can show me what he needs or let it go. As with everything some days work better than others. And we take it one day at a time. He is such a sweet boy and afterwards he feels so bad I just try to support him as best as I can. He does not mean to be agressive I sometimes can see him struggle with trying not to.

I can totally relate because I have done the same thing my whole life. I wish I would have had some one help me during those times instead of fueling my fire. David is an incredible support for me and has helped me a lot in this area. So I guess you can say I have learned how to help Daniel through David’s love and patience.

What are you kidding me? After my whole moment of feeling like a failure and that Daniel may never progress from where he was two days ago, I hear the words “I want to draw”. I am amazed! We are on our fourth week of home schooling and Daniel has been in and out with us off and on for days. It just so happened yesterday morning I was pretty frustrated and feeling like he would never pick up a writing instrument, so I gently but with a little humph held his hand and “helped” him write with a marker. Not good.

He threw the markers at me and screamed.

I let him go about his business and let him do what he needed to do to forgive me. What does that mean? He went into the other room and focused on the computer. However, he came back. He spent a large portion of the day with us, listening to the stories and watching what we were doing.

David purchased two Crayola Dry Erase Activity Centers. He found them on clearance at Target. Ariel and Joshua have been using them and Daniel has been watching.

Here is the link to see it.

http://www.crayola.com/products/splash/educator/dry_erase_activity_center/index.cfm

This morning he brought it to me and asked to use it. Delighted I jumped up and got it already for him. He got the pen and made straight lines while saying “making lines”. Then I made horizontal lines and he did it too! Then he made a J and colored in the lines of a color wheel. This all came about after a package we received yesterday afternoon.

Our “Handwriting Without Tears” curriculum.

Everyone was excited I opened the box and pulled the items out. As I looked through them I was in a slight state of shock that Daniel sat there the whole time to see what was going on. He normally doesn’t really pay much attention and usually goes back to whatever he was doing. The coolest thing in the box was MAT MAN!

They give you wood pieces to make letters but you also make MAT MAN.

Here is a picture of him.

http://shopping.hwtears.com/matmanshirt

We made him and others Daniel even made a person. HUGE! Then I showed them how to make letters and we all made letters together. In the morning they pulled it all out right away and began making MAT MAN. I asked Daniel to make a T and he did and then an L and he did. I was very surprised because he doesn’t do this. However the day just got better. The set also comes with small chalk boards and chalk. I pulled those out and Daniel loved it! He loves chalk. I would have never thought because I HATE CHALK!

Chalk hurts my ears, makes my skin crawl, the very thought makes my whole body cringe.

I had a very hard time but I forced myself to be calm and not freak out every time they made a sound with that vile writing instrument that has been my enemy since I entered the classroom. All of them had an awesome time writing letters and making faces. Daniel made a T and an A all by himself without me asking. They got tired of doing it after a couple hours (that is big too) and we put it away and went about our other tasks for the day.

Before I started dinner Daniel came up to me with the bag of chalk and said “I want to draw”.

My boy who would not touch anything to do with writing just yesterday not to mention years, asked me to draw today. It just goes to show me that when Daniel is ready he will do it and HE knows when he is ready. Note to self: “Don’t sweat it mom.”

Here is the link to an overview of all the grade levels for handwriting without tears so you can check it out. We got the Pre-K and Kindergarten curriculum. They go up to fifth grade.

http://www.hwtears.com/bts/gradelevel

We just started our new home school schedule this week. I have had some good days and bad days but over all there have been some really incredible things happening. I am trying not to ruin those moments with my freaky issues about getting everything on my list accomplished and sticking to exact times. I so wish my brain would calm down on those things and allow me to just enjoy the time I am having with my kids.

I have had meltdowns this week just as much as the kids.

A schedule is very hard for me to create on my own but I know that I desperately need one for my sake and the kids sake. It just causes me so much stress and anxiety to think of a schedule but when I do make one then I get all anxious if I don’t follow it or if the kids cause me not to follow it. It totally ruins my day, my mood and my train of thought. I have to fight to get back into it. I will just keep pressing on because I know it is the best for everyone.

I will focus on the positive. (try)

This week I have found out how much my kids do already know it has been great. Ariel and Joshua are really into it until about the afternoon then they are ready to stop. Daniel traced shapes, letters, and colored inside the lines for me in a picture. HUGE!! I haven’t been able to get him to touch any kid of writing instrument for months and here in this week he has made amazing progress. All of them have done amazing with their writing skills and reading comprehension.

I am looking forward to this year.

We like to have a lot of variety in our curriculum so we chose SonLight which incorperates a large diversity of reading materiel. They are also a great guide, not to be used as the only thing for your homeschooling. They encourage parents to be involved and be creative. I really like the fact that their goal is to help equip the children to be learners not indoctrinate them  with theology. I want my children to learn to think for themselves and love diversity.

I love the article they wrote entitled “27 Reasons Not To Buy from Sonlight” http://www.sonlight.com/not-to-buy.html

We are using many other suppliments along with Sonlight curriculum for math, art, and music. There are many free things out there and many things not so free. We haven’t coined one particular thing. We are trying different things to see what kind of learner each of our children are.

Here are some books that have been great helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Child-Asperger-Syndrome-Pyles/dp/1843107619

http://www.amazon.com/Autism-Life-Skills-Communication-AbilitiesEvery/dp/B001UE7DF0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087419&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Literacy-Centers-Photographs-Step-Step/dp/0545007984/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087475&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Teacher-Hands-Terrific-Classroom/dp/0071457070/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087519&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Effective-Classroom-Routines-Deborah/dp/0439513804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087519&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Other-Doing-While-Teach-Groups/dp/1574712934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087676&sr=1-1

http://www.kumonbooks.com/home/index.aspx

Here is a link about the Kumon method. http://www.kumon.com/about/default.asp?language=USA

We do not go to a center but we do use the workbooks and think they are great.

We use Learning Games manuals The ABECEDARIAN Curriculum. They do better at explaining then myself, here is their link. http://www.mindnurture.com/

There are excellent workbooks that I find at Target all the time for a $1.00 or $2.00. The kids love to work on them in their free time they call it coloring. They do color too.

Well that is a pretty hardy list but mix and matching helps me and them not get bored.

David and I decided before we had children that we were going to home school. It was not because of religious reasons specifically, it played a small role in our decision. My experience in school was horrific. I was in a relatively small town that my mom and I did not fit in. I didn’t have teachers that cared about my academic growth. I had major stress in my life as a young child and all through my schooling. I didn’t get bad grades until junior high and then went down hill. Between the social dynamics that caused me much anxiety and my home life I gave up.

Why home school?

Everyone has to make their own choice about homeschooling. Personally I feel there are many people who should not be homeschooling. But I won’t go into that. We have done a lot of research and found a lot of different ways to help me to teach them and for them to learn. I by no means have it down. They are preschool age so this is my time to go with the flow of their learning but also focus on helping Daniel gain the skills he needs to do well with academics, actually Ariel and Joshua as well. I am using this for social as well. Daniel is learning social ques with Ariel and Joshua.

A good article:

http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle198399homeschooling_a_child_with_aspergers.html?cat=4

David has been teaching home school kids for almost four years. He is a chemist but teaches middle school age in different sciences. He has also taught at college level in different science arenas as well.  He has a passion to get people interested in science and math. Especially kids because when they begin to see how awesome science is they get excited about learning the different aspects of science.  How it plays a huge role in their life and they never realized it. It’s all about helping people become critical thinkers.

We are very visual.

I have to think of creative ways to make our lessons come alive.  I try to incorporate many different aspects to help us stay interested. I come up with themes each month. I use several different websites to give me ideas and pick and choose what to do.

I will pick the theme (this helps me to stay organized because I have a very hard time with that). I then order books from the library on the theme, I get DVD’s from Netflix or the library, or our personal collection about the theme. I find activities, such as games and manipulatives. Like creating stories ourselves, using puppets or our plastic people/animals about the theme.

I make word walls with the main vocabulary we are learning. Practice writing sheets with the letters of those words. CD’s with songs about the themes, if we do not have the cd’s there is always Youtube or http://www.totlol.com/. We always have our trusty “let’s make up our own song about this”. I find crafts to go along with the theme.

It doesn’t always work.

It is ok if we miss a few days. It is ok if we don’t do it all. It is ok if they are not in the mood. I have to tell myself that other wise I get really stressed out and feel like I have not accomplished anything. They need to have fun and enjoy themselves. So do I. If it is not fun while we learn then it is pointless and everyone is stressed. So on the days that it doesn’t go as planned, which is quite often, I really just go with the flow.

Some days are better than others.

I use many different links to put together our curriculum. I have listed several below. This is not exhaustive but it is a good place to start. I don’t use all of them all the time – I like having many varieties to choose from. I add Bible teachings to their lessons also but right now the most important thing for them is to know that God loves them and we love them for who they are and encourage them to be themselves. Learning and having fun is part of who they are not forcing them to learn.

That is my opinion for our family.

Everyone has to find their own way and create the learning environment best for them. A lot of these things are just fun ways to have kids get the skills they need. It doesn’t have to be about “homeschooling”. These links can be used for family nights, weekend fun, getting dad or other family members involved, whatever. It doesn’t have to be structured and rigid it doesn’t have to be like a classroom. These are great links for sensory issues also. I do a theme to help me stay focused.

My advice is to find what works for you. I encourage you to just keep doing it and doing it. I have to change things around a lot and go with the flow of our family dynamics. Having three very different children doesn’t  allow for the same way everyday. It is not always easy but it is worth it.

Here are several links I use:

Online Stories/Learn to read

http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp

http://www.learntoreadfree.com/index.php

Crafts/Activities/Worksheets

http://preschoolrock.com/

http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/

http://www.beginningreading.com/Free%20Workshe.htm

http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/gamestoysartscraftstideaskids.html

http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/artrecipes.html

Themes/Lessons

http://www.dltk-teach.com/

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/

http://pbskids.org/read/

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/

http://www.first-school.ws/themes.html

This one has some really good articles about homeschooling and other sites.

http://www.besthomeschooling.org/gateway/inted16.html