My daughter is "special needs". It was a big reason why I chose to pull her out of public school and homeschool instead. I have researched a lot of the benefits and struggles with homeschooling a child who has struggles, and here are a few links:
HSLDA Special Needs has lots of information on homeschooling the special needs child.
Homeschooling the Learning Disabled and Other Special Needs Child from Bayshore Educational has links.
Experiences of ADHD-Labeled Kids Who Switch... from Peter Gray.
HSLDA Homeschooling and ADHD
I have found that my daughter responds very well to one-on-one, to being able to take a break- 5 minutes or a day- if necessary, to be able to slowly reinforce skills in focusing and handling emotions, and to be able to use right-brain and alternative methods of learning lessons. I have learned there are numerous different techniques, skills, and options that can be used as needed to help me as her teacher and parent.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Literature: Nancy Drew
A family friend recently gave my daughter a few (revised) Nancy Drew books. What a thrill! I remember reading these, and the Hardy Boys, as a child. While I have been reading to her from other classics, she is hearing the stories, but not understanding enough to get "lost in the book," so to speak. She can hear the words, but she doesn't feel connected to them or the story. I hope these Nancy Drew classics help my daughter gain more interest in reading (she dislikes both reading and writing) and expose her to well-written literature she can understand.
Most of the modern kid's "literature" I've been previewing is not well written even if popular. Many also describe innapropriate behavior, attitudes, and scenes. I thought, at first, that if she got interested in reading, she could progress to better literature. There is a fad she has gotten into, and I let her get the book... But when I ask her about the story, she only desecribes fashion, make-up, and worry about boys. The kids in the story do not have relationships with their parents, and they do not deal with real issues, but just various forms of giving into peer pressure and group acceptance. She also never asked me about new words while reading that modern book. But, in the first chapter of a Nancy Drew, she has already asked me about several words and what a sentence means.
I found an intersting article on the womanly example of Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew and True Womanhood) that confirmed my feelings on the difference between the young woman in this series compared to the young women portrayed in many of the popular modern children's books.
Most of the modern kid's "literature" I've been previewing is not well written even if popular. Many also describe innapropriate behavior, attitudes, and scenes. I thought, at first, that if she got interested in reading, she could progress to better literature. There is a fad she has gotten into, and I let her get the book... But when I ask her about the story, she only desecribes fashion, make-up, and worry about boys. The kids in the story do not have relationships with their parents, and they do not deal with real issues, but just various forms of giving into peer pressure and group acceptance. She also never asked me about new words while reading that modern book. But, in the first chapter of a Nancy Drew, she has already asked me about several words and what a sentence means.
I found an intersting article on the womanly example of Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew and True Womanhood) that confirmed my feelings on the difference between the young woman in this series compared to the young women portrayed in many of the popular modern children's books.
Monday, May 14, 2012
"End" of the school year
Tomorrow I will be marking down my daughter's 180th official day of school. Maryland homeschool laws [PDF] do not specify a certain number of days of instruction, but they do mention that public schools have a 180 day minimum and that homeschool should be "of sufficient duration" for a child to be taught. I use my county for reviews, and my daughter's father also needs a way to be aware of what I am doing with her. I use an attendance chart to demonstrate "sufficient duration" throughout the year. What I count as a "day of instruction" is any day on my calander where I cover three or more subject areas with my daughter, or we have a field trip, even if that field trip covers only one subject area.
Realistically, most homeschoolers teach- in some way- daily. I do not always mark down teaching moments or I would be spending more hours doing paperwork than would be viable. My plan, actually, includes many more school days than the 180 days. Third Grade math is unlikely to be completed before August, and my daughter loves her history text, so has asked to keep working on that through the summer. Swimming, water safety, reading, writing letters, and more. Learning doesn't have to stop! I just don't plan on tracking attendance again until September.
Realistically, most homeschoolers teach- in some way- daily. I do not always mark down teaching moments or I would be spending more hours doing paperwork than would be viable. My plan, actually, includes many more school days than the 180 days. Third Grade math is unlikely to be completed before August, and my daughter loves her history text, so has asked to keep working on that through the summer. Swimming, water safety, reading, writing letters, and more. Learning doesn't have to stop! I just don't plan on tracking attendance again until September.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Unexpected Field Trip
We had an unexpected, and rather pleasant adventure yesterday!
Our travel to Spay Now took longer than expected (traffic, of course) and I decided we would stay on the Eastern Shore for the day instead of fighting traffic for an extra round trip. I did not, however, know what we were going to do. A quick Internet search turned up nearby Wye Mills.
We visited Wye Grist Mill. Rhonda explained the history of the area and the Mill. My daughter got to even try her hand at hand-grinding and crank grinding corn. Out back, we saw a large Great Blue Heron just hanging out. He did not seem bothered at our nearness- we were maybe 30 feet away. Rhonda recommended several other places to go. We saw Wye Oak Park- including Maryland's State Tree, the Wye Oak, and an old schoolhouse.
We then went to the Chesapeake Exploration Center as a starting point for a short Cross Island Trail walk. Their museum has a small collection of artifacts from the Bay, and an amazing exhibit from a local artist, Coleman Sellers. On our walk, we had fun getting our toes wet, and my daughter found jellyfish. Lots of them. The lady at the Center was suprised there were jellyfish already. After looking at photos and descriptions of various jellyfish I am not sure what species we saw, but it may have been teeny lion's mane jellyfish. I do not think we saw sea nettles, which are tracked in the Chesapeake Bay because they cause problems with swimmers. While lion's mane jellyfish grow rather large, the colors and general look seem like what we saw, and from what I read very small ones can be found.
Our travel to Spay Now took longer than expected (traffic, of course) and I decided we would stay on the Eastern Shore for the day instead of fighting traffic for an extra round trip. I did not, however, know what we were going to do. A quick Internet search turned up nearby Wye Mills.
We visited Wye Grist Mill. Rhonda explained the history of the area and the Mill. My daughter got to even try her hand at hand-grinding and crank grinding corn. Out back, we saw a large Great Blue Heron just hanging out. He did not seem bothered at our nearness- we were maybe 30 feet away. Rhonda recommended several other places to go. We saw Wye Oak Park- including Maryland's State Tree, the Wye Oak, and an old schoolhouse.
We then went to the Chesapeake Exploration Center as a starting point for a short Cross Island Trail walk. Their museum has a small collection of artifacts from the Bay, and an amazing exhibit from a local artist, Coleman Sellers. On our walk, we had fun getting our toes wet, and my daughter found jellyfish. Lots of them. The lady at the Center was suprised there were jellyfish already. After looking at photos and descriptions of various jellyfish I am not sure what species we saw, but it may have been teeny lion's mane jellyfish. I do not think we saw sea nettles, which are tracked in the Chesapeake Bay because they cause problems with swimmers. While lion's mane jellyfish grow rather large, the colors and general look seem like what we saw, and from what I read very small ones can be found.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Art: NGA Kids
Learning about art is so much more fun when you can really interact with what you are learning! The National Gallery of Art's kids page has some fantastic (graphic intense) interactive games that help turn art concepts into vibrant demonstrations.
Science: Feline Castration
In honor of our newest Wildcat Flynn's upcoming neutering, here is some information on feline castration. First, correct terminology. Neuter is a gender-neutral term and can mean a castration or a spay. Castration is the lay term for the male neuter, while the technical terminology is orchiectomy. Spay is the female version, or oophorohysterectomy to be technical.
This veterinarian's website has a beautiful, simple explanation. At the bottom of the page is a link for a slide show of the actual surgery. If you are squeamish at all, do not click that link, as it shows photographs of an actual open surgery.
Given my background and experiences with anatomy, body functions, and surgery, my daughter has heard from a young age about proper body names, and age appropriate body functions. She has known for a while how a baby grows in mom, and how a baby is born naturally, including viewing diagrams and pictures. She knows about male and female body parts in a very basic way, including identifying the very obvious testicles of our male rats, guinea pigs, and her new kitten, so I made the decision to let her watch the slide show (after I previewed it) and learn a bit more about male anatomy. Her opinion of the surgery? "Not a big deal." Once she knew that Flynn was going to have surgery, she asked me several times to explain what would happen so she would know he will be okay. I know my daughter, what I've already taught her, and her squeamishness level- please take your own child's knowledge and maturity into consideration before you decide to discuss the details!
This veterinarian's website has a beautiful, simple explanation. At the bottom of the page is a link for a slide show of the actual surgery. If you are squeamish at all, do not click that link, as it shows photographs of an actual open surgery.
Given my background and experiences with anatomy, body functions, and surgery, my daughter has heard from a young age about proper body names, and age appropriate body functions. She has known for a while how a baby grows in mom, and how a baby is born naturally, including viewing diagrams and pictures. She knows about male and female body parts in a very basic way, including identifying the very obvious testicles of our male rats, guinea pigs, and her new kitten, so I made the decision to let her watch the slide show (after I previewed it) and learn a bit more about male anatomy. Her opinion of the surgery? "Not a big deal." Once she knew that Flynn was going to have surgery, she asked me several times to explain what would happen so she would know he will be okay. I know my daughter, what I've already taught her, and her squeamishness level- please take your own child's knowledge and maturity into consideration before you decide to discuss the details!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
History: Ancient India & China
I use Story of the World for history, and we are nearing the end of the first book. This month, my daughter is learning a little more about Ancient India & China. Having spent my second decade of life living in Bangladesh, and travelling the Indian Subcontinent & Asia, I have found the chapters on India to bring back memories. I'm not quite that ancient, mind you, but I fondly remember the weather, cattle, crowds, colors, & food. I learned to cook some Indian food dishes since coming back stateside (though my daughter is only barely okay with mild curry, and my husband won't touch "exotic" at all.) I realize, as I talk to my daughter about my memories, and try to relate that to what she is learning, that my experiences there are very far removed from the life she knows.
I found and online translation of the Mahabharata and I penciled that in for some summer read-aloud time. I love the art work and I still remember reading both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as a teenager. (This will go under "Language Arts: Literature" in my record-keeping.)
I love the British Museum website, and will be using their Ancient India and Ancient China pages. There are games, short readings, and quizzes, as well as maps and pictures. I can take a Science trip and discuss the Indian cattle breeds, commonly called Brahman and Miniature Zebu. (TNAU Animal Husbandry, Love4cows both have good photos.) She can explore the different cycle of seasons, including monsoon.We will also look at Hinduism and Buddhism, two religions origination from this area.
I found and online translation of the Mahabharata and I penciled that in for some summer read-aloud time. I love the art work and I still remember reading both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as a teenager. (This will go under "Language Arts: Literature" in my record-keeping.)
I love the British Museum website, and will be using their Ancient India and Ancient China pages. There are games, short readings, and quizzes, as well as maps and pictures. I can take a Science trip and discuss the Indian cattle breeds, commonly called Brahman and Miniature Zebu. (TNAU Animal Husbandry, Love4cows both have good photos.) She can explore the different cycle of seasons, including monsoon.We will also look at Hinduism and Buddhism, two religions origination from this area.
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