Oh, I don't know what I'm doing!!

Having problems figuring out where to start? Let other homeschoolers offer you some advice!

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scootles
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Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:22 am

Oh, I don't know what I'm doing!!

Postby scootles » Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:47 pm

Hello! I am needing all kinds of help,I wasn't to say my story is long....
I made the decision of taking my son out of PS this year because,he hated school,didn't want to go to school,has an medical condition that the school was trying to argure with me about and plainly I didn't fell they were giving my son the education he needed to move ahead...Now saying this we are in the 2nd week of September and I am so lost,I feel like a failure and he is complaining with each thing I do,from being boring...to sighing,to "I don't want to do this"...to I want to go back to PS,which I hear more and more.He continually says he misses his friends and leaves me feeling guilty for taking him out of PS and if I even made the right choice after all. Now my son is 13,in the 7th grade but is a special needs child,working in a 3.8 level in reading and a 4.1 level in Math,which is really behind...His type of learning is Hand-on,Visual and he is a mover.I am a Reader,lister,planner type..which makes us clash from time to time...I have no curriculum per se,I have been printing out worksheets for Math and doing remedial Multiplcation and we are just now hitting the 4's.this has not been the problem so far,and he gets done with it pretty fast.I planned for 4 subjects a day,but reading became a Big problem,and understaning to retain any information another....seems like anything he has to read,he complains about and if he does read,he won't remember what he read the next day,I sence ..cut out the Bible Disccusion,History and Science(which is his Stregths)because of the reading..and have been just doing Math and just reading from a grade level book where he can answer questions on it and win prizes...I had a problem with the Spelling Material I have been using and its states that it is made with SN children in mind,but my son is not getting it,He tells me this each time I use it...It is the AVKO Sequential Spelling,He is not getting the patterens they use in Spelling,When I did Grammer..I used The Winston Grammer..and I had no problems with that yet... But I feel I should be doing alot more,but don't know what I should be doing now and when and what I should add later.I am in Arkansas and there is not requirement for what we have to study,there is a requirement for testing each year and I made the mistake of putting his actual grade level instead of the grade level he is working on for the test come April...I worry about him passing..If he takes the 4th grade test he will passmbut I don't think he will be on a 7th grade level by April to pass a 7th grade test! Even though everyone says not to worry about the testing because it means nothing,it will mean something to me...Being this is my first year,I need a daily Plan for me to go by,which I know it will not always work out this way,but I need it for some peace and know that if it doesn't get done,I can go back and do it another time or another day and then check it off.Alot meationed Charlotte Mason,Relaxed Homeschooling ect...CM requires reading which because my son has Comprehension,short memory and processing problems will not work if he has to read alot.I have no idea what RHing is and Being that my son is ADHD non medicated,he also has sensory issues,he has to have a Routine in place,he doesn't like change too well.He also has problems in social skills...on his IEP it says his strengths are:Pramatic Language(Can ANyone tell me what this is?)ALso he Loves HIstory,He loves to laugh(practical joker),Science and Geogrophy.His Wekest areas are: Reading and Mathand Handwritting(spacing,run-on sentences,and Mixing Caps with Lower-case letters while writting a word.)
I would eventually like to incorporate Living skills,but I don't know when that will be...Could someone help me make a plan/schedule to go by to start off with,also give me some ideas how to make it Fun? I think reading is fun,so anything out of that scope for me is hard to think of...are there any Hands-on web sites out there?Or homeschooling sites that has fun idea you can make and do at home??
I don't have money to buy Curriculum at the moment,so any advice offered would have to be very frugal,off the net or made at home...Please help me..I look forward to hearing from you all.
I would also like to incorporate Living Skills

Lily
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Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2007 5:51 am

Postby Lily » Sat Sep 11, 2010 11:08 pm

:) Your post reminded me so much of the story Animal School...and of my own son.

For kids who are always on the go, it's really important to think outside the box. Some of the things we used for writing were

-using chalk on the kitchen floor to diagram sentences
-drawing comic books
-private journalling every night
-slow, methodical curriculum like Writing Strands
-focus on chains of events rather than dates or numbers
-using the principle of "hear it, do it, say it, TEACH it", having the child go through all four steps.
-using settings to reinforce lessons: botany in the backyard, Treasure Island overlooking the ocean.


We had to strive to fit him, and not the other way around. Have you looked into Charlotte Mason homeschooling? It might be a good fit, combined with other things. Amblesideonline.com has a free curriculum outline, but the basic gist is this: 15 minute lessons, with living books instead of textbooks, and children create their own textbooks by drawing and writing summaries of what they've learned. You also might see if your library has any of the Usborne internet linked books. The games and links help cement the ideas that are offered in the reading.




If you have a wishlist going, I suggest putting Math U See on it. There's a swap group on yahoo where you can get pretty good deals on the books but it's made for kids who need to see and play with math to understand it.
"The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist."
- M. Montessori
Proud non-member of the HSLDA

MOMS
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Location: MORONGO/INDIO CA

Postby MOMS » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:42 pm

I really want to encourage you not to give up......the best advice I was given was to listen to the Gregg Harris "Basic Homeschooling Workshop"
I'd listen to 5 or 10 min in the morning while I was getting ready (with 4 kids not much time to just sit down & listen) & the whole thing give some of the best info you could ask for!
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!
Married to Big Hondo <~ luv this guy ;)
StevieRay (12)
Sato (8 )
Mia (6)
Baby Hondo (4)

hscoach
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Postby hscoach » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:37 pm



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