Organization/time management
Menu Planning
I know, I know. People who plan out their menu a month in advance are obsessive. Call me obsessive, then! I've gone the menu planning route as well as asking what's for dinner at 4 p.m. I personally feel less stress when I have a plan.
Having a plan does not mean you are a slave to it. It is a tool for you to use. If there's a wonderful sale on asparagus at the store, we may have asparagus instead of taters with the burgers. If the day hasn't gone as planned, then I turn to my pantry or the freezer for something quick and easy. But by having a plan, I control what I'm spending our money on better as well as serving healthier meals to my family.
Planning the meals (and I only do this for the evening meal) can be a chore. I've tried to make it easier for myself by making one night a week Chicken Night, another Beef night, another Soup night, another Non-Meat Night, and one for using up all those left-overs. I know, that doesn't add up to seven. The other nights get filled up with whatever suits my fancy at the time.
Some people use the same menu over and over or maybe rotate through three or four set menus. I've also tried to get my children involved in the planning, as well as the cooking, of the meals. Like all families, we have our favorite meals, which appear each month. Once I get started, it's actually kind of fun trying to piece a month of meals together.
It's been a real blessing to be able to look at the menu and know what I'm making for dinner that day. And when 4 p.m. rolls around and I hear ''What's for dinner?'', I can point the little darling to the menu posted on the fridge! | | pammylbear |
Math: fundamentals
ADHD Math
My fourth grader has ADHD. This year we tried SOS and are doing great. I love it! We were doing Saxon and he couldn't get through one lesson. SOS has one problem on the screen at a time so he can focus on that only. When it goes to the next problem, so does his mind. I thank God for this curriculum. It has been a ''school-saver''. | | believer9 |
| | Special needs
Homeschooling Your HOH Child
Disabilities can be a real challenge to new homeschooling parents. We were no exception when we realized that our middle son was hard of hearing (HOH). Phonetics were especially hard, since you must hear a sound before you can learn it.
The first thing we did was to get medical help. He has been seeing an ENT and audiologist regularly. We were able to secure hearing aids through a charity foundation. Our audiologist helped us find an organization that was right for our family.
We also had his speech analyzed by a professional. The therapist was more than willing to give us material that would help us learn where speech is made, and then we used it to visually show him where each phonetic sound was made. This helped him learn to lip read and learn phonics at the same time -- all without speech therapy! (More severe cases require therapy)
The most important thing to remember is to go at the child's pace. It may seem slow at first, but eventually they catch up. Our son is now only about six months behind, compared to special-ed students in public schools who are 1-2 years behind at the same level of disbility. His medical team attributes that to homeschooling!
Homeschooling an HOH child -- absolutely -- you can do it! | | jcoulter |
Other
A Beka DVD Program for HS
After much hesitation we switched to the A Beka DVD program for several subjects this year. I have a junior and a senior so we originally thought we would only use the DVD program for Science. However, after they started the program they asked to upgrade for other subjects as well. The good news is that A Beka gives you 6 subjects for the price of 3 and in high school you can combine grades. We highly recommend the DVD program...well worth the money and a help line for any questions! | | johnetteve |
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