Special needs
An Alternative to Checklists
With my nine-year-old Asperger's child, instead of using a checklist (where he would only focus on what he HADN'T yet done, and this would create lots of anxiety) was to get an index card box. I put dividers for each day of the week, plus another section of dividers that says ''Monday-completed'', etc.
I then wrote one task per card (such as Grammar) and filed them behind the day divider. As he completes each task, he moves it to the ''completed'' section for the day. I even put a ''recess'' card for each day, as well as a ''complete any unfinished work from the week'' card for Friday (a day on which I schedule fewer subjects). This ''cushion time'' has helped us both out -- me not to feel like I have to push him, and him to feel like he can use the extra time on Friday if he needs it. (He has become so motivated with this that he rarely uses that extra time card on Fridays, btw)
This has been an amazing improvement for him (and for me, who also used to stress out with a checklist !). There is something about the focusing on one thing at a time (just one card) that helps so much, as well as the physical moving of the card. I thought this would work nicely with ADHD as well.
I use this for my neurotypical children, too, and it works well. | | smith8 |
Organization/time management
Homeschool Planners
If you're like me, you can spend WAY too much time designing homeschooling forms and planners on the computer. Thankfully, there's a website with ready-made homeschool forms and planners, called www.donnayoung.org.
This website contains weekly planners, subject planners, journal planners, timers, attendance sheets, courses of study, curriculum planners (great for taking to curriculum fairs), field trip planners, and more!
Most documents are available in Excel, pdf, and/or rtf format. Most pages include usage tips. There's even an article called ''Curriculum Fair Battle Plan'' to help get you through those fun, yet sometimes-confusing events successfully. And everything on the site is free to download. Thank you, Donna, for making my homeschooling life a little easier! | | sauderj |
| | Homeschool helps
My Friend's Advice on Snow Days
I've had three people jeer at me and ask me if my kids were having a 'snow' day today. They were being funny in a kind way, but I finally thought of a clever little way to respond to them.
Next time someone asks me if my kids get a 'snow' day off from school, I'm going to say, ''No, they are going to have two hours of gym class while they are sledding up and down our hills, then they are going to come in and have an hour of home economics as they build a fire and have cocoa. After
that we may have a math lesson counting snowballs that we throw or figuring out the area of our snow fort. So no, we aren't going to take off from schooling when it snows. We'll be grueling away at our lessons as usual.'' :-) | | davisfamily |
Lang arts: grammar/composition/writing
Grammar, Math, Geography, etc. Worksheet Site
I just wanted to pass this along. It is a beta site, but has many worksheets already loaded.
This is the link:
http://www.worksheetworks.com/
This is great if you are stretching middle school grammar into one year and need additional practice beyond what the book offers, practice in math, English or Geography, etc.
Great site, with more to come! | | luke15:10 |
Other
Library A Great Resource For Curriculum
As you search through the multitude of curriculum catalogs and struggle to decide which will be just right for your student, please consider your local library. For history and science especially, there are so many excellent and free resources to choose from. And you have the freedom to study topics in an order that makes sense for your needs, and at your child's interest/ability level. The best part is that it is all free.
Most libraries now allow a homeschooling parent to get a teacher's card for check-outs of up to a month. This is a great way to save money, use a variety of resources and alleviate the problem of having to switch curriculums in the middle of the year. | | trustinghim34 |
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