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Thus far, outside of some handwriting and motor planning issues, DD is looking pretty nt.  She reads OK and does well with her math.  DD is a highly motivated first grader for the most part.  DD struggles with some chronic health troubles related to Hirschprung's Disease that make placing her in private school untenable for the moment.

 

DS, my 9th grader, still requires me to basically sit on him.  Not because he is disobedient, but he is SLOW, SLOW, SLOW...Math, which I generally call the bane of our existence, seems to be going well at the moment.  Obviously, that is all subject to change.  

 

High school right now is just not feeling so good. I need to pare down somewhere and I want advice.  I'm thinking about teaching DD her subjects in the morning and then specifically working with DS from 12-6 pm, Monday through Thursday. I just feel like my DD is getting short changed.  

 

So, how do you manage two or more kids with needs?  DS is no where near independent at this point.

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I do what you are suggesting except the age spread isn't so drastic.  DD14 is an early riser.  I work with her from about 7am to 10am exclusively.  DS in the meantime usually wakes up about 930 so he is up eating breakfast while I am wrapping up with DD.  Then I work with both of them on anything they can do together.  Then I work with DS until lunch, we all eat lunch, then I continue with DS.  DD, in the meantime, is either working on art or music or writing her stories.

 

We had tried doing a curriculum I could use with both of them for History, Literature, Science, Art, Music and just work separately on reading and math but the two are really incompatible.  Separating them makes the day longer, but also more productive.  We aren't spinning wheels as badly.

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I also don't have the age spread, so we are able to combine on read alouds, history, & science. I split for all LA & math. Can you use technology to help? What courses or work can your older do semi-independently while your younger is working with you?

 

While I have one kid working with me for math, the other is on Keyboarding without Tears or Fast Rabbit on a computer with headphones in the same room. That way I can keep an eye on what the kid on the computer is doing, but they aren't a distraction (at least not a big one) to the kid in front of me. Kid 2 is listening to audiobooks while I do LA with Kid 1. Kid 1 is reading along with Learning Ally on assigned reading while Kid 2 is doing LA with me. Basically, the kids are on some kind of tech to help them be more independent while I am doing the one-on-one but they are still doing school work. Even if they need to be supervised, they can be within ear/eyeshot and still get something done. Would a set up like that work?

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I used a schedule that was alternating where I had one child working on a computer program or watching a DVD while I worked with the other one.  I would alternate them throughout the morning, then spend time with them together either right before or after lunch (sometimes both).  We worked separately for some of the remedial one-on-one instruction either during the alternating time or in the afternoon.  One of my DS was slow, slow, slow too, but once he became proficient at the core academic skills (reading, math facts, and writing), then his working speed improved.

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I have done some of the same things already mentioned. Ds was my early riser, so we started at 6:00 am. I worked with him for 90 min, then we woke dd and had breakfast. I usually alternated through the day from there. I'd work with a kid for an hour, then set them to work on something for an hour while I worked with their sibling. Ds was super slow and got off track easily. Mine were close in age, so I combined for history and a few other things. That helped. The key here was never leave anyone alone longer than necessary. Checking in often or switching to the next subject, bringing them back to work with me after letting them be independent, were all ways to refocus and keep from losing huge amounts of time. 

 

If I had done one completely then the other completely, nothing would have gotten done except the time I spent. When we alternated, certainly time was wasted by the child I wasn't working with, but not ALL of it. We did get done faster than if I had done what you propose and both kids got plenty of my time.

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Ok, I have two thoughts, for what they're worth.  One, he may be 6-9 months or a year from a breakthrough on this.  My dd is just now coming into her own, and she's how many months older than your ds?  (a few) So then add another 6-ish for gender differences.  You could see some big changes over the next year.  This might not go on all the way through high school.

 

Two, don't do for him what you can STRUCTURE for him to enable him to do for HIMSELF.  

 

I'm meaning that statement to be sort of provocative. Are there things where you could increase the *structure* and put your time into creating *structure* that would allow him to work more independently on some things?  You've mentioned speed, but speed is the same whether you're there or not.  Focus, now that's different, lol.  If he's off in lala land when he should be reading and you're snapping him to, that's different.  Even then, you could create STRUCTURES to help with his self-monitoring.  

 

You do him no favors if you do everything in this process for him.  

 

I'm not meaning to say you're doing something wrong or that your teaching method isn't awesome.  It's just more of a question, an introspection for you.  What is the right word for what's going on and what skills are holding him back?  When you get the right words, then you can tackle it.  Merely saying he's slow, well you could assign something, walk away to help your dd, then come back in 15 minutes and he'd have something more done.  You wouldn't have to be there and it wouldn't matter if he's slow.  But if he doesn't have all the technology he needs to do some of the work on his own, that's a problem.  If he's drifting, that's a problem.  

 

Whatever, just throwing out ideas.  You tend to have very high expectations, and I agree there's some compromise with what you can accomplish when the dc is left to his own devices with the material.  On the other hand, there are some skills to be gained by going that direction, even with just one thing.  So maybe you've got that battle going on?  Maybe if you drop the level on some things and get some of the material more accessible, he can connect with it better without you being there and without him having to work till 6 pm every day?  How is he going to have any fun to his life (a sport, a hobby, an extra-curric, a competition, whatever) if he's doing school work till 6 pm every night???  Maybe you need to consider some compromise materials that ARE more accessible, even if they're not the dream, to get his work load in balance?  

 

6 hours is a honking lot of work btw.  He might be slow, but he's not omnipotent and full of mental internal combustion chambers just to keep going and going...   :lol:   Our psych begged, warned, strongly cautioned us NOT to wear dd out with a heavy workload.  I don't know how your ds is, but they're pretty close on processing speeds, right?  He's just a bit more whizzy on the IQ, yes?  Still, I don't know, just something to consider.  Like I said, to me you always do the galant thing, which is saying "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased.  NOBODY is gonna hold him back and make him use inferior materials just because he has dyslexia." and you work your butt off, sitting there working with him, to make sure that happens.  And I respect that, because I'm Tiger Mom like that about my ds too.  (or at least that's how I perceive you are, that you work really hard to make sure he gets to do all he can be and do)  But maybe some compromise?  Maybe something taken down to a lower reading level with the Walch Powerbasics or something done a really alternative way with just audiobooks or...  So that he can literally just DO it?  

 

I don't know, just thinking.  Skip what of that doesn't apply.   :)

 

PS.  I'm with Momto2N's, that it would be ideal to get both discs flying at once.  I've been able to do it with my dd, but basically I had to invest in technology and put a lot of time into creating structures.  And I had to pick materials she could actually do that way, even if they weren't what I would have dreamed up or preferred if I were just working with her and could give her more attention.

 

Have you tried making a spreadsheet and plotting each person then adding a column for yourself to show where you'll be?  Maybe that would help you sort it out?

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I really struggle with this.

 

I combine my youngest three in most subjects, other than math, and DD12 sits in on some of their lessons but has her own curriculum at her level. I have a very hard time juggling things. Each of my kids needs some significant one on one time. More time than I have. So I always feel that some things are sliding. A lot of things, actually. I should integrate more electronic resources for them to do independently, but I would still have to manage what they are doing, and figure out what the other kids should work on while one of them uses the computer, and schedule which program they should be doing, and make sure they are doing it instead of goofing off. So while it would help me juggle things, I'm not sure it would end up freeing up any of my time. I used to schedule absolutely everything out for the whole year to help me get it all done, but I was never able to follow those plans successfully, so I'm need to come up with a new scheduling system. Something with checklists for each kid and for me as well; everyone likes to check things off.

 

The problem here is that the youngest three need to have almost all of their educational efforts supervised. Either because they need help with the material, or because they lack the maturity to work effectively on their own. For example, if I want them to read for 20 minutes, I have to time it (I got them individual timers, but they had trouble using them, then the batteries wore out, or they got lost, etc., it just did not work). So I end up having them do their reading all at the same time instead, and that idea did not pan out as something they can do independently while I am working with someone else. I've had a lot of ideas, but I haven't managed to make any of them work well yet. My kids just need structure. Or maybe I do as a teacher. Or both.  I haven't figured out how to manage it well yet.

 

We have to stop school every day by 3 to leave for extracurricular activities, which keep us running around until dinnertime/ bedtime. Every single day, Monday to Friday (which is what I get for having four kids!). Weekends are crazy, too. So I can't extend our days later, do work in the evenings, or consistently do schoolwork on the weekends.  Regular school hours are all that I have to get it all done in. I'm going to have to start getting up earlier in order to have time to fit everything in. And that is just the basics. Not sure how I'm going to fit in the activities the OT wants us to do at home for DS10, or the extra work I need to do with DD12 on logic skills (she has none -- I'm suspecting some kind of LD there). Or any kind of intensive reading remediation for DD9. Or fitting in any extra doctor's visits or therapy sessions. We just had a consult with a VT today. When would we fit that in, if we decide to do it? I have no idea.

 

Did I mention that our house is on the market, so I have to keep it pristine and be ready to go out the door anytime anyone wants to see it? Our schedule is crazy. I'm going to hide my head under the pillow now.

 

But I'm also going to keep reading this thread. I'm sure I can learn a lot from the rest of you.

 

 

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My boys are 5th grade, so I can't identify with the ages. But my special needs son really requires me with him for every single thing (focus/attention). His NT twin isn't entirely independent either. This is partly him, and partly that I tend to pick teacher intensive curriculum.

 

Does your son work well at that time of day? Does he sleep in later than she does? I think your idea might work well.

 

I can tell you what I do, though. First, I prioritize the must do subjects for the day, and those come first.

 

Special needs child starts with math (the biggest struggle) with me while we eat breakfast. This follows with two or three more subjects, his other "musts",  and  whatever I'm doing for special needs. NT kid works on keyboarding and any math he can do alone while I'm doing this. His brother is super slow, so he has a lot of free time there.

 

Then I work on the must do stuff with the NT child, while special needs kid takes a (needed) break.

 

I switch back to special needs kid, then to twin, for the remainder of the individual subjects. We finish with read alouds/science/history type stuff that I don't do individually. Meals/snacks fall in wherever they fall, and give us natural breaks.

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Ok, I have two thoughts, for what they're worth. One, he may be 6-9 months or a year from a breakthrough on this. My dd is just now coming into her own, and she's how many months older than your ds? (a few) So then add another 6-ish for gender differences. You could see some big changes over the next year. This might not go on all the way through high school.

 

Two, don't do for him what you can STRUCTURE for him to enable him to do for HIMSELF.

 

I'm meaning that statement to be sort of provocative. Are there things where you could increase the *structure* and put your time into creating *structure* that would allow him to work more independently on some things? You've mentioned speed, but speed is the same whether you're there or not. Focus, now that's different, lol. If he's off in lala land when he should be reading and you're snapping him to, that's different. Even then, you could create STRUCTURES to help with his self-monitoring.

 

You do him no favors if you do everything in this process for him.

 

I'm not meaning to say you're doing something wrong or that your teaching method isn't awesome. It's just more of a question, an introspection for you. What is the right word for what's going on and what skills are holding him back? When you get the right words, then you can tackle it. Merely saying he's slow, well you could assign something, walk away to help your dd, then come back in 15 minutes and he'd have something more done. You wouldn't have to be there and it wouldn't matter if he's slow. But if he doesn't have all the technology he needs to do some of the work on his own, that's a problem. If he's drifting, that's a problem.

 

Whatever, just throwing out ideas. You tend to have very high expectations, and I agree there's some compromise with what you can accomplish when the dc is left to his own devices with the material. On the other hand, there are some skills to be gained by going that direction, even with just one thing. So maybe you've got that battle going on? Maybe if you drop the level on some things and get some of the material more accessible, he can connect with it better without you being there and without him having to work till 6 pm every day? How is he going to have any fun to his life (a sport, a hobby, an extra-curric, a competition, whatever) if he's doing school work till 6 pm every night??? Maybe you need to consider some compromise materials that ARE more accessible, even if they're not the dream, to get his work load in balance?

 

6 hours is a honking lot of work btw. He might be slow, but he's not omnipotent and full of mental internal combustion chambers just to keep going and going... :lol: Our psych begged, warned, strongly cautioned us NOT to wear dd out with a heavy workload. I don't know how your ds is, but they're pretty close on processing speeds, right? He's just a bit more whizzy on the IQ, yes? Still, I don't know, just something to consider. Like I said, to me you always do the galant thing, which is saying "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased. NOBODY is gonna hold him back and make him use inferior materials just because he has dyslexia." and you work your butt off, sitting there working with him, to make sure that happens. And I respect that, because I'm Tiger Mom like that about my ds too. (or at least that's how I perceive you are, that you work really hard to make sure he gets to do all he can be and do) But maybe some compromise? Maybe something taken down to a lower reading level with the Walch Powerbasics or something done a really alternative way with just audiobooks or... So that he can literally just DO it?

 

I don't know, just thinking. Skip what of that doesn't apply. :)

 

PS. I'm with Momto2N's, that it would be ideal to get both discs flying at once. I've been able to do it with my dd, but basically I had to invest in technology and put a lot of time into creating structures. And I had to pick materials she could actually do that way, even if they weren't what I would have dreamed up or preferred if I were just working with her and could give her more attention.

 

Have you tried making a spreadsheet and plotting each person then adding a column for yourself to show where you'll be? Maybe that would help you sort it out?

So when you schedule, how do you account for time spent on one subject? Is it complete one lesson or spend 30-45- 60 minutes on Logic? Should I call a subject good if he only covers 70% of weekly lessons. What technology have you invested in for organization?

 

I'm thinking about writing class names and time on 3 by 5 cards and having him organize his day with them. He can complete that and make a check off sheet in his organizer.

 

His world geography and biology class are the sore spots. I may be farming out the biology and will have to cut way back on the world geography. I want math, writing, and lit to be the focus.

 

Ok, I will look at the spreadsheet idea.

 

Thank-you Ladies. Really, DS is great kid. I discovered a homework sheet that he failed to turn in last Friday and it was folded like an accordion. His brain has been out to lunch and my female, get 'r done brain was blown between the homework accordion and the Abeka biology text and probably my own hormones. I'm trying to pare down, seriously.

 

Eta: I respect you Moms. Many of you deal with way more children and challenges than I face. I feel bad for complaining.

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So when you schedule, how do you account for time spent on one subject? Is it complete one lesson or spend 30-45- 60 minutes on Logic? Should I call a subject good if he only covers 70% of weekly lessons. What technology have you invested in for organization?

 

I'm thinking about writing class names and time on 3 by 5 cards and having him organize his day with them. He can complete that and make a check off sheet in his organizer.

 

His world geography and biology class are the sore spots. I may be farming out the biology and will have to cut way back on the world geography. I want math, writing, and lit to be the focus.

 

Ok, I will look at the spreadsheet idea.

 

Thank-you Ladies. Really, DS is great kid. I discovered a homework sheet that he failed to turn in last Friday and it was folded like an accordion. His brain has been out to lunch and my female, get 'r done brain was blown between the homework accordion and the Abeka biology text and probably my own hormones. I'm trying to pare down, seriously.

 

Eta: I respect you Moms. Many of you deal with way more children and challenges than I face. I feel bad for complaining.

Well, you are certainly functioning far better than I am right now! :)  This whole summer went up in smoke as I kept traveling, trying to get us prepped for the move.  And now I know I am looking at weeks of review...and our plans for moving to a more homeschool friendly area with lots of cool options for the kids is pretty much on hold until at least January so no outsourcing or cool extracurriculars or fun classes.  Ugh!  Starting over with plans right now (plus a dental appt :) ).  

 

Good luck and best wishes!

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Have you tried making a spreadsheet and plotting each person then adding a column for yourself to show where you'll be?  Maybe that would help you sort it out?

 

I do this exactly! I have a spreadsheet that shows the day for each child. It is color coded for if they are independent or if I am with them. This is how I plan our schedule each semester. When I can get all the subjects in with me only in one place at a time - we have a winning schedule :).

 

The other thing I do is give schedules to my kids. They used to be daily schedules, now they are weekly. A daily schedule included everything they were doing. There were times listed for when they would do certain subjects - that meant they did them with me. They also had a todo list of items that they were to work on when they weren't with me. At first, when I left them, I would ask, what are you going to work on now? They would check their todo list, make a decision, and get started. I put things on the todo list that they could be successful at. Reading. My kids are both readers. I could tell them to read a chapter of a book and they could get that done. At first, reading was the only thing... then we added Wordly Wise, a workbook. Gradually the list of things they could do on their own grew. I never asked them to do math on their own. It wasn't until they were proficient writers that writing became an "on your own" activity and it is still one that slows ds to a screeching halt in spite of the fact he loves to write fiction. 

 

So, when OhE suggests structure that enables your student, that is very much what we did. I structured their time away from me. I built on things they could do. I stretched them gently. At 12 ds could not work 1 minute independently. At 17, he is only doing 1 subject with me and is doing everything else independently (some online classes, but he still has to do all the work independently). This was not magic. It was planned, pulled, pushed, prodded and grown. It happened because his brain developed, and because I helped him learn how. It was hard. 

 

Hang in there. 

 

Oh, one more thing... we called it done when it was done. 100%. I never backed down. I did try to choose courses, curriculum, instructional methods, etc that fit and not overload, but ds worked long days, never less than 8 hours. Never. He just couldn't get done in less and I could never accept not getting done as an option. He and I were both on board with that from the beginning (6th grade). That doesn't mean it is right for your child, it is just our experience.

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We use HST+ and I have a weekly assignment sheet for each child. Sometimes I have a separate one printed for older ds if he is supposed to work down the list. How do you do your planning currently?

I use an Excel spreadsheet and copy the weekly planner directly to OneNote.  DS reads the planner to see what needs to be completed.

 

I type out, complete World Geography week 1.  Here is a sample of a World Geography assignment.  The directions seem fairly straight forward. Biology and programming provide weekly assignments similar to the WG.  DS struggles to spread the assignments out and complete things over a 4/5 day period.  

 

Now, we review what is expected, and he jots down everything in his daily planner.  Time management is a huge struggle for DS.  The Biology curriculum that I selected is totally wrong and he's now going to take a local class starting next week.  Anyhoo...I need to teach DS how to take a weekly assignment like the link I provided and spread the assignment out so that it gets completed in a reasonable amount of time.  I may implement some of the skills spelled out here.

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I need to teach DS how to take a weekly assignment like the link I provided and spread the assignment out so that it gets completed in a reasonable amount of time.  I may implement some of the skills spelled out here.

 

I don't know. A lot of homeschool parents do this, I think. They assign a week of work and have their child break it down into manageable tasks. But is that something that students enrolled in school have to do? I was an advanced student in high school, and our teachers always gave us daily homework, not weekly. If we had a long-term project or paper to work on, we would have to figure out how to do it over time so that we didn't end up doing it all the night before it was due. But we were never given an entire week's worth of work and have to assign it to ourselves.

 

Even in college I didn't have to do this. We would be given a syllabus. The classes would mostly meet two or three times a week, so unless I had a longer project, I would just have to do the work assigned to be completed before the next class. DH says it was the same for him, and he went to an Ivy.

 

I agree that learning time management is important. But maybe breaking the work into daily tasks for your son is okay for you do to as his teacher. You could have him work on breaking longer projects, like research projects or essays or a novel that he has to read by a certain date, into manageable pieces without requiring him to do it for an entire course.

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So you solved your biology quandary! :) to me the trouble with outsourcing is you get the good *and* the bad. Good will be structure, motivation, peers. Bad can be expectations that you might have trimmed down. I guess it just depends on the kid. If my kid does 8 hours, she'll be comatose the next day. We keep a much more modest schedule. Her online Spanish pushes the envelope and we just try to survive. She finished last year SO TIRED and I don't want that again, even if we have to compromise.

 

On your geography, what I would do is sit down and mentally chunk it yourself. The syllabus probably follows a routine , so solve the first week and you're golden. The chunks look like reading, questions, project (2 days?). That's already 4 days, so watch a Art Wolfe travels video Friday and call it done.

 

So what I do, and you can say I'm crazy, is I assign those times and chunks. That creates the syllabus for the semester or year of work I make that into a table for logging. So I've essentially decided how much work defines a credit for us by what we can ACTUALLY get done. Then put those chunks into the weekly plan page. If he sees them and works ahead or wants to group it all on one day, no bigee. I would be inflexible with deadlines (end of week, whatever), but flexible with content. So if it only takes him one hour twice a week to do what you predetermined as 4 hours (which remember can be even 30-40 min as an "hour" of school work) DONT give him more work!

 

Your child does not need to do 200 full time clocked hours of work for a credit! SURE he'll be slow on some things. I still say trim and be realistic. If he needs 7 hours instead of 5 to do the OM geo, consider whether trimming is an option. If he doesn't wear out, maybe you don't feel you need to? It's a judgment call. I try to become more efficient in my mind and separate essential fom optional. Maybe only do the OM projects once a month or shorten them or something. (That's if the hours are too high and not realistic.)

 

Like your index cards! If you per chunk the syllabi , then you can work with him, doing together the process of assigning chunks to days. Live classes will be uneven in workload btw. We usually put our stuff together Sunday night. I'm trying to write clearer syllabi this year to make it easier for her to schedule herself.

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See, Logic and Elegant Essay may wind up dominating time. You are right on about the outside classes. I'm struggling with the idea of outside classes. I reserve the option to pull him if those courses don't fly.

 

About the WG, do you think PacWorks might be easier?

 

ETA: OM Geo activities seem silly. OM also wants the student to read a book about the environment (or some aspect of) and keep a book journal. I was thinking of the book Hard Green and The Ghost Map to read in protest.

 

Eta1: I am going to pare down . One WG activity per month is fine. The books are to be read one per semester. I can modify the journal too. Chunking the schedule will probably be how we roll, completing assignments over two/three days.

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ETA: OM Geo activities seem silly. OM also wants the student to read a book about the environment (or some aspect of) and keep a book journal. I was thinking of the book Hard Green and The Ghost Map to read in protest.

 

I used OM for health last year. I really loved it, but their assignments included tons of what I considered busy work. Too many assignments that wasted time with minimal learning and content. My take away was, with OM be prepared to cut! I hope that helps you feel free to do the same :)

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Heather, I agree with Momto2Ns, I wouldn't go buying something else.  Just modify what you have.  What I would do (but this is just how I think) is set up a weekly plan I know is practical (read textbook 1 day, do response questions 2 days, watch videos day 4) and then fit whatever of OM you can get done in that framework into those slots.

 

He likes politics, right?  So if that above paradigm is 4 days a week, then the 5th slot is online reading about current events, geopolitics, listening to NPR, international news through BBC, etc.  Just because you bought the OM to get you started doesn't mean you have to do everything they say.   :)  He's dyslexic.  It would be nice if some of his stuff moved beyond read a book and into projects or synthesis or compare/contrast or something.  He could have a wall map and make flags to put on it marking what's going on (war, famine, tsunami, etc.) for what he reads about.  

 

But yeah, you could trim it VERY heavily.  Only use the stuff that is useful and practical. Assign everything rough time values (reading takes 40  minutes, bam that's a whole session, that kind of thing), then STOP when you have 120-180 of those things.  180 is 36 at 5 days a week.  That's REALLY hard to get done and BEYOND what a school would do. A sane syllabus is planning 32 weeks at 5 days a week.  That you can get done in a real and sensible year. That's 160 chunks.  So create 160 chunks out of things from OM, your own ideas, etc, and when you hit 160 STOP.   It will be ok.   :)

 

PS.  Really alternate plan?  Make 2 charts: 1 for a reading log and one for a research log.  If it would take him 2 sessions to read a chapter and you want him to read 32 chapters, that's 64 chunks.  Then make another table with 3 columns to check by 32 rows.  Then he can research, watch videos, do ANYTHING HE WANTS, and every 40 minutes he spends he checks a box.  Done. Very good for rabbit trails, lets him push himself, keeps him engaged, can be very good.  He might like to have that freedom to research and read, and he might surprise you by thinking up his own things to do with the info. 

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Heather, I don't know if I'm being clear, but being *realistic* has been the hardest thing for me.  I'm sure that's different for each person and situation as to how much is realistic, how they like to get realistic, etc. I'm just saying for *me* that has been the hardest thing.  I just get SO many ideas, so many good things.  You want to do a good job, and it's really hard to look at a list of great things and axe 1/3 and still tell yourself it's doing a good job.  It is, because done is better than not done.  Engagement is better than no engagement.  

 

Anyways, that's why I'm tossing out so many ways, because I approach it different ways for each subject, just depending on how we want to approach it.  (kid-driven, totally mom-driven, get-et-done, research-driven, whatever)  

 

They drive themselves harder for outside classes, btw, but they can also wear themselves out doing that.  You'll figure out the balance.  :)

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Heather, I don't know if I'm being clear, but being *realistic* has been the hardest thing for me.  I'm sure that's different for each person and situation as to how much is realistic, how they like to get realistic, etc. I'm just saying for *me* that has been the hardest thing.  I just get SO many ideas, so many good things.  You want to do a good job, and it's really hard to look at a list of great things and axe 1/3 and still tell yourself it's doing a good job.  It is, because done is better than not done.  Engagement is better than no engagement.  

 

Anyways, that's why I'm tossing out so many ways, because I approach it different ways for each subject, just depending on how we want to approach it.  (kid-driven, totally mom-driven, get-et-done, research-driven, whatever)  

 

They drive themselves harder for outside classes, btw, but they can also wear themselves out doing that.  You'll figure out the balance.   :)

You are being clear.   :D  Managing expectations is a challenge.  I 'm not honoring DS and the way he learns.

 

Thank-you Everyone for the helps.

 

Tomorrow, DH will be home, so I'm going to just recenter, refocus, and recollect my mojo.  I can do this.

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DS uses Xmind this year because his Netbook computer is loaded with Ubuntu, a Linux based OS.  I don't recommend Xmind for a grammar staged child or anyone new to mindmappng software because it is not overly user friendly.   DS and I both played around with the sw for a day or two and figured the sw out.  Prior knowledge of Inspiration helped considerably.  Kidspiration is really nice and cheaper when on sale.  HS Buyer Co-op is currently offering a Kidspiration/Inspiration discount.  I actually prefer Inspiration on the Ipad, but Kidspiration for pc is nice too.

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Hey Canucks, see why you have to hang here?  How else will you find ways to spend your money!   :D  No seriously, it's great to share and learn things.

 

Heather, we're finally getting OneNote up and running, and WOW is it turning out to be amazing.  I hate it passionately as software (typical Windows, sloppily laid out, etc.), but the concept and what it actually does is PERFECT.  We now have tabs for every subject, pages within the tabs for syllabi, extra links, lists, that kind of thing, AND we can put in weekly dated checklists into there to keep track of progress (that's my next task), AND we can rearrange the tabs to create her order/structure for the day!  So today she knew to work through all her tabs before the PE tab, and the PE tab is her time to go skate.  Then after that she has the other tabs.  Love, love, crazy love.  And love the auto-update.  

 

It was a pain in the patoot, but the OneNote software was definitely worth the effort.  So much more effective with her than what we were doing with paper.

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Well, it has been a couple of weeks, so I'll give an update just in case anyone cares to learn from my mistakes... :ohmy: 

 

DS was initially working in his room and sitting at his new desk.  That changed.  Home chicken is sitting in the office with me now.  I expect some time will pass before he can work again in his own room.

 

I purchased a basic planner, and we meet every morning and review work for the day.  A basic spiral Memo pad would have likely sufficed....I am not presently using One Note.  I love the idea and ease and will get back to One Note someday.  I am still using an Excel spreadsheet for planning.

 

I scaled back slightly in World Geography.

 

I added Foerster's Algebra problems to increase difficulty with problem sets.  MUS Algebra is lacking in that dept.  Tis true..Tis true..

 

Biology is now being taken outside the home.

 

DS is getting up earlier in the day.

 

I offered DS an out.  I explained that he could drop an Informal Logic course and he flatly refused to let me pull him. 

 

As it stands, any subject that looks like it will not get completed is done first thing after algebra.  I review his work daily and he is struggling mightily with following written directions.  I'm going to try to make an appt with a former tutor and see if we can work out some sort of solution.  Each day seems to be getting shorter than the last and I work with DD during gaps with DS.  That girl is surprisingly flexible, unlike her mother.  I have lost my temper more times than I can count recently.

 

All in all, son's work load has increased, but he's not crying or complaining yet; of course, he wouldn't allow me to drop any subjects.  I'm sitting with him and helping him to balance out the schedule.  What is this called?  Habit training?  Here's to hoping that he will eventually see the wisdom in all that.

 

Thanks for listening...

 

 

 

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Heather, it sounds like there's progress no matter how slow. I won't bother to say give him a pat on the back because if he is anything like my son, pat on the back means we are doing great lets relax and go back to our old ways :tongue_smilie: .

 

I tend to revert back to Excel also. I have used it so much at home and professionally that it is just so easy to just open and go. Whatever works, right :) ? I spent some time checking out OneNote but have spent more time on Inspiration/ Kidspiration as this will help us streamline certain tasks, which makes it more essential to us right now.

 

Heather, besides the daily schedule, have you tried making him a visual schedule with the instructions he needs? Not something overly wordy, just a step 1, step 2 type of thing in a visual chart? Those little bubbles can do wonders if it is an executive function thing! I used to do that with my son and it worked really well but I know we are dealing with different issues so feel free to ignore :) .

No visual charts yet, but it is still on my radar. I need to think that through. Would you happen to have pictures of what you used? Please share if it is convenient.

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Heather, on written directions, are you highlighting key words/phrases to make sure he finds them?  Some programs are way too wordy.

Yes, I use a bright pink highlighter but not consistently, and that is my fault.  Of course, the assignment sheets are practically identical every week.  I just never imagined it would be so difficult for him.   Even when things are highlighted, there is no guarantee that he will follow the directions.  He just spaces and I can't explain it. 

 

I'm girding my loins and refocusing on that skill.  I also have a fresh supply of dark chocolate.

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Yes, I use a bright pink highlighter but not consistently, and that is my fault.  Of course, the assignment sheets are practically identical every week.  I just never imagined it would be so difficult for him.   Even when things are highlighted, there is no guarantee that he will follow the directions.  He just spaces and I can't explain it. 

 

I'm girding my loins and refocusing on that skill.  I also have a fresh supply of dark chocolate.

Heather, does he have allergies?  It has been a full moon lately.  Seriously, sometimes, at least here, there are just days like that.  We call them our Mary Poppins days.  

 

Also, sigh, it took a while for me to realize the pattern.  She was transitioning back in on Mondays, overworked on Tues/Wed, and drifting on Thursday, unable to work on Friday.  We ended up doing a small amount of work on Sunday nights, and that does the trick for transitioning her back in.  I spread the load more carefully, and that helps with the rest.

 

What you might need is much more frequent check-in points.  Bringing him to work with you can help, lol.  Like set a timer for every hour, and when it dings check what he's doing.  She's finally getting her groove and has figured out how to get in mode and plow through stuff.  It took a long time for that.  It also took me creating a detailed schedule that is way beyond what I thought I ought to have to.  

 

Maybe he has Harry Potter days? I've never seen it, lol.  Mary Poppins flies away when the wind blows.  With dd, I mean seriously it seems like that's just what happens.  

 

Maybe he's bored?  I have that geography text, and it would be totally boring.  I don't know how to put this nicely, but I finally realized that the H in ADHD is there for a reason.  They want stuff they can go FAST with.  I think when they get hopeless they slow down.

 

Maybe just plain ask him if he feels there is anything glitching him?  Feedback is a challenge, because if you open yourself up to it you also turn on their willingness to criticize and buck.  On the other hand, you get info you couldn't figure out for yourself and more buy-in.  The problem is, again trying to be delicate here, sometimes people don't want to do what it would take to do to get buy-in.  That's a choice.  I don't think my dd's IQ is quite as high as your ds', but she does much better when she wants to be doing it and has buy-in.  The higher the IQ, the MORE LIKELY they are to have distinct opinions on this stuff.  (reference: chart posted by Kathy in Richmond that I'm too lazy to link)  She has her own unique interests and likes freedom on some things.  It makes her uncomfortable to have TOO much freedom, because then she loses the structure and ability to go fast.  But she definitely likes having some freedom.  

 

I'm just tossing stuff out.  Splat the spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

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