Teach outside?

[desertflower]

Hello,

 

If you have a child who is 7 1/2 yo with an IQ of 70, is it wise to teach outside or will that be too distracting?  Does it depend on the child? 

 

I know that this child has to be taught with no tv on in the house. 

 

I'm going to start teaching this child and wanted to have a different scenery.  There isn't a different room that I can use. 

 

Thanks.

[nature girl]

We do all our teaching outside when the weather's nice! My DD has ADHD, loves the outdoors, and is sometimes distracted by birds or cars, but only for a moment. In a way, I think it actually helps her focus on the material, having somewhere else to rest her eyes...It's very calming for her, especially when we sit under one of our trees. (I never would even attempt to teach her with the TV on, a completely different kind of distraction.)

 

But of course it will depend on the child, and their mood. When she's not in the mood for school work, she's much more likely to start crawling around looking for bugs (her favorite activity.) And I actually let her for awhile, it's a sign that she needs a break. And I haven't really had a problem calling her back to work after that break.

 

I'd say it's worth a try, to see how he does!

[Kat w]

Hi desertflower :)

 

My ds12 is about in that range, I teach outside alot. I have to. He gets way too frustrated inside as long as we have to school BC of all the review we need.

 

I try to coincide it with maybe something we are doing that day, like in FLL the cloud poem. We went outside and sat in comfy lounge chairs and looked up at the sky and said it together . he had the book with the page turned open si be could refer to it . (I used a pencil and squared it off so he could easily find it when he looked down from the clouds.

 

I do any science reading aloud to them outside that I can . we are in Florida and....its HOT right now lol so, mama is inside. This is sort of our 'winter' . hot so, mama is inside and I use July and August to teach and take more time off in the nicer months.

 

We go outside to practice measuring things.

 

Outside to use craft sticks to practice tally marks, grouping them for multiplication groupings.

Taking any math manipulaives usually works pretty good.

 

To read for us? Outside is way too distracting BC he struggles. Have to be inside with no distractions.

 

It probably depends on what their struggle is too.

 

I do try to have lunch outside sometimes . if we have sandwiches or pizza we use u as oppty to do 'fractions'

 

We have to mix it up a bit or I'd lose him. He's the kind of kid thst can't be cooped up all day, or his perception of being couped up.

 

I try to sometimes jus have a picnic with them for snack or lunch, talk about the trees, birds, read a couple pages in a book about trees or birds and look at pictures .

 

I try to " sneak in" school whenever I can and outside is great for this for us.

 

If the oil needs to be changed. I let them go outside with dad ir older brother and watch and " help". Any opportunity to mix it up and still learn.

 

I find the areas that are super hard for them or learning a new concept . ...nope..lol. Gotta be inside and not even by a window. I'll lose him that way :)

 

I love this question. I'll be interested to see what others say.

 

With our kids, mixing it up and "sneaking " it in so it doesn't seem like "school" helps so much.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Kat w

[Kat w]

Oh, a craft ( to help cement an idea) we also try to do outside when we can. Less mess and, crafts they are super focused lol.

 

Did I mention? No mess inside lol .

That pesky glue haha

[desertflower]

Hi Kat.  :)

 

Thank you nature girl and Kat for telling me about your experiences. I will give it a try!  :)

[PeterPan]

We usually put up a tent to work in when we were outside.  That way it was variety, sort of cool, contained, structured.  And you know you can rotate too, like in the tent, try a blanket, if he's ok on the blanket then do that, if not back to the tent...  But yes, when we did things on a blanket, we had to have a LOT looser expectations for behavior.  She wasn't going to be contained, so she was going to be in motion, might run around during the tasks, etc.

[PeterPan]

PS.  I like to change how I homeschool every year, so I get why you're going crazy!  Can you build a college style loft in the space you already have?  For winter that would shake it up.  They're not usually too expensive to build.  

 

We had a tent that would go over a mattress and attach at the corners, a twin size tent.  They sell them for like $30.  I guess you could say I like tents, lol.  Structure, nooks, variety.  

 

You could take a table and raise it with old encyclopedias and cover to make a space.  

 

Walmart sells small adjustable height tables for like $30.  You could make your space rearrangeable with stuff like that.  I often use milk crates on tables to create walls and define spaces and rearrange.  Rugs can define space.  I just got a really nice 4X6 rug, very soft, at walmart for $18.  I was impressed.  It's yellow.  I read somewhere someone saying to use colors in your room to define the zones, so like when you're yellow go to the yellow spot and use your tools, etc.  I don't know, but I thought it was witty.  The rug isn't overtly yellow.  It's sort of wheat and flecked.  I thought I'd be brainy and put the sensory things by the yellow rug...  :)

 

We have happy memories of being outside in the tent!  You can go normal camping tent or even just a pup tent.  I'll bet you could snag one cheap.  And then for variety you could move the tent around (pup tent would be easier to move), change the way you sit, take a picnic lunch, etc.  You could reward good behavior, like have ice cream sandwiches when we're done, etc.

[desertflower]

Wow.  Some great ideas.  Thanks OhE. 

[Kat w]

Ohhh a tent. Great idea. Duh. Why didn't I think of that. My boys are always asking to go camping.

 

Yup yup. Gonna mix that in for a lil variety

[Kat w]

Know what I'm going to do this year?

 

I'm putting the boys in a trundle bed ( we have hopes of adding a br under a built into the roofline already ( no roofing and structure costs there) and closing it in for another br, when my husband gets his bonus. Christmas will be lighter this year.

 

But, them in a trundle bed fir now, we already painted the room a green/grey . I read that's a very soothing color.

 

I'm going to buy or make those bookshelves that are front position oriented, so the can see the books , as if on display.

 

I'm going to break it uo into centers

 

One bookshelf for cire curriculum. I'm getting MP spec needs curriculum very booky. Want my 12 yo reading.

One bkshlf for core curriculum . one fir history science and enrichment (alot of books I already have)

 

Then I have a short but wide and tall n deep shelves we already use.

 

I'm going o put the over flow fun history ,science and enrichment books on there and their wokboxes.

On top of that short wide bookshelf I'm going to put pencil sharpener , supplies like color pencils, markers, crayons. Tape ( ds12 OBSESSED w tape lol) flashcards and their slots to put finished daily papers.

 

I'm going to have a separate bkshlf for me w TM, eval portfolios so I can be adding their papers weekly. (Doing end if year as I go)

 

On the center's I too am gonna put soft fuzzy rugs and buy more sensory stuff to out at each center in a cool basket. A diff set if sensory stuff at the other bkshl , so to encourage them to go over there and read.

 

I'm gonna label and be super strict with putting all of that in its place this year. We made great headway with that last year but still work to be done . their sorting is...omg! Lol(therapy too snuck in -sorting ). Man they still have such trouble with sorting.

 

And bean bag chair at each center (2) centers pkus the bookshelf fir them and their workboxes.

 

I'm going to put a hopechest in frin if the window for like a window reading book. Let them stare off outside and process.

 

I'm super excited and they are too. Can't wait.

 

In the meantime tho. My house is torn apart cuz we had to out diwn new flooring. They destroyed it w glue, markers, something sharp, list goes on n on lol

[PeterPan]

I've seen people make those open shelf things from pvc pipe.  You can find pictures.  If what you're finding is $$, maybe look for hack options.  

 

Your ideas sound fun!  :)

Edited July 22, 2016 by OhElizabeth

[Kat w]

Ohh good idea. I wasn't looking forward to the making them part. Buying them is way too expensive tho.

 

I'll Google that. PVC is way cheaper.

And tanx :)

I'm really excited and so are they. :)

The latter is da bestest part lol

[kbutton]

We sometimes use the library for a change of scenery, and then they can pick out something before we go home. We have three easily accessible libraries that each have a different atmosphere.

 

Mine can't handle being outside for school. At all. One is into sounds--he'll want to know what car just drove off 3.5 miles away (he has supersonic ears). The other one is too hot, too cold, too sunny, too windy, too many bugs...  Both are, "Wait, I left that inside" about forty-five times an hour.

 

 

[Kat w]

We sometimes use the library for a change of scenery, and then they can pick out something before we go home. We have three easily accessible libraries that each have a different atmosphere.

 

Mine can't handle being outside for school. At all. One is into sounds--he'll want to know what car just drove off 3.5 miles away (he has supersonic ears). The other one is too hot, too cold, too sunny, too windy, too many bugs... Both are, "Wait, I left that inside" about forty-five times an hour.

Kbutton,

Ive thought of doing that too.

 

I'm going to add that into my lesson plans I'm working on.

 

I for one, am glad you mentioned that :)

[desertflower]

We sometimes use the library for a change of scenery, and then they can pick out something before we go home. We have three easily accessible libraries that each have a different atmosphere.

 

Mine can't handle being outside for school. At all. One is into sounds--he'll want to know what car just drove off 3.5 miles away (he has supersonic ears). The other one is too hot, too cold, too sunny, too windy, too many bugs...  Both are, "Wait, I left that inside" about forty-five times an hour.

 

:lol: