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misslissa

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Posts posted by misslissa

    Story of the World Audiobook

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    That is exactly what we do. We live in a semi rural area and drive over 400 times a week frequently. My husband is hooked so we actually only listen when we're all together. In the past year we've gotten through volumes 1 -3 and are 2 discs into volume 4. We don't match it to our history. Just listen through. When we finish, we'll start over. Even my non-auditory learner has picked up "pegs" to build history knowledge on.

    need adoption advice (not newborn)

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    It's not a decision to enter lightly but there are a lot of newer resources that equip parents to handle kids from hard places (which include older adoptees) should you make the leap. These kids are very "healable" but it takes a lot of research and time.

     

    I also think knowing your motivation for adopting and expectations are key to how successful adoption relationships are. If you feel called to bring her into your home, everyone will need to make sacrifices and expect it to be HARD.

     

    If you go ahead, I would strongly suggest checking out the resources at www.empoweredtoconnect.org. They have revolutionized our house after a 2 1/2 year old turned it upside down.

    So what do you do with a sensory seeking kid?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Unfortunately OT was not covered by our insurance. We're using our HSA to pay for it but we still don't have a lot laying around since we're paying off three adoptions.

    We found a place that was willing to work with us. We paid for the eval which the most helpful. We did 1 session per month for a couple months so our OT could get to know our son and I could get my questions worked out. Now that I'm armed with a definitive diagnosis (different that I had thought after research), I can do more informed research. Our OT is happy to answer specific questions by email and we'll probably check in with her quarterly. It was definitely worth the cost to us even if we needed to cut back in other areas to make it work.

    So what do you do with a sensory seeking kid?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Unfortunately there's a lot of trial and error with Sensory Processing Disorder.

    In addition to the above suggestions,

    *the resistance of bike riding is the most effective for our sensory seeking son.

    *carrying a weighted backpack around seems to help a little bit.

    *sleeping under a weighted blanket has helped.

    *a body sock where he can get in and push against its resistance

    *being swaddled tightly and then rolling a therapy ball on him.

    *playdough

    *rubber band play

     

    Our son needs almost a constant stream of the above to stay regulated.

     

    Hope these help!

    Any advice?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Ok,

    So this fall we'll have a special needs Kindergartner (most pronounced is that he has visuo-, somatodyspraxia which makes him sensory seeking), 2 ESL middle schoolers (with basically no functional English), a 2nd, and 4th grader.

     

    If you have any tips for scheduling, schooling, and all around managing a situation remotely similar to this, please share!

     

    We're generally a classically educating family and our youngest 3 will participate in a CC community.

     

    Thanks in advance!

    Need a 'backup' plan for math and phonics - workbooks

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I agree. If you're just in PK, relax! Whatever you get done will be great. Don't sit her down in front of workbooks just for busy work. Let her play. She'll learn way more that's useful that way at her age than anything. If you have some time to work on letter sounds or 1 to 1 correlation, sorting, etc, great! If not, no biggie. If you do nothing, just make sure to read (or listen to if you're not feeling up to it) great literature. She'll be fine :)

     

    I don't think you need to quite worry about it yet, since you're oldest little one is 3?

    Where to Start with Handwriting for K? (cursive/manuscript...)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    We're a cursive family. I like that it's a gross motor skill and only needs 4 basic strokes to learn all 26 letters. It's worked for 2 of my kids who have vastly different development schedules and learning styles. We'll start my 5 year old on it this fall.

    Either way you go, I recommend starting BIG. Practice on a large easel or in a sand box. Then start practicing on paper using the entire sheet and then to multiple lines per sheet.

    For either manuscript or cursive, there are visual guides for vertical spacing like sky, grass, dirt, or the house visual (attic, main floor, basement), that are very helpful.

     

    We don't use a formal curriculum but I've heard Cursive First is a good one if you go that route.

    university with a Korean program?

    in The College Board

    Posted

    Thanks for the kudos :)

    Hi, Melissa! I'm glad you posted -- I remember visiting your blog ages ago and thinking what a lovely family you have ... but I didn't know how to find your blog again! Anyway, not trying to one-up you :001_smile:, but your post just reminded me that USC is very near LA's Koreatown, which is very big and vibrant and full of amazing places to eat :D

     

    Also, USC has a Korean Studies Institute that hosts a lot of speakers and programs.

     

    Best wishes to you, Melissa, and to the OP!

     

    ~Laura

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