So, we went to the library armed with topics of their choice related to the zoo. (we just went on Monday) We left with about 50 books (seriously- i am shocked they didn't cut us off!) We will begin our literature based study of Africa and animals of the zoo. We will also explore how zoo keepers work and get to be zoo keepers. I printed out some of the Confessions of a Homeschooler for DS and DD today to do while I read Life of Fred. DD did her sheets without complaint and so did DS. I think this may work out after all--- just not the way I expected it to nor the way my left brain wants it to. :P

I considered that but there are parts in A-2 he doesn't grasp yet so I will have to review those first.

Thanks Lecka! That was really helpful :) I think perhaps DS is bored with ABeCeDarian b/c it is what he knows. Its far too easy for him. I need to move him into A-2. I just started at the beginning b/c I thought we needed to get the foundation in. I do have a reward system in place. I have a chart and for every completed subject they fill 1 box with a stamp. When its all full, they each can turn it in for a reward from the Dollar Store. DS and DD have filled theirs already so I need to make a point to get to the dollar store today for that :) It will take some tweeking but I can get back to what we did last year and stop stressing. DS and DD are on a different time table than I was and I just need to accept that.

Thank you for that! Seriously. I think I need "permission" to do that. LOL! Last year I wouldn't have stressed at all.... and didn't! I just did what we wanted to learn. This year, I felt pressured for DS to read and write to grade level and I just went overboard in trying to "plan" structured learning and its failing miserably. Back to what I know! FIAR has always "fit" our style better anyway (I'm a former LA teacher so I guess it makes sense) Thanks again!

Well, I have the best laid plans and the just have not materialized. I haven't added a siggy. I just don't like all that info on there. DS is almost 8. He has dx of ADHD, SPD, anxiety, Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia. DD is 5.5. She has no dx but shares some of the same characteristics as her brother. Our "frame" this year was to be Konos but that never materialized. The kids were D.O.N.E. by the time we finished mandatory subjects that I couldn't fight with them to make them continue on with me. For our core subjects, I am using: MUS for both (DD Primer; DS Alpha) and Life of Fred Real Science 4 Kids (yet haven't cracked this yet b/c of time and patience) HWOT/Draw Write Now ABeCeDarian reading for DS Reading Eggs for both Child 1st reading supplements (SNAP words) HOP for DD Bible Lesson And, all I seem to be getting to these days is Bible, reading/phonics and math. Nothing else gets accomplished. DD "hates" school and fights me. DS is just bored. Learning was so much fun when all we did was book units. Now that I have to "teach" them something they are disengaged and checked out.

:grouphug: to you! DS was dx'ed as ADHD by a neurophsych. But, what we also found is he has other issues that LOOK like ADHD. He has visual processing problems, is actually pretty dyslexic, is totally right brained and has anxiety. All those put together make it LOOK like ADHD but its really just the combination of the 4. Have you read How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and On to Learning ( http://tinyurl.com/9jh82ug )? Its a great resource to help put ADHD into perspective when homeschooling. I looked at what you are using and aside from Singapore, I don't think my DS would care for any of it. He has to have hands on learning. He can learn about Egypt if he's building it. He can remember a word and spell it if he builds it with legos or play doh. He can learn math facts if I have him play hopscotch. Simply put, my DS cannot learn from black and white on paper. Nothing will click for him that way. Maybe a learning styles inventory will help? that way you can see how he learns best? Find out what his interests are and scope a lesson around that. We just went to the zoo and now we are going to study about things we saw there. DS wants to learn more about the giraffes. DD wants to learn more about elephants and being a zoo keeper. Just suggestions.... and maybe they wouldn't work for your DS. But, its worth looking into... if nothing else, to preserve your sanity. (side note: we last 3 days on straterra before we trashed it! it made DS an awful blubbery mess!!!)

I cannot tell you how much we love Sarah Major's programs! I have her Reading Encyclopedia as well as the snap words and the are FANTASTIC! So glad to see someone else love them as much as I do!

Ok, you know that moment when you thought you had a good plan and then suddenly.... well, you don't. Yeah. That's me. I have to scrap it all. DD just isn't ready for what I have for her and well, DS is bored to tears and thinks as long as he flies through his math and reading he's free to do whatever. Well, that's not learning at all. And, to be blunt, it SUCKS. So, how about some feedback :D ;) I looked through the K4 curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler for DD (5). It looks like something colorful enough and inviting enough to keep her busy when I have to do one on one things with DS. http://store.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70_72&products_id=183 I realized today that DD can't even recognize half of her numbers :( Blah :( I would also like to do the Pre-Level for All About Reading with her too. I think she'd connect with it. As much as I wanted to get into Konos with my kids, the same library books have been here and sat untouched. I think I will have to go back to unit studies and add in hands on learning through those. DS is also bored to tears with ABeCeDarian. So, perhaps I will go back to the Reading Encyclopedia from Child 1st to help him there and just start All About Spelling. (if you don't recall previous posts- DS is dyslexic and dysgraphic and gifted all at the same time!) HWOT and Draw Write Now will stay. They like them. Any thoughts from the public here? ***As an aside, I think, too, that I am disheartened. School was so easy for me at DD's age. And, here, I now have a second child showing struggles to learn what came naturally to me :(

I'm sure it will. :) I need to make new play doh today and start building letters with them. We also discovered CBeeBies yesterday from the UK. DD LOVES Alphablocks! Seriously! She's addicted to them! She's watched and played their games for about 2 hours in the last 2 days. I think this may really help her!

Sounds great! Thank you so much!

Is this something I can google and download? Thanks :)

We started ABeCeDarian this weekwith DS and DD. Well, DS is tolerating it well but DD is balking at it and wants NOTHING to do with it. :( I may pull out some Davis Method things with her where she can build her letters in play doh. THanks for the tip about HOP. I have a complete set that I got for dirt cheap and it was unused. I will look at our local HS store and see if they have a Barton set on consignment. I know they had a Wilson set at one point. It was still VERY pricey though. :( Thanks again for your input!

Ok I am full of the need for feedback today... forgive me! :P So, when DS was in the 3-5 range, I noticed his learning was different than other kids in preK. Most of the time, I just pushed it off as "he's a boy" or "he's not ready" but, really , there were signs. He could not recognize letters at all. They all looked the same to him. He could recite just about anything you did orally with him but couldn't look at the letter "A" and say "oh yeah, that's an A!" When he was 5, he started to retain what letters were but still struggled with sounds. Letter sounds? And, a glazed look would cover his face. It did not compute. By the time he was 6, I really noticed something wasn't right. He still transposed his ENTIRE name. Yes, mirror image. Writing from left to right? No way. Much cooler to write in diagonals, backwards, and HUGE! By the end of the 1st grade year, and after failing to help him learn more than 100 words, I resolved that he did, in fact, need more testing and help than I had provided. DS is dyslexic. Now, I am trying to work with DD who is showing the same signs as her brother. However, she is NOT dysgraphic (like her brother). Her penmanship is pretty darn good for a 5 year old. But retaining letter shape and letter sound? Nope. She can't recall what letters look like to write them unless she's looking at them. I know most of you will say- "she's just 5- give it time" Well, I gave it time with DS and I feel like I lost valuable time with him in helping him re-wire the wiring that's crossed in his brain. What programs do you think I use to help DD? Apparently playing a year of Starfall hasn't made any difference in letter recognition. How about All About Reading Pre-Level 1? Or maybe Hooked on Phonics? Other computer games that may help? Dyslexia has a genetic component. Their father is dyslexic. DS is dyslexic. Their first cousins are dyslexic. It would not surprise me if DD is too. I just want to be proactive in helping her and wonder if there is something that anyone here may have to help her. Thanks!

Do you mind sharing what VT program you found on line to use with your DS? My DS has tracking and sustaining issues (dx'ed by a developmental optomitrist) but cannot afford the $3500 therapy :(

It looks a lot like Dianne Craft methods :)

:iagree:

The bolding is mine :) I agree with you here! My DS is active in many outside interests- especially scouts. He is VERY aware of his den mates reading their assignments and he can't and how he differs at Den Meetings. He wants to take part in the skits but can't read the parts. Its heartbreaking. So, while our HS experience caters to his strengths, the outside world with peers does not.

We are doing pre-level 1. I agree he's not ready for Level 1.

Sounds like you are doing all you can for him academically. ((hugs)) That has to be hard to see him struggle and be so frustrated. :( I have a friend who read The Explosive Child- twice- and the methods in it have worked wonders for her DD. I really is a very good book. Just a thought-- sometimes kids who are very self limiting in foods do so b/c of the negative association with food from the early days. We don't always have a visible outward sign of food allergies or intolerences. Celiac disease is one of these that can cause strange food habits and even food aversions. It can also lead to what appears to be ADHD, SPD, and ODD. I never realized it in my self until I got another medical dx... but I have been gluten intolerent for years. I can tell immediately when I have been glutened- yes, I have a stomach ache- but, I also get very rage-y and explosive :( I'm not saying that he has Celiac or that he has food allergies.... but from what you describe with his eating, there may be a connection. Best wishes to you and your DS!! I hope the best for you both.

I don't have a lot to add to what the others have metioned but this: 1: How long has he been on Strattera? My DS had a violent reaction to it. 2: Would changing his curriculum be an option? My DS has all of those DX'es. However, I have abandoned all the typical curriculum resources from the last 2 years and have adapted to his learning needs with other options- Math U See, Real Science 4 Kids, Draw Write Now- a change from Singapore, Standard phonics program, copy work. (I didn't have a science curriculum before but as he is in tune to it, I chose to keep him engaged in learning by adding it in) I also have changed our diet. I FINALLY took gluten out of his diet and have noticed real positive changes. I also added in TriEnza, a digestive enzyme to help him digest the food proteins that may be affecting him but I haven't identified yet.

I, personally, do not see any harm in it. DS already had a SPD dx when he was 4. So, I wanted to know if there was another missing piece. We worked with a wonderful child psych practice in our area. They did the eval over 3 meetings. The results were very enlightening and allowed us to see that we weren't really crazy after all and that we weren't "making things up." His issues were very real. I just suggest doing your research first about child psychologists in your area, the thoroughness of their "testing", and what kind of reputation/rapport they have with children.

We are starting ABeCeDarian this fall :)

Reading Eggs was something we started before we got the dyslexia dx. He enjoys it. He likes the acheivment aspect of it. So, we've stuck with it. He's very technology oriented and likes it=-- thus, leaving it in. ABeCeDarian is a program that works on phonemic awareness and segmenting. http://www.abcdrp.com/ Several of my friends who have dyslexic kids had great success with it. :) OH! And, DS will be 8 in a few months.

DS is dyslexic so the reading is going to be hard and laborious for him. That's why we are using ABeCeDarian. He also has some dx'ed issues in tracking and eye convergence. We are doing some therapies at home for that as we cannot get VT for him. Sadly, reading won't come easily for him anytime soon. This is the line up for school that I came up with after scrapping the last 2 years of curriculum and moving to a more VS friendly set of sources.

Thank you for posting this!!! It really encourages me to keep on with DS!