MomatHWTK
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Posts posted by MomatHWTK
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We're doing the Risperidal with the side effects, plus a few other medications. It was a matter of necessity. :/
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My new rule for curricula is "keep it until all the kids are aged-out." I sold one item years ago because my first didn't take to it, now I am thinking of re-purchasing. :glare:
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I pulled these links together several years ago:
http://www.hwtk.net/links.html
Some may no longer work, and of course there are lots of new free sites that I don't even know about yet. But if you want to do it on the cheap, you can. It will just take you some time to find what you want. :grouphug:
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Happy Scribe at Currclick offers books with block, italic and cursive style. abcteach.com allows you to make your own copywork pages. There are also several other copywork vendors at Currclick.
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I think that the parents of homeschool parents often react the worst because you are saying "I'm not going to do what you did." They may start to think, "What was wrong with what I did?" You have to be very careful what you say because you are choosing a path they didn't. KWIM?
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Here's my solution: if you are a night person, embrace it and teach after the sun goes down. Our household is filled with night owls and insomniacs so we have just opted to do school in the afternoon and evenings.
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My Ds doesn't have any fixed friends, but does enjoy being around other children. If you don't want to go the electronics route, places where friends can be found are at an indoor rock climbing facility, roller or ice skating rinks, the children's museum, swimming pools, etc. He can socialize and enjoy the company of others engaged in the same activities without having to have play dates.
However, my socially akward child does struggle with the conversations the kids have and we are very tech dependent at our house. So, it's not so much the lack of common interests (i.e. gaming systems) as it is lack of common language and behavior patterns. He just doesn't get adolescent boy behavior at all. I actually let the child watch some TV programs (like The Suite Life) that I don't allow the younger children in order to teach him about this stuff. LOL
ETA: We have a neighbor child that come over to play but can't be trusted in the house (too much temptation to wander off and get into trouble and too little patience to supervise on my part). However, the child loves to come over because at our house, there's a slide off the back deck, mud puddles in the back yard and you can make messes out back to your heart's content. It may be that the friends your DS has aren't the best selection to be his friends. They are friends of convenience, not common intersts. Have you tried a Lego Club? D&D night at the local comic bookstore? Ooh, our town even has a youth rock collectors club that meets regularly. Cultivate your niche.
But, I do agree, it's easier to make friends by asking people about their interests and finding connections than making sure they know what doesn't interest you. ;)
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For our child, it's Aspergers and ADHD. I think personality can play a role as well. But if you really want to know, you'll have to start thinking about getting an evaluation. Meds aren't always necessary unless or until the issues become unmanageable. BUT, you will probably have to adjust your techniques and expectations. Knowing what is going on will help you make the best adjustments.
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librarything.com is the site I use. I purchased a cuecat scanner that works with librarything's system. Not all books will scan, but it does help speed up the process if you have a large stack. If you are well organized, you can enter a personal note or tag with each book indicating it's location in your library. I would love to use the Dewey Decimal System for my books, but have never made it that far. We just did a remodel and moved lots of stuff around, so I am taking advantage of the opportunity to file the picture books alphabetically by author.
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Imaginarium and Melissa and Doug brands both make nice blocks. I purchased a set of wooden blocks locally from a small toy store, but Toys R Us also carries wooden and foam blocks.
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Intuniv worked well and quickly for Ds and the drowsiness seems to be less of an issue over time. It worked so well for DS that I started taking it as well- I had NO patience before starting this medicine. Now I am way sleepier than DS (maybe I need a lower dose) but I have so much more patience. I wish I'd started it years ago. (btw, We both take this in combination with other medications for other issues.)
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I have found that it's easier to teach if I find something that matches both my style and the individual child's style. This isn't always easy. But if you just match the child, you won't want to do the teaching; and if you just match yourself, your child may not learn as well. Try to find some middle ground. And remember, if they learn to read, they can find out anything they want when they are ready. ;)
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A terrarium is great for learning about various life cycles. If you get big crickets from a bait shop to feed your lizard (which you'll have in your terrarium), then the crickets will lay eggs in the soil and you can actually watch. Sometimes they lay the eggs right next to the glass so you can see the entire process. Snails will reproduce as well.
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Headphones and differing sleep times. I let the noisies stay up later and that gives my oldest a little "free" time in the morning before chaos ensues.
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We started by browsing online for ideas and plans. DH eventually bought a book of instructions at a home supply store. There are plans and instructions for both decks and play structures. We actually built a deck, so DH put in pilings with the cement and all that structural stuff that I don't understand. ;) He left a section of the railing open and installed slide in the space. It's fun to be able to do what you want, but also takes time and a little research. Enjoy!
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Did they provide a breakdown of the various parts of the test. If all the sections are within a certain range, they can average them to get an "IQ" number? But, if your child had a very low score in one section (i.e. processing) over another then they can't really average them. Doing so would bring down the number significantly. As a real example, my DS has ADHD and tested poorly on processing speed. His other score (can't remember what it was called) was so much higher that the therapist has to basically throw out the processing score rather than average them into his total.
I did some research online at the time and was able to find more details- perhaps you could do a search on IQ scoring. One of the Mensa or similar organizations will allow you to do some online testing, but I'm not sure if it would work for a child.
Found this to get you started:
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=960
FWIW, yes, your child is exactly who he/she is supposed to be- wonderfully and fearfully made. :)
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I haven't watched any of these, so you might want to preview:
http://www.downeu.net/i/iraq+Documentary.html
My kids and I did watch a documentary about the wetlands restoration when it was available on Netflix. The one we watched didn't discuss the war specifically, but the children were able to see that the ruler of the country had intentionally destroyed huge areas of wetlands just to get rid of the people living there. That told them a lot about why we were at war.
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I have a big white board, but can't usually get to it because there's other stuff in the way. What gets used more often are the lap sized white boards that the kids and I have- those are all over the house. You can also get a slightly larger one that you could move around easily. We have a larger one that's magnetic and one of my kids uses that for his magnet craft projects.
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For tips on what to do, try the book Reading Rescue 1-2-3. For reading materials that will improve confidence and hold his attention, try the materials from Remedia Publications.
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The EEG we had was to check for seizure activity under similar circumstances. I think it's basically a "rule out the possibilities" issue. ADD can cause difficulties with processing information, your child may be very bright but unable to output that information. Aspergers can manifest with expressiveness issues. My DS was very outgoing, loved (and still does) people, but couldn't always "get" what they meant. He has difficulty expressing what he is feeling and controlling his reactions to stimuli.
We saw a regular child therapist, she has a PhD but isn't a phychiatrist. She did testing for basic IQ and various other conditions, including the ADHD. Even this basic testing will give you some information like whether there are specific areas of difficulty. Then you can choose whether to pursue further testing. We went through a private practice that we were referred to by our pediatrician and DS sees a phychiatrist in the same practice for decisions regarding medications.
These tests may give you some information:
Note- the bipolar test also asks questions related to ADHD in order to rule it out. The scoring is a little complicated, but it might help you.
Vanderbilt Assessment Tool:
http://www.cap4kids.org/new_york_city/download/ADHDParent.pdf
Scoring: http://www.nichq.org/toolkits_publications/complete_adhd/07Scoring%20Instructions.pdf
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I had a surprise pregnancy between Aaron and Liam. I was excited and thrilled, then we had an early m/c. Very upsetting of course. When I found out I was expecting Liam a year later I was absolutely terrified, confused, shocked (I'm not young) and spent the whole pregnancy nearly in a state of denial.
But he's here and his sweet personality has carried us through some trying times as we've faced other difficulties. When I remarked to one of the ladies at church whom I was close to that "I was too old for this," had thought I was done and had no idea why we were chosen to have this child, particularly after the previous loss she told me that God must have a very special purpose for this baby because he had come to us despite the odds.
Now, we are in a similar boat and have been for quite some time. Do we trust completely, knowing that it really could happen again or do we say, "we're done." Being so blessed with all my other babies how can I say the next wouldn't be? I know that even though I feel overwhelmed I can do all things through God. But wow, I wouldn't mind a break either. :001_unsure:
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I am new so don't know your story, but if things are in transition in your household, I would guess your 7 y.o. is acting out. I'd take the day or maybe even the week and spend it just being together. :grouphug:
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We don't limit screen time. For school time, I'm using several online resources for schooling and we use Netflix for watching documentaries. The kids' free time they can watch any shows or play any games that I've preapproved. I probably need my screen time limited, but the kids do pretty good self-regulating. :)
Competition in homeschooling and friendship
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
If she is type A and has left the institution she went to college to support (i.e. public education) then she probably has a HUGE chip on her shoulder. She may feel like she has to demonstrate that she has made the perfect choice in order to justify abandonning her former "beliefs."
How direct have you been? I would probably say something like, "I can't belive you didn't tell me about that class!" If you are good friends, don't just let her steamroll over you- tell her, lovingly and politely, how you feel. If she quits talking to you, then at this point is it really a big loss?
I would not tell her she's being competitive or acting all "type A" of course, but specifically how you feel. The classes that my kids miss out on would bother me in particular. Mess with me- fine, mess with my kids and :angry: