Sebsmommy
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Posts posted by Sebsmommy
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Thank you! This is wonderful! :)
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I'm just starting but here's what I think I'm going with so far:
Math: MEP Year 1 & 2 (to cement knowledge because he's beginning 3rd grade level), moving on to Year 3 after that, also doing Khan Academy K-2 (he's already 20% on his own), then moving to Grade 3 math, along with CK-12. He also has a few random apps (like DragonBox) that teach him basic algebra/geometry concepts while he thinks it's all a game.
LA: For reading, I'm going with some from the Ambleside list, some from the WTM book, and library books we pick out together; otherwise, eclectic reader (he's 3rd grade level so will be doing 3rd once I make sure he can breeze through 1st (so far he does) and 2nd (up next).)
HW: Using Writing With Ease from library, but he writes pretty well, so I may just end up having him copy things from books we're reading instead.
Science: Study animals, human body, then plants - using books from library (ex: Smithsonian Animal Book) & DK dictionaries. Observations outside weather permitting.
History/Geography: SOTW1, along with a World History atlas (Kingfisher) from 10,000 BCE to present, books from library coordinating those dates, along with pictures of maps to color/label along with using a globe to show general areas.
Music/Art: composer/artist study from Ambleside weekly.
PE: looking into stuff to do
And finally, we were already doing about 10 minutes of French and 10 minutes of ASL each day. He already knew a little ASL from public K as well. :lol:
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I'm pretty impossible to offend or anything (and I hope you're not by my blunt honesty!), but in all honesty, I don't understand 'social issues' in general (one of the facets of autism...lol), and certainly not those of the neurotypical variety. I've made my whole life without swimming beyond my childhood (when I hated it & didn't know why I hated it so much or what was wrong with me) and it hasn't caused me any long term problems or safety issues. My son does like the water a little, but he enjoys doing other things over the option to swim. I'm sure if I can manage to get him swim lessons at some point, I will, if he wants to. How old is your son if I may ask? And that's awesome for him, I'm sure he had a blast, Is he going this year too?
Okay. I wasn't sure if the standing problem was just wrt standing or being on your feet in general.
I'm also not sure if this is out of line or not, but since you mentioned you're autistic I thought I'd point out that learning to swim is not just a safety issue. It's also a social issue. If your son were to ever go to camp or is invited to a pool party (or anything else involving water/swimming), he might stand out negatively if he can't swim. And learning to swim when you're older is probably more awkward, since it's one of those things that people usually learn to do when they're kids. That said, there are successful adults who can't swim, or have a fear of water, etc.
Personally, I think the safety reasons alone are a fairly compelling reason to teach a kid to swim if possible, but the picture I got from summer camp last summer where my son was the only kid standing on the steps in the pool wearing a life vest while all the other kids were splashing about happily with a noodle at most is a big part of my motivation to try to get him as good at swimming as possible before this summer's camp. The good news is that he can swim cross the width of the pool now without any flotation devices. :) He's not good enough to pass the deep end test yet, but several of the kids from camp last year didn't pass the deep end test. But they weren't so bad they need a life jacket either.
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Only prolonged exposure is a problem. Right now I'm looking into alternate options, such as just signing him up for karate or something. I don't really care if he learns to swim or not, there are a lot more things offered, including adult stuff that don't require standing still/in one place for long periods either. Really will just be a matter of finding things that work for both of us. :)
I agree. Plus, even if you don't have to be in the pool area the entire time and the rest of the building doesn't have too much chlorine smell, can you handle being in there long enough to put a bubble (flotation device) on him before class, and take it off after class? You may or may not be able to talk someone else into dealing with that for you, but most 6yos new to swimming can't just be sent into the dressing room, expected to come out on the other side, put on a bubble and grab a noodle (another flotation device), sit patiently waiting for class to start, and then do it all in reverse order once class is over. You'll probably have to be in the pool area at least some of the time. That said, you could just sign him up for things other than swimming.
If you want something for yourself, you could look into an adult single membership for you - I don't know if they let you use childwatch (for ages 0-8) or Y space (ages 6-12) for your kid if you have just a single adult membership. Depending on your Y there may or may not frequently be other kids in childwatch or Y space that may or may not be roughly the same age as your son. My kids love childwatch and for a while wanted me to go work out at the Y every day (more often than I wanted to), but there are rarely kids C's age - they tend to be B's age or younger (I've signed C up for Y space a few times, but he was the only kid there each time). I don't know how many of the Y's programs or other workouts you can do though since swimming is out and standing for long periods is out, so I'm not sure an adult/family membership really makes sense.
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Most times I can't handle the smell of chlorine in general. My hypersensitivity is to being touched by cold or even warm water; my showers are steaming hot to the point my skin turns red. If I touch cold or warm water, my skin itches and burns; it's terrible and funny all at the same time. But I have allergies & sensitivities out the wazoo. Luckily my son doesn't have the same problem. :)
Just to check, is that to being near water or in water? The infant/toddler classes require the parent in water, but the preschool classes do not. At our Y they're marketed for 3-5 year olds, sometimes 6 year olds. My ds was late 5 when he started and they just kept him in. If he has any issues at all (sensitivities, fear of water, anything) or just fits in better with 3-6 year olds than 6-12 year olds, that preschool track is a fabulous way to help him through it, and you wouldn't have to be in the water for it. I waited and had my dd do the older kid track, and it was a mistake, which is why I mention it. She struggled with the motor planning and the pace of the class.
If you want to work out, sometimes a park or walking trail will have exercise equipment.
Thanks again everyone. I will try a few things and see what happens! :)
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Ah, I see. I haven't heard of any such thing but they may very well have it. And pretty much anything is too much for me in general, I've never made a lot of money although I do try. I normally don't talk about such things, but I'm just very frustrated in general with this lol.
The YMCA here has campership programs - basically where you pay a portion of the camp and they pay the rest through donations. It is the way we manage summer camp. We have to give them our financial information.
There are also other organizations here that help with summer camps for kids.... but they might just be Canadian. Tim Hortons (our coffee/doughnut place - like a Dunkin Donuts, I imagine) - has a camp fund. We also in my city have a 'Sunshine Fund' that is the same.
We do get sponsorship through the Y as well. The amount has varied from year to year, and we really aren't supposed to discuss the amount. I know that if you are paying under a certain amount it has to be approved farther up, so it is possible they don't even offer below that unless you kind of appeal or something. We do pay more than we can really afford - but I have a family of 4 kids and we use it for their swimming lessons, which I feel is an important life skill. I do get how what seems like just a little bit of money for most is a huge amount for others.
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I am the autistic one, not my son. He's "normal"...well, what normal is considered to be.
The Y has adult programs as well. I wanted to do something of my own, hence the family membership. I would like for him to do swim lessons, but I physically can't thanks to my water hypersensitivity. Thanks for the advice though, I am working through several options right now thanks to all of you.
I've had my ds6 in the YMCA programs a full year now, and they've been AMAZING. However we haven't done it as a family membership. I really don't see your logic here. To get social, you ought to enroll him in classes. It sounds like you're saying you want to go swim with him, since that's about the ONLY thing you'd be able to do together with that family membership.
My ds has had a full *individual* membership this year. That makes classes half price, so I sign him up for gymnastics (RAT pack, mini stuntmen, etc.) and swim lessons. Is your ds on the spectrum? My ds has a boatload of labels, including ASD. For him, going to the classes has been a good experience. We show up early and stay longer, so he gets time to work on social skills. In the classes the teachers are fabulous. It was his Y teachers who identified the ASD before anyone else, because they were spending so much time with him and saw the differences. Not that they came out and said it, but they saw it and would say little things and affirmed it when we got evals. Anyways, the Y's focus on who you are, not how you perform, and their willingness to take the time to work on social and correct behavior appropriately has been fabulous. They keep him in the preschool classes for swim, allowing us to go in the daytime and giving him a variety of ages to socialize with.
So instead of thinking nebulously that you want a Y membership, I would get very concrete. I've been there so much with his classes, I haven't had TIME to work out at the Y. I just changed us to a family membership to see if we can make it work, but for that, the only time I can really do it is when he's in his classes (which works, yes!) or if I put him in the child watch program. That's why I really don't see how this is a social skill time for him or family bonding or something, kwim? I just don't see what you're going to be doing. You can pay to swim at a public pool or do a Y summer membership to get the pool. For year round, I'm not sure what you think you're going to do? Ours has workout rooms (which a 6 yo can't do), basketball and racketball (which my 6 yo won't do), and swimming (which is better as a class).
Has he had any swim lessons? I would STRONGLY encourage you to pursue swim lessons with him, talking with them about what you can do to bring that financially in reach. Getting him signed up for swim lessons and having him take them over and over and over to get comfortable with the water (because of his SN) was the SINGLE SMARTEST THING I've done in a long time. Because, with his SN, a two week session wasn't going to cut it.
So maybe instead of full family, maybe individual child at full and then also half price on the classes? They already give full members half price at our Y, so you'd literally, if they gave you a scholarship for half that, be getting classes for $15 a session. Add that to the monthly cost for the individual with the scholarship, and you'd be within your budget maybe? And maybe then add gymnastics on? But swimming, that's the one to go for. You're still together, but he's getting a really vital skill that might take a while to develop. And what we do in the summer is go to the park after swim lessons. Then you're getting even MORE social and more time together, and the price is right, free. :)
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I'm sorry, what's a campership program?
Did you look into their campership programs though?
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Ah, good to know :) Thank you. This is really my first time trying to ever get involved in anything, so it's all new to me!
Btw, the financial assistance for the camps is often done by a completely different person with a different scale. You will never get less than what you FA percentage at the Y is but often more. And again, talk to the camp director personally as they can make it happen. Part of their fundraising is finding people who want to send kids to camp who would not otherwise go. If you want to send him, I can almost guarantee they will help you find a way.
As I said above, I worked there and helped navigate my sisters children through the process by speaking with the camp directors:) -
Thank you, I will definitely talk to them about it, especially since my income isn't even as close to how much it was last year so far. And even though I get frustrated, I'm always kind so no issues there. I suppose I was in a bit of a shock when I saw it ;)
Absolutely this. I used to work at a YMCA and this is a very common thing. They have a designated person doing the financial aid applications and the first time is just a formula they apply. They absolutely have discretion to alter this given more information or extreme situations. Really, IME they absolutely want to help get your child in there. Especially if you go in with a lovely, 'is there anyway we can make this happen' attitude. It sounds awful but I can't tell you how many times people came in with a beligerent, 'you need to fix this now' demanding attitude. If they can help, it has always been my experience that they will.
Also, worst case you can get financial aid applied to a single class or program, or camp. So if there just isn't anyway to work out a membership, the FA can be used to do individual classes...
Good luck:) -
In the brochure/program info, they DO have homeschooling programs. However, I don't see them having any open/scheduled at this point, so I will call and talk to them. That would certainly cover him, and if it's a flat fee, I can work toward saving for it. The Camp here, is between $300 and $500 for half a week up to a whole week; I did check into that...and promptly laughed and closed the window! ;) I am hopeful things will get better for us financially in the near future, but for now, I will see if I can even find him one program I can afford for him to participate in. Good news is, he just got a bike so we can at least go riding together :)
Thanks for your advice, btw :)
Yes, I totally forgot about that.
Also, I don't know if any of the Ys in your area offer something like homeschool swim&gym? Our Y does - I think the nonmember cost is $245/year for one child, the downside being that it has to be paid in full by August 1st. They do 30min of swim and 30min of gym once a week (back-to-back). Great way to get the kid some exercise, swimming lessons and socialization with other homeschooled kids (and for you, with other homeschooling adults).
The Y also has summer camps - both day camps at the Ys, and residential camps in the woods. They have a program where kids can earn their way to camp by selling candy (I think the candy bars sell for $1 each of which $0.50 goes to the kid's camp payments). Not what you were asking about, but I thought it might be useful to know. The residential camp here starts with entering 2nd graders/7yos (although C was still 6 when he did the camp last year because he was an entering 2nd grader and almost 7).
ETA: if none of the Ys in your area offer homeschool swim&gym, try talking to some of the youth programs coordinators about it. One of them might want to add it to their program, since it's on the YMCA approved list of programs already and they may just need to know there is a demand for it in their area.
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No, they do offer non-member pricing as well. If I can find out what they have scheduled in advance (so far I only see what they have immediately or in the near, near future), I will see about going that route, because I could save for it. Definitely better than paying $33 a month. :) I am in Akron. I know they have cub scouts, so I will check into that as well. :) Thank you for your thoughts!
Do you have to join the Y for your son to participate in classes? Ours offers tiered pricing for children’s classes – one price for members and a higher fee for non-members. It is less expensive for me to pay the non-member class fee than to pay for the membership plus the member class fee. Plus, I only have to pay the months that my children are enrolled in classes. It does mean that we can’t use the Y facilities outside of class time. But, outside of classes, our Y severely curtails child use anyway.
If you must join in order to take classes, see if there are special deals. Our Y offers these a few times a year. If you join during one of these promotions, the join fee is waived. Also check the pricing for a child membership. It should be lower than a family membership.
Check the programming at your public library and nearby parks. I know Columbus, Delaware, and Dayton metro parks offer free programs. Other metro areas probably do as well. Is Cub Scouts or 4-H a possibility?
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Yes I have. I can go to any of them, they all offer different programs though and rarely overlap from what I can see in all the research I've done on it. Like I said though, I will call and talk to them about it. :)
Did you check the difference in cost between the programs as well as the membership costs? We have some really crazy differences in our area from one Y to the next (somewhat understandable if you've seen the buildings though, but still).
For a 6yo, I'd try to be realistic in how many programs you *really* need. Yes, you may prefer certain programs, but if your main goal is for him to be active and play with other kids, then I think most Ys will have enough choices for that purpose. A $5/month difference on membership plus a $5 difference per programs (with there being Fall, Early Winter, Winter, Early Spring, Spring, and Summer sessions) could make the difference between being able to afford it or not if you're on a tight budget. And sometimes the difference is even bigger. I think the D Y in our area has gymnastics for $20 per 8 weeks, vs the K-T Y having it for $60 or so for 8 weeks.
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I did see they look for volunteers and people to work; I would have to do something admin as I can't swim and am unable to stand for any length of time above 30 minutes. Pretty much "my hands work" and that's about it when it comes to working. I've been unemployed 7 years after a bad car accident, which ended my career in fast food. I will see if they are hiring or need office help though, couldn't hurt!
Also, I don't know if you could get a part-time job (ten hours a week or w/e) doing *something* at the Y. They're often looking for lifeguards for example. I think it includes a family membership to all the local Ys and a discount on their programs, but I'm not sure. At our Y they have childwatch (where they watch the kids while you exercise), and you may or may not be able to use that to look after your kid while you work (aquatics director was unsure on that point when I talked to her, and I haven't followed up on that).
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Haha, sorry, when I think winter I think all outdoor sports! I know what you meant though, I will definitely check into that as well.
I'm not sure, but I think our Parks & Rec offers after-school care and summer programs that are partially inside (they do give the kids time to play outside, at least when the weather allows, which in WNY isn't always the case in winter). So, I'm not sure on the details, but Parks & Rec doesn't by necessity mean 100% outdoors.
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With him being only 6, and me not really having a social life myself, I wanted it to be something both of us could do. There are quite a few in the YMCA system I applied for, the building I want to use has the most programs, especially the ones I know he's interested in doing...and I looked up the fees for them all, they don't vary that much (maybe $5?). I have the whole year to activate it, so I think I will call & talk to them, and if not, waiting until they waive the sign up fee sounds like a good idea, lol.
Get him an individual membership, rather than a family membership? Wait until they waive the signing up fee (I know they waived it Jan 1st?). Individual membership combined with waiting for them to waive the signing up fee would probably knock the price down to something more or less along the lines of what you budgeted. Also, I don't know where you live, so I don't know if you have only one YMCA within your area, but I live the same distance from two different Ys, and I could go further for a couple more Ys if I were motivated to, and some of the Ys cost more than others/have more programs than others, etc.
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I did see I can call to discuss and even set up an appointment, so I will do that and see what they say :)
You can appeal the financial aid process at the Y. That usually involves writing a letter and providing any additional documentation that might further explain your situation. Of course they may or may not change their offer of aid.
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Hmm I dunno, I'll have to check, but I liked the YMCA because many things would be indoors, or supervised where I wouldn't need to stay around or be outside, which I can't handle when it's cold.
Do you have a parks and rec department that has winter activities?
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No, I don't have anyone to ask honestly, everyone in my family is pretty poor.
The fees go even beyond just those ones. That's 50% everything including the programs. 50% of say, $100 for karate for two months upfront just isn't doable.
I knew they wouldn't cover it all, I was prepared for even up to 20%, but I can't manage beyond that.
Is there anyway you can save $10-15 a month and sign up in October? Then you'd be a little ahead... Or ask family to cover half?
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So, I signed up my son for the YMCA, and applied for financial assistance. I figure this would be a great way to keep him involved in activities, make friends, etc. and join some programs as well like gymnastics and karate.
Well, it's $90 for the one-time fee and $61 a month for a family at full price. I'm pretty low-income & considered borderline disabled but not enough to get disability. My writing brings me a little bit of money, but not a lot. So I thought I would have to pay like, $10 a month or something, which I could manage.
They only awarded me 50% off...which means they want $45 one time fee and $33 a month. If I were able to afford $33 a month for something extra, I wouldn't be on food stamps.
Now I'm just sad and don't know what to do :( We live in Ohio and yeah, he can play outside for the summer, but come winter... my autism and overwhelming aversion to cold keeps me pretty isolated in general, and now I don't even have a way to get my son the extra stuff he needs.
What can I do now that I can't use the YMCA to get him the extra stuff? He can't join a local school team...he's been bullied because he's so tiny among other things, and this isn't a good area that we live in, but I'm stuck here for now.
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Thanks everyone! :)
Welcome! I'd love to hear the story of how you learned you were autistic if you ever want to share.
Sure! :) In short, it wasn't easy. I had a very bad childhood where I was abused, so a lot of my history was blocked out in my mind. All I recalled was how different I was in school, at home, everything. I never felt like I belonged in and couldn't understand anything social to save my life. I used to freak out, thinking they were panic attacks; I'd end up rocking, covering my ears, twirling, etc. I took everything so literally, (ex: I thought "Dead Man's Curve" in Cleveland truly had dead men lying on the curve!) and pretty much began to flee every time something upset me.
When I was 26, I was chatting with someone for a while, and out of the blue one day, he asked me "Are you autistic?" because he had a sibling who was...and he said I was just like her. I had never even considered it, but psych's could never land on a diagnosis with me that would stick; nothing fit for long even when they did. I read this book, Aspergirls, and after that, I read more and more things about it...and that's when I brought it up to my clinical counselor. With info from my family about me as a child, among testing, I was formally diagnosed. At the time, Aspergers was still a diagnosis, so that's technically mine (as it's now just called 'mild autism'). I was so glad. It made my whole life make so much sense!
Since finding out, I've come a long way, however. My counselor said when he first met me, he had me around age 4 to 5 emotionally (stunted due to abuse and trauma); at this point, I'm considered about age 15 or 16 emotionally. However, this seems to be something I've discovered is quite similar in many people with Aspergers. Apparently, we're always about half our age emotionally, which is probably why people think of us as childish in many ways! :)
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Hi everyone. :seeya:
Not sure where to start, so I'll give the basics! I'm from Ohio, I'm an author and am autistic, and I have one son, he will be 6 on June 4th. He just finished his K year in public school; he's NT, is at a 3rd grade level in Math & Reading, but considered "too immature" by the school standards to advance any further than 1st grade. I came across tWTM while looking for homeschool curriculum, started reading the book and knew this is going to be how I teach my son. I always planned to HS, am in a position to do so, and the fact he will need individualized learning plans makes it imperative to do it now.
Although I graduated HS and have 3 years of college, I never finished although I attempted to 6 times (I didn't know I was autistic until I was 27 and by then it was too late financially to change paths and finish). Even though I knew I wasn't well prepared in many ways (public school where I was too smart and bored, abused, etc.) I never knew how much I didn't know until I was looking through the things my son will learn about and realized how much I DON'T know even with all my "smarts"...so this will be a learning experience for him...and me in some ways.
I'm still learning, but I'm going to start next week (he just finished K yesterday) with everything, and have started gathering stuff. I'm excited, and so is he! We've already begun learning French and ASL together (although I have a small knowledge of French already and he knows some ASL from K), as we started before I found WTM, and already he tries to 'show off' his skills with what he's learned. I think Latin will come a bit later at this point, although I'm thinking of switching after learning Level 1 French to Latin, and perhaps doing small amounts of Latin with him in addition to the French after that.
Cassandra
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My son is about to turn 6. He just finished Kindergarten through public school, and my main problem with it was the way I constantly felt questioned about my choices...even if they had nothing to do with his schooling. They would call me over every little thing, and try to undermine my authority when it came to absences and choosing to send him home even though he didn't have pink eye like the school nurse "thought" he did, even when I told her I spoke with his doctor. Being relatively poor, it angered me that I had to waste gas to take him to the doctor for something that didn't exist just so they could have a note that he was seen.
Not to mention, due to life circumstances, my son went into K knowing many things, but not how to read beyond the alphabet. However, he could do many things and honestly impressed the teacher with his intelligence. He was "go to" tech guy for Nook and even computers at school when the other kids didn't know what to do, something the teachers joked about...even more so when I told them while he had much experience with a Nook, he had rarely been on a computer. He was counting to 100 early in the 2nd term of school, when they didn't even begin to work on that until near the end of the year.
All that to say, he blew them away, and after a few assessments I did on my own, my son is at 3rd grade math and 3rd grade reading level, while still being socially immature (or you know, their "thought" on his maturity, at least), so I know public school education will start to fail him here (since they wouldn't promote him beyond 1st grade because he's "not ready" socially)...as it did me. I was bored because I was always ahead in school, and I don't want that to happen to my son.
I was planning to homeschool him for months now, but I hadn't found a way to go yet. All the programs were so expensive, beyond my financial capabilities, and "financial assistance" is scarce or totally non-existent...and even when I was approved, 40% off of $1,400 is just too much.
I found the WTM book when I was researching the Charlotte Mason approach. I found the book in the library, started reading...and honestly, knew THIS is the way I want to teach my child.
I've already begun collecting materials, I've paid for some but have to limit my choices due to finances. However, we will utilize the library as much as possible, along with free books and such along the way. I'm varying a little though because my son is brilliant with technology and loves it (as do I!!) and he does have many learning apps (such as DragonBox, which is teaching him algebra basics and he doesn't even know it!), and we're learning ASL and French together already using various avenues.
One of the major upsides of this for me is not having to drive him to school, not having to worry, and being able to do my work (I'm an author) easier, plus getting to learn beside him...just by sheer reading alone, I've discovered how much the public school system failed me...and I can't wait to make sure that never happens to my son!
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Finnish Education
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
What a great read. Finland isn't in the top 10 of the happiest countries in the world for no reason! I would give both my legs to live there ;P