homeschooling special needs

[happycc]

I would like to know your schedule in how you schedule in school work with therapy work.

 

My 8yrs old has her regular school work she needs to do but she also have "therapy" work too to help her retain things she has learned and to make the process of learning easier.

 

I am finding that everything takes a whole day. It makes for a long homeschool day for everyone.

[mamatohaleybug]

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for so I'll just share what we did in the hope that it will help you at least a little.

 

I have a 9 year old who was doing three therapies a week this past semester, all 45 miles away. She also ended up having lots of medical appts and behavioral therapy, all 30-120 miles away. In addition to just making that schedule work, we also had all of the therapy "homework" to fit into our lives, along with schoolwork.

 

First, I really worked hard to make my expectations realistic. That was very hard but maybe you aren't crazy like me and that part will be easier for you. :lol: We loosely use Ambleside Online curriculum, along with a lot of other things. I tend to expect way too much out of my DD. I had to really pare things down and focus on the most important things. Absolutely no busy work allowed in our homeschool. :) I generally schedule school by the week. I plan all of the work that needs to be done for the week and then work on it as we can. Having workable curricula was crucial.

 

Second, I figured out which things we could do in the car while I was driving. We had to make the most of our time each day. For example, I knew that my DD could do her math and phonics without a ton of handholding. She could also generally be successful working on her handwriting, spelling and reading aloud in the car while I drove. On really bad days, she did nothing in the car.

 

Third, I figured out what we could easily do during the long days we were away from home (usually two full days per week). During the time we were waiting between appointments, we worked on literature, geography, history and grammar. If we were near a nature center, history or art museum we made sure to schedule in field trips to those places. We went for walks or we took her bike and she'd ride it at a park. Sometimes, she was just too tired to do much of anything so I'd read to her or we'd just listen to music together.

 

Fourth, we made sure to schedule in her therapy homework on the days we were home. I actually set an alarm on my cell phone to remind me. It was so easy to forget the therapy unless I had that alarm. We weren't great at it but the things we remembered to do were certainly helpful.

 

The big thing for me is to be flexible. My DD has some serious stuff going on and she's very inconsistent. Some school days are practically worthless. On good days we just do as much as we reasonably can. We only "do school" from 10:30 - 3:00. Even that is too much a lot of days. In the end, I try not to worry about keeping up. I figure she's doing the very best she can and that is always enough.

[JessicaLady]

You must be organized and have a 'can do' mentality. I feel if I approach my day w/ more positivity, then I'm more likely to make it all happen.

 

But, sometimes it's still very hard. My son is in 6 different therapies each week along w/ a recreational gymnastics class. I also have a 3 yr old (4 on Thursday!) who has to tag along to all these appts. Keeping the little one happy for this many hours/wk is a job all in it's own.

 

I have tried to double up our sessions so he does 2 back to back (pt/st, ot/st etc). This saves me time and $ on gas. On the days where we go several places I automatically rule out having class. That counts as class.

 

In addition to homeschooling year round, I also school throughout the weekend. Our weekdays are so often so busy w/ all his therapy and just doing the homework for those, that addressing math/reading isn't possible. I've found two days during the week that are slower than his other days and we do Sat and Sun as well....4 days total.

 

On the days that we school, he's probably already had some kind of therapy. His ability to focus is poor. We do at the MOST 1hr 15min on these days. By the end of that time, he's yawning, eyes watering....he can't do it. Otherwise, we do 2.5hrs (weekends).

 

We do math, reading, spelling and reading comprehension every day we have class. This is generally 4 times/wk. We do our homework for everything else almost everyday. I'm paying a ton for some of these so I can't afford to NOT make the most of reinforcing at home.

 

I've also gotten creative during our travel time. I've enlisted my little one to help me. He'll show his brother flashcards during the drive (sight words, visual memory work, math drills). Also, if I arrive early, maybe we'll do an Explode the Code lesson or some math facts practice. I seem to always have something we can add/subtract w/ me. In addition to my AMAZING mom bag. I've this HUGE LandsEnd canvas tote that is always stocked w/ supplies for both boys: crayons, paper, dominoes, puzzles, flashcards, books, manipulatives to name a few. If my kids are with me, then so is this bag.

 

Hope some of this is what you were looking for.

 

J

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I do a loop schedule with ds and I add therapy work as part of the schedule. I put the therapy in 3-4times in the list so it comes up often. My list looks like this

 

 

Awana Verses

Math

VT-homework 1

Read Aloud

Phonics Pathways

Choose 1 OT activity

Handwriting

Math

VT- homework 2

Read Aloud

ETC

AAS

Choose 1 OT activity

Awana Verses

Read Aloud

Choose1 OT activity

 

We just keep going. We get atleast some therapy homework in each day from both, usually more than 1 activity for each.