When you were (or are) remediating did you have time/energy for activities?

[FairProspects]

I'm feeling a little bit alone in our issues tonight. We are having a good but tough year and all of us are working VERY hard. Ds1 is making progress, but it takes a lot of energy and time from both of us to work on remediating his dyslexia. I have to read everything aloud, he echo reads, is learning to type, spelling goes very slowly, etc. It just takes a lot of time. Ds 2 is also struggling with reading, so that takes more time and patience as well. Neither kid can work independently because of the reading & SPD issues.

 

Basically, I just don't have the energy to also drag these kids through Boy Scout badges, and Awana verses, and all these other homework type things for activities. I'm fried from working on the core issues all day. Did you find you had to cut back on activities while remediating or working on bringing your kids up to grade level? I'm just realizing how much harder we are working than a lot of others I know, and I'm slightly sad for my kids because I think we will have to drop some things. Will they ever be able to do some fun activities without a burned out Mom who doesn't want to participate? Please tell me we can get there someday!

[GoVanGogh]

I am feeling much the same.

The specialists are saying we need to build certain brain pathways bit by repetitive bit in my DS. He is 2e to the max, at both ends of the spectrums. He hates that he has to work so hard and not 'get' certain LA subjects. Everyone IRL keeps saying not to worry, he will get it and it will come together, but that isn't what specialists are saying. I don't have anyone IRL that really understands what we are dealing with.

 

The amount of time we are spending on therapy and remedial subjects is crazy. So far, I have decided to keep outside activities but consolidate them on two days, so we are only schooling three days a week. Our outside actiivities, though, work well with therapy: sports that work on midline and music. We go year round so we will still get our days in, just won't be able to break as much. We are also doing some schooling on the weekends. I did drop subjects that DS doesn't really need right now, like memory work and art, and cut back on history and science.

[Heathermomster]

I'm feeling a little bit alone in our issues tonight. We are having a good but tough year and all of us are working VERY hard. Ds1 is making progress, but it takes a lot of energy and time from both of us to work on remediating his dyslexia. I have to read everything aloud, he echo reads, is learning to type, spelling goes very slowly, etc. It just takes a lot of time. Ds 2 is also struggling with reading, so that takes more time and patience as well. Neither kid can work independently because of the reading & SPD issues.

 

Basically, I just don't have the energy to also drag these kids through Boy Scout badges, and Awana verses, and all these other homework type things for activities. I'm fried from working on the core issues all day. Did you find you had to cut back on activities while remediating or working on bringing your kids up to grade level? I'm just realizing how much harder we are working than a lot of others I know, and I'm slightly sad for my kids because I think we will have to drop some things. Will they ever be able to do some fun activities without a burned out Mom who doesn't want to participate? Please tell me we can get there someday!

 

 

We gave up cub scouts by the end of 4th grade and have not participated in Wed night Church for a long time. I would snap if we still did those things. My DD has physical health issues.

 

During the day, I try to build in an outside activity that is school related. For DS, that means band on Friday and an awesome trumpet tutor Tuesday afternoon. Sometimes we go see a family friend on the way home from the writing class. DH really steps up and does guy stuff with DS on the weekends. DS still texts his friends and participates in sleepovers and shoots air soft with friends.

 

You are not alone. I need space and set aside Tuesday nights to meet with lady friends. DS is not as taxed as he used to be. I won't say things are easier for him. The focus has simply shifted from reading to everything else, like writing, math, and grammar.

 

:grouphug:

[zenjenn]

Yup, my daughter is doing OG tutoring and even that, which is only 4 hours a week + a large investment in math fact reiteration, I feel really puts a kink in our days. Her activities are important to her (she is SUPER social), so we've continued on with those (scouts, dance, orchestra, and religious school), but I find "extra" academics, such as art, science projects, history projects, or even formal literature study beyond assigned reading, just haven't happened much this year. That's OK, we squeeze those things in when we can. I rationalize the activities in my head as part of her education - if I gave up orchestra and dance for science projects and history projects, I'd be sacrificing music and physical education - so what? We still cover science and history fundamentals.

 

I am glad that in our case, my daughter has made amazing progress through tutoring. I'd actually almost be OK with her discontinuing, but in a few more months she will be done with whole OG sequence, and so since we've had such great results I am invested in having her complete the program. But, I am very much looking forward to next year, and having some of those hours back to pursue other things. I feel for you if it's more of a long-term thing - but at the end of the day you gotta do what you gotta do. Everything is a trade-off.

[Guest lakenelson]

I started homeschooling in December in part because we had no life outside of school and the school was expecting 5 worksheets every night plus studying for 2 tests, and this for an 8 year old boy who detests holding a pencil and needs 11 hours sleep. I am loving the flexibility to do very little structured activity and to teach him in the ways that are best for him. He reads 3 hours a day which is good because he became fluent recently. We do science experiments. He listens to Story of the World tapes and we do related activities. He loves history. For math we do dreambox and we'll start Singapore soon. He "writes" through narration and has his own blog. Soccer is his only structured activity. There's nothing wrong with minimizing the structured activity. They will benefit from developing self initiative in their learning.

[RamonaQ]

Ds got his black belt while we were in the HEAVIEST part of remediating and became a national champion for another sport (sorry, I don't want to put too much info bc of privacy). So, yes, we kept up activities that were physical. But other stuff that looked "schoolish", yah, he didn't do. For cub scout/ boy scouts he attended for the fun and never did badge stuff (although he attended and made the boxcar)

 

In the end it was me that had no activities. I was the one who took the hit (and gained 15 lbs! :thumbdown: ) I am not saying that to be a martyr because I really was fine with that and our time in that phase was limited (and now I have lost the 15lbs and am back to running).

 

Does ds have to work way harder? Yup and school takes a really, really, really long time. And it all can be frustrating. However, we are now in a phase that ds is pretty much working independently...and it is weird!!!! But great!!!! And, we are still keeping up physical related activities and all church activities (even if it looks schoolish now because he can manage it).

[Trillian]

Basically, I just don't have the energy to also drag these kids through Boy Scout badges, and Awana verses, and all these other homework type things for activities. I'm fried from working on the core issues all day. Did you find you had to cut back on activities while remediating or working on bringing your kids up to grade level? I'm just realizing how much harder we are working than a lot of others I know, and I'm slightly sad for my kids because I think we will have to drop some things. Will they ever be able to do some fun activities without a burned out Mom who doesn't want to participate? Please tell me we can get there someday!

 

There are fun things you can do that don't involve homework type activities. I don't have a child working on those issues, so maybe this isn't helpful, but field trips, sports, something to break it up and refresh. DS can't take much time off of math or he backslides, but sometime is refreshing for all of us.

 

FWIW, we've never done the type of "fun" activites you mentioned, lots of extracurriculars, but almost always sports (no written type homework) or field trips. It just wouldn't be DS's cup of tea.

 

[Tasia]

We're working hard to remediate my 3rd grader's dyslexia this year, and his other subjects are definitely taking a hit. For science and history, he just joins in with his older brothers, and we aren't doing any "extras". It is very hard to watch him struggle with things that his older brothers find so easy, so I can definitely see where you're coming from.

 

His extracurriculars don't require any homework, apart from piano practice which he does willingly every morning before we start school. He also plays hockey and basketball and does gymnastics. Between the four older boys, we're out of the house every evening for activities, but it's not stressful or tiring for me. I just chat with other moms or bring a book. I wouldn't sign kids up for something that I had to drag them through. If they don't love it, we don't do it.

[DyslexicParent]

DD goes to public school so it's difficult to do all the remediation/afterschooling activities after. We are doing C8-Kids cognitive cross-training including 80 days of exercises, Orton-Gillingham lessons, EASe therapeutic listening, vision therapy, working memory training using dual n-back, Superbrain Yoga, and sensory activities recommended by an occupational therapist. She also goes to a yoga class and a girls social club.

[Mukmuk]

(I wrote a reply a few days ago but it got eaten up, gah!)

 

Glad to hear things are progressing, FP. When we were doing huge amounts of therapy, we barely had time for anything else. In fact, we only started up doing sports activities as he stopped OT/VT/PT. Maybe that's why we've ended up doing so much. Even Suzuki violin - we started this at 8 for therapy reasons, when most people I know started their kids at 4 or 6. I'm glad he loves it now though.

 

Right now, we're doing a computer based listening therapy, and it's a hard slog. Ds doesn't want to do it anymore, and we have 4 weeks left of the program. I have a feeling this is the last of the therapy I can persuade him to do for a long while (and he still has the vision therapy that I've been planning for this year :crying: ).

 

This isn't what you're saying, but definitely, as they get older, it's also their tolerance level that we have to consider.

[DyslexicParent]

Which listening therapy are you using? I have been trying EASe for 2.5 weeks, but haven't noticed any improvement so I'm not sure if I should bother buying the $40 iPod app.

DD also hates the therapies, preferring to go to public school when she was sick yesterday instead of staying home and having more time for the therapies! :crying:

Right now, we're doing a computer based listening therapy, and it's a hard slog. Ds doesn't want to do it anymore, and we have 4 weeks left of the program. I have a feeling this is the last of the therapy I can persuade him to do for a long while...

[Mukmuk]

Which listening therapy are you using?

 

Sorry I didn't see this earlier.

 

I bought this online, from Australia.

http://www.nal.gov.au/current-projects_tab_hearing-assessment-readmore2.shtml

 

The research on it seems solid:

http://www.audiologyresearch.org/index.php/audio/article/view/68

 

A demo of one of the games:

 

When you play the video, you'll realize the issues these kids have (. It's as easy as pie for me, but such a struggle for ds because he cant differentiate the sounds. In fact, he actually knows what the mumbly distracting voices are saying! It's exhausting as he has to try hard to separate the various voices - we're on a short break before finishing the last 4.5 weeks.

 

The therapy is pricey. At the moment, I do see some improvement in real life, and also measured by the sound frequencies he's able to hear with more consistency (at least that's what I think the progress chart is telling me :p). Hoping to finish up and maybe even do a repeat next year if necessary (crossing fingers that it won't be).

 

[Finnella]

Between my DS's academic needs and my poor health, we're really limited on what we can add on. He takes theater classes through a local theater group, the one activity he asked to keep when we started homeschooling. It does require homework (mostly studying his lines), but it's something he really wants to do. We do field trip stuff only very rarely, if it's something I can manage and he's really interested in. For now, his athletic program is very informal, consisting of running around the neighborhood and riding his bike. We used to do more, but we both found it very stressful.

[PeterPan]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier.

 

I bought this online, from Australia.

http://www.nal.gov.a...readmore2.shtml

 

The research on it seems solid:

http://www.audiology...article/view/68

 

A demo of one of the games:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypdVQjZCR5g

 

When you play the video, you'll realize the issues these kids have (. It's as easy as pie for me, but such a struggle for ds because he cant differentiate the sounds. In fact, he actually knows what the mumbly distracting voices are saying! It's exhausting as he has to try hard to separate the various voices - we're on a short break before finishing the last 4.5 weeks.

 

The therapy is pricey. At the moment, I do see some improvement in real life, and also measured by the sound frequencies he's able to hear with more consistency (at least that's what I think the progress chart is telling me :p). Hoping to finish up and maybe even do a repeat next year if necessary (crossing fingers that it won't be).

 

 

Wow, this is wild! That would TOTALLY wig dd out. When she gets out of the teenage sauna experience (aka shower), I'll have to let her watch the demo. I'm back. She was fine for the short segment and said it would have been very grating to do it for longer. She said she could turn off the voices, hmm.

[PeterPan]

I never really answered FP's original question, because my answer was so weird. I tend, pretty much, to do ONE THING. Like I do photography and forget school, or I do laundry that week and forget to cook... So when we're in the middle of a project, I find it very hard to transition and live a lot of lives at once, if that makes any sense. So it's not even so much whether someone CAN, as that *I* can't. And no, when we were doing a lot of therapy stuff, we didn't do much of anything else as far as extra-currics. In fact, I can't think of any we did. When we stopped most of the therapies we ramped back up extra-currics. This year we took them down, just for a sanity break. Now dd has a mental list of things she wants to add back in.

 

So no matter what, I wouldn't feel bad about dropping stuff. Drop all you need to to stay sane. But if the issue is how you transition, maybe you can give yourself some pep talks or structure and help yourself accomplish your multiple goals.