ADD moms & circle time/ morning basket/ etc.

[anabelneri]

Hello! I'm in the midst of one of my massive planning sessions for next year. For the first time I'll have 2 doing school (K & 5th), and I'll also have an infant. Naturally, I'm looking for ways to streamline/ make it all do-able, but I'm not sure what will work.

 

This year I'm drawn to the idea of a "morning basket" or "circle time" type thing. We lean AOish (though heavily modified) so there are things we could be doing as a group, like music, artist study, poetry, etc. I feel pretty confident that we could do the morning basket regularly, but I'm less confident that any other school would actually ever happen afterwards.

 

Shoot... I'm a little worried that both kids will get their regular school stuff done even without doing a morning basket. My older daughter is a little... um... distractable?... and my younger is somewhat argumentative. I do have plans to follow SWB's suggestions about learning to use a planner with my elder, but seriously that's like a whole extra subject.

 

I'd love hints, advice, &/or reassurance.

 

Thanks!

Anabel

[anabelneri]

bump

[ladydusk]

Hm. Well one of the benefits of Circle Time is that you don't have to stay on one thing for very long. Do a little of this and a little of that and it adds up quickly.

[craftyerin]

I have an ADHD almost-6yo. If I required him to sit for a morning circle/basket time, he'd be DONE and I'd never get anything done with him afterwards. I tend to do basket-ish things at meal times when I have a captive audience and focus on the 3Rs first thing in the morning.

[happypamama]

Next year, I'll have a sixth grader, a pre-K/K'er, and an infant. Plus a third grader and a 2yo. We do the morning basket during/just after breakfast -- while everyone is still at the table. Then I send them to clear their dishes, brush their teeth, and start their schoolwork while I do the dishes and get the babies ready for the day. For the two older ones, that's usually their reading but might be a math test for my oldest if it's a math test day. When they finish that work, they can work on any of their workboxes that are independent. When I have a chance, I sit down with each of them, including the pre-K/K'er -- he doesn't need a lot, mostly just a bit of time with me; it doesn't matter so much what we're doing, just that I'm doing something specifically geared toward him.

[MeghanL]

I have basket time as the bedtime story. Each kids gets to pick out a book and then I read them all at once. After stories, it's time for bed.

[MtnTeaching]

I have an ADHD almost-6yo. If I required him to sit for a morning circle/basket time, he'd be DONE and I'd never get anything done with him afterwards. I tend to do basket-ish things at meal times when I have a captive audience and focus on the 3Rs first thing in the morning.

 

 

:iagree:

 

(I have to say, when I read the title of the OP, I thought you were talking about moms who were ADD dealing with circle time, etc. :lol: )

 

Having said that, I am ADD and so is my son. My dd can be a bit "spacey", too :) . I found that the only way any of us were able to get anything done was to be a bit more structured than I usually feel comfortable with first thing in the morning. When things started to gel for us was when I started making "lists" for all of us and making the first few hours of the morning fairly academic AFTER a protein filled breakfast and some intense exercise.

 

We never called it "circle time" but it was what we looked forward to after the things we needed to get done - math, spelling, writing, reading. I found our focus (for all of us) was sharper first thing in the morning. Circle time was a treat when the focus was not there as much and when it was easier to move around a bit.

 

Our "circle time" was rarely spent sitting on the floor like preschool. We would have it on the front porch, in a tent in the basement, on the swing set. If it was cold outside, we would make hot chocolate and sit in front of the wood stove.

 

I also made it a point to take the kids to places like a casual restaurant or a coffee shop so they could learn to work with distractions around. We would do logic a lot while at these places so they could learn to "think" with distractions.

 

The main thing I found that helped in dealing with ADD was to have several exercise breaks and healthy snacks. They were (and still are) invaluable in helping to keep focus.

[mamamindy]

I'm glad you posted! I am trying to incorporate the same sort of thing for us. I have found that during breakfast it has helped to have a meeting - sort of give a "run down" of what we're doing for the day, especially if we have an errand to run, friend coming over, etc. As others have mentioned, I also try to get to the 3 Rs first thing (after breakfast for us) since the longer I put that off, the more likely we won't get to them. Then, when we do have "circle time" (again, I'm just now trying to implement this) I start it with lots of movement - a must if you are including a 3 yo boy! - and have the kids take turns choosing activities, reading out loud, etc.

 

For me (and I may be alone here....) it is difficult to put a "must do" academic activity in our "circle time/together time" because there are a lot more distractions for me, and for the children. I just include fun stuff, that is also academic, but not real structured. For example, reading our calendar (then talking about the day), reading our scripture aloud, reciting poetry, talking about the clock or money... There are so many things to include, and since I'm so new, hopefully someone else will chime in!

[prairiewindmomma]

We have to be structured in the morning and do the stuff that takes the most concentration (math) first......Art projects, read-alouds, science experiments, etc. all happen later in the day when seat time isn't needed.

[anabelneri]

(I have to say, when I read the title of the OP, I thought you were talking about moms who were ADD dealing with circle time, etc. :lol: )

 

 

 

 

(I do actually have ADD; it's totally helpful to have thoughts from both folks with kids with ADD and who themselves have it.)

 

Thanks for the ideas! It seems like a running theme is to do it over a meal, when there is a captive audience. I can totally see that working... that's when we used to do poetry and memory work, because that's when it got done.

 

Protein and exercise, and using distractions positively. Using the day's regular events as "pegs" for that sort of stuff.

 

Hmmm... off to think and plan some more.

 

Thank you!

[MtnTeaching]

(I do actually have ADD; it's totally helpful to have thoughts from both folks with kids with ADD and who themselves have it.)

 

Nice to meet you fellow AD... hey, is that Star Trek I hear from the other room?? I think it's the one where Kirk gets split into two people - the good Kirk and the bad Kirk. What an over-actor! I've got to remember to show the kids the Twilight Zone episode where Shatner plays the man who sees the creature on the wing of the airplane...

 

What were we talking about???