Scheduling with 'high attention needing' kids - tips please?

[IsabelC]

Well, it looks like next year (January) I'm going to be home educating three kids again. This is something that I'm ambivalent about: I really do want to do it, but I know I'll have to be very organized and determined. I've got a rough plan of what I'd be doing with each child. The main thing that's stressing me is the prospect of simply dealing with all of them at once and keeping our home peaceful (people with 4-20 kids, feel free to laugh at the mother of three feeling overwhelmed!). It's going to be tricky to 'combine' them (I always feel like I'm reading a recipe when I see that word).

 

Mr 10 will be 11 and in 6th grade, doing grade level math and everything else at various lower levels. As well as his learning issues (ASD, ADHD) he suffers from encopresis so needs almost the same level of toilet support as a toddler as well as a lot of supervision to do his school work. We are gradually working towards him being able to do math (his strongest subject) independently: right now he is working on it and will only come to me when he gets stuck. But he still needs me to watch every word he writes, help him construct sentences, etc,  and that certainly isn't going to be totally fixed by next year. He finds it difficult to stay on-task now, on his own, so I have no idea how I'll get him to focus on his work while his sisters are there.

 

Ms 8 will be 9 and in 4th grade, doing on-grade-level math and content subjects, remedial literacy, and loads of extra curricular stuff to meet her high socializing needs. We don't yet know what her exact learning difficulty is. I suspect either dyslexia (partly masked by high comprehension due to the fact that she spends at least two hours a day listening to either me reading or audio books that are years above her independent reading level) or SPD (we are still on the waiting list for her to be assessed). She already has a tendency toward anxiety and low self esteem, so given that her sister is likely to have 'overtaken' her in everything by the end of next year, it will be hard on her for them to learn together. However her reading is too poor for her to even do math on her own as she can't understand the instructions/explanations.

 

Ms 5 (ASD, gifted) will be 6 and officially in 1st grade, but working on an accelerated schedule at 2nd to 6th grade level. Although she is reading at or above 6th grade level (we don't know exactly, because the school doesn't test K children above grade 6 level and she ceilinged out), she still needs supervision with writing as her penmanship isn't all that great (which I know is fairly normal at her age). She also needs an hour or two per day of my time to work on her music practice.

 

I'm thinking about starting them at different times in the morning to increase the amount of one-on-one time they each get with me. We wouldn't have family breakfast, but then I suppose if they are together all day, it's less important to breakfast together. 

 

We have worked with a more 'unschooly' approach in the past, but I would like to press on with the the 'school-at-home' stuff for now, as that seems to be working for ds at this stage, so I don't consider a year of unschooling to be an option.

 

I'm not sure whether to make getting them a bit more independent a major focus, or whether it's better to 'suck up' the high time committment and let them become more independent in their own good time. I guess my ideal fantasy scenario would be a morning meeting where I assign all their work, then they all sit down in different areas while I circulate between them to explain, correct and encourage as needed. But I can't realistically see this working out, at least not in the next year or two.

 

How do other people work their day when there is extremely limited potential to get kids completing work without direct parent supervision?

 

 

[Spetzi]

I had some tough days when my kids were K/3/6 so I am familiar with your concerns!  I have some suggestions that might work for you, but patient direction is your best defense against chaos.

 

I don't like schedules, but I planned my day to spend time with each one, working especially on the subjects that s/he needed the most instruction.  The two older ones began their day before the younger.  I also started using some Khan Academy and other online sites/games/etc. to help them learn without needing ME.  At some points I've given each child a checklist so s/he knew what to do next. (I never bothered with a morning meeting).  I've also gravitated toward curricula that doesn't require a ton of my input and instruction.  Some of my stress comes from everyone needing me at once so I try to set them up for success.  I've prepped science activities or craft projects ahead of time so the child had everything needed and I didn't have to gather it all right then.

 

 If Ms. 8 is at an activity, maybe you could spend that time with another child.  Sure gymnasiums and soccer fields are not always the best environments to learn, but sometimes it can work.  I'd also like to suggest carpooling.  If you have to drop off and pick up an hour later your 'lose' a big chunk of time.  If you can carpool, you will only be interrupted once.  I also notice that your kids are in a lot of activities.  Make sure that s/he loves each one.  I know there is value in each thing you've listed, but value might be lost by doing so many things.  

 

Best of luck!

[basketcase]

I'd decide what matters most to you - make a list of things that you want the kids to learn next year, the activities they'll be involved in, the curricula you want to use, anything like that, then prioritize it. Drop the things on the bottom of the list or change them to things more adapted to your situation.

 

Outsource as much as you can afford to. Include dad in the schooling, continue to use audiobooks, hire a high school violinist to help your youngest practice some days, increase the kids' chores to free up more of your time, hire a nanny to do the car trips, use online options.

 

Good luck! I keep my sanity by having strict nap time rules. No one bothers me during that precious time. It makes all the rest easier :)

[....]

How do other people work their day when there is extremely limited potential to get kids completing work without direct parent supervision?

 

Hi, I have a 12, 11, 9 and 6 yro.  One of my kids was tested once at a ps and she tested in the gifted range.  I suspect some of the others might be, too (but they have not been tested).  Combining my kids is not even a little bit possible.  My 6th grader is taking algebra 1 and my 6 yro is still learning to read.  And there is a huge spectrum in there.  Also, my kids are really into this sport.  In fact, the 12 and 11 yro help teach classes in the evenings.  So, the 4 of them spend about 2-4 hours a day/ 3-4 days a week in the gym working on this sport.   :glare:  I am constantly driving them to the gym (it feels like) and sitting there for hours while they do their thing.  OK, so here's what's sorta been working for us...

 

1.  We have a rule that I work with the youngest first and work my way up the ladder.  

2.  I get up around 4:30 am and start my day.  The kids start schoolwork around 8-ish and we finish around 12:30-1.  If we are not finished by then, I put it all away for the next day.  If I did not do this, I would be an absolute insane lunatic.

3.  Read-alouds are during meals or right before bed time.  We've stopped watching TV at night.  My husband, the two older kids and I have been reading together in the living room instead of watching TV.  Sounds dorky, I know.  

4.  Each semester, I carve out a rough draft of what I want to kids to accomplish.  Less curriculum usually is better (for us).  More books, less curriculum (that's my new motto).  This time, I asked each kid...do you want me to write out a weekly schedule for you or do you want to just pick what you work on each week.  Every one except my oldest wanted to just pick stuff as they go along.  So, I've noticed that my kids don't like schedules.

5.  I'm trying a new thing in the fall.  I printed out a list of things that need to be done daily - and I tried to keep it to just 2-3 items.  Then, I bought these clear bins (and let the 6 and 9 yro decorate them with Captain America stickers - lol) and I'm putting all their books for the next year in the bin.  They need to do the items that are on the daily checklist, but they can just choose what books they want to work on throughout the year.  I'm usually a fly by the seat of my pants person, so this is taking a lot more planning and organization than I usually have.  But, I think this is going to be much easier throughout the year.  Also, my oldest is approaching high school, so panic is setting in. 

6.  Schooling year-round. I've noticed that we actually have a *pattern* in our homeschool.  We tend to do unit studies in the summer and a completely different form of schooling in the fall-spring.  So, this is the second summer we've done Konos.  We just finished the kings and queens and we're getting ready to start horses.  They do Konos all together, so we're only working for a couple of hours in the summer.  They're doing random other things, too.  Twice a week, my 12 yro is working on algebra and Notgrass' America the Beautiful.  America the Beautiful is taking her so long, she may be taking that with her to college.  The 6 yro is still doing phonics.  The 9 yro is working on Beast Academy.  The 11 yro is working on a geometry workbook.  Somewhere around late July, we will probably stop Konos and continue with our regular curriculum (the one in the bins with Captain America stickers).

 

Sorry for rambling.  I hope something out of there was helpful!