what gets dropped when there is too much to do?

[srs]

I am pondering this question for us next year, and I'm curious what the answer is for others. I will have a second grader, a preschooler, and a toddler. I want to try to incorporate daily PT and OT exercises into our school day. As well as keep up as best we can with typical second grade work, accomodating for writing delays, visual delays, and auditory processing problems. And then there's therapy appts, and just maybe an extracurricular or a park day in there too. And time to play!

I am feeling overwhelmed thinking about it. Maybe it will be better if we just jump in and do it.

[EndOfOrdinary]

I think the important thing to remember is the goal is a happy, well-adjusted, adult. You can do that without ever learning calculus but not if you cannot write your name. You can be totally great if you never learn a foreign language, but not if you have difficulty talking to people. Focus on what will keep you kid happy and able to be as kid-like as possible. The academics will come. Reading, writing, math and listening would be the only core that MUST get done a bit.

[Jennifer-72]

Well I only have one, but I have always tried to incorporate our PT, OT and ST into our school activities.  Not sure what kind of PT and OT activities your child has to do, but any chance you can incorporate some fun ways to tackle other learning into that?  Also in addition you may find that getting some of the PT covered before you start for the day leads to better focus and will result in you accomplishing more seat work in a shorter time.

[Tiramisu]

With my second grader, my two most important subjects are math and writing (and religion, but we've finished that for the year). I also prioritize poetry. Other priorities for me are spelling and reading, but I'm comfortable doing those loosely with this kid because they are her strengths and she can read for hours for fun.

 

Math--conceptual thinking

WWE--working memory

poetry--memory, linguistic exposure

 

Everything else like history, geography, grammar, and science can get dropped if really necessary. 

 

Honestly, though, the thing that has been really helpful is that I keep "lessons" short so we can squeeze a lot of things in easily if she doesn't fight. This "method" is really due to her short attention span. She does listen to read alouds before bed and gets exposed to a lot through those and she can sustain attention well that way.

 

For my eighth grader, during VT, I dropped history, lit, geography, grammar, vocab, spelling, all for different reasons including my sense that she might not really need them or she would get them sufficiently in another way, which she wouldn't with math, for example. I know she reads and writes well and does that in her other work so I wasn't worried about those. I also didn't want to take science away since that's her love.

[Gil]

Well, I don't stress a 'full' academic load with NT kids, I can't imagine trying to do a "full" academic load with a student that young if they have need for various therapies. I would build my lite-curriculum around therapy exercises for the first quarter and see how that goes. Just play and go to therapy and let the school work reinforce his therapy. There are no academics so deep or profound happening in K-2 that it can't be fully made up between grades 3-12, this is the time for laying a foundation and right now it sounds like you need therapy to 'level' the site so that you can lay a stable and secure foundation. Don't panic about having to level the site.

 

Give him a literature rich environment, talk to him, play games that serve to reinforce his therapy goals, use math manipulatives and take it easy. Re-evaluate what you are doing after the 1st quarter of second grade.

[mommymonster]

I just have two, but they both have their own set of therapies/doctors rounds. My goal/rule is to make sure that everything is as effective as possible, and hopefully doing double duty. For example, my son has issues with writing, so we use Apples & Pears for spelling, handwriting, and dictation. It is about as much handwriting as we can do in day, but it does cover a few different work areas nicely. We use McRuffy math because it has a number of manipulatives that we used in VT. Although we're done with VT now, it is good to keep those skills fresh.

 

We spend a lot of time in the car, so we have SOTW on MP3 and check out a steady amount of books on CD, as well. Otherwise, I'd drop history for sanity (although DS8 loves history, there's only so many hours in the day). 

 

Science we do over breakfast. I do a bit of reading and then an experiment while the boys are noshing through their cereal or pancakes. It's nice to check off a subject before 8 am.  :coolgleamA:

[srs]

Thanks for the insight. It is always good to remember the end goal of happy, well adjusted adult.

 

Another factor is that I suspect she is 2e (or is it 3e if you separate out the physical disability?). Anyhow, she is reading ahead of grade level (with compensating head movement - she is determined to read!), and ahead mathematically as well. So I don't want to spend all of our time focusing on weaknesses when she can really soar with her strengths.

[GoVanGogh]

Thanks for the insight. It is always good to remember the end goal of happy, well adjusted adult.

 

Another factor is that I suspect she is 2e (or is it 3e if you separate out the physical disability?). Anyhow, she is reading ahead of grade level (with compensating head movement - she is determined to read!), and ahead mathematically as well. So I don't want to spend all of our time focusing on weaknesses when she can really soar with her strengths.

I am in a similar boat, especially with the last sentence.

In fact, I actually said the same thing to our neurologist: How do I handle this? How do I let him soar in his strong areas while focusing so much time and energy on the weaknesses?

 

A year later, I still don't have a great answer.

I really appreciated your question and every reply.

I do find, personally, that our focus and balance shifts daily, weekly, monthly.

I struggle to "just go with the flow" but think that has been important for me to remember.

 

3e is interesting. I had not thought of it that way, but it is a true term. DS's cp has caused an extreme difference between his ability level - but add in the physical issues and it is thrice gifted.

[Tiramisu]

Thanks for the insight. It is always good to remember the end goal of happy, well adjusted adult.

 

Another factor is that I suspect she is 2e (or is it 3e if you separate out the physical disability?). Anyhow, she is reading ahead of grade level (with compensating head movement - she is determined to read!), and ahead mathematically as well. So I don't want to spend all of our time focusing on weaknesses when she can really soar with her strengths.

 

I agree that it's very important to always incorporate what they like and what they are good at. It builds their self-esteem and retains their love of learning. You don't want to mess with those!

[Tiramisu]

I just thought I'd add that I went to a conference this weekend and heard a speaker talking about classical education. In the early years, she said the most important things to focus on are the ones that we often push to the side. Narration was something she stressed but she insisted it strengthens attention, memory, and sequencing, which she insists are foundational for future learning and the development of logical thinking. She also said poetry is extremely helpful when they encounter and must decipher more difficult language later on.Once you get to sixth grade, she said Latin and grammar should take priority, because they are very analytical and help train the brain for all the analysis they will need to do in the future, as well as give them a sense of what mastery is.  

 

[Violet Crown]

Agreed on incorporating therapy into lessons or other activities. ST folds nicely into reading and writing. And agreed also on maintaining the basics, plus at least one "strength" or favorite subject.

 

The big time-suck is definitely therapy appointments, which interfere with everyone's homeschooling. We were terribly fortunate this year that Wee Girl's awesome therapist quit the awful place she'd been working and switched to in-home therapy. Any chance of in-home?

[srs]

No in home therapy here, it's thirty minutes away, but only three times a month, plus weekly hippotherapy on the weekend.

 

I am planning to drop handwriting (going to have her do a bit with LA, and then me scribe and try out voice to text if we need it) and keep science interest led and outsourced to community programs. DD really enjoys science. She got excited about the idea of Latin, but if it doesn't fit in we will save it for later. The rest will be orally done and read alouds. And math. She likes that too. We use Right Start but modified to have a lot less writing and very few games, because she doesn't like them and doesn't seem to need them.