Feeling completely overwhelmed

[LauraBeth475]

By needing to prepare curriculum plans for 4 kids. I've got the struggling kid, the overachiever, the smart but can't hold a pencil right kid, and the preschooler that gets into everything. Agh!

[OneStepAtATime]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

Start with the 12 year old and focus on him first.  The others are little.  Unschooling and audio books for a few weeks (or a year) won't hurt them at all.  Seriously.  Work on what you want/need to do for your 12 year old.  Get everything you can get done for him prepped ahead of time.  THEN look at the 7 year old, and move on to the 5 year old and then the 3 year old (who shouldn't need much of anything) when you are ready.  Do core first and build off of that.  

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[LauraBeth475]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

Start with the 12 year old and focus on him first. The others are little. Unschooling and audio books for a few weeks (or a year) won't hurt them at all. Seriously. Work on what you want/need to do for your 12 year old. Get everything you can get done for him prepped ahead of time. THEN look at the 7 year old, and move on to the 5 year old and then the 3 year old (who shouldn't need much of anything) when you are ready. Do core first and build off of that.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

That's incredibly sensible.

[LauraBeth475]

And thanks for the hugs!

[Arcadia]

Assuming the overachiever is not your 12 year old, put that kid to work to keep your preschooler out of mayhem when you are helping your oldest. It is really okay to unschool your daughters.

 

:grouphug:

[LauraBeth475]

The now-13 year old is the kid that struggles with everything.

[Targhee]

The now-13 year old is the kid that struggles with everything.

Then it makes complete sense to start your focus here.

 

Don't forget that you don't have to make up a plan for all subjects for each student. Your younger three can do science/history/art/etc through magic school bus/Liberty kids/and crayola watercolor paints. Or not do them at all.

 

One suggestion for the youngest is to have the older three rotate through playing with said youngest. My three older kids had a rotation: work with Mom, work independently, play with the youngest. One of the bloggers was playing with the youngest at any given time. And independent work for a 5 or 7 year old might be a game for math, a video, iPad or computer activity, or just reading/looking at books.

 

Best wishes for the year ahead!

[LauraBeth475]

Unfortunately, with the 13 year old, things don't click until either the third program I teach it with or a few years behind schedule. Still haven't figured out which.

[OneStepAtATime]

Could he have learning challenges like dyslexia or dyscalculia or ADD?  Or something else?  Vision issues?  Auditory processing issues?  Have you had him evaluated?  

 

FWIW, both of my kids are bright and have learning challenges that make learning a rather glitchy roller coaster ride.  Once we had answers for the odd ways they struggled it made things easier.  Not EASY, because certain types of learning and certain subjects are not easy for them, but it made it easier because I had better answers for the specific ways they struggle and how to help them through, over or around those struggles and what materials and approaches might work best.

[Arcadia]

Not EASY, because certain types of learning and certain subjects are not easy for them, but it made it easier because I had better answers for the specific ways they struggle and how to help them through, over or around those struggles and what materials and approaches might work best.

I agree. My dad need to drill with many workbooks to cement the skills. He can't read and remember. He had to write even spelling words many times to remember. He did very well for exams because he study while classmates play. But a slower pace without drill won't have worked for him. My 73 year old dad wasn't evaluated but our extended family guess is memory issues. He excelled in hands on stuff.

My brother has less clear cut issues and had a tiring time in school. His daughter is in bilingual preK and seems ok. Now with better trained evaluators available then my generation, we would definitely encourage evaluation if my niece flounder the way my brother had.

[LauraBeth475]

He's waiting to see a psychiatrist for attention/impulsivity, but there is a long wait time. Is that who would do this kind of evaluation?

 

He had an in depth evaluation done years ago, a few years after we adopted him, but it was shoddily done (imo) and came back with him in the borderline area for ADHD and emotional trauma and reasoning skills, so the evaluator didn't have much to recommend.

[OneStepAtATime]

Probably the best option would be to go through a neuropsychologist.  

 

Does he do better with visually based input?  Auditory input?  Neither?  There can be strengths in these areas that help and there can be weakness in these areas that can seriously hinder learning.  If there is a glitch in vision or hearing, even if visual acuity and hearing test fine, it can make learning quite challenging but can be hard to tweak out as to what the issue really is.

 

Possibly get a vision screening through a developmental optometrist (see the link for a list of qualified professionals in your area): http://www.covd.org/

 

The other possibility to explore are things like Central Auditory Processing Disorder.  Someone can hear just fine but not process the sounds efficiently.