Unexpected/preK/ADHD

[BookMamaLade]

So I have been hoping and planning to homeschool my little guy for a while, but due to the pandemic, it seems likely that I will now also be preschooling the little girl I babysit. They are roughly the same age, however, her mom (and I'm quite sure her) has ADHD. 

Does anyone have any tips for teaching a young child with ADHD? The very low-key work we've done so far is very different between the 2 of them, and I'm not sure how to best work with her. I'm pretty sure her mom isn't going to do it.

 

[Tree Frog]

You might post on the chat or the special needs boards. They'll have more traffic.

[2_girls_mommy]

Preschool is very basic as far as academics- introduce the letters and sounds, learn colors, counting and one to one recognition. These things can easily be done in games and active learning. 

I homeschooled a preschooler babysitting child for a couple years while homeschooling my upper elem. kids. Having a schedule and rhythm to the day was key. Memorization of songs, poems, nursery rhymes was integrated, lots of physical activity, lots of arts and crafts, and a required rest time with music were included. 

Having the day very scheduled and routine was key. She had playthings, learning activities, and toys she could play with during the time I worked with my olders. I usually broke things up into 15 min. Increments. I even used a timer for that. Like I would do example math problems with one child, set preschooler up with toys, then have one reading independently. Then I would say, I'm going to set the timer for 15 minutes and everyone is going to work diligently on what you are on, etc. I could quickly switch a load of laundry and wipe down the bathroom or something in that time. After lunch there was always outside time, then read alouds, then silent rest time. During preschooler's rest I could work with older kids some more, then after, it was more outside time- play on the sprinklers if hot, or an afternoon video in winter til her mom got there or that was when we did science projects or art projects. 

I tried to work with preschooler first in the morning on a few things, then she played. I kept a shelf full of organized preschool activities that could be rotated. And during the afternoon read aloud time is when we memorized scripture, the presidents, art cards, poetry, etc. I included picture books on all our topics for during this time before her rest. 

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by 2_girls_mommy

[AnneGG]

For my child, I find the best approach is to have a movement activity and then a quiet activity. I also find that I need to sit right beside him to encourage completion of tasks. Fun school activities and hands on stuff was saved for the end of our school time, otherwise I would never get him back on track. Defining spaces helps a lot too. Like we can play with the sand letter writing tray, but it has to stay on the table. Unfix cubes must stay on the work rug. 

Sometimes the best thing I can do is call it a day, and try again tomorrow. 

sample pre-k day:

9:00- yoga bug book to start morning basket. He plays with quiet toys in the busy tray and I read from our morning basket. Sometimes I’d plan a little project to go with a read aloud, which would make this portion of our day longer.
 

9:20ish- Kiboomers preschool songs dance party. The 100 dance is our favorite. 
 

9:30- table work. We used Saxon K, and a mix of AAR pre, TGTB preschool, and whatever else I found that looked fun. 
 

10:00- nature walk, bike ride, outside play. Maybe run errands or go to the library. Play dates. 
 

12:00- lunch. Kid assists in making lunch, washing dishes. I loop through “enrichment subjects” after lunch. Art, poetry tea time, music, baking, science project, or whatever. Any Pinterest type math and language arts activities would happen after lunch. 
 

At some point in the afternoon I’d set the timer and we’d have 30-60 minutes of quiet time. He didn’t nap but I needed a little break.