Inclusive Homeschool

It’s good to have choices. But it can be crazy-making as well.

We “ended” our homeschool year the end of June. Since then I’ve immersed myself into researching different cyber schools offered by Pennsylvania and learning disabilities.

I have always suspected dyslexia, at least some sort of mild version of it, but I was never really sure and very reluctant to just hand her over to “the system” to find out. But I’ve done more research on it, both the condition of dyslexia and the process through the public school system and private evaluators.

For starters, I wrote up a synopsis of three years of daily log observations. I didn’t just notate whether she completed a subject or not, but how she did it, the range of difficulty and whether or not she retained the information the next day or days afterwards.

I, also, notated the conditions under which she learned, how often she was with me as opposed to her father, whether she did her work while she was there, how helpful he was or wasn’t and the work she completed, and how it was completed while she was there.

This has been a major source of contention and frustration for me.

There has been no doubt, the difference in level of commitment to her education and providing space, time and opportunity for her to learn between the two households has negatively impacted her. But there was, also, something else going on with her, and it was difficult for me to ascertain how much of which variable was affecting her progress.

As I wrote this synopsis from my notes, some patterns began to emerge, but I didn’t know how they related to one another. I needed help in connecting all the dots. One site that came highly recommended and turned out to be the most informative was www.brightsolutions.us.

Suddenly, her behavior in other areas, how she could excel in doing one thing and yet be stumped or painfully awkward in another, that you would think would be easier, made sense to me. Virtually everything that had to do with directionality or sequence was a challenge to her. Didn’t really have to do with the category as much as the operations.

If you have concerns about dyslexia or are just stumped by some “quirks” in learning, I highly recommend this site as a good starter point. The seminar video is over 3 hours long, but it’s divided into segments. I watched it one evening with breaks and took notes. It was a real eye opener!

I learned that dyslexia is not a learning disability, that nine out of ten children who have dyslexia do not have it severe enough to be identified as learning disabled (which they aren’t, they just have a different way of learning - plenty are incredibly bright to the point of brilliant). But that means they don’t get the help that they do need and, often, fall through the cracks.

In comparing my detailed notes and synopsis with what I have learned from the website, I am now 99.9% certain she is dyslexic. In one sense it’s a wonderful validation. I have been correct in what I was feeling and observing.

I didn’t know if her situation was workable at home. I had hoped that with extra effort on my part, we could overcome the handicap of her living situation, that our efforts would be enough. But though she has made improvement, it’s not. It’s too much of a struggle to get her when I need…no, when she needs.

I know she needs more, and I know she needs consistency. I’ve been saying it for years. I need the leverage to insure her education is not sacrificed to grown ups’ personal needs or issues. And now that she’s older, perhaps we can work with a cyberschool.

So now I have decisions to make.

I know she needs something more than what she’s been getting, but it’s not as simple as simply choosing x, y or z.

I am exploring different avenues and will be sharing them over the next week.

Okay I have been remiss in keeping this blog up to date. It’s not easy being a single homeschooling mom, but I really want to do this blog. I get so many ideas and there’s not a week that goes by that I haven’t accrued a number of things I want to blog about or resources I want to share!

Anyway, as a homeschooler, I wonder how many of you have these good intentions - either for blogs or for your children’s curriculum - and find yet again you’ve missed that mark. I know goals need to be flexible, but come on!

It’s the end of the school year - formal school year, anyway, if you do that. And most of us have to contend, in one form or another, some kind of official end of school notice and verification to our school districts.

So…how did your year turn out in relation to how you intended it to?

For myself, we didn’t do as many field trips as I would have liked. And it’s frustrating for me to deal with the inconsistency with the way my work schedule runs. I so envy those who have daily access to their children or at least regular access. My work week changes every week. And since the homeschooling falls on me and not her father, this greatly impacts Brhiannon’s progress.

In the three years I’ve been homeschooling her, this has been my greatest challenge.

But she has made progress, despite these odds, and I’m so proud of her. What’s important, is that she’s aware of her challenges and her successes over this past year. I keep reminding myself of that.

I try to be flexible and remind myself why I’m doing this. I try not to let the national standards bully me into being stupid with my child.

Homeschooling means finding what works for your child, not replicating what doesn’t. But sometimes, when you’re feeling especially tired, you just wish you could find the perfect curriculum!

So, anyway, I’m already setting up for next year the things I intend to do. And I do intend to be more regular on this blog…really.

Tags: challenges, curriculum, good intentions, progress, schedule

One of the best videos I’ve seen on consumption and the impact it has on the environment and the world by Annie Leonard, http://www.storyofstuff.com

A description from their website:

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns, with a special focus on the United States. All the stuff in our lives, beginning from the extraction of the resources to make it, through its production, sale, use and disposal, affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues and calls for all of us to create a more sustainable and just world.

I loved it. The fast pace is not initiated by tons of flashy images and a string of 20 second sound bytes. It’s strength comes from the veracity of the facts and statistics and the passion of Annie Leonard. It’s obvious how she leans politically, but since I lean in the same direction, I’m fine with it.

Regardless your political beliefs, the truth Annie Leonard shares about how our consumption is affecting the planet and everyone in it is invaluable. Our rampant consumerism affects everyone…and in the end, without prejudice.

More information about Annie Leonard from her bio on the website:

Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, with more than 20 years of experience investigating factories and dumps around the world. Coordinator of the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, a funder collaborative working for a sustainable and just world, Annie communicates worldwide about the impact of consumerism and materialism on global economies and international health.

With Annie’s first hand experience of witnessing the impact of our consumer driven society, I think Annie has plenty of room to be as passionate and direct as she is in her advocacy.

You know, much is made of “living books” in the homeschool movement, authors who write books on topics they are passionate about. I believe this is a “living video”, as the person with the passion for this subject is the one standing in front of the camera and not a narrator. It definitely comes across.

There are free downloadable pdf files - tips, invitations, taking action, group activities, discussion guides and posters to help facilitate a screening of the movie (which you can download for free, btw). The discussion and group activities pdf files make this a great homeschool resource for use in the home or in co-ops.

This movie is thought provoking and well worth watching. When Brhiannon comes home from her dad’s, we’ll be sure to watch this together and go over some of the discussion questions and activities.

Highly recommended.

Tags: environment, free resources, lesson plans, movies, Resources, Reviews-Movies, Science, sustainability, unit studies

Well, I haven’t posted here since the 28th of February. I’ve been busy dealing with other aspects of my life outside of homeschooling, things that demanded my advocacy and investigator skills - immediately.

You know, I’d love to be able to just be a stay at home mom and homeschool my kid. In all my years of activism, I’d have to say that homeschooling my child has been the most radical activism and the most rewarding I have ever engaged in.

But I’m a single mom, and I need to support myself and my child. And I have family, one in particular, my older brother, who is very vulnerable and needs me to be his advocate. And then there’s my dear friend who is dealing with a serious health issue and grandchildren, and adult children I want to find time for.

Survival takes a big chunk out of my time. That and advocacy and care giving.

Still, Brhiannon takes up the majority of my time, so when reality tosses some things your way that absolutely has to be tended to, you just do what you have to do.

It means less sleep for me and the amount I do get is interrupted in the middle of the night, when I just suddenly find my eyes have opened as if they had a mind of their own.

I’m learning to be protective of my time with my daughter. It’s so easy to have her time encroached upon by the urgent needs of others. That happened all the time with my two oldest, and then one day, I turned around and they had grown up and moved away.

I am more mindful of not letting that happen with my youngest.

I think, especially, when you’re a single parent, that you have to be even more vigilant against encroachment. So easy to put things off - whether it’s lessons or field trips. No where is it more important to be able to draw boundaries, to find a balance between service to others and service to yourself.

Because even in making Brhiannon my priority, which she is, I need to, also, take care of myself. Because when I am exhausted, I can’t teach her. Maybe I can meet barebones requirement, but that’s not why I’m homeschooling.

And I know you’ve heard this a million times, but they do grow fast. Problems will be there after your child has grown, but your child won’t - even if they stay in your life. For though they will always be your baby in your mind and heart, standing before you will be an adult never to be that child to you again.

Grandchildren will never take your children’s place. And they shouldn’t. So this is your one shot. They have a place that is beautiful and joyous all of their own. What you have with your child is what you have with your child and it’s only for a very short time.

It’s part of the reason we homeschool. Don’t let other things, even the important ones, cause you to sacrifice that.

Find what works for you, but make sure what works doesn’t cost you more than you’re willing to pay.

Tags: grandchildren, self-care, single mom

There’s lots of math worksheet and online practice sites, but the one I like the most goes by the name - what else? The Math Worksheet Site! http://themathworksheetsite.com/

It’s a free resource, kinda. You can use the generator for all the operations for free, but the membership adds to the types of problems you can create. For a fee of $20 a year or $2.50 a month - and they do have monthly membership - you have additional types of problems to generate.

For example, for addition, the free side allows you to generate a number of addition problems in horizontal, vertical format and the types of digits and number of digits you want to add. The membership allows you to create problems with missing addends and perhaps others. I don’t know yet, but that one sticks out.

Still the free side has lots to choose from, and you can customize your worksheets to a greater degree with those than other sites I’ve come across. This is important to me.

The operations and topics covered are: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, mixed problems, fractions, measurement, graphing, telling time, one hundred chart.

Now, I’m not a worksheet mom. Don’t really care for them, but with math, I have found it helpful to use specific worksheets geared to whatever concept we’re working on and just for reinforcing math facts. It’s nice to be able to tailor make them myself. Brhiannon needs a lot of building of foundation work before moving on in math.

Also, because of the way my work schedule runs there are three days in a row that varies each week where I don’t have her. I have to be able to send something down with her or she will have no exposure to math or language arts, and those are precisely the subjects that she needs consistency in. These custom generated worksheets are the ticket for her. I’ve already used the free addition sheets, picking the numbers to add and the numbers I wanted them added to.

So far I’m only using the free part of the site, but I will probably purchase a membership, because I want to generate a greater variety of problems….and because I’m a curriculum and resources junkie.

Tags: free resources, generator, Math, paid resources, worksheets

If you’re interested in lap or note booking this is the site for you!

eMINTS is an acronym for the Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies. They created an incredibly rich collection of information, the individual units called eThemes. These are used in classrooms (and homeschools) across the country and worldwide.

Even if you’re not interested in unit studies per se, the grouping of so much information under specific topics makes this a great resource for anyone and a more efficient way to find quality information.

Topics are categorized by grade level and alphabetical order. I checked out a few, and the information and web links for Ancient China alone blew me away. There are tons of animal eThemes, as well as other topics. The Art of the Five Major World Religions eTheme is a gold mine. Even though it’s listed for 9th grade and up, the art work and synopsis of information can definitely be used for younger grades.

These aren’t lesson plans, but it wouldn’t be difficult to create one from these resources.

Another thing I really like is their eTheme Calendar, which has a link to a website for whatever is featured on any given day. The links are relative to the general theme of the month. February had links for Susan B Anthony’s birthday, as well as various links related to Black History month, President’s Day, Lunar New Year and other interesting topics.

The one problem I have on this site is getting sidetracked as I discover one cool link after another!

Tags: Links, Resources, theme, unit studies, websites