Well, we are officially into our second month of homeschooling. I am not going to go into great detail because....well...we would be here all night! Faith has 21 days in so we are on track (we have to log 180 days by June 1, 2011). My goal is to have at least 40 by the time regular school starts which is Aug 16, so I think we are good. I have been doing a lot of trial and error things, trying to figure out the best way to present things to her. Of course, the simpler the better with her. I have been kind of making unit studies on the letter A with different A letter words each week...Apple, Alligator, Ants...you get the point. We will spend the week reading books about each object, watching some educational movies and working with the real things doing counting or exploration (except the alligator, you know!) We have been playing a game with each object where I cut out a paper version of the object with the letter A on it and color it then go around the house and hide it. Then I ask Faith to find it. She has so much fun with this game and has become pretty darn good at finding it even when I try to hide it well. When she finds it I say the objects name and the sound A makes, then ask her to say the sound. We often play it for an hour or more!
I figure if I can get her to be able to identify (by pointing) the first three letters of the alphabet by Christmas that's a reasonable goal. I have been learning a lot myself about time management. I have always been pretty good at it, actually prided myself on it as a manager for years! But this is a different ballgame...therapy, doctors, driving, researching and preparing lessons, caring for her, getting her fed, dressed and medicated, cleaning, making dinner, record keeping. Shew...is that all? I have learned that we will not be able to do our school year following a typical school year schedule there are just too many commitments (for Faith) that we can't give up. So I have learned to get up early and spend an hour or two first thing, then off to therapy then book it home and spend as much time as we can before dinner. The majority of Faith's education is still daily living and self help so we get to count therapy and also when we work on standing, eating and dressing...all that counts for parts of our school day.
So this is really just a recap of things we have both been learning in the last month. My real big issue is in SC we have to teach writing. Now Faith is just barely where she can hold a large crayon and scribble some marks on a page, so that is giving me a real fit. I know we have to start with the basics like lines and circles but she isn't even near that. I feel very unprepared...wait unsure how to do this right. I need to talk to our Association leader about what counts to see if working on her Ipad may count or what I need to do.
Faith seems to be enjoying most everything we do, mostly I think she thrives on focused attention by me...always has. She has passed 160 books in our first month and we are working on compiling a review of our A words in a "A book" with pages she colors of each of her topics.
I figure if I can get her to be able to identify (by pointing) the first three letters of the alphabet by Christmas that's a reasonable goal. I have been learning a lot myself about time management. I have always been pretty good at it, actually prided myself on it as a manager for years! But this is a different ballgame...therapy, doctors, driving, researching and preparing lessons, caring for her, getting her fed, dressed and medicated, cleaning, making dinner, record keeping. Shew...is that all? I have learned that we will not be able to do our school year following a typical school year schedule there are just too many commitments (for Faith) that we can't give up. So I have learned to get up early and spend an hour or two first thing, then off to therapy then book it home and spend as much time as we can before dinner. The majority of Faith's education is still daily living and self help so we get to count therapy and also when we work on standing, eating and dressing...all that counts for parts of our school day.
So this is really just a recap of things we have both been learning in the last month. My real big issue is in SC we have to teach writing. Now Faith is just barely where she can hold a large crayon and scribble some marks on a page, so that is giving me a real fit. I know we have to start with the basics like lines and circles but she isn't even near that. I feel very unprepared...wait unsure how to do this right. I need to talk to our Association leader about what counts to see if working on her Ipad may count or what I need to do.
Faith seems to be enjoying most everything we do, mostly I think she thrives on focused attention by me...always has. She has passed 160 books in our first month and we are working on compiling a review of our A words in a "A book" with pages she colors of each of her topics.
5 comments:
Geez! I'm tired just reading all this!
Sounds like you and Faith are doing a great job!! Sounds like lots of fun, but lots of work too!
How is the iPad working?
It's going pretty well, we are still working on making adaptations for her to use it better. BTW did you get my message about the Go Talk button?
Does she get Occupational Therapy? Her therapist should have some ideas on the writing, and I would assume the time she spends in therapy would go towards getting her ready to write.
Wow Candace, it's only July and you're already 21 days in - I'm impressed! I'm glad to hear that it's going well. Just one idea, but some of the Montessori materials might work really well for Faith. We used a lot of them For Monkey, and we both loved them. For example, we practiced letters using the Montessori sandpaper letters when he was a toddler. They helped with not only phonics, but preparing for writing when he traced the letters with his hand - not to mention the great sensory input from the sandpaper on his left hand.
Anyway, kudos to you for homeschooling. I hope it continues to go well for you both!
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