HOMESCHOOLED!
Yes, we withdrew her today. I haven't mentioned the things going on with her on here, because, quite honestly I didn't find it an appropriate avenue :). But her class schedule wasn't working (very little academic time), another intermediary schedule was formed but still not a "good" one (very little time in the typical kindy classroom), and we're not sure there's really any other options, even if we decided to hold an IEP (which yes, was scheduled). In the end, we felt that this was the answer-- that we are supposed to do this ourselves for her this year.
I by no means have had any issues with either of the teachers involved and are very sorry to be pulling her from their classes, specifically, and in fact still have 3 kids in one of those classes :). It was just a matter of whether we'd be ok with "ok, good, or best" and we want best for her, which right now means homeschooling.
We are very blessed to have a welcoming church which, since she isn't of "legal age" of HAVING to go to school, has allowed her to take part in their Kids' Adventure Day program in their oldest class (typically 3-4 yr olds). She will be going there for "social" time and to get that interaction with friends that she craves :). She'll then work with me at home on all the academics as we build our homeschool curriculum.
We are excited about what this year will bring for Brianna and for each of our children in the different ways God has made them and different ways that each of them learns best.
Now... all you homeschooling moms... :) :) Be ready for some questions! Like... if you homeschool your child with disabilities, do you use a specific curriculum, or do you do an 'eclectic' approach? Either way, what programs/curriculum do you use? I have all kinds of things already from our many adventures just in raising our kids, but are interested in other things for schooling as well.
The next great adventure... :)
How exciting! I currently use (and like) Before Five in a Row, which is geared for ages 2-4. The book is about 25$ and you can either buy the 20 or so kids' books that go with it, or just check out at the library. Homeschoolshare http://www.homeschoolshare.com/before_five_in_a_row_resources.php has some great lapbooks to coordinate with the Before Five in a Row book (free!). Another great resource is Letter of the Week http://www.letteroftheweek.com/preschool_age_3.html(also free!). I also like this blog for homeschool advice http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/category/alphabet
ReplyDeleteUnit studies are a great option as well as the previous suggestion of the Before Five in a Row series. I'm sure you're familiar with the term but basically it's one topic covered cross-curricularly. Amanda Bennet is a GREAT resource for them. She has unit studies on everything from different countries to cookies. We do the birthday bonanza one the week of each child's birthday. The one main topic is incorporated in math,and science and history and writing and spelling and art and it covers a large age range so you can always tweak it to fit each child's specific needs. Each study is just one week in length and so it's not overwhelming. Plus they get to pick what they learn about. We also used Letter of the week like the previous poster suggested with our Allyson, and there's a blog called 1+1+1=1 that has great tot school ideas that can be fiddled with to fit a child's specific needs. Congrats/good luck.
ReplyDeleteI did an eclectic approach for preschool/PreK/K.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.notimeforflashcards.com/
and
http://www.dltk-teach.com/
were my favorites. I picked a theme, got ideas from those site and just did what worked! It was a good approach for my kiddos since it allowed me (and them) to work with what they were interested in (we did plants, dinosaurs, space, etc) with flexibility.
Also our local library had GREAT resources for copying, reviewing, etc.
We use an ecclectic approach as well with such curriculum as things from Rod and Staff preschool series and we also like unit studies. If you have not used lap books before they are a great interactive way to learn about a subject.
ReplyDelete