Tommy

Hi everyone,

I am not sure if any of you can help but I have 3 children (and an angel baby) Ages 3,5,7 My daughter and I have been homeschooling since last year she is doing well My question is more for my 5 yo son he is a very special child ( aren't they all though :) ) he had brain surgery last year and is somewhat stuck I am trying my best to get him caught up I was just wondering does any one have any ideas about grasping and writing as he is having a hard time with that plus his memory isn't that great either he can sometimes recognize letters and numbers but very rarely he is recieveing OT, PT and speech and I am not sure what to do or where to begin trying to teach him I know I said quick sorry

GracieAnn

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tommy

Thank you Deb He does have some sensory issues won't touch things like playdough but everything else will help wonderfully.

GracieAnn
----- Original Message -----
From: Deb
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 3:58 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Quick question newbie


--- In [email protected], "Tommy" <tommyhawk41256@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I am trying my best to get him caught up
Caught up to what or whom? give him time - work with the PT and OT and
all and let his brain and his body and his spirit recover. Play with
playdough and rice trays/sand trays and stringing large beads and
playing with soap bars in the tub and just in general playing and
loving and living. Don't focus on the things he -can't- do yet but on
rather what brings a shine to him. The rest will come along, in time.

--Deb





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tommy

That just might work thank you never thought about that.
----- Original Message -----
From: Schafer Vanessa
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 7:05 PM
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Quick question newbie


GracieAnn,

What about shaving cream, or whipped cream, or
something like that?

----Vanessa

--- Tommy <tommyhawk41256@...> wrote:

> Thank you Deb He does have some sensory issues
> won't touch things like playdough but everything
> else will help wonderfully.
>
> GracieAnn
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Deb
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 3:58 PM
> Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Quick question
> newbie
>
>
> --- In [email protected], "Tommy"
> <tommyhawk41256@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I am trying my best to get him caught up
> Caught up to what or whom? give him time - work
> with the PT and OT and
> all and let his brain and his body and his spirit
> recover. Play with
> playdough and rice trays/sand trays and stringing
> large beads and
> playing with soap bars in the tub and just in
> general playing and
> loving and living. Don't focus on the things he
> -can't- do yet but on
> rather what brings a shine to him. The rest will
> come along, in time.
>
> --Deb
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>
>
>

Vanessa

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tommy

Thank you

I was wondering because in my state we have to either have our children tested or have a certified teacher see the work they do to make sure that they are in the right grade not sure what to do because next year he has to go to have the testing done

GracieAnn
----- Original Message -----
From: Leslie530@...
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 7:07 PM
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Quick question newbie



In a message dated 9/28/2006 6:59:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
pamperedmichelle@... writes:

My question is more for my 5 yo son he is a very special child (
aren't they all though :) ) he had brain surgery last year and is
somewhat stuck I am trying my best to get him caught up I was just
wondering does any one have any ideas about grasping and writing as he
is having a hard time with that plus his memory isn't that great
either

*******

My son does not do "rote" memorization at all. Neither does my husband, and
he just works around it. Both have other strong memorization skills, but
for my son it looks sometimes like it takes him a really, really long time to
learn some things.

But no one is there telling him or quizzing him or setting him up to fail.
He learns and remembers at his own pace (slow!) and he is a happy kid.
Unschooling is great for "different" learners because there is no stress involved
other than what they put on themselves. They aren't trying to please someone
or get a grade or compete.

Plus, they develop other skills to make up for areas where they aren't
strong. Just like a bad speller can learn to use spell check, my husband has
developed his own ways of remembering things.

By the way, my son went to a museum today with a great dinosaur exhibit. I
told him it was a t-rex and he said "No!! it has three toes and t-rex has
two!". He was right, it was argentinasaurus. I am a great rote learner and I
probably would have never picked up on that. :)

Have fun!

Leslie in SC

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Deb

--- In [email protected], "Tommy" <tommyhawk41256@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I am trying my best to get him caught up
Caught up to what or whom? give him time - work with the PT and OT and
all and let his brain and his body and his spirit recover. Play with
playdough and rice trays/sand trays and stringing large beads and
playing with soap bars in the tub and just in general playing and
loving and living. Don't focus on the things he -can't- do yet but on
rather what brings a shine to him. The rest will come along, in time.

--Deb

Manisha Kher

He needs time. Happy playful time, not stressful
trying to write time. 5 is young to be writing anyway.
My almost 5 yo son has not had brain surgery. He did
not know any letters till a couple months ago. He has
just recently started to hold a pencil with a good
writing grip. The OT should be able to suggest
playthings that will improve his coordination.

Manisha


--- Tommy <tommyhawk41256@...> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I am not sure if any of you can help but I have 3
> children (and an angel baby) Ages 3,5,7 My daughter
> and I have been homeschooling since last year she is
> doing well My question is more for my 5 yo son he is
> a very special child ( aren't they all though :) )
> he had brain surgery last year and is somewhat stuck
> I am trying my best to get him caught up I was just
> wondering does any one have any ideas about grasping
> and writing as he is having a hard time with that
> plus his memory isn't that great either he can
> sometimes recognize letters and numbers but very
> rarely he is recieveing OT, PT and speech and I am
> not sure what to do or where to begin trying to
> teach him I know I said quick sorry
>
> GracieAnn
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> (Yahoo! ID required)
>
>
mailto:[email protected]
>
>
>
>
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Melissa

I have several 'special' children myself. We've only been unschooling
a short while(whohoo! approaching a year now!), but letting go of
those expectations that public schools say are important was the
biggest and best step that we have taken to help our children. He
might be stuck because he's being pushed to a place he's not ready to
go. He might feel that if he doesn't succeed then he's letting
someone down who's depending on him to prove he's okay.

Relax. Let it slip. We've been told so often by PSA that earlier is
better, push push push to achieve, that kids can't do it alone
(whatever *it* is). They can do it, when they are ready, and with the
support of people who can let them be successful where they are at,
rather than where someone thinks they should be.

It just breaks my heart because I see what's happened to Breanna
after five years of us (parents, schools, therapists) pushing her to
be 'where she should be'. Kids may 'learn', but what they are
learning is at a cost to their own selves.
Melissa
Mom to Josh (11), Breanna (9), Emily (7), Rachel (6), Sam (5), Dan
(3), and Avari Rose

share our lives at
http://360.yahoo.com/multimomma



On Jun 28, 2006, at 11:42 AM, Tommy wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I am not sure if any of you can help but I have 3 children (and an
> angel baby) Ages 3,5,7 My daughter and I have been homeschooling
> since last year she is doing well My question is more for my 5 yo
> son he is a very special child ( aren't they all though :) ) he had
> brain surgery last year and is somewhat stuck I am trying my best
> to get him caught up I was just wondering does any one have any
> ideas about grasping and writing as he is having a hard time with
> that plus his memory isn't that great either he can sometimes
> recognize letters and numbers but very rarely he is recieveing OT,
> PT and speech and I am not sure what to do or where to begin trying
> to teach him I know I said quick sorry
>
> GracieAnn
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Michelle Leifur Reid

On 6/28/06, Tommy <tommyhawk41256@...> wrote:
My question is more for my 5 yo son he is a very special child (
aren't they all though :) ) he had brain surgery last year and is
somewhat stuck I am trying my best to get him caught up I was just
wondering does any one have any ideas about grasping and writing as he
is having a hard time with that plus his memory isn't that great
either

Many many 5yo have difficulty with grasping and writing and
remembering things. My middle child at 5yo couldn't write her name
and coloring wasn't something that was fun but something that was a
chore. She didn't learn her ABC's until she was closer to 8 (not that
I now value learning one's ABC's as a necessary thing, but at the time
she just couldn't remember something that I viewed as "simple" as
ABC's!) There is no "catching up" in unschooling. Let him be where
he is. He will be where he needs to be when he gets there.

Michelle - who is so glad she didn't force her child to learn those
blasted ABC's before she was ready!

Schafer Vanessa

GracieAnn,

What about shaving cream, or whipped cream, or
something like that?

----Vanessa

--- Tommy <tommyhawk41256@...> wrote:

> Thank you Deb He does have some sensory issues
> won't touch things like playdough but everything
> else will help wonderfully.
>
> GracieAnn
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Deb
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 3:58 PM
> Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Quick question
> newbie
>
>
> --- In [email protected], "Tommy"
> <tommyhawk41256@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I am trying my best to get him caught up
> Caught up to what or whom? give him time - work
> with the PT and OT and
> all and let his brain and his body and his spirit
> recover. Play with
> playdough and rice trays/sand trays and stringing
> large beads and
> playing with soap bars in the tub and just in
> general playing and
> loving and living. Don't focus on the things he
> -can't- do yet but on
> rather what brings a shine to him. The rest will
> come along, in time.
>
> --Deb
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>
>
>


Vanessa


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

[email protected]

In a message dated 9/28/2006 6:59:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
pamperedmichelle@... writes:

My question is more for my 5 yo son he is a very special child (
aren't they all though :) ) he had brain surgery last year and is
somewhat stuck I am trying my best to get him caught up I was just
wondering does any one have any ideas about grasping and writing as he
is having a hard time with that plus his memory isn't that great
either




*******

My son does not do "rote" memorization at all. Neither does my husband, and
he just works around it. Both have other strong memorization skills, but
for my son it looks sometimes like it takes him a really, really long time to
learn some things.

But no one is there telling him or quizzing him or setting him up to fail.
He learns and remembers at his own pace (slow!) and he is a happy kid.
Unschooling is great for "different" learners because there is no stress involved
other than what they put on themselves. They aren't trying to please someone
or get a grade or compete.

Plus, they develop other skills to make up for areas where they aren't
strong. Just like a bad speller can learn to use spell check, my husband has
developed his own ways of remembering things.

By the way, my son went to a museum today with a great dinosaur exhibit. I
told him it was a t-rex and he said "No!! it has three toes and t-rex has
two!". He was right, it was argentinasaurus. I am a great rote learner and I
probably would have never picked up on that. :)

Have fun!

Leslie in SC


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Deb

--- In [email protected], "Tommy"
<tommyhawk41256@...> wrote:
>
> Thank you
>
> I was wondering because in my state we have to either have our
>children tested or have a certified teacher see the work they do to
>make sure that they are in the right grade not sure what to do
>because next year he has to go to have the testing done
>
> GracieAnn
Double check the state laws as to what is required - among other
things, are 5 or 6 yr olds tested? What "levels" on standardized
tests are required? What "accommodations" are made in special
situations such as his? Is a 6 yr old even required to be registered
as a homeschooler? (often the compulsory attendance age isn't until
age 7 or 8, with waivers and such from 5 to 7 or 8)? And so on -
really know the laws in detail, not just "they have to be tested"
but how, when, where, and so on - can you use something like
the "PASS" test which is designed to do at home? Does it have to be
at a certain grade level (check the law!) or just "show progress"?

--Deb

Michelle Leifur Reid

On 9/29/06, Deb <soggyboysmom@...> wrote:
> And so on -
> really know the laws in detail, not just "they have to be tested"
> but how, when, where, and so on - can you use something like
> the "PASS" test which is designed to do at home? Does it have to be
> at a certain grade level (check the law!) or just "show progress"?
>

And many unschoolers find that the "review from a certified teacher"
to be easier with unschooling than testing. I know here in Florida
where one needs a yearly review from a certified teacher (if they
aren't using a cover school - which we use), networking with other
unschoolers will help you find unschooling friendly reviewers. One of
our families uses a lady who comes over and has milk and cookies with
the kids every spring and then writes up a report about how lively and
active and how they are progressing beautifully. Another option is to
read through your law for *all* loopholes. If your son has had brain
surgery at a young age, when is he required to attend school? Is it
at the ok of his doctor first? If so get your doctor on your side.
Some states do not require children with severe disabilities to attend
school at all (hoping that isn't your case). Some states have minimum
age of 9 yo at which time you can declare what grade the child is in
(9yo kindergardener :-) ) Don't just look at laws related to
homeschooling. Look at the laws that pertain to schooling in general
and all the exceptions, loopholes and diversions!

Michelle