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Posted on August 31, 2010 by Download N Go

“One of the most beneficial learning tools that we keep on hand is a great collection of maps and globes. They decorate our hallways and basement, our closet doors and the stairwell walls. What a great dimension they have added to our children’s hands-on education! Don’t miss the opportunity to let them connect the wonders of the world with the geography of the planet.” ~Amanda Bennett

Time4Learning works great for challenging kids....

Reading
Aleq and I have tried many programs to get him to start reading with confidence.

He knows his letter sounds and identification. However, putting the sounds together to make words was not working for him.

Having SPD, some children can not process well on what to do at the moment when they are overwhelmed. When feeling overwhelmed they lack confidence.

With the Language Arts section of Time4Learning , he was able to learn how to read in 4 months which was not reading at all  to his correct level of 1st/2nd grade .

Math
Time4Learning helps him continue to be good and excel in Math. Aleq never had trouble with Math. We use Math U See, but by using the Time4Learning it helps him believe he can do it even by watching his level advance.


There is more.....
Some of the other subjects they have such as Science and Social Studies are exciting as well. I love the fact they teach what are needs and wants. Aleq would rather do those just for fun.

I suggest trying Time4Learning.com with a special needs or challenging child because it is at their pace and a great suppliment if you already have a curriculum........

Live, Laugh and Love with your children....

Sometimes it is okay for things to change.

Sometimes it is okay for things to change in life. God brings people in our paths for a reason.

After planning and organizing, thinking I was all set for the year. A big HA HA to that.

Ashlie and two other friends have decided to read Shiloh together (okay us mommas decided). We will be using the Total Language Plus program , which I really like. Ash has already completed Charlottes Web and Amos Fortune.
This will be great for her, it will be her time with other friends while learning. Muahahahahaha

I kept thinking I have our plan together. We will stay at home and do our own studies together. After 4 years plus of coordinating History, Keepers at Home, Art, and Nature Study I vowed last year I would not participate with anyone because I was tired of doing it all. I felt overwhelmed trying to coordinate and figure out what was going on with Aleq.

Now we will be including others in our studies and keep it to a few children. This will be really nice.

Aleq has been showing interest in going and visiting a friend's horse stable. His change is being a little more social. There is another little boy his age that seems to fit with Aleq real well. This really helps him with his SPD therapy. That will be included in our schedule.

Sometimes when we have our schedules the way we want them and something comes along. Do not change your plans for other opportunities because when you do it will overwhelm you. However, if it seems to fit right in then it is a good change.

Some people just go with the flow, that is awesome! I have learned to do that a little more.
What has helped me?

Is the organizing and planning I have already completed. Now that I have done that I can see and know what is going on.

The best thing to do is to be ready for change or if to see if you can accept change well is to put a big family calendar up for all to see. My kids have a calendar in their room that has the days of the activities written on them. That way they know what is going on that week or day. Even if you have a monthly calendar at your desk, it helps. You need something to see what you have planned. It helps the craziness of homeschooling, activities, and family appointments. I promise it will help you feel more at ease.

Live, Love, Laugh every day.

'Have you ever caught this bug in your homeschool?'

'Have you ever caught this bug in your homeschool?'

Play Dough is AWESOME!

Who doesn't love play dough, it brings a smile to they young and old!

Part of my son's therapy is heavy work with his hands. There is a product called "Theraputty"" which is intentionally heavier for the children to work with.

However, we enjoy making play dough ourselves........

Aleq is able to focus better when he is involved in making something with his hands. Of course, the only thing he thinks about making with the play dough is animals.

We make our own playdough. Sometimes we go a step further and use this to help with his smelling issues.

The recipe that we use, I found it in our Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space book.

Ash reading the directions for us.

Recipe for Play Dough:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup salt
• 4 teaspoons of tartar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups of water
• wax paper
• food coloring

1. Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot.
2. Add oil and water. Mix until smooth

1. Over medium heat, stir constantly until the mixture leaves the sides of the pot.
2. Put dough on wax paper. Allow mixture to cool until you can work it with your hands.
3. Divide the dough into smaller sections, thinking how many colors you would like to have. Remember you can mix some colors (teaching the color wheel, woohoo educational time).

4. Add appropriate food coloring a small amount at a time, until the desired effect is achieved. I used about 3 drops first then went from there depending how dark I wanted it. You do not want to put too much because the texture will change.

1. Store in zipper-style bags or airtight containers.

Planning.....

Well, I have organized everything and have our curriculum planned on what we will do...

Dah Daaah Dah Daaah

The fun part is putting it together. Writing out the plan... Usually I don't have to do this with much thought because I used Homeschool Tracker , which is a great program. I used it for 4 years. However, the reason I have to really think about my planner is because due to technically difficulties I can't use it. I don't know what happened but I can't use it.

Ugh, a homeschool moms worst nightmare to find out the planner you are used to and really like, will not work!

Then I think....

With God all things are possible.... REALLY!

So here I am starting over with my planning.
With anything you want to accomplish in life you must have a plan whether it is a long term or short term goal. You must have a plan!
It could be anything a job you want, getting ready for college, wanting to buy a house, starting a family, getting out of debt, or like me planning your school year.

You should determine your goal:

• What is the first thing to do?
• What do you need to do?
• Set the goal and think of how to accomplish the goal.

Organizing

This is the time of year many homeschoolers are getting prepared for the upcoming school year.
They could be starting a new program, changing something, or just still trying to figure out what to do.

I am going thru all my stuff, 6 years of homeschooling things. Some I have never touched because I thought I would use it later or stuff that was just given to me.
Because I have two children I didn't let Ashlie write in anything thinking Aleq would use it as well. That has worked on most of the resources that I kept to use with Aleq.

At the same time of reorganizing, I am thinking of our plan this year.

thinking, thinking and thinking....

I need to make sure I include Aleq's therapy schedule that I made for us and Ashlie's 4H time.
I am not coordinating any classes again this year except for Ashlies 4H Dog Classes. She wants to do the Digital Photography, so that is still in the works.

With Aleq's challenges it will be hard to get him into anything extracurricular. He has enjoyed bowling this summer so far and will try to get him more involved with it. I might add a couple of things for him, maybe some of the books from 4H. I really like the 4H program.

As far as academically, Ashlie in her 6th grade year will use the following for sure:

• Math U See
• Total Language Plus for her spelling, grammar, reading, writing
• Christian Kids Explore Earth & Science
• Story of the World

For Aleq which is between 1st and 2nd still :

• Math U See
• Spelling Workout books, for writing as well
• Konos Volume 1
• Story of the World

Of course he will be right by Ashlie's side when we are doing her Science. He has always been right there with Science and History that is why he is very advance with that as well as Math.

Handwriting for Tears was part of Aleq's curriculum, however, it seemed very overwhelming to him for some reason. He does have good handwriting though.
According to last year at the THSC Conference I learned "if they know how to do it, move on". So I will let it be for his writing...

Now for the SPD child:

For Aleq's therapy, we have to complete it throughout the day to help him. I have discovered if we do it all at once, it does not become effective.
I went thru the The Out of Sync Child Has Fun and organized 5 schedules that I will alternate. I have not done this in the past.
The brushing techinique and joint compression of course we will do at least every two hours or when he seems to be getting overwhelmed. These techniques are amazing and really calms him down. Sometimes he will try to resist it but once we get started he is in total relaxation.

So here are his schedules:

Schedule 1

• theraputty or make playdough, it helps with heavy work
• wheelbarrow helps with muscle tone
• superman helps with coordination of his gravity insecurities

Schedule 2

• make pretzel people helps with heavy work
• row boat is for muscle tone and coordination
• wall push helps with muscle tone

Schedule 3

• mummy wrap good for joint compression
• balance board is for coordination
• hokey pokey ring coordination

Schedule 4

• ball roll for joint compression (he looves this)
• swing & kick the bottle for gravitational insecurities
• bottle push for muscle tone

Schedule 5

• balance ball for coordination
• swing fast then slow for gravitational insecurities
• cat back raise alternating hands for coordination and gravitational insecurities

We still need to work on his food issues... Maybe with this schedule it will work into the plan somehow.

I use the Homeschool tracker, the basic version to help me get it all together. I have used this for about 4 years and it is my favorite.

So, I think I have it figured out.. I am ready to start back up. With them being off for 2 wks now, it will be tough getting back into routine but I know they can do it. We still use our Accountable Kids , which I have let them have free days these past two weeks as well. Wow, am I going to be a mean mommie for a while perhaps.

It is fun to take time off and be refreshed, you need that. We usually take December off and some time in spring. However, this year was a little different because of Aleq. I know we will make it though....

Love, Live and Laugh every day....