Taking a break

Well, today Douglas gets to take a break and visit his great grandma! They are coloring Easter eggs today. Dominyck is in kindergarten during the afternoon, so once he is home we are going to have ham for dinner too! Visiting family can be a great learning experience too. Learning doesn't just have to be at a desk, behind a book. Learning comes from experience and experiences give us memories. So, really, learning is in the memories.

 I am going to have him help me make egg dye with herbs instead of the dyes bought at the store, that have tons of chemicals in them. It is a new venture for us that I hope becomes a tradition!

$0.76

With $0.76 Douglas bought a huge bright orange poster board. We went to the store, he found the right aisle and the picked out the orange one all himself. Tomorrow he is going to start drafting out his roller coaster! He is going to use the knowledge he obtained from our Library visit and internet searches. I will post pictures once he has completed all of his projects.

Autism, school and Douglas

        In public school, Douglas is a stranger to typical students. He is in and out of class and is far more isolated than he would be in homeschooling. He is seated separately and holds the teachers hand through out the building. Not to mention that his therapies interrupt his school schedule. A typical classroom in a public school is not a thriving environment for a child like Douglas. His potential far exceeds his current progress. In public school, the educational emphasis has been on building "typical" social skills in a typical environment; Autism is anything but typical. He is unable to learn in a typical manner and it is holding him back from his highest potential.  In home-school, we can work on those skills. We will be able to teach him how to express himself in the natural world, through drawing, music, writing and other outlets. He will be given the opportunity to relate and socialize with peers and authority figures on a more positive level. Children with Autism are often victims of bullying and separation in the school setting. They are misunderstood and overlooked. Recess and gym are opportune times for neurologically typical children to socialize, but for a child with Autism these are some of the most difficult times. At home we will be able to promote communication and socialization with people of all ages, which will help him gain skills in a public setting; the library, the grocery store, an art museum, at the local park. It will put a more realistic view of our expectation of him to communicate with others. We would like to encourage positive social development in the community and eliminate the negative repercussions of public school. Public school is a great option for many children. But for Douglas we don't feel it is the best fit. There are many pro's and con's to both homeschooling and public schooling. We feel we have weighed out our options and come up with the best possible scenario to help Douglas thrive.   

10 great reasons I homeshool

1. Skills development: Between the car rides, bus rides, classroom changes, lunch time line up's and hustle and bustle, where is there time to learn? By eliminating all the back and forth travel time, we have found so much more time to learn and develop! He has been learning about daily living skills, like laundry, dishes, washing hands and brushing his teeth. Things public school never taught him. Things your mama teaches you! He is also learning how to play the piano and wants to eventually learn to play the guitar. He is able to develop skills that he wants to have. It is making for a more successful student.

 2. A mothers ability: Who better to teach a child than his own mother? I don't know anyone who knows my children better than I. I know their needs, wants, abilities and disabilities. I am able to formulate a lesson plan geared just for my child, not a whole classroom of 24 very different children, with different needs.

 3. Class sizes: teachers hardly have the time to learn who their students are. I have been in classrooms. They are chaotic and impersonal. The teachers love their students and many are great at their jobs, but I feel they're overwhelmed by too many students. At home my class size is much smaller. I can closer monitor their weaknesses and help to improve them.

 4. Class pace: For some students the pace of a public school is too fast and they quickly fall behind. For other students it is too slow and they get bored. Either way our children are losing interest in school, because they're classrooms are not made for them. At home my children work at a pace that is best for them. While they are encouraged to work quickly and efficiently, they are not pushed beyond their abilities. They are able to maintain more of the knowledge of the subjects they are learning. In return we have more of their attention and interest.

 5. The churches role: I don't think that it is right that our beliefs are being band from our daily lives. I want my children to have God with them at all times. Over time I have seen more and more violence in the school system. Between shootings and school yard bullies our schools have become unsafe. Where there is no God there is evil. Now, those who don't believe in God will likely not agree with me. However, some thing I think we can all agree on is that school violence is a scary thing. I know at home my children are surrounded by those who love them and care for them. We are able to teach of God's love and not me judged or criticized by it. I can ensure that my children will form their own beliefs.

 6. Healthy socialization: Whenever I am forced to spend a day with a bunch of people I don't particularly like I end up emotionally drained and totally exhausted! We stick our kids in classrooms full of kids that they have no common interests with. By allowing them to make friends at activities that they are actually interested in we are harboring healthy friendships that will last much longer.

 7. Providing accurate facts: I can not tell you how many things I learned in school later to find out I was given the wrong facts or simply opinions of teachers that were displayed to me as facts. I am dissatisfied with the curriculum and the topics they are choosing to teach our children. At home I am able to monitor what my children are learning to ensure that they are learning the proper facts.

 8. Scheduling conflicts: Allowing our school schedule to be flexible opens a wide door of opportunities. We are able to learn on a schedule that is most comfortable for us. If we have a late night camping and learning about nature we can have a late start in the morning. We can also attend museums that are only open during the day. We are able to participate in more activities and have more field trips. Providing plenty of opportunities to learn about the world around them.

 9. Dietary reasons: I am able to control my children's dietary intake. The food that public schools serve is sub-par at best. It is unhealthy and pack full of things I choose not to feed to my children. There also are not any gluten free options. At home, I can ensure that my children are eating natural, organic, local grown food. We even have the opportunity to use it as a learning experience, by home growing vegetables and herbs. We are learning about reading labels and counting calories to make the best health decisions for ourselves.

 10. The rules about rules: How confusing would it be to have 100 different rules at several different places?! I can not imagine how our kids keep up with all the rules and guidelines. Rules for home, rules for school, rules for Grandma's, rules for the Library. Rules on top of rules. At home I can have one single set of rules. Plus I can teach them etiquette in public places, like the Library. So much simpler!

Roller Coasters!

For the remainder of the year we are doing some child led learning. Douglas is thrilled to have the chance to learn about roller coasters and I don't mind, because there is plenty to learn about!

We spent some time at the Library, where he had to look for books about roller coasters. He was having a hard time, so I encouraged him to ask the Librarians for some help. They pointed him in the right direction and he found a book that he was interested in. It didn't give him all the information he was looking for, so we went to the Internet. He typed in "How do roller coasters work?" into the Ask.com bar. This is were he got most of his information from. Everything from the chains on the first hill to Issac Newton's law of motion. He went to the Library thinking that the cars ran with an engine on the track and left with a wealth of knowledge. Now he is working on the first draft of his own roller coaster design. If it goes well, we may try making a mini model! Once he has completed writing a report on "How roller coasters work" we are going to spend a day on the roller coasters at the Mall of America!

What a fun lesson. I enjoy the freedom we have with home learning. We are able to grab his attention to teach him, because we are working on things he is interested in. I encourage you to ask your kids what they want to learn about! It ends up being fun for the whole family.

Deschooling

Douglas is adjusting well! We have finally got the hang of the new changes with him being home from school. I will spare you from the details, but public school just wasn't working out. It honestly has taken a month now to get his mind decluttered and 'deschooled'. We have been working on daily living skills and I have seen a major change in him. After he started first grade, I saw him slipping away farther and farther. He was having more bathroom problems, behavioral issues and an even shorter attention span. He did not like being there. Our first goal having him home was getting him comfortable and back on track. He has not had an bathroom accidents and he has been much better behaved. We have been working on basic daily living skills again, like washing hands, flushing the toliet, picking up after oneself. We also have him helping with the laundry and taking care of his Lab Georgia. It is amazing how far he has come without the distractions of public school.

My younger son loves kindergarten! I think public school is great for him. He has learned so much too. But it isn't for everyone. I think that we need to be aware of our children and their needs. My oldest son, Douglas needs me to teach him. He needs one on one attention and limited distractions. I am willing to make sacrafices to meet his needs. It is what we do as parents.