expectations and goals

[oceandaughter]

I'm wondering how you go about planning your school year. With my oldest, I always just would look at those world book scope and sequence and the What Your x Grader books (and WTM of course) and plan from there. Today my son's OT told me that I can't expect him to be "up to grade level" by the end of the school year and instead focus on attainable goals. How can I figure this out? (I do have a preliminary list floating around in my head, when I have some time after bedtime tonight I will have to post it.)

He will be seven in July. I'm calling him a first grader next year, but really is at preK to K level in math and language. He seems to have an auditory processing disorder, but only diagnosis so far is the old PDD/NOS.

Counting and number sense are an issue, too. I know some preschoolers who have an easier time with this.

To add to the mix, we are moving from the midwest US to the UK in November for two years.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed right now with all of this.

Maybe I'm looking for support as well as advice.

Thing is, this child wants to be an engineer when he grows up. His dad designs loudspeakers and my son knows all the parts of a speaker and seems to grasp some of the theory behind it.

He also will sometimes really blow us away with things he knows (like where Africa is on the globe or that a certain piece of music is by Beethoven).

I want him to be an engineer if he wants. I want him to go to MIT if he wants.

Please share your stories of people you know who overcame something like this.

[MicheleB]

You know, I'm kind of "new" at this whole thing too. But I was thinking about goals my 9yo ds has attained and how we reached them.

He didn't know his phone number until he was 8, but I look back now and realize I decided he needed to learn it. So everyday, once or twice, we went over the phone number until he knew it. Now, every so often I check up to make sure he still remembers it.

So I think I just pick one small thing and make it a "goal" as I feel needed. I don't (or at least haven't so far, that might change) write down anything formally. I think that's because I don't want to be discouraged if I look back and we haven't attained those goals. But in some ways, it would probably be encouraging, because then I COULD look back and see what we have attained.

But all in all, small, attainable goals are probably best. One at a time. Tick them off. They might take what seems like forever, but some day you will look back and say, WOW! There is improvement! :)

[riada]

:iagree: They say small goals are what leads to the BIG goal, so start there. Pick something important to you and work with him periodically each day until he retains it.

Good luck.

[riada]

Also I should add that my best friend has a son that is nearly eight now and is just now starting to get things. He has struggled since preschool with everything from the alphabet to numbers. The child assessor from ESD said (a couple years ago) he needed more time to be mentally ready for the learning. It seems he was right because he is just now starting to retain what he is learning. He was similar to your son in that he could tell you anything about his dad's work (construction). He would have "aha" moments only to not remember any of it the next day. He is doing wonderfully now, still not up to grade level but clearly making great strides.

Hang in there!

[EKS]

My 12 yo was in the same place at just-turned 7 in the sense that he was on about a beginning to mid K level for most things academic. He had attended Montessori K and 1st with very little success. I brought him home at the end of 1st because school didn't seem to be working. He has since been diagnosed with many things: APD, SPD, ADHD, and dyslexia. In general at 7 he seemed very behind but had flashes of brilliance too. He has wanted to be an engineer since time began. And he wants to go to MIT (talk about pressure for a homeschool mom!).

I called him a 2nd grader that next year because he *knew* he was supposed to be one after being officially in 1st the year before. So he was essentially two years behind when we started. With the one-on-one teaching situation of homeschooling, in just a few months he placed into Saxon Math 2 (one correct answer away from Math 3). This was a kid who couldn't even reliably count to 10 before we started homeschooling. He finished Math 2 in 3 months and then did the same with Math 3. He went on to do 5/4 and 6/5 the next year and ended up starting algebra in 5th grade (should have waited until 6th but that's another story).

He did not catch up so quickly with reading and by the middle of 3rd grade he was still struggling. He did VT and OT starting in the spring of 3rd grade and on into 4th. By the middle of 4th grade his reading comprehension was at a high school level and his fluency was at grade level. In 6th grade he was able to complete an 8th grade grammar program. He started Latin last year and did very well with it.

Getting him to this point has not been easy. He had a lot of sensory processing issues (mostly visual and auditory) to overcome, or at least learn to compensate for. He has trouble remembering things and needs more review than seems reasonable (I'm managing to adjust). His performance is completely erratic--one day he is on top of everything and the next he is a disaster.

That first year my goals were to just get as far as we could in reading and math. That's all we did was reading and math. I hoped that perhaps he would be able to read a Magic Tree House book by the end of the year and he actually did, with much struggle. I don't think he wrote a thing all year except the occasional answer on a math worksheet.

At this point, as far as goals go, I wouldn't even try to plan a whole year. I would pick a few things that are the weakest areas and work on those. Figure out if you need outside help (it sounds like you are already getting some with the OT). Meet him where he is today and adjust as needed. I would also try to find an area of strength to focus on too and work with him to build that up (that's one reason my son flew through all that math early on, I was encouraging it to give him something to feel competent about).

You asked for success stories. I think there are probably a lot of kids out there who seem pretty confused early on who with the right therapy and remediation and one-on-one teaching could go on to do great things.

[newlifemom]

When my ds was just 5 and technically 4yr preschooler. I was told by the preschool committee for special ed that he was not ready for K the next fall and would fail miserably. That was 1 1/2 years ago. Last Dec. after hsing him for K since Sept. (rather slowly though) I had him tested by the school district for possible placement in their special ed program. He tested as an average K. They told me this was b/c I had hsed him and as a result he would have been placed in a regular classroom with no extra help. Just 2 visits a week to speech and OT. Well having a diag. of PDD/NOS, possible ADHD would have made that a disaster so I took him home and have not considered school since. Honestly just taking things slow and letting your dc have frequent activity(jumping jacks worked great for that) really helped and he is doing fine. That doesn't mean we don't still have meltdowns but who better to deal with them then you who knows how to make them as small as possible KWIM? Guess I got a little off topic. Just want you to know I am right there at the same place as you and if I can do it well anyone can. I mean that. Good luck.:)