Hi, I'm new...

[hope4josh]

Hi everyone. I just found this site last night and I'm so glad I did. I am brand new to homeschooling (9wks) and I could use all the help I can get.

A little background...my son is 12 years old and in the 7th grade. He has been begging me to homeschool him for over 3 years now. He is a wonderful boy, but struggles severely with ADHD and anxiety. He has attended a private christian school all his life and they were wonderful in providing him with educational accomodations, but he was just so unhappy there. As he's gotten older he knows he's different and it has been a hard road for him. To make a long story short, I got tired of medicating him to make his teachers happy, he got tired of being singled out, and with his self-esteem at a all time low, we knew it was time to pull him out of school.

So, here we are. The good news is that his anxiety is practically gone. Once the pressure of school and homework were gone, he's come back to life. We've taken him off one medication and we are now weaning him off another. The bad news is, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing half the time. Before we started school this fall, I thought I had it all figured out. I bought tons of books, made lesson plans, devoured anything I could find about homeschooling and thought I was all set. Well, now I don't like some of the curriculum I purchased, I just found out about classical homeschooling and I feel like I'm drowning. It's hard to breakout of the "traditional" way of teaching. I know this type of teaching does not work with my son. He needs lots of interaction, touching, jumping, running...you get the just. It so very hard for him to focas.

I have a question about classical homeschooling. Will it be harder for my adhd son, who has been traditionally taught forever, to cross over into the classical method? Being that he has special needs and struggles as it is, the classical method seems pretty rigerous. Is this a good choice for us? I look at the things much younger children are doing on this site and I feel like my son is so far behind. I so want to do whats best for him. The last two years of school has been really hard on him.

Thanks for your help and advice in advance.

Kris

[Kathy in MD]

The first thing you need to remember is that your ds is entering puberty. That means that some days he'll have a brain and stable hormones and some days he won't. This is typical for ALL kids of this age. Throw in ADHD and you have even more fun.

There is no reason your ds can't do classical schooling. It will take some time to adjust to the different style of more independent work and learning from "living" books rather than text books. I personally find discussions difficult with my ds because he's an only child (no other kids to help get a discussion going) and he has had language problems so he often won't talk and think. But classical teaching still uses a lot of workbooks and textbooks, especially as the child advances through school. So this should be very familiar to your ds. As I think about it, the only classes I don't use some sort of text book as the main book is history, literature and the "rinky dink" courses, PE, and health. Others do use fewer textbooks, so the choice is up to you and your ds.

As far as not liking some of your curriculum choices, that's par for the course. What works for one child often doesn't work for another. Just read about the math wars on the high school board or the best spelling programs for dyslexics on this board. And then there's the curriculum junkies who have to at least buy, if not try out everything available on the market. As time goes by, you'll probably find yourself making fewer curriculum mistakes.

Don't worry about your ds being behind other students. You're homeschooling your ds so you can teach him to meet HIS needs, not some hypothetical "perfect" child. Trust me, there are many homeschool students out there that are way behind in math, or writing or reading or ?????. And their parents do post about their problems, too. It's just now you're focusing on the more "advanced" students and missing those "he's behind" posts.

Starting homeschooling can be overwhelming and you're probably suffering from info overload. To start, I'd select the ONE homeschool book that made the most sense and seemed to be the most complete. For me that book is The Well Trained Mind. Then as you become more comfortable, you can modify your teaching by including other resources and experiences.

Finally remember that homeschooling allows you to break you school day into the smaller chunks that ADHD kids need. There are also many hints about helping students stay focused longer. A few that my ds's OT recomended for him include sitting on a large excercise ball when doing seat work (the constant need to adjust his balance satisfied his need for movement), chewing gum and drinking through a straw. These activities may not help your ds, but there are others.

[Stacy in NJ]

Classical Education is really about using specific strategies to teach/learn, and about *what* you teach/learn. It emphasizes the written word, which for LD kids can be the biggest hurdle to overcome. Instead of focusing too much on curriculum, instead think about your longer term goals for your ds. I think all kids, whether gifted, average or challenged, benefit from a classical focus, if not a complete classical curriculum.

For me, the must do's are: math, grammar, composition, spelling, history and science. As a new homeschooler, I suggest you pare down to just the essentials. Once comfortable with those, add in other subjects that lead to your longer term goals for your ds.

If you could share where your son is at specifially academically, we may be able to recommend some curriculum that works best for kiddos with your ds' challenges.

Things that have been beneficial for my dyslexic 11yods are: Time Tables the Fun Way (leaning math facts), Spelling Mastery, IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing), Rod & Staff grammar, SOTW (Story of the World by Susan). I think the narration exercises outlined in Writing with Ease (also by Susan) are wonderful. Audio books are also a wonderful enhancement for all kids, not just those with challenges.

Soooo, a classical education can be achieved by all kids, although, you may need to modify the approach and curriculum recommended by TWTM.

HTH, Stacy

[Laurie4b]

A lot of what you're experiencing is being a new homeschooler: feeling overwhelmed, not liking your curriculum choices, etc.

For his needs for interaction, running, jumping, etc., try doing school in short segments 15 min or so, with short breaks in between where he can get that kind of input. Also, Abilitations is a great catalog of occupational therapy stuff, much of which is very helpful for keeping ADHD kids on task naturally. I like the catalog because it has sidebars that are actually educational for the parent/teacher in terms of what products work for what types of things.

The most important subjects are still the 3 R's. Concentrate on reading good literature, writing, and math for your first 6 months or so. You can let other subjects be "enrichment". Gradually add in other subjects after you are satisfied that the 3 R's are going well.

[cillakat]

the book _How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and Onto Learning_ is immensly helpful. It seems to be geared towards younger kids, but do read it....really all of the recommendations will be appropriate (or easily modified to be so) for a 12 yo.

2nding all of the other suggestions.....go with the basics for now....make life fun again.

Consider getting a good multi and fish oil integrated into his nutrition. Boys entering puberty need an inordinant amount of zinc esp. I like the Rainbow Light men's 'just once' for boys near/in puberty and up.

:)
katherine