Building "therapy" into every day

As home school teachers we have to be careful that some of our time is actually spent at home, working on school work. Depending on where you live, the number of activities: music lessons, art lesson, 4-H, scouting, dance, swimming, can seem endless. Add in a child who needs therapy (speech, occupational and physical therapy) and you could spend your day, in the car driving from appointment to activity.
In the beginning, we were fortunate that the therapists came to our home but once M8 hit 5 that ended. After that it was (and still can be) a constant juggling act to get to where we need to be.
Not only that but therapy can be , well, no "fun". Also, for therapy to be effective it needs to be done every day.
There came a point when I realized that I had to set limits because I just could not do it all. Que "at home" therapy. Home schooling is ideal for this.
 I built in many different activities which could be deemed "therapy" but made it a part of our everyday school. Some physical therapy exercise are done while saying times tables.
M8 had a great need for pressure and bouncing so we would play M taco's and roll him in blankets while reading a story.
Since I sew, I was able to make some of the necessary equipment myself. First thing I made was a weighted vest. This gives a child some neural feedback and can be calming. It can also provide a great, non-verbal, signal such as "it is now time to sit in a chair to do something". We only used it when M8 needed to do his handwriting or another (relatively short) seated task. It is important not to use it all the time because it loses it's effectiveness.

Weighted vest, using modleling clay as weights

The next item I made was a ball bag. Our OT had one of these but it was very expensive. I went to Jo-Ann fabrics and bought some mesh fabric (the type used for sports shorts) and sewed a big bag. Then I got ball pit balls by asking on our local "free-cycle"  (an online place where people can offer items up for free that would otherwise be thrown away) if anyone had some they wanted to get rid of. A lady who lived just around the corner from me had a huge number of them and was delighted that they were finally off her hands.

Mesh ball bag with ball pit balls.

 The purpose of the ball-pit bag is to give the child all-round neural feed back. Also, because the bag is (still) big enough for the child to get into they can get in, "hide" (some children on the spectrum need this to get away from over-stimulation) but still see out. The fabric of the bag is slightly stretchy and also gives a little resistance.

M8 getting into his ball bag

For what ever reason, M8 loves this ball bag. Often I will let him get in it between  school activities for several minutes. This seems to help him focus and we have less sensory seeking behaviors ("mom I need a hug" or being grabbed or pinched).

Another thing we began was  The listening program a form of auditory therapy. Before beginning this I researched it carefully as there are a lot of dubious things out there. All most everything associated with autism also carries a pretty hefty price tag.
This program has some properly done studies to back up what they said. Also, knowing some of the issues that M8 has, severe perseveration (talking on and on about one subject), sensory seeking behaviors, drawing the same pictures and sensitivity to sounds, I felt that this might be helpful to him.
We began this two years ago. One of the things I noticed during the first 10 week cycle was how his drawing improved (he used more colors and would draw different things. Other than that I didn't think it made much difference. The two times 15 minute break I got while he was listening though was worth it to me!
It was a friend of mine who brought something significant to my attention. "what have you been doing with M"? she asked me one day. What do you mean? I asked. "Well, he isn't climbing all over you anymore and touching everyone". That was when it hit me.
A really annoying set of behaviors that he had (pinching, climbing on me, especially while we were out and the worst grabbing my thumbs and jumping up and down practically pulling them out of the socket) had stopped completely!
Being a scientist by training I had been taking notes and observing M. I noticed that when we got to CD 5 and 6 his behaviors changed. During the second cycle, M8 came down one day when the phone rang and ask: "I heard the phone. Is it for me"? To someone who does not have a child on the spectrum that sentence may seem unimportant but to me it was huge. For the first time M referred to himself as I  and  me. Also, that he was interested in the phone which had previously terrified him.
Did the Listening program "cure" M's autism. No, but his and our quality of life did improve noticeably.
There are many other little things that I have built into our (school) day that could be termed therapy but I have tried to make them fun. M and I bake cookies together but we do it non-verbally. This helps him really interact with me and promotes a natural eye gaze because he has to look at me to figure out what we are going to do next.
Having a child on the spectrum means that you are in it for the long haul. You have to come up with creative ways to make that journey sustainable for you and your child.
In a future post I'll talk a bit about ways to set up a supportive learning space for all your children.

Summer fun?

I am sure that many home schoolers wonder: what should we do when school is out in the summer? There are families that homeschool year round, while others take a break during the summer.
What do I do? Does a long break cause problems for M8 because of his disability?
Before M8's diagnosis, summer was the time I used to clean up, re-group, refresh and plan what we were going to do next school year. I still like to do that but as the years go by I am less organized and more tired. I need a plan and some routine or left to myself and my inclinations I would sleep late, stay up too late and not acheive anything.

E13 loves a long break in the summer, because it gives her time to hang out with friends, read lots of books and do "extra" curricular things. She has been learning to fly so she spends a lot of time with her nose in a very thick manual learning ab out lift, aeordynamics and other "fun" things.
 Some people would consider this school work; higher level physics usually is but for her it is a break.

I debated what to do for M8. A long break messes up his routine and that is something he and other spectrum children thrive on. We have had some more crying episodes than usual because we are doing more out of the ordinary things (going to swim in a pond for instance, going on a long road trip, vacation Bible school). On the other hand, he has actually been playing.

Many children on the spectrum have trouble with pretend play or even playing in general. M8 has suddenly started playing, using a script, with his trains again and has been building some elaborate track lay-outs.
The other thing that he has wanted to do was the new fractions program from Math-U-See. Every day he ask to watch the video lesson and do a home made work sheet. He, how great is that, a kid who wants to learn fractions.
Going with the flow, taking field trips, cleaning up (not much fun bu essential) are the best things to do during the summer.
Homeschooling days or hours can sometimes seem long but the time we have with our children is short. Before we know it they will be grown and leaving our homes so it is best to make those times exceptional, fun and memorable. How you define those words depends a little on the child but do not be afraid to do it.

Shadows and Sunshine

Shadows and sunshine

One of the big life events that overshadowed our families' life, was M8's diagnosis with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD, Aspergers) several years ago. 
At the time, it was as if the world stood still and slowly shattered into pieces. All my education told me the "facts": autism is a developmental disorder with no known cause, no known treatment or "cure", people effected with autism have less than a 4% chance of living independently as adults, many need constant care and support. 
My faith told me that God did not make mistakes, that He was sovereign and had a purpose for me, our family and our son. The big problem was putting those two things together in a way that made any sense.
I remember talking and weeping with two friends who have sons with Aspergers, reading many books, web-post etc. The help and support I have had over the last few years, especially from one saintly friend BL, who has several special needs children meant so much. If through writing an occasional blog I could help one person that would be worth it to me.

 One book that resounded with me was, Sharon Hensley's book Home Schooling Children with Special Needs
Sharon has an autistic daughter, whom she home schooled. In her book, Sharon described those first dark days, after receiving her daughters' diagnosis of lying on the floor weeping and struggling with that same dilemma: If God is in control, if He is sovereign, if He does not give us more than we can bear, why is this happening and why do I feel so crushed?
Now four years later I can attest to the fact that God was there in that deep pit, that He extended His hand and when I took it, He helped me take one step. Was there some huge miracle? Was my son suddenly cured, was life suddenly easy? No. Especially in the beginning, the biggest achievement was getting out of bed in the morning and taking one step. However, I am thankful that every single day I get to witness how God is working a miracle in my son's life, in my life and that of the rest of our family. So, some of my blogs will be about homeschooling special needs children: my ddE13 who is gifted and a sibling of M8 who has ASD.
The other day, I was sadly telling M8 that soon E wold be all grown up and would leave home. "Don't worry mommy", M said, "I'll always be with you". When I suggested that he might not , he said: "Oh I cannot leave". "Why not, I asked? " Because, I am your sunshine", he said.
For there to be shadows in one's life, there has to be sunshine!

About the SharpScience books

I am often asked how I choose the books used for the SharpScience lesson plans, where they can find the books and how to obtain the lesson plans. Another question about the books and the lessons plans is what world view do they represent?
I choose the books because they were well written, had beautiful, engaging stories and art work and illustrated a given science topic well.
All the books are available for purchase through booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, at your local library or through inter library loan. I purchased some of the books at our libraries' annual book sale, used curriculum sales and yard sales but the majority I borrowed through (inter)library loan.
If you are not familiar with inter-library loan, it is a great resource to obtain books for free or little cost. Your libraries' reference desk should be able to help you with the process. In my case, I was able to order the books I wanted in advance on-line and then I would receive an e-mail notification to come and pick them up.
How can I preview or obtain a SharpScience lesson plan?
Currently, the only way to obtain a sample or a SharpScience lesson plan is to contact me. I am working on having downloadable items for sale but am not there yet.
What World view do the books and SharpScience represent? I would say neutral. I am a Christian and a trained scientist. I choose books that would illustrate science topics and scientific information accurately. I also carefully choose books that were thoughtfully written, had engaging story lines and were well written. Few of the books were written by Christians.
I wrote the lessons plans to allow the parent teacher to emphasize their families' world view as I believe that in home education, it is the parent teacher who is the final authority on that subject. I strongly advise anyone considering using the books or any of the materials to preview them and to adapt them to suit their needs.
Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions in this regard

Introduction to SharpSciene Volume 1

Sharp Science: An elementary level science curriculum.

Developed by Hilary Sharp-Baker: April 2005.

Sharp Science, copyright 2005, Hilary Sharp-Baker all rights reserved.

Introduction:

This curriculum came about because I love science and feel it is an important part of a well-rounded education.When it came time for me to teach my elementary-aged child, I assumed, incorrectly, that there would be a wide variety of materials available. Elementary-aged children have a natural aptitude for scientific inquiry, which needs to be encouraged, nurtured and stimulated. The materials I found for young children were either too simplistic, too difficult or too involved.

While looking for materials, I had many conversations with parents and elementary level teachers.  The message I heard repeatedly was that teaching science was overwhelming because it was too hard, boring, or because the teacher did not like science or, did not feel “smart” enough. I believe that this general fear, dislike and loathing of science stemmed in part form the type of instruction they had received as students.

My main goal in developing this curriculum was to lower the threshold for parents and teachers so that they will not only want to teach science, but will enjoy it! Yes, really! Through a combination of good books, exciting demonstrations, crafts and other activities I hope to introduce you to the world of science. You and your student(s) may even discover that you already know some of the topics and concepts addressed.

The lessons in SharpSciene cover a wide range of topics including: scientific method, states of matter, the properties of water, specific gravity, plants, insects, birds and mammals. The recommended books are available at local libraries or through inter-library loan. The materials for the demonstrations, activities and crafts are common items found in and around your home or are available at craft and hobby stores.

The curriculum is very flexible with only an occasional seasonal lesson. For instance, you will need to teach the lesson on autumn leaves in the autumn so that you can observe, collect and study leaves. Each lesson has several activities to choose from so you can adapt the lesson to your student’s needs and inclination. Use the curriculum one day a week or spread out the lesson over a longer period.

In the lesson plans, I talk about the student or your student and refer to the student as her. This is merely a literary device to help me be consistent in my verb use etc. All the lesson plans follow the following format:

v Book title

v Summary

v Scientific concept (s)

v Learning objective(s)

v Anticipatory set or demonstration

v Detailed procedure (s)

v Activities

v Materials and Equipment

v References and Supplemental Materials

Conferences, book sales, testing = end of the year

Coming to the end of the school year means a wild rush of recitals, art shows, conferences, curriculum sales, cleaning and in our case testing.
First came our homeschool art show. Both children displayed three works of art. E13 had not wanted to enter the juried show because she was convinced she was too young to win anything. To our utter amazement, she won a blue ribbon and her work was sent to the NY State home school convention for display.

E13's prize winning watercolor

M8's work was entered in the non-juried part of the show but he too received an honorable mention.

M8 Giraffe watercolor

After the art show, we had a piano recital, went to the State conference and then it was testing time.
This was the first year the M8 took tests and he did very, very well. It is hard for any child to sit in a chair for hours taking a test, but for a child on the spectrum it can be shear torture.
With some help from the proctors, M8, was able to take bounce breaks when needed, have his own little desk, with some sound proofing so he could read to himself out loud, and someone to sit with him. Apart from that he was able to sit the test like the other children.
E13 is an old hand at the testing and loves hanging out with her friends and playing "gaga", an in-door version of dodge ball, indoor soccer and floor hockey rolled into one.
With testing behind us, summer is truly approaching.  I always have a hard time deciding what to do. M8 would benefit from some consistent activities over the summer because if left to himself, he will watch t.v. all day. E13 always feels the need for a break.
I decided to compromise taking a little time off and them working on some things with M over the summer.

SharpScience Volume 1 books

In SharpScience Volume 1,  I wrote lesson plans on a variety of science topis:

General and Physical Science:

Tuesday by David Wiesner

Cocoa ice by Diana Appelbaum

Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy

Fannie in the Kitchen by Deborah Hopkinson

Life Science:

Plants:

Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins

The reason for a flower by Ruth Heller

Insects and Invertebrates:

The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley Sayre

Are you a snail? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

Birds:

Night of the pufflings by Bruce McMillan

The Bird House by Cynthia Rylant

Habitats/Ecology:

Once there was a tree by Natalia Romanova

Following the Coast by Jim Arnosky

Earth Science:

Wind Child, by Shirley Rousseau

Water dance by Thomas Locker

Cloud dance by Thomas Locker

The Mountain that loved a Bird by Alice McLerran

Volume 1 also has an introductions, a detailed list of the books and materials needed for the lessons, a bibliography, references , supplementary materials and a long list of web-sites.