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.