Posted in Uncategorized at 4:54 am by Administrator
Choosing a school for children with social difficulties is a very difficult task. Parents know that the school they chose will have a big impact on their child’s self-confidence, their ability to learn and their childhood experiences. Get it right and you can help them learn and overcome many barriers and many difficulties they may have. Get it wrong and it can become practically a daily nightmare.
What are the options?
There are four ways to teach children with social difficulties:
• Home Education or Private Tutoring
• Special Schools for children with learning difficulties
• Private Education
• Regular State School that has special needs facilities
Each of these schools will have their own set of benefits and disadvantages. If you are looking for a specific type of school that teaches children with social difficulties then you may be lucky to have one close by or unfortunate to find that the closest one is 100 miles away. So your options are limited to what’s available or what you are prepared to extend to.
Which option will be best?
This depends on the child as well as the schools that are available to you in your local area. To determine which school is best, parents have to see what their child needs the most and what is going to the best learning experience. Once the parent has a good idea about which school will be best then it is worth giving it time to allow the ups and downs to settle from the initial change. Even if parents make the best choice there may still be problems. Certainly moving children from one school to another to try out the best option is going to cause problems with the constant change.
So the best thing to do to find out which school is best is to do your homework into what the schools are offering. Talk to the headmaster. Get them to be straight with you about what facilities they have, what experience they have with children with social difficulties, how they would handle behavioral problems if they occur. See what the schools are like, if they have places for children to go to when they are feeling bad or want to get away from the noise of the playground.
What are you child’s needs?
Each of the school choices can be a valid option and will depend on the needs of the child. For example children that are suffering with social difficulties may chose home schooling where their interaction with others can be more closely controlled. Children that suffer with more severe learning difficulties or concentration levels may need more patient and understanding and so a special needs school may be best. The following is a good checklist for things to consider when considering what type of school may be necessary.
• Physical abilities
• Concentration level when learning
• Concentration level with others
• Ability to interact with others
• Ability to conform to rules
• Ability to deal with ridicule/bullying
• Ability to control own behavior and safety
• Ability to be unsupervised
• Self confidence and need for motivation
Some seem a little harsh to think about but these are serious issues that should be considered. For example, some children with social difficulties have a tendency to run out of class when their environment feels threatening, so you would not want to send them to a school where they can be easily lost or could spend time unsupervised. Some children are overwhelmed by the size of the school or number of children so you may want to send them to a small school with a small number of children.
Whatever your options are the choice is not an easy one. So if you are deciding between a specialist school that deals only with children with social difficulties, a private school that has a special needs program and achieves great results, a state school that has small class sizes (not likely), or even home education the choice may not be so easy to make. This is why the choice has to come down to the type of child because they could do great things in a low performing school or perform badly in a high performing school.
The best choice is a school that will make them feel the best, the most motivated, the safest and that they get the most from. So whether you chose home schooling, a special school, a private or even regular state school, if you choose a school that allows them to enjoy learning the most then you are not likely to go wrong.
About The Author
Ben Sidman is a Parent of an amazing autistic child and founder of http://www.autism-support-community.com – an informative and friendly web site for parents with autistic children.
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:13 am by Administrator
Making time for yourself while homeschooling seems like a dream. There are several tips that you can do to help yourself while you are staying home and giving so much to others.
First, get up an extra half hour to an hour before your children do. Make your coffee, read the newspaper, whatever you like to do just to start the day off relaxing. Eat a little breakfast to get you going. I personally enjoy sitting out on my back porch, drinking my decaf coffee, and enjoying some fresh air. Nice and relaxing not to mention quiet. Dont think about anything other than just relaxing. I know its hard because there are so many things you could be doing, but dont. Take the time for yourself. Everybody demands a lot out of you and you play so many rolls during the day, wife, mother, cook, house cleaner and educator. Its a lot of stress and you deserve the time for yourself.
Next, take about 15-20 minutes to do some exercise. If your children are awake, they can join in too. It will be great for the both of you. I know if your anything like me you dread the “E” word. Im not telling you to go lift weights or do some extremely high impact workout. A low impact workout will do just fine. I prefer yoga for relaxation and exercise and your children will have fun with it too.
Get ready for the day. This is a step that most of us stay home moms just dont do. Its easy to not get ready for the day, or throw on a pair of sweats. However, I have found that when you get ready for the day you actually feel better about yourself and it reflects in your attitude for the day. Positive mental attitude will help give your children the best you.
Get dinner started. I know its morning but night time is a very stressful time for all families. If you have an idea of what you are making for dinner it will relieve a little stress off of you in the evening. Thaw your meat, throw in a crock pot meal, whatever you have planned for your evening meal. Now your ready to start your morning homeschool routine and your refreshed and ready to go with no worries.
In the evening, take another 30 minutes for yourself. Take a nice relaxing bath, go for a walk, write in a journal, whatever you can do to take time for yourself. Remember this time is for you. Dont do too much thinking or worrying at this time. This is time to think about NOTHING but relaxing. You can worry later!
Before you go to bed, make sure the house is clean and ready to go for tomorrow. Do your dishes so you dont have to worry about them when you get up. Set out your favorite coffee mug and get your coffee ready to start in the morning. Its going to be another refreshing day tomorrow!
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:33 pm by Administrator
Yesterday I discussed the difference between Homeschooling and Home Schooling. Homeschooling is teaching the academics while Home Schooling requires the responsibility of parents teaching academics as well as social aspects, values and responsibility.
If we have made the decision to Home School then a change of life is going to take place between all members of the family. There has to be a commitment from every member of the family – because Home Schooling is a family affair, a family lifestyle.
We all know that when we have made the right decision in any aspect of our lives, we have that warm fuzzy feeling and we can move forward knowing that what we are doing is right. Because of doing what is right for our self , or for our children in this instance, we are keen to activities, people, etc., to help us in educating our children.
We must remember that our responsibility for our children did not end when we gave birth. It continues throughout their entire life. We are creating a family here that does not end when the child leaves home. We will have made wonderful memories with these children and have created a foundation of love and a home of learning and a joy of learning.
A joy of learning! Nothing is more satisfying as to watch a child learn a new skill or understand a concept and then want to learn more and more. This cannot be learned in a public classroom setting. When we have that one on one educational experience with our child, we are developing a relationship that will never be diminished over time. That child will always remember the time a parent took to teach them a concept in math, or about the Renaissance Era. As they learn, you learn and then discussions take place and the child freely expresses his likes or dislikes about the subject. There are no right or wrong answers and there is no fear of expressing an opinion.
We must ask ourselves this question: “Am I willing to make the time commitment and the other sacrifices that come with creating a home of learning?”
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:58 am by Administrator
Are your children growing bored with their textbooks? Are you growing tired of hearing them complain? Is it possible that your textbooks are the problem? If youve never thought about this, take a moment to think about it now. Think about how each child is unique. With this in mind, youll be able to set out to find new ways to work with your child.
One idea… Unit studies. Doing a unit study with your child is one way in which you can help your child(ren) discover their own gifts and talents, as they learn about the world at our side. Unit studies can provide you with some wonderful experiences. So, take time to use unit studies, to begin a trail of discovery for both you AND your child(ren). This truly can be a powerful journey of discovery, because when you give your child(ren) a chance to follow their interests, the outcome can be surprising. Unit studies provide you with this opportunity. They also give your child(ren) a chance to obtain a better understanding of the way things work, the history of the world, their own abilities, and much more.
Some people seem to think that if you use unit studies that there will be holes in their child(ren)s education. Truth be told though, no student ever completely finishes a textbook. The shame in this lies in the fact that the “good” stuff usually lies toward the end of the textbook. With a good education children are taught how to be able to think and how to build a sound foundation of learning. The whole point is to build a strong tree of knowledge for your child(ren) where upong they are able to place more information over the course of their lifetime.
As a mother, youre never going to be able to teach your child(ren) about everything, but you can teach your child(ren) how to think, how to investigate, and how to research and dig for answers. This, in and of itself, will be a priceless education for those who will be successful in a rapidly changing world. Unit studies hold all of this power within their “papers.” When writing them, my intention is to provide this power for you to unpack for your child(ren). Enjoy!
About The Author
Reverend Brenda Hoffman has been delivering holistic health and wellness advice for over 7 years. As a home-based professional and mother of 1, she operates a holistic wellness and homeschooling network. Learn to enjoy a healthier lifestyle and richer relationships with your homeschooled children through the range of resources at http://www.yourhealthyfamilyhome.com/.
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:53 am by Administrator
All parents want their children to have friends. Getting
together with friends at the park, playing with friends at day
care or preschool, or visiting with relatives are part of a
preschoolers social life. Also important are going over to a
friends house and inviting them over to play for a playdate.
All of these activities facilitate friendships for your toddler
or preschooler.
Unfortunately, personalities and play styles may sometimes clash
during these get-togethers. However, if you are prepared, you
can help these playdates go so much more smoothly. Here are 10
ways to ensure a perfect playdate.
1. Invite a small and even number of children. Inevitably, with
an odd number of children, one child will be left out of the
fun. Plus, fewer children mean fewer conflicts, so limit your
guests to two or four, including your own child.
2. You do not have to babyproof your house completely, but make
it as safe as possible and alert parents to potential dangers.
Perhaps set aside a designated play area and close the doors to
any rooms you do not want children to enter.
3. Put away favorite toys so your child will not have to worry
about sharing. Also, put away popular toys if you only have one.
For example, if you have only one riding toy, youngsters are
likely to fight over it, so put it away until after the
playdate. Alternatively, you could ask your guests to bring
their own favorite riding toys.
4. Dont expect too much socialization. Most toddlers and
preschoolers parallel play, so do not push them to play
together. Even when youngsters play side by side, they learn a
lot just by watching each other.
5. Intervene in disputes only when necessary and offer
alternative plans. When there is a conflict with sharing, let
the children work things out on their own unless the situation
escalates to violence. In this case, you may need to distract
them with other activities, such as blocks, puzzles, or bubbles,
so have items like these on hand.
6. Encourage cooperative play with toys such as bubbles,
modeling clay, blocks, sand box, or age-appropriate games. Some
parents find that starting the playdate with one of these shared
activities gets the playdate off to a good start. Definitely do
not turn on the television or put on a video! The children are
supposed to play during a playdate, not watch television.
7. Offer snacks. This is a great way to calm things down if
things start getting out of hand or to liven things up if the
kids are bored. You can even include the children in
preparation. However, check with the parent first to make sure
the snack will not interfere with dinner or to find out about
any allergies. If a snack time would interfere with the next
meal, at least offer beverages to your guests.
8. Plan for the playdate to last less than two hours. Children
will get tired of each other and cranky after about an hour and
a half to two hours. It is better to leave the children wanting
more than to extend the time and have the playdate end with
fights and tears.
9. Give a five-minute warning before leaving. This will give the
children time to adjust to leaving.
10. Help pick up toys. Encourage the kids to clean up together
so that no one will be left with a mess. Not to mention, this
will teach your children cooperation and good manners.
Now that you are prepared for a playdate, invite those little
friends over!
About the author:
Carren W. Joye is the author of “A Stay-at-Home Moms Complete
Guide to Playgroups” (ISBN 0-595-14684-8) and “Homeschooling
More Than One Child: A Practical Guide for Families” (ISBN
0-595-34259-0). A homeschooling mom of four children, she has
founded four successful playgroups and one homeschool support
group. Visit http://www.onlineplaygroup.com for more information
about playgroups.
