got the curriculum

Well, another school year is almost upon us. I'm phasing in school gradually so that we don't have a sudden change in schedule. I'm using the leftover math lessons (i.e. the ones we didn't get to finish because of various reasons... there aren't that many so it's a good review) and the science reader. I'm also going to start reading aloud at least once a day since the kids seem to really like that (visiting the library is about to become an every other week possibly even weekly event).

Rachel's focus this fall semester in her IEP is going to be on social and domestic skills for several reasons, a few of which I'll describe here. On domestics, first, no matter what else she does in life or how far she progresses, she will always have a body and a room to take care of. If she gets into a routine now, her life will be much easier. Second, this gives me opportunities to do informal speech therapy as well as work on social skills, though that will be focused on more intensely during the weekly playroom sessions we're going to have during the weekend. And third, the more she knows about cooking, cleaning and basic home care, the more likely she'll lead an independent life. And the more independence I can give her, the happier I'll be as well as the community at large.

As for social skills, that's pretty obvious. Right now, she's going through a phase where she talks back and puts her foot down, but I can't really get angry or worried about it. The only thing that worries me is that she'll completely refuse to work with me on any of this. But if nothing else there's always food as a motivator (she absolutely loves snacks) so if worse comes to worse we'll end up using ABA techniques to teach her what she needs to know.

I don't want to do that. I mean I really don't. I want her to be motivated to do this for the sake of doing it. But maybe that's too much to ask.

Anyway, as for Sarah, her IEP is pretty much the same except with a greater focus on academics. She's in Saxon Math 2 this year, and I'm introducing a real language arts course since she's doing so well reading and has started writing her own stories and letters. Add in a civics course I purchased (I Love America, pt. 1) and we've completely covered, with lovely materials, the entire required course load the state of Texas demands (math, reading, spelling, and good citizenship).

And just in case any of you are wondering, Rachel's covers all that as well, but at a preschool/kingergarten level. Social skills encompass character and character is the basis of good citizenship. Not only that, but I'll be involving her in the I Love America course where appropriate. We will go over the alphabet (spelling) as well as phonics (reading) and I'll be using the Saxon Math K curriculum for math. According to the book put out by NATTHAN, Christian Homes and Special Kids, she's not at a point where she's ready to learn to read, so our formal reading curriculum is going to have to wait.

Add in a really nice science curriculum (we're using Christian Liberty Nature Reader, books 1 and 2 as well as Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell), a fall garden for the more hands on stuff, a health curriculum especially designed for kids with autism (Taking Care of Myself by Mary Wrobel which covers basic care all the way up through puberty), singing and piano for music and assorted art supplies for arts and crafts and the therapy stuff already mentioned in previous posts and I think we'll have a very busy school year on our hands.

I'm so glad I've been getting back into FLYing. :)

Curriculum

Well, I've finished with the curriculum/IEPs for my kids: lots of life skills stuff, not as much academic right now. We'll see where we are in December.

I'm a bit torn right now. Half of my books are going to come directly from the publisher, but another half can be found much, MUCH cheaper on a particular homeschool discount site.

Here's the problem: when people order things through a discount site (like Amazon), the authors/publishers take a pretty stiff hit in their paycheck (they may see 10-20% of the book price at most). For larger publishers, this really isn't that big a deal. But for small publishers who know they aren't going to see a lot of sales in the first place, this becomes a terrible business model. Unfortunately, a lot of homeschool books fall into the small publisher category. Since I know people in the writing industry, and I know a bit of how publishing works and what's involved, I don't like seeing authors lose their ability to support themselves in a system that should be able to support them. Already it's clear that a writer can't really support him/herself without becoming huge and those involved in small presses have an even worse time because of all the money/time spent promoting the product.

On the other hand, I have a budget. And the amount I spend needs to be as small as possible.

I'm pretty sure I already know what I'm going to do, but any and all comments would be appreciated.

apple seeds and language

We've been using Saxon Math 1 for our math curriculum this year. So far, I'm highly impressed with the approach and the teaching materials. Each and every lesson builds on what's come before, even more than most public school texts. For example, in Math 1, they teach the idea of "balance" inside an equation through apple seeds. It's done almost as a side note to the main lesson... at first. The main lesson is about graphing. However, in the illustration within the graph, you're always dividing the apple down the middle, recording the amount of seeds you found in each side. It's a great introduction to addition and has really helped more than I would have imagined.

Just today, Sarah, for the first time without my assistance or prodding, used different approaches to the same answer.

One of the things about autism is the intense need for structure. This is found in things always being a certain way, or events always following a certain path. One of the things Saxon Math 1 has been stressing in our math lessons is the idea that there are different ways to get to the same answer. There are rules you have to follow, of course, but the idea that there is more than one way to look at things is something we've had a hard time learning in this house. I'm so thrilled that Sarah has joyfully (and without any prodding from me) learned that concept when it comes to numbers sentences.

I'm so impressed by Saxon Math for our kids that I think I'm going to invest in the Kindergarten program and switch Rachel to that.

More tomorrow.