Just us, ourselves and we on a private property with private water access... swimming, watching wildlife, board-gaming, reading, experiencing Hurricane Isaias, catching some movies and documentaries, and enjoying long, lazy days.
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
The New School Schedule
We have worked very hard to put together a solid schedule with various professionals for our home schoolers this year and I think we have succeeded.
RM:
M/W/F: academic work at home with an educational assistant 8:00 to 11:20 beginning 8/17
T/TH: academic work at home with an intervention specialist 8:30 to 10:30 beginning 8/18
M/T/TH/F: medical ABA therapy at home/in the community with an RBT/BCBA 1:00 to 5:00 on-going
AM:
W/F: academic instruction (8 classes with 10 or fewer students each) at LOL 9:30 - 3:30 beginning 9/29
T/TH: academic intervention at a small center (class size 4 or less) 9:00 - 12:00 beginning 9/7
EM:
T/TH: academic intervention/ SLP at a small center (class size 4 or less) 9:00 - 12:00 beginning 9/7
T: 3:00 - 4:00 neuro-feedback ongoing
(We may add more services for her depending on how things go, but for some children less can be more sometimes.)
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Why My Kids Are Home Schooled During The Pandemic
When Ohio's governor closed all schools in our state in the middle of March, our family felt - pandemic aside - strangely excited. It suddenly forced the opportunity to explore something we had often wondered about: how would we do with three children at home 24/7 and learning here? We already had experience home schooling our oldest, so the task seemed less daunting to us than many others.
We did not use the virtual instruction that was offered by the district until the end of the 2019/20 academic year, but still had the support of the teachers and therapists for questions, resources and ideas. How did it go? It went great!
As we are nearing the new school year, our district is offering a full face to face option and a full virtual option. Neither is viable for my children at this time, so we have decided to declare three home schoolers for 2020/21. And here's why:
1) two of the children have pre-existing medical conditions placing them at higher risk for infection and higher risk for adverse outcomes if infected
2) one child cannot wear a mask for prolonged periods of time for medical reasons
3) one child cannot wear a mask for sensory reasons
4) one child is a hugger
5) one child has a lot of hand to mouth behaviors for sensory reasons
6) one child needs physical touch for safety
7) one child needs healthy touch for co-regulation and emotional well-being
8) two children made greater academic progress at home than at school
9) three children need close physical proximity to achieve joint attention
10) two children need hand over hand assistance for certain academic tasks
11) three children work better with flexible schedules and creative teaching methods
12) three children need frequent sensory and movement breaks
13) two children need intrusive assistance for proper distancing
14) zero children regressed in home school
Our X-factor is that during spring home school for three students, we had two adults at home at all times able to work on academics and meet any other needs. We likely will not have this level of adult presence through June 2021, so therein lies our main concern and challenge. In addition, we are actively brainstorming ways in which the new lead teacher (aka mama) can get alone time to rest and recharge as needed.
There's no one size fits all answer for the coming school year (if ever) and most families I know have struggled with the pressing decisions. My hope is that everyone can find a peace and a way forward that works for them, for the time being, until we get to the other side of this pandemic with a greater appreciation for our good health, our advanced medical care systems, and all the other services we may have been taking for granted in our country for decades.
We did not use the virtual instruction that was offered by the district until the end of the 2019/20 academic year, but still had the support of the teachers and therapists for questions, resources and ideas. How did it go? It went great!
As we are nearing the new school year, our district is offering a full face to face option and a full virtual option. Neither is viable for my children at this time, so we have decided to declare three home schoolers for 2020/21. And here's why:
1) two of the children have pre-existing medical conditions placing them at higher risk for infection and higher risk for adverse outcomes if infected
2) one child cannot wear a mask for prolonged periods of time for medical reasons
3) one child cannot wear a mask for sensory reasons
4) one child is a hugger
5) one child has a lot of hand to mouth behaviors for sensory reasons
6) one child needs physical touch for safety
7) one child needs healthy touch for co-regulation and emotional well-being
8) two children made greater academic progress at home than at school
9) three children need close physical proximity to achieve joint attention
10) two children need hand over hand assistance for certain academic tasks
11) three children work better with flexible schedules and creative teaching methods
12) three children need frequent sensory and movement breaks
13) two children need intrusive assistance for proper distancing
14) zero children regressed in home school
Our X-factor is that during spring home school for three students, we had two adults at home at all times able to work on academics and meet any other needs. We likely will not have this level of adult presence through June 2021, so therein lies our main concern and challenge. In addition, we are actively brainstorming ways in which the new lead teacher (aka mama) can get alone time to rest and recharge as needed.
There's no one size fits all answer for the coming school year (if ever) and most families I know have struggled with the pressing decisions. My hope is that everyone can find a peace and a way forward that works for them, for the time being, until we get to the other side of this pandemic with a greater appreciation for our good health, our advanced medical care systems, and all the other services we may have been taking for granted in our country for decades.
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