Homeschool Corner: Space!

SPACE!

Not as in the final frontier. As in, we finally have space to play!

We just moved into our new house and I'm pretty much done with the playroom, for now anyway. The kids love it and I anticipate a lot of learning happening here. Because of the homeschooling philosophy I'm more drawn to, I tried my hardest not to make it resemble a classroom. Hence the couch and trampoline and such. My main goal is to provide a safe, pleasant place for the kids to play and provide materials for them to learn from. Without having to do the formal teaching.





BUT...I was almost completely talked out of homeschooling by the staff at Mateo's preschool last week. I decided to let him finish out the year with his preschool class to give him some closure with his school experience. And because he's in the special ed system we had to have his annual PPT (planning and placement team) meeting last week to go over his progress and what his goals should be for next year.

The staff knew that I intended to homeschool so they came with the agenda to talk me out of it. And they almost had me! During the meeting they had me so convinced that I really couldn't provide the best environment for my kid and only they could that I just about started filling out the school application right then and there. But then I stopped for a moment after (talked through some things with family and friends) and got pissed!

How dare anyone tell me that I can't, as a mom, find every way possible to provide my own kid with the best opportunities in the world! Of course I can. No one cares more about Mateo than me and his dad. We will do anything it takes to help him succeed!

But they did have a point about peer models. Having good role models seems to really be helping Mateo learn some perseverance and frustration tolerance. I think that it will be important for us to maintain that. But is that something only a school can provide? No way! There are many ways to provide Mateo with peer models and, again, we care about him the most so we will get it done, whatever it takes.

I'm not saying homeschooling will last forever. Or that it will be the right choice forever. I'm just saying that as of next year, I feel in my gut, the right decision is for him to stay home.

Now, my only concern is for my sanity. But...that's a whole other post.

Homeschooling Corner: Special Ed

I talked with the special education coordinator for our school district this week to tell her April will be Mateo's last month at school because we are moving. I also mentioned we were thinking about homeschooling in September. She stopped short and said to me in a shocked voice, "you know he's special ed right?" Hmm...let's see. He's been in birth-to-three for 2 years, I've been to 3 PPT's this year, I've put him on the special ed van every morning for 9 months, I've been taking him to private OT and speech every week, and I get a note everyday stating which therapies he had that day and how he did .... uh...no, I really hadn't noticed.

Anyway, I told her that from what I know it doesn't really matter legally if he's in special ed and we homeschool him. She agreed that's true and then mumbles something about it not being good enough. Her thoughts on homeschooling were very clear, but to be expected I suppose. She then goes on to say that I definitely HAVE TO go to parent teacher conferences in April (which I might add I ALWAYS go to parent teacher conferences) so that I "know where he's at". Here's what I have to say about that. (Warning: soap-box up ahead)

I may not have your uppity educational status and masters teaching degree, but I'm not an idiot. I spend more time with him than anybody else. I know he can draw circles but not copy lines or letters yet. I know he can't identify numbers but is now consistent with colors. I know his social skills can be really great but at the same time really poor. I know his speech is choppy, there are sounds he physically can't make with his mouth, but his thinking is more abstract now. I know he lacks frustration tolerance and that is a big issue for self help skills. I get him dressed every morning! I know he can't snap his pants but he can put on a shirt with assistance. I don't need a teacher to tell me that! I know his ability to cut with scissors is emerging but his interest in art is limited. I know he has trouble sitting still and maintaining interest in books but he's getting better. Of course I know where he's at! I am his mother! The only thing they can tell me that I don't already know is how he does with large groups of peers. So, for that reason, I'll go to the parent-teacher conference.

Phew! Have I made that clear?

Homeschool Corner: Music Therapy

About a month ago I went to a short evening class about music therapy. It was awesome, I learned a lot, and it inspired me to utilize music in our education and everyday play. So here are some things I made and bought to start our music collection and inspire the kids to express themselves.

These were all on sale for $2 each on a website I found. I especially like the wooden block with the stick. It makes such a pure sound.

We bought a set of these small plastic hearts at the dollar store around Valentines Day. Mateo and I filled them with rice and pasta then hot glued them shut. I asked Mateo what else we could fill them with to make a cool sound and he picked coins. Those worked great too. A fun activity to experiment with sound.


These are called Boom-whackers. They are basically glorified paper towel tubes but they are plastic and last longer. They are also tuned to specific notes. So you can buy a whole octave if you want to. They are lots of fun to get some aggression out while creating music.

I also got these wooden spoons at the dollar store. Dave used...some kind of tool...to create slots in one of them so you can bang them or scrape them together to make a cool noise.


I bought this guitar at Radio Shack. What I like about it is that it has actual strings instead of just buttons like most play guitars. It's a good beginner without being frustrating or breakable. It even has a whammy bar. Oh, and Mateo calls it his "rock star".

I'm hoping that since both the kids are so responsive to music, we can use it to learn some academics, like abc's, rhyming words, and...the periodic table.

I also learned some great techniques for using music as therapy for kids who've been through trauma. Or teenagers you have trouble relating to. Here are a couple ideas that I loved (mostly for older kids):

* Having the child (or teenager) create their life through music by picking out special songs that fit their life stages

* Rewriting the lyrics to favorite songs to express how they feel (this works especially well for teens who like current pop music. It can be a way to communicate with a child who is too cool for their parents)

* Take the lyrics to favorite songs and leave parts blank for them to fill in themselves. And ask them questions about what the song lyrics mean to them


Does anyone else use music in a fun and creative way?