Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

I'm very strongly leaning toward taking my ds out of public school and homeschooling again. He really wanted to try school, but it hasn't been going well.
He has been very inattentive in class and cannot complete the work on time. Also, he's miserable.

The one question holding me back is how to make it work with my 2 yo. She is extremely insistent on being in the center of everything and melts down if she does not have my attention. Ds cannot concentrate with her trying to get my attention. If I put out activities for her ds also gets distracted by them. He also really doesn't work independently - that's a big part of the problem he's having in school. So I'm just trying to figure out how it would work. Last year we did most of the "schooly" part of school during her nap, but she's not napping as much and I think I need more time for academic subjects.

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

What tends to work best for kids that age is to try and make them feel a part of the action. if you are working at the table with your son toddler can go in a high chair up at the table with you but with her own things that come out during that time. snacks, paint with water coloring books special toys like a magna doodle travel sized board etc. if toddler naps can also use that time to work one on one. You can get creative and sit outside with son while toddlerplays out there

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

Is there a mother's helper or anyone who could watch her for you so that you can give your ds undivided attention for the time you do school?

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

Evenings and weekends when dh is home?

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

All of the above?

---------- Post added at 04:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 PM ----------

https://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2...-12-18-months/
Some good ideas and printouts on this page!

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

Also, here's a link to a homeschool educator's handout (from a conference) about students working independently and how to get there during the later elementary years. It's totally ok for your DS to need your attention focused on him to learn right now, especially with all that he has going on. Jumping ahead to the "Assign and Check Parent" leads to learning gaps when it's done too early IME.

https://welltrainedmind.com/a/teachi...independently/ (It's a really great outline of progressively moving older students toward taking charge of their education, starting in 4th-5th grade and culminating in high school)

Levels of Supervision:
Parent at Elbow (PEW)
Hovering Parent (HOP)
Assign and Check Parent (ACP)
Start and End of Day Parent, On Call (SEDPOC)
Start and End of Week Parent, On Call (SEWPON)
Tuition Paying Parent (TPP)

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

Mother's Day Out program or preschool?

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

This is a link to the hand out from a lecture she gave. Do you know if there is a way to listen to the lecture. I very much need some guidance on how to make this work.

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Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

I may have more questions or want to hash out some more detailed scenarios with y'all later. For now I just wanted to say thanks for all the ideas!

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

MP3 audio here:
https://welltrainedmind.com/p/teachi...pendently-mp3/

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

Oh thank you! So much.

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Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

Katigre, that is amazing. I love her outline and mya listen to the audio just to be inspired. For sn kiddos I’m guessing there will be a large delay in that schedule might be needed.

You didn’t say the age of your son. Is he a typical boy aka neurotypical? Is there adhd or is he bored or overwhelmed in school? I’d be looking for a cause for the inattentiveness whether you bring him home or not!! If he’s bored, you can challenge. If he’s overwhelmed, you can pinpoint either a deficit or disability, etc

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

My ADHDers have gotten used to little siblings way more than classroom distractions...I have no idea why, but they've surprised me.

Part of it might be one-to-two attention versus one-to-thirty. Even if I'm chasing toddler, I'm still monitoring fewer kids than classroom teacher and directly interacting more.

What works best for mine is often trying to occupy in similar ways...give them both a white board, give toddler a couple math blocks during math, give toddler old worksheets and a pencil or crayon to scribble, etc. Big kids are less distracted by this than giving toddler toys. Toddler is less grabby when included. win-win

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

My ds is 6. He started first grade about a month ago after homeschooling for kinder.
He has some attention issues of some kind, which we're working on getting identified. That will be a process we will undertake regardless.
He is emotionally overwhelmed with school. It is big, and far more structure and expectation than he's used to. The school day is long (7 1/2 hours) with only one ten-minute recess after lunch (!). He is being given an inappropriate amount of homework and inexplicably (to me) grades, so there is a pressure to perform on his in-class assignments.
He's also academically overwhelmed. I believe in play-based learning for kinder (I think it's supported by good research) so I provided what I considered an enriching education in kinder but I did not have him reading at a level D, which is apparently what is expected here in TX. He dislikes writing so although we did some daily writing last year, it wasn't daily journals, so he struggles with how much writing is expected. He tells me he can't finish work because he doesn't know how to write words such as 'permission' or 'digestion.' On top of the attention issue and his slow handwriting. He is doing fine in math.
The attention thing really is there though. And yes, that's part of why I'm considering homeschooling again, is that despite the toddler, it seems like he could get more attention and hands-on or interactive learning, and thus make good progress while still retaining a positive self-concept as a learner, which is crucially important. But then there's this little accusatory voice saying well, you homeschooled last year and now he's behind so how do you know he wouldn't just fall behind more (even though I think the expectations for kinder/first are kind of absurd).

Re: Homeschooling a child with special needs with a toddler interfering
 

My oldest with ADHD and dysgraphia went to public kindergarten, and was likewise overwhelmed. I can't say they did anything for her...in fact, it took until the summer between 1st and 2nd to even get an IEP. I asked for one in K, but the teacher mid-rated her on everything since she was inattentive rather than hyper (even though she was constantly yelling at her for being inattentive), and the guidance counselor had a bias against summer birthdays, and kindergartners don't write well as a group, so whatever screening they did...it did not involve the OT whose testing later showed her to have a motor-based component to her dysgraphia that was probably severe enough to have qualified in K if we'd only known...

So, all that to say, it's not your fault he's behind. K/1st is unrealistic. There is a very good chance that you will get more done 1-on-1 than the school will accomplish even though they are asking him for more...they won't actually help him produce more. That has been our experience at least.