Special Connection Homeschool

Most parents who have special needs kids know well the value of a Hands-On Project for school. My Gess can learn just about anything if you can find a way to literally get her hands on it. We all know that is easy to do with things like science. Who doesn't love experiments? The challenge is finding ways to get our hands on subjects that are not quite so tangible.  Math is is tricky but there are really lots of ways if you try.  Here are just a couple examples we have used. Patterns and Sequencing Counting On - Basic Addition Concept We have focused on other concepts too, such as: Sorting Activity - Why Is It Different? Exploring Our Senses Reading can also be more hands on than just picking up the book.  Gess learned how to read using her hands playing Lotto. Introducing Reading With Sight Words Hands-On Projects not only make learning fun, they really help the student retain the information while having a lot more fun.  You ca...

Homeschooling has its challenges and none are greater than homeschooling during a personal crisis.  It's even more challenging when you have a child with special needs.  I have only had a couple of major events that took me away from my family for a short time and it was tough.  The main concern wasn't what Gess would do for school, but who would watch her while I was away and my husband was at work. Fellow homeschoolers are often a great resource in a crisis.  They know better than anyone the challenges involved and are pretty good at adapting to most circumstances. If your child stays with them they can simply join the family in their lessons.  While it might not be what was listed in your lesson plan, it will be something. When I had to leave town when my father had his stroke we turned to personal friends and church members to help with Gess.  I was simply worried more about Gess' day to day care then how much book work she was doing. You can send ...

Recently I have started teaching Gess how to cook.  One of the life skills she will need most as an adult is to know how to prepare her food correctly and safely.  Gess is now 11 and ready for much of the independence but she still lacks some of the motor skills.  While she can cut with a knife, she does not do it well and is really shy about it because she is afraid of cutting herself.  I must admit I fear that too.  So lately we have started some Home Economics and this last week Gess cooked us both breakfast and dinner.  She did great, with a little help from mom. While cooking alone is considered educational, I thought it would be fun to bring some other subjects into the kitchen.  I found these books at the library to help. We have not had the opportunity to use them yet but we have started looking through them.  Of course Gess is most interested in the first one.  Combining experiments and cooking would be...

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is published monthly and is now always FREE.  Here is the link to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine March 2013 Issue .  Enjoy!

Remember last fall when I told you that we were beginning cursive ?  Well, I wanted to update you and show you it was going.  We actually started cursive writing because our therapist recommended it.  She believes that many children often find it easier to write in cursive because they don't have to lift their hands as often. I have to say that I am finding that to be true.  Gess is really loving writing in cursive.  Once she learns a letter in cursive, that is the only way she writes it.  It also making her overall writing more legible.  Gess still struggles with spacing her letters appropriately when printing but since cursive letters are hooked together it easier to see where one word begins and another word ends. To learn cursive our therapist recommended the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum and as you all may know I was already fond of them.  They were the curriculum that Gess first learned to write with.  In fact they are th...

The Schoolhouse Reviews I do are for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine .  Did you know that these issues are now digital and always FREE?  February 's issue is now available, feel free to check it out.

The Schoolhouse Review Crew has a Spotlight on the Crew segment where they have us crew mates share some of our experiences with you.  I am honored to be spotlighted this week.  I think it's a topic many of my readers might be interested in so I wanted to share it with you.  You can find my article article here: Homeschooling the Special Needs Child: Balancing Goals with Outcomes .

I am so excited to share that I am on the TOS Review Crew again this year.  The Review Crew year (which now runs from January to December rather than from June to May) is actually just getting under way but will only run until December.  This means we will actually be doing some reviews over the summer and so far I am just as impressed with the products this year as I was last! The TOS Review Crew has also made some major changes to the look of the website among other things.  You should check it out.  It really is a great site to find information on some of the best homeschool resources out there. To see all the new changes and have access to these resources just click on the banner below. And remember watch for my blogs titled TOS Review to learn how some of the products are used in our home and work specifically well with special needs interests in mind! Happy Sailing!

Each year the TOS Crew mates vote on which products they liked the best.  I have to tell you, this was my first time on the crew and I was amazed at how many products I actually liked and now use.  I was excited to participate in the voting and having a say in which companies get awarded. The winners of the 2011-2012 TOS Homeschool Crew Blue Ribbon Awards  are (drum roll please)...   Favorite Reading Instruction Product:  Reading Eggs* Favorite Writing Product:  Write Shop Favorite Language Arts Product: Progeny Press Favorite Social Studies Product: TruthQuest History Favorite Science Product: Amazing Science * Favorite Math Product: Math Mammoth * Favorite Online Math Product: Math Rider Favorite Foreign Language Product: Visual Latin Favorite Fine Arts Product: Artistic Pursuits Favorite Christian Education Product:  Apologia: Who Am I? * ~~~ Favorite Preschool Product: Before Five in a Row Favorite Elementary Product: All ...

How would you like to get one of these forts for your kid for Christmas absolutely free? Well, Toydle has teamed up with the TOS Homeschool Crew to give away, not one, not two, but THREE of these forts which are valued at $240.00 each! As a member of the Crew , I am not eligible, but I would be thrilled if one of my readers won one. Visit the TOS Homeschool Blog to find out how to enter your chance to win this Toydle fort for that special child on your Christmas list. Good luck! I hope one of you wins!

I am enjoying being a new member of the TOS Crew and I just found something new and exciting that they are doing. They are hosting a blog hop, and you do not have to be a part of the Crew to join in! Below are the guidelines for participation. So come hop, sail, or stroll along (or whatever type of moving gets your fancy) and join in the fun! The Guidelines for participating in the TOS Crew blog hop are as follows: 1. Please grab the blog hop button to spread the word. <a href=”http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=100689&type=basic” _mce_href=”http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=100689&type=basic” target=”_blank”><img class=”alignleft” title=”Crew Blog Hop” src=”http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/devildogwife97/Blog%20Pics/Design%20Elements/TOSCrewSailAlongBlogHopButton-1.jpg” _mce_src=”http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/devildogwife97/Blog%20Pics/Design%20Elements/TOSCrewSailAlongBlogHopButton-1.jpg” alt=”Crew Blog H...

I am excited to announce that I am now an official member of the TOS Homeschool Crew ! TOS stands for The Old Schoolhouse and is a homeschooling company that offers homeschoolers a variety of resources and encouragement. As a member of the Crew I will get opportunities to try many different homeschool resources such as curriculum, games, and books at no cost to me. I will then share with you, my readers, what I thought of the products I used by posting my review here on my blog. While I am not getting paid for the review, I am able to sample, and sometimes keep, the products I review for free. So I want to be upfront about that. Up until now (except for the one TOS review I did to apply for this position - TOS Review: The Curiosity Files ) everything I have posted about has been things I have personally researched and used. I only post about things that are helpful homeschooling my daughter who has Down Syndrome. My blog will still be just that. Other than posts that be...