Creating a special needs curriculum
It's time again for me to write a post so that I don't have to write the same thing over and over again. The topic for today is... creating curriculum for special needs students if you are homeschooling.
There are a lot of parents who are considering homeschooling for the fall due to what school will or may look like in the fall. This is particularly true among parents who have children who have special needs. A common question on various homeschooling pages has been, "What curriculum do you use for your special needs child?" Now, I know you all know what my opinions of packaged curricula are, but I try to be helpful and say that I usually cobble together what we use. Then, inevitably, I am asked what I use when I cobble things together. This is a much larger issue than can adequately be covered in a comment, so here we are.
Step one, in my opinion, is to figure out exactly what an individual child can and cannot do; investigate what they really understand. For instance, H. could count to 100 in English when we met here, but it quickly became evident that those numbers had no meaning at all to her; they were just sounds that she made in the correct order. We needed to back up a lot more than I had initially thought. In that case, we spent a lot of time on numeracy... one to one correspondence; which pile of buttons (or sticks or plastic animals or Cuisinaire rods or... ) was bigger; counting forwards and backwards as she moved manipulatives, etc. We never opened any type of text book in those early years. It would not have been appropriate and it wasn't what she needed. What she needed was to become an infant where numbers were concerned and start there. All the curricula in the world would not have been able to address what was really going on: a great need to utilize and physically touch and move numbers. Until we did this, she wasn't ready for anything else.
It wasn't until I actually started working with her that I began to realize that what I thought she knew wasn't really what she knew. I would suggest that a new homeschooling parent start somewhere with a child, but realize that it could be entirely possible that it won't be the correct place. Become a student of your child and really sort out what they truly understand and what they don't. Then, when you have figured that out, be willing to back up and start there. It is okay to do this. In fact, if you don't, I guarantee frustration and irritation for the both of you.
Step two is to come to terms with the fact that you may choose the wrong curriculum; not because it is bad, but because it is not a good match for your child. Over the course of the past seven years, I have used five or more different math text books with H. Sometimes something would work for a while, but then either moved too fast or wasn't making sense. At that point I would switch to a different one, usually reviewing what she was already fairly successful at and then moving on. Inevitably, she would hit a wall with that text, and we would move on again. Sometimes after a few different text books, I would circle back and we would try one that we had already put aside. Usually she could do the thing that caused us to set it aside with little or no trouble. Round and round we would go, over and over and over. She needed the repetition to really cement the concept in her long-term memory. She needed the slightly different approaches that each book brought to the same concept. And sometimes she just needed a break, and I would have her do something else math related. I don't think I can say this enough. Curricula are tools. Use them when they are useful and ditch them when they're not.
Step three is to really understand that learning, even academic learning, involves so much more than worksheets and text books. There are plenty of studies that show that a child's proprioception is intimately linked to their ability to learn. It is worthwhile to find out, assuming there are no physical limitations of course, if your child can crawl, balance, bend, stretch, etc. The ability to crawl has been shown to be highly correlated with reading. Balance can affect memory. Our bodies are all connected and what happens with one aspect really does have implications for others... even something such as learning which doesn't immediately appear to be very physical. There are not a lot of curricula, if any, that really address this aspect of learning.
Step four is to realize that even if you are not using a packaged curriculum, you do not have to reinvent the wheel. It also means, though, that you are going to have to spend some time doing some investigation and research. (Actually, homeschooling takes time and work whether you are creating your own curriculum or using someone elses. There is no magic curriculum out there that is going to let the parent off the hook time-wise. Sorry, this is another thing that I don't think can be said enough.) I create hardly anything that is totally original. I do borrow heavily from a lot of different sources, tweaking things so that it addresses my child specifically. Before the internet was such a huge thing, this would happen by talking to other homeschooling parents, asking what they were doing, what was helpful, etc. Now, it means when I am planning or needing a new solution, I spent a lot of time reading blogs and looking at Pinterest. I also have a couple of good friends whom will bounce ideas off of because they have good ideas. I am a really good borrowing and adapter. I am not creating things from nothing. This is one reason why I try to put so much of what we do on the blog. What I have found could help someone else, or at least spark an idea that sends them in the direction they need to go.
Step five is to accept that learning is messy. This is true whether your child is labeled gifted or typical or disabled. Some days will be good, some days won't be. Everyone has those moments where it seems your child has forgotten everything they seemed to know. Sometimes those moments last far longer than we are comfortable with. Then, just as suddenly, a child will seem to leap ahead with astounding capability. Of course, the next week, the leap becomes a crash and you are convinced you are a homeschooling failure. This cycle happens over and over and over again. It's how people are. It's how my children are, it's how your children are. Heck, if we're honest, it's how all of us are. Some day are good days and we feel as though we can do anything; some days the world feels foggy and we can get nothing right so we end they day eating too much ice cream. Humans are messy. And if this is a human trait then can expect how we learn to be any different?
I'm now all out of steps, and for some of you, this is a great disappointment because I have yet to name a single publisher or text book or curriculum or even a style of homeschooling. That's because in reality, that's all window dressing. Any number of methods or programs will get you to the same place... or not get you anywhere. It boils down to what you do with them. As far as specifics, my best suggestion is to look up 'homeschool curriculum catalogs'. You'll find more of them than you really want or need. Look at them, ask to have some sent to you if you do better with print (I do), browse what's out there. I actually still read homeschooling catalogs like a book. I like to know what's out there because I never know when I'll run across a situation that calls for something different. Order a couple of things that look intriguing to you and try them. Do take their promises with a grain of salt, though.
Actually, I find I do have one last step. Step six, trust yourself. You are an educated adult. You love your child more than any other person could. You are going work to give your child the best education possible. And since not only do you love your child the most, you also know them the best, you are in the greatest position for deciding what and how they should learn. You can do this. If you don't know something, then figure it out. If something isn't working, try a different way. Trust your gut.
There are a lot of parents who are considering homeschooling for the fall due to what school will or may look like in the fall. This is particularly true among parents who have children who have special needs. A common question on various homeschooling pages has been, "What curriculum do you use for your special needs child?" Now, I know you all know what my opinions of packaged curricula are, but I try to be helpful and say that I usually cobble together what we use. Then, inevitably, I am asked what I use when I cobble things together. This is a much larger issue than can adequately be covered in a comment, so here we are.
Step one, in my opinion, is to figure out exactly what an individual child can and cannot do; investigate what they really understand. For instance, H. could count to 100 in English when we met here, but it quickly became evident that those numbers had no meaning at all to her; they were just sounds that she made in the correct order. We needed to back up a lot more than I had initially thought. In that case, we spent a lot of time on numeracy... one to one correspondence; which pile of buttons (or sticks or plastic animals or Cuisinaire rods or... ) was bigger; counting forwards and backwards as she moved manipulatives, etc. We never opened any type of text book in those early years. It would not have been appropriate and it wasn't what she needed. What she needed was to become an infant where numbers were concerned and start there. All the curricula in the world would not have been able to address what was really going on: a great need to utilize and physically touch and move numbers. Until we did this, she wasn't ready for anything else.
It wasn't until I actually started working with her that I began to realize that what I thought she knew wasn't really what she knew. I would suggest that a new homeschooling parent start somewhere with a child, but realize that it could be entirely possible that it won't be the correct place. Become a student of your child and really sort out what they truly understand and what they don't. Then, when you have figured that out, be willing to back up and start there. It is okay to do this. In fact, if you don't, I guarantee frustration and irritation for the both of you.
Step two is to come to terms with the fact that you may choose the wrong curriculum; not because it is bad, but because it is not a good match for your child. Over the course of the past seven years, I have used five or more different math text books with H. Sometimes something would work for a while, but then either moved too fast or wasn't making sense. At that point I would switch to a different one, usually reviewing what she was already fairly successful at and then moving on. Inevitably, she would hit a wall with that text, and we would move on again. Sometimes after a few different text books, I would circle back and we would try one that we had already put aside. Usually she could do the thing that caused us to set it aside with little or no trouble. Round and round we would go, over and over and over. She needed the repetition to really cement the concept in her long-term memory. She needed the slightly different approaches that each book brought to the same concept. And sometimes she just needed a break, and I would have her do something else math related. I don't think I can say this enough. Curricula are tools. Use them when they are useful and ditch them when they're not.
Step three is to really understand that learning, even academic learning, involves so much more than worksheets and text books. There are plenty of studies that show that a child's proprioception is intimately linked to their ability to learn. It is worthwhile to find out, assuming there are no physical limitations of course, if your child can crawl, balance, bend, stretch, etc. The ability to crawl has been shown to be highly correlated with reading. Balance can affect memory. Our bodies are all connected and what happens with one aspect really does have implications for others... even something such as learning which doesn't immediately appear to be very physical. There are not a lot of curricula, if any, that really address this aspect of learning.
Step four is to realize that even if you are not using a packaged curriculum, you do not have to reinvent the wheel. It also means, though, that you are going to have to spend some time doing some investigation and research. (Actually, homeschooling takes time and work whether you are creating your own curriculum or using someone elses. There is no magic curriculum out there that is going to let the parent off the hook time-wise. Sorry, this is another thing that I don't think can be said enough.) I create hardly anything that is totally original. I do borrow heavily from a lot of different sources, tweaking things so that it addresses my child specifically. Before the internet was such a huge thing, this would happen by talking to other homeschooling parents, asking what they were doing, what was helpful, etc. Now, it means when I am planning or needing a new solution, I spent a lot of time reading blogs and looking at Pinterest. I also have a couple of good friends whom will bounce ideas off of because they have good ideas. I am a really good borrowing and adapter. I am not creating things from nothing. This is one reason why I try to put so much of what we do on the blog. What I have found could help someone else, or at least spark an idea that sends them in the direction they need to go.
Step five is to accept that learning is messy. This is true whether your child is labeled gifted or typical or disabled. Some days will be good, some days won't be. Everyone has those moments where it seems your child has forgotten everything they seemed to know. Sometimes those moments last far longer than we are comfortable with. Then, just as suddenly, a child will seem to leap ahead with astounding capability. Of course, the next week, the leap becomes a crash and you are convinced you are a homeschooling failure. This cycle happens over and over and over again. It's how people are. It's how my children are, it's how your children are. Heck, if we're honest, it's how all of us are. Some day are good days and we feel as though we can do anything; some days the world feels foggy and we can get nothing right so we end they day eating too much ice cream. Humans are messy. And if this is a human trait then can expect how we learn to be any different?
I'm now all out of steps, and for some of you, this is a great disappointment because I have yet to name a single publisher or text book or curriculum or even a style of homeschooling. That's because in reality, that's all window dressing. Any number of methods or programs will get you to the same place... or not get you anywhere. It boils down to what you do with them. As far as specifics, my best suggestion is to look up 'homeschool curriculum catalogs'. You'll find more of them than you really want or need. Look at them, ask to have some sent to you if you do better with print (I do), browse what's out there. I actually still read homeschooling catalogs like a book. I like to know what's out there because I never know when I'll run across a situation that calls for something different. Order a couple of things that look intriguing to you and try them. Do take their promises with a grain of salt, though.
Actually, I find I do have one last step. Step six, trust yourself. You are an educated adult. You love your child more than any other person could. You are going work to give your child the best education possible. And since not only do you love your child the most, you also know them the best, you are in the greatest position for deciding what and how they should learn. You can do this. If you don't know something, then figure it out. If something isn't working, try a different way. Trust your gut.
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