Greetings!
My twin sons, Sam and Alex, were diagnosed with learning disabilities at age 5. From kindegarten to 7th grade they attended the Lab School of Washington. Sadly, they had to leave left the Lab School in June 2002 because my husband’s job transferred him to Maputo, Mozambique.
Although both of my sons are now capable of functioning in a “regular” classroom, they do need extra support. Since our arrival in Mozambique, we have been struggling with school options. As you can imagine, choices here are very limited and the schools are not too progressive. Unfortunately both the American and International schools here have not been receptive to making even minor accomodations for my kids. We are becoming extremely frustrated.
In short, I have been seriously considering home schooling but I really don’t know much about it. What curricula are available for middle school students? What are the best choices for LD kids?
I would also like to connect with other parents who are homeschooling their LD children. Is there anyone out there who is homeschooling overseas?
Please write back!
Debbie Mans
Lots of curriculum options for homeschooling....
The homeschooling boards at http://www.vegsource.com are a good source of information, as are the boards at http://www.welltrainedmind.com. There are so many curriculum materials available for middle school, it’s hard to know where to begin.
In general, it’s a good idea to pick and choose individual curriculum materials to suit your children (and you) rather than buying a complete “canned” curriculum. LD kids, especially, tend to be at different grade levels in different subjects and often do better with specific types of materials. What suits one LD child may not suit another at all.
Incidentally, http://www.google.com is a great way to research different curriculums you run across. I especially value parent opinions.
You may want to try Saxon Math for starters. The publisher has placement tests on the website (http://www.saxonpublishers.com). Saxon tends to be good for LD students because of its spiral review approach. The Dive computer CD’s (http://www.diveintomath.com) that go with Saxon make it pretty much self-teaching for the student. (I would opt for VideoText for algebra, though.) Chalkdust (teacher on video tape) is another math option.
WriteShop, IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing), and “Write With the Best” all have excellent reputations and work for many families. WriteShop offers the convenience of complete daily lesson plans and would be a good place to start (http://writeshop.homestead.com/). There is also an online writing service (WriteAtHome) you can purchase that provides writing teachers via email.
Beautiful Feet packages (http://www.bfbooks.com) are excellent for history and geography. We like MCP Maps, Charts and Graphs too. Easy Grammar and Shurley Grammar are both good programs, but very different approaches.
Rainbow Science is an excellent two-year science package for 7th and 8th grades that comes complete with every necessary lab item (http://www.beginningspublishing.com). There are many other good science programs available also, such as Home Science Adventures.
There are so many excellent literature and vocabulary programs available, I wouldn’t know where to start with those offhand.
If you can get your hands on a printed copy of the Rainbow Resource catalog (http://www.rainbowresource.com), that would help give you an idea of the wide variety of curriculum materials available for middle school. Rainbow Resource offers discounts on most of the curriculums I’ve mentioned.
Homeschooling is often far superior to regular school for LD children — in part because curriculum materials are hand-picked to suit their needs. Also, it is much easier to learn when a student is not anxious and can progress at his own speed. I say, go for it!
Roberta (happily homeschooling LD for several years, although not abroad)
Re: Lots of curriculum options for homeschooling....
There are lots of homeschoolers overseas! Many of them homeschool because of the high costs of the private American or International schools which not all employers cover, some homeschool to provide continuity when the family moves a great deal. The missionaries certainly have been doing it for years.
things to think about:
social needs of your kids-In the States there are so many community-based activities that homeschoolers easily find a social venue for their kids. Overseas scouts, soccer, etc may all be school-affiliated. Have you considered enrolling the kids for PE, art, music, etc while you do the academics? This has been done in a number of overseas schools.
high school credits- Presumably your boys are now in 8th grade. Next year is 9th grade highschool and Carnegie units towards high school graduation. You will need to do your research carefully. Will you go back to DC, Virginia, Maryland? Each state has rules on homeschooling and obtaining credits. There are distance education courses that you would monitor that are definately accredited-University of Nebraska high school program comes to mind immediately. Some of these programs may not be suited to a dyslexic.
Can you do it? Definitely. Will you need to research and research and research? yup. Is it a big job? yes.
Will it be better than watching your childrens’ self-esteem be destroyed? yup.
I know this has probably been brought to your attention at some point but the option of boarding school should be considered too. Your boys could possibly benefit from a college-prep boarding school designed for dyslexics. Since the international school is not meeting their needs, there would be a case for employer to pick up the not-small tab. Sounds different that stateside but I know several couples who are remaining overseas to maintain their kids in superior and expensive boarding schools at employers expense. Just a thought.
Good luck
Deborah, I homeschool my 7th grade son who is learning disabled. I’ve been doing it for the last 2 years. I taught in our local public school, and saw that his needs were not being met. We did not leave the school district with hard feelings, as a matter of fact, in his last IEP meeting, which took place in June, homeschooling was put in as one of the plans for the following year. There are so many curriculum choices for homeschooling! There are many web sites that are full of resources. One resource to check out is K12 homeschooling program started by former Secretary of Education William Bennett. It is excellent for kids with learning differences! Also, being overseas, homeschooling will give you the flexibility of seeing of all the sights abroad! May God bless you in your endeavors!
Dawn