I recently got asked by a reader if we’ve made any special adjustments for our extraordinarily special boy in our homeschooling. I’m sharing my response with you today.
In case you didn’t know, we have an extraordinary boy on our hands.
Several years ago, our family lived through some difficult days and it’s been a long road back.
If you want to read more about the beginning of this story, you can do so here.
Update on John Christian
Over the past few years, we’ve been part of a new story- one of healing.
John Christian has been seizure free for 3.5 years, medication free for 2 years, and is slowly getting back to a normal way of eating.
Epilepsy is about the scariest thing imaginable. The disease is scary and the medication is sometimes scarier.
We are so blessed that our little guy has been healed and we continue to pray that he remains seizure free the rest of his life.
Our challenges
- Missing a school year (academically, emotionally, physically)
- Getting and keeping attention
- Slower processing
- After effects of status epilepticus (a cluster of uncontrolled seizures)
- Mood and capability altering drugs for 18 months
Adjustments in homeschooling our exceptional child
The gift of homeschooling
The truth is, we haven’t made any adjustments to John’s education that we haven’t done for our “normal” kids.
For all our children we are constantly
- encouraging strengths and accomplishments while
- accessing and addressing weaknesses
No one knows my children’s challenges more than I do. Knowing them each so intimately helps me be more patient in my instruction and in the learning process.
This is at the heart of homeschooling.
But I try to keep things practical and actionable, so here are a few things to think about as you school your “exceptional child.”
1-Move the ball
Husband is ever the encourager in our homeschool. He constantly tells me my job is “not to make a slam dunk but advance the ball down the court.”
This is such a comfort on those days where nothing seems to “stick.” As long as I’ve made some effort toward achieving our goals, then it is a successful day!
i.e. Reading fluently doesn’t just happen in a day. It takes hours of instruction and practice. Eventually the “slam dunk” happens and a child is off and reading on their own.
2- Homeschooling year round
From the beginning of our homeschool journey we’ve done school pretty much year round. With my exceptional kid, this was even more important.
John lost a significant amount of time when he was most ill. In the last 2 years, he has been able to make up a good half a year academically.
For our family, year round schooling means “heavy” schooling (all the subjects) for 36 weeks and then focusing on the 3 Rs the rest of the time. We also take a couple weeks off in the summer, during Christmas, and a couple other times a year.
Not only has this allowed us to gain ground academically, but it has helped us make all those doctor appointments and tests when he was most ill.
- Gain academic ground
- Remain flexible for appointments
- Allows for good days (and bad days)
3 – Completing challenges
We have found challenges to be extremely helpful for all of our homeschooled kids. They give them the extra push they need to accomplish a goal and also break up the monotony of school life.
- accomplishes a goal
- builds confidence
- rewards accomplishments
- exciting!
- visual progress
Some challenges that have worked well:
Learn to read, earn a Kindle – This is a long term, but very lucrative goal. A Kindle is something I like all our readers to have so they can access free books, so we decided to make it a reward for becoming an independent reader.
If a child can read Boxcar Children #1 to me independently (very little help), they earn a Kindle. We love the kid’s Kindle with the heavy duty case.
Reading Challenge -There are many, many printable reading challenge charts available online. This summer, my two budding readers did reading challenges to earn a special treat (mini Lego kit, ice cream, and bubbles). They were motivated and competitive with each other, though they had individually different goals. They loved finishing a book and filling in a square on their chart.
Daily timed math work – Focusing during math can be a huge struggle for any student. We’ve found doing daily timed work (even if just for 1 minute) helps build attention and speed. If the student beats the timer, they get a small piece of candy.
4 – Memorization
I want my children to pull information from their brain as quickly as possible. Memorization has been a huge help to all my children.
What to memorize
- letters and numbers
- skip counting
- math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)
- phonograms (phonics)
- sight words
- geographic locations (states, capitals, continents, oceans, etc.)
- poetry
For some kids, memorization takes more work. Just stick to it!
Poetry may seem odd in this list, but it is wonderful way to practice speech, articulation, and presentation.
5- Supplementing
With all our children, if there is a struggle with a concept or subject, we work on building that area up.
- Make it visual – use an abacus, counters, or ten frames in math
- Try a different approach – watch a video explanation, learn a memory song
- Use a learning app
- Use gross motor skill games to teach
- Have your husband teach
John Christian struggles with fine motor skills. While he continues to do his daily penmanship worksheet, he also does 5 minutes of a cursive writing app. I love the app because he only can move on if the letter is formed correctly. We’ve also used math and reading apps.
6 – Set up good habits/ study skills
We can set our child up for success in the way homeschool is approached in our home. Our family tries to keep it professional by following these rules.
Rozycki Homeschool Rules
- Dress for success
- Sit at a table unless you are reading
- Find a quiet place to work
- Others must be as quiet as possible during school time
Sure you can homeschool in your pajamas or on the couch, but it doesn’t set your child up for success. My children migrate to the couch occasionally and I have to remind them to sit up at a table. The one time we break the couch rule is if they or I am sick.
If there are lots of distractions, I might encourage them to find a quieter place to work (there are desks in their rooms).
Younger children are taught that “school time” is time to be quiet, although this is something they must be continually reminded of and taught.
7 – Educate yourself
It doesn’t hurt to have testing done or learn about what will help your child specifically.
We incorporate physical education in our homeschool for this very reason. Research (and our doctor) tell us that physical activity helps with attention. Thankfully, Husband teaches this subject for me!
We know that it helps John and it sure doesn’t hurt our other kids either.
8- Encourage accomplishments
Encouragement is important for all our children!
9- Access and address
As our child’s parent and educator, we are intimately aware of their weaknesses and strengths.
Instead of being discouraged by weaknesses, take the time and energy to address it. How can you build up this area? Pray for answers!
10 – Remember your God-given teammate
Husband is my teammate in our educational journey. I sometimes have to work at not being offended by his constructive criticism and remind myself we are fighting on the same team.
I often bring the children’s weaknesses or our homeschool challenges to him and he gives valuable insight for how they can be addressed.
11- Allow extra time
Know it might take your extraordinary child more time to complete a task or to grasp a concept, but encourage them to do the best they can as quickly as they can.
12 – Get help if you need it
It isn’t bad to ask for help. Sometimes a child’s struggles may be beyond us and that is okay.
13 – Trust in God
Above all, don’t feel overwhelmed or discouraged. God chose you as this extraordinary child’s parent for a reason.
Homeschooling can be an wonderful gift to the extraordinary child! I wish you the best on your journey!
You’ll also enjoy:
{Catholic} Homeschooling: The Complete Guide
Could you give any tips on how you have taught your younger children that school time is quiet time? Only my two oldest are in school and I also have a 4 year old, 3 year old, 18 month old, and a nursing baby. 4 and 3 like to run around the house, scream, bang doors, and generally distract as much as possible while 18m likes to do all of the above plus climb on the table and grab, jump on, or scribble on school materials while I’m trying to teach the older ones. I’ve asked other moms I know for advice and they generally say they occupy little ones with movies during school time, but that isn’t a route I want to take.
This was such a HUGE question…so I wrote a post for you- ha! https://www.elizabethclareblog.com/homeschooling-with-littles-keeping-the-peace/
Thank you for the post! I really appreciate all the advice you shared and can see a lot that I can apply in our family! Thank you so much for sharing!