New to HOD & Taking a Leap

[GrannySimplicity]

I have my HOD order ready to send as soon as payday gets here. My DD6 will be doing the Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. She has been doing other curriculum but gets easily frustrated with too many workbooks. Thematic approach seems to work best, so we are filling in right now making lapbooks and doing unit studies until I can get the order placed.

Our DS4 is going to be starting Little Hands to Heaven. He is autistic, having the most severe form of autism. He is also non-verbal and developmentally delayed. Traditional schooling approaches (workbooks & such) are not his way of learning. I am doing very gentle preschool level activities with him, fitting in OT exercises wherever possible. One major drawback is that he has never developed fine motor skills, even to be able to feed himself.

Our daughter is already beginning to read level 1 books that we come across. She is a very visual and hands-on type learner. I have read to her all her life. Currently, I read 3 hours per day to the kids while snuggled up on the couch. That is my favorite times of the day! Our son is slowly learning, but can only demonstrate his knowledge if there is a picture or poster that he can point to and express his answers. In example, one poster we have is the basic shapes and a few 3-D shapes. When asked to point to a particular shape, he is able to do so.

Homeschooling him is a complete leap in faith. The local rural schools have been honest in saying that if he attended their schools, he would likely not learn anything. Basically, he would be "warehoused" and they would not work with him as one would expect. This is totally unacceptable to us. So, we are trusting that the Lord placed him in our family for a purpose and will lead us in teaching him.

Blessings,
Paula

[tiffanieh]

Welcome to HOD....it's so wonderful, isn't it! Good for you for being proactive in your sons life! All children are a blessing, and God certainly knew what He was doing by blessing this child with dedicated parents! Hope your school year is nothing short of wonderful!!

[GrannySimplicity]

Thank you! We are really looking forward to using HOD. I am still a bit confused on how it works, but I do like what I saw on the website. I downloaded the introductions and sample lesson plans for both the programs we are ordering. We are coming from a curriculum that involved worksheets (which DD6 hated to do) and are filling in time with unit studies until we get the HOD materials. I went through our bookcase and was happy to see that we already have several of the books listed for the emergent readers.

[Tansy]

Welcome to HOD.
Do as little or as much as you feel he can do, that is the blessings of Homeschooling.
My daughter has some developmental delays as well, you will find lots of moms here to support you!
We did nuro-developmental therapy for 4 years with our daughter. Therapy makes such a difference but its hard, hang in there you can do it!

[GrannySimplicity]

thank you. it is very slow going with our son in part due to having to do a lot of repetition to be sure he learns and retains the information. he is extremely visual, so hands-on works best with him. that is one of the aspects that drew me to HOD. he loves cuddling up with me as we read a book. that is so critical to me. if i can fill his mind with good books and information, who knows what he will be able to accomplish later?

[Carrie]

Paula,

We're so glad that you are here and that you will get a chance to use HOD! We look forward to getting to know you better and to sharing the journey with you!

Blessings,
Carrie

[GrannySimplicity]

Thank you so much Carrie. I placed an order today online.
I have been using a more Charlotte Mason approach lately after stopping the other curriculum I had been using. I am finding that the approach is so much more relaxed than the other was. The kids are responding very well. I read a minimum of 2.5 - 3 hours per day to them in addition to the independent reading that our daughter is doing herself in her early reader books. We discuss what is read and our daughter is doing great with it. Our son is listening and enjoying the story time. It is a different with him. I am having to slowly go over the stories, using flannel board figures to help him visualize as well as making little sequencing cards to go along with the stories. With him being non-verbal, it is one of the only options I have in knowing if he is understanding the readings.

[my3sons]

HI Paula, and welcome to the HOD Board! I think you will love Beyond and LHTH, and I am so glad you have decided to homeschool your dc! I wanted to link you to this thread as it pertains to your ds somewhat and will be an encouragement...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11530

You also may enjoy looking back through these ladies posts: spidermansmum, Tracee. You can just click on their names and their past posts will come up. These 2 ladies are such encouragers and both have dc with dyslexia. I think it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with both of your dc, Paula! May God continue to bless your homeschooling, and I look forward to getting to know you here!

In Christ,
Julie

[GrannySimplicity]

Thank you Julie.

I appreciate the heads up of who to look for.

[oneblessedmama]

Homeschooling is a leap of faith. I have not been doing this long enough to give advice, but this is what I know so far ...1. Kids grow fast, this time is precious. 2. The best teacher in the world cannot love your child like you do. No teacher knows your child like you do. 3. Most stuff in school has no eternal value. You can raise the next Einstein, but if that child doesn't get to heaven, you have taught them nothing. 4. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. 5. Most people will assume you have lost your mind, but here you are understood, encouraged, loved and accepted .