Homeschooling Joe

After a very, very rocky start to our school year with Joe I have instituted some much needed changes and flexibility into Joe's day. He is not your average kid and at the end of the day (after he's asleep) I am thankful for that. He is unique, marches to the beat of his own drum, stubborn, and crazy smart. After coming very close to giving up on homeschooling with him I decided to change things up and take a non-traditional approach to learning. My hope and prayer is that he is going to thrive AND LEARN as a result of these changes. This is our first full homeschooling week after making the changes and I am pleased to say that we have had no fits or tantrums this week (only two days in...) or in the three or four days that we schooled week before last. Here are some of the ways I've changed things. First of all, the math book that caused so much angst is out of sight. I thought about burning it but there is a chance I may want to come back to it eventually. H and B (my fairy godparents) found some fun workbooks that practice addition and subtraction and we've been doing a little in one of those each day. Only as much as he wants to do and sometimes he watches me do it while I talk out my thought process. Today I gave him 6 SIMPLE problems on the white board and lined up 6 small piles of M & M's, one pile for each problem done. That wasn't quite enough motivation though and I had to become the student while he "taught" me. It took a lot longer than I would want 6 problems to take but they were done and I think during the game I actually managed to explain a key math concept to him. I want to say here that none of this is easy for me. I am very left brained and I prefer to do things much more "by the book." He is stretching me... So, in addition to relieving the math stress, we are also doing more of his other work orally. Like for English the other day--I read his lesson to him, having him answer orally while he drew a picture of one of the sentences. Again, it took longer but it was done without tears or tantrums. We are only doing English lessons twice a week or so. I am also taking time every day to lay on my bed and read picture books. I am combining some of his favorites with some that are educational. He is still doing Wordly Wise every day and doing History and Science with the girls (but I'm prepared to send him away if he gets agitated). He also reads one book of his choice every day. One thing I'm looking forward to adding is "Science in the Kitchen." He loves Science experiments and has shown an interest in cooking lately so this should be another fun way to learn. If only I could clone myself...while I'm doing all of this with Joe I am still juggling the girls' school and when I am finally done with him, I have lots waiting for me that they need one on one time for. Homeschooling is truly a full time and a half job! I am blessed to be able to do it and am thankful that I can tailor my kid's education to meet them where they are at.