How to Teach "Highly Distractable"/ADD Kids

I just found a website by a homeschool mom with an ADD son, and she has some interesting tips: http://www.westfieldacademy.org/adhd/. I also found some facts that surprised me about kids with ADD - stuff that definitely describes Isaac. I'm not sure if this is encouraging or discouraging, but it's a relief to know that other kids have these problems:

(These were under the heading, "Educational recommendations for kids with ADD"):

1. Encourage individualized activities that are mildly competitive or noncompetitive such as bowling, walking, swimming, jogging, biking, karate. (Note: Children with ADD may do less well than their peers in team sports.) Isaac definitely has problems with team sports - interesting that ADD could be part of the reason.
2. Allow children with ADD to play with younger children if that is where they fit in. Many children with ADD have more in common with younger children than with their age-peers. They can still develop valuable social skills from interaction with younger children. This is so true of Isaac - he always gravitates toward younger kids when given the option to choose his playmates. It doesn't seem as disturbing to me now that it might be related to ADD.

Two more days until his appointment with the doctor. I'm feeling more confident now that getting him back on his medicine will help. It will be a good week. 

School on Saturday

Ugh. Isaac didn't have school yesterday because I was too busy cleaning up after Simon and too tired from being up with Grace to face it. So here we are trying to catch up on Saturday morning, and I am trying my best to be patient and helpful. Simon is still sick and John is at work, so this could be interesting.
Right now, Isaac's trying to figure out which continents are both in the northern and southern hemisphere, which appears to involve a lot of tinkering with his mechanical pencil.

We learned about limericks yesterday - here's Isaac's first limerick:
There was a girl
She liked to twirl
She had a Leapster (this is a hand-held "educational" game system that Simon and Esme both have)
She called it Miss Geapster
The name made her hurl

Homemade Wipes

I'm not sure if this is homeschool-related, but I'm planning to make my own baby wipes and cleaning wipes, as soon as I run out of the store-bought ones that I'm currently using. I really, really love wipes of all kinds, especially because the kids can help me clean with them and I don't have to entrust them with an entire spray bottle of toxic cleaner, but they're kind of expensive...supposedly, this will save both money and the environment. You cut a roll of paper towels in half (using an electric knife, it says, as though anyone actually owns one of those). Then, you stick them in a tupperware container that's big enough to hold the half-roll with the lid on. Next, you pour on the wipe solution and remove the cardboard tube. You cut a hole in the lid to pull the wipes through (from the center, where you removed the tube), and voila - homemade wipe dispenser. Here are the recipes; I'll let you know how this goes. I know my sister has made the baby wipes before...Em, if you're out there, give me your opinion on whether this is a worthwhile project. It sounds kind of fun, if nothing else.

Baby Wipes:

Baby Wash Recipe #1

• 2 TBSP Baby Wash (choose a natural wash!)
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil or Baby Oil
• 2 Cups water

Baby Wash Recipe #2

• 2 TBSP Baby Wash
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil or 1 TBSP Calendula Oil
• 2 Drops Tea Tree Oil
• 2 Cups Water

Aloe Vera Recipe

• 1/4 Cup Aloe Vera Gel
• 2 Drops Tea Tree Oil
• 2 Cups Hot Water

Vitamin E and Essential Oils Recipe

• 2 Drops Tea Tree Oil
• 2 Drops Lavender Oil (Please be sure to use only pure essential oils - don't use synthetic oils.)
• 2 Drops Chamomile Oil
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Vitamin E Cap

Household wipes:

General Surface Cleaning Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water

Disinfectant Cleaning:

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup pine cleaning solution such as Pine-Sol brand
• 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cup water

Window and Glass Cleaning:

• 1/2 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Pictures of Grace

A New Baby...A New Attitude?

Grace is here! After all of the planning we attempted to do to schedule her birthday, she decided to come early, on January 14. She's beautiful and wonderful and she smells terrific, and I actually have her on sort of a schedule. She's so tiny and sweet, I love to just stare at her. I don't remember the other kids being so easy to take care of, but I'm probably just getting better at this with age. And John is a huge help - he's so excited and nervous and infatuated with her, it almost makes me jealous.
So, last week was weird because John was home, and the baby was home, and Isaac was nonplussed, to say the least. His attitude has been atrocious, despite all of my very eloquent lectures on teamwork and respect. I made an appointment to get his Concerta prescription reviewed and refilled, because he truly seems to be incapable of doing any work on his own without it. The only "good" days we've had in the last two weeks are the ones where I'm working side-by-side with him every minute, reading the questions to him, helping him spell and punctuate his answers, and trying my very best not to get impatient.
I read an article about finding alternative ways to help kids learn, and I'm really trying to come up with ways to spice up Isaac's day. We're trying to do more stuff on the computer, and more art/project-related assignments, and more outings/real-world activities. I keep telling him that if he can just get the basic assignments done in the morning, we'll have time to do more creative things in the afternoon. This is about as motivating to him as me yelling at him (i.e. not at all), which is why I'm praying that the medicine will give him the jump-start he needs.
Grace was born on the day we were supposed to have Isaac's birthday party, which we are now having tonight. It was going to be a sleepover, until Isaac's behavior took a nosedive, and now it's just going out for pizza and ice cream. Simon has been home sick (barfing...ew), so I don't think a sleepover would have happened anyway. I started a new chore system, where the boys earn points for doing their chores, and Isaac also earns points for his schoolwork. I'm hoping that, since Isaac is SO into money and buying things, the points system will encourage him to put some effort into his work. So far, I'd say results are inconclusive. He did a math assignment on the computer (using this cool software that came with the book) and managed to get a 6 out of 22 (27%). I made a catalog for the chore points and the school points, and every Saturday, they each get a chance to either redeem their points for stuff or save them to buy better stuff. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the administrative end of the points system, but I think that at least part of the responsibility for remembering the chores and remembering to track the points lies with the boys.
If you're out there reading this, pray for patience and wisdom (for me), a new respect for his parents and for his education (for Isaac), and an end to the barfing (for Simon).

Isaac Should Know This, Right?

So far, I've been really impressed with how well Isaac reads and how well he comprehends what he reads...when it's a fictional story. We spent 2 hours finishing up The Magician's Nephew yesterday and he LOVED it. He could probably spend 2 hours re-telling it, too. However, I can't believe some of the stuff that he doesn't know or do very well.
Examples:

• Subtraction (had to count out 12-5 on his fingers)
• Multiplication (took 45 minutes to complete a 5-minute timed test worksheet)
• Telling time (appears that I have just taught him this, although I'm pretty sure they've been teaching it since 1st grade)
• Reading comprehension of anything non-fiction (as in, boring), like math, geography, and instructions for completing his assignments

I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to discover these things and help him catch up, but I have no idea how to catch him up AND stay on track with his 4th grade-level work. And his attention span does not seem much improved with the Concerta - if he doesn't like what he's doing, he is totally unable (or unwilling) to focus on it and get it done. Do I need to bribe him? Do I need to do every assignment with him for a while? I've got to figure this out!

Snow Days, Switching Classrooms, and Mom, the Abominable Snow Woman

Part of Isaac's birthday present (and mine, frankly) was to move his bedroom back upstairs with his brother. This is the second time we've done it - and definitely the last. I will not delude myself into thinking he can handle staying in the basement again (please be prepared to remind me of this in about 6 months). So now, Esme and the baby will share a room, Isaac and Simon share a room, and all of the homeschooling stuff has been moved to Isaac's old room in the basement. So far, so good. Isaac's taking his Concerta this week too, so we can evaluate whether or not we need it. I'm thinking we do, because yesterday was probably our best day yet (today, not so much, but it's still early). It was interesting having Simon home on Monday and Tuesday...we skipped homeschooling on Monday but had a full day yesterday, and it was actually easier on Tuesday. I keep trying to imagine this with a newborn, and I just can't decide how easy or hard it's going to be to adjust. I'm going to follow all of the instructions in the Babywise book to the letter, so I should have a perfectly behaved, sleeping-all-night baby by 6 weeks. Fourth time IS going to be a charm.

We made a diorama

We started on one, anyway. Isaac seems to do better with hands-on activities than pencil-and-paper work, so we took a break yesterday afternoon to build a diorama of the sea creatures we're learning about. We even made homemade play dough, which was interesting. I tried baking the finished sea creatures, but some of them oozed. I'm hoping we can save them with a little bit of paint & marker work. I can't believe how quickly the day goes by...or that I still haven't found time to go grocery shopping this week. Still, I'm officially declaring our first week a big success on all fronts!

Isaac and Esme working on their sea creatures

Where are you, bus #3?

Day #5 of missing bus #3. I saw it heading toward the school at about 8:10. We WILL catch it tomorrow. We will.

This is a lot of work!

Everyone was tired yesterday from a long night at Dad's house. Isaac yawned and moaned all morning, and he didn't really wake up until after lunch. We still got his work done, but it was a struggle. Esme was in bed by 6:30 last night and neither one of them got up until after 8. We're on day 4 of missing the school bus for Simon...we waited again this morning for about 10 minutes and gave up. Anyway, today we're off to a late start; we had to meet with the surgeon for my c-section at 9, then we ran some errands and ate lunch. Isaac's working through his multiplicaion timed test and Esme is playing a game that involves rolling up the lids to all the markers in her pant leg. I am posting a beautiful red 2002 Chevy Blazer for sale on Craig's List. I told Isaac we'd start reading the Chronicles of Narnia this afternoon, which I think we're both excited about. I'm not sure whether we're trying to do too much or too little, so our HSAP coordinator is coming next Tuesday to take a look at my lesson plans and let me know what she thinks. Hopefully, we're either on track or being too aggressive...if we need to be doing more, I might need to start working on a clone.

The (beautiful) Blazer

Isaac doing some multiplication

Esme dusting the floor



Homeschooling Pics from Day 2

Our First Day

We made it! Isaac, Esme, and I survived the first day of homeschooling! We got through our entire lesson plan and started and ended approximately on time. There was only a little bit of whining and procrastination toward the end...we probably shouldn't have saved Math until last. We started putting together a cool 3-D globe at about 10 a.m., which Isaac loved. I definitely need at least one activity like that each day to give our brains a break from pencil & paper. I even got everything recorded in the nifty free homeschool tracking software I downloaded from http://www.homeschooltracker.com/. It was a great day all around (happy sigh of relief).