Wasn't sure where to post this, but hopefully some of you wonderful folks will have some ideas for me. DD (10 now!) has Asperger's, Cystic Fibrosis, and is gifted. Because she's on IVs every 4-6 weeks, she does homebound, which has been wonderful in that we cater her classes (this yr, 6th gr science and english, 5th grade math & history- her choice, she wouldn't skip 5th.) On the other hand, she only gets 5 hrs of homebound a week, and cruises easily to straight A's with maybe 30 min of homework a week.
I'd like some ideas of things she could do at home- internet based or anything else, that are free. Because of her IV's, I have to stay at home, and it's just the two of us. She'd love to learn Spanish, or go more in depth in science, but she needs something focused. She did Hook A Kid on Golf this summer, and I found a local program that has given her a scholarship to continue learning this fall, but that's about it.
Where are you on the journey of discovering local homeschooling resources?
Grinity
Grinity, I've looked into them somewhat, but in our area they're predominantly religion based (small town, Bible-belt)and that holds no appeal at all. Our school system was offering virtual schooling at one point, but stopped because out of district people weren't paying the fees.
Sweetie- We're in Virginia
Hmm...
You might want to check out some of the sites in
this reddit thread for ideas. There are a lot of great resources sprinkled through it.
You might also want to check out some of the threads in the "Recommended Resources" subforum.
Hi Piper's Mom,
A few suggestions that come to mind...
I recently discovered that some public library systems have amazing web based resources at the disposal of its patrons. Our system, for instance, has "Mango Languages" which is has web based foreign language courses. I never realized what was available because I always went straight to the web catalog. You might consider checking with your library to see what resources are available from home.
Are you on netflix or a similar streaming system? That would provide easy access to a variety of documentaries as well.
Finally...there are a lot of good web based simulations, often associated with museums. Visit websites of science museums, art museums and childrens' museums and see what you find. While these won't provide adequate depth, they could provide an opportunity to topic search until she finds something that should wants to dive into in more depth.
Best of luck
Thank you aculady, I have the thread loading now from reddit, and will check out the subforum as well.
Taminy, no netflix, we're basically bare bones with dial-up net access, which is fine 90% of the time, but makes some websites pretty unbearable! We do sometimes use my Mom's wireless access when we get in that way though, and will definitely have her look around at some museum sites. I'll also check our library again, they're slowly but surely coming into the 21st century!
If there is any way that you can get an upgrade to higher-speed internet, it will make online learning resources much more accessible. Most of them have sound and video files, and if you have dial-up, you know what that means.
Even by snail mail. Netflicks has lots of educational and documentary offerings.
Some brave souls have started their own homeschool groups. Perhaps your daughter might do some of the work as an Enrichment activity. Database skills...planning where to advertise...a survey of what the local needs of the secular Home school community might be. A newsletter with interviews of what folks are learning. Just a thought.
G
Pipersmom.... Sent you a PM
Grinity- That's definitely an idea. I'm also going to call the local community college and see about the possibility of her auditing either a Spanish or ASL class. I'm also going to look into Netflix.
onthegomom- Thank you for all the links! I've c&p'ed them and saved them on our desktop!
ditto on the links! Thank you (double ditto)!
Grinity- That's definitely an idea. I'm also going to call the local community college and see about the possibility of her auditing either a Spanish or ASL class. I'm also going to look into Netflix.
Having a local CC is also a wonderful resource. As she gets older more and more classes will be workable, and if she is auditing, she can sit in on the lectures and you can devise the gradable experiences as her homeschooling teacher.
If you go the route of mentoring her through forming a gifted/secular homeschooling group, please document the process so that you can inspire other isolated homeschooling families to do the same. It is a lot of work for the moms to organize these things on behalf of their children, but if the process itself becomes the curriculum and the child is learning gobs about how to build a community then 'wow!' it's still a lot of work but it becomes so valuable as part of the educational experience.
Best Wishes,
Grinity
Pipersmom.... Sent you a PM
Shari- Sent you a pm last week, but I know it's hard to tell with the constantly blinking envelopes!
If your envelope won't stop blinking, drop Mark the Magnificent Moderator a PM, and he'll fix it for you.
Haven't forgot you, working on it......