Homeschooling is very enlightening!

Bamamom -- thanks for the info. I did not know that Explode the Code had an on-line version. I really liked those books. My son is also at least 1-2 years behind because his emotional issues get in the way. I want to look into T4L as well for him but need to get him emotionally stable first. So, I go with what I can get out of him. Really having to think out of the box. Recently got cable again and using shows to do some education as that seems to be able to keep his attention. Today did some learning on Racism by watching the old show In the Heat of the Night. He seems to retain better when he is watching something vs reading it.

Scandi, do you have NetFlix? We did their free for 30 days promo and watched a bunch of educational videos! My kids now know more about dinosaurs and other exotic creatures (including the life of the Monarch butterfly) than I do! You can search for "PBS" or "Science/History," etc. We like the Nova shows (though they can be a bit too difficult for mine at times) about the planets, various animals, some history programs like a show on Lewis and Clark, etc. (But you can also go to the PBS site and view many of their programs, including Nova, online for free.) We also watched a few "history of" shows (jazz, Broadway, 60s rock, etc.) by searching "educational." :woohoo: P.S. I just bought the online version of Explode the Code for half price (thru Homeschool Buyers Co-op) and am looking forward to starting my 13-yr-old on it tomorrow! P.P.S. I hope BamaMom is doing OK after the tornado earlier this month! :(

Forgot to add the main reason why I came on here to post tonight!... Spent the day at my parents' house with my kids yesterday and received an e-mail from my mom today saying I was overreacting and needed to quit worrying about finding a better way to teach my very-behind/delayed kids...because, get this..."they are so much better behaved than your brother's boys. They just can't sit still and have to be the center of attention!" (Well, duh. His are 6 and 3 and mine are 10-13!) This from the same woman who doubted their Reactive Attachment diagnoses and thought it was me who was causing their off-the-wall behaviors and rages. Ha! I wish I had that kind of power! :rolleyes:

Hey, Ladies! I have recently been matched with a 13-year-old boy (T) in SC. I am having my first visit on Friday and he will be spending the weekend at my house. His worker wants a FAST transition. T is currently in 5th grade (last day of school is tomorrow). He has ADHD, PTSD, ODD, Reading Disorder, Math Disorder, Mixed Receptive Language Disorder, and possibly Bipolar Disorder. According to his study, he has an IQ of 84 and functions in the low average range. He is two years behind in school (born in October) because he wasn't put into school until he was almost 7 (reason for being in foster). Then he missed to many days to pass, and he had to repeat kindergarten. I am originally an architect, but with the economy I have been working a lot from home. I discussed homeschool with his case worker, and she thinks it is a great idea for him. I can probably swing it, but it might be a stretch if I have to pay for it (I am single). I have looked into k12 (which is free for SC students), but am concerned that he won't be able to catch up with his age group. Time4Learning also looked good, but they only let you do a year below and a year ahead. I am sure that he is not actually at 5th grade level (like whoownsthis said about her 13-year-old). So my question to you ladies is: How can I help him catch up academically with the programs available? What would be the best program? k12 states that the kids should spend 6.5 hours on the work a day, but that seems a little extreme for an ADHD kid. I am the only source of income, so I will also need to be able to work from home some. I also teach at a local college, so it needs to be something that he can do on a computer in the back of the classroom while I am teaching.

First off they may not allow you to homeschool until he is adopted and finalized. I used K12 for a time and it was very, very time consuming, probably not good for adhd kid in my opinion, I liked time4learning (you pick the grade you want and then you can move up or down by one, but it's up to you which one you start off in, so if you fear he is below, start in fourth then you still have the fifth option) however, I found it was not comprehensive enough, it only did the basics and we needed more, but I was able to supplement. However because of supplementing I had to keep good records to get her back into public school and prove where she was at when she was ready to return.

In SC we can homeschool foster kids. His caseworker told me that once he is here for placement I can treat him like he is my kid as far as school goes. Because it is foster care, I will have to keep extremely good records in case he is moved back out for some unknown reason. Foster care (in SC) prefers large homeschool networks/programs. The program has to have at least 50 families involved, along with some other criteria. The student will still have to take the state tests, still has to progress one year, has to put in 4.5 hours per day for 180 days, and has to take math, science, history, and English (any other course is considered extra curricular/elective). A friend has her kids in a bowling league, which substitutes a P.E. course, and it counts towards her kids' instructional day (4.5 hours). Unfortunately, her program is not large enough for foster care children.

my 2 cents - or because of budgetary constraints everyone - .05 cents - if this were me I would use the time 4 learning starting at the grade that 'they' say he is at. I would give him time to adjust to your home and after a few months have him tested educationally to see where he really stands. It is possible that all the stress of the move and just his life in general starting to resolve could adjust his learning abilities. I believe you can always switch grades so do that if you need to. My 13 year old currently uses it -- he likes using headphones to tune everything else out. He is not a real self starter so I have to keep on top of him. I am having him do 30 min a day thru the summer in areas that he needs to focus on like math. His trauma therapy is also interfering with his learning so I figure this way it will keep him learning thru out the summer and hopefully gain more than he loses. I will be starting my 9 year old on it this summer as well for the reason that I believe he is academically higher than the school wants to give him credit for and I want to prove them wrong --- I find a perverse sense of humor in that :prop:. again, just my .05 cents

One of the joys of homeschooling is that you can meet the child where he is and meet his exact educational needs. It will also help you bond. As a homeschool mom, I would never go with an online program ONLY because I want my freedom and I do not want to be tied to public school rules and expectations. If I wanted that, I'd send my son to public school. We select our books from a wide range of publishers and programs, you can go all with one or pick and choose to your liking and his needs.

Bamamom is alive and well, and so are all nine of the cublets-Praise God!! Thank you for your thoughts.... and many Alabama people are thinking of all of you in Joplin and Mass, and hoping that's it... it's just SO horrible. Back to the topic... Time4Learning is excellent because you can tailor the level to where the child is, and they don't move on until they conquer the material. There's tons of opportunities to supplement, there is a reading list for T4L. I have all sorts of things I supplement with because I want my kids to learn what I think is important for them. Having the standards ensures they don't miss out on anything, and also lets us have the confidence if they need to go back to regular school, we can show their work and that it is in alignment with national standards. But it's not like I park them in front of a computer and I don't have to worry about any input. With 4 kids of various ages, I don't know how I could manage straight up teaching them all together everyday everything they need. T4L takes payments on a monthly basis, and recently was half price for the summer, so it's so easy to check it out and see if it works for you. I spent hundreds on books for 2 kids that were a total waste even though they were highly recommended... they were so wrong for my kids. They are happy with T4L, they are learning, they are healing, we're having a wonderful time being together- that's what matters.

I always wanted to homeschool and sort of gave up the dream when my son came home.... this thread gives me some hope :)

Millie... getting my LD son into music was the best thing I could do for him. Learning music helps train the brain, and came so naturally to him it was unbelievable. So although he followed after 2 very high achievers, he knows he has tremendous musical talent and I don't see that his self esteem has suffered any from not comparing academically with his brothers. It was music that gave him a reason to stay in school... I think it is the ONLY reason he graduated. I've got a website for all of you to check out for your kids.... It's a complete K-12 curriculum to use as your main curriculum or as a supplement. It does not claim to be all that you'll want to use to educate, but it is LOADED. Incl. test prep for ACT,SAT, GED. For the summer, it's FREE! This is the first program I considered using for my kids, but I decided to go with T4L instead. Since this one is free for the summer, I'm going to try it out. It's at [url=http://www.eTap.org]Online Homeschooling Programs, Home School Programs, Homeschooling[/url]. Use summer as the user name & password to get it free. It's called eTap.

Samide,[URL="http://www.time4learning.com"]T4L[/URL] will definitely meet the 50 families criteria, and it offers the four core subjects (math, language arts, science, and social studies/history), though I suggest you find another curriculum for science and social studies if your kiddo struggles with reading comprehension. (T4L's 3rd-8th grade science and social studies are HARD due to so much reading and very little interactivity for the kids to stay engaged.) The math and language arts are good for my 3, though.Two sources I've found for other subjects: [URL="http://www.clickschooling.com"]ClickSchooling[/URL] --she sends you an e-mail with a link to educational Web sites (most are free) each day according to the subject of the day (ex. math, science, social studies, art, foreign languages, etc.). Another is the [URL="http://www.HomeschoolBuyersCo-op.org"]HomeschoolBuyersCo-op[/URL] where you register for free and can search for free curricula. I bought their VERY cheap 3-yr subscription to Mark Kistler's 3-D art (online videos) program. (I used to watch him as a kid--he's very child-friendly and engaging. Very positive, too...mine love it.)Ooh, one more fun thing I found through "Mind Bites"--a grammar video program (it works for my visual kiddo who can't learn from reading due to poor language and comprehension) called "Cozy Grammar" by a retired Canadian teacher. My girls think she's funny (charming, grandma-like), but your boy might be put off. Just check out a sample...it's what WE can teach them, but so much more "fun" when taught by a cute, proper grandma. You can find the first few of her videos on YouTube for free.NOTE re: T4L vs. K12---My ADHD/anxiety-ridden/delayed/non-self-starters would NOT have done well with K12 since they are still expected to work AT grade level (from what I could see on their Web site. The difference is that they do have access to a "tutor/teacher" they can talk with (in online chat?) who can walk them through difficult material. But they're still expected to log in daily and turn in X amount of work daily. Probably not reasonable considering the amount of change and turmoil your guy will be facing in the coming months. Note, too, that you'll likely be doing therapy to help with the transition and deal with the ODD, etc.If it were me, I'd do the T4L since you can START him at any level, and with the click of a few buttons, you can change the educational level. And if you decide to start him at 4th, he'll still have access to 5th as well as 3rd. My 13-yr-old has an IQ of 83 and also performs "low average," but I had to move her down to 2nd grade (because it's very engaging and teaches them HOW to read and reread for details, main idea, etc.). She quickly completed the science and soc stud and moved onto 3rd grade for those (where she's now struggling due to all of the words on the page!).We also use library DVDs for science and soc stud (Bill Nye the Science Guy and various kids' history videos...ex: George Washington, Columbus, Native American history, etc.). Our library carries the Schlessinger Media videos--great educational stuff...and free!Be sure to use noise cancelling headphones if he needs to do work in the back of the room...AND install Net Nanny or similar because he'll probably already know how to surf (and trust me, it's the kind of "education" you won't want for him!) :o Good luck! Feel free to PM if you want any other curriculum tips. We've only been homeschooling for 1 year, but I've found lots of cool resources.EtA: Athikers, it was truly the best decision we've made, and I so wish we would have done it right away. Could have saved us all tons of time, energy, and heartache! My kids are finally settling and much less anxious than before. And I can finally see where the gaps are and can try different learning styles (video vs. computer vs. hands-on, etc.). Plus I get to spend more time WITH my kiddos which helps with the attachment (as long as I can keep my cool and not show my frustration on the 50th explanation of something)...I'm learning to say, "That's OK. Let's take a break from this and work on something else for now." ;)P.S. We also got our girls into music lessons, though you'll want to wait until he settles to start that. It is a real confidence booster and you can incorporate his practice into his daily lessons so it's part of "school" and not a thing you have to hassle him to do. Hee hee! And swim lessons (for safety and because it's "fun" and safe...no elbows to the face or fighting with teammates. They just swim.) ;) ...And re: how much time "in school"--remember that everything counts! If you take him grocery shopping and have him do the math to figure out how much per serving or how many you can buy for a given amount, that can count as math. (Trust me, folks, some of our kids need this practical stuff much more than they need to practice decimal to fraction conversions or learn the square root of such and such. Practical, living skills are a must, first.) Same goes for field trips (to history, science, art museums, concerts/music appreciation). Just incorporate learning (by asking questions, having him write about it) into everything, and your hours will add up....And get one of those teacher's plan books with 180 days. Then you can write in each day what you did. You'll be surprised how much you can cover at home when your child is relaxed and engaged. We covered 10 subjects/day our first week (math, English/grammar, spelling, vocab, science, history, reading, journaling, music, and art), and in only 4.5 hours with a break for lunch/recess and a mid-morning snack break. But that was overkill. Now we do 5 subjects/day and watch a video for science OR soc studies each day. Much more manageable, but I still wouldn't feel bad about reducing it as needed (for appts. or kids who'd rather sit in their rooms to "rest" (read) than do school for a few hours, etc.). We read together before bed and play lots of educational computer games, too.

Just to be clear, by "rest," I mean when the kiddo is having a meltdown due to some trigger. They can't learn in that state, so no use trying. I let mine "rest" (calm down) in their rooms and tell them to come join us when they're "ready" (calmed down)....These meltdowns are so infrequent now, I can't even remember when the last one was. :D

I think you should ask the state to pick up all of the tab for any homeschooling expenses... For heaven's sake, at his age, with all those diagnoses, they're lucky to even get someone to peek at him, much less consider adopting him. Put that in the adoption agreement -- presume you have similar options in your state as we do here, to ask for ongoing financial support at time of adoption. Anything they pay you that's *less* than full-time foster care will be a savings for the state.Congratulations on your intent to homeschool, I agree that it'll be a fabulous way to bond, as well as give him what he needs in each arena. Plus helping with social knowledge he's no doubt lacking, help him feel more secure, etc. Less stimulation at home than in the classroom = good.Do definitely read up on PTSD if you've not, (Peter A. Levine's books are a great start). It will color everything. Understand well what hypervigilance is, if you don't -- the PTSD will no doubt come with that. It will mellow over time as he heals.Look into Posit Science's brain programs for healing/helping with all the brain disorganization or messed-up or missing brain wiring, manifesting in all the learning disorders, esp. this one: Mixed Receptive Language Disorder.May I also suggest the book, "The Brain That Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge, if you're ever feeling down about his brain's ability to heal/ change. It's incredible! Brains can heal and change much more than we ever thought possible.

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