When Josiah turned three, I ordered pieces of Sonlight's 3/4 program for him. We loved these books and still read many of them. The Usborne Flip Flap Body Book is probably one of our favorites! There were some fun learning games, activities suggested for each book in the instructor's guide, and plenty of activities we could find to do around the house. Much of our time was spent reading or playing with playdoh, the two activities that seemed to calm my ever-moving son. He had my undivided attention in those days, and he needed it. To be honest, what I often needed was a break!
It was around the time Josiah was 3 1/2 that he was diagnosed with AHDH. Over a year later, I doubt that label would able to be attached to him. He's full of energy and all boy, but far from the out-of-control child we used to know. There are rare times we see old behaviors coming back, and we can always trace it to something going on in his diet. These are far different from the normal misbehaviors you would expect from a child his age.
Yet I do think there are little lingering signs of his first 3 1/2 years. When your body is raging out of your control, it's hard to learn things like how to engage in independent play, color, or have the confidence to try something new. Anxiety is still his ever-present companion, although it's beginning to fade a bit. However, when I'm doing school with the older children, keeping Josiah busy and engaged in something constructive is my biggest challenge.
It's something we are working on, though! Some helpful friends suggested I read up on using workboxes, an idea we are trying. Perhaps the bit of independence required in these activities will be a good stepping stone to greater confidence. Or perhaps he just needs a little more time to mature, something I do see rapidly growing in this little boy.
When we work one on one, he's a charmer. We found a great handwriting curriculum that seems to be made for kids like Josiah. Just about any preschool book published by Kumon has found its way to our table. We're reading through the Sonlight 4/5 books I once used with Micah and Rachel, along with a few new Sonlight titles thrown in, and anything we can find at the library. We are working a little on reading only because he's interested and seems ready, but it took on a new dimension when we started acting out phrases he read. That's when it hit me that this little boy is every bit of a kinesthetic learner. That could also be what's behind his "do-it-with-me" and "play-with-me" mentality.
Our decision to homeschool this year has as much to do with Josiah as with the other two kids. Sending him to preschool with his eating sensitivities is a thought that makes me shudder (although I know there are many Feingold moms who do this with success). When so much learning is celebrated through food in the early years, why not keep him home and do it with food we know is safe for him? He attends church, Awana, and a Bible Study Fellowship class where they have been more than gracious with his food sensitivities, allowing us to bring in the snacks he needs or even purchasing special ones just for him. Besides, I taught preschool-aged children in the classroom many years ago. It's one of my favorite ages, and I don't really have any desire or reason to send him elsewhere.
The challenges we are facing now are minimal compared to a year or two ago. I can't help but think they are not all that uncommon for any homeschooling mom with active preschool children. So every week, we'll learn something new about how to do this a little more successfully, and we'll enjoy our journey together in all the difficulties, mess, and fun.
Someday, he will be putting bigger sets of Legos together completely on his own, and I'll probably have to pull him away to do school!
No comments:
Post a Comment