Transitioning to CM with LD child

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  • I will be tranistioning to the CM approach soon.  I have 3 daughters.  My oldest is “entering 7th grade”, but she’s on a 5th grade reading level, and her reading comprehension is poor.  She’s BELOW her younger sister, who is “entering 6th”, but on a 7th grade reading level.  My youngest, we suspect has a mild LD, but she hasn’t been tested yet.  She’s a grade behind (she’s suppsoed to be entering 3rd). 

    I’ve been homeschooling for 5 years, and I just heard about the CM approach and I am very eager to transition.  I know I’m supposed to transition in stages.  I’m willing to transition slowly as my children are ready. 

    Another problem I have is that when I heard about CM, my husband was not around.  I told him about it, but he’s not convinced it’s the right way to go.  Right now we’re doing the textbook approach, b/c it was easy for ME.  How selfish am I?

    I have ordered the “Planning Your CM Education” book and DVD, so that’s a start.  I will also be getting Charlotte’s book series from my local library soon to educate my self on her philosophy and methods.

    Please pray for me, my husband, and my children.  Any suggestions for placement in the CM program would be appreciated.

    welcome! There are many of us here who have children with special needs. 

    First of all, you are not selfish. There have been times when we have used textbooks in our 11 years of homeschooling because it was easier for me…I have 5 children (soon to be 6) including one with Autism and for a year or two I had to use some textbooks because it was what worked at the time. There are different seasons in life, and as I prayed about it during those times, I always felt the Lord was leading me, whether we used textbooks or not and I refuse to feel guilty about that. So say good-bye to that guilt. It’s not from the Lord.Kiss

    CM works wonderfully with Special needs children because you are always working on their strengths and setting them up to succeed in what they are able to do. Here are some links that might help your dh:

    http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/How_To_Homeschool/articles/usingcharlottemasonwithspecialneedschildren.php

    http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=594819&sp=102656&event=1016TOS%7C1806673%7C102656

    Blessings,

    Nanci

     

    Well, I discussed it with my husband more in-deprth in October.  I prayed about it and told him what God told me.  God said, “Do it anyway.  He’ll come around.”  So I did.  But my husband said that if he was gonna agree to do the CM method from now on, then I would have to write out a 12-year plan customized for each child.  It sounded like a TON of work, so at first I was disappointed and discouraged.  Then I figured out that much of it was just copying and pasting.  A little more work for 3 kids, but not much more work than 1 generalized plan overall.  Now I can see the beauty of having 3 plans.  My oldest wants to read The Pilgrim’s Progress, so I just customized her Literature plan to fit that in.  (I just picked one book and replaced it with Pilgrim’s Progress.) 

    I told my husband that I’ve seen a difference in how interested the kids are in learning now.  He said, “Really?  What?”  I said, “Well, Tabitha will spend 45 minutes on Apologia General Science, but when the timer beeps, she doesn’t wanna stop.  She says, “Mom can I keep going on Science?  I wanna do the next experiment…”

    He said, “Really?”  I said, “Yes, she’ll spend another 30 minutes on science.  She used to think it was just another dry school subject that she HAD to do.  Now she WANTS to do it.”  (She was never interested in science much before.) 

    I’m eternally gratefully for Charlotte Mason for coming up with “how to do school…”

    And I’m so excited for the terms and years ahead.

    lgeurink
    Member

    My eldest has severe special needs and has attended school since she was three.  We had decided to homeschool before we knew about her disorder so it felt terrible to be “compromising” our decision already.  She is now ten and while I still do not teach her any lessons at home, this year (for her 3rd grade) she is finally able to come home at noon with an aid to help her nap and help take care of her in the afternoons.  I give lots of credit to CM and this site for our ability to do this.  By combining ages (we have 2 other dds and are adopting), making our own schedules, and having so much freedom in what we choose, this method has worked so very well for us and has blessed our family in so many ways.  There are times we even feel like a “normal” family though it doesn’t last long!  Obviously respect your husband, but I think there will be more blessings for your family than even just the educational ones.  God bless!

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