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Read Naturally – Recommended Resources
Think!
Composting the scraps of goodness
I never knew a chicken could have so much personality! Watching our 3 chickens outside my window at breakfast brings a surprising amount of joy. This has been a terrific addition to the family in so many ways. Dylan is learning how to care for them and I’m learning to acknowledge his contributions without the tempting corrections that will surely discourage future attempts. I purposely ignore the negative chatter in my own head that pops up, that can build into fear, then reveal itself as frustration and disappointment. Instead I try focus on what is going well, and know this is not the last time, and then I picture him doing his chores in his own way, well and independently. That keeps me busy enough that nothing “well intended” leaks out to spoil the efforts. He usually needs a little reminding, so I stick with saying something like “you have already done “this” and “that”, now all you need to do is….Sometimes “this” and “that” may be as simple as “you have already gotten up and made your breakfast, now you just need to do your chores”. Currently he feeds the animals, 2 Guinea Pigs and 3 chickens from school, 4 fish 1 Tibetan Terrier mix and a speckled grey cat…how did that happen? He picks up the floor in his room and brings down his laundry, empties the recycling and takes out the trash. For this he earns TV time. These simple shifts in the way I communicate with him have gone miles toward a positive response and less power struggles. With The Nurtured Heart Approach, I am finding more and more opportunities to acknowledge the many efforts he makes in life, even if they are just a micro moments. It feels so much better to turn these genuine moments of positive action, no matter how small, into “teachable moments”. It’s like composting, give a little goodness and nourish the soul. Nothing good is wasted! It’s been worth seeing him beam with pride, like my flowers look when the soil is rich. Then again, don’t look at my flowers lately, no rich soil going on there….perhaps I should say like my flowers would look, if I would nourish the soil…well, forgive me, I’m still learning.
A friend of mine posted this. These are some very happy faces. Joy is unmistakeable, it can happen in any circumstance and it’s power immeasurable. 
The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.
George William Curtis
Curriculum for teaching children with dyslexia reading at home / homeschool – overcoming dyslexia – Learning Abled Kids
IMSE
At this Orton Gillingham training site they have a list of apps that may be helpful. IMSE.
Homeschooling Success: One Mother’s Story * Yale Center For Dyslexia & Creativity
This story from the Yale center for Dyslexia and Creativity was very inspiring. Reminded me of the importance of getting out to a wide variety of experiences and places to aid in building vocabulary among other things. A I look for the right curriculum for his needs, this site has been helpful in spelling the needs out. I appreciated the articles on reading and especially the series of articles on math, memory, language etc. Homeschooling Success: One Mother’s Story * Yale Center For Dyslexia & Creativity.
Down Syndrome Education International
School choice program expands – USATODAY.com
Today Dylan and I and his Dad met with a few fellow ESA members to discuss homeschooling options, and find out how others were building curriculum, and using the ESA funds. It was wonderful to meet others that were beginning this process. We left today feeling a little less alone, and in fact in good company. I am looking forward to connecting again and hope to meet others as well. When we got home Dylan thanked me for including him, and I realize that from now on he is included in everything. This is his journey, I’m just a part. Though, I see this adventure of homeschooling as my journey right now, I realize that really it is his. It will be a blip in his memory one day, I hope a good one.
We talked about purchasing curriculum and there is still some question about the details. It appears that we may be able to purchase materials that are required by the curriculum, however I’m not totally clear if this is so. I will post more as it is clarified.
We also talked about some concerns regarding the expansion to the ESA program, that will go into effect this next year. I found an article that addresses some of the concerns and have posted it below.
Dawn from the Civitan center shared the services that Civitan has to offer (especially a very nice music studio with drum set and instruments) and her willingness to create programs that would be of service to us. She spoke a little bit about the away camp in Williams, in the pines which one parent who had been to visit talked about how beautiful it was. Their programs would all take ESA funds. http://www.campcivitan.org
Mostly I left our gathering with a deep appreciation for the resolve and commitment that was evident in the room and an awareness that I had much to learn.
At home Dylan is back to work aimed at finishing his daily work. Right now he earns TV time when work is completed and chores are done. He chose to toss the ball a bit before hand to get going. This really helps him organize himself to read. I hope we will be able to start therapy at the Midwestern University Eye Clinic again, as well as Speech and OT. Almost made it to our 1st speech lesson, but instead ended in the ER with DH. Remember if you ever get a piece of meat stuck in your esophagus, try the grocery store for the remedy first. I fear the cost of the 3 cans of Coke and 2 Saltines that provided the long awaited relief at the nearby hospital. I wish I had hit the vending machines before he recieved the pretty bracelet with his name on it. Grateful, it wasn’t anything else but did wonder for a moment if I could give him a better reason to stay for treatment.
Montessori is Special Education
I wonder what encouragement I will find in the pages of this book? http://ia600805.us.archive.org/24/items/montessorispecia00rcor/montessorispecia00rcor.pdf
This his book was written so many years ago, yet in Montessori Schools today Children with Special Needs seem to be limited to very high functioning children, with few behavior challenges. It seems to me that as a teacher the question of the other children getting what they needed is always present, am I serving everyone? Is it out of balance. But yet at the same time I grapple with my belief that communities include everyone. How do we learn to be whole citizens in this community if we do not learn how to engage with, have time for and include all members of the community. How can this not be part of our schools? Is it what we value? Is it how we have chosen to define successful individuals that gets in our way.
A decision to see a person as whole, and deserving of our kindness and respect, to see their greatness requires us to have a new understanding of what it is to be human. What it is to be of service. To let go of old ways. Haven’t we done this before? Isn’t this basic misunderstanding at the root so much disparity in the world are we really a better nation because “more” people have an opportunity. Can’t we really shift our perception enough that all people have opportunity to be accepted in a community. Can’t we make it just as shameful, and unacceptable that our space whatever it is was not designed to include all individuals. Can’t we stretch our greatness to recognize what’s missing when individuals with various disabilities are missing from the room. Seeking diverse communities has always made us a greater nation, a greater community, a greater school, a greater group. What needs to happen? Often it seems when great change must take place it is the mistaken goal or model that needs to be restructured. Greatness comes from our ability to see beyond our current circumstances to a possibility that exceeds those constraints, (something our most vulnerable do on a daily basis). A nation of greatness must see the greatness in each other, by the wholeness of it’s individuals. We make others vulnerable when we create a world in which the value is determined by others. One’s vulnerability is proportionate to the constructs of the society in which it lives. What kind of society, what kind of being do we wish to construct.
When all else is gone, what will bring us the most joy? How can we remember, as we seek to “pay for our lives”, that joy exists in the ability to be ourselves, be loved, and be able to serve and love others, and seek that, that builds us in our own vision. Isn’t this what Montessori saw? It costs nothing to be kind, to be patient, to be giving, to be compassionate, to have empathy. We have become a nation that everything has a price tag. It is costing us our humanness and our potential greatness. It is an invisible force that has altered the nature of all things. What we lack in money is always made up for in the richness of our joy in each other. If we shifted our success meter to exist in the richness of our community, the level of service, compassion, joy it would have to include everyone, and it could build a community of individuals that care for each other, are empowered and enriched and nourished by each other. Special would just be an important element in the mix. It is an important part of the mix. The fact that it is missing, and it’s members absent from the community on the whole, our community is disable, lacks the very elements that would exist if these members were wholly a part. It is something we hide from, don’t want to know about, fantasize that all is well with, so we can live in this illusion of success.
I believe that a transformation of this kind is happening all around us. Like waiting for a bud to bloom, or an egg to hatch, or a child to have that “aha” moment, we will unfold this possibility. The seeds have already been planted the ground has been made fertile, and now we just nourish, encourage tirelessly, invite, and trust in its inevitability. This I say as I deal with my own impatience, perceptions, and abilities with still the hope of practicing in good faith that that I believe in. If I don’t stay compassionate with myself, I might just give up, however. It’s a new day, patience arrived as always at my bedside and so here I am again, and in the company of so many I trust. Good company it is.
my project4peace 