Most of the homeschool Spanish curriculum reviews that I have found online use a very traditional, classroom approach to learning Spanish. That's the type of class I had when I was in Junior High and High School. You probably had a similar class. You start with counting in Spanish. Then you begin naming objects. Lots of rote memorization of Spanish words is involved. I passed the class, but I didn't really learn any Spanish. The classroom approach to learning Spanish just didn't work for me. So when I found myself scheduled for my first trip to Guatemala, I needed to learn Spanish. The … [Read more...]
ADHD – A Walk in the Park
October 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment
ADHD has been all over the news this week. I was particularly intrigued by a study in the Journal of Attention Disorders that suggested that nature walks improved concentration just as much as - and sometimes more than - medication. It's interesting that the walks in natural settings were much more effective than walks in a city setting. At our house, my standard remedy to everything from inattention to arguing to stomachache is 'eat some raisins and run around the house'. (It's nice for my home remedy to get validation from a journal!) While going outside to play certainly isn't the cure … [Read more...]
Formatting Papers
October 22, 2008 By Leave a Comment
If your child's teacher requires the class to format papers in a certain way, consider having your child get several ready at home and keep them in her planner. We've also had our son write his name in the proper spot, then used a highlighter to mark the places the other items needed to go, like date, subject, and class period. A teacher we know tapes a model paper to children's desks if they need help remembering what goes where. Help your kids to be more focused, organized, encouraged and successful! Visit Kayla Fay at http://www.adhd-inattentive.com. … [Read more...]
Positive Parenting
October 21, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Try to correct your child without using negatives. Instead of saying, "Don't run" say "Walk". Instead of saying, "Stop arguing", say, "A little civility, please." Another option is to not saying anything at all - just make eye contact. (I'm not talking about the look, just passive eye contact.) When your child changes behavior, you can make a positive statement. And two positives make a positive! Read about Postive Parenting on Amazon. Help your kids to be more focused, organized, encouraged and successful! Visit Kayla Fay at http://www.adhd-inattentive.com. … [Read more...]
Turning Negatives into Positives
October 21, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Try to correct your child without using negatives. Instead of saying, "Don't run" say "Walk". Instead of saying, "Stop arguing", say, "A little civility, please." Another option is to not saying anything at all - just make eye contact. (I'm not talking about the look, just passive eye contact.) When your child changes behavior, you can make a positive statement. And two positives make a positive! Visit our website at http://www.adhd-inattentive.com. Help your kids to be more focused, organized, encouraged and successful! Visit Kayla Fay at http://www.adhd-inattentive.com. … [Read more...]
Demonic Mnemonics
October 20, 2008 By 1 Comment
Sometimes the small things make all the difference. Like in memorization. My first introduction to the word Mnemonic came with the disclaimer that it was a 'demon' to pronounce. I never forgot that word. Nor will I ever forget the following devices, that I hope will help your child, too. The place values in the metric system: King Henry Doesn't Usually Drink Chocolate Milk or King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk Kilo Hecto Deka Unit (or Base) Deci Centi Milli Order of Operations: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally Parentheses (and other symbols of inclusion); Exponents; … [Read more...]
"Homework Doesn’t Get Any Better…"
October 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment
An ADHD mom writes..."My daughter is in 8th grade and is doing Algebra! Her homework last night was to solve quadratic equations with variables on each side. Of course, I had to refer to the textbook (which she gets to keep at home thanks to her 504 accommodation!) to help her with it. She used a large (24"x18") white wipe board and colored markers (lime green, bright pink, yellow) to work out the problems. The wipe board makes it easy for me to watch how she is working the problem out because she writes bigger than she could on her binder paper, and it makes it easy for her to erase a … [Read more...]
Staying on Task
October 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Staying on task is HARD. Trying to write this, I keep getting distracted, and I don't have ADHD. To help bring attention back to the task at hand, our family LOVES a little gadget called the Triple Tell Timer. It flashes, buzzes and/or beeps at regular intervals to simply remind you - or your kids - of what you are supposed to be doing. You program it with the frequency you need, and it does the rest. Our guys used to fight over this thing. Of course, there are many variations on the theme. There are lots of cool gadgets - medication reminders, watches, alarms, you name it! Check out our new … [Read more...]
Teaching the Test
October 16, 2008 By 2 Comments
If your child brings home a test with a lower grade than you would like, take some time to review the test. First of all, find out what sort of mistakes were made. Did your child simply not have a grasp of the material? Were the wrong things studied? Were the mistakes careless? Were there transposing errors - especially in math - where numbers were reversed? If the test was multiple choice, did your child get the right answer on the scratch sheet, but circled or bubbled the wrong answer? Then find out which type of answers are hardest for your child. Multiple choice often require your child … [Read more...]
