Thursday 1 February 2007 - Of KWAD*s and pencils…
*KWAD = Kid With Attention Difficulties. Like most people who deal with it on a daily basis, I definitely believe in the existence of ADD/ADHD; however, I hate use of the term “disorder” and try when possible to avoid use of the final D. “Difficulties” seems to pretty much cover both D’s. And by the way, I am an AWAD (so is my hubby) which makes parenting & homeschooling KWADs just that much more challenging!
A few things I have learned over the years of homeschooling KWADs:
- Stop trying to find a distraction-free room in which to homeschool. There is no such thing. KWADs will always find something to distract them; if there is nothing else around, they will happily distract themselves with pencils.
- Speaking of pencils… Start each learning session with no fewer than 5 sharpened pencils on the table. That way as each one successively ends up on the floor or has its point broken off or its lead ground into the paper, one needs only to grab another until the supply has run out.
- Keep said collection of extra pencils out of the reach of the KWAD.
- Avoid at all costs the use of mechanical pencils with the KWAD, especially cheap ones that come apart easily. They are even more of a distraction than regular pencils.
- Have a ready consequence for grinding pencils into the dining room table, but be sure to differentiate between grinding out of distraction, out of frustration, and out of defiance.
- Count the number of pencils in your stash and multiply it by 73. That is how much patience you will need to make it through your learning session.
- Keep a ready supply of chocolate in your top dresser drawer. If you make it thru your learning session without hollering at your KWAD, reward yourself with an amount of chocolate roughly equal in ounces to twice the number of times you had to go replace the stash of pencils. If you did not make it thru without hollering, give yourself some chocolate anyway; it will help to speed your recovery.
- If none of the above seem to work for you and your KWAD, consider adding a padded cell in your basement. Make use of it whenever the need arises. Oh, this is not for your KWAD; it is for you. Be sure to keep it padlocked and stocked with chocolate. Pencils optional.
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Cheez, Fuzz, Spaz, & Huz (2006)
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Over 16 years of homeschooling, I've evolved to a less formal, Charlotte Mason-ish eclectic approach with a more-or-less classical bent. (Isn't that clear as mud?) My goal is to �light the fires� of learning and creativity in my kids. I emphasize history & literature because we enjoy them, and I incorporate informal language arts into much of what we do.
Er, yeah. That's how it's SUPPOSED to go. The reality of it is...
After 16 years of homeschooling, I have yet to really figure out how to do it. So we muddle along, overemphasizing history and almost sort of neglecting science, and I spend way too much time making plans that we don't stick to anyway. We read a lot, and we like words, and we don't manage our time very well, and sometimes I yell.
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"You have your ideal of how things should look, but you're flexible enough to allow for change. You are not bothered by changing methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an eclectic combination of curriculum sources."
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