Just a Thot

Are you new to Lapbooking? Don’t fret, you were right when you started this endeavor,“ it is a good thing and your child will like it. BUT, like anything worth while, you get out of it what you put into it. So … how do you use your time wisely, plan appropriately and get the most out of Lapbooking? Start with a plan. My daddy used to tell me, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Oh boy, was that ever me (ok, so sometimes it still is me!!)

Basic Plan. Here is a very simple check list:

• Group like Activities together
• Figure out how many days you want to do this study
• Plug in the ‘groups’ to the days available

Now, here’s where I do things a bit differently!

˜Family Outings”. Days that we will be out of the house all afternoon get a light academic load. However, days that we will be home all day get a heavier load! That way I’m not stressed, “oh, I have to get the kids to finish this before we head out the door. Now we’re late cause they didn’t get everything done, yada, yada, yada!” I’m sure you know the drill!! Learn from me: figure out what is important and don’t major in the minors.

The Basic Five: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, History & Science. Make sure they are all there. Why do I do this? Well, I want to show my kids that the Basic Five is in everything you do! Isn’t this hard??? If you join the HOAC On-Line CoOps, it is already done for you! But fear not, it’s fairly easy to do for yourself! The reading and writing is already in every HOAC Lapbook and the rest is easy to throw in:

• Reading: have your child read the guide and then answer the questions to the Activities (you read it to your child if your child isn’t reading yet)
• Writing: have your child write the answers on the Activities.
• Arithmetic: make up simple (or comples – depending on where your child is academically) math word problems. Your goal here is to show them how math is used everyday and therefore is not the eye roll – “Do I have to do this” subject that they know and dislike so well!!
• History: if you have a Science Lapbook, when in History did any of this take place? Example: Desert Habitats Unit. When was the Sahara Desert first discovered?
• Science: if you have a History Lapbook, what Scientific inventions were made during that time? Example: Declaration of Independence Unit. Who discovered Electricity and what did he have to do with the Declaration of Independence. What is electricity?

I don’t put all five in every single day, but we do cover the “Basic Five” throughout the study.

So, you’ve got your plan, now what do you do?

• Print out the activities that you are going to do the night before.
• Some (most) moms cut out the activities for the kids. My kids need something to keep their hands out of trouble while I’m teaching the lesson, so they get to cut for themselves!!
• If your child doesn’t write out the words perfectly … it’s ok! You are looking for learning here … not perfection! (this took me so long to learn)
• We keep all our “little books” in zip lock bags till the last day of the study (cut a corner off the zip lock baggie so that air doesn’t make it puff out)
• On the last day of the study, get out your crayons, colored pencils, stickers, file folders and zip lock baggies full of “little books” and let the kids create!
• Most importantly … have fun!!! The more fun you have, the more the kids will remember what it is that they are supposed to be learning!!!

Maggie is married to her best friend Dave. They live in the mountains of Southern California where they homeschool their kids. Their son has Aspergers Syndrome, ADHD, ODD along with a multitude of Learning Disabilities. Their daughter is “normal” … hyperactive, but “normal”. You can visit them at http://www.MaggieMcCormick.com Maggie is also the CoOp Coordinator for the HOAC On-Line CoOps. You can reach her there at Co-Ops@handsofachild.com with any questions about CoOps.

Although we had a difficult delivery of our first born, we didn’t think much of it. We were so proud that we had a big baby boy! It wasn’t till Ian was about three years old that our world was turned upside down.

When Ian was about three years old, we tried to place him in a preschool. They took him for one day then told us that they could not accommodate his “disabilities”. Ummm, hello? Disabilities??? What were they talking about? They just didn’t know anything, that’s all there is to it. Then it all started to sink in and our world started falling apart.

By the time Ian was five, he was started on medicine … “to fix him”. (little did we realize that it was the adults that needed to be fixed, myself included) We held Ian back for a year so that he could “catch up” to the other kids mentally. When Ian was 7, he was in first grade in a Christian School that had a “Special Needs Department”. The teacher kept telling me (and sending notes to the Dr telling him) that we needed to increase the medication because it just wasn’t working. Ian was still “disrupting the class”. So, the meds just kept getting increased and increased. I listened to the teacher and the doctor … after all, they were the professionals, right??? Finally, Ian overdosed where he freaked out. He lost complete control of himself and couldn’t stop screaming or moving. They sent him to the office where he hid under a table and swatted at anyone who got near to him.

I had taken off work early … just because. I got there and the principal told me that she was ready to call the Police on him. Ok, wait, STOP. This is a 7 year old kid who is overdosing on the drugs that you and your teacher INSISTED that he take??? And YOU want to call the cops???

I found Ian in a corner, under a table rocking back and forth, mumbling unintelligibly. I gathered him into my arms and carried him off … Ian never went back to a “formal” school.

Our world came crashing down around us. Suddenly we had a different kind of “Normal”. All those hopes and dreams of a normal life with a kid who could go to a school, play on a team sport, be baby sat by a teenager … all those things that most people take for granted … all those dreams & expectations were lying at our feet in a crumpled mess.

The pain and heartache of the next few years is hard to put into words. We tried to put those pieces back together again. Unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to get him completely off of the drugs that those fools had him on. That, I deeply regret. Because Ian has Aspergers Syndrome AND ADHD and ODD (along with other Learning Disabilities) the medication that he was on for 5 years was only making him worse. I so wanted him to be “normal”. I guess that’s why we hung on to the meds for so long … just trying to be “normal” like everyone else.

But “like everyone else” was not where God wants us. God is allowing us to learn and grow in ways that we never thought we would. We’re still learning and growing, but finally to a place where we can reach out to others. That’s what this web site is all about. A way we can reach out to others going through what we have been through and are still going through right now.

We aren’t Doctors or Psychologists, just fellow Special Moms and Dads who have been there and know that! We want you to know that you are not alone. There is a God out there with a Master Plan that includes you and your Special Child. That I know for sure. Another thing I know, my grandmother taught me when I was just a little girl. It’s summarized in a song … the song I still sing my daughter to sleep with: Jesus Loves Me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me … the Bible tells me so. Sometimes, it’s all I can do to hang on to that one truth … but never let go … never.