A Sensory-Friendly Homeschool

When deciding whether or not to homeschool, one of the main things we considered was the fact that Shannon has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). But, when it came to choosing curriculum last year, I don't feel like I considered his special needs as well as I could have. I am not a kinesthetic learner. I am mostly visual. So for someone like me, teaching kinesthetically does not come naturally. Many moms are so into crafts and projects and I must admit my envy. But, just because it does not come to me naturally, it doesn't mean I will not give it my very best to be the teacher Shannon needs me to be. One of the main advantages of home schooling is I can teach him and understand him better than someone who is not as in tune with him as I am. I have been spending a lot of time researching some SPD friendly tools and curriculum for us to use next year.

Consistency is important to the sanity of almost every child and even more so for a child with SPD. When we are coming into Cheney from Spokane, there are two routes to take: straight through town or up and around past the college. I originally started taking the college route because there were some new apartments going up and the kids liked to watch the workers and see the progress. Now it is just out of habit. If I ever decide to go through town because I need to go to the bank or something, Shannon will get really upset because we're not going the "right" way. I have learned that I must let him know ahead of time if I need to go through town so he is not taken off guard. The same goes for rearranging anything in the house. He will immediately point out that something is not in the "right" place. This may seem a little OCD and you are correct. A child with SPD will often have some OCD tendencies. As Shannon gets older, he is learning to work around his environment but he is still a little boy and therefore needs coaching most of the time. 

 

Organizing Our Day

 

When it comes to keeping our days consistent, I am thinking of trying out a couple of new things. I wrote out a schedule for me and the kids using A Mother's Rule of Life. I keep this schedule in a sheet protector in my Home Organization Binder that I recently put together. This schedule will serve as a guide for me as we move through our day. I also just ordered a new book/system called Managers of Their Chores. Other moms who have used this system have found their children to be more efficient, independent, and cheerful in completing their chores. I am hoping we can all do our chores at the same time and get everything done quickly right after breakfast and before we begin formal schooling. The main structure of the system is a "chore pack" that the child clips onto their clothing as a hands on and visual guide while completing their chores. The chore pack is a plastic pocket, like a name badge, with a card for each chore the child is to complete in it. So I would hand Chloe and Shannon their chore packs full of (don't know how many yet) chore cards and they would do the card that is on top and when it is done move it the back. This physical movement of the chore cards will be so helpful for Shannon as positive reinforcement. I'll let you know how it goes.

Organizing Our School
Now that I have, hopefully, found a system for getting us through our morning routine smoothly, I needed something to get us into and through our school work smoothly. I have decided to implement Sue Patrick's Workbox System. This system was created by the mother of a child with autism. When I first came across this system a few months ago, I thought it looked like it took up a lot of space, was a big investment, and was a lot of work so I mentally tossed it aside. I came back to the idea after seeing it pop up on various blogs I read. I attended her webinar, Implementing Sue Patrick's Workbox System, presented by the creater last monday, June 28th, and I was impressed by how low maintenance and versitile the system is. She has used this system for children as young as 15 months old so the whole family can do school at the same time. And the start up cost is low. The physical structure is a 4-shelf rack (target $15) and 12 shoebox sized bins (I've seen these for $1 each in many stores). So for about $30 I can give the system a try and see if it works for our family. I am sure I will be reviewing the system a few months into the new year.

So that is how we will frame our days. Now on to curriculum . . . in Part II.