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Welcome to the Homeschooling board!
Board: Homeschooling
Jun 17, 2005 7:21pm
Thread Board (disabled)
dvn2rckr requested a homeschooling board, but it doesn't really seem to have an approriate category, so-- for now at least--I'll leave it here in the Hobby Box seeing as it was meant to be a "non-letterboxing" boards section. =) Happy trails! -- Ryan
Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Jun 17, 2005 10:06pm
Thread Board (disabled)

Hello,

Occasionally I peruse the new 'profiles' of letterboxers on Atlas Quest and I've noticed several letterboxers who are also homeschooling.  Just wanted to say hello to you all and welcome you to Atlas Quest.  We, too, are homeschooling--just starting out as our eldest will start 2nd grade next Fall. We've been letterboxing for three years, as well. 

Does anybody incorporate letterboxing into their homeschooling 'routine'?  If so, how?

dvn2r ckr, Adventure Seeker, Pacific Northwest US

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4990 by daelphinus
Jun 18, 2005 7:33am
Thread Board (disabled)
I do not homeschool, but I do a great deal of "supplimental" education.  All three boys never went to pre-school but I taught them reading, writing and math before they reached kindergarten (the oldest was reading at age 2).  I turn everything into an educational experience, including letterboxing.  The oldest is 9 and I wanted him to become better at researching on the net so I had him do some of the Disney series virtual letterboxes.  All three have learned to read a compass and look for things in nature on their hikes, of course (not to mention the exercise--phys.ed.--part of it).  I also take the opportunity to talk about things on long hikes.  Sometimes we make of stories on the trail which we come back home and turn into real stories on the computer.  My 9 year old particularly likes to type up these stories, but even my 6 year old keeps a journal to write about his "adventures" on the trail. 
Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4998 by The Wolf Family
Jun 18, 2005 11:53am
Thread Board (disabled)

We do not "officially" homeschool (yet) as James is 2 1/2.  But like The Wolf Family, we are doing alot of teaching right now.  James can already read and he knows his numbers through 25. He's very smart with learning things.. (like how to take apart the doorknobs in our house LOL) but since he's not going to daycare or any CDC, he only gets peer socialization through church activities. (We have a ultra small family.. it's just us and my brother's family and they have two girls 9 and 13).

It was really great to meet The Wolf Family (and Abe & Gail) at the Pops in the Park in Concord yesterday.  My son is still pretty shy about meeting people but he did like the boys! My husband remarked after we left how well behaved and very polite the wolf cubs were!  And also how friendly they were to James.    

James went with us today to Reedy Creek to box, although, after the first two, Dad doubled back for the Stonehouse box while James and I wound up heading back up to play on the swings.

cam

RE: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5010 by Alyson Wonderland
Jun 18, 2005 3:45pm
Thread Board (disabled)

"...he did like the boys! My husband remarked after we left how well behaved and very polite the wolf cubs were!  And also how friendly they were to James."

Thanks!  I'll take the credit for that (patting myself on the back)-- Lord knows they weren't born that way!  

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5010 by Alyson Wonderland
Jun 18, 2005 9:04pm
Thread Board (disabled)

OK, I'm not an "official" homeschooler either. I'm a liscened teacher and my kids both go to public school. BUT, both of my children have been tested for the talented and gifted program and there is no way the public schools can meet their academic needs. So, they go to school for socialization and dad and I do all of their "teaching" at home.

We incorporate a LOT of education into letterboxing. All of my kid's plants have an educational slant. Tooth Fairy (my daughter) did a series with my best friend on butterflies. She had to look up all the information and figure out how to present it. Pupp (my best friend) did the carving.

Maiden

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4990 by daelphinus
Jun 18, 2005 11:33pm
Thread Board (disabled)

My sister (who lives in California) homeschools her kids (9, 7 and 5) She used to be a teacher before she started having kids. I have tried to get them involved in letterboxing, but it never seems to click! I have hidden a letterbox near their home and they like to check on it for me and see if other letterboxers have found it, but they have no desire to hunt out other letterboxes in the area.

I do think it is neat how they turn everything into a learning adventure. My Dad and I were visiting and we took the oldest girl to Catalina island for the day. We were told that this was to be a "field trip" and needed to have an educational slant. So besides just having lunch, sightseeing, and shopping, we tried to think of ways to make the trip truly educational! It was a learning experience for us as well. We had to look at things differently than we might normally have. We had to interpret them into a learning experience for my niece.

So I have a great appreciation for the job that you homeschoolers are doing every day!

-Amanda from Seattle

PS I am available for Flat Stanley ... I have hosted a couple of Flat Stanleys...either on Airline trips or in the Seattle area.

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5036 by Amanda from Seattle
Jun 19, 2005 6:11am
Thread Board (disabled)

It sort of seems like there are topics for two boards here:  Letterboxing with Kids & Homeschooling.

My kids are in public school--my 7yo goes to a school primarily for "gifted & talented" (even though I send him there, I absolutely groan at that label--all kids are gifted and talented in their own ways!).  Our preschooler is starting at a new public experimental school that is Montessori, preK-8th grade.  To date, our experience with school has been very positive, but of course, in spite of that aren't we always "teaching" our kids?

Now, for how we use letterboxing to teach.  In addition to the ordinary things like map skills and compass reading, our oldest is math-mad.  So we created a Fibonacci box & a Pi box & are working on a Prime Box.   We've been racking our brains on how to create a box with clues based on chess moves (another favorite activity), so if anyone has suggestions, we'll take them!  We try to find historical boxes when we're out and about.  And of course, every day on the trail is one giant nature lesson.  Just yesterday, it was a short course in humidity (it's 96 and we live in Houston)!

Best to all,

DB

PS I am available for Flat Stanley ... I have hosted a couple of Flat Stanleys...either on Airline trips or in the Seattle area.

Batrick read Flat Stanley as part of a kids book club, so I know he'd be interested in sending him about.  It would be great fun to have a Letterboxing Flat Stanley--so we could vicariously visit some other letterboxing areas!

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5036 by Amanda from Seattle
Jun 19, 2005 9:03am
Thread Board (disabled)

Flat Stanley is a kick. I sent out three as postal boxes for my kids at school, we got two of them back. One got held up in Northern Washington. The kids had a blast tracking where it had been and exploring the logs and pictures. The people that hosted him did a FANTASTIC job of highlighting the historical areas of their towns.

Maiden

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5041 by dewberry
Jun 19, 2005 11:21am
Thread Board (disabled)
my 7yo goes to a school primarily for "gifted & talented" (even though I send him there, I absolutely groan at that label--all kids are gifted and talented in their own ways!)

Yeah, I went to one of those schools for the non-gifted and talentless students--but I turned out okay, right? =) Sure, I've been unemployed for the last 3 1/2 years, but that could have happened to anyone!

We've been racking our brains on how to create a box with clues based on chess moves

I have a friend who's a ravid chess player (and, in fact, deliberately moved across the street from Crossroads in Bellevue, Washington, just so he'd live next to the giant chess set there). Unfortunately, he's not a ravid letterboxer (which is probably just as well, since now he lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, and when it's 50 below, you really don't want to go out and letterbox).

But we had swapped ideas about how to create a letterbox series that would require using chess moves to solve. Checkmate, logically, would be when you've gotten the letterbox. King County seems like it could be used somehow. =) Or other chess piece names. (Bishop, California, anyone? Queens, New York? You get the point....)

Other ideas we tossed around included requiring a map with grids that could double as a chess board. Tell finders to start at the trailhead then move "rook to C6" or whatever the case may be. You, of course, impersonating any move made by the pieces following your map.

It could be really interesting, but I'm lazy and it sounded like too much effort for me to get around to doing. =) But there are ways to make it work....

Happy trails!

-- Ryan
Re: Homeschooling LBers??? / Chess
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5058 by Green Tortuga
Jun 19, 2005 11:48am
Thread Board (disabled)

Other ideas we tossed around included requiring a map with grids that could double as a chess board. Tell finders to start at the trailhead then move "rook to C6" or whatever the case may be. You, of course, impersonating any move made by the pieces following your map.

Totally off the subject matter here, but I'm stuck inside on what is a beautiful, if toasty day, trying to get a project finished on the computer.  And, although it's something I've been procrastinating over for a month, I'd rather respond to the chess challenge.

Our best idea was to find a city with a perfect grid for its streets, and use each block as a square on the chess board.  You'd have to follow the moves exactly.  Downtown Houston is a pretty good grid, but it is not that letterbox friendly.  However, typing this made me realize that I know somewhere nearby that is. . .hmmm...more procrastination!

My son's personal traveler is a chess king, and you have to tell him what 0-0 means in chess notation to get it (his idea).   For those who are killing time on AtlasQuest and who perhaps attended the Texas gathering and would like to complete their king's castle, know that that personal traveler has a friend who is hanging out at The Castle Park.  You can email me for the clues. 

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4990 by daelphinus
Jun 19, 2005 12:34pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Yes we homeschool.  We have met a few others who homeschool too.  I know one mother let her little one carve a hitch hiker and they follow it and use it for a geography lesson.  I know we went and found a letterbox at a state park called the bettlefield of Cowpens which is where some of the Revolutionary War battles were fought.  That got my kids pretty interested in learning more about the war.  Also my son is learning to use a compass and his left and right(he is 6) and absolutely loves to follow the clues.  I think that letterboxing is a great family activity with learning built right in.  Oh we also found a snake one time and we are learning to identify poison ivy so you can include science as part of the lessons learned too!!!  We just love letterboxing.  My 3 yr old is not as excited about it but I think he will grow into it.  I am glad to see this board--I love to meet other homeschoolers and give support to each other!!!
Tracie
thanks Ryan and dv2r ckr
Board: Homeschooling
Jun 19, 2005 1:20pm
Thread Board (disabled)
yippee, now this is the page I should have for my homepage on the computer!
thank you Ryan so much setting up  a homeschoolers page!
Thank you dv2r ckr for suggesting it.
I am new to homeschooling, as of Sept 04.
This next year will truly be the test with both my darlings being homeschooled anges 4 and 9.




Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5041 by dewberry
Jun 19, 2005 5:49pm
Thread Board (disabled)

"We try to find historical boxes when we're out and about."

Historical boxes are great!  I planted 3 cemetery boxes for that purpose:  One is Revolutionary War graves, another is Civil War graves (and originally a segregated cemetery) and the other is a slave cemetery.  We also have one on our town history.  My 9 year old did a presentation in class on 3 great sites in Charlotte and picked two of them as historical sites he learned about while letterboxing. 

I thought history was extremely dull as a kid until I had an 11th grade teacher make it "real".   Reading about history in a book just puts me to sleep, but seeing a grave, being in the spot where the action took place, or touching an artifact makes a lasting connection.  Then it seems like it is worth learning.   The box is a great excuse to get them there.

Historical Letterboxes
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5089 by The Wolf Family
Jun 19, 2005 7:39pm
Thread Board (disabled)

Most of our 'planted' letterboxes are historical in nature.  If the stamp itself isn't historical, then I've tried at least to weave some local history into the clues somehow--even if it isn't 'readily' apparent to the casual clue follower.  ;)

I've been working on a 'local history' letterbox series for the past several years.  It's a series (or it will be) of about a dozen letterboxes--scattered about the Pacific Northwest--based upon a crime spree committed by an outlaw (Harry Tracy).  I stumbled upon a little blurb on a trail info kiosk about an 'historic' event that occurred along the trail, returned home and investigated it further.  I stumbled upon a treasure trove of info about this criminal and some of his antics lent really well to making some 'interesting' clues and taking folks to beautiful locations around the Pacific Northwest.  I don't typically like to 'glamourize' crime but in this series I tried to focus more upon the life and culture in the area at the time of the crimes as opposed to what the criminal actually did.  If anything the series exposes folks to a 'little known' bit of history and opens folks' eyes to the way 'things used to be' before television, internet, video games, over abundant cars and interstate highways.

I didn't really design the series with 'homeschooling my kids' in mind but it has lent itself to discussions with our kids about local history, culture and turn of the 'previous' century 'way of life'.  For example, the kids really enjoyed the bit about the posses chased the criminals and how the bloodhounds were sent off the trail when the outlaws sprinkled cayenne pepper all around the trail. Another 'interesting' thing is that the criminal forced a 'hostage' to mix up pancake batter in his hat.  Two little 'blips' of info I came across in the newspaper that really made interesting letterboxes.  Yes, I came across some bizarre stuff while reading about this crime spree.

Now that our children are further along in their studies (rnrB is fast approaching 2nd grade, trkr's still in perpetual Pre-K although he absorbs as much 1st grade as he possibly can) I may gear letterboxes specifically toward their studies.  Up until now, we've simply followed a 'random' adventure--exploring boxes and locals at our hearts' whimsy.

dvn2r ckr

Oh, we started a blog on our letterboxing & homeschooling (life) experiences these past few months.  www.dvn2rckr.blogspot.com  If you sort through the various months you'll see some interesting adventures we've recently pursued--specifically, Southern CA in Jan 05, New Orleans in Mar 05, Korea/China Apr/May 05.  I've tried to document these travels in a way that would interest 'curious' children--lots of pictures and vivid descriptions of interesting and bizarre things we discovered along the way.  I've also tried to link them to our current homeschooling studies--classical curriculum (world history, life science, geography, etc).

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4990 by daelphinus
Jun 20, 2005 4:33am
Thread Board (disabled)

We have a 9 and 7 year old and have homeschooled from the beginning, since the oldest was 18 months.  We've only been lb-ing for a year, but I was hooked immediately...the rest of them are pretty much noxers (non-letterboxers) for now, but they're warming up to it slowly...as long as we go out with other homeschoolers!

We use our letterboxing for nature study, geography, history, meteorology, social studies, PE, and critical thinking skills.  Any excuse to get out in the woods!

VictoriAnna

PS.  Thank you, thank you for this board!!!!!

Re: Homeschooling LBers???
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4990 by daelphinus
Jun 20, 2005 9:28am
Thread Board (disabled)

This board is great!!

We also homeschool, 6 1/2 y.o. boy (starting 2nd grade) and 5 y.o. boy(starting 1st grade, I started him early because he was driving me crazy about wanting to learn to read and write and math and.....)  We use letterboxing for science ( plants, compass, directions, birds, etc.), math, but also for history(right now we are studying the Civil War, and are probably going to do a series on that, but we are finishing up the For the Birds series first.

Our boys love to hike and be out in the woods.

We have have to come home and research all kinds of things, from snakes(seen 4 recently) to history for planting a box.

Hope to garner lots of new ideas from all of you guys!!

jen

Re: Welcome to the Homeschooling board!
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #4972 by Green Tortuga
Jun 21, 2005 4:29am
Thread Board (disabled)
Can this board also count for former homeschoolers? I'm a college student now, but I was homeschooled most of my life--from K-11th grade. I heartily recommend homeschooling, but I do realize that it's not for everyone. It really wasn't the best suited for me. However, should I ever have my own kids, I would want to homeschool them, and I've already begun collecting ideas on how to make learning fun, yet practical. Letterboxing is a great combination of the two! :)
Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5359 by The Wolf Family
Jun 24, 2005 9:15am
Thread Board (disabled)
Do you think that percentage wise (since obviously more kids are in public school) more kids are on ritalin in the public school system or in the home school system (or is there no difference at all)?

I don't know about that, but I suspect more parents of homeschooled kids are using ritalin. ;o)

-- Ryan
Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5359 by The Wolf Family
Jun 24, 2005 10:03am
Thread Board (disabled)
I have worked in public schools, a private school and homeschooled my son for 7 years. Being close enough to each of the 3 situations to know which kids were on ritalin and which were not, I observe that less homeschoolers use that drug as a management tool. It's my opinion that homeschooled kids do not need to be kept in one place nor seated behind a desk for long periods of time while they are studying.

My very active son was in all 3 environments. Would someone have suggested ritalin had he stayed in school, probably. He was a much more focused student when he could read a book half on his bed/ then on the floor, then lying upside down. He has always been a fidgety, occasionally disruptive, high energy fellow; a kinesthetic learner. The typical classroom setting was not best for him. He is still a fidgety young adult but is making a living with his high energy as a ballet dancer. I don't think he would have taken the same in life route had he stayed in public school nor had he been on ritalin.
Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5369 by true indigo
Jun 24, 2005 12:25pm
Thread Board (disabled)

Another subject near and dear to my heart.  I'm not very personally 'school-learned' on ADD/ADHD (to the medical degree level) but I'm surrounded by folks who are.  Primarily, my parents are quite versed on ADD/ADHD as that constitutes their life work at the moment and I often engage in conversations with them on the subject and read any/all magazines/published articles on the subject as it affects my daughter, several relatives and likely me as well (as the more I read about it, the more I see myself in some of the descriptions of ADHD).  However, none of us has been officially 'diagnosed' as ADD/ADHD--it just seems that all of the 'signs' are pointing to it (extra energy, inability to focus on subjects for 'normal' amounts of time, unresponsiveness to authority, defiant, etc).

My daughter is quite energetic (anybody who has ever met her in person will certainly know this) and she would be a primary candidate for medical intervention (meds) if she attended a 'traditional' school.  This is a 'small' part of the reason why she is not in a traditional school setting and why we've chosen to follow the homeschooling path instead.  Over the past two years of our homeschooling experience, it has become more and more obvious that my daughter's extra energy would not be welcome in a larger school setting. 

In our personal experience, we've learned that my daughter lacks some nutritional substances that many 'modern' diets just can't provide any more--even if one attempts to follow a healthy diet.  One of these dietary supplements that I've found quite helpful is Omega 3 fatty acids (primarily fish oil). (You can buy it in bulk at Costco for pretty decent prices)  Increasing the consumption of fish oil over the past few months has really helped isolate these 'unproductive energetic episodes' we used to experience.  They still occur occasionally but now they don't occur as often and to the level that they once did prior to taking the fish oil. Now, mind you, we're a family who eats fish all the time (esp salmon--and, yes, the children eat it).  It's the nature of where we live--but in order to get the amount of omega 3 fatty acids in our diet that actually makes a difference on brain health it would require you eat the amounts of fish that would be 'toxic' to humans because of all the other minerals currently found in fish these days (mercury especially).  So the supplements really are necessary beyond what folks would consider a healthy diet these days. 

Anyways, I've learned a lot about this subject over these past few years--mostly through trial and error.  A lot of the information I've found on the subject is from Dr. Daniel Amen who is one of the world's experts on brain health and ADD/ADHD.  www.brainplace.com  He offers lots of ideas for improving one's brain activity (even for those folks who aren't affected by ADD/ADHD) and how to deal with common afflictions that are normally 'rushed off' in typical general practitioners' offices as ADD/ADHD.  He has actually taken these diagnoses further and broken them down into specific 'sub-types' of ADD/ADHD and identified how various 'targeted' types of treatment work better for these 'sub-types' of ADD/ADHD than how most 'GPs' are trained to treat them in basic medical school (i.e.ritalin 'uppers' work for some sub-types but 'downers' work better for others, many GPs simply prescribe one not knowing they may have the opposite effect of what they intend).   

Through our homeschooling 'adventures', knowing the different types of 'learners' helps immensely!  I've noticed that my 6yo daughter's attention span is quite limited (especially if she's being asked to sit still for long periods of time) and the traditional forms of 'teaching' don't work well with her. She embodies the kinestethic learner!!! My 3yo son, on the other hand, can sit and pay attention for ages and would work perfectly in a 'traditional' school setting.  Identifying their unique learning styles early on is paramount.  I find in traditional school settings that they often don't take the time to identify the individual types of learners in their classrooms and structure their methods to the manner that works best for the majority of the students--any students that don't best fit with that particular learning method seem to fall to the side. These may be the kids who seem 'bored' or 'disinterested'.  They often are quite intelligent but either aren't learning anything because the style doesn't 'work' with them or they already have mastered the material and are dreaming of being elsewhere and doing something more interesting. 

As for my daughter, what's worked for me lately is teaching subjects in 'not so formal' settings for her.  For example, I teach her phonics while she's standing up (kitchen, bedroom, backyard--you name it) and only teach in about 10 minute spurts at a time.  I try to make every session into a 'game'--quick, fun and I don't label it as 'school'.  I also quiz her constantly--depending on what environment we're in.  When we're letterboxing, I constantly ask questions on the trail.  The questions cover anything from something about the clues we're following, to quizzes on subjects we're currently studying, to counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc--whatever we're focused on in 'school' at the time.  She probably doesn't 'realize' it but she's in school all the time and she's constantly 'absorbing' things. I find that if I 'require' her to sit still to follow a subject, that we'll only get about 5 or 10 minutes of 'focused' learning out of her.  After that, her mind has wandered and any further 'teaching' is useless and almost 'painful'.  That's when I give her 'tasks'--to run a lap in the backyard, to go 'play' for 10 minutes and then we'll resume our subject material, etc.  Anything in 10-15 minute spurts is manageable.  I presume this 'attention span limit' will increase as she matures (at least I hope it will).  ;)  Hopefully, folks may find some of this info helpful.  Life with ADHD can be frustrating/difficult! Although meds are often required to treat these ailments, there do exist some 'natural' approaches folks can follow that might prove beneficial in their unique situations, as well.

Letterboxing has served well during our homeschooling experience.  It often gives us 'spur of the moment' field trip ideas, opportunities for 'recess' and a chance to learn something new that we weren't expecting--so it's fresh, fun and makes learning exciting.  It also helps us burn off some of the 'extra energy' that seems to build up every day--the perfect example of us AD'Hyperactive'D types. ;)

dvn2r ckr

Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5381 by daelphinus
Jun 24, 2005 2:51pm
Thread Board (disabled)

Wow, dvn2r ckr!  I actually stayed focused and read the whole thing, too! :)

 "They often are quite intelligent but either aren't learning anything because the style doesn't 'work' with them or they already have mastered the material and are dreaming of being elsewhere and doing something more interesting."

I agree that there are many reasons that children may not be focusing.  When I was a vision therapist for children with vision-related learning disorders I was amazed at all the children I saw on ritalin with simple vision-related problems:  reversing letters, skipping lines,etc.  The children came into the office thinking that they were stupid, and the parents thought they just couldn't focus.  Within 6 weeks the problems were corrected and their life was changed.  The enthusiasm for learning increases tremendously when you remove the barriers that are holding them back. 

Children are amazing little creatures.  They can adapt to so many things if just given the chance.   I used to teach the developmentally disabled as well.  I found that teaching was a challenge that I enjoyed even in the most difficult groups.  It could be frustrating, but I was never frustrated with them-- only myself for not seeing the solution.  I found that the answer most often was my lack of creativity and not their need for drugs.    

Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5530 by The Wolf Family
Jun 24, 2005 4:50pm
Thread Board (disabled)

I went through the whole neuropsychological evaluation with my son and was told he's 5 on an ADD scale of 10, but he's very smart.  I chose not to do the ritalin thing just because we are able to adapt homeschool around him.  My daughter is very flexible too, and I'm just plain allergic to schedules, so we have fun and call it school.

Besides, I've heard ADD is inherited and hubby is classic textbook ADD...not only that...I'm pretty bad myself.  They say I have ADD, but they just don't understand...oh look!!! A chicken!!

VictoriAnna the distracted

Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5530 by The Wolf Family
Jun 24, 2005 5:04pm
Thread Board (disabled)

I've not chimed in on this thread due to the fact I have NO knowledge (book knowledge anyway) and little experience with ADD.  But I must say that dvn2r ckr and TWF have solidified a few of my own feelings regarding ADD. 

Several close friends' children have been labled with this and several cousins and I have had to bite my tongue when visiting these friends and cousins... I see these kids who are labled ADD play xbox games where their concentration as well as their hand/eye cooridination has to be at the 95% percentile! Yes, they were jumping, bobbing and swaying while they played.. a little energy never hurt anyone..they did get excited.. but there was no deficit of attention there.  I also once heard my cousins kid who is 16 talking to a friend on the phone for at least a half hour talking about certain musicians and which albums that musician played on, what kind of guitars he played, and all the details of other musicians that had played with this one.  That doesnt seem to me to be the mark of a kid who cant concentrate. 

I have always felt that perhaps the that the ADD lable has been too quickly slapped onto a kid when the kid is different from most and had different ways of picking up things.  I have never voiced my opinion to my cousins or to my friends because like I said...I have limited knowlege of this and limited exposure. I think because I would have probably sounded like the mom who "knows everything" I just kept my mouth shut.

LOL.

Thank you for the interesting topic.

Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5539 by Alyson Wonderland
Jun 24, 2005 5:27pm
Thread Board (disabled)

" I see these kids who are labled ADD play xbox games where their concentration as well as their hand/eye cooridination has to be at the 95% percentile!"

I think they've got the same selective ADD I do.  Take me to a baseball game and I lose consciousness in about 10 seconds.  Now let me carve a stamp and I'll remain focused for a hour.  :)

I have no xbox or playstation or anything in the house.  I'm  more afraid of my husband spending hours in oblivion on it than the kids, though.

Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5540 by The Wolf Family
Jun 24, 2005 6:00pm
Thread Board (disabled)

I think they've got the same selective ADD I do.  Take me to a baseball game and I lose consciousness in about 10 seconds.  Now let me carve a stamp and I'll remain focused for a hour.  :)

I have no xbox or playstation or anything in the house.  I'm  more afraid of my husband spending hours in oblivion on it than the kids, though.

That's funny!  Just the past few days I've started thinking that I will get rid of our TV soon (if it were completely up to me we'd be TV free permanently).  Not because we watch so much of it but we currently have relatives visiting and they're watching it like crazy--I'm afraid the addiction will spill over to my kids!  I finally pulled the plug on the boob-tube and forced everybody to hike down to the beach for tide-pooling at low tide.  So much more interesting than seeing Star Wars for the 57th time...  ;)  It's interesting to note that once we discovered letterboxing three years ago, I haven't had any interest in TV. 

dvn2r ckr

Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5540 by The Wolf Family
Jun 24, 2005 8:52pm
Thread Board (disabled)
"I have no xbox or playstation or anything in the house. I'm more afraid of my husband spending hours in oblivion on it than the kids, though"

AMEN sister!!!

jen
Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5538 by VictoriAnna
Jun 24, 2005 11:01pm
Thread Board (disabled)
I am a public school teacher and am VERY ADHD. My husband is as well. I was first diagnosed years ago when it was fairly unheard of and almost completely unheard of in girls.

As for public versus home schooling..

I think there are two sides to every story. I've heard lots and lots of parents that refuse to put their kids on meds and pull their children out of public schools because someone suggested their son/daughter might need to be on meds.. well here's the other half of the story. As someone WITH fairly severe ADHD, I know what it's like to be both on and off the medication. I hated going on it.. I was in 6th grade. I felt like I was a failure and there was something wrong with me. Well it turns out there WAS something wrong with me.. but nothing I had any control over. When I was on the medication I was able to function and do what other kids did for the first time ever. I felt in control of my body and my mind. I could think things through and come up with an answer. Add that to the fact that I was getting less detentions, less time outs, and getting grounded less.

Now, can ADHD be handled without medication? Of course it can. My daughter is very ADHD (she's 8) but I haven't even had her screened yet. Why not? It's not interfering with her academic/social/emotional life yet. When it does, I will have her screened. We did start hvaing her drink tea with mom in the morning. The very low dose of caffeine seems to be just enough for her and it's natural and doesn't put a stigma on her or anyone else.

Maiden
Re: ADD
Board: Homeschooling
Reply to: #5539 by Alyson Wonderland
Jun 24, 2005 11:05pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Quote Several close friends' children have been labled with this and several cousins and I have had to bite my tongue when visiting these friends and cousins... I see these kids who are labled ADD play xbox games where their concentration as well as their hand/eye cooridination has to be at the 95% percentile! Yes, they were jumping, bobbing and swaying while they played.. a little energy never hurt anyone..they did get excited.. but there was no deficit of attention there. I also once heard my cousins kid who is 16 talking to a friend on the phone for at least a half hour talking about certain musicians and which albums that musician played on, what kind of guitars he played, and all the details of other musicians that had played with this one. That doesnt seem to me to be the mark of a kid who cant concentrate.


This is a VERY common misconception about ADHD. Having ADHD doesn't mean you can't concentrate or that you are dumb, incapable. It means you process so quickly that you have trouble rulling things out. When I met my husband we found a board game called Quarto. It is almost like Connect 4, but you have to get 4 in a row and each block has 4 different attributes. The first time we played the game my husband was shocked. He sat and stared at me. When I asked him what the problem was he answered, "This is the first time I've EVER seen you that still." The game was intricate enough, took enough of the "tracks" in my head that I could really focus. Kids with ADHD or ADD see and hear EVERYTHING. Now I see my ADHD has an asset. I can do 5-10 things at once. In fact I function better when there's many things for me to do/track. It's when I need to focus one thing, and that one thing is not very stimulating that I don't do well. Video games are very popular with ADD kids because they are so stimulating and you need to track so many things at once.

Maiden
New here an to Letterboxing, I have some ??
Board: Homeschooling
Aug 24, 2005 7:18pm
Thread Board (disabled)
Does each of your children have there very own log book and stamp or do you have a family stamp?