Early Childhood Special Education at Home
Homeschooling Special Needs Children in Kindergarten
Nov 1, 2008
Homeschooling a child with special needs might be an intimidating prospect, but many families are finding that it's a perfect fit. ADD and ADHD can be managed at home, with a special ed kindergarten routine that allows for the child's high energy levels to be used as an asset, instead of a distraction. Learn how to meet the needs of early childhood special education at home, and find resources for homeschooling a kindergarten with special needs online and in your community.
Children in Kindergarten
In years gone by, children under the age of 6 weren't often required to sit still in a desk for long. In fact, kindergarten classrooms used to look more like today's pre-schools, with activities and games that were more active and allowed children to expel larger amounts of energy. Today's academically driven kindergartens and pre-schools, however, require more desk work and are consequently harder for children with higher energy levels to manage.
Homeschooling with ADD and ADHD
The scope and sequence of kindergarten classrooms is often very well suited to play-learning. It isn't necessary to sit a child down at a desk to teach him how to count to twenty, that humans live in houses, or how to repeat color patterns.
Make an investigative study of the learning goals contained within the kindergarten curriculum and an effort to find ways to teach these lessons without forcing physical inactivity. Children who are kinesthetic learners will often catch on to a concept faster if their hands are occupied with play dough, legos or another so-called “distraction.” Other children need to simply hear the concepts explained and then have time to process them while climbing a tree, swimming or running circles around the dining room table.
Being realistic about the simplicity of the learning goals is often a comfort to parents who believe that their special needs children are quite smart. Realizing that children can learn without worksheets, textbooks and review questions can be liberating. Quizzing these children can be as easy as verbally asking them the review questions, or engaging in a discussion about the concepts that were introduced in the lesson.
Benefits of Early Childhood Special Education At Home
Parents who are teaching early childhood special education at home often enjoy the side benefit of having a confident child who doesn't even realize that their high energy levels would have been a problem. Being allowed to develop and grow without criticism or labels can make it easier to change as they mature. There are no scientifically proven benefits to feeling like a defective person.
Investigating resources and perspectives of families who have taken charge of their ADD and ADHD children's kindergarten education is an empowering and informative way to decide whether or not to proceed as a special education homeschooler. Being open minded and realistic about the expectations, and tolerating the wide variety of interests and varying energy levels that each individual posesses, will go a long way toward finding a way to make sure that every child gets the education he needs, in spite of learning ability labels.
For further research, check out Anne Zeise's ADD Homeschooling Index.
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