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More on at home speech therapy

Posted by Heather Laurie in Thursday, August 12th 2010   
Topics: Reviews, Uncategorized    Tags: homeschool, Homeschooling, special needs, speech delay, therapy
3 Comments

Hello all! I would like to clear up some questions about the two speech therapy programs I recently reviewed.

Review: Straight Talk homeschooling speech therapy!
Review: Super Star Speech, speech therapy made simple

First I want you to know that both of these products are good programs. I like them both. They are similar yet there are some clear differences that might make your choice easier.

Super Star Speech

perks: priced low

good for articulations issues

clearing testing and therapy plan

cons: focused on articulations issues only

Straight Talk

perks: is written from a Christian standpoint

has a DVD to show you how to teach it (has to be bought separately or in a combo pack)

covers a broad spectrum of speech issues

has lots of articles and tips to help you homeschool your speech delayed child

teaches receptive as well as expressive language

con: is written from a strong Christian standpoint, for some this may be an issue

is a bit pricey

In the end both are great programs that their authors put lots of thought and expertise into. If you are only focusing on articulation and don’t need any assistance, such as a DVD you will most likely have a great time with Super Star. If you are dealing with a larger speech delay or would like some extra assistance such as articles from homeschooling parents, DVD you would most likely do well with Straight Talk.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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Preschool Special Ed?

Posted by Heather Laurie in Tuesday, August 10th 2010   
Topics: Library of outside articles    Tags: Heart of the Matter, homeschool, Homeschooling, special needs, therapy
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When my daughter “graduated” from our state’s early childhood therapy program it was assumed she would go straight to the local special education pre-K. She has autism but I thought that should be no reason not to homeschool her. I also didn’t understand why she had to go to the local pre-K when clearly in many ways she was not ready for school. I chose to homeschool her and I have never looked back!

The rest of this article can be found on Heart of the Matter online.

Popularity: 18% [?]

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Review: Straight Talk homeschooling speech therapy!

Posted by Heather Laurie in Saturday, August 7th 2010   
Topics: Reviews    Tags: christian, homeschool, Homeschooling, Lord, review, special needs, speech delays, speech therapy, teaching, therapy
3 Comments

Straight Talk

A Parent’s Guide to Language Development

A Parent’s Guide for Correcting Childhood Mispronunciations

Written by Marisa J. Lapish, M.A. in Speech Pathology

and Tom and Sherry Bushnell, Directors of NATHHAN

-$45 per manual (there are two separate manuals)

-$55 for the  (1)manual/DVD set.

This is truly an at home speech therapy program and a how to DVD! As I read through the material I could clearly remember many of these lessons in my childrens’ speech therapy sessions. There was a solid, clear path to understanding age appropriate sounds, testing, and correcting your child’s speech issues. I would feel very comfortable using this program if one of my little ones’ speech was delayed.

Straight Talk seems to be aimed at the under 10 age (intellect) range. I was happy to see that this program works on auditory skills (listening) and pronunciation (clear speech).There are print offs to encourage more work with language. Through out the manuals there is a wealth of information and encouragement.

There are several options to buy. You can buy the binder with the program for A Parent’s Guide to Language Development or A Parent’s Guide for Correcting Childhood Mispronunciations . You can also buy the A Parent’s Guide to Correcting Childhood Mispronunciations binder with a DVD.

I watched the DVD and didn’t get much from it because I have years of speech therapy with my children. I would not buy the DVD if you have already gone through speech therapy with your child and you are comfortable with giving your child therapy. In that case you will most likely do well with the manuals alone. If you have not had much experience with speech therapy or feel uneasy go ahead and get the DVD. It was informative and helpful.

I really liked this program as a whole speech/language learning program. It is strongly christian and gives you wonderful gems such as how to help your non-verbal child. Well written and a good value of time (you don’t have to spend in a therapist lobby) and money (how many copay verses this one time buy). Great job!

Straight Talk can be found on a wonderful site called NATTHAN.

Popularity: 27% [?]

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Where’s the Pause Button?

Posted by Heather Laurie in Friday, August 6th 2010   
Topics: Library of outside articles    Tags: homeschool, Homeschooling, special needs
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Today my daughter Flower (5yrs) was happily playing with her older sibs. Then there was a change in the play. It got louder, my son got rougher, and a storm was rumbling around outside. She suddenly put up her hands and yelled “PAUSE”… no one listened.  In an anguished voice she yelled, ” Where’s the pause button? I’m scared!”

You can find the rest of the article at Homeschoolblogger.com Company Porch

Popularity: 17% [?]

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Science tips and resources!

Posted by Heather Laurie in Tuesday, August 3rd 2010   
Topics: Resources    Tags: christian, disabled child, homeschool, Homeschooling, learning style, special needs, teaching
1 Comment

I love science. I was the geeky kid in high school that read a college Biology textbook for free time. I pray that my love of science will help you find the right product and helpful curriculum for your homeschooling this year.

Science is a very hands on subject that is wonderful for special needs children. Learning in a whole body mode like experiments, graphing shark sizes on the quiet road in front of your house, etc. These produce so many connections in your child’s brain that the material you are learning is easier to remember and recall at a later date.

I look at science slightly differently for the age groups. (This age grouping is written in regards to a typical child, your child’s needs and abilities will be a more accurate guide as to where you need to focus.)

Toddler on up to late elementary science should be explorations, discovery, experimentation, and not so heavy on the texts. Young children need to be gently guided to learning the basics of science through their own explorations. How dull is it to only read about gravity. Then consider gravity experiments where your child lets go of a feather and a book at the same time. In my home when we did that experiment; it went on for hours. The kids thought about changing the object (had to watch that carefully! :) Then they thought about what if it was a liquid? What if there was wind? They didn’t know it but they were asking the same questions that get asked to college student, wind resistance, and density. Or goal is not to know all the answers but to be willing to search for the answers. To teach our children to ask the questions and hypothosize on the answers. The building blocks of science!

Late elementary, middle school science should continue to be heavy in the hands on but now we need to start introducing the scientific laws and reasoning behind the science. These children are beginning to form their own opinions and learning to think abstractly. We need to give them the tools and factual foundations to make base their opinions.

High school into college science: Now we are talking advanced science. Your child’s foundations in science should be secure. Have debates with them about differing theories.The more dangerous materials as in chemistry can be a great subject to fully introduced. It’s time for your teen to take charge of their learning and really delve into the various subjects. This level of learning does need more text guidance than before because your teen will need to see the scientific evidence that has gone before and work on it. Replicating it and hypothesizing on how to make the next step.

Here are some choices for you science material.

Grade Level Curriculum Choices:

Graded texts: You can get grade level text books from any of the big curriculum providers Alpha Omega, or Bob Jones University. You might consider a text if you know this is going to be a rough year such as chemo, or lots of disruptive doctor appointments. Having a text in those cases helps you to know you are not letting anything fall through the cracks.

Multi Level Choices:
Considering God’s Creation- This is a science book with lots of printables, and lessons in everything from botany, anatomy, to astronomy. It can be successfully used for a larger family for a couple of years.
Apologia Science Curriculum- Apologia science is an elementary through college science series. It is not a grade level curriculum though. Their are elementary books that can be used for any of the elementary years. When you get to 7th grade it switches to a text per grade up through graduation. The elementary texts now come with a journal and lapbooks by Knowledge Box.

Topical Choices: Lapbooks are always a great topical adventure for your science time. Knowledge Box Central ; In the Hands of a Child

Unit studies like Amanda Bennett’s Dogs, electricity, or sailing are heavy in science.  She also has a  new Download and Go’s (smaller one week unit studies) Roller coasters, geckos, trees and MORE

Creation Science:

Answers In Genesis

Scientific Materials: Not all children can use items like microscopes, tweezers etc. Here are some options to help make your science time easier and more enjoyable.

Visual problems? Try a dissecting microscope, it has to eye viewers helping your child use both eyes to see the slide. There are also microscopes that show your findings on a picture. Careful with that one, I found several very cheap ones with a large picture viewer but they were made of very cheap material and I doubt they could hold up for long or produce quality pictures.There are pricier but better quality classroom cameras that attach and so high quality pictures.

*Teresa Bondora was kind enough to help me out with ideas on helpful microscopes. She also produces a science newletter and has a science site.

Lakeshore Learning has a large variety of sturdy, high quality material for younger children. Do you need tweezers for your high school student with  limited fine motor, get the tweezers from the crafts section. I also like this store because it comes with small kits like color changing experiment.

TimberDoodle this is a homeschooling store that has some of the BEST science material around. I love looking through their free catalogue getting ideas for the coming year!

This section is not complete! Each year I find great material that I had never thought of in a special way before. You the reader find great material and curriculum choices for our special kids. Please feel free to add on your finds! The more the merrier!

God bless and have a wonderful time with science this year!

Popularity: 25% [?]

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Homeschooling through the storms

Posted by Heather Laurie in Monday, August 2nd 2010   
Topics: Christian homeschooling    Tags: christian, chronic illness, disabled child, God, homeschool, Homeschooling, life threatening, Lord, prayer, special needs, terminal illness
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*this article was written for the MATCH Missouri Association of Teaching Christian Homes, Inc newsletter*

I have always marveled at the good Lord’s weather. It can make you smile as snowflakes tickle your face or make you tremble as you see the formation of a funnel cloud. Some storms spring up out of nowhere and other storms march towards you in a steady unceasing pace. Being a weather watcher I find equating storms to our troubles in life to be highly accurate.

The Lord has blessed me with children that have a genetic disorder. One of the major problems we face is dysautonomia, an inability of the central nervous system to control basic body functions such as sugar levels, heat control, blood pressure etc. Recently I turned on the air conditioner and tepid air was the best it could do. The repairman delivered the news that our air conditioner and furnace were dead. Many families would find this an inconvenience, for us it was an emergency.

Homeschooling has allowed us to walk through may storms adapting to the changes as we went. The flexibility that is part of homeschooling helps us react immediately. In the case of our air conditioner going out we had to stop all book learning. Keeping the kids cool and healthy took over all our other priorities. I didn’t realize till later how much the kids continued to learn despite the problems all around them.

We have encouraged a love for learning and the natural curiosity that the Lord placed in the children. The kids asked about the heat, sun, and the coming summer solstice. One of my daughter’s asked a billion questions to a a very patient repair man. Then reported back to the others all about duct work, refrigerant gases, and compressors. What a delight to see the beginnings of your children taking the reins of there own learning.

As a special needs homeschooling family you could say we walk through storms daily. There are times the thunder is distant and the storm seems far away. Then you have to give out seizure medicine, or deal with a sudden behavioral meltdown, or schedule your next IV treatment. You realize that the storms never go away for us, but we must endure them. We need to go through each storm on our knees!

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.

Homeschooling in possible, especially in the worst of storms.Think of the wonderful lessons you teach your children at these times. You teach them that when facing problems you turn towards the Lord. You teach your children flexibility to adapt to changes storms often bring. You teach your child to be an over-comer Rev 21:6,7

Popularity: 13% [?]

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Miralax recall

Posted by Heather Laurie in Tuesday, July 27th 2010   
Topics: Conditions and Diseases    Tags: medications
3 Comments

For many of us Miralax is must have medicine. It is gentle and can mean the difference between really uncomfortable intervention and smooth GI function. For my low tone child Miralax is a must nothing else has ever showed to help her. This past weekend we went the store to buy Miralax and the shelves were cleared with a notice of recall!

After some snooping I found that indeed Miralax has been recalled but not for medicine problems. It has been recalled for cap problems. Here is an article detailing the recall, MeriNews.

We tried the substitute the store had…ugh. I will be ordering the real thing this afternoon and waiting for my shipment.

Popularity: 21% [?]

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Updated Workshops!

Posted by Heather Laurie in Monday, July 26th 2010   
Topics: Heather's news    Tags: christian, conference, homeschool, Homeschooling, teaching, workshop
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It’s that time of year to take a close look at what was helpful this past year and keep it. Also to respond to questions and ideas of the many parents I meet this year and add new workshops! So here is the list of new workshops and a special featured speaker option.

Featured Speaker Option:

Standing Strong: Are you facing storms in your life? No job? No money? Health failing? The government threatening your homeschooling and parental rights? We faced a year of these storms that threatened our family with destruction and we made it through stronger! I share our story and how we stood against the storms.

Workshops:

Resistant Learners: Your child just doesn’t want to learn! They drag their feet, forget assignments, and otherwise frustrate you with their excuses. Let’s look at why many children stop wanting to learn. How to overcome those obstacles! Tips and ideas from moms that have been there. Let’s get this homeschool back on track!

Gifted Gals: This workshop is for the ladies! Moms, preteens, and teens that have been blessed with giftedness. What are you going to be when you grow up? That’s a loaded question when asked to a gifted teen; the answer (by many) is expected to be nuclear physicist. What if you don’t feel that is right for you? This is a heart to heart talk about what YOU wish to be and how to get there. Where is God guiding you? How can you find that special path? How to stay strong in your faith no matter what path God leads you to!

Don’t Dys-miss Me! A look at the neglected learning disabilities: Learning disabilities can affect any part of the learning process. Where do I draw the line between messy writing and dysgraphia? Math is hard but my son just doesn’t get it! We talk about many of the under discussed learning disabilities such as dysgraphia, dyscalculia, processing disorders, and memory/retrieval issues.

Autism the new socialization question: Oh no not the socialization question! Yes! As parents of children with autism and developmental delays we must make a special point of addressing socialization in our homeschooling. We talk about setting attainable goals, finding ways to encourage social interaction. We also discuss therapies that might be needed to assist our children and where to find them.  Finally where can our special kids go at the end of the journey?

Special Needs Homeschooling Open Talk: I host an open discussion on special needs homeschooling issues. I will have several topics and questions prepared that are often asked. I will also talk to the group about starting their own groups for support. Together our burdens are lighter!

I am hoping to bring these workshops to a convention near you!

Popularity: 13% [?]

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A blog award! THANK YOU!!

Posted by Heather Laurie in Thursday, July 22nd 2010   
Topics: Heather's news    Tags: homeschool, Homeschooling
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Top Homeschool Blog
Online PhD Degrees
Wow I am honored to get an award by being nominated by YOU the readers. Best kind of award. Thank you very much!!

Popularity: 13% [?]

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Crew Review: Travel Kits:A Simple Way to Bless Others

Posted by Heather Laurie in Thursday, July 22nd 2010   
Topics: Reviews    Tags: christian, review, The Old Schoolhouse
2 Comments

Hello all I have kept this under my hat until NOW!! I was accepted as a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew! This means that I am picked  to review products mostly for the older kids, middle school and above. I hope you will enjoy this year of reviews and occasional giveaways.

Today I am review an E-Book Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others By:Donna Rees

Price: 12.45$

Travel Kits where were you when I traveled to Disney, 14 hours in the van with 5 kids! We travel by van everywhere we go. Whether that is to the specialist appointments 1 1/2 hours away or to Florida for a family vacation 14 hours away. Donna’s book is worth it’s weight in gold!

I got the e-book right before I went on a trip to a convention, 6 hour drive, with my middle schooler. I was looking forward to reconnecting with her. I only had a  couple of days to pull together a kit for my daughter. I added cookbooks, some snacks, and a gift of a new shirt. Then we started the trip off with her favorite specialty drink, which she usually doesn’t get. I didn’t have a lot of money but a bit of forethought and some creative ideas from Donna’s book and poof our trip became a very special trip. This trip became a time with my daughter that we cherished.

Donna ideas of creating travel kits for the family are ingenious and easy to pull together! She has laid out a great idea of keeping kids busy with kits full of small, engaging, and entertaining gifts. I much prefer having games at the ready, gifts that are budget friendly, and a game plan to keep everyone happy. Donna takes these creative ideas and lays them out for you. She covers everything from creating your own travel kits to packing for road trips.

So you are not going on a trip together, is your teen taking a missions trip? Donna has some heart warming really usable ideas for that too. I am just impressed with the broad spectrum of ideas that she has packed into this e-book.

Donna covers all age ranges, including the often overlooked teen set. She has ideas for travel kits, gift ideas, devotional ideas to pass to your college age teen, and lots of engaging fun stories to keep you laughing through out.

I like this e-book quite a bit. I would recommend it to anyone that takes road trips often or before that big family vacation.

Disclaimer: I was given this E-book for free so that I can review and provide my honest opinion on the product.

Popularity: 15% [?]

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