Im seeking a curriculum for my child age 5. He’s very smart with no learning disabilities. However he’s paralyzed from the chest down and has little fine motor skills. Writing and coloring is tremendously hard for him. Due to the nature of his condition the doctor has suggested we homeschool. Im new to all of this and I also have little ones at home and not a lot of help. Im very scared. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Don’t be scared, sweet mama. Everything will be ok. Is your son verbal? If so, then you have nothing to worry about. I think whatever curriculum you choose can be adapted to fit his physical limitations. If the physical act of writing is difficult, then don’t do it. Maybe teach him how to write his name and that’s it. All he needs to know is what each letter’s name is and what sound it makes. When those letters are arranged in certain orders they form words. When you get to sight words he can read them to you and practice spelling them out loud to you. When writing is necessary, have him dictate to you as you write for him or use a speech to text option. It’s not cheating. It’s a tool like glasses for someone who needs them. As you teach him, he will learn about the spelling, punctuation, and grammar aspect and will need to make sure he includes that as part of his dictation and editing for speech to text. We have 2 dyslexic sons and use dictation and speech to text for almost all of our writing. For colors and shapes, if he can identify them, that’s all he needs to know. He doesn’t need to create a vividly colored masterpiece to know what color orange is. He doesn’t need to be able to draw a triangle to identify it. He is only 5 and it may take you all some time to figure it all out, but I have no doubt you will, like I’m sure you always have. Don’t be worried about keeping up with or even being ahead of kids his age in traditional school. If he is making progress, rejoice in it no matter how fast or slow it is. I hope this helps ease your anxiety a little. You’re going to do great!
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I know you’re looking for curriculum choices, but I would first like to recommend my favorite homeschooling book; Simply Classical by Cheryl Swope. Cheryl adopted two children with numerous disabilities including physical ones. This story tells how they dealt with them and how she gave her kids an amazing education.
I think you can never go wrong with reading aloud… that is where I would start.
You will do great!
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Yes very verbal. He’s pretty advanced for his age. The only issue is physical limitations.
I’ll check it out! Thank you