Christopher Avery has always been special.
His heart is more pure, his abandon more reckless.
He is unlike any child I’ve ever met.
Avery has never talked back. He has never had a bad attitude.
He has never met a single person with whom he could not get along.
Not a day goes by when Avery doesn’t ask, “Can I help with anything?”
It was for HIS sake that we pulled him out of school.
He struggles with transitions. He struggles with impulsivity.
It had become disruptive in the classroom. And the system failed him. They stopped giving him “motor breaks” in the special needs room with play equipment. Every idea & behavior plan we came up with fizzled after weeks.
They kept pushing us to medicate him, which was simply not an option. We allowed him to be evaluated by pediatricians, behavioral psychiatrists, & school psychologists. But until his behavior affects his academics, he’ll not be labeled as ADHD in this household.
We removed him to protect him. That is our job, as parents.
And though we are a bit nervous, we feel confident.
God gives us everything we need when we need it, right?
And right now, this is a season to protect our son.
He is like a baby plant. We will feed him, water him, and watch him grow.
As far as curriculum goes, we were overwhelmed at first.
Of course, I dove headfirst into research.
Avery is a quick learner. He is ahead of his grade level in most subjects.
That may have been part of his problem. Boredom. So we’re going hands-on.
We decided to go with a unit studies plan. He will learn in themes.
Every subject will relate back to the theme, and the units can last weeks or months.
For (a very simple) example – teddy bears.
Learn about factories that make teddy bears. Read books like Corduroy.
Count groups of teddy bears. Make your own teddy bear. Get it?
We’ve selected Konos – Volume 1.
There are character traits as themes. We’ll start with “Attentiveness.”
For science, we’ll focus on the senses and how you use them to pay attention.
For literature, we’ll read books about paying attention and characters who do/do not.
He’ll write stories & do crafts related to the theme, and there are even music lessons. We supplement math & grammar to beef things up.
Chris is excited. As a musician, it’s hard for him to keep a daily schedule.
He’s an artist! If he hears an idea in his head, he has to track it! It will not wait!
This work-at-home-dad just got a bit more busy…
We will test-drive it this semester and most likely continue through the school year.
Our goal is for Avery to be re-integrated into our neighborhood school.
His older brother Lucas is thriving in the gifted & talented program there.
But until then, Avery is officially a homeschool kid.
Now, there will be more structure in our house.
Quality time will be more intentional.
Field trips will be had. Memories will be made.
Bring it on.
3 Comments
I am so excited to hear this bout of great news! The school system has failed many parents and I am glad to see that you and Chris are being proactive instead of letting it go by the wayside. You two are tremendous parents and Avery is only going to thrive more and more as each day passes. Way to go!!
Ya’ll are such great parents.
I only came across your blog today, scrolled through some random posts and came upon this one. I’m training to be a teacher in Ireland and the ADHD question is one thats pretty pertinent. Very impressed with your decision to go against the grain, good call. It’ll serve your boy well:)