Week Six

 

I've been sitting here reflecting on this week; it felt like a particularly difficult week. There were two BIG emotional days, a lot of resistance. Looking at my diary though there were some educational positives.

Bee wrote (!) down some the things that are bothering him at the moment. He made a pros/cons list for our upcoming trip as he is anxious about some aspects of it. 

Podcasts we listened to this week were about Constellations, Elephants and one about the attempt to begin a New Australia in South America. 

Bee confessed he felt unsure about punctuation, so we did some revision focusing on full stops, comma's and apostrophes. 

Bee wrote his own math equation which led to us discussing different strategies, why certain strategies are important and provide the basis for further learning. I asked if he remembered BIMDAS - he said he had heard of but doesn't recall it.

We ended the week with a podcast on genetics - a topic that is close to home at the moment.

Week Five

 

Over the weekend I formulated a bit of choice plan for term two. I want to give Bee some choice and control over his learning in order to get optimal engagement. He has previously expressed interest in a more project based approach. 

I took some broad topics from the HASS and science curriculum that I know he either hasn't worked on before and I think will be of interest. If none of these grab his attention I have a more more broad approach in providing choice:

From here I can incorporate all learning area's and elements of the curriculum. 

Workwise we revised nouns, Bee completed a maths worksheet. Bee also wrote a plan for balancing work, play and mental health priorities. He wrote over half an A4 page which is HUGE for Bee, he was quite pleased with himself. Being left-handed, having hypermobility and proprioception dysfunction makes writing difficult for Bee and he often avoids writing tasks.

Bee watched several Vsauce videos - "What is the World Worth?" "What Will We Miss?" and the nothing episode:

Friday Bee baked some brownies. The only assistance he had from me was confirmation of turning on the oven and setting the temperature. Having dyspraxia means a lot of the movements required for cooking can be quite awkward for Bee. 

Bee is contemplating the project approach for next term. 

Week Four

 

We started the week with a trip to the beach. I then had a medical procedure scheduled, so was out of commission for the rest of the week. 

Bee did draw a mud map to assist in his recount of a story. He also spent some time drawing 3D objects and experimenting with line and shape with a mathomat. He has asked to do some cooking next week.

Bee finished the week by attending a birthday party.

Week Three

 

A much better start to the week.

We got comfy on the floor and had a conversation about nouns. Bee could not recall learning about nouns previously, but picked up the concept very quickly. Before I could ask him to write in his notebook he had gotten the whiteboard down and started writing down some of the key points (e.g. proper nouns, common nouns). By the time I got to abstract nouns he had had enough and had started drawing. I gave him time to reset before moving onto some maths. Later in the afternoon we listened to a podcast about the Amazon Rainforest.

Gently, gently

 

Bee is still in a heightened state. At his psych appointment he agreed to beginning some more structured  "school work" at the end of the week. His PDA is aggravated by the high cortisol levels from stress and anxiety. 

Upon reflection I should not have started with Maths. I had some worksheets ready, they were to assess his number and place value knowledge as this was an area I identified last year that might need to be revised. As Bee encountered concepts he was not confident and/or familiar with he began to shut down. Then spiralled into a meltdown. 

Here we go

 

It is just my luck that our first day of term I am working. But that's ok - we will use our morning to discuss the plan I have formulated for the term. 

Unfortunately my plans were turned upside down. Bee was triggered by a visit to the paediatrician and has been feeling very fragile since. As a result his sleep pattern is upside down at the moment.

What we did manage to do was listen to a podcast about earthquakes. Also we went for a day trip to Augusta. 

We discussed how the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean, Matthew Flinders circumnavigation of Australia and naming of Cape Leeuwin, building of the Leeuwin lighthouse including the nearby waterwheel, calcification of lime on the water wheel and admired the rock formations.