Lesson plans

Are there going to be any special ed resources developed in the future?

God Bless,
Noelle Very Happy

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Noelle Bearer-Mador

"No one can make you feel inferior unless you allow them to do that"
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Yes, we're hoping to expand our resources and services into this area. Currently, I'm working with families on an individual basis, as they contact me with specific questions, but in the future, I'd like to have more broad services available.

A question that arises from this is, where should these resources be focused? What areas/topics would you like to see Kolbe's Special Needs department address? Let's get a discussion going on this.

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Melissa Buyarski
Kolbe Academy Advisor
Special Needs and Elementary Advising

I would like to see more on IEP production, and how to do it.

More on dyscalculia and fine motor issues in writing and how to overcome them, or help our children to move forward.

oh, I would also like to find out how to do the grade levels...my daughter is so different in math and reading.

Also, she IS mentally retarded (hate that word, but it is what is used in medical literature in regards to her condition), and I would like to know how much to push, not to push, etc. plus, dealing with ADD due to her condition. I do try and redirect her, but she is very distracted when it comes to math because she just doesn't get most of the concepts. Do I push here, or do I work on something else, like money and time?

How do I grade her? If first grade math takes three years, how is that graded and how do I separate the years? esp if she is different grade levels with different subjects?

The reason I asked is this--is my oldest has auditory processing disorder. She has long term memory issues at times. This is why we can't do alot of the curriculum that kolbe has. I was going to stay up until 8th grade and then go into another program in Maine, because she can still do her classical curriculum but I can choose the courses. AT this point, I will have to choose every course for her, if she went into the high school program. I don't know if that is acceptable here, so we haven't made a decision to stay past next year after she graduates from 8th grade.She is a very right brained learner, and alot of the curriculum you have is for a left brain learner. She could never do Saxon, so we will do Math U See. I taught special ed for many years and was a teacher for 13 years before I homeschooled. Then I taught online for a number of years. There are many special resources that Kolbe could use if that was available to parents. A Lot of right brained learners are very artistic, there is many ways you can use lapbooks and notebooking to enhance that. I think you need to focus on curriculum and helping parents with specific modifications in curriculum. For instance, The vocabulary program you have has 20 words. There is no way a LD child can retain that many. They can only do 10 words a week. In fact this is why we use Vocabulary Cartoons. Just my suggestion.

God Bless,
Noelle:)

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Noelle Bearer-Mador

"No one can make you feel inferior unless you allow them to do that"
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Hi Noelle- We appreciate the feedback! I know that Melissa is working on having many resources available to help parents adapt the curriculum. Our high school program is also very flexible similar to the grade school program, depending on the diploma type you pursue. For someone who would like to make a lot of changes, either the Magna or Standard diplomas would be the ones for you to choose. I'd highly recommend getting on our website and browsing through our diploma type section. If you have any questions, let us know!

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Megan Lengyel
Kolbe Academy Home School
Academic Advisor Department
Math and Science Advisor

I agree w/ the suggestions thus far (especially the one about writing IEPs...what a long process that is!!), with some additions of my own Very Happy

...it would be helpful if the tests were modified from mostly short answer to multiple choice, true/false, fill in. The short answer questions are not the best way for many children (those w/ ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, for example) to show their knowledge. I realize that we, as parents, are able to modify any tests, but it would be nice not to have to modify all of them - this has been very time-consuming in the midst of having to write IEPs, make picture schedules, and other such things that need to be done.
...a list of resources would be nice...ie, alternate programs/texts for children w/ various diagnoses, learning needs
...a list of suggestions on how to teach certain concepts or deal w/ different struggles and learning styles.
These are the things that I have taken a lot of time to research and it would have been nice to have had it narrowed down a bit.
I look forward to seeing these things being developed.
God bless!

yes, Fill in the Blank with word bank. I have a son brilliant in math but had speech & reading delay. He is a grade behind in CNR and stumbles over some words that his younger sister reads with ease. Plucking words from his memory stills gives occasional problems. If he can see a word or hear it, he knows if it is the word he wants. I do make my own word lists occasionally, depending upon how well he does during review week.

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Volunteer Kolbe Parent