AMDG+

Dear Parent;

First, you are on the right track! You have created a loving, supportive environment, which serves your daughter's needs far better than a special ed program in an institutional school ever could. No one knows your daughter's strengths and weaknesses as you do, so you are uniquely qualified to tailor her studies to her abilities. It sounds as if you are absolutely on the right track; keep up the good work!

Do remember that, if your daughter were in public school, she would either be in special classes or have expectations modified somewhat to her ability level. In other words, high school for her would be modified from standard high school course offerings. For example, she would not be expected to take Algebra or compete at the usual level in an English class.

Speaking as a parent of two developmentally disabled children, when our children were in special ed in public school, special ed teachers and consultants often gave well-meaning but misguided and totally inappropriate assignments and advice, because they simply lacked the hours and hours of one on one that we had with our children. Your instincts, based on your years of experience with your daughter, are probably right on target. CHC doesn't have a special needs consultant.

Again, the fact that your daughter is making progress with the program you designed shows that you are on the right track.

High School of Your Dreams will likely be a good fit for your daughter, as the program will allow you to continue using the materials that you have found to work, and still gain credit toward graduation. Just as she would receive credit in public school for modified work, you can assign credit for that same type of work at home. If Math U See and the Young Explorer series are working for her, then you may wish to continue with those programs, continuing one step at a time, just as you are.

Perhaps the best approach in planning for your daughter's high school years would be to take an afternoon to consider realistic post-high school goals, in light of her interests, abilities, and potential skill level. Do you see her as a good candidate for a vocational school program, or instead working on life skills such as budgeting and running a household? Might she succeed with an apprenticeship or a school to work program, perhaps working part-time or as a volunteer in a position that could develop into employment? For example, working for a veterinarian, at a nursing home, a plant nursery, a day care center, or perhaps a restaurant?

Once you have an idea of possible goals, it will be easier to select a course of study that she will enjoy and which will also prepare her for adult life. Perhaps her English classes might include journalling about her days of volunteering and focus on taking messages accurately to practice writing skills that will be useful to her in the work force. Following instructions in High School of Your Dreams Guidebook, these activities can certainly be used for credit. [HYSD's 'Family Management' and also 'Home Economics' course guidelines might be particularly appropriate as well, since these courses deal with children, families, cooking, budgeting, and household management.]

In addition, it sounds as if the 'Projects' sections within the High School of Your Dreams courses might suit your daughter well. These projects, offered for nearly every subject, emphasize hands-on approaches to learning for those who struggle with textbooks. Yet, the learning still takes place and credit can be awarded. For example, students might earn science credit via the 'Agricultural Science' course guidelines, raising a garden or small animals, or gather science projects-for-credit ideas from the 'Health' course. Your daughter might select similar projects for geography, history, government, and other coursework.

In regard to selecting textbooks at an appropriate level, you may wish to continue as you have been doing, selecting books that you know are at her level rather than standard high school texts. However, a projects-based approach is perhaps more easily tailored to the individual, allowing you to use books from the library, at no cost, to reinforce the hands-on project.

In any event, it sounds as if you are heading in the right direction already!

May our good Jesus bless and guide your homeschooling days,

Nancy Nicholson