Intent to Homeschool, Special Needs Education and Unit Studies

I always wonder, when I send in my "Letter of Intent to Homeschool" to our local school superintendent every year, if the school actually reads my carefully compiled list of resources and curriculum. Well, you will surely be relieved to know, that they do indeed read it. I received a phone message from our local district, thanking me for sending in information on my youngest children. However, they wondered what happened to our oldest (who is not yet eighteen)--why didn't I send information about him? I truthfully replied that he was enrolled in Park University, so we were no longer including him in our notification. The school official simply thanked me for the information; evidently satisfied. Whew!

I am thankful that I'm homeschooling in a country that guarantees parents the right to train up their own children, and teach them according to their sincere beliefs. I realize that in many countries, this isn't possible. I am also thankful to God, who grants us wisdom to train our children according to their gifts--whatever labels or diagnosis they may have been given by education experts.

Everyone is gifted, in some area. God makes people different for a reason. Thomas Edison's schoolmaster called the seven year old inventor-to-be "addled." Edison's mother removed her son from school after only three months, and taught him at home. The trick is to find out what your child likes best, and then incorporate it into his education. Unit studies can be the open door for a labeled child. Read more about unit studies at my web page, http://www.eaglesnesthome.com/unit.htm .

Your family may enjoy a unit study on famous homeschoolers, such as Thomas Edison. Here are a few more, to get you started: Alexander Graham Bell, Agatha Christie, Albert Einstein (although he didn't talk until the age of four--some people believe he was challenged by autism-- he taught himself calculus, and other abstract subjects), Wolfgang Mozart, Mark Twain, George Washington.

Here are some of my favorite Special Needs Resources. Hint: Try mixing special needs resources up. Use some of the techniques for Kids labeled learning disabled to teach your gifted preschooler. Try some of the gifted programs on your learning disabled child. In my opinion, all kids are gifted by God; and we all have our limitations. Also, many resources can be borrowed through inter-library loan; it’s worth a try to ask your local librarian.

NATHHAN, P.O. Box 39, Porthill, Idaho, 83853, 208-267-6246; http://www.nathhan.com/ , North American support group for homeschoolers with special needs.
Special Ed., http://specialed.miningco.com/
http://www.songsoflove.org/ , offers free personalized songs for seriously ill children.
ADD, http://add.miningco.com/
Woodbine House, special needs books, http://www.woodbinehouse.com/
Communication Aids, http://www.communicationaids.com
Communicating Partners, James MacDonald's unique family-friendly speech program, http://www.jamesdmacdonald.org/