Homeschooling ADD Kids

If you’ve been receiving my unit studies for the past couple of weeks, you know that the unit study topic has been dogs.  Weekly Unit Study: Dogs Part 1 concentrated on teaching reading, writing, art, conversation, formulating opinions, math, grocery shopping, cooking, sharing and caring.  Weekly Unit Study: Dogs Part 2 focused on teaching more reading, writing and math as well as typing, responsibility, geography and computer skills.

Well, it’s Monday again, but instead of doing a unit study, per se, we’re going to work on your child’s memory by means of physical exercises and games.  However, some of the exercises and games will be related to the past two Mondays’ unit studies on dogs.  This will be a fun homeschooling day for your child and should keep him interested despite his ADD.

READ THIS FIRST

Before starting the exercises, it’s important to understand the two phases of physical memorization games.  Please click on the link at the end of the previous sentence to read about it.  Then click on your back button to come back to this post.

SPELLING

Fact Explanation/Review Phase

Two weeks ago in Weekly Unit Study: Dogs Part 1  you had your child read a book or part of a book to you.  After that you read a book to him that was a little more difficult than the one he read.  Grab those books again (or go back to the ones that you read online) and pick some words that you are not sure if he knows how to spell.  But make sure to also include some words that you are sure he can spell very well.  Including words that are easy for him to spell will help build up his confidence when you play the game.

Write the words on a large whiteboard or chalkboard.  If you don’t have one, you could just use a large sheet of paper, but using a whiteboard is the most visually stimulating and interesting to kids.  Leave space below each of the words you write.  Include no more than 10 words.  About half of them should be words he can already spell quite well.

Starting with the first word, mention to him what part of the book used that word.  If he starts talking about something that happened in that part of the book since you got him thinking about it, that’s okay.  But if his ADD makes him hyperfocus on a topic and he goes on and on about the book, politely tell him that it was interesting, but ‘let’s get back to the spelling of these words’. 

Next, have him write the word himself under each of the words you wrote.  Don’t focus to much on his handwriting, especially if he’s using a fat dry-erase marker on a whiteboard, but make sure you can at least read what he wrote.  If it’s so messy you can’t even read it, kindly say something like ‘I can"t make out those last two letters, can you write them over again?’

Now have him read the first word he wrote out loud, then spell it while looking at it.

Exercise/Game Phase 

This game is called the "Push-Each-Other-Around-the-Floor Game".  Yeah, it needs a better name, but I can’t seem to think of one (leave a comment with a suggestion if you can think of a good name, please). 

Get some masking tape or any other kind of tape that is easy to write on and cut 40 strips of tape about 2 inches long.  Together, write the words on the tape, repeating each word about 4 times (if you have 10 different spelling words).

If you have a kitchen floor with squares on it, such as a ceramic floor or a vinyl floor with design lines on it, place one piece of tape on each square.  Your playing area should be about 5 squares wide and 8 squares long.  Try not to place duplicates of the same words next to each other.  If your squares are too small to fit one of your feet on it, then use more tape to outline several squares large enough to fit your feet.  You can also use the tape to make your own squares if your floor doesn’t have any.

Now, stand on the middle line, 4 squares into the playing area, with your feet about shoulder distance apart.  Have your child face you, placing his feet a few inches away from yours. 

Put your hands out like your pushing on a door while he does the same, placing your left hand on his left hand and your right hand on his right, palm to palm.   Tell him to push against your palms to try to make you move your feet.  When you feel him pushing, push back, trying to make him move his feet.  Because you’re bigger and stronger than he is, you can probably make him move and resist moving yourself.  However, at times let up on the pressure so that he has the advantage. 

If you stumble and move your feet, ask your child to look at the square where the toes of your right foot are resting and read the word that appears there (don’t look at the square yourself).  Repeat the word that he read to you and spell it. 

If your child is the one that stumbles and moves his feet, then you should read the word while he spells it, without looking at the ground.

Each time you spell a word out loud it helps him, since he hears the word being spelled.  You count no points when you spell a word.  Each time he spells a word correctly you count one point.  If he spells two words correctly in a row, that’s two points.  Once he spells a word wrong, the score goes back to zero and he starts over again.  Spell the word that he spelled incorrectly and have him repeat the spelling before you resume the game.

It’s important to note that this is not a competitive game.  When educational games are competitive, it can distract the child from learning and decrease his confidence level.  However, if you have two children, they can play this game together, but their score should be collective.  If either of them spells a word incorrectly, their collective score goes back to zero.

The goal is to get 20 points.

Make sure that he realizes that you can only push against each other hands, otherwise it can quickly get rough and crazy, especially between two kids.

There will be lots of laughing as you push and shove each other, and you may find he doesn’t want to stop.  Our "Push-Each-Other-Around-the-Floor Game" usually lasts about 20 to 30 minutes.  By the time you are done, he will probably know the new words by heart.  If not, that’s okay, too.  Just continue to use the words that he spelled wrong the next time that you play the game together.

The key to this game’s success is making it fun for your child.  If he’s having a great time, he won’t think of it as just practicing spelling the same words over and over.  Could you imagine how he would respond if you just had him sit there and spell the words for 20 to 30 minutes, or used flash cards for that long.  Blah.  That would bore the life out of him. 

Share your experience with this game by commenting on it after you are done.   Feel free to have your child comment himself!

Let’s move on to the next memorization game, one involving math.

ADDITION

In Weekly Unit Study: Dogs Part 1 , you did some math together when you cooked the dog biscuits (simple fractions) and when you had your child figure out how much many bills to give the cashier and how much cash to get back.  In Weekly Unit Study: Dogs Part 2 , your child used math to figure out how much it costs to own a dog over time.  But in order to do math problems, he must first be able to add well.  In this game your child will practice addition.

Fact Explanation/Review Phase

Start with the whiteboard again.  Write 10 addition problems, without the answer.   Have your child fill in the answers to the ones that he knows.  Try to include some problems which you know he can figure out so that he’ll feel positive about the experience. 

Help him to figure out the ones he doesn’t know by memory.  In other words, if he doesn’t know the answer to 5 + 4, count out 5 of some item, such as buttons (not coins because they have a number value, and that can be confusing later on) and then add 4 buttons to them, then have him count the total number of buttons.  After that, count out 5 buttons again, and have him add 4 buttons, counting them as he adds them.  Finally, have him do that same step again, but this time have him put the 4 buttons he wants to add to one side, then tell them that as he adds them to the 5 buttons he must count starting with the number following 5.  In other words, he adds a button from the pile of 4 to the pile of 5 while saying "6".  The next button he adds he says "7".  This teaches him the concept of "counting up".  These methods help him to understand the conceptual side of math.

Don’t worry if he is slow at this, but if you see he is getting very bored or irritated, then just do a few of these and move on.

Exercise/Game Phase

If it’s not too cold out (we get some nice days in Winter here in North Carolina), play this game in the back yard or at a park.  He’ll love the idea of going to a park for homeschool!

All you need to play this game is a ball that you can kick, such as a soccer ball, a rubber ball or one of those cheap plastic balls that they sometimes sell at Target or Wal-Mart.  Oh, and you also need 4 sticks or rocks.

Place the sticks or rocks about 6 feet apart like soccer goal posts.  Alternatively you can scrape marks in the ground.  Do this on both ends of the field or yard. 

Start the game by saying a math problem such as 5 + 4, then kick the ball, trying to get it between your child’s goal posts.  He has to try to block your attempt.  If you get it in jump and cheer, but don’t count any points.

Next, your child yells the answer to the problem, in this case 9, and kicks the ball to you trying to get it between your goal posts.  (If he’s very young, give him a break and let him get it in once in a while.)  Jump and cheer again for him if he gets it in. 

If he gets the answer wrong, don’t kick the ball back to him. Instead pick it up and say "no, it’s 9, try again", but in a cheerful voice, and throw it back to him.  Since you gave him the answer, he’ll get it right this time.  On your turn to kick, say the same math problem again until he has done it 5 times.  This repetition is only for problems that he got wrong.  If he gets it right immediately, just move on to a new math problem.

Every time he gets one right it equals one point.  His goal is 20 points.  When he gets one wrong he goes back down to zero.  If it’s too hard for him or your time is limited, just try going for 10 points.

How hard the addition problems are depend on the age and math ability of your child.  If he can add all of the single-digit numbers, proceed on to double-digit numbers.  If he can do those, move on to triple digits, etc.

This game can go on for 30 to 45 minutes without most ADD kids becoming too bored.  If he does seem to get bored of it quickly, then every 3 points or so, play a one-on-one soccer game where he runs and kicks the ball while you try to get it away from him before he can get it in your goal and vice-versa.  This version of the game is great exercise for the both of you.

If the weather doesn’t allow you to go outside, try an indoor version of this game with two socks rolled up in a ball together.

These are just a few physical memorization games that we play with Steven.  They work fantastic.  I’m sure you’ll find the same.

Do any of you have any variations on this game?

2 Comments | In: exercise, games, math, memory, spelling | | #

If you are one of our regular readers or subscribers, you’re familiar with how physical exercises combined with repetition of facts from history, science, geography, and other subjects can help a child with ADD to memorize far better than simply reading facts, listening to someone saying them over and over, or repeating it himself without physical movement.  If you haven’t read any of our past posts about it, a good place to start is this one: Using Exercises and Physical Movements to Teach Children with ADD.  You might also want to read this post: Mental Exercises vs. Physical Exercises: Which for the ADD Brain, then come back here and read the rest the information below.

Now that you know why exercise and physical movements are so effective in helping children with ADD to memorize facts, in this post I explain the two essential phases of memorization for homeschooled ADD kids.

THE "FACT EXPLANATION PHASE"

Before your child can work on memorizing facts, he obviously has to learn what the facts are.  (Excuse me for referring to your child as "he" when you might have a daughter…I do it since statistically there are more boys with ADD than girls, and it’s awkward to constantly read "he or she".)  There are many ways to explain facts, but one of the best ways is to take advantage of interest he showed in certain points. 

Let’s use the topic of earthquakes as an example:

If you are doing a unit study about earthquakes, then you are probably already reading about earthquakes, watching videos about earthquakes, making little clay models of earthquakes, and so forth.  (By the way, if you don’t already know , we have free unit studies here every Monday which you can use.) 

While you did the unit study, you probably noticed that your child was particularly interested in certain things about earthquakes and yet not so impressed with other aspects of them.  What you might have found amazing he might have just blinked at and vice-versa. Try to recall what facts he was especially paying attention to.  In fact, next time you do a unit study, take note of these on a pad.  Use these main points as a list of facts that you would like him to memorize.  You might have to include some things he wasn’t overly interested in if you know that they are very important to the topic, but try to mostly use points he liked.  After all, in everyday life we tend to remember things that caught our interest, not every single little detail about a subject.

After you have the list, write down the points on a whiteboard.  Careful with this though.  You don’t want to write long, boring paragraphs; just a sentences or a phrase with the main points, such as "The strength of earthquakes are measured by the Richter scale", and "Where an earthquake first starts is called its focus or hypercenter."  Pick about 10 to 15 points that you want him to memorize, depending on his age, level of attention and the difficulty of the subject matter.

Read each sentence right after you write it so he won’t have to wait for you to write all of the sentences before you start <<yawn>>.  After reading each one ask him what he remembered about it.  He might say that he remembers the video you watched talking about the Richter scale or pointing out the earthquake’s hypercenter when you made the clay model.  Or he might say he doesn’t remember those points at all (even if he did seem interested in them at the time).

Make sure you do not express displeasure or annoyance at the fact that your child might have forgotten many facts.  If he senses your irritation his emotions will take over and shut down his ability to learn.  Don’t be in a rush to drill the facts into his head. Slower learning has great advantages to the rushed instruction prevalent in schools.

Next, concentrate on the facts he could not recall and one by one review the activities that you both did together in the unit lesson that taught these facts.  For example, if he forgot the point about the Richter scale which was mentioned in the video, watch that part of the video again, asking him to stay "stop" when the talk about it.  Or if he forgot what the hypercenter of an earthquake is, take out the model you made together and patiently explain it again.

Even the points that he recalled he might have remembered only because you wrote them down.  In other words, had you simply said, "What is used to measure the strength of an earthquake?", he might not have been able to tell you.  But when you wrote down that it is the Richter scale, it may have jogged his memory or at least sounded familiar.  So, when you move on to the next phase, you’ll be reviewing all 10 to 15 facts.

THE EXERCISE/GAME PHASE

This phase is a big hit with ADD kids.  Steven looks forward to this part so much he talks about it all day and doesn’t want to stop doing it when our 30 minutes are up.  Although I described it in one of the previous posts I mentioned above, I’ll explain a little further here so that you can make the best use of this incredible technique.  I also include specific, physical, memorization games on this blog every third to fourth week on Monday’s so that you can see how to use them in relation to our ongoing unit studies or sometimes as just out-of-the-blue memorization games on chosen topics.

This game is a favorite of Steven’s.  It’s hallway hockey.  We have a nice long hallway in the center of our house and we keep it clear of breakable objects.  Steven stands at one end of the hallway with a plastic hockey stick while I stand at the other end with another.  I start with the puck (yes, also a plastic one, and fortunately its hollow). 

First I ask a question.  Using the earthquake example again, I say "What is used to measure the strength of an earthquake?" and hit the puck to him.  We’re not just hitting it back and forth, though.  I wack it pretty hard, trying to get it past his stick that he uses to block it.  My goal is to hit our front door.  He usually succeeds in blocking me, but sometimes I manage to get it by him and shout in triumph (adds excitement to the game).

Before he hits it back to me he has to give the correct answer.  If he forgot it, I tell him what it is, but he has to repeat it before hitting the puck back to me.  Steven is surprisingly good at hitting the puck in a way that it flies just 5 inches or so off the ground and gets by me, hitting the bottom of a bookcase at the end of the hall.  He cheers.

If he didn’t get the answer right the first time and I had to tell it to him, I do the same question again.  We do that maybe 5 or 6 times, using the same question.  Normally, that would be extremely boring, but Steven could care less if we do it 50 times.  I mean, he’s playing hockey, that’s pretty fun in itself! 

Then we move on to the next question and do the same thing again.  30 minutes goes by like nothing and he loves it.  But the best thing is this: when we are done and I ask him the questions…well you know the rest.

What about long-term memorization, though?  Well, here’s the thing:  most of us have probably forgotten 90% of the facts we learned in school or when being homeschooled. And that’s not too terrible.  After all, we learn facts not just so we can spit them out like a computer, but it exercises the brain and increases our capacity to remember things overall.  It also helps us to learn new concepts since learning is, for the most part, relating new things to those we already know.  And often there is more value in teaching your child to research than just to memorize facts. 

I will say, though, that using physical games and exercises like the one we just discussed greatly improves the amount of information that a child can remember.  I don’t have hard data on this, but try it out and you’ll see what I mean.

There is, however, a technique that you can use if you want to help your child remember certain key facts months or years later.  The key lies in choosing which of the facts is truly the most important to know.  For example, of the two facts about earthquakes that we discussed before (what they are measured by and the name of the point where the earthquake starts) the most important one for a child to know would probably be that earthquakes are measured by the Richter scale.  Why?  Because it’s talked about on the news and people discuss it, but they don’t frequently discuss an earthquake’s hypercenter.  Another important fact worth memorizing is that earthquakes are caused by shifts in the Earth’s plates.  However, memorizing the countries where the three largest earthquakes occurred would be of lesser importance.

After choosing the most relevant facts, make a list of them in a notebook or on your computer and periodically play a game of indoor hockey or some other physical exercise memorization game in which you throw in the most important facts from the previous month or two.  That way you are reminding your child of the most important aspects of the subjects that you are studying.

It’s important to remember that although the Exercise/Game Phase of the memorization instruction is highly effective, as is the Fact Explanation Phase, the two phases work hand-in-hand.  One depends upon the other.  Please use them together.

Leave a comment here to let me know how it’s going.  I’d love to hear your experiences!

Ready for a game?  Meet me here every third or forth Monday and I’ll have a blog post with a fun, physical game that will help your child to memorize.  The other Monday’s we have unit study projects, so drop by for those too!

2 Comments | In: exercise, games, memory | | #

As we’ve mentioned before on this blog, memorizing facts can be rather boring. This is especially true for kids with Attention Deficit Disorder. So we suggested doing physical movements and exercises while memorizing in a couple of our posts about exercise and ADD.

How else can you help to improve your child’s memory, considering that his ADD is causing his mind to wander about? One way is by playing music in the background while memorizing facts. I don’t mean Yanni or Kenny G. You want to get your kid’s brain working, not make him feel nauseous. However, classical music, which is more "complicated" music, works well.

The idea is that listening to certain types of complex music may "warm-up" neural transmitters inside the brain and thereby improves spatial performance , which is the mental process where the brain attempts to interpret different types of information. This is called the “Mozart Effect”.

So this week I tried this myself with Steven. He was having a lot of trouble with remembering his multiplication tables. I put on some Mozart and we began our multiplication game (the game is explained in this past post about exercise and homeschooling ADD kids). At one point in the middle of the game the music stopped and he said “The music!” I didn’t think he had even noticed. When the multiplication game was over I tested how much he remembered and he got them all right. It is something that we are going to be doing all the time from now on.

Try it yourself! Go to a site like www.lastfm.com or www.pandora.com and find your favorite classical artist and let me know what you think.

No Comments | In: math, memory, music | | #

Memorizing facts usually bores kids with Attention Deficit Disorder.  Actually, it even bores kids who have no attention challenges, but can be shear drudgery for ADD children.

So am I suggesting that you should do away with teaching your kids to memorize when you homeschool them?  Definitely not.  A certain amount of memorization is necessary, such as multiplication tables, key dates in history, vocabulary when learning a foreign language, etc.  In fact, if you’re interested in learning one of the best ways to help your kids memorize facts, see my previous post on using exercise and body movements to homeschool.  (The link will open in a new window, so just close it if you wish to return back to this post.)

However, there are only so many hours in a week and an endless amount of information that could be memorized.  So let me suggest a skill that is even more important that memorization: learning how to do research.

Think about it.  If your kids goes to college later on, how will they write their term papers?  If they need information for a business presentation (or for anything else for that matter) how will they find what they need?

You might at first think that they can just find the information they need on the Internet.  And they probably will.  But good research is not just a matter of typing a phrase in Google and clicking on links.  A lot of info out there on the web is repetitive.  Many sites are not real sources of information on topics, but rather commercial/sales sites.  But more importantly, it’s extremely fragmented.  There’s a bit of good info on one site, then a little more on another site, and a third one offers information that contradicts the first one.  Wikipedia is great, but it’s only a beginning point when researching a topic in depth.  And for some topics, it’s best to go to a library.

Children need to be taught, not only about the various sources of information and how to use them, but they also need to learn how to do the following:

• filter out the info that they don’t need and gather that which they do
• investigate contradictions and learn how to either find which is correct or how to present both sides of an issue
• take meaningful notes
• put the information in their own words (so that they are not just copying and pasting someone else’s words)

Since kids with ADD love to search and investigate, leverage that interest and teach them how to research.  They’re not going to be able to memorize everything they need to know in life and for their future careers, but learning how to be a good researcher will give them access to an endless supply of useful knowledge.

No Comments | In: memory, research skills | | #