My name is Jennifer and I homeschool my 4 kids ages 7-12, and the neighbor’s grandson who is 11. I suffered depression after the birth of my 4th child in 5 years and have recently been diagnosed with ADD. I also just found out that I have sleep apnea, which means I stop breathing during sleep, which doesn’t allow me to get deep, refreshing sleep.

My second son has Learning Disabilities, ADD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, some muscle and coordination delays and Sensory Processing Dysfunction. My youngest daughter has ADHD and is going to be tested for dyslexia.

I thought maybe the kids would be better off in public school, but it was not meant to be.  

At the beginning of this school year, I was very excited to be using Sonlight Curriculum,”one room schoolhouse” style. I felt confident about the neighbor’s grandson joining us.(What’s one more?)And because my own son had LD, I wasn’t worried when his mom told me he’d been tested and had no LD, dyslexia,etc, but was 2 years behind.

As I would soon learn, being “behind” and having LD are two totally different animals! My son cannot read or write well, but has normal comprehension ability. This little boy can read and write better than my son, but doesn’t understand things easily. So they have have distinct and OPPOSITE needs. Not to mention the needs of my other 3 kids!!

I started searching out a solution to the madness and found t4l. We have one computer and each child takes their turn while I observe. Some days a child will wake up before everyone else and start without me. It does help us get everyone in earlier, but I don’t allow that everyday, as they don’t always get as much out of it when I am not there.

What is kind of funny is that with the kids being so close in age and ability, I hear some of the lessons 3(and sometimes 4!) times!!

They still read from their Sonlight readers. One day I hope to be able to add in more of Sonlight History and Geography.

Sorry it turned out so long. I look forward to getting acquainted with everyone!