Homeschool Co-op

This year, Peter and I have been participating in a homeschool enrichment co-op. He takes music, art, Latin, P.E. and a few other subjects. The neat thing is that he is learning to advocate for himself. I told the teachers about his special needs before the school year began, but he keeps in touch with his teachers and classmates, sometimes by email, sometimes in person, telling them specifically how they can meet his needs. The teachers have been so helpful, and he and they are so proud of his accomplishments; and he is making wonderful new friends this way, as well, as he works with other students, side by side, on this one day a week.

If you can join anything like this, I highly recommend it.

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Free Microsoft Accessibility CD

I'm not sure this would be helpful for those using screen readers or screen magnification, but for people with low vision who use large print, this free CD from Microsoft offers demos and tutorials on accessibility. After you order, they say it takes 6 weeks for delivery.

http://www.microsoft.com/enable/cd/default.aspx



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Test-Taking Tips

Have you ever wondered how to prepare your children to take tests? As homeschoolers, the need for test-taking might not be as frequent; but it's every bit as important.

Carla Ruschival, from her many years of experience in the educational field, offers a page of invaluable tips to help prepare our children for both multiple choice and true-and-false forms of testing.

You can read her credentials at this page, as well as find the links to this helpful information:
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/carla40206





P.S. If you are receiving this as an email, you can read this post in a blog format, or read past posts, at: http://viphs.blogspot.com/

Book For Children with Low Vision!

At last! Here is a positive book for children with low vision, All children have different eyes, Learn to play and make friends, by Edie A. Glaser, a writer who has lived with low vision since infancy, and Dr. Maria Burgio, Ph. D., a child and family specialist.

Low vision children dribble, skate and hopscotch their way across the pages, as they model upbeat responses to difficult social situations. These cheerful children confidently explain their eye conditions in simple words. They demonstrate, in a natural way, how to join the fun, answer questions about their needs, ask for help, and show leadership.

Parents and teachers will find a chart in the back of the book which lists the social competency skills demonstrated, along with activities to help children, particularly 4 to 8 year olds, to learn these social skills.

”The eyes are beautiful!” my neighbor said when she saw the book. Doina Paraschiv, the illustrator, has made all the pictures very attractive and endearing.

You really have to see this beautiful book for yourself to appreciate it. You can order the book online, or print a form to mail in your order, at this website:
http://www.vidipress.com/allkids/store.php



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Parenting Children with Multiple Disabilities

If you have - or someone you know has - a child who is blind or visually impaired along with one or more other disabilities, Hadley School for the Blind has a new course just for you, Parenting Children with Multiple Disabilities. "This course is designed for family members of children with visual impairment and one or more other disabilities."

Hadley courses are all done by correspondence and are all free of charge if you are visually impaired, a family member of a visually impaired person or a person who works in the blindness field.

You can check out this new course by going here and scrolling down to For Family Education Students.

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Preparing for the New School Year

If you do high school - or even if you don't - you might enjoy my mission statement that I posted at my primary blog: http://margmary.blogspot.com/2007/08/mission-statement-for-our-high-school.html Although parts of it were directed particularly to high school, much of it was part of my mission all through the years. After all, we enjoy their childhood with them, but raise them to be adults.

I also posted seven ways that I'm preparing for the new school year here: http://margmary.blogspot.com/2007/08/preparing-for-new-school-year.html. Although these postings were not specifically regarding visual impairment, they do apply to homeschooling (and of course, one of my two that I'll be homeschooling for high school this year is legally blind). If anyone would like to share ways that they prepare for a new school year (for any age level), please share in the comments.

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Harry Potter in Braille

Did you know that National Braille Press has made the 7th Harry Potter book available in Braille at the same time that the print book becomes available? An article about this popped up on my Yahoo features this morning at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070718/ap_en_ot/harry_potter_braille

This is the address for National Braille Press: http://www.nbp.org/



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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/viphomeschooler/

Test Post #2

Please bear with me (for those who have this coming into your inbox). A link grabbed the "If" following it and wouldn't link, so I'm trying again. I promise I won't do any more testing today, regardless of the results.



P.S. If you are receiving this as an email, you can read this post in a blog format, or read past posts, at: http://viphs.blogspot.com/
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Test Post

Test Post. Please pardon the inconvenience.



P.S. If you are receiving this as an email, you can read the post in a blog format, or read past posts, at http://viphs.blogspot.com
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Editor's Note

I'm chagrined that when a post goes out through the VIP Homeschooler Yahoo group to your inbox, all the formatting is lost. There go any paragraphs or lists. I also need to find a way that you can easily go from that email message to the actual blog, if you would like to read the post there (it looks much nice there than in an email. smile). Actually, after getting out my magnifying glass (just kidding), I found out that my little addition to include that information did work, but it's in tiny print after everything else. I am going to try to find a better way. Not sure how well this will work, though. (smile).

So...when I get time to do a bit of experimenting with this, please "pardon my dust". And thanks for your patience!

By the way, for those who don't know, when I say "VIP Homeschooler Yahoo group", that is a "group" used solely for the purpose of sending these posts out like a newsletter. However, if you'd like to participate more actively, you are most welcome to post comments at the blog. As a matter of fact, I would love it if you'd like to share.

If you want to have the blog posts sent to your inbox, so that you know when there is a new post, you can send a blank email to:
viphomeschooler-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Or you can sign up at the group webpage:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/viphomeschooler/

For those who are receiving this post into your inbox, here is the web address for the blog itself:
http://viphs.blogspot.com

High School Credits

When you plan your child's home high school curriculum, you will want to know what courses are required.

If you are preparing a high school program that is not college-preparatory, you will want to find out what's required in your particular state...unless you are using a correspondence course that issues a diploma, and then, of course, you can follow their program.

Here's a somewhat typical high school curriculum:
English - 4 units
Social Sciences - 3 units
Math - 3 units (may include bookkeeping, accounting, consumer math, as well as Algebra or Geometry courses)
Science - 3 units
P.E. and health - 1 unit
Electives to bring the total to 21 or 22 units

Hadley School for the Blind does issue a diploma, and their program requires the following credits for graduation:
English - 3 units
Science - 2 1/2 units
Math - 1 1/2 units
Social Studies - 2 units
Electives - 7 units
Total of 16 units

The Hadley high school program, as you can see, if not college preparatory, but it might be a viable option for someone who struggles academically and just wants a diploma, for example for students with some types of multiple disabilities.

If there is any possibility that your child may pursue a college education, check into the specific colleges that are in your local area, or that your child may be interested in, to find out what credits are required.

Here is a somewhat typical example of a college preparatory program for high school:
English - 4 units
Social Sciences - 3 units (of which one must be American history)
Math - 3 units (must include Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry)
Science - 3 units (of which one or two must include lab work)
Foreign Language - 2 units
Electives to bring the total to 21 or 22 units

Some of the requirements vary from one college to another; for example, some colleges require two years of foreign language...but some smaller colleges do not. Some require a year of performing arts or art appreciation of some type. Also, if your child is planning on a math or science major, an additional, more advanced math course may be required, such as trigonometry or calculus.

Curriculum Planning - High School

"What about algebra...and chemistry?" parents sometimes ask themselves when considering homeschooling at the high school level. And I don't mean only parents whose children have special needs. I mean homeschooling parents in general.

Do you need a college education to teach high school? Let me just reassure you that I don't have a college education...and I've graduated four kids from homeschool high school and all have been accepted into college. My kids were invited into the honors program, on the honor roll in college, or given a scholarship. Now, at the moment, I'm not talking about blind or visually impaired children, just about homeschooling in general. My visually impaired son Peter is just beginning high school this coming fall. But I know I can do it, I know he can do it; and I believe you can do it too, if you and your child feel called to do this and you are willing to learn.

Is that "willing to learn" scary? Does that mean we have to learn algebra and chemistry (or whatever subjects are difficult for us)? Maybe; maybe not. Can your spouse teach it? Can you hire a tutor? Can your student handle a co-op class or community college class? Can you use a self-teaching program and just help a little without total mastery of the material on your part?

Once you decide you want to homeschool for high school, you will want to plan your curriculum. Does your daughter want to go to college? If she doesn't right now, might she change her mind later? Might she be able to "make the grade"? If not university, might she consider a vocational school or technical school or community college program?

Or does your son have additional disabilities severe enough that he would just be doing well to get through high school? This will make a difference in the program you decide on. If your ultimate educational goal for your child is a high school education, you might want to use the Hadley program...or use another program geared for just getting through high school. Or you could find out the minimums for high school for your state or district and use those to make up your own program. (You can usually find this on the web).

If college is a possibility, even remotely, you'll want to look into what colleges require for entrance. Although there is some variation, much of it is the same from one college to another.

Then you can set up a flexible plan for the coming four years (if your child struggles or has setbacks, you can take more than four years if you need it).

Now I'd like to ask if you'd like to help out here, if you have blind or visually impaired children getting ready for high school, in high school, or having graduated from high school. Could you share in the comments section a little about what your plans are or what's worked for you? It can be as short or as long as you'd like. Thanks so much.

The Month of June

My plan for this blog had been to post at least once weekly. In June this just didn't happen. And that meant that I had started writing about curriculum planning and then left you hanging on that; I'm sorry. I hope to get back to the curriculum subject very soon.

June was a busy month. We had our newly-blind college son Paul here for a visit from Kentucky. Getting him here was a challenge because our flight got delayed, and in order to get him back my husband finally decided to drive. If you're interested, you can read about Paul's visit here:
http://margmary.blogspot.com/2007/06/more-about-trip-to-pick-up-paul.html
http://margmary.blogspot.com/2007/06/getting-paul-home.html

I've been rather anxious about him getting services, but it looks like it's finally going to happen:
http://margmary.blogspot.com/2007/06/mcdowell-rehabilitation-center.html

After Paul got back home, I had a Catholic homeschool conference to prepare for, where I had volunteered to be on a panel for homeschooling special needs - hoping there would be parents of blind or visually impaired children present to talk with. Although there might not be, I still wanted to be prepared. The speaker coordinator had told me she'd like me to help, regardless, since I know how to homeschool while overcoming obstacles...like you, probably, if you're reading this. So I gave a brief "You can do it" introduction of myself and then helped answer questions.

All of this, along with some concerns for my father who lives across the country, have meant that blogging here just didn't happen. Please bear with me and I will try to post on more curriculum topics soon.

Planning Curriculum - Science

For high school science, I am so happy that the textbook series we love offers many of their books read orally on MP3 CD's for an additional $15.00. An MP3 CD is different from the MP3 that you might normally think of. It's a disc, just like a CD, but it holds more and can be tracked more easily from chapter to chapter. Some CD players can play an MP3 CD (but not all can). When we were last in the market for a new one, an MP3 CD player was not all that expensive. However, you can also simply play an MP3 CD on your computer's CD Rom drive. The high school science series that works for us is a teachable, creationist set of textbooks written specifically for homeschool families by Dr. Jay Wile. I see that Dr. Wile has also written books for 7th and 8th grade now. You can learn more about all of these books at the Apologia Press website:
http://apologia.securesites.net/store/

The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired offers a number of science resources at their website: http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/index.htm#Subject

For elementary age students there are a number of textbooks on the homeschool market. But alternatively we might read good science books from the library (and have our child listen to tapes from the Library of Congress, National Library Service).

Nature walks and home science experiments are particularly good for capturing the interest of children, who usually learn better about the real world around them than just from reading a book. They can feel the textures of different leaves, feel the different textures under their feet, hear the sounds of nature.

Thanks to the TSBVI site, I discovered a website which gives a number of ideas for learning to appreciate science with other senses than visual. This includes a neat page where you can play the sound of different types of birds, each one identified and described. I highly recommend exploring this website: http://www.nhest.org/nonvis.html

You can download a free Teacher's Manual for Adapting Science Experiments for Blind and Visually Impaired Students, by going here: http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/Manual2.doc

Planning Curriculum - Math

Math is a most important subject, though not my personal favorite. However, I can say that for the most part it has been a joy to teach Peter math.

Everyone's situation is different, and I share with you from ours, but I will also share resources that may help with your own special circumstances, however different they may be from my own.

My own experience is with a child who has low vision, who laughed when he first saw large print, and got mad when pushed to use hand-held magnifiers, but who can read print using a CCTV (video magnifier). So I chose to teach him math over the years using his CCTV. Only more recently have we been working on learning Nemeth code, the Braille for math, with the help of his Teacher of the Visually Impaired. The math text that has worked well for us for elementary school is Skills, Concepts and Problem Solving, published by Continental Press. http://www.continentalpress.com/series_detail.asp?intSeriesID=983&intSubjectID=21 One beauty of this series for someone who is visually impaired is that it has a simple layout and uses one page per day. I was already using this book before Peter lost his vision in the fourth grade. The only thing I would probably do differently, if I had it to do over again, is to replace this book with a Pre-Algebra book for the eighth grade (the grade he is now completing).

To learn Nemeth code, and to get charts to help you with it, as well as lots of other ideas about teaching math to a student who is blind or visually impaired, you can visit the website of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI). http://www.tsbvi.edu/math/index.htm

For high school, we have chosen to use a series that worked well for my fully-sighted son this year, which was designed specifically for homeschoolers. Peter has liked that he hears his brother's math being explained orally on CD Roms. So we will be trying this for Peter for Algebra 1 this coming fall. I will keep you posted on how well this works out for him. The series is called Teaching Textbooks. Since Peter can use computer enlargement software (ZoomText), he will be able to watch each lesson being worked, as well as hear the lecture. This is not, by the way, a cumbersome video watching a teacher at the chalkboard teaching a classroom. Only the actual problems being worked are shown on your monitor. Teaching Textbooks has books for grades 5-7, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry and Pre-Calculus. This company can be found here: http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/

If you would like to share anything, please feel free to add it in the comments.

Planning Curriculum

Some parents who are just starting out on their homeschooling journey prefer to use a correspondence course or a packaged curriculum. This, of course, can be a bit more difficult if your child is blind or visually impaired. You might need to get the materials put into Braille or into electronic format (such as cassette or CD), or you might need to read them to your student.

If you are looking for materials in an accessible medium, you might try finding out if someone else has already done this and no longer needs their books. A couple places you might ask include the following Yahoo groups: Sight Exchange or Blindhomeschooler. The only drawback with Sight Exchange - probably only a drawback if you are just starting out - is that you need to donate something before you can receive something. The friendly folks at Blindhomeschooler can sometimes steer you in the right direction to find what you need.

You can also join Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, where they have many books in electronic format or will make those that you need. There is a fee to join, but you can then get access to lots of audible books and textbooks.

To find out more about various curriculum options, you can visit my website or you can visit the very comprehensive A to Z Home's Cool Website. (We both have a webpage specifically devoted to blindness resources as well.)

If you do decide to use a correspondence school for your child, you will want to communicate with the school beforehand about your child's needs. Only public schools are required by law to accept a child who is visually impaired, and some schools might feel it isn't something they can handle. However, you can probably make a difference in their attitude by reassuring them that you will get the work to the child in a form he can use, and get the child's work back to the school in a form that the school personnel can evaluate.

For me, it was easier to just leave the packaged curriculums behind. We pick and choose whatever materials work best for us for any given subject. I will share more about this in a coming post.

Planning for Fall

It's that time of year: time for graduations and picnics, wrapping up the schoolyear, and looking forward to enjoying the summer. Yet it's also time to think about the fall. Maybe we don't want to think about crisp autumn air and falling leaves right now. But we can still start planning what we're going to do about school when that time comes.

Yesterday I placed my orders for my two high schoolers for the coming school year. If you're interested, you can read that post at my personal blog:
http://margmary.blogspot.com/2007/05/were-committed.html

But maybe you don't have high schoolers and consequently aren't remotely interested in what I'm doing for high school. Whatever the age of your child, I would like to share some thoughts with you...some questions, perhaps, that you can ask yourself, whether you're new to homeschool or whether you're a veteran like me.

What method of homeschooling appeals to you for your child? Do you picture your homeschool as being like a school in the home? Do you prefer to have pre-packaged lessons plans and textbooks? Or does a more creative or flexible approach appeal to you? If you tried a more creative approach, would you take the initiative to provide plenty of learning opportunities and to make sure your child learns basic skills?

What religious convictions do you want to pass on to your child? What books, materials or methods will best support your family values? What personal talents and interests do you have that you can you share with your child?

Now, you will want to find what materials are compatible with your preferred methods, beliefs and values. And how you can get those materials in the best accessible medium for your student. There isn't one right answer to these questions and challenges. There is no easy answer for some of them.

In subsequent posts, I will try to explore some of the various options.

American History

Each family and each child is different, so there are many different ways to homeschool. Some like to homeschool using traditional textbooks. Some of us like to use a variety of "regular" books. The latter has been my choice for most subjects for my visually impaired son. So, where do we get the books? For literature and history we use the Library of Congress books.
See post about the Library of Congress books at: http://viphs.blogspot.com/2007/03/treasurehouse.html

Once your child is signed up for the Library of Congress tapes, you can go to the kids search page to choose books to request. Here is the link for the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/nls/

You can put in the search box such terms as: American History, American Explorers, U.S. History, American Revolution, Civil War, and American Inventors. Each book is described, along with the grade levels for which it is recommended.

We don't always get all our requests, so I request more books than I necessarily need. I have my son read a variety of books on various aspects of the history that we are studying that year. I also help him write at least one report per quarter about, or related to, one of the books he has read.

Of course, field trips and videos can also contribute to the history studies.

Braille Charts

Just discovered a new resource! It's the website of a Braille transcriber who provides neat Braille charts for us. Check it out.

The URL is: http://teacherweb.com/UT/Granite/VisionBraille-CharlotteWOvard

Old Time Radio

Back in the "good old days" people listened to stories dramatized on the radio. Now here's a chance to do that again. No need for descriptive DVDs here, as these are the old time programs that were produced specifically for the radio. Here's entertainment, as well as a fun way to enhance your child's listening skills.

You can listen to "My Favorite Husband", starring Lucille Ball, or to Abbot and Costello, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Ozzie and Harriet, and others at Old Time Radio website.

Blind Pilot Story

In case you didn't see this one in the news, this is a real "Wow!" story...about a blind pilot flying part way around the world. He relies on speech output from his instrument panel...and has a sighted co-pilot. Click here to read the story if you haven't seen it.

Braille Courses for Parents

If, as a homeschooling parent, you need to be the one to teach your child Braille, or if you just want to be able to read what she's written in Braille, there are ways for you to learn in the convenience of your home...and without spending money.

First, there is the Braille School website, which is a good introduction, with its tutorials explaining the Braille cells and contractions. You have to register, but registration is free.

Secondly, there is the Hadley School for the Blind, which offers free correspondence courses to family members. The teachers are very kind and good at what they do.

The Braille School lessons cover all the rules, but the Hadley School's Braille lessons give you practice in reading and writing words, sentences, and paragraphs.

I recommend either or both of these options.

Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students

HANDBOOK FOR ITINERANT AND RESOURCE TEACHERS OF BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS
Author: Doris M. Willoughby and Sharon L.M. Duffy
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers

Review: Don't let the long name and the 1989 copyright of this book fool you as this is a treasurehouse of practical advise and instruction for teachers and homeschooling parents. Some of it is specifically for the itinerant or resource teacher, advising her how to deal with parents, staff, and IEPs. But much of it teaches you step-by-step how to teach!

The book includes, among other things:
*Hints and tips about teaching braille, note-taking, handwriting and keyboarding.
*Techniques for independent living, cooking, sewing, and industrial arts.
*Discussions of social life, dating, marriage, and the family.
*Cane curriculum with instructions and illustrations.
*Guide to the Nemeth Code.
*A "paper-compatible" abacus method.

In this book there is a strong slant toward NFB (National Federation of the Blind) philosophies. Even if you happen to be one of the people who doesn't agree with some of the particular philosophies of this organization, this handbook contains loads of good information and ideas that I think you will find extremely useful.

Web Pages about Vision Impairment & Disabilities

Two web pages that I discovered last week provide information that may be useful to us! One is specifically about visual impairement. The other is more generally about children's disabilities. Both have links to many more pages, as well.

Come Unity's page entitled Vision Impairment in Children

and the more general disabilities page: Children's Disabilities Information

A Bio

Someone wanting to share an article from here, asked me for a bio. What I wrote may be longer than she wanted, but I share it with you here, in case anyone wants to know more about me:

I had been homeschooling for 17 years when my youngest son suddenly became legally blind due to a gene I hadn't known existed. Wanting to continue homeschooling him, I immersed myself in the community of blindness education, both online and in person. That first year, I attended conferences of both the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, although we don't actually belong to either one. New friends came out of the internet and took my by the hand: teachers, other parents like myself, and blind people who just wanted to help.

I've taken a number of free correspondence courses from the friendly, helpful Hadley instructors. I was on the planning team for an Eye Olympics Day in Cincinnati, and I attended a three day workshop at the Kentucky School for the Blind; in both cases, I had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with wonderful, dedicated Teachers of the Visually Impaired. We've been helped long-distance by a kind and generous retired Braille teacher in Utah; in our home by our teacher of the visually impaired and good friend in Northern Kentucky; and now, once again, this time by our resourceful teacher of the visually impaired here in Baltimore.

Through all these wonderful people and resources, exposure to many different viewpoints, and the flexibility of homeschooling, I've been able to teach my son to use everything that works for him: audio tapes, a video magnifier, and Braille reading. As one friend at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired told my son, "We want you to have as many tools as possible in your toolbox." We've experienced the joy of learning; and the joy of sharing with others through the Blindhomeschooler Yahoo group and my VIP-Homeschooler blog.

Feast or Famine

Famine or Feast! Ten days ago I posted. This morning, at last, I posted again, and now here I am back again already this afternoon. Thank you for your patience.

I just found out (thanks to Site Meter) that this blog is listed on a Blindness Resource Page of a neat website about homeschooling, A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling. Thanks, Ann, for including us!

Since the purpose of this blog encompasses thrifty homeschooling, along with homeschooling students who are blind or visually impaired, I am also excited about sharing another page from this website, Livelihood Issues.

And speaking of feasts, all the information at this website is bigger than that turkey dinner (or ham or whatever you had for your most recent feast). Dig in, and enjoy!

Touch Typing Important For Everyone

I've learned a lot in my 54 years. I've learned that some things just aren't all that important. I've also learned that some things are more important than I may have thought!

If someone can type very well and is an expert on the computer, what does it matter if he uses the "hunt and peck" technique? (Looking at the keys.) He's comfortable with it, he's efficient, and he's better at computers than anyone else in the family. Is it really worth the discipline to make sure he does all those boring drills? I didn't think all that out in words, but those were the general thoughts...back all those years ago.

So, what happens if that person loses his vision? All of a sudden, typing isn't the easy option that it once was.

I would like to challenge you - anyone reading my post - to please be sure that all of your children become proficient at touch-typing (regardless of how totally sighted they may be today). I would even add, the earlier, the better.

I would also like to share with you a link for a keyboard, which I think might be good at least for those who need to temporarily see which letters and characters are which. I know that companies who deal specifically in materials for visually impaired people have keyboards with large print letters, but I always think it's fascinating when others jump into the game...and I plan to compare this one to other keyboards designed for the same purpose.

Hat tip to my sister Chris for spotting this information and passing it on to me. By the way, she tells me that shopping through QVC is "safe", because they have a reputation to keep.

News of Peter and Paul

News of Peter: We are finally getting settled into our new area, as Friday I took Peter to a homeschool P.E. group. While he joined the other kids, I introduced myself to the instructor (a personal trainer), and told him, "Peter doesn't see very well. He can see to get around, but if you demonstrate something, he might not know what you're doing." He was smiling and nodding confidently. And then I said, "But he doesn't like attention called to his having a vision problem." He was still smiling, and I don't remember what he said next, but I realized then that I hadn't given him any time to think about how to handle this. I'm wondering now why am I still learning how to do this after all these years? Do we ever really get life figured out? However, the instructor handled it superbly. And Peter loved the class, and connected with the new kids.

News of Paul: (As background, for anyone who doesn't know, Paul is the second of my six children to have a vision problem. While Peter suddenly became legally blind five years ago at the age of eight, Paul's vision problem began this past January at the age of 21. He, too, is now legally blind.)

Last week Paul was voted president of the Newman Club on his college campus. I guess he is taking the advice of Our Lord about the leader serving, because a couple days later found him making pasta and baked pears for the group. It doesn't look like Paul's new vision loss is going to hold him back in life!

Teach Typing a Fun Way

I'd like to share with you a friendly, fun typing program designed by and for blind students. It's called Talking Typing Teacher, and it comes from a company called Marvel Soft.

As far as I know, this program is not available from American Printing House, and is not available on federal quota. With federal quota funds, you can borrow a program called Talking Typer from APH. But if you don't have access to federal quota funds, or if you can afford to get something a little more glitzy, Talking Typing Teacher is what I'd recommend! I usually try to recommend economical ways to teach, but I bought this program for Peter when it was a real stretch, and I'm glad that I did.

Talking Typing Teacher uses pre-recorded human speech, including enjoyable characters, Eager Eddie and Clever Karen. It is very student-friendly, and a great way for your student to learn to type!

If you are buying the program for your home, Marvel Soft charges $99.95 plus $5.00 shipping.

Talking Watches for Children

Yesterday I posted about talking watches. I was mentioning a watch I had gotten for my college son. My younger son got his first talking watch, as a gift from a relative, when he was already big enough for adult sizes. When I posted yesterday, I had momentarily forgotten that many of the people reading my blog have young children, not adults or teenagers. (Thanks for reminding me, Lynsey, by asking about children's watches.)

So, last night I found this resource for talking watches for children. It looks good, and very economical.

If someone tries this, please let me know how it goes. Thanks!

Talking Watch

My older son in Kentucky just received the talking watch that I got for him on eBay. I was the only bidder and got it for 99 cents (plus 9.99 shipping and handling). I noticed when I bid that there were lots of these watches by this seller (which is probably why I was the only bidder; there's more supply than demand).

I wanted to wait to share the information until my son received the watch. Today he called me, and I asked, "Did you get your package yet?" He said, "Just a minute." And he demonstrated the TALKING watch for me over the phone! So, yes, he got it! And he seems satisfied with it.

So, in case you're intererested, I'm supplying the link below. By the way, they do international shipping! (for $12.95). The link below is for an auction that ends in about 17 hours, but this company seems to just keep auctioning these watches, so you can probably find others like it. The eBay seller i.d. is djwatches1

http://cgi.ebay.com/WATCHES-MENS-TALKING-WATCH-WOW_W0QQitemZ290094055158QQcategoryZ31387QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sight Exchange

Are you familiar with Sight Exchange? It's a Yahoo group whose purpose is to bring people together to "give and receive items that serve the needs of the blind, low vision and visually impaired population".

The only caveat for parents of young children is this: "Everyone must begin by offering an item before requesting an item." However, they say, among other suggestions, that it can be an outgrown toy or learning resource in Braille, or an audio book. So it's not like we have to be ready to give up a major item of assistive technology.

This group was started a little over a year ago (January of 2006), and at this writing already has 595 members listed.

If you are interested in this group, you can join by going to their home page at the web or by sending a blank email to sightexchange-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Corrected Ordering Information for Handbook

There was an error in the previous post giving a link for the interesting handbook for learning Braille. Also, I would like to mention that this book does not teach all the rules for writing Braille. But I think it's very worthwhile as a way to jump-start our own education. It made me comfortable with Braille, and then when I began to learn the rules, they fell into place more easily. Below is the corrected ordering information:

If you would be interested in ordering the Handbook for Learning to Read Braille by Sight, APH gives the following ordering information:

Handbook for Learning to Read Braille by Sight by Leland Schubert, 1966 Regular print: 7-51450-00 -- $28.00

Handbook for Learning to Read Braille by Sight

HANDBOOK FOR LEARNING TO READ BRAILLE BY SIGHT
Author: Leland Schubert

Review by Margaret Mary Myers

What a great book for sighted parents and homeschooling teachers who want to be able to read what their children write in Braille! You can use this book on your own, at your own pace. Working my way through this book was very enjoyable and increased my fluency in reading Braille (by sight).

Comprehensive and incremental, this handbook starts with the alphabet, a few punctuation marks, and numbers. After teaching most of Grade One braille, the book proceeds with Whole-Word Alphabet contractions, then the contractions for: "and, for, of, the, with," followed by dot-5 contractions.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry; after pursuing this book, you soon shall. I was pleasantly surprised to see my learning expand as I worked my way through the interesting, adult-level exercises in the book. An answer key is provided in the back, so we can see the word we got stuck on or perhaps that silly mistake.

This fun book is available from American Printing House for the Blind.

More on Charlotte Mason

Yesterday I posted about using Charlotte Mason methods of education for teaching a visually impaired student. Today I wanted to give you more about it. So I went to a website. Lo and behold, one thing they were saying was that some people use Charlotte Mason methods "more or less", but they think you should you use them "more and more". Well, confession time: I myself have used Charlotte Mason methods "more or less".

In a busy quest to get on with my son's education, I picked up some of the methods that suited our needs. As I said yesterday, some of these were reading to him - and having him listen to tapes - at a higher comprehension level than he himself could read, having him do oral narrations, and having him do short passages of copywork. I think you would call my methods "eclectic" - with a generous portion of Charlotte Mason education ladled in...

If you would like to read more about Charlotte Mason education by those who think you should use it "more and more", you can do so at Ambleside Online. They have also very generously supplied lists of books to use in giving a child a Charlotte Mason education.

If you happen to be Catholic, like yours truly, you can find lists of suggested Charlotte Mason-type curriculum at Mater Amabilis.

Sell the Textbooks. Give them Away.

Sell the textbooks. Give them away. Does that sound drastic? Well, okay, maybe it is. You might want to keep them around until you're sure you aren't going to want them. They can make great reference books. And sometimes they're very helpful to make sure that nothing is slipping through the cracks.

But did you know there's another way? Beginning a few decades ago, many homeschoolers discovered that the Charlotte Mason methods of education work especially well for homeschooling. Now I've found they work well for homeschooling my child who is visually impaired, too.

What is Charlotte Mason education?

There are whole volumes of books in which Charlotte Mason herself explained her educational methods. There have been many other books written. To attempt to explain that method in a paragraph seems foolhardy and impossible. So please know that I am only giving you a few highlights:

* "Living books"
* Nature study
* Oral narration
* Copywork
* Short lessons
* Journaling
* Art Appreciation
* Book of Centuries
* Habits

You can read more about what this list means and what a Charlotte Mason education entails at this website.

Of course, a few of those things may need a little adaption for blind children, such as nature study and art appreciation. But many of the principles would apply particularly well. For example, if a child is learning Braille, he can also be listening to books that are either read to him by the mother or someone else, or played on tape. When the child is doing oral narration, it doesn't matter if his Braille writing skills or keyboarding skills are not yet equal to his thinking skills. As a matter of fact, it's a way to help him expand his thinking skills, as you can ask him questions and draw him or her out. But then there is also copywork, where you can teach the child Braille writing and keyboarding, using shorter, appropriate passages, so that as time goes on, his writing skills will catch up his thinking skills.

But wait. If a child learns with these methods, what happens when he gets to high school? Will he be able to do the work necessary to go on to college or to get a job? Since the student with whom I've tried Charlotte Mason is not quite in high school yet, I can't answer that question from person experience. However, I have watched others use Charlotte Mason methods of education with their children, and from there they go on to advanced high school programs, often studying Latin and other classical and advanced courses.

About Me

In October of 2002, something life-changing happened in our family. Our youngest son suddenly could not see very well. Usually a worrier, I wasn't worried this time. My husband needed glasses from his youth, and so did my Dad. I simply made an appointment with the optometrist and didn't think much more about it...until the optometrist found no lenses that would help, and yet could find nothing wrong. In the meantime, my son's vision was becoming progressively worse.

To make a long story short, it turned out that my son had something we had never heard of before, called Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, which caused him to become legally blind, and for which there is no cure or treatment.

Thus began a journey of discovery. I began to wonder if I should put my son in public school so that he could get special services that I wasn't trained to give him. But I had been homeschooling for many years and it was not an option I would give up lightly.

Along the way, many wonderful individuals have helped us, and we have received information and support from many organizations. During the past several years, money has been an issue, as well, so I have sought economical ways to teach. I've begun this blog in order to share with you some of the things I've learned and some of the new things I am delighted to discover.

If you have something you would like to share, you are welcome to let me know about it, either through the Comments or by posting an email to me at margmary53@yahoo.com

Tactile Alphabet Book

Large letters that the child can feel, and black and white drawings of items that begin with each letter... What could be better in an alphabet book?

As I was browsing through homeschooling blogs, I came across an entry about a multi-sensory alphabet book. The mother enthusiastically said the idea is like sandpaper letters on wood except much nicer to feel, as the letters are felt.

Since my youngest is 13, I probably won't be testing this out! But I wanted to share it for those of you whose children could benefit. For those who have some vision but need large print, it says in the catalog where this book is available, "Letters have specially designed ascenders and descenders for clarity."

The Little Red Alphabet Book.

Free Books Online!

Many people have worked hard to get classical books onto the internet, so that they will be available to as many people as possible. These are books that are in the public domain. "Public domain" means that a book is past its copyright (usually published in the early 1900's and before).

Librivox provides books that are read orally by readers for your - or your child's - listening pleasure. If your computer is equipped to read an MP3 file, you can simply click and read. Alternatively, if you wish, you can download a file onto your hard drive.

If your student can use a computer with the aide of a screenreader, screen magnification, or refreshable Braille, you may also like the more plentiful options available in text at byGosh.com. Or you can copy the stories and Braille them yourself, print them for your child to read with a video magnifier, or use them in any educational way you wish. This site provides: Kid's Classics, Short Stories, Novels, Nonfiction, and Poems. For your older child or yourself, you may be interested particuarly in the Autobiography of Helen Keller. Also available is Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington.

Another resource I would like to share is the Gutenberg Project. These are files that you download onto your computer. I haven't tried them yet, as I had an overloaded computer until very recently; so I got used to using only things that we could just "click and read"; but the advantage here is the scope. The Gutenberg Project has 20,000 free books available. If you like the Gutenberg Project, you may like some of the curriculum suggestions of Miss Maggie at her Old Fashioned Education website.

Another resource where downloading is required is AudioBooksforFree.com. At this site, they will be happy to sell you downloads to your MP3 or other personal player; however, they also offer free downloads to your computer.

I hope something here will be helpful to you!

More Access to Free Books

Coming up! (The "More Access to Free Books" will be coming up soon...either later today or another day.) I have great stuff to share but at the moment I am needing to get out of the house to shop...and so I wanted to write quickly; but I am being hit by writer's block. Never thought that would happen!

Everything I try to write just doesn't work (at both blogs). So...know that I'm thinking of you all, thinking of things to share, thinking too much and writing too little.

And I will be back! So please bookmark this blog and check back. Okay?

A Treasurehouse

Is your child a user of the Library of Congress, National Library Service Talking Books*, which are available on specially formatted tapes? And the many Braille books they offer?

Did you know that you can look for specific books -- and you can also look for specific categories of books? The Library of Congress search page for this has a drop-down box where you can choose Audio, Braille, or both.

Once you find out what books are available, you can request them from your local NLS library by phone or by email.

*("for the Blind and Physically Handicapped")

Kester Braille

Kester Braille by Louise Johnson
Review by Margaret Mary Myers

Would you like to start teaching your child to read - using braille? If you homeschool, these books would be an ideal place to begin. Or if you are a teacher of the visually impaired who has learned Braille, but you don't have a lot of experience with it yet, these books could be very helpful for you in teaching your students.

You don't need to have prior knowledge of braille in order to use these books, which enable you to teach your children both Braille reading and Braille writing. The Teacher's Guide provides all the information that you need, including how to teach your student tracking. All you need is the books, a few minutes a day, and a Perkins braillewriter (which - as a homeschool parent or as a teacher - you can probably borrow through your state resource center).

Even for an older child who already knows how to read in print, and now must learn braille, I feel thse books are worthwhile as a starting place. They helped me get my then-nine-year-old started on Braille after he experienced vision loss.

Level One introduces the letters of the alphabet and beginning sounds. Level Two introduces three-letter words with short vowel sounds, writing sentences, and the numbers 0 to 20. These books are one of the best buys you are going to get...both as far as the cost and as far as getting your young child started on the road to literacy. Visit the author's website for more information.

How to Homeschool Your Blind or VI Student

Nothing But the Best, by Sarah J. Blake
Book Review by Margaret Mary Myers
(This book review was written several years ago, but the e-book is still available today.)

How would you like to have a friendly, knowledgable person in your living room any time you wish, telling you all about how to homeschool your blind or visually impaired child? Imagine her speaking to you conversationally over a cup of tea, telling you of her own experiences as a blind child and a blind adult, making complex explanantions about the eye simple to understand, sharing with you what methods various people have used in homeschooling their children. Now imagine that in her Mary Poppins type carpet bag, she has a limitless supply of resources of all types about homeschooling, blindness, and the education of blind children. And sometimes when she comes, she brings guest speakers who are experts on various related subjects. This is the virtual reality of Sarah J. Blake's electronic book, "Nothing But the Best."

If you've never bought an e-book before, now is the time. When you buy this user-friendly e-book, you follow the prompts to download it to your computer, where you can read the author's ample explanations and illustrations, print pages as you wish for your own use, and connect to countless other resources. Each link opens in a new window; you never have to worry about losing your place. The text also boasts a search feature, so if you are interested in a particular topic, you can type it into the search and it will quickly give you the page or pages where you can find that topic.

Although the book was designed and designated particularly for homeschoolers, other parents may also find much useful information, including the chapters on blindness, low vision, social skills, college preparation, career planning, music, art, and other subjects. Teachers of the visually impaired may find the abundant resources for all the academic subjects helpful in their planning. And homeschooling parents, as well as prospective homeschooling parents, will gain insight on making the decision to homeschool, getting started, where to find supplies, books, organizations, and other resources, besides all the valuable information on teaching children who are blind.

You can skim the table of contents, the layout, the features, and get a feel for this book in a day or two. You can spend many an enjoyable evening perusing its contents. You can use it as a resource for many years to come. But I believe the benefits will be with us and our children for a lifetime.

To download yours, go to Sarah Jane's.

Adapting the Writing

I began writing this at my other blog, and then realized that it was just as appropriate - probably more so - for this one. So, my "next post" was supposed to be a book review, but by that I meant later today or tomorrow. The following post is just a bonus:

Is this how the kids feel when they're supposed to write something, and they sit and look at a blank screen? (Remember when we used to call it a blank piece of paper?)

This morning I am wondering just how I've been coming up with posts nearly every day! I hope this morning's blankness isn't related to my having split my mind into two blogs. (Smile. Not that my mind wasn't already scattered here, there and everywhere.)

This staring at blank whiteness makes me think of my youngest son - the one who is visually impaired - who struggles to write. He is extremely good at talking, expounding, articulating. Can I think of any more verbs for him? You get the picture. But all he has to do is sit down to the keyboard to write a book report, and suddenly he doesn't know what to say. I finally figured out that it was the process...that if I sat myself at the keyboard and had him dictate, he could think and speak as fast as his mind works, and yes, I can type that fast. So he dictates; I type. Then on another day, I dictate what I've typed for him, and he types it. So, in the end, it's "all his".

This is, of course, a temporary plan, as he prepares to enter high school level work. I hope to get him typing faster, and in the meantime, I would like to get him doing this process using a tape recorder.

But the other day he had a little spare school time, so he watched a show on the history channel about Fort Knox, which he found fascinating. The next time he needed to write, he said he wanted to write about Fort Knox. Instead of sitting down at the computer, he got a pen and paper, and began writing (in his one-inch print). He wrote about six pages and did a great job. He said that on another day, he will type it. Who would have thought he'd be more comfortable writing by hand?

One thing I love about homeschooling is the flexibility it allows us. We can push the children to do what they aren't comfortable with, but at the same time, allow them to find ways to overcome their discomfort, grow, and even become enthusiastic.

Blown Away

Yesterday I thought about posting a book review that I wrote several years ago on an out-of-print book called Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students. But before posting it, I decided to check out the availability on Amazon. Yep, there it was; but I was blown away by the prices! The starting price was $174.09. This is a used-book-seller's dream. I bought this book several years ago for probably about twenty or thirty dollars. If I could sell my copy now, the money would pay for my son's math curriculum for next year. This was very tempting. Okay, I admit, it was more than tempting. I listed the book...but only for about an hour, until I went in to Amazon and removed the listing. First of all, if I am going to sell a book to help people teach visually impaired students, I don't want to take that kind of advantage of supply and demand. If this were a fiction book or a non-fiction book in another field, I would have no qualms. But in this field, I would feel like I was price-gouging. Secondly, as my son pointed out to me, "I thought you WANTED the book." Oh yes, good point. I do want to keep my book. If ever I don't, I will feel my way around to the best option for selling or sharing or trading it.

In the meantime, I am not going to post the book review at this time, because I think there are better options for homeschoolers, many of whom are living on "one-income in a two-income economy", as they say. My next post will be about an ebook written specifically about homeschooling your blind or visually impaired student.

Homeschooler a Finalist in Braille Challenge Contest

The Braille Challenge is a national contest that tests students on their Braille-reading skills.A homeschooling student is one of the finalists who finished first in her category this year. Congratulations, Dasha! It's always nice when homeschoolers excel in national contests!You can read about this year's contest here.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new blog, VIP Homeschooler. VIP - in this case - stands for Visually Impaired Person. I wanted to have a way to share with you information, resources, and ideas. Please add comments at any time, or email me at margmary53@yahoo.com