Written by Dr. Liz Matheis
Featured on Additude
The summer, we need new ideas for socially distant activities that will keep our kids active — and also learning. Here are 3 ideas for building valuable skills without sacrificing fun in ADHD households.
It’s official: Our hopes and dreams of a return to school — even if only for a socially distant Field Day or a quick graduation ceremony — have been squelched. For the weeks remaining in our academic calendar, we have now fully surrendered to distance learning.
As a parent, I was deflated when New Jersey officially announced schools would not re-open this academic year. Home schooling my 7-year-old son has been a challenge to say the very least. It has been difficult for him to understand and accept that schoolwork and learning now takes place at the kitchen table with his mom (and sometimes dad, older brother, or older sister).
If your child has an IEP, you are now the acting special education teacher and/or paraprofessional. You are modifying work, breaking it down, offering movement breaks, incorporating related services such as speech, occupational, or physical therapy. And if your child qualifies for an extended school year (ESY), you may be looking at keeping this going beyond the third week of June. With summer camps and programs in jeopardy, we are all digging deep to find a fresh supply of creativity, patience, and resourcefulness to keep our kids engaged until Fall.
Here are a few ideas we’re implementing in our home to encourage learning and movement while protecting the sanctity of a fun summer:
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