HELP! Homeschooling a toddler with "ADHD"

[TruffleGnocchi]

Maybe take his words and learn something that is not that boring haha.
There could be videogames that he is motivated to play that on occasion name days of the week and everyday objects and stuff. Maybe not GTA for 5 year old, but there are so many good videogames to choose from that are not violent like GTA. A game that has elements of life in it.
Im sure some survival games or some kind of management games have days of week listen often. If not than he will learn the days of the week from everyday interaction eventually.
Old school runescape, you kill monsters and gather resources and level up in all kinds of skills, get stronger, riches, fish, make fire, cast spells, it has coins. You can sell the stuff you gathered for x amount of coins, then you can spend those coins on better stuff. Have 5322 coins in bank, every log I chop will give me around 120 coins, I need 12000 coins for the new weapon, so how many wood do I need to chop to get the new weapon, WHICH I CAN USE TO GO DEFEAT THOSE BIGGER MONSTERS OVER THERE AND GET MORE XP, LVL UP MAGIC AND DO TELEPORTATION AROUND. OK its about 56 logs current market price. So it will take around 3 inventories full.

Maybe could help immediately, while you search for root cause if there is a diet or environmental cause.

I have the impression a lot of people dont consider that life in 21. century is so much fuller of information and all kinds of different stimuli all the time. I imagine if ADHD existed 100 years ago, we would not recognise them as ADHD, since there was so little to occupy the mind, if mind wanders from thing to thing, it still basically focused if there is not much else to be focused on. I dont i dont understand ADHD, but what Im saying is modern tools and methods for modern environment, ambition and requirements

 

[BNH345521]

Yes of course. In the title of the thread stands that you have toddler with ADHD. It has already been diagnosed with ADHD is what I could understand and now you are searching for a solution to treat that. I think it doesn't apply in his case. That was my point.

I get that, he has not been diagnosed with ADHD, he just shows the simple signs of what the internet says he has! I was never disagreeing with your point of view, I just didn't appreciate the way you came across. I do agree kids deserve to be kids. I just basically wanted to teach him basics in life, but still being a kid!

 

[frannybananny]

It sounds like your schooling approach is based on rote memory - typical for a school setting, but maybe very ambitious for a little kid (4 is very young for any type of formal schooling!) and especially one who seems to show focus issues.

First question is, are there things he does focus on? Any toy or activity that can captivate his focus for an extended period of time (1/2 - 1 hour say)? It is hard to draw conclusions from a brief description on a forum, but I have 4 kids, all homeschooled at some time or another ;-)

I would say don't ask for rote regurgitation. That's only proof that he effectively committed something to memory, and his brain may not be ready for that yet. At this age, make most of the focus engaging him in working with you at whatever you are doing. For example, getting an 'educational' wall calendar, (Here's just an example Amazon product ASIN B093PZ1CM9View: https://www.amazon.com/WATINC-Calendar-Felt-Board-Bulletin-Preschool/dp/B093PZ1CM9/ref=sr_1_3?crid=25UNJFDTQQ0KU&keywords=preschool+educational+wall+calendar&qid=1694452181&sprefix=educational+calendar+for+p%2Caps%2C306&sr=8-3
) and make a daily practice of having him help you set it for the day. Engagement, repetition and application. And instead of telling him to recite the days of the week, you find that you will say "yesterday was Monday, so today is ..." and he'll tell you.

That's what he needs right now. Learning by doing - WITH you. Forget standardized study. Use the curriculum books only if you find them helpful, and enjoyable for him.

Here are some more resources:

Early education Harmful: Don't Push Little Ones To Learn

Early education Harmful: Early instruction is damaging to toddlers and preschoolers.

www.thehomeschoolmom.com

"Home Education" by Charlotte Mason - Specifically the education of Children under 9 years of age. Home education

I dare say that Japanese and other Asians would disagree with you about pushing your child to learn. That's why they have 4-5 years olds who can do math as well as play the violin and piano. Intellectually and creatively they are supposedly the brightest children in the world. To push or not to Push, that is the question.

 

[LucyL]

I dare say that Japanese and other Asians would disagree with you about pushing your child to learn. That's why they have 4-5 years olds who can do math as well as play the violin and piano. Intellectually and creatively they are supposedly the brightest children in the world. To push or not to Push, that is the question.

Yes, I would agree, that is part of the question. Who pushes, and how? Have you ever seen a comparison of the psychology of asian schooling/teachers v modern american teachers? I have not, but I would expect it to be significant, as the Asians don't seem to be overwhelmed with male child ADHD like our schools.

And then of course, we have to discuss what is "bright" and how desirable or relevant is it? Being "bright" enough to reverse engineer the original designs of Americans who didn't start rigid education until 6 or 7, is not the same thing as being creative and original in solution development.

And then there's the fundamental issue of independence of mind and thought, which kind of undergirds the other considerations. If leaving a kid alone to explore the world on his own and come to his own conclusions about the little minutia of life until he's 7 years old makes him resistant to government overreach and susceptible to the lure of freedom, I know what I'm choosing.

 

[frannybananny]

Yes, I would agree, that is part of the question. Who pushes, and how? Have you ever seen a comparison of the psychology of asian schooling/teachers v modern american teachers? I have not, but I would expect it to be significant, as the Asians don't seem to be overwhelmed with male child ADHD like our schools.

And then of course, we have to discuss what is "bright" and how desirable or relevant is it? Being "bright" enough to reverse engineer the original designs of Americans who didn't start rigid education until 6 or 7, is not the same thing as being creative and original in solution development.

And then there's the fundamental issue of independence of mind and thought, which kind of undergirds the other considerations. If leaving a kid alone to explore the world on his own and come to his own conclusions about the little minutia of life until he's 7 years old makes him resistant to government overreach and susceptible to the lure of freedom, I know what I'm choosing.

Interesting points to ponder, thank you.