Overview
When our adventure of homeschooling first began in 2003, I thought that a "boxed" curriculum was the way to go. I remember drooling the day I found Calvert School and immediately purchased their Pre-K program. It wasn't long before I realized that my daughter, Julia, wasn't a "boxed" curriculum kid. Although the Calvert program is great - we needed to walk a different path. Through the years, we have tried quite a variety. However this year, we seem to have settled in an "eclectic" mix of books that seem to be working well.
Finding A Map To The Hidden Treasure
When we first began our journey in Early Intervention, Hope's team was made up of a speech therapist, an OT, 2 ABA therapists and a team leader. Each month, we would all meet at my home for a team meeting. The purpose was to make sure that everyone was on the same page - working towards the same goals for Hope.
GOALS -Ahh - what a concept. Where would we start? Here was my little peanut who didn't talk, never looked at anyone, couldn't "play" with toys, put everything in her mouth that was in her path, and to put it plainly, she seemed to exist in a different place and dimension - just like the Twilight Zone. Words and language were non-existent to her. I always explained it as though she was "deaf" to language. Yet she responded to music and noise.
Enter the map to the hidden treasure: The VB - MAPP or Verbal Behavior Milestone Assessment and Placement Planner.
Now - That is a lot of fancy words...
It is a program designed by Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA (Don't you love people with a lot of letters after their name?) And it's actually based on B.F Skinner's work on Verbal Behavior.
It's true - I am a bit of a psychology nerd. I took a bunch of psych classes throughout my school career. I always found it fascinating - of course I never pursued the field - Duh!. In one class, Educational Psychology, I had to present a final presentation outlining an educational philosophy. I narrowed it down to B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior and Howard Gardiner's Multiple Intelligence Theory. I chose the latter - the presentation looked nicer on the tri-board. Go figure.
Anyway...
The VB MAPP is not so much of a curriculum, but a curriculum guide. Homeschoolers, think about it this way:
How many math programs are there? Saxon, Math U SEE, Life of Fred, Calvert, Seton, Horizon - just to name a few. Now - how many "levels" or grades are there? How do you choose which one to use for your child?
Well, before you can pick one, you need to have an idea what your child's mathematical skills currently are - a starting point. Concepts they have mastered and those that still challenge them. You can't just begin with Saxon Algebra if your child hasn't mastered simple addition.
The VB MAPP provides each individual child with that starting point or baseline. It allows parents to have a clear picture of where they need to begin and then meticulously outlines each step and skill along the way, while providing the path that needs to be followed in order to develop language skills. You may want to jump ahead or skip something - especially when you see your child frustrated, don't do it - remember, your child can not multiply before she learns to add.
Once you have your direction, choosing a curriculum is the easy part. For Hope, her curriculum is primarily made up of puzzles, books and games.
GOALS -Ahh - what a concept. Where would we start? Here was my little peanut who didn't talk, never looked at anyone, couldn't "play" with toys, put everything in her mouth that was in her path, and to put it plainly, she seemed to exist in a different place and dimension - just like the Twilight Zone. Words and language were non-existent to her. I always explained it as though she was "deaf" to language. Yet she responded to music and noise.
Enter the map to the hidden treasure: The VB - MAPP or Verbal Behavior Milestone Assessment and Placement Planner.
Now - That is a lot of fancy words...
It is a program designed by Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA (Don't you love people with a lot of letters after their name?) And it's actually based on B.F Skinner's work on Verbal Behavior.
It's true - I am a bit of a psychology nerd. I took a bunch of psych classes throughout my school career. I always found it fascinating - of course I never pursued the field - Duh!. In one class, Educational Psychology, I had to present a final presentation outlining an educational philosophy. I narrowed it down to B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior and Howard Gardiner's Multiple Intelligence Theory. I chose the latter - the presentation looked nicer on the tri-board. Go figure.
Anyway...
The VB MAPP is not so much of a curriculum, but a curriculum guide. Homeschoolers, think about it this way:
How many math programs are there? Saxon, Math U SEE, Life of Fred, Calvert, Seton, Horizon - just to name a few. Now - how many "levels" or grades are there? How do you choose which one to use for your child?
Well, before you can pick one, you need to have an idea what your child's mathematical skills currently are - a starting point. Concepts they have mastered and those that still challenge them. You can't just begin with Saxon Algebra if your child hasn't mastered simple addition.
The VB MAPP provides each individual child with that starting point or baseline. It allows parents to have a clear picture of where they need to begin and then meticulously outlines each step and skill along the way, while providing the path that needs to be followed in order to develop language skills. You may want to jump ahead or skip something - especially when you see your child frustrated, don't do it - remember, your child can not multiply before she learns to add.
Once you have your direction, choosing a curriculum is the easy part. For Hope, her curriculum is primarily made up of puzzles, books and games.
In my humble opinion, the VB MAPP is at the least, brilliant and at best, genius. One of the things I like best about it and is that it is NOT standardized. In other words, Hope is not being measured against other 4 year olds. Her progress is based upon her individual skills, achievement, and strengths as well as challenges or barriers - the things that prevent her from learning.
When it's time to sit down for Hope's annual meeting, the VB MAPP becomes the tool and guideline which sets accurate goals and correct placement within her IEP. I feel
confident that there is a clear path and set of goals I want her to work on. Believe it or not, if you leave the IEP goals up to the school, they may put goals in your child's IEP that do not even pertain to him.
If your child's therapist is not familiar with the VB-MAPP, honestly, I would find someone who is. If not, take the DIY route. Educate and implement it yourself!
When it's time to sit down for Hope's annual meeting, the VB MAPP becomes the tool and guideline which sets accurate goals and correct placement within her IEP. I feel
confident that there is a clear path and set of goals I want her to work on. Believe it or not, if you leave the IEP goals up to the school, they may put goals in your child's IEP that do not even pertain to him.
If your child's therapist is not familiar with the VB-MAPP, honestly, I would find someone who is. If not, take the DIY route. Educate and implement it yourself!
It is my hope that Mr. Sundberg will make a homeschool friendly companion to the VB-MAPP and market it to the homeschool community; offering Webinars for parents who want to learn how to implement it and even attending homeschool conferences to speak.
Like I said, it is an amazing program and I attribute much of Hope's success as a result of using it. However, I can't see it being a success for a child who attends a program. Why? Simply based on the same aspect that makes it superior, that being, it is focused on the individual child / learner. And individualized learning can NOT be sustained by our public education system today.
Like I said, it is an amazing program and I attribute much of Hope's success as a result of using it. However, I can't see it being a success for a child who attends a program. Why? Simply based on the same aspect that makes it superior, that being, it is focused on the individual child / learner. And individualized learning can NOT be sustained by our public education system today.
Questions or Comments? Feel free to reach me at mary@homeschoolingthespectrum.com