Help for Homeschooling Your Visually Impaired Child

This post is definitely link-heavy, but I've decided that I should share the books and blogs/websites/etc. that I have discovered that have helped me in working with Baby Girl. First of all, per Wonder Baby, which is a great site for parents of visually impaired children, I discovered that The Hadley School for the Blind offers free online courses for parents of visually impaired children. I've taken one course already and will start another one after Christmas. I highly recommend taking advantage of this offer! My instructor even sent a wonderful gift to Baby Girl: Braille blocks! Here are some pictures of my certificate of completion & Baby Girl's gift:



My certificate: I earned an A!

Braille blocks

  Also, there are some other ideas I'd like to share. I've found that Montessori style learning suits Baby Girl well. This technique works for many special needs children, not just for those that are visually impaired. Here you will find a list of great Montessori blogs. In addition to this, through the genorosity of my parents, we were able to go in together and purchase an iPad for Baby Girl, which has been very beneficial to her. Many of the apps for her are free, and the ones that aren't are usually less than $3. If you have an iPad, this list is helpful for finding apps for children with special needs. This site is also helpful for locating apps and has reviews. Here you will find toy ideas, as well as at this link. Another thing I do that is simple & free...talk, talk, talk! I tell Baby Girl almost everything that I'm doing/that she's doing/that Daddy is doing/that siblings are doing....you get the idea. When you can't see well, you have to rely on other senses in order to learn. We also do a lot of singing. Baby Girl loves music, so it's a great avenue for teaching her. I have blogged about lots of activities that we've done, so if you look for posts tagged with preschool or Montessori or special needs homeschooling or visually impaired homeschooling, then you should be able to read about them. Here is a list of books that I've read that have also helped a great deal:


I hope this post helps, and if you have anything to share, please do so!