Home Schooling and Broken Collarbone?

Question

This is a question for other homeschoolers, parents, or anyone who can offer some creative and useful ideas. I'm homeschooled, and kind of writing this question for my mom. Recently I went horseback riding with my boyfriend and two friends and to make a long story short, the ride resulted in a night in the ER and a broken collarbone for me.

Now, homeschooling for us (mom and I. My friends and boyfriend either just graduated from public school or have been in college for a year or so already) is very much a project/experience based thing. Learning is a life-long, never ending thing, so real life events (including social events) and academics all go hand in hand. What we're asking is this.

Answer 1

You remind me of the homeschooler up the road. He fell out of his tree house. It was only about 5 feet up, but he landed oddly and ended up with one broken leg and a colarbone. Poor kid had one cast on a leg and both arms stuck out in casts like it was preparing him for a Frankenstein movie. They had to get really creative for everything from how he was going to feed himself to how he would continue with school.

Suggested ways to turn the adventure into a home school project:

Why not use this as an opportunity to learn about permanent physical disabilities. What do these individuals face life-long, what tools have been developed to help them live productive lives, what is your own community and church doing or not doing to invite these people in to participating, etc.?

As an example, in the church we went to before we moved, one woman was in a car accident when she was in her early 20s. She was a passenger and 8 months pregnant with their first child. The accident killed her baby and left her paraplegic. She is in her 50s now and lives a testimony of the ability to forgive, to learn acceptance of what life throws at you, and true determination to live as independently as possible. She can drive. Yes, really. She has a special van with a lift and no driver's seat. She motors in to place behind the steering wheel and has controls specifically designed to detect the motion of muscles she still is able to control in her shoulders. From those few muscles she can control gas, brake, and steering.

Answer 2

Yipes!

Daredevil!

Were you bucked off by the horse?

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Can anyone suggest ideas for lessons or activities based on the experience in the ER, the accident, or broken collarbones in general?

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I would ask your Doctor this question.  He / she will probably be thrilled to help and may have "stuff" that you could borrow or even have as part of your learning.  

One thing for you to research regarding your accident is the "strange" equestrian liability laws in most states.  A horse owner is generally held harmless in the case of all accidents. I think these laws go back a long ways in time.

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Can anyone help us think of ways to continue with Chemistry labs, Robotics, and other active, hands-on parts of school without having to wait until my shoulder is fully healed?

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Use a tape recorder for taking notes / "writing" reports.

Have you lost the use of both arms / hands?  You may have to do things one-handedly for a while.

I am not being flip saying this: But if you do not have the use of either arm / hand and you are really determined to keep on keeping on you may have to use your feet!  I've seen news reports of people using their feet to write and draw.  Or let someone else (your mom, boyfriend) be your hands for a while.