merry gardens
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Posts posted by merry gardens
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Thank you for sharing. I just wanted to post to bump this up so more people can read it.
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You might try asking your vision therapist if she's aware of an audiologist that can test auditory processing. Not every audiologist tests for Auditory Processing Disorders--some only check hearing, which is different from processing. I'd also suggesting reading what you can about APD, but be aware that there are various types of auditory processing disorder. The first book I read about APD only addressed the type the author was familiar with and it didn't match my child's issues. APD may express itself as difficulty listening with background noise or difficulty distinguishing sounds in words or difficulty distinguishing between similar sounds or something else. How to address APD depends on what type it is. The first level of Barton deals with auditory processing of sounds within words. Barton has a screen before starting it because some people can't distinguish similar sounds and then programs like LiPS may help. A difficulty with background noise might mean locating the child near the teacher and away from outside sounds and including both written instruction to supplement spoken instruction or it might involve special equipment. APD can look like ADD/ADHD in some children, or there may be some co-morbidity that makes it difficult to diagnosis, particularly if one isn't specifically looking for it.
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My son (who initially failed the Barton screen) was all the way through Barton before starting high school. Having gone through all ten levels of Barton, he's able to read high school materials--and I learned to teach someone with severe dyslexia.
I still follow the Barton's guideline of "teaching to mastery". I give as many chances as needed to demonstrate mastery. Tests are usually true/false and multiple choice with a lot of reviewing so nothing is a surprise. Most of the work is not written. After all the remediation, dyslexia still shows in his writing, so I don't ask for much writing. Anything typed must be run through spell-check/grammar-check before I'll read it--and I ask about spell-check an automatic question, similar to some of the questions used in Barton when writing sentences. I require at least one paper per semester in at least one subject, with multiple re-writes. We has a talk-to-text program and a Kindle that reads aloud, to use if desired, (he doesn't usually.) We use a mixture both textbook and workbook style materials and real books, plus movies and DVDs. We've watched series from The Great Courses on a variety of topics. We read and discuss. Co-op classes are used mostly for electives. (Most co-op classes aren't designed or equipped to deal with serious learning disabilities.) My husband contributed to our homeschool through building and wood working projects "shop class/industrial arts", a subject where both have talent and interest. My son can type well and use word processing programs, and now has learned beginning CAD and computer programing. He performed in a play and participated on local sports teams. We taught Driver's Education and he got his driver's license. He got his first paying job.
My son was been homeschooled all along, and it's always been difficult to answer the question of what grade he's in. We've re-assessed what "school" and "high school" really means, and decided there is no need to rush "graduating" him from our home school. Our plan for next year is for him to take a few dual enrollment classes at either a college online or a trade school. We expect he'll graduate our homeschool around age 19 with some college and/or trade school credits, a job history and some marketable skills.
Barton taught me as a tutor to "Teach to Mastery"; I also recommend to "Teach to Talents". People with dyslexia typically have talents outside of traditional academics. In addition to remediating weaknesses, spend time developing talents. Provide opportunities for success and reduce the chances of failing. Take advantage of the opportunities homeschooling high school provides for an IEP-- a truly Individualized Education Plan.
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Counting test prep for English credit happens at public schools. I recently learned that our local public high school offers a "ACT Test Prep/College Study Skills" as a class in their English department can count towards graduation English credits. In addition to the typical "English 9, English 10, 11 & 12" they also offer "Creative Writing", "Speech" and various Literature classes that all go towards fulfilling our state's graduation requirements.
Seeing how much work you expect the classes to require, I'd suggest the classes be combined and/or incorporated with other work. Mine took a co-op debate class and counted it as part of their English that year but I required additional work in vocabulary and writing. We were using high school curriculum from a homeschool provider in another state that separates "Literature" classes from "English" (rhetoric/vocabulary/writing). It sounds like the three classes you are considering cover vocabulary, rhetoric and writing, which may be enough to equal a full year of English credit. I assume your child will study some form of English Literature at some point during high school. Perhaps literature can be a bigger focus some other school year or perhaps incorporate literature into a different subject such as history.
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There's a product that can be added to paint that works as a mold inhibitor. Also some better paint brands offer specific paints with mold inhibitors designed to be used in wetter areas like bathrooms. These are meant to be used after the mold is all removed or before it's there in the first place.
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On 1/26/2019 at 8:52 PM, sbgrace said:
My kids are now 9th grade. A lot of my homeschooling friends have their kids pretty much independently learning by 9th grade it seems.
But, given I just have two kids, I have more time than some of my homeschooling friends with larger families. I like teaching. I think my kids are learning more because I'm learning with them. I'm helping as they work through hard material. We're having some fun too.
I was a public high school teacher for over a decade before homeschooling, and of course I taught in my classroom. I kind of assumed homeschool would be like that too in that I would still be teaching.
But I sat through a presentation by a local community college last week where they said that homeschoolers they see tend to need far less hand holding than the public school kids. It occurred to me that maybe I'm not preparing them for the future--for college. Maybe I'm coddling too much. I think I lean that way generally. Maybe my goal really should be to get them to the point they can plan and carry out their own study. Maybe it would be better to learn less effectively but do it yourself? Sink or swim seems to be the rule for most of their peers in our local co-op group classes. There is a lot of sinking it seems. But maybe that's part of the learning to be independent or maybe the gains from independence outweigh the drawbacks of less parent involvement.
Thoughts for me?
I think it's wonderful that you are closely involved in your ninth graders' homeschool education. You like teaching. They are learning and you're learning with them, so keep doing what works for your family.
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1 hour ago, Mimm said:
Thank you.
I really wish people would just decide what the rules are. My daughter is in tenth grade, researching schools, but she can't know for sure at this point which schools she will want to apply to... I hate to think that decisions we are making now will eliminate schools in the future that might be a good fit for her. But oh well. 🙂
The sooner your dd knows what she wants, the easier it is to plan. Even if the school accept all credits, some majors in some schools will still take 3+ years to get through all the required courses even with 2 years of college credits. Taking classes towards a specific major and staying at the same college and major seems most cost effective in terms of time and money.
One of mine transferred in college credits as a freshman but those credits didn't get him through college any faster, and when he decided to change his major, that slowed him down further. Another decided to stay at the college where he took classes in high school, and he hopes to get out in less time. Three of mine are looking into their college choices right now. Just about every college with the major my dd wants will require her to go three years even if she comes in with 2 years worth of college credit, the exception being the place where she currently takes classes where she can get all the specific classes she needs to graduate. Some colleges may offer lower tuition and/or better scholarships that make it cheaper per year, but taking longer to graduate can make college cost more.
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1 hour ago, Quill said:
See my statement above about pulling a kid out of a school.
I already tolerate Uncle Ted. I already tolerate Betty. It is literally what I’m asking: how to gently raise the standard of what is acceptable.
My pastor used to say, “Jesus will meet you where you’re at, but he doesn’t want you to stay there.” That is the model.
1 hour ago, Quill said:One time, this was a statement made at a family gathering, “Oh, we pulled our daughter out of that school because - not that I’m racist - but that school is like 40% black now and we are afraid she’s going to come home with Tyrone.” Do you think I should aspire to concur with this thinking? Or would it be nice if I could help people who are raising my niece in this way examine what would be so terrible about that?
The problem with "tolerance" is that some things are intolerable. You want to change the standard of what's tolerated.
Relatives listening to different news channels and radio programs isn't the problem, but you mentioned that several times on this thread. Separate one opinion from another. Don't assume that your other relatives agreed with this person even if they listen to the same sources of news and information. Perhaps some also found the comment awkward and also wonder how to endure their family get-togethers.
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On 11/15/2018 at 11:42 AM, Quill said:
Yes, “Betty” has too much time on her hands and spends too much time on incendiary media that heightens her sense of injustice.
QuoteWhat I wonder is how “we” can give others space to grow towards tolerance in the world if the people we would like to influence are not seeking such knowledge and are not in a setting (like my college class) where it is likely to be encounteed. If you add in the probability that “Uncle Ted” listens to a couple limited news stations and radio shows which do not help him grow in toleremce, and he hangs out with his poker buddies who all hold similar beliefs, you have a recipe for stunted growth at least. It is one thing I do not know how to influence. I have numerous “Uncle Ted” kinds of people in my life and I don’t know how to help them see things a different way.
Since you asked how we change bigotry on an individual level and hope to make a world more tolerant:
Tolerate "Uncle Ted". Tolerate "Betty". Tolerate their views. Tolerate freedom of the press, which results in news and information that may not match your worldview.
On an individual level, the only person you can really change is yourself. So change. Be more tolerant.
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I believe it's part of the groups that are turned off temporarily due to technical issues. See this post:
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Well, I got on the forum to post but saw the "Throwing in the Barton Towel" thread first, which I can completely relate to. Friends, we literally hate this program. Every single sentence and story is so very contrived and ridiculous. Here are some recent examples:
"When I put on my new silk dress, Jenny was a critic. She said, "The fabric is a bit shoddy. I expect it would be spiffy if you were not so skinny."
"Once, when Henry did a fancy step, he got a kink in his biceps. When the tempo got frantic, Henry got frisky."
"The snippy gals regret their gossip on campus about Patty and Tony."
Imagine this day after day for years... It literally breaks my heart! Throughout every lesson, my daughter asks, "What's 'iffy'? What does 'snippy' mean? What is a 'fat midriff'?" I can just see her mind shutting down more and more every day... it's like she's forming the mental habit, "I won't understand anything I read. Just decode and sound things out, even if they make no sense. Just disengage and go through the mechanics."
We follow CM educational practices, so everything else we do is LIVING, and I've seen that go so far for all of my children, including this one. Children learn with joy when their work is infused with ideas and meaning. This same daughter (9, severe dyslexic, working in Barton Level 4) is loving unabridged Pilgrim's Progress and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, for example. She listens and can narrate back with detail and passion. She has a wide variety of interests, loves to learn, and has an incredibly cooperative/positive attitude.
Is there another program that isn't so... dead? Is there anything that can compare to Barton sequentially, but that's actually written with quality of ideas in mind? I can hardly take it anymore.
To answer the first question: You might look into Lindamood-Bell’s LiPS program and/or Seeing Stars Program. I used parts of both those programs, combined with Barton. We needed LiPS first because my son (then 8) could not pass the Barton screen. Once he was able to proceed to Barton, we used Barton faithfully but not exclusively. We only used the first part of LiPS that teach how to detect sounds in words through how they are physically formed. The later parts of LiPS resembles the first few levels of Barton except they aren’t nearly as scripted and don’t have stories. Their Seeing Stars program has books and puts an emphasis on fluency. I used workbooks from Seeing Stars in addition to Barton for several reasons, one being that I wanted to provide some additional work to do so that his homeschooling at least somewhat resembled that of his siblings’. I also like the way Star Words workbooks introduce the most common words in English with very child-friendly materials that are appropriate for children with reading struggles, including possible comprehension issues. Plus, I’m fond of the silly cartoon cat, Ivan, who is often featured.
Now that said, I have met Susan Barton several times. She does not claim to write great stories; in fact, I believe she’d agree with your assessment that they are contrived. She contrived them to emphasis phonics concepts from the lesson and to make sure the Barton student could read the words in paragraphs and stories before moving onto another phonics concept.
The Barton program goes in a specific sequence: teach a phonics concept using tiles, have the student demonstrate ability to read both real words and nonsense words on tiles, then show ability to read large print real and nonsense words on paper and ink, the write, then those type of words in phrases with other words and concepts that the student has already mastered, then write phrases, then read sentences, then write sentences, then finally read a story. And then it begins again, using those same steps for the next concept, then the next, then the next, for every single phonics concept in the English language through all ten levels of the program. Is it great literature? No. Is it a great program that helped my child learn to read so eventually he could go on to read great literature? Yes. And did I, (like you) expose my dyslexic child to great literature and Living Books by reading to him at other times of the day while we struggled for years through reading remediation for severe dyslexia? Absolutely!
Whatever methods you decide to use to teach your child with dyslexia to read, I strongly suggest you include vocabulary lessons in with decoding lessons. Understanding the meaning of the words is critical to reading comprehension. I like the book “Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction†as it helped to augment my own education as a reading teacher. When reading Barton stories or any other stories—use that opportunity to enlarge the student’s vocabulary! Outside of nonsense words, make sure the student understands that reading should make sense! Do not allow her to disengage while just working through the mechanics! Answer her questions when she asks what a word means--and if you don’t know, look them up together. There are several reasons why someone might struggle with reading: decoding is one, but vocabulary is another. The Seeing Stars program that I mentioned above includes teaching the meaning of very simple words that a child with language difficulty might struggle with. Lindamood-Bell also has another program for those with reading struggles called "Visualizing and Verbalizing" that specifically works on comprehension. Whatever method or materials you ultimately decide to use, if your child does not understand the meaning of the English words and phrases she is decoding, please stop and take the time to teach her what they mean instead of just powering through them as if they were nonsense words.
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We did level 4 twice, just to be sure it was solidified. He passes his post tests before moving on, or we go back and review until he can. This wasn't an issue except wth 4, and he did pass but we felt it best to review before going on. He's only in 4th grade.
My mom is teaching Barton. she comes 3 times a week. She gives me word lists to work on the days she is gone. He is not capable of more than 20 minutes of anything school related, so that is as long as we expect..
I understand wanting to be certain he knows the material well before moving on, but if you’re repeating levels after he’s been able to pass the test, that might contribute to some of the frustration.
How amazing that your mom comes in to tutor him with Barton! But I’m not sure exactly what you are doing with the word list she gives you. As a homeschooling mom, it would be frustrating to me to just work on off a word list someone else gave me. You say Barton is boring, but to me working off a word list sounds like the most boring part of what you’re doing! And if he’s only able to work on Barton for 20 minutes, three times a week, then that adds up to only one hour a week of tutoring. If he’s really only getting one hour of tutoring per week, then you really aren’t doing Barton the way it’s designed as their website says, “For younger students, or those with significant focusing difficulty, a tutoring session may only last 40 minutes. But a Barton student must receive at least 2 hours of one-on-one tutoring each and every week in order for it to be frequent and intense enough 'to stick.'†https://bartonreading.com/tutors/#how
I took my most dyslexic son through all 10 levels. Not all my children have gone that far, but I’m glad that I got through all ten levels! I’m a better homeschool teacher because of the tutoring techniques I learned with Barton. What I’ve learned with Barton tutoring I apply now with our schoolwork even when not doing Barton. I sometimes pull out those tiles to show how words are broken down, which is open, closed, unit, vowel team, etc. We use what we learned in Barton to break down words in my son’s high school books so that the spelling of those words makes more sense. When I read through his high school papers with him, I still ask, “Does it start with a capital and end with punctuation?†and I use that question when working with my younger children who aren’t doing Barton right now.
I get how sometimes you may feel you need a break from Barton or want to use a different program. When I was using Barton with my son, I supplemented our Barton tutoring with other materials. My son didn’t initially pass the Barton screen, so we started with LiPS. I liked the Lindamood-Bell materials that I saw in their catalogs, so I added some workbooks from their “Seeing Stars†program. Barton’s wasn’t specifically designed for younger children, but Seeing Stars was and so it includes a little cartoon cat to introduce the most commonly used words in our language. Many of those are sight words or they use phonics rules that Barton doesn’t handle until later. I figured that since most school children with dyslexia have school work in addition to any outside dyslexia tutoring, I could include more of that type of thing in our school day too.
Somewhere along the journey, we eventually did vision therapy too. Vision therapy alone would not have solved his reading problems, and I’m glad we waited and got a second opinion. When I say I waited, I didn’t exactly wait. I did some research and found some materials that people sometimes work with in VT, and we did those at home. (We used a workbook that supposedly trains eyes to move left to right, and he testing showed a poor visual memory so I found some quality games at a fantastic toy shop that worked on visual memory. Even the Seeing Stars program we used parts of I’d heard some do in VT, so I did all that I felt I could do on my own.) Eventually, I had the money and time and someone to watch my other children, so he started VT. He progressed quickly, faster than the therapist expected. Because of how far he was with dyslexia remediation before starting VT, I’m really not sure how much VT really helped his reading, but my son did find he was able to read for longer periods of time after VT—and his baseball batting average improved significantly that year!
Anyway, I just wrote a very long winded reply. I would suggest that you stick with Barton, making sure he gets at least two hours per week of tutoring. Don't repeat levels he just covered if he's passed the post-test. Also, if after increasing the amount of Barton tutoring he's getting you still feel like you want more, I would suggest you look at something else in addition to Barton. Perhaps look at his VT report and see if there’s anything you could do to work in the areas of his shortcomings. A lot of therapies use games and other children’s activities, so I’d look to see if there are any games or children’s activities that you can use to address some of the issues apart from VT. Perhaps instead of working from word list that your mother (his Barton tutor left) you can look at teaching him some common words, apart from his Barton tutoring. Since your mother is the one doing the Barton tutoring, I’d suggest you make sure you understand how the system works so that you can use similar techniques when appropriate, but perhaps especially because you are not the one tutoring him with Barton, I can understand why you are thinking about trying something else. I suggest you stick with Barton but find something else too.
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Landscape fabric or even just a thick layer of paper grocery bags, covered by some type of mulch help supress weeds.
If you do nothing else with the weeds, cut off their seedheads.
Never plant mint.
Plant more of whatever did well, as long as it wasn't aggressive.
Don't plant anything that's aggressive or invasive.
Plant annuals around perennials until the perennials are large.
Teach your children to distinguish between plants you want and those you don't want before assigning them to weed.
Plant plants a little closer together than recommended so the plants you like crowd out weeds.
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:grouphug:
What a beautiful tribute you wrote to your daughter!
I send my heartfelt condolences to you and your family! Your story touches me deeply and I grieve with you.
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Marla
Myrna
Doris
Lena
Lana
Gretta
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Maybe draw some of your inspiration from the steam theme-- a la cookingwithsteam.com/
Steamed Salmon with a Side of Punk? (Salmon with some type of spicy/savory sauce on the side)
A steamed pudding like Plum Pudding: Professor Plum's Pudding to hint at the mystery theme.
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Some I know need to come out, which makes me sad, but they look very sad and elderly (dogwoods mostly). There's a lot of vines that have grown up into several of the trees, which we started working to get out...but the vines are thick (at least 4-6") - so it's quite a job. I'm looking at this yard as a blank canvas.
Before you remove any mature trees in locations that you want a tree, remove the vines covering them and give the trees a chance to get some sunlight. They may leaf out again and might be able to look far better than you imagine they ever will.
Vines that grow up trees can eventually kills trees, but before they kill the trees, the vines take up the sunlight and then the trees grow sparse and ugly. If you cut the vines and allow the trees to get more sunlight, the trees have a chance to revive.
I’d cut the vine, removing all the roots you can. (Be careful if there’s a chance they may be poisonous vines. When working in a wild or neglected area, I’d just assume there’s poison ivy, so I wear gloves, boots, long sleeves and pants, then when I’m done I shower with a specialty soap made for poison ivy.) I also use chemicals to help kill off weeds, being very careful not to get on the leaves or roots of the plants want.
Many plants can be cut back severely then they come back from their roots or a few stems. Weedy vines are notorious for doing that, but so can some very desirable plants--and sometimes it’s actually good for them to get cut back! Red twigged dogwood shrubs actually look better if they are cut to the ground from time to time because their younger stems are redder. Some other mature shrubs like spirea get scraggly and a severe cutback helps them look better. Before you write off any potentially desirable mature plants, see if you can save them.
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I've actually wondered if mom and dad's legal strategy is going to be to try to throw each other under the bus. Dad saying it was mom home with the kids and all the abuse was her fault, mom saying he didn't give her enough money for food and she did the best she could or some such.
I don't really understand pleading not guilty given the overwhelming evidence, but maybe they are hoping for a plea deal.
Or they are just in complete denial.
It's California. They might be working toward a "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" verdict.
Some states have “Guilty But Insane†or something similar when the person who commits the crime is crazy, but California offers “Not Guilty†verdicts to crazy criminals. Yes, it’s insane.
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I love the personal stories and ideas people have shared on this thread!
I’d like to share this: Read to them!
My ds has dyslexia, yet he's been exposed to lots of literature and language, both at grade level and beyond, because I read to him (and the rest of my children) several times throughout the day from textbooks, illustrated story books and chapter books.
It may go without saying, but I thought it important enough to share that idea specifically. All children, 2E or not, can benefit from their parents reading to them, but for a child with a reading disability, it may be especially important to expose them to words, language and ideas beyond what they are able to read. Even once remediated, many people with dyslexia still benefit from books on tape or someone else reading to them, because while they can comprehend the material, the difficulty of reading it for themselves may get in the way of their comprehension. For someone with dyslexia or language processing disorders, the comprehension of ideas needs to be separated (at least in part) from reading comprehension.
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Homeschooling or not, being a parent today seems to automatically make one a suspect of child abuse in the eyes of some. Instead of “innocent until proven guiltyâ€, some people assume guilt until innocence is proven. Parents should not need to give home tours to government officials or otherwise defend themselves against charges of abuse or neglect unless there is “Just Causeâ€. And to be clear-- “Just Cause†doesn’t mean “just ‘cause they have children.â€
I live in a state with higher homeschool regulations than most, but I don’t see how such regulations realistically catch or deter abuse. Regulations relating to homeschooling should relate to education. California may very well want to re-think their homeschool laws, but no law or policy should treat all parent as child-abuse suspects.
​I have thought a lot about this family since their story hit the news and as more details come into the light. It is indeed very troubling. I am simply flabbergasted about it. I understand why some people want to do something to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. Yet, the couple was arrested--THEY are the suspects, THEY are the ones who have been charged with numerous crimes against their own children. The rest of us are not the suspects here. The rest of us should not have to act like we are the ones who have been charged with abuse and neglect.
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A few thoughts:
1) Authorities recently arrested the parents. They did not “get away†with it indefinitely.
2) The parents broke existing laws. Nothing against annual testing, but mandatory scholastic testing for school aged children seems unrelated to this bizarre situation. Some of their children were adults and beyond the age of mandatory education.
3) I’m really glad that the day this story hit the news, my younger children and I saw numerous members of our extended family in a social setting where they had a chance to interact with us. And I’m glad my kids weren’t wearing matching (or even coordinating) clothes.
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Pineapple. It is delicious with ham, and fruit would help balance out the menu. Fresh is better, but canned works too.
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I understand why you don't want to give curriculum advise, but I suggest you mention there are many, many resources available and maybe direct them to where the can learn more. Also mention educators at home or in school can't possibly fit every great book, course plan, technique or method into the school day--and even if they could, for many special needs students, "less is more".
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I'm not intentionally low carb, but I'm on Weight Watchers and WW gives more points for many of my favorite carb foods, so I'm making different choices.
One thing I really enjoy is using a fresh cucumber sliced lengthwise in place of a bun to make a sandwich. I add turkey and pepercini between the cucumber halves, then eat it like a sub sandwich.
I also enjoy egg beater omelets with a small amount of cheddar cheese or avocado. I sometimes skip the toast to save my ww points, but I often use "light bread" for toast (which has fewer carbs and WW points than regular bread.)
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Alternatives to Fast ForWord?
in The Learning Challenges Board
Posted
You might look into LiPS. LiPS helps to distinguish the different sounds by first seeing and feeling how the different sounds are made with our lips, mouth, tongue, nose and/or vocal cords. Once those difference can be felt, the may be form the needed brain connections to hear them. It takes a different approach from Fast ForWord but the first part of LiPS aims at correcting/developing what Fast ForWord tries to correct/develop. It's been a long time since I read and gone over the research on LiPS and but it is fairly well researched and it's been around for many years. The LiPS training and full materials can be expensive, but a new manual can be purchased for around $138 and old manuals are available for significantly less. LiPS also covers materials that overlap with the first few levels of Barton's Reading and Spelling.