lindsrae
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Posts posted by lindsrae
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A SOTW vol. 1timeline would be more detailed than the CC timeline since the CC timeline goes from Creation until 2000 AD. Think about why you want them to memorize it: are you working on memory skills? Do you want your kids to have a strong grasp on ancient history?
You could find visuals for ancient history study if you want to make your own timeline cards.
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All CC communities are on Cycle 1 this year, I think it makes sense to start there. I would only purchase the memory work CD if you are doing it alone right now. Don't buy the timeline cards yet.
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2. If you have a easily distracted kid, timers work wonders. I just found a wonderful Iphone APP that is specifically designed for kids and used widely for ADD/Autism. It's really working for my easily distracted/daydreamy little girl.
Can you share the name of that app, please?
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Following this thread with interest!
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Me -and I'm not even seasoned -I've only been at it for 6 months :001_huh:
A resistant child makes it not very fun. :glare: We are on winter break right now -I'm loving it. Dealing with constant struggle and special needs is draining - doesn't matter how fun the curriculum is - the execution usually isn't :banghead:
The planning is fun though -especially when I pretend I am planning for a child like those pictured in the Sonlight catalogue:lol:
I'll be excited when my DS starts K next year - he is eager to learn and easy to teach :D
This will be our third year, but eldest is resistant as well. We really struggled this last year with tantrums and an unwillingness to try hard things. But all things are hard until we have some practice, right? I worry that I started too soon with her. She is very mature in some ways, but immature when it comes to school. She will be going into second grade, but I wish we could redo first grade so her phonics/reading and math skills would be strengthened, and she wouldn't be confronted with a lot of new material.
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You should certainly correct his formation--if he is writing a "b" in the way you describe, that will certainly cause problems later. When my eldest DD began with writing, I had to sit next to her to make sure her formation was correct.
If he is just starting, remember that less is more. Practice DOES NOT make perfect IF you are forcing him to complete an entire page. Practice makes automatic. You want the writing of letter to be easy and automatic. I would not make him erase if the letter isn't perfect, but point out the ones that he does the best. A short practice of nicely formed letters is highly preferable to a page full of messy letters because he wants to get done.
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You should read The Core by Leigh Bortins, founder of Classical Conversations. It will give you a good understanding of the HOW and WHY of the memory work. You can also get some great ideas for teaching each specific subject.
Don't try to do TOO much. I wanted to do it all my first year and spent more time comparing my DD and myself to other homeschooling families than I spent just enjoying the K year together. Spend LOTS of time reading books, going for walks, listening to great stories on CD, visiting the library. Training her brain to memorize is a great skill, but she doesn't have to remember everything in order to do well. And learning geography and science and history and art and music at this age is really all a bonus. Focus on reading skills, pre-writing skills (lots of coloring with colored pencils!), and math skills.
Enjoy! Relax! Have fun!
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Scholaric is wonderful! I signed up for the free trial, had a question about an issue, and the developer CHANGED the program within three days! It is super simple to use.
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This may not be *exactly* what you are looking for, but check out Children's Music Academy: http://www.childrensmusicacademy.org/
It is a combination of music, voice, guitar, and piano lessons--very remarkable, in fact.
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If it appears that your dd is having struggles with working memory (not holding digit spans), then frankly I would spend the money on evals by a neuropsych before I did vision therapy (and I have done both along with hiring a tutor for my dyslexic son). Ultimately, I think a neuropsych will give you the most answers, and, frankly, from what I see on this board, most folks eventually do end up there (after alternative therapies and evals from other professionals). Why not just start there?
Someone mentioned going through the school district or privately to see a neuropsych. What are the pros/cons of each? Is there any benefit of going through the school district if we are homeschooling and have always homeschooled and have planned to always homeschool? Where do I start to look for one? (And how do I know if they are "good"?) Is this something insurance covers? Do I need a doc referral?
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I think a lot of people here know how you feel!
She is not broken.
I don't see any reason to say ADD with anxiety, either, if there are not symptoms of these things outside of reading. You know?
I am literal enough to just think -- okay, she needs reading techniques for someone who can store 3 sounds in her head at a time. (For now -- until working memory is addressed directly in some way.)
They exist -- I think I saw them in Abecedarian? I will update if I find it in a manual.
Thank you! I needed that reassurance.
You're going to hit a few more emotional walls before this is over. It's ok to say that and talk about it. :grouphug:The nice thing is, these practitioners don't view your dc as defective or broken. They really have a knack of seeing where the kid is GOING and where she will end up. Our neuropsych put my kid back together for me and helped me see strengths I hadn't realized. The VT doc recognized the gem under the problems and helped bring it out. Ditto for the OT. So they don't see your child as broken, because they know where it's going and how some of these things can improve.
There's also a really good book on the topic "Dyslexic Advantage." If that one doesn't click with you, find another book (Halloway's stuff on adhd, whatever). usually these kids have some astonishing or interesting patterns of ABILITIES in addition to the problems. It's not like EVERYTHING is a mess. Ok, sometimes it feels like it is. :lol: But it's not. You'll come to the other side. :)
And thank you for that. Right now I feel like--why have we been fighting and struggling and crying over reading for almost two years now and I'm just starting to realize that MAYBE something else is going on? Maybe something is wrong.
Are you asking about your 6 1/2 year old?If so, I just want to assure you that picking up chapter books to read for fun is not the norm at that age. :001_smile:
I'm not saying that you don't need to have her evaluated, but I wouldn't be rushing her all over town to every kind of specialist at this point.
I think I know that, but it seems as if everyone else she knows that is her age is doing that. And she does not want to read at all. If I have read a book to her, she can read it back. But give her a new book, and it is too hard. She has a very good memory (we are in Classical Conversations, and everyone comments on how well she remembers things), BUT she can forget a word she just saw on the previous page. I have to repeat myself multiple times to get her to go put her shoes on, get dressed, etc. (Are those related issues? Is it just a maturity thing? Is she just a little spacey? These are all of the things I question.) But when I ask her to repeat a string of five numbers and she broke down and cried because she COULDN'T do it--that's when the light bulb turned on for me. Aha--there has to be something going on here. She can do four with no problem, but five numbers causes tears? And is the missing piece for her reading struggles? Is this a reason why reading causes tears?
She is a classic, first-born perfectionist--I know that too. She would rather not do something than get the wrong answer or risk making a mistake. We've talked endlessly about how it's okay to make mistakes, here's the mistakes I've made today, we all make mistakes, mistakes are how we learn.........but we just go around and around.
I used to teach English in my former life, so reading is very important to me. And because it was high school, are my expectations too high? am I not giving her a chance to mature and develop in her own way? She'll be seven next week, but she's only lost one tooth. She doesn't ride a two wheeler yet without training wheels. In so many ways she seems on track, but there are funny little things that point to immaturity. (Does loosing a tooth have anything to do with maturity?)....now I know I'm just rambling :)
I just wanted to say thank you again for helping me begin to walk through this and encouraging me. I feel like I was just shoved into a maze with no flashlight and no way of knowing how to get out. Your words have kept me from going into complete and utter panic.
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Thank you for sharing all of your experiences with me. I appreciate the time you have all spent to share your journeys with me. Trying not to hyper-ventilate with all of the information. Feels like my little girl is broken.
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Wow. Okay. Thank you for all the responses. I am a little overwhelmed, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your sharing your experiences.
I don't really know what I am dealing with, I just feel that something is wrong. I guess I will give the eye exam a try, after calling the two COVD clinics in our area and asking lots of anxious and confused questions :)
I've looked at the information on the Barton website, and while some of it seems like it "could" fit, it is not all resonating with me. She doesn't have any of the early warning signs, and nothing really fits until you talk about the reading section. And since we have just completed first grade, and we have used the spelling list and techniques from Phonics Road (which is basically the Spalding method packaged for homeschoolers), it is hard for me to determine if she has spelling issues. Sometimes she has trouble with sounds, but it seems more like a memory issue--the phonemic awareness?
The thing that resonated the most was sequencing--she understand and follows through on before, after; first, last. She taught herself to tie her shoes :) But I read this random article at the library talking about phonics instruction, and how phonics is hard for some kids developmentally because they can't hold a string of numbers (or letters) in their heads. This probably isn't making any sense, but the article said to say three random numbers to your child and see if she can say them back. Pick four new random numbers and have them repeat them. The article said that a child can usually repeat the same number of numbers as her age (so a five-year-old should be able to repeat five random numbers), and that a child needs to be able to hold 5-6 numbers in their head (this is as a "test") in order for a child to be able to tackle new words using phonics. So I tried this with both of my girls. Both could easily repeat four numbers back to me. But when I asked Elder, who will be 7 next week, to repeat five numbers, she couldn't do it. Broke down into tears almost instantly because she couldn't remember the numbers. When I tried to repeat the same sequence, it didn't matter. She was already done. When I tried to, very gently, probe as to why she couldn't do this, she said, "I can remember the first numbers, but then when you keep saying the last one, I forget all of them."
So I don't know if that means anything, but I am just trying to read the signs, so to speak--trying to figure out which direction to go in. What is going to actually help? I have no idea. And I know I won't know until we get some evaluations, but I'm not even sure where to start. I'm not even sure how to describe what it going on. I just feel like we keep running into this huge brick wall related to reading, where if I push and encourage just a little bit, my bright and happy little girl falls to the ground in a mass of tears. I can't blame this on personality anymore. I really don't think she would "resist" reading this long if there weren't another issue complicating things. I sense that she does want to read more, but she is afraid to fail and it is too hard to try.
Thanks again for letting me vent. Sorry this is so rambly. :sad:
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What you describe here is would be a typical reaction of a child with dyslexia. I would have her tested for this first, because if she is dyslexic, no amount of vision therapy is going to change that. (Although she could have two separate issues going on.)
Check out the videos/information on this link:
See if your daughter has the symptoms, and if she does, either start tutoring her with an orton-gillingham based program, like Barton Reading & Spelling (you can do it or you can hire someone), or have her tested (there are links to testers on the website) for dyslexia.
I would do this first, as opposed to doing VT first. Statistically, her chances of having dyslexia are higher (up to 20% of the pop. has it) than having a vision issue. And, some of the V/T exercises can further ingrain the bad habits of dyslexia, like reading/spelling based on the shape of the word. If she still isn't making progress, then get her vision checked.
Good luck!
Carolyn
We've been using Phonics Road, which is a spin-off of Spalding, which is a spin-off of O-G. I will pursue both possibilities and keep praying! Thanks for everyone's input so far!
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I posted this on the Special Needs board, but I know this one gets more traffic, so I am cross-posting here. Thanks for any help or advice you can give!!!
My eldest DD has been struggling with reading the past two years. For a long time, I've thought it was just a personality thing--she just didn't like to do hard things; she loves to be read to, but reading herself is not fun; she gives up if there is a lot of text on a page or if the word is too long.
But now that my middle DD is reading at the same level my eldest was just a year ago, I have started to notice some dramatic differences. Middle DD has reading stamina that Eldest DD does not. Middle DD will tackle new words without hesitation--she even knows to cover up part of the word and break it into "chunks" while Eldest "freaks out" anytime I cover up part of a word. Middle asks me where I am on a page when I am reading aloud, even long chapter books, and she likes to track with me. Eldest hates it when I put my finger under words when I am reading aloud.
I posted some of her issues on the K-8 board, and a few people recommended checking into VT and posting on the SN board. Yesterday, I also talked to a friend of mind who has taught elementary in public school. She said Eldest sounds a lot like a student of hers who had a vision test and had a severe astigmatism, along with other issues. So I went home and read a bunch of stuff on this board about VT and talked to my husband. He is willing to look into it, although he also thinks it is just a personality issue with her. But I"m getting to the point where I think I HAS to be something else. She is surrounded by print, loves being read to, loves listening to stories, says she loves books, but she won't pick up books on her own to read. Almost all her friends are reading chapter books, and we have tears and fights to get through a level reader. I know every kid develops differently and comparing is not good, but I can't help but compare Eldest to Middle, and it makes me realize something else is going on--I think.
Okay, if you have made it this far, thank you! There are two doctors in our area that are listed on the COVD website. The one who is closest graduated in 2011--is that an issue? The friend I talked to mentioned the name of a optometrist, who is supposed to be great--but his name is not on the COVD website. What should I do?
Also, should I contact our insurance before I make an appointment to see what they cover?
What do I need to know in order to go about this process intelligently? I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I think I need a good cry, and that might help as well. Thanks for reading...
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My eldest DD has been struggling with reading the past two years. For a long time, I've thought it was just a personality thing--she just didn't like to do hard things; she loves to be read to, but reading herself is not fun; she gives up if there is a lot of text on a page or if the word is too long.
But now that my middle DD is reading at the same level my eldest was just a year ago, I have started to notice some dramatic differences. Middle DD has reading stamina that Eldest DD does not. Middle DD will tackle new words without hesitation--she even knows to cover up part of the word and break it into "chunks" while Eldest "freaks out" anytime I cover up part of a word. Middle asks me where I am on a page when I am reading aloud, even long chapter books, and she likes to track with me. Eldest hates it when I put my finger under words when I am reading aloud.
I posted some of her issues on the K-8 board, and a few people recommended checking into VT and posting on the SN board. Yesterday, I also talked to a friend of mind who has taught elementary in public school. She said Eldest sounds a lot like a student of hers who had a vision test and had a severe astigmatism, along with other issues. So I went home and read a bunch of stuff on this board about VT and talked to my husband. He is willing to look into it, although he also thinks it is just a personality issue with her. But I"m getting to the point where I think I HAS to be something else. She is surrounded by print, loves being read to, loves listening to stories, says she loves books, but she won't pick up books on her own to read. Almost all her friends are reading chapter books, and we have tears and fights to get through a level reader. I know every kid develops differently and comparing is not good, but I can't help but compare Eldest to Middle, and it makes me realize something else is going on--I think.
Okay, if you have made it this far, thank you! There are two doctors in our area that are listed on the COVD website. The one who is closest graduated in 2011--is that an issue? The friend I talked to mentioned the name of a optometrist, who is supposed to be great--but his name is not on the COVD website. What should I do?
Also, should I contact our insurance before I make an appointment to see what they cover?
What do I need to know in order to go about this process intelligently? I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I think I need a good cry, and that might help as well. Thanks for reading...
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:grouphug: Dd has (had?) amblyopia in one eye, astigmatism in one eye, etc. She would also do the head-tilt, would skip words, HATED reading. The pediatric ophthalmologist didn't patch and said she was fine because she could read one small letter in isolation (although not if you put it in a sentence or a paragraph!). She ended up in vision therapy for several months with a COVD optometrist for issues with convergence and tracking, mostly. Her eyes didn't work together or follow words on the page. After her VT, she could read. She stopped turning her head. She stopped freaking out about reading one page of a K reader. She started reading a page or two at a time of chapter books happily. It was a HUGE difference.
I don't notice head tilting, but my DD has had some struggles in reading. She completely freaks out when she sees a page full of text. She's a huge drama queen, so I thought most of the year it was just a stubbornness/personality thing, but reading through this thread, and especially the bolded parts, makes me wonder if it is something else. While she CAN read at a second grade level, she can NOT handle most books written at a second grade level because they are "so long" to her. I didn't suspect any vision issues, but the "freaking out" really stood out to me.
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I'm going to suggest you post this question over on Special Needs part of these forums along with more information about anything you have noticed about her reading that might give a clue--what is easy, what is hard, for example.
Things that come to my mind include dyslexia and vision problems, but there are other things that could affect reading. There are some online sources to do little mini-screenings on one's own before trying to decide if one should spend lots of money for a neuropsychologist to do a full evaluation.
Both HighNoonBooks and Barton which have Orton -Gillingham based reading materials (generally what is found to work best in case of dyslexia--) have people you can talk to on the phone who may be able to offer some help.
I've read The Writing Road to Reading, and we've used Phonics Road this year. She can read the readers for PR just fine (it is only one page a day), and the spelling isn't that big of a problem. Sometimes she will forget which phonogram makes the sound, which I think is normal. (When she can't remember, she will often have a "I can't do this!" fit--but she is a classic, first-born perfectionist. If she can't get it right away or if something causes her to think or work just a little bit, then she'd rather not try. That's what I HOPE the issue is, but she has been resisting reading pretty much all year, so that's why I wonder if there is something else going on.
I agree with finding a series of interest and try to sneakily get her to read them... like, Oh, no, this isn't necessarily for school, but I heard this book (book 1 of a series) is good and I thought you might like it.I had the exact same problem as you at the beginning of this year and was lamenting about my son who loves to be read to but hated reading on his own. I did the above with the Magic Treehouse books and he didn't take the bait at first, so I had to force him to read the first chapter. :lol: Then I gently insisted that he at least finish the book. He clearly was enjoying it and I said there's a 2nd book, etc. He read the 2nd and then was all excited about reading them "in order." Reading them in order was a big motivator to him and I was shocked and THRILLED when he started going through 1 Magic Treehouse book a day! His reading fluency improved GREATLY this year... when he read 19 Magic Treehouse books. :lol:
So it may be a different series for you, but getting her to realize she can enjoy reading if she finds the right book is a huge motivator.
I bet it will happen, but I know exactly how you feel and I was super frustrated before our great reading awakening. :) Hang in there.
Look on Amazon for series because what other people have bought pops up and that's really helpful.
I know I need to find something that really captures her interest, but it seems like any book with more than a few lines of text on a page really freaks her out. While she is perfectly capable of reading Frog and Toad books, she doesn't want to because it is "so long." I've tried the covering up part of the page trick, but she wants to know what is behind the paper. When she sees a page of (large, double-spaced) text, she gives up before she even tries.
The strange thing, to me, is that she has a really good memory, but she seems to have a hard time remembering printed words. What I mean is, she can see a new word, sound it out, and then not be able to hold it in her brain in order to recognized it when she comes across it just a few lines later. This stands out to me because her younger sister, 4 1/2, has a very good visual memory and can see a word once and remember it.
Sigh. Hard to know when to relax and just let her mature enough to do better without my pushing and when she needs to be pushed or maybe even evaluated. Reading has always been really easy for me, and my middle daughter seems to be developing as a pretty "natural" reader, but DD#1 just doesn't care that much for school. She finds no pleasure in reading on her own and completing any kind of schoolwork. I know that is probably more typical than not. But I'm not homeschooling so that I can battle with my daughter on a daily basis to get her work done! :glare: I want her to be able to enjoy learning in general and reading in particular.
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You've probably already thought of this, but I'll just throw it out as a possibility: Have you had her eyes checked? Sometimes kids this young have vision issues but don't know how to describe them, or they can't identify that this is what's making it difficult for them to work. Just a thought...
I also agree wholeheartedly with the idea of letting her read easy stuff for her independent reading. She'll move on eventually, truly! Take heart!
I have considered an eye exam. I need to look into that.
Right now, she doesn't do ANY independent reading. Any reading she does is inflicted upon her by her mean, old mom. And I guess that's part of my concern. I know she needs to practice to improve but getting her to practice is a battle. Every. Single. Time. :glare:
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If you think there is a problem with her being able to do it, get an evaluation done so that gets figured out one way or the other. Since reading affects pretty much all areas of schooling, a reading problem could look like across the board laziness etc.
what kind of evaluation would I get? Where would I get it done? I'm not exactly sure if there is an issue. I guess I'm not really sure what is the best thing to do :)
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That is very exciting! Next she can move on to Latin! :001_smile:
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My eldest DD is almost seven she reads at around a second grade reading level...as long as she doesn't have to read the whole book! I am discouraged right now because she hasn't made much progress this year in reading, and the biggest issue I have is her attitude towards it. I know she needs more practice, but it is hard to even get her to try. She loves being read to, but she hates the hard work it takes for her to read on her own. I'm at a loss to know if this is just laziness, stubbornness, and fear of failure--because we struggle with these issues in other areas as well--or if there is some kind of issue or if this is just developmental. I know all kids are different and progress at their own pace, but I don't want her to "get away" with it if she is just trying to get out of hard work.
How do I find the balance between challenging her to do her best and turning her off to reading?
I just feel like I'm failing her somehow because we can't seem to make progress. She's very resistant to doing work. There is lots of complaining and finding ways to get out of reading, math, and handwriting. We're in the process of moving right now, so we are taking a summer break, and I'm just trying to figure out the best way to approach her attitude and her reading skills when we begin again in a few weeks.
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My son was 8 before he started reading for pleasure. At the time he was very into Star Wars, so I let him pick out some easy leveled readers at the library, way below his ability level (I'm not a fan of the new star wars by the way, so this was difficult for me to indulge).
He could read them with ease and inhaled them, which prompted another trip to the library for more "easy" readers. This went on a couple of times, and them he moved to the chapter books about star wars. He is now 9, and has since read all of his Sonlight readers, by himself (yeah!) and finished the first three books from the Eragon series, the last being over 700 pages.
Now I have to tell him to put the book down and come do his school work :lol: , a great "problem" to have.
I hope we have this problem some day with this kiddo. :)
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My almost 7 year old DD is reading at about a second grade reading level, on target, but we are hitting a bit of a brick wall. As reading level goes up, so does the length of a book, and she balks at anything she considers "long." She gets to a certain point, and she says, "I'm done!" and kind of shuts down.
I do know she needs extrinsic motivation--she read for about three days straight to get the first prize in our local library summer reading program. Any momma been down this road that can give me some good books to try or any gentle nudges to get her to spend more time reading? She will listen to me read all day or listen to almost anything on audio, but she just doesn't want to do the hard work herself. I want to encourage her, but at the same time--just READ already! :) I'm dying for her to get to that stage where she just picks up a book on her own and reads it for pleasure--not because I'm requiring her too.
I'm trying REALLY, really hard not to compare, but lots of her little friends are reading for pleasure, and she's the kid who will play with her stuffed animals all day.
Phonics Road if they already read?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I agree with PP; I think PR reinforces reading better than teaching it. And if anyone wants to sell level 2, let me know!