imagine.more
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Posts posted by imagine.more
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She can read "The Red Hen" and other simple picture books aloud. She loves The Giving Tree and I believe can read it independently. She likes Junie B Jones but I don't think she fully reads them independently. The school has her reading only leveled readers, none of the kids read novels or anything I'd consider good literature, it's all leveled readers and computer work with this Read 180 program.
CityMouse, there's a state school for the deaf?! lol! I had no idea, I am totally new to this. Okay, so I'll get researching that and see if they have any recommended resources. Thanks so much for mentioning that.
Pen, the high interest/low level books list is exactly the kind of thing I can make use of. With my 5 year old we're doing the opposite (high level books that are age appropriate for a 5 year old) so it's interesting now I get to handle both ends of the reading spectrum :)
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Hey, I've got 3 bio kids (5, 2.5 and 10 months). My 5 year old is one of those super-smart kids, he just flies through curriculum. So my challenge with him has always been to well, challenge him. Not a bad problem to have, but requires extra thought regardless.
Our foster daughter just moved in as a pre-adoptive placement. The goal is she will be officially adopted in 6 months (TPR is in process). She is 11 years old, 5th grade, and has hearing and speech impairments. She wears hearing aids which get her about 80% to normal hearing I'd say. Her speech needs improvement of course but we understand her fine and she makes friends easily so she's functional with that. She's in public school currently but as soon as adoption has been finalized we would like to homeschool her and we've been discussing it with her and she likes the idea. Anyway, so she's in 5th grade but oh my gosh she is NOT at a 5th grade level. Her math is around 3-4th grade and improving steadily so I figure we'll just get a good math curriculum and move on with that in a 5th grade textbook next year. Her reading however is WAY behind. She started last year at a 0 and right now is a 2nd grade decoder and I'd say 2nd grade in comprehension as well at best.
The issues I can see right now are:
1) she doesn't 'hear' phonics sounds too well. She gets the basics but it's not easy or fluent for her to pick out letter sounds in words.
2) she reads almost entirely with sight words. I'd say she sounds out words like a 1st grader but has enough sight words that her level balances out to about midway through 2nd grade.
3) she hates reading. (duh, I'd hate it too if I struggled like she does, lol!) so while I want her ability to improve I want to also really focus on developing a love for reading.
4) she has poor background knowledge so that context for understanding stories is spotty. In the past week we've had to explain breastfeeding, that cats lick themselves to clean themselves, the difference between sugar and salt content, how we have A/C without a window unit, that it is fall and not winter, what a windmill is, how to play Guess Who? etc. Speaking to her you wouldn't guess how many gaps there are at first, because they're in funny areas sometimes. It's a lack of experience more than anything.
The cognition tests the school ran all came up with conflicting results because they were written tests and she can barely read so of course those came up super low but then she came up almost normal in math skills and spatial reasoning, etc. I don't know why they can't give a non-written test, maybe there aren't any?
Anyway, so where do I start in planning for homeschooling her? Any books/resources I should read? How does the Well Trained Mind plan work with special needs kiddos? I'm a big believer in the classical method and literature-based learning so how does that work with a kid who has slightly different abilities?
Thanks for any help you can offer!
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"Order" was the word that popped into my mind when I thought of what was needed to implement truth, beauty and goodness. When coming from a Christian perspective, our God is a God of order. I can't have truth, beauty and goodness in a home full of chaos. Whether in my physical surroundings or in my thoughts/emotions. Just thinking out loud:)
Absolutely, I think Order is a key part of this. I read a great blog post over on Like Mother Like Daughter and she had some great things to say about the home needing to have both Order and Wonder. I love that balance! God is a God of order for sure, but certainly a God of wonder as well. In the best case scenario those two things would work together to help us encounter what is Good, True, and Beautiful every day.
And to whoever linked to it, the giant Circe Thread was what popped into my mind when I read this post too, lol!
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It sounds like he would benefit most from some fluency and confidence-building work. I've done this with both an advanced student I had as a teacher and my own oldest son. I'd give him lower level books on topics that interest him. Harry Potter 3 is a 5-6th grade reading level both in words and content, it's fine for a 3rd grader to read it but certainly not expected. I'd look for 2-3rd grade books and even a smattering of silly K-1st grade level books (under the guise of reading to a younger sibling to 'help' you out ideally). Take the pressure off as much as possible and restore his confidence by letting him read these at his leisure every single day.
I would also be sure, if you're not already, to do a solid spelling program with him. These can often be a good phonics review in case he has any small gaps since his reading instruction has been a bit hodge podged. But really this sounds like a fluency issue, which is common with bright kids who learn to read early with just a little instruction. Once his fluency picks up his comprehension will improve and so will his enjoyment.
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That awkward moment when you have to explain twincest to your kids. And your husband.
Rofl!!
Yeah, I love game of thrones but only read it on my kindle lest my kids pick it up one day to read innocently thinking it's some regular old fantasy series. And I am no prude when it comes to literature or movies typically.
I agree the tv show is more smutty but only because proportionately the content in the books is just more varied. For example a chapter might contain one beheading, one whore, and some creatively vulgar language but also contains families, friends, political disputes, mythological elements, corrupted religion, and an adventure or two. The only parts that seem to make it into the tv show are the whores and language with half the violent killings. So the shows aren't making up much (though I've seen one super smutty scene I do not remember from the books) but the emphasis is a bit different.
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I am at a loss with my three and half years old. I see everyone starting reading and math skills at 4-5 or even 6-7 yrs but I think the reason why my son has been so destructive around the house is maybe he is bored. He spends his day on ebay searching for spiderman toys or watching spiderman episodes on netflex and you tube and acting them out. Lately he and his older sisters have been writing scripts and making spiderman movies with their lego figures. Maybe I need to start some formal academic stuff with this child. The other day he was chanting the 10's, knew the days of the week, months of the year. Kind of freaks me out. I never had one like this before. Well I did have an early reader. She was my 2nd child who learned to read at age two but the math one where he is counting by 10's is a new one. He uses words like "actually" and asks why is the sun shiny etc Is this a normal 3.5yrs old? Wjere do i begin with him?
This was my son at 2 years old exactly! I threw out conventional wisdom at 2.5 years old and pulled out OPGTR and he settled right down. He was literally picking paint off the walls before I did that. He is a happy 4.5 year old who is reading at a 3rd grade level now and we're still slowly working through OPGTR as well as other on-level subject stuff, like math and writing, now. I also let him roam outside 1-2 hours a day and between that and school he is quite calm and hardly gives me any trouble.
I say you know your child and if you feel he's bored add significant physical activity as well as some mental challenge. Start slow and see how he does, if it doesn't help or he responds poorly just stop and try something else, no big deal.
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We've never done the two new one review thing with it. We're most of the way through and my 4.5 year old loves it but I think he'd be bored with the repetition.
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I started Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading with my 2.5 year old who was bored and wanted to learn to read. It's super simple and has short lessons, most take 5-10 minutes to do. Anyway he read his first bob book after lesson 27 and is reading 3rd grade books now 2 years later. So I think it's successful and I was able to implement it through a colicky baby and then a pregnancy and another baby so I think it's perfect for busy moms. There are no pieces or cutesy complicated instructions and the language is accessible even for young preschoolers.
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I did it! I finished my room (well mostly lol tomorrow I need to do behind the bed, wash the floor and sort 1 shelf. But it is nearly 130am and I am tired and dd5 is asleep in there. Of course now my office is a danger zone with all
the buckets and bins to be sorted. I will have a few hours tomorrow afternoon, and then we go
to a family party for the girls dance studio until 9pm. dd13 gets to sleepover at the studio so
when I get home I am hoping to do a large chunk of the office again. If I get lucky
tomorrow I will finish it. Whether I do or not, Friday-Sunday I have to focus on the main living
areas and hauling the old dryer out because the new one is due to be delivered around the 8th,
and we start school on monday so I have to have a clean space to do those things. I can't wait to go to sleep in my nearly empty room :)
Good job! I think having your bedroom tidy and organized makes such a difference. I seriously sleep better when our room is clean :)
Afm, I tackled dh's side of the closet yesterday with his help and almost caught up on laundry until my 4 year old wet the bed, ugh! I hope to have laundry done today so dh and I can organize and paint the laundry room tonight. Then i can get my cleaning supplies off the floor, which is so impractical and dangerous with a 2 year old.
This year I want to do better about read-alouds with the kids so I'm clearing off a ledge in the dining room to put all our read-alouds for the year there. My hope is by making them visible and easy to grab it'll be easier to meet my goal of doing read-alouds every day at lunch and during down times. This is sort of combining this thread with the monster Circe thread from awhile back :)
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That's really sweet of you! I know I'd be relieved to come home to a tidy house and the pets cared for if I was in that situation. Definitely a worthwhile use of time even if it meant the storage room didn't get done.
Swellmomma, you are a force of nature. Truly. I *might* take some before and afters of my storage room if I am brave enough. *gulp*
I did not get it all done today. The oldest daughter of the family with the very sick 23yo son called me. I had offered to help the family however I can. She is almost due with Baby #7 and she has been going to her parents' house three times a day to let the dogs out and feed them. I am now going to do this until they get back. It's not such a big thing because I can get to their house in two minutes. The dad and youngest daughter (teen) have been the only ones living there for about two months now. They left yesterday in a hurry, so when I went today I washed dishes that they had left, and my dd21 picked up and swept their living room and family room. Whatever the outcome for their very ill son, they will all be tired when they come home and don't need the added stress of dirty dishes, etc.
So...back to some storage room sorting before I go to bed. Onward!
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Wow Swellmomma, you've been busy, I'm impressed! I love the idea to weigh the clutter, that is a weight loss program I can get behind, lol!
I sorted and purged my wardrobe this evening during baby's fussy time. Gotta love a ring sling for staying productive with a newborn :) Next on my list is to organize a random box of shoes in our coat closet that I shoved there when we moved 3 months ago.
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Thanks :)
In the 3rd edition of WTM the questions are on pg. 345-346 for logic stage.
(I have the page dog-eared) ;)
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Lol, i must not be a young mom anymore, i know exactly what you're talking about, lol! I am planning to purge christmas decor next year, i prepped dh for it this year. See though, it literally takes 2 years to get rid of a light up crappy christmas village thing my grandma gave us 3 years ago. I have to heavily prep dh this year, then next year i can likely convince him to let me donate it. Craziness!
We leave ours up till Epiphany every year. However, I did purge some broken or otherwise unwanted decorations. Some of our stuff is OLD. Think cassette and VHS tapes lurking in the back of our entertainment center. At least we didn't have any eight tracks! Some of you younger moms may not even know what I'm talking about.
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Which section of the WTM has the reading questions? I was wanting more of these too!
I also love to ask:
- What do you think will happen next?
- What was happening when we last left the story? (this allows one of the kids to quickly bring us up to speed on the plot)
- The WTM also has a great list of questions.
Lisa
- What do you think will happen next?
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I deal with the same thing, see my comment a few pages back. My dh also holds onto clutter but enjoys a clean and orderly home. It is incredibly frustrating to me and my dh because he feels our house is stark and i feel our house is cluttered. If he had free reign we'd end up like his parents, who moved with TWO full-sized moving trucks 17 years ago and have accumulated a lot more stuff since. Right now I do a mix of stealth purging, nagging/bargaining with him to get rid of things, and spending a lot of time finding organizing systems to manage the stuff I can't get rid of. Still, it keeps my house from looking and functioning the way i want it to :( In fact right now I'm practically twitchy over the christmas decorations cluttering my house because dh won't let me take them down until the 12th day of christmas.
How do you deal with spouses who want to keep things you want to purge? My husband gets so upset when I get rid of stuff, because "we paid good money for that" or "we might need that someday". If I kept all the stuff he wants to keep, we would be candidates for an episode of hoarders. And yet, he appreciates a clean and orderly home. I have explained to him that I have to simplify in order to keep things halfway organized. He doesn't get it. I have resorted to stealth purging. I don't like to go behind his back, but I have no choice unless I want us to be drowning in clutter. He never misses what I have purged. Sigh. I don't like feeling sneaky.
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Lol, yes this! We still fight about this every single year 6 years later, ugh!
Want to have a big fight?
talk about what Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving is going to look like.
These are the things that can lead to MAJOR stress the first 2-3 years of marriage. But they arre VERY important.
Decide how the holidays will be spent and what is most important to each of you.
Talk about how often you will see the in-laws. Talk about how involved the extended family will be in your lives.
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I thought about the one page thing too but then realized I would have plenty of next action items that wouldn't fit into one of the post it categories. So i'll use the pages behind it for those lists.
I like the post it notes! That would make it really easy to move things around, grab your "to buy" when you are running to the store and everything. But then, I was thinking, do you just need a one page notebook then? Maybe I could just do the post it note technique in my planner instead of a separate notebook, I am wondering. Hmmm
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I got a blog post up with pictures and a simple description of my GTD notebook. Not sure how to upload pictures on here yet so I figured this'd be easiest.
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Oh my goodness, my older son just asked me for a notebook...and then asked how to spell "home"....to make his own "Home Notebook" like mine, lol! I convinced him to name it "T-rex's Notebook" instead and he's writing a to-do list in it with check boxes and everything :laugh: Not sure what a 4 year old has to get done really but hey, maybe he'll keep these organized habits when he's 14. A mom can dream right?
Susan, I avoid phone calls too. In my notebook under Next Actions I put a "To Call" sticky note with a list of people I need to call.
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Mystie's posts explain a lot, as do the later book chapters (i got tired of the theory and skipped ahead in the book). But essentially from what i can tell you end up using a calendar for hard and fast dates (appointments, scheduled things), an inbox for new items you need to do/deal with, and a notebook for action items, projects, etc. and a file cabinet properly organized for all reference materials. So really it's a more comprehensive, orderly, and streamlined version of the systems most people already use.
I have thought of giving up FB but then I would miss the cute pics of my two nieces' kids who live in another state, etc. I don't spend much time there and don't even visit daily. I block people who post annoying stuff.
Question: what do you DO with all the brain dump stuff? I don't want to have a dozen different notebooks or a complicated system I won't keep up. I bought a calendar/planner at Target that has month-at-a-glance and week-at-a-glance pages for keeping track of birthdays, appts, etc. It has 8.5 x 11 pages so plenty of room for writing. I already have a binder for recipes and ones for school. Trying to envision how many binders I would need, or what alternate system I might use. I'm trying to picture how it will all mesh together...project plans, ideas for the future, etc. I feel like I am stumbling in a dark room feeling for the light switch that will illuminate everything for me. Maybe I just need to get the GTD book. Maybe that would explain it. I need to finish reading Mystie's posts, too.
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I completely agree!
Children who are going to be homeschooled need to be prepared for school. The preparatory skills are quite different in a family setting, but surely we all agree you don't ignore a toddler's intellectual development until he reaches age 5 and then, out of a clear blue sky, plunk him down at a desk with Singapore Earlybird. That toddler's parent might need a place to learn how to interact with him in a way that helps him develop as a whole, healthy child who will be ready to learn. Parents need this support especially if they live in an area where practically all of the other 2-4yo's go away to preschool. If that's true, the family is going to feel like counter-cultural homeschoolers even though the child is not yet of compulsory school age.
And families with preschoolers can have different challenges. Some have advanced children who are reading at two or three years old (one of mine did) and parents need to know how to guide such a tiny child in his studies. Others do not have accelerated children, but need more advice and guidance in nurturing a child in ways that prepare him to learn academic lessons later. Lots of parents never had anyone model early childhood education for them. I'm not talking about a preschool curriculum; I'm just talking about parenting through those years in ways that help children grow. New parents of preschoolers might need someplace to ask experienced mothers how to help their child learn through play, singing, walks, bedtime stories, etc.
Good foundations make for less frustration later. I hope WTM will decide to host a preschool board.
EDITED for gender neutrality. Previously, this post was entirely mom-centered, but then I saw SpyCar "like" several posts in this thread and I realized my mistake.
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Yes I have similar stuff but could definitely stand to set up a couple more sensory boxes. I may even set up a sand/water table in the basement though I'll need to tidy up a bit so there's floor space. We have big plans to finish the basement and have moved that to the top of our priority list because of our two year old, lol! I keep joking I'm going to carpet it and put padded walls, a ball pit, toys, and just let the boys run wild down there :)
On the organization front I got my GTD notebook set up and did one for DH and he actually likes it! I'm basing it off a few blogs and the GTD book, i'll try to post a link to pics later on.
The quiet time/personal time discussion is very good timing for me. I've slacked on requiring my oldest to do quiet time and I really need to get back to it in the new year. It'll encourage him to relax and read more too, he used to read all the time but lately he and his brother have been having so much fun roughhousing together that reading took a back seat. As much as they love each other some separate time would be a good thing for them.
I have no idea if this would work for anyone else's two-year-old but thought I'd throw it out. When my 13yo was a VERY active two-year-old another mom at our hs support group gave a talk on ideas for toddlers. I took notes! The biggest hit with our little guy was a rice box. I bought a large flat Rubbermaid box with a lid, and several bags of white rice. Then we added plastic animals, toy cars, measuring cups, etc. Any kind of sandbox toys. He loved it and would sit and play in it for an hour or more. Our two rules were: don't throw it, and don't eat it. If he did either of these, the rice box was put away. I used a few other ideas of hers which I would happily share if anyone is interested.
And yes, I had to vacuum up a little spilled rice, but it was worth it.
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Ayup. It's just going to be crazy with a 2 year old, but they don't stay 2 forever. It passes.
And then there's often another one!
Lol, yup, story of my life! I have a 2 year old boy (the worst breed of 2 year old imo) and he takes easily twice as much time/attention as the 4.5 year old and newborn combined! I cringe at the idea my sweet baby girl will be 2 in not too long. I pray every day i can get my son to 3 alive, he's that bad, before christmas he even fell off my bed jumping and had to get 7 stitches. I'm forever pulling him out of dangerous or just unusual situations.
The only things that help with 2 year olds are playpens, baby gates, and an early bedtime, lol!
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I've definitely gone through an atheistic phase and wish my parents could have responded to my questions about life and God. Instead they laughed at me for being upset about it as they don't have any firm beliefs themselves and see religion as unnecessary.
I think the case for christ for kids is a good idea, i know i enjoyed the case for christ and it helped me answer my brother's questions when he was 17-18.
When you guys discussed God and the wind analogy did you mention that just like we can see what the wind does we can see what God does too? Like His creation on earth, the orderliness of it and the fact that it had to have been made somehow. In science there's the principle that something cannot just spring up from nothing. In fact I think a diligent study of both Science and Philosophy would be wise here. She sounds extremely bright and inquisitive and could likely handle those subjects now better than most kids that young.
And if I were you I'd spend the next few years reading everything on Christian apologetics because she'll come up with even bigger questions as she gets older and you'll need to be prepared! Also, could your priest/pastor help? I know my DH (a pastor) would gladly work with
a parent who came to him with concerns like yours. Heck, he'd be thrilled if a parent cared enough and was astute enough to even have those concerns, lol!
New 11 Year Old Adoptive Daughter, hearing impaired non-reader, where do I start?
in Special Needs Board
Posted
Good idea to focus on the sophisticated picture books, we actually have lots of those around because my 5 year old loves them and I've noticed Daisy picking them up to read to my 2 year old occasionally. My 5 year old LOVES magic treehouse books, I might see how she does with reading those soon once we get her just a little further along with reading.
A quick update: I did some research and I'm setting up instruction to teach Daisy and our family "Cued Speech" which is highly recommended for deaf and hard of hearing students. It helps them pinpoint the phonetic sounds and therefore really helps literacy rates and rhyming, spelling, etc. I'm pushing for the school to use it too but if they don't that's fine, I'll probably pull her out and homeschool her next year anyway, especially if the school refuses to make the changes she needs to progress. So far her teacher seems unconcerned that she is reading at a 1st grade level at 11 years old :-/ She is just happy that Daisy is a compliant, sweet student who doesn't make any trouble and tries. Thankfully her math skills are good, she's almost at grade level in math and I expect by the end of the year will be caught up and working independently in math. She's about a C student in science and social studies as long as she has a few accommodations to get around the lack of reading skills. Actually I find it kind of shocking how easy the assignments are that she brings home from her mainstream class. None of them require her to construct full sentences (something she wouldn't be able to do anyway but I'd expect an average 5th grader to do very competently). So apparently that's how she gets by since she's able to muddle through with one word answers as long as they're not picky about her spelling.