We used History Odyssey from Pandia Press also. It does use SOTW, jumping around quite a bit. We loved the History Pockets from Evan-Moor that are an included part of HO.

Yes, I was looking into this myself, and you can do it. They don't make it very obvious though. On the Home page, Click on All Bookshark products, on the left. You'll get a big list of everything.

My son was diagnosed with dyslexia between 4th and 5th grades. I became interested in dyslexia and did graduate level work with Susan Barton, who created the Barton system. I'd say definitely find a language arts program designed for those with dyslexia if you suspect it. It won't hurt; those programs will help any student, not just those with dyslexia. Good ones implementable by the home teacher will be AAS, Spaulding, Barton. For math, the major problem for dyslexics at that age is memorization ... they have a problem memorizing random info, so math facts and multi-step operations. This is very individual. Many dyslexic students may go on to memorize these things, many never do so, and getting hung up on forcing the kid to do so may just frustrate everyone. The standard accommodation is that a dyslexic student is allowed to use a calculator if they wish. Many dyslexic students go on to be better at advanced math than elementary math, due to their advanced spatial reasoning and visualization abilities. Unfortunately, this was not true for my son, who never really successfully got past Algebra 2 despite his advanced IQ. I know Susan Barton recommends Touch Math and Times Tales for math for dyslexic students, but I haven't tried them myself.

We are finishing up Minimus, and then we will move to Lively Latin. I had extensive Latin as a kid though, so I'm not looking to learn along with her.

You don't say if you have any other academic concerns regarding your son. Is this the only issue? Two of my older kids were diagnosed with learning disabilities and dysgraphia; they *really* struggled with the physical aspect of writing. My youngest is almost 8, and she dislikes writing. It's just not her thing. I am, however, not concerned about her fine motor skills (she's a gifted artist,) and she works above grade level in math and reading, so I'm not concerned about LDs ... writing just isn't her thing. I don't want to push her too much and make her hate it even more. I am gentle and supportive. Occasionally, I make a paragraph assignment mandatory, but really she writes about what you are describing or less. Next year we will start cursive, since she has expressed interest in that, and I'm hoping she'll want to write more in order to try out her new skill. We are also starting piano, so we'll see if that has an affect on endurance, but she draws all day long, so I don't think that is the issue for her.

My advisory teacher from the homeschooling charter school we use, told me that TT is known to be slightly below grade level, and good for students who are working below level. I had never heard that before, but perhaps it is true. Oh, but you used 6, so you should have been okay ...

OKay, do not feel a failure. Do. Not. I don't know how you are homeschooling ... through any kind of group? Charter school? We homeschool through a public charter, and it is our second year doing so. We had a very stressful year, because halfway through there was a death in our family. NO schoolwork at all was done for a month, and when we did resume, schooling was sporadic at best, because I was stressed out, caring for a disabled, and now, widowed, family member. At the year-end testing (required) my child had risen by several grade levels in both math (she started out behind in math) and reading, just by being told to read on her own, and using Dreambox, and some math apps on her iPad. Give yourself a break. Life happens and you are figuring this out right now. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can adapt to both your style and your children's needs. When I started homeschooling many years ago I used Calvert which was a a scripted and scheduled full curriculum. That might be something to consider if you are busy with a new baby, as I was back then.

Setbacks and struggle are okay! Embrace the struggle ... in fact, in math, and particularly for girls and math, we should try to remember to praise the struggle and the work, not getting hung up on levels. (I'm working on this myself.)

When I first started homeschooling (about 19 years ago :001_rolleyes: ) I used Calvert. Perfectly good, quality, scripted, planned out school-in-a-box type complete curriculum. I recommend it, particularly if you are looking for something academically rigorous and secular. My DD who used it has very fond memories of it, and it was a great way to start for me because it was so scripted and scheduled.

Okay, thanks ... I'll try to relax about it; I tend to get hung up on doing things "right". :tongue_smilie:

Okay, so I've finally decided to go with History Odyssey Ancients for my 1st grader. I haven't bought the text yet, but I am looking at the preview and I see two items in the list that are unavailable except at ridiculous prices; Modern Rhymes about Ancient Times: Egypt, and the Ancient China Treasure Chest. Does anyone know if there is an updated list of required resources? I know that Sonlight has their own ancient China resource, although it gets poor reviews. Any further advice about these items? How necessary are they? Alternatives? Thanks!

I agree! I found her blog to be such a great resource as I prepare to teach 1st next year to my youngest. I do hope Satori Smiles come back up again!

This is really the area in which my DS, 15 with dx of dyslexia and ADD, struggles the most, and I worry. We have in the last few years gotten him voice-to-text software, but I feel that he still flounders in actually, effectively using it, along with planning his writing ahead of time, and proofreading at the ending. So, I'd like to work on getting him to take an assignment, use a planning software, like Inspiration, and then to write using the voice-to-text, then proofreading, then spell and grammar check, and a final proofreading. He really has a hard time catching his mistakes, which is typical for someone with dyslexia, so just accepting that he may need help here is also something we are working on. My DS has the intelligence to go to college, but I worry that even if he wants to go into science/engineering/programming, he still will need to know how to write, at least somewhat. Looking forward to reading other answers ...

:iagree: These two resources are excellent!

I totally agree with this. I think it's usually best to go for the full psychoeducational evaluation with a good neuropsych ... sometimes the problem is that these are hard to find. Often money is also a big issue for people, so I do think that SB was trying to make it easier for more students to get evaluated and get accommodations, as well as to ultimately get the right kind of tutoring. Also, Barton testers are supposed to screen out those that don't seem to have straightforward, uncomplicated dyslexia. Anyone with signs of more complicated issues are supposed to be referred for fuller testing.

The whole thing is super interesting ... and frustrating to those of us with kids with LDs. It seems as though the whole labeling of various LDs is constantly in flux actually. I think this reflects how little is really, clearly understood about these issues. The term "dyslexia" definitely does go in and out of fashion. It is my understanding that the Barton testing which qualifies a dyslexic student for school accommodations under a 504 plan will work in any state due to qualifying under federal disability law. It is, however, not enough to get a student accommodations on the SATs or in college. For that, you'd need a psychoed evaluation, although many colleges do their own testing. It's also definitely true that once a person has good dyslexia tutoring, that really raises their phonological awareness, then it's much harder, if not impossible to diagnose dyslexia using Susan Barton's testing protocol. FWIW Susan Barton based her testing protocol on the work of Yale researcher, Sally Shaywitz MD, author of "Overcoming Dyslexia." This book was published @2003, I think. When I first had a student study team meeting for my son, who at the time was attending a public charter school, the special ed specialist, who was probably close to retirement, said she didn't like the word "dyslexia." I suggested she read Dr. Shaywitz's book. On the other hand, young teachers who were recent graduates, were fine with the term and with accommodation of a student with dyslexia. I am sure there are huge regional variances in the acceptance of this term. For homeschoolers, I really think that by doing a little research into dyslexia (such as at the Barton site) a parent can decide for themselves if it looks like dyslexia is likely. Then, if money is an issue, they can skip testing and just be sure to use a reading/spelling program that is Orton-Gillingham based, like AAS, or Barton. These are good reading systems that will help anyone who is struggling with reading, assuming that their problem is not with comprehension. If, however, they think they might want K-12 school accommodations, they should get an evaluation first, before starting the O-G program.

Susan Barton certifies dyslexia testers to do full evaluations that qualify a student for accommodations in a public school under a 504 plan. The fee for this service is usually far less than for a full psychoeducational evaluation. She also has a dyslexia screening protocol that she recently developed which should be available for just a few hundred dollars.

This is a big problem for people with dyslexia, although one it seems they often eventually master. I just asked my 14yo DS who has dyslexia how he learned right from left, and he said that he just got better at it and now he gets it without thinking. (At age 9, he had tremendous difficulty.) All I can think of to suggest is practice, since you say she has good physical memory, having her lunge to either right or left on your command. If you did this most days for a few minutes, she might eventually improve, although time will no doubt help anyway. You could also mark one side of her body, perhaps with an inconspicuous bracelet on one hand or a charm on her shoelace or both ... something like that. I know one little girl with dyslexia whose dance teacher actually changed the dance routine her class was learning, all because this little girl kept going in the wrong direction.

Guacamole. :001_smile:

My mother and her husband (my father died many years ago) live about two minutes away. My mother has never been easy to be around. I am thankful for her parenting, because I learned what I didn't want to do with my own children. I see them weekly at my house, for Sunday dinner ... it's a duty.

I do not have any known celiac disease in my family, although we did try a GF diet for my ASD child. I have read that when a person with celiac has gluten, that this can cause an ADD-like brain fog. I've also read that since celiac can cause neurological symptoms, it is theorized that this could cause LDs. I am quite sure, however, that if you ask the mainstream medical community they will say there's no link. It is a very interesting question though.

For me, I absolutely do not lose weight as fast if I have any alcohol. For years, I tried to convince myself otherwise, but finally I faced the cold, hard facts about this. :banghead:

:iagree: I'd totally agree to check the warning signs at Susan Barton's website, looking at all the warning signs, not just directionality. It is considered a warning sign for dyselxia, when letter and number reversals still occur after 2 years of language instruction. Word retrieval issues are another warning sign, such as what you're describing in your child using the wrong word. There is an aspect of auditory processing difficulty in dyslexia, that's why when diagnosing dyslexia a tester will ask about other symptoms such as trouble tying shoes and telling left from right. Directionality difficulties will have nothing to do with CAPD and everything to do with dyslexia. Susan Barton will give you a list of her certified testers if you email and ask, but you can also find a good neuropsych to do this.

A student who still has trouble with B-D reversals at age 11 has a warning sign for dyslexia. Now that is only one warning sign, but the ability to "hold" info is part of dyslexia testing, so I would be suspicious that she has mild dyslexia, but no vision issues. Have you been to Susan Barton's site, to learn more about the other warning signs for dyslexia? (My eldest had two years of VT due to convergence issues and my son has dyslexia. I am pretty familiar with both of these issues, and I've studied dyslexia in depth with Susan Barton.)

I think the most important thing in K is to foster love of learning and curiosity. If a child is interested in reading, then great ... go for it. If for whatever reason they're not ready, then waiting is a good idea. Actually, what drew me to WTM and this site, is the position of SWB that the emphasis should be on surrounding young children with rich language sources, and not push them into writing too early. This makes so much sense to me. Many kids, my K-er included, lack the fine motor skills for this at such a young age. Ten years ago, I was volunteering a lot in my son's K classroom, and the push was really on getting kids to write. I felt uncomfortable with this at the time for various reasons. Sure a few may be able to do this well, but more often, kids clearly felt uncomfortable with the task, or learned to race through, giving a cursory attempt. I will be doing Phonics Pathways with my child to the extent that she is interested, backing off immediately if I meet resistance. We will be doing Rightstart Math, which just looks so fun, I can't imagine her resisting. We'll do art, French, etc., but our emphasis will be firmly on the love of learning and fun.