How far you're w/ Sheldon's ALL before starting with KISS ? And when you started w/ KISS, what level did you start w/ ?

We're doing ILL here and we love it. Looking through the ILL (writing part), I can see that it teaches writing skills through varied assignments: picture studies, dialogue, rewrite using other POV, paragraph summarizing skills, writing from outline, non-fiction writing (expository essay and descriptive essay, some persuasive essay),and completely creative writing assignment. But of course, it doesn't have the step-by-step instruction on how to do it. Therefore, you have to work together with your dc on how to approach an assignment. You may want to start brainstorming together, research the topic (if it's an expository essay), then make an outline together. I use ILL alongside some lessons from Meaningful Composition 4. MC 4 reinforces ILL paragraph summarizing skills and get the children to really understand the concept of paragraph unity. MC4 also gets children to practice to make topic sentences, closing sentences, and transitional sentences (in multi paragraph essay). Later (we're not there yet!), it also teaches on how to make a nice introductory paragraph. WS 3 is also good for supplementing ILL because it teaches children to think about words and sentences they use. It also teaches organization skills. All in all, I use ILL as the spine, and once a week, I would add select lessons from MC 4 or WS3 depending on needs. At the moment, I'm focusing more on structure. So I've been adding bits and pieces from MC4 for practice. HTH

I use select lesson from Meaningful Composition 4 to help me w/writing instruction. But for PLL re-write, what I usually did was to get my dc to re-tell, then we brainstormed the outline, and then let the dc to write. That's all. With ILL, I do the same. I have Writing Strands 3, so I may try to do some of the exercises to get dc to write better sentences.

I need recommendation for French for elementary students. I plan to switch the kiddos to Galore Park French (French Prep) once they are 11 or 12 (6th grade). What programs leading up to French Prep ? I'm actually thinking of Nallenart - what level I should aim for to prepare them to GP French ? Thanks

Bea is going to be 4th grade this Aug. We're going to do these: - Math: Math Mammoth 5/6 and enrichment from MEP/CWP/Hands on Eq. - L.Art: a. Spelling: continue w/ Apples and Pears. b. Usage and writing: Serl's ILL + Writing Strands 3 + Daily Paragraph Editing. c. Grammar: possibly Winston or Simply Grammar (not sure) - Others: a. Beyond FIAR for art, soc. studies, science. b. Interest-based science or MPH 3/4. c. Daily Geography (evan moore) - Arabic: Univ of Medina Arabic textbook. - French: possibly Nallenart product.

Thanks. We sometimes do something like that too. Between unit study from beyond FIAR and interest-based science, my son becomes v. enthusiastic about learning. In fact, I got him to choose what he wants to learn from Beyond FIAR guide as well. Daughter is also happy with this approach. Now I have to make sure that I'm not going to panic and go back imposing my version of scope and sequence to them.

Reading: Sonlight has different packages for independent reading plus a guide to go w/ it or just get books from your library regularly. Other possibility: get a graded reader from r&s or free from googlebooks, e.g. elson reader, beacon reader, mcguffey reader, etc. At the beginning, I use graded readers from googlebook to monitor my dc's reading (for school) , and tell them to get any books from the library (for free time). PreK: w use before five in a row w/ print out from homeschoolshare and homeschool creation. Otherwise, you can try out this approach for free using materials from homeschoolshare. HTH

bump

So it's been a few weeks since I tried to implement interest-based learning. My son (4th grader) chose to learn about how the TV works. So I got him All About Radio and TV. I find that we both enjoy it - I feel invigorated because I'm learning something new. My son feels smart because he knows things that his dad doesn't know about ..:) I need input though whether I do this correctly. - I take turn reading the book w/ my son. I pause from time to time to check his comprehension. Sometimes though, the concept is a bit difficult to grasp, so I either have to re-read to him, explain, or guide him more through questioning. - For output (for this particular book), I guide him to make various diagrams. First, I use lapboard to make diagram, and ask him to fill in. And then, I ask him to explain a concept using that diagram. Finally, he copies the diagram to his notebook. So, we have diagrams on how microphone works, how TV camera works, wave comparison diagram, etc. Once we finish w/ this, I'll ask him what he wants to study next. So it's not a unit study per se. Is this how people do the interest-based study ? Sometimes I read that people like to ask their children to read, watch documentaries, or listen to lectures. But what I don't know is whether all these are independent studies, or not independent studies - and what kind of involvement is expected from parents. Thanks

Somewhere in MM 3 I think

Not a SM user, but I've been combining Horizons 4 and Math Mammoth 4 for my ds who needs a LOT of repetition and spiral reviews. You can adapt it to SM + Horizons I think. What I did at the beginning of the year is to make note of what Horizons teaches and when. Then I decided which concepts I would like Horizons to explain, and which ones I want MM to explain. E.g. Horizons 4 book 1 has these folllowing concepts to teach: big numbers, prime vs composite, long division, and multiple digit multiplication. There are also reviews of geometric terms, addition, subtraction, money, etc. I decided that I want Horizons to teach big number and prime vs composite (both are in the first 50 lesson in Horizons). So I won't use those chapters from MM at all. Since Horizons moves pretty fast, I prepare ds for long division and multiple digit multiplication (along w/ flash card drills) w/ MM (or using MM conceptual methods) before we reach those lessons in Horizons. So in this case, while my son's doing the firsst 40 lessons of Horizons and dealing w/ big numbers and prime vs composite, I teach him long division and multiple digit multiplication (we did a bit of multiple digit multiplication last year in MM 3). Looking at Horizons 4 book 2, it seems that it has geometry, measurement, and fraction/decimal topics as new topics plus reviews of other. So now, just before we move onto book 2 (we're at almost the end of book 1), I teach my son fraction MM-way, and plan to let Horizons teach geometry and measurement. SO basically, if we hit math which neeeds conceptual understanding, I would do MM before we hit the beginning of that lesson in Horizons. But for topics like: money, measurement, geometry, number theory, place value (my son is already good at this), and clock, I'll just let Horizons teach it and would occasionally throw in unique problems from MM if I can find any. HTH

Saladin is good. I don't know about the other two.

Thank you for OhElizabeth and Nittajen. One more question. What if I am dealing with a group practice ? Should I interview every one of them (that would be weird) ? How do you deal with a group practice which would assign 'anybody availlable' for any patient ? It's a gamble, right ?

For Islamic study, we use: I Love Islam series. It covers the prophet stories including prophet Muhammad, Islamic manner, Islamic belief, Islamic social study, and ibadah (art of worship). You can buy from noorart.com or islamicbookstore.com It's very good. The best !! For juz 30 memorization, we use: The meaning of Holy Quran by Yahiya Emerick (the one for young children, blue book cover) and let the children listen to Mishary's recitation (plenty in youtube) or Ahmad Saud's (a boy Quran reciter) - my children prefer Mishary's though. Yahiya Emerick also has a book teaching the young ones to do salah, but this topic is also covered in I love Islam. I think you can just get the I love Islam and The meaning of Holy Quran. For writing Arabic, I get one of the Arabic writing book from Goodwordkidz and teach them vocab from the surah they memorize. For reading, we use an Indonesian Quranic reading program. It's v. thorough, but unfortunately, you have to be able to read Quran with tajweed (proper recitation) properly to be able to use this primer. Another people's favorite is the Pakistani's series - I can't remember what it's called (noor something -- nurul qaida ??). I believe this one is sold in islamicbookstore.com and comes with a CD/DVD. Any more questions ?

Thanks, I'm in the process of searching one locally.

So, I really don't know what I should look for in a neuropsych. I tried to ask my local HS mailing list for a recommendation, but answers vary - from neuropsych in local children hospital, to neurodevelopmentalist, to neuroregeneration neurologist. Really, I don't know what kind of test I should look for. Anybody kindly enlighten me what kind of things I should ask ? What kind of test should be given ? What sort of report I expect from a neuropsych. Basically, I'm looking for these things: 1. Identification of my ds's strength. 2. Identification of the sources of his weaknesses (some skipping words when he reads, some difficulties in memorization, etc), and possibly identify more weaknesses which I may overlook. He's not dyslexic per se - but he does have dyslexic tendencies. 3. Suggestion on how to improve the situation and how to help him soar with his strength. 4. Identification of his learning style to help me to modify homeschooling (if needed). I'm pretty knowledgeable in the area of LD thing, but I don't want to miss anything, esp. the underlying cause of his glitches (KWIM). So I want it to be a thorough check. Thanks

Thanks, Michelle. No, we can go to a specialist directly. So I guess I can go to a neuropsych. directly. So in your case, your neuropsych. office is the one who's going to talk to the insurance before evaluation and then inform you what the oop will be, right ?

So, I decided to get neuropsych. evaluation for my son. But first I want to increase our chance to get the eval. reimbursed by insurance. I heard from this board that pediatrician referral will increase the chance of insurance coverage. Will this be the case if the problems are more of learning problems instead of brain problems, like trauma, etc ? Lastly, how can I find a provider contracted by my insurance company. I tried to find one in behaviour health section, but I can't see any neuropsych listed (I find psychiatry specialists, family therapists, prof. counselor,s and social workers though). Thanks.

I thought education-related eval. will not be covered by insurance.But I might be wrong. When you call your insurance regarding this, what do you say to them ? Looking for a neuropsych to look at dc's learning differences ??

Yes, I'm considering testing or whatever to confirm what I'm seeing and to help him in logic and rhetoric stage. He needs to be able to read and understand a variety of books. The second one would be during high school to get accommodation for college, CC, and standardized tests. I don't think he has dyscalculia; he's good at math. His multiplication is improving but he still needs to work with division.

He's just turning into 10. I'll test him with nonsense word.

I have a son who I suspect has dyslexia tendencies but I don't know how beneficial a neuropsych. evaluation would be, considering this type of evaluation will not be covered by insurance (talking about $4k here). Some of his problems: - memorization problem in math (multiplication and division), English (poem), and Arabic (Quranic verses). - Reading problem. a. skipping/substituting words while reading aloud but when I ask him to re-read the words, he can do it. So it's not phonics problem. He also understands enough the stories but is shaky about details. He's almost 5th grade and I really want him to be able to read at a higher level. b. he doesn't like reading, except: Geronimo Stilton series, Horrible Histories, Wimpy Kid, and the Big Nate. I tried to get him to read Hank the cowdog, some of enid blyton's mysteries, easier roald dahl series, encyclopedia brown, American history chapter books to go with last year's American history study, etc, but nothing becomes his favorite. I brought him to the library and bookstores, but he wouldn't pick any book. I showed him sci-fi books (Percy Jackson etc), but he's not interested. He used to love picture books, but won't pick one now because he said he's too old for those. Non fictions send him to snore-ville. c. although reading in English is not really a problem, Arabic reading is really a problem. I teach him the art of Quranic recitation (in Arabic of course), and he's still struggling. Heck, he's still in primer - 4 years after we started. So I know he must be dyslexic or has a processing issue. - It took him 3 years to learn cursive, and is still slow. I give up on it though. He's just going to print. He still sometimes reverses letters. With math, he sometimes reverses number order (thirty five --> sometimes he writes 53, especially when he works with column addition and subtraction). - It was difficult to teach him the convention of writing (capital letters, period to close a sentence, spacing, making a line using ruler, etc). Spelling is so-so. But he made a great stride lately. - He bombed ITBS test. Math - 75%ile (lower than what I expect him to be), verbal test - 40%ile(below average). I only prepped him for a month prior to testing. - Works slowly. Sometimes I accuse him to dawdle/daydream. He said that he's focusing. He also used to be a late talker and a late writer. What he's good at: - computer games - math concept, mental math. - imagining things and coming up with funny stories. - coming up with his own infomercials. - during picture study, he gives non-standard answers (as in - most people will think that the picture depicts a particular story/scene, but his opinion differs). Does this warrant a visit to a neuropsych, or is there any book I can read to improve his weaknesses and strengthen his strong point ? Thanks

Are VSL kids always whole-to-parts learners ? My son fits the characteristic of VSL kids, and he's indeed a VSL (V/S is his strength). But how do I know that he's a whole-to-parts learner ?

The title says it all ... Thanks

I've read many posts and articles saying that people w/ dyslexic tendencies are VSL learners and are actually gifted. I have a son who has dyslexic tendencies (based on articles about stealth dyslexia by the Eides and I think also Silverman) but his dyslexia is even more pronounced when I teach him Arabic reading (that is teaching him to read Arabic according to the rule of Quranic recitation). I know other kids are not like that b/c I teach at an Islamic weekend school. It sorts of confirm that he's actually dyslexic at some degree. He's v. funny, imaginative, kind, reflective , and is pretty good at comoputer games and math (not at memorizing his timetable though ... but he manages to memorize it during his third grade using Memorize in Minutes). But I don't think he's gifted at all. So, if people said that their dyslexic/VSL kiddos are gifted - is it after a certain test which can detect giftedness, or is merely based on observation ? What is gifted anyway for dyslexic/VSL people ? Just curious ...