I liked their 3-4 year old set. I used it more for practice or trailing following directions and fine motor skills. she seemed to think the black & white was school and the colorful ones from local stores weren't. this year (4yrs old) we're using a couple of the A-I books as directed in the MP JK curriculum. we used Counting with Numbers and now we're using Inside & Outside. she's been happy to do them so I'm happy.

Is there a program like you describe? I'm early in the figuring this out stage and looking for info! :)

oh I agree! her special ed teacher confirmed she wouldn't qualify at this point anyway. Since she's still under 3, all her services are at home. If I use the school SLP at all, it would just be for that and I'd do "school" at home.

I don't know the difference (and certainly don't know which one she does) but they are both on Susan Barton's list. Basically I can see her brain is moving faster than her mouth on occasion and she gets stuck on the word. I don't rush her and she gets her thoughts out just fine. It's not even everyday which is why I thought it was just a normal kid thing to do. eh. we'll get it figured out. The SLP who's visiting my house every week has never pulled me aside over it (she's there for DD2). can you explain the difference between cluttering and stuttering?

anybody?? other recommendations??

that's a good idea to check with the really far away people too. There are some in Canada (we live in mid michigan) which would be about 2-3 hrs away. I hadn't thought of even calling because I can't imagine the insurance working but they would possibly have contacts. The others I found had taken the introductory but were in school systems. So I'll start putting some feelers out there.

per diem means that she only works occasionally("per day") meaning not a regularly scheduled thing :( that's the part that's complicated. insurance isn't too bad. I think she gets 75 (may be off on number, I've only used one for a private OT eval so far)per year of any sort of therapies combined. I will have to file since almost none file for you here but that's just an annoyance not a big deal. I have found her linked-in page so I was thinking of messaging her through there. I was planning to call again on Monday and see if I could speak with one of the actual therapists at the facility instead of just a receptionist to see what her availability actually is. the info on the prompt site wasn't accurate but I was able to google her til I figured out the actual phone number for the place. kinda going cyber-stalker lol ;)

haha don't worry I haven't spent a lot of money yet. just making plans. Making a path to follow, even if I scrap it before I start down it, just helps me feel grounded. :) I'm waiting til I understand more before I make firm decisions. I watched the video. she mentions about half-way through how the little boy's cheeks look. my dd2 cheeks look just like that! I am very interested in PROMPT but if I can't find someone to do it, it won't help. :( I'm still waiting for the bridging lady to call and will keep pursuing that avenue. they told me she's per diem so it might be complicated. I'll keep searching. re:dd4, she may be able to benefit from PROMPT too but regarding stuttering, it's really very rarely. I had mentioned it to Barton just because it was on her list. certainly something I keep in mind as an indicator but most people thinks she's a year or two older than she is because of how nicely she speaks. I'm still looking for the earobics too . I just wanted to share what Barton had said. she certainly isn't a speech therapist but she was talking about dyslexia not apraxia. certainly following the directions of the SLP for an apraxic kid is best. :)

I'm still waiting to hear from the Bridging SLP. In the meantime, DD2 has an eval scheduled at the Susan Kaufman Center since it's at least specialized for Apraxia more than the standard ST around here. If nothing else, she'll get a real eval finally. I plan to also check out the PROMPT lady (if I ever hear from her) and see which clicks best for her. Nobody in the area even know what I'm asking about regarding PROMPT. blah. I hadn't thought of developmental eye screening. Since DD4 turns 5 this summer and Kindergarten is a pretty standard eye exam time, I was planning to do a normal one but I might as well get the developmental one. thanks! I'm also thinking of getting an auditory processing screening at some point. The psych eval is a good idea too. I agree that I'll see how things go for a couple years and see if we're not making progress. Susan Barton recommended one of two books to help "prep" the girls. I ended up picking up the Phonemic Awareness one and a couple activity books from amazon. She said not to do LiPS with her and that she does not recommend Earobics for kids who are or who are suspected of being dyslexic. I'm waiting to hear her reasoning on the Earobics. Since I don't have access to it just yet, it's not a huge problem to wait on it ;). I'm waiting for DD2's evals' to see where to go with her on all of it. In the meantime, I'm sure she'll benefit from the Phonemic Awareness stuff we'll be working on. I'm liking what I'm seeing with the All About Reading -Pre level 1. I finally just called them. The guy I spoke to was really helpful. It is OG based but they split the reading from spelling (as opposed Barton keeping them together). I don't know which would work better but since this Pre-reading level is actually designed for little ones, I think it's a good place to start at least. A lot will be review since she knows her ABC's and many of the normal sounds but the gentleman had a good point that some easy work could help her feel confident as we work on the stuff that's harder. I'm going to check out some of those Right-brain books. I talked to my priest yesterday (i was stressing a bit ;) and also because he told everybody that he's dyslexic a couple weeks ago). One of the first things he said was "congratulations! you just increased the odds of her being brilliant" :D haha Have you found that you needed to do math differently? I had been planning to do Singapore with manipulatives. So far we've just been doing counting (R&S preschool books) and she hasn't show any concerns. I really appreciate all your help. Thanks! >>>>>>>>>>>>> here's the first message from Susan : (nothing like blunt rebuttals to kick your butt into gear ;) ) While reading your early signs, I'm not sure for what ages they apply. My Daughter's birthday is 8/08, so she's just under 4 1/2. for example, rhyming: my daughter seems to be incapable of recognizing or coming up with rhyming words even after a recent few weeks of actual/concentrated teaching of them. She primarily guesses or seems to have finally memorized a few. She rarely will 'fill in' a rhyming word in a rhyming story. She'll pick a reasonable word for the story but doesn't rhyme and not the word I've been saying. Children should be able to create a word that rhyme by the time they are 4. Then you asked: She also can not tell me what sound is at the end of the word (letters she knows the sounds of). even when I just try to have her tell me what she hears. She can pick out front, end and middle of a line of toys but not for sounds. I'm not sure if she's just not old enough for these ideas or not. She should be able to do that by now. You also asked: Also, re stuttering. She does occasionally but I thought that most little ones will stutter when they're trying to speak too fast. At what point is stuttering not age appropriate? Most children do not stutter at all. You then wondered: at what age is mixing up sounds in multi-syllabic words not 'developmentally appropriate'? ex she currently says 'hosible' for hospital. If she only has trouble with one particular word, relax. Children with dyslexia will have trouble with many words, such as enemy, animal, spaghetti, hamburger, magazine, and on and on and on it goes -- even after you trying hard to correct her. You asked: I believe she is firmly right handed though will try to use her left hand occasionally. At what point should they stop trying to use the 'wrong' hand? it's obviously weaker so I tell her to switch back which she does without fighting. Children should have one hand firmly dominant by age 4. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> books she recommended : Preparing Children for Success in Reading: A Multisensory Guide for Teachers and Parents by Nancy Sanders Royal; based on the work of Beth Slingerland Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum by Marilyn Jager Adams, Barbara Foorman, Ingvar Lundberg & Terri Beeler

I am looking for a planned out science program with 'experiments' and kit to do with my DD for K next year. I want it to be a general overview, directed (for me), fun, and come with or work with a specific lab kit. I am not good about finding all the little pieces or putting things together. I really need it to be scripted to keep me on track. I'm currently toying between Elemental Science Intro to Science or Sonlight Science A. Any thoughts?

I am by no means any sort of expert. We are working on perhaps a similar sort of problem with my 4 1/2 year old. Not that she is having trouble reading. She can't read at all! :) But she can't understand rhyming or sounds in words. Along with some other signs, it makes me concerned she might be dyslexic. Please do not take that to mean that I think that is what your sons concern is. I honestly have no idea and am feeling a bit lost myself. I thought I would share some information that I have received that may be helpful for you though. At the end of this post I copied an email from Susan Barton (barton reading system) to me when I asked about things to do to improve phonemic awareness in children (in my case, preschoolers but they should work for any child) as my dd4 isn't old enough for her program and my dd2 is apraxic and will likely have similar issues when we get to reading in later years. I ended up buying the second book (Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: a classroom curriculum) from amazon along with _Phonemic Awareness: playing with sounds to strengthen beginning reading skills_ and Picture sorting for phonemic awareness http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s00_i02 http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s00_i04 http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s00_i00 Whether this is the best solution for either of our children, I can't say but it's where I'm starting. I'm also planning to get the All About Reading -Pre level 1 in a couple weeks. I also have ordered Writing Road to Reading (http://www.amazon.co...ing 6th edition) as a background for all this. Since I feel I need a more scripted program, I'm currently planning to use the All About Reading (AAR) system going forward. If you are interested, the AAR people are very helpful. They actually answer the phone! :hurray: I had a great conversation with a gentleman yesterday about how their program works and if it's appropriate for my kids. http://www.allaboutl...-about-reading/ Checking for an auditory processing disorder is also a good idea. It's something I may pursue later. You may also want to check out (wade through ;)) a discussion OhElizabeth and I had over the past couple days. Again not specific to what you are saying but some of it may apply. http://forums.welltr...-yo-for-speech/ >>>>>>> Preparing Children for Success in Reading A Multisensory Guide for Teachers and Parents by Nancy Sanders Royal based on the work of Beth Slingerland If you work with children in preschool or in kindergarten, you will be referring to this guidebook every day. It is full of games and important activities that prepare children to be ready to learn how to read. Dr. Nancy Royal has experience as a classroom teacher, school administrator, university instructor, program founder and Director of the Slingerland Magnet Program in the Chula Vista School District, and Founding Director of Prentice School, a school for dyslexic children in Orange County, California. Teachers can use these activities even if they have not had Slingerland training. These activities will benefit all young children, whether or not they have dyslexia. Published by the Slingerland Institute https://ssl1001.qwes...p?products_id=5 or call 425-453-1190 Ask for item # 2046 Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum by Marilyn Jager Adams, Barbara Foorman, Ingvar Lundberg & Terri Beeler Brimming with fun, adaptable activities and games, this prereading program can by used by preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade teachers in any classroom to teach and improve phonemic awareness. The developmental sequence follows a school year calendar, building on simple listening games and gradually moving on to more advanced sound manipulation exercises like rhyming, alliteration, and segmentation. Assessment activities are also included. Available from Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, 800-638-3775 Susan Barton, Founder Bright Solutions for Dyslexia www.BrightSolutions.US 408-559-3652 ext. 5

I just realized I totally missed one of your messages! hehe (the one where you talk about the Bridging therapist) thanks for the clarification on the MP stuff. I'm pretty bummed. O well, moving on, right? That was my favorite part of the curriculum and main reason for me to use them as my core. bah... O well, I'll figure that out after I figure this out. Oh, I sent an email to Susan Barton last night and got a reply today.... she had an answer for each of my possible signs for my DD4. I'm currently sitting through the full set of her videos so I can ask her further questions, as directed at the end of her email. I also ordered WRTR. It should be here next week. Thanks for your help with all of this. I also found out, talking to my mom, that my Dad has lots of signs of dyslexia (though never diagnosed). Who knew? atrocious speller, really slow reader (though he reads all the time), makes piles of things everywhere, couldn't tie his shoes til he was in at least mid-grade school, etc... Of course, he loves electronics and actually reads technical manuals for fun! I never knew that he read so slow though. I know he's always reading. I never realized how slowly he does it! He made his career as a research technician and his primary hobby is HAM radio. This last bit is for whoever may read this later and fear for their kids. While he never got any help and we can assume that he's pretty mild since he managed without help ( though obviously could have used it), he's still a smart and capable man. Maybe I'm just trying to make me feel better. After Susan Barton's email, I admit that I am a bit distressed. :( O well another new thing to learn and at least I can address it early and before she's truly struggling, right? I'm feeling a bit concerned about my decision to hs my two little girls with no previous experience who apparently are both going to be special needs learners. ack! nothing like starting in the deep end, right? Here's a question. Do I stop teaching her the letter sounds until I understand how she needs to be taught? Or just keep going? She enjoys her "school" work. I think at the least I will stop trying to get her to answer the "ending sound" questions. No point is frustrating the both of us. Did you outright buy Earobics? or LiPS? I don't have or know anybody who has these things. After I understand some more, I will feel more willing to drop $100+ on a program but I don't want to get the wrong thing. I think I need to give it a rest for the night, wait for my book, read it and move forward but the questions are just swirling in my head! Thanks again. (i wrote the above last night. Did you know this forum times out around midnight EST?? I guess it's like lights out! for Mommy's :gnorsi: )

Thanks for the responses! :) That is a good idea. On another board I got some suggestions about using the "what your preschooler needs to know" and activity book of the same name that I think I'll use to help me make up this sort of list. I just forget to make sure to give her that one-on-one time sometimes. I think a plan will help. Glad I'm not the only one :) I ended up copying this post over there a day or so ago and hooked up with OhElizabeth. We had a great conversation and lots of good info. Thanks! We did sign language more when she was younger and was completely non-verbal to work on communication and help springboard off the motor aspect of signing to verbal expression. Now we use it primarily as a visual cue for her instead of me cueing with a spoken word. or as a motor cue for herself where we initially had her do the sign and the word. Ex: we've been working on the phrase "I want ___". She has a hard time getting the "I" in front of "want" so she'll often skip it. To cue her, I sign "I' to get her started, then "want" if she's needing further cueing to do the phrase. If she's going to be around others who don't know her routinely, I may re-pursue active sign language usage. Her language scores have come up to nearly normal for her age since we started more intensive speech therapy with her. She doesn't seem to have any language disorders just expressive speech. (apraxia is a neuromotor issue where the brain can't tell the muscles of the mouth how to move correctly to say the words. "fixing" apraxia is less about development and more about actively teaching the brain and muscles what they're supposed to be doing.) Now I'm excited to say that she's verbal but she is very difficult to understand for most people. I need plenty of context to understand. Luckily she's really good at gesturing to get her point across when I can't understand :) That sounds awesome! I really like their stuff and had already been planning to do some modified version. I hadn't thought to actually ask them to help me do it :) You don't happen to know that lady's name do you?

Thank you SO much for the tips and info. :)

Clarification: _I_ don't think the MP program is bad because it connects writing to reading. I have read that _other_ people don't like it because there's writing involved. I thought it would be a great way to do it. I was thinking that maybe it was similar to the WRTR way of doing things after reading your initial posts. Honestly, I've found it difficult to explain the location of the sounds without having the written word to show it! :) I had thought that was pushing too far too fast (being only 4) so I was trying _not_ to show her the whole word....hmmmm perhaps very silly and my natural idea is better. I just hadn't wanted to push her into full reading since she doesn't have all the letter sounds yet and I'm not in a rush. She's not the kid who’s taught herself. She likes to pretend read (memorized pages) and like her tag pen to tell her stories so she likes books. I just mean that she wasn't trying to read on her own with me trying to stop her. I know a few homeschoolers and am on the emails lists but since my girls are so little I haven’t gotten ‘involved’ yet. Everybody is so into the “just let the littles be littles†thing that I can’t get the idea that at the very least DD2 really does have an issue and not just going to start talking in paragraphs on her own! :p (that's an entirely different rant lol!) The only one I’m close to just uses straight Kolbe and isn’t much for branching out. J When I get the cash, I'm sure I'll pick up at least WRTR and SWR to start out. Thanks for the recommendation. Have you looked at all about reading? made by the same AAS people but reading specific. re DD2: That is really interesting info about the fine motor skills and speech progression. She already has and loves Pollly pockets. :) She could make better marks on the paper than dd4 could when I started working with dd4 this fall (dd4 couldn't press hard enough but she's does fine with that now). I never did anything more to teach DD2 than DD4 to write at this age. I just let her have crayons, markers, whatever and paper and let her play. But she could make the tiniest circles! Lately she's been tracing the insides the title letters in her Dora coloring book. Again, all on her own. Her OT comments that she loves coming here to play fine motor skills with her since she does it best of all the kids she sees. There's at least something positive, right :) For OT, I admit it's not been very well organized. That's been my least favorite part of her therapy program. For tone stuff though, she had us sit her on an exercise ball (holding her hips or thighs as needed) and you roll the ball to the left, right, back, forward, hold it off center, etc. To get their core trying to right themselves. Another one is to put her on her stomach on the ball and roll her forward (peanut ball would be better for this since it's a bit shorter) and have her reach for and/or walk on her hands toward a toy, then roll her back up. as they get stronger you have them do more of the pushing back up. Another one with the peanut ball, is to have the sit in the saddle and bounce and hit the ball with their hands at the same time. We also use bean bags for her to carry from one bucket to another, or carry the bucket :) basically something for "heavy work" . She also pushes the laundry basket around the house for me (with clothes in it). We were able to use one of our smaller camelbaks (made for running but they make kids' ones) as a sort of weight vest (and oral motor thing since she likes the straw to drink the water). She also has a melissa & Doug caterpillar tunnel to crawl through that is heavy work (weight on arms and knees). For vestibular, she loves swinging and would want to be swung for 30+ min. She had us instead of just continual movement, push forward/back x 5, spin left/unwind, spin right/unwind, and then 5 forward/back. DD2 would actually sign 'all done' with this and happily get down to go play! For somewhere between vestibular and heavy work/tone, I got her a radio flyer/wonder horse for Christmas. She had a little one and LOVED to bounce on it but had grown out of it so I got her the big one. It's cold here in MI so we can't always get outside to get enough exercise/play. For sensory, she has a rice box with little things to find and a bucket of some squishy toys, some chewy sticks, her bat jiggler. When she's having a meltdown, we take her to her bed, put her music box on (from her baby mobile) give her her sensory box, pacifier &/or sippy cup and she will play with these things until she gets herself calmed back down and then comes back out to play. She will say yes if you ask her when she's crying if she needs to go sit on her bed. Yesterday, after she'd made a giant mess with something, and I pulled her away from it, she started immediately crying but then ran herself to her bed and stayed there on her own til she was calm again! yeah! somethings working! :) She also likes pressure but not being stuck so the arm/leg/body squeezes work well for her but not wrapping. The private OT also suggested when she's working on her stomach on the ball to lay kind of on top her (doing squeezes if you can/need to) so she's getting lots of good pressure and heavy work at the same time. When my DD4 is in her gymnastics class, I pay for the open gym time and let my DD2 run around, hop and play which she loves. Hope there's something there to help you out. I firmly believe if she was a kid in daycare, she'd be a holy terror but home with me we've been able to work on being calm with her all day everyday and giving her time and support to communicate. The info we've gotten from our OT has been useful but it's never been a program per se. Luckily, ;) during her infancy I developed the ability to nearly instantly drain the tension from my body to help her calm herself down. such fun, right?

So many questions :) To begin: We are not paying for therapy yet. It's still through the school system (0-3 program) she has an SLP 1hr/wk and the Spec Ed teacher who follows the directions of the SLP for an additional 1hr/wk. She turns 3 in August and will be out of the at home program. She also has OT 1/mo which has mostly been telling me strategies which I wasn't happy with but with all our work, it seems to be working well enough. I recently had dd2 eval'd by a private OT and she said that she was doing great and to continue using the strategies we did and gave me a few other options. So far, so good on that aspect. Surprisingly, my school SLP has been really supportive of NOT putting her in a school preschool setting. Whether specifically useful re: apraxia or not, when I asked for input she sent me a full special ed preschool curriculum file based on story books. I was so pleasantly surprised to not find resistance there. I, obviously, still have to find appropriate therapy but it's just nice to know that nice people exist. The highest PROMPT therapist I can find on their maps is a "bridging" an hour away. :( When I checked out their website they don't mention anything about it. I don't know that it would be worth the drive for just a standard private SLP who has dabbled in PROMPT. I will give them a call tomorrow to get some more info from them. I'm really confused on all the reading information. here are my first few questions: 1) are you saying that these OG et al methods are something I could start now with dd2? or just educate myself about so I can use them when she's older (and assumedly now with dd4). I haven't gotten the books yet (my library is aweful, so I'll have to order through their interlibrary system which takes FOREVER) but I have been reading a lot of reviews. It seems that they all more or less use writing to develop reading. I can't imagine being able to implement that with a 2 year old (or 3 for next year). Does using letter toys/puzzles fulfill the same idea? 2) Have you looked at First Start Reading from MP? It is what I had planned to use next year for K for DD4 and it seems to teach reading through writing (many complain that they are linked, actually). Does it look like this program uses the method you are talking about? http://www.memoriapr...K Phonics A.pdf http://www.memoriapr...rt-reading.html 3) is AAS anything related/similar to these methods? (Ms Barton speaks REALLY slow!!!! holy cow. I might go crazy if I were to listen to her daily! lol) Thanks! I'm sure I'll have more :)

Oh, a few extra bits of info on us. She's my 2nd. my older dd is 4 (and can't understand rhyming to save her soul, so I'm doubly interested in the dyslexia resource). I'm not a teacher but have a bachelor's degree and am an RN. They were both preemie. dd4 at 33 wks and dd2 at 35 wks. DD2 has some sensory processing concerns which are currently being handled (primarily regulation and motor seeking), she is also on the low end of "normal" for tone. She also has some digestive issues, is still is on prevacid and has basically IBS type symptoms that are usually controlled with plenty of fluids and fiber. hmmmm...... that just made me think of low-tone being involved with GI too...wonder if that's an reasonable connection. DD4 has no speech issues but seems to have some gross motor planning challenges--can NOT ride a bike/tricycle/balance bike. She didnt run til she probable 2 1/2. DD2 made the ride on cars go before she did...literally, not comparatively. She was evaluated in infancy but didn't qualify for services at the time. I toy with getting her eval'd. Her ped said at her last check up that when she started kinder I could talk to the teachers. I'm not sure how that would work since I'm planning to continue homeschooling. Gymnastics has been great so far though since she can now jump on two feet and 1 foot! Her teacher is great at getting her to do activities even when she tries to shut down and say she's scared (something I've read that kids with gross motor planning problems often do with new activities).

@ OhElizabeth: I really need to print that post out to study and reply intelligently! thanks! What's really funny, though, is that you suggested playmobil. She LOVES little tiny toys. She found my old legos months ago and had been playing with the little horse and people. I ended up buying my 2 year old a full playmobil pony/horse barn! The thing says it's for 8 year olds but she LOVES it!!! She even plays little stories with it (meaning she has the people doing things). I'd been looking at those Lauri toys since they looked like they'd hold up and seemed to take more 'effort' to fit in the spots that the usual wooden puzzles. I'm very intrigued by the resources you mention re: dyslexia. I know of the connection between apraxia and later learning disorders which is prompting my search for something more 'organized' that I would usually do for a 3 y preschool. We've been using Kaufman methods (not flashcards, per se, but approximations building to better approximations, and recently adding phrases - I want ___). I'm not at all familiar with PROMPT but she doesn't respond well at all to prompts like touching her (or your) throat to cue a sound in the back of her throat. She just will copy with her hand what you did but not change her speech attempt. Is this totally different than PROMPT? I'm in the process of getting info from area therapists to see what I have available so I can get this process started. Thanks again and I'm sure I'll have more questions after I read up a bit.

I'll have to look into PROMPT. ( thanks Crimson wife) i dont even know what Slp's are in the area. the Kauffman center is about 1.5 hrs away. shes still too young for most to be willing to diagnose so i feel like im in an odd place of working, waiting, and prepping. i am happy tho, that she's made great progress in the 11 mo of therapy so far (standard SLP but using apraxia methods). i would say she is completely verbal, if not understandable and she was completely non-verbal before. we taught her sign language initially which was a great help for communication and then we were able to link those to utterances and then to approximations. she also has a picture book (not full PECS system) which was useful for awhile. luckily she is still happy to gesture to get her point across. she will be a champion charades player! she doesn't use formal signing much anymore but if we decide out-of-the-house preschool, we may look at that for increased communication for others. it worked fairly well this summer when she was cared for in a group setting for a day (husbands army family day, we had classes to go to and the kids had their own program). luckily one of the caregivers knew some sign so she could get her needs across with my dd4 to help. I am concerned that while an "out of the house" preschool option would be good for exposure to speech it would increase her level of frustration with communication too. right now she has low frustration with communicating. as the gap continues widening between her peers, I can see that negatively impacting her progress. Already with a friend of ours who's very close in age and speaks well/normally, while the other little one keeps up a running commentary, my dd rarely will speak and then much less than she does at home. at home we make the effort to let her speak and get clarification from her. in a larger group, I'm concerned that she would just stop trying or be frustrated and be back to shrieking. I'm generally leaning toward in-home to continue one-on-one attention to speech with a combo of school SLP and private. next year she'll be old enough ( 3) to start at our local gymnastics place. I think that'll give her good peer interaction in a setting that her ability to communicate is less important and will address her sensory/proprioceptive needs. im thinking that core knowledge book will be a good "spine" to address normal learning and to make a plan to keep me on track.. I'm hoping my current SLP (and future when she transitions ) will be willing to help me make a good plan. @beaners, I hope you find something to help you, too. I'd be happy to chat/pm if you want.

thanks that book looks really interesting. I'd only seen the standard book of the same title (on Timberdoodle site). I will check this out!

Thanks. I was able to have a good conversation with her SLP (from school) this morning about next year. She understood my concern about the general special ed room and after going over some results today, says that she doesn't expect that she'd qualify for the special ed room anyway since her issue has solidified into intelligibility and not 'language' per se. Meaning she talks even though most can't understand her. She also thought that even if she technically qualified, that it would be wasted since it wouldn't likely be moving her in a forward direction on standard learning for a 3 year old. There is a 2 day private normal preschool nearby that I may consider. It would certainly get her additional practice speaking with other kids. I guess just one more option to think about :)

I posted this in the PreK/K board but just found this one. Maybe more ideas here?

you could check on the MP forum. Tanya answers questions very quickly.

I started homeschooling my dd4 this past fall after deciding that I would do hs instead of the school building options in my area. We are using MP Junior K and thinking a combo of MP K, SM for math, maybe sonlight A for science and sitll playing around about read-alouds. My dd2 has been in speech therapy since 18 mo with our Early On program and then was switched to the special Ed program when she turned 2. The current working diagnosis is Childhood Apraxia of Speech (means she can't get her muscles coordinated with her brain to speak correctly). She was non-verbal but now pretty much speaks but is unintelligible to most people. One of my biggest challenges with her has nearly always been not remember/realizing she's as old as she is and being cued automatically to teach the things that you normally teach to toddlers/preschoolers. I didn't do anything formal with my older daughter at these ages and only did a formal K4 as a trial for hs since we lost all half-day K programs in my area so I was making my schooling decision earlier that I had planned. Next week we do our 6 mo eval of goals and plans for her (dd2) speech and will start our transition planning because when she turns 3 (aug) she will move from their home based program to the school based program. I'm not ruling anything out but last I knew, they only had a general special ed preschool in my area (as opposed to a speech specific one). She has absolutely no cognitive or other delays and actually tests higher than her age in nearly every aspect except expressive speech. I don't want her to just languish in a general room when she's really very bright. My question at the end of all this (thanks for bearing with me) is how to come up with a plan for 3 year preschool that will cover the things that little ones need to be exposed to. I already read to her daily and let her free play with puzzles, blocks, etc...(she loves them). What I need though is something to make sure that I am addressing the normal things like numbers, letters, colors, shapes that "typically developing" kids get. Don't worry, I'm not expecting recitation or quizzes ;) I've been looking mostly at Timberdoodle - combo preschool/preK (_love_ the hands on things), My Father's world -prek, and sonlight 3/4. I love how the sonlight guides give you in depth info about what to talk about (at least in 4/5+). I like the looks of the MFW activity cards. I'm not good at just going with the flow and getting topics covered without cues (I bet you never realized how many cues your kids give you! ;) ) so I know I need an actual schedule/guide/program to make sure I'm not just forgetting to bring up a topic. I also feel like if I reject the general special ed class but push for the school SLP program (which I can do in my state, even if I add private speech to it),that I should have some sort of "program" to show them. A fear I have is the possibility of 'causing' a language and/or learning disorder since there is evidence that children who don't get their language "wired up" correctly in their early years struggle to use language in their school years. Basically I am trying to make a Speech specific 3 year old special ed preschool program with no training and feeling a little flustered. Thanks!

I also liked the R&S earlier preschool set. although I kept them for learning to follow directions. meaning...random scribbling and coloring was fine on other sheets but those "school books" and had to be treated nicely. it ended up being a really good way to judge readiness. at first getting through one page was a challenge. we'd put them away again for a bit. one day, she completed an entire book in one sitting! I knew she was ready to start doing more of "real" school. I liked them more than the standard store workbooks because there seems to be a plan and purpose to the order of the pages. I often like the pages I find on a blog called mama's learning corner, too. I haven't used them yet, but I found a site called education.com (through pbskids.org ->choose parents -> link on side). you can pay by the book or a subscription. they look pretty good. I think I'm going to print some out myself :) sprout online.com also has nice printables. and scholastic.com/parents has printables by age/grade down to prek/k