We suspect a learning disability but don't have the $'s to get a formal evaluation and my husband and I aren't on the same page as far as that goes. We are trying to supplement however we can but spelling and writing are now definately lagging behind her reading. She is finishing up first grade and will turn 7 over the summer.

HI Everyone, I posted a couple months back about using the Barton reading system and how it can work with public school. At the time we started Barton my daughter was in the tier 3 reading program. We are now complete with level 2 except for a few small things to work on and getting ready to start level 3. Took about 2 1/2 months to go thru those levels. She has now tested out of the tier 3 reading group and is now in the tier 2 reading group. I can see her reading has improved and I'm confident I have her going down the right path but she is still really struggling with spelling. For words that she can sound out she is doing okay and when we review in spelling in level 2 she does very well because she can her all the sounds in the words. However, when it comes to words that you can't sound out she struggles very much to remember how to spell words and often forgets within 30 minutes of correctly spelling a word. I know that level 3 starts to teach the "rules" of spelling but worried that she won't be able to master the rules when it is very hard for her to remember how to spell simple sight words. Also, any suggesstions for what seem like careless mistakes even on words she can sound out she often makes what seems like careless mistakes. We stress for her to slow down and take her time but still seems like she rushes.

HI Everyone, I posted a couple months back about using the Barton reading system and how it can work with public school. At the time we started Barton my daughter was in the tier 3 reading program. We are now complete with level 2 except for a few small things to work on and getting ready to start level 3. Took about 2 1/2 months to go thru those levels. She has now tested out of the tier 3 reading group and is now in the tier 2 reading group. I can see her reading has improved and I'm confident I have her going down the right path but she is still really struggling with spelling. For words that she can sound out she is doing okay and when we review in spelling in level 2 she does very well because she can her all the sounds in the words. However, when it comes to words that you can't sound out she struggles very much to remember how to spell words and often forgets within 30 minutes of correctly spelling a word. I know that level 3 starts to teach the "rules" of spelling but worried that she won't be able to master the rules when it is very hard for her to remember how to spell simple sight words. Also, any suggesstions for what seem like careless mistakes even on words she can sound out she often makes what seems like careless mistakes. We stress for her to slow down and take her time but still seems like she rushes.

HI Everyone, Just a quick update. We started Barton and have been using for 1 1/2 weeks and halfway through level. My daughter has no issues with hearing the sounds and breaking and putting words back together. However, we have been really stuck when comparing two words together and finding the sound that is different. She can easily break both words apart and assign a sound to each tile but by the time she gets done with the second word she has already forgotten the first word. I watched the video with how Susan Barton shows how to handle this but hasn't done the trick just yet. She is starting to get frustrated with this part as we have repeated this lesson at least 3 times already and doesn't like to repeat the same thing over and over again. Any other suggestions for this section of Barton for those who have used it in the past?

Thank you all for the feedback. I'm hoping that I can convince my husband to start down this path and not take a wait and see approach as it does seem like school would more valuable to her if she were caught up to speed now and not later.

Hi OneStepAtATime, Thank you for the long and thoughtful response and to all who have also replied. At this point we have not got an outside evaluation. It will be hard to get my husband on the same page to go and get them evaluated as he thinks that will put more stress on her. Also, we don't live near a large city so not sure where we would go to get an actual evaluation. We also haven't read many books since we only suspect at this point and are just now trying to figure out where to go and deep down hoping that this is just a bump in the road although I fear not. We found Barton just go researching on the internet and I have yet to find hardly a negative review about it (outside of cost) after researching for multiple hours a week for the last month. Seems like if you stick to it and don't rush that it can make a huge difference. I've heard there are also other O/G programs out there but this is one that I could tutor myself as where we are located we don't have a lot of tutors in the area. May I ask why you decided to pull your kids out of public school after 5th grade is the Barton System was working for you? Also, any other input from those tutoring with Barton while their kids also attend public school I would be very interested.

Thanks Lecka for the suggestions on the homework. Once we speak to the school I'll be sure to bring it up. Anyone else have any experience with tutoring with Barton while your child attends public school?

Yes. I am also concerned about the time committment as she also struggles in math at the moment and we often spend at a minimum 30 minutes a night doing the regular homework sent home (math, spelling test, sight words, reading etc). I don't think pulling her out of school is an option at this point due to both me and my husband neediing to work. I see that Barton requires a minimum of 2 hours a week. I was thinking 1 session during the week on a lax homework night and then 2 forty-five minute sessions over the weekend but I am too concerned about burning her out.

HI Everyone, My daughter is in the first grade and is struggling with reading and spelling. She has a very hard time sounding words out and often guesses when reading books. She also scored low on her DIBEL's assessment. She is currently being evaluated to determine what the next steps are to get her up to speed by the school. I am considering starting her on the Barton reading program but I have concerns about what is being taught at school and what I would be tutoring her with using Barton. I hesitate to remove her from the classroom where reading is being taught becasue I think that some value would still be there. I am also concerned with the "no reading" outside of the Barton System until the end of level 3 which will take approximately 4-5 months to get to that point. She is required to read in her reading groups at school and we always try to read multiple books a week. Can anyone post on their experience with tutoring with the Barton Reading system and having their child attend public school and how it worked out. Thanks!