My dyslexic son is doing fantastic with foreign languages. We have done Spanish orally since he was little, and now we are able to introduce some reading. I can ask him to do things in Spanish that i never could in English because it is completely phonetic. For instance we have a game where I give him words that are out of order and he has to put them in the correct order to make a sentence. He would hyperventilate if i did that in English because he 'can't read' (according to him) but in Spanish he knows he can sound out the words if he tries. Mind you we don't do a lot of reading/writing, but he is capable of it. And he excels at the verbal component of it. He has also started Chinese at his request, and is doing very well. He is able to learn it orally and has learned some of the symbols as well. It really is nothing like reading/writing....more like drawing. In both cases (chinese and Spanish) he is able to really effectively use the limited vocabulary he has to communicate with native speakers when he finds them. For instance when he only knew 10 words in Chinese, he was able to talk to a Chinese shopkeeper, using his vocabulary: I have a "little sister" she is "7 years old". I also have a "little brother" who is a "dog". He is a "baby dog". He is "2 years old", etc. So personally I've found that his ability to communicate verbally is as strong in foreign languages as it is in English. However a program that focused heavily on writing and reading, such as Duolingo, would never in a million years work for him! For Spanish we use Visual Link (as well as speaking at home) and it is great.

I bring my kids to the playground at school during school hours. Some schools may not allow this, but luckily ours does.

We do no computer/ipads on school days--I just find it much easier to have a strict 'no' policy. That way it is basically not an issue at all during the week. Hhowever, we do have TV and sometimes I'll let them watch Wild Kratts or something in Spanish in the evenings. This is not any type of guaranteed time...its just when i feel like putting something on for them. (This happens more often in winter than in summer.) We allow about an hour a day each on Saturday and Sunday for them to play on the ipad or on the computer.

I use mainly Sonlight lists, and Jim Trelease's lists (Read Aloud Handbook).

No problemo :) FYI I checked with my dad and he said the translations were correct. He said "Sé amable" sounded too formal and he'd say "Sé bueno con tu hermana" or the one I gave ( "trata bien...."). Here's the link to the book I think would help you a lot: http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/0978915259 I'm glad to see its gone down in price--it used to be $30, and it is NOT a big book! But for me its been worth it. I grew up in a bilingual household, and although I've spoken since I was little, I was used to being the bumbling one surrounded by native speakers. I was so insecure when I started speaking Spanish with my kids because I make so many mistakes. I can get by and be understood, but I was NOT comfortable being the one modeling for others. What helped me was posting lists around the house with phrases that I use in that area of the house. They would remind me to use Spanish and give me a quick grammar check if I got insecure. (Commands in Spanish are tricky, and that is what is often used with kids.) Eventually I built up my confidence and now its second nature. You seem like you have a great attitude about it I love the music analogy! Your kids are too young for this program, but Visual Link has really helped my son learn how to put sentences together on his own. It might help you as you try to speak around the house: http://www.spanishprograms.com/ Also if you have cable TV and allow any screen time, you should be able to put Disney Junior on in Spanish for your 3 year old as the 'second language' option. ETA: Looks like barnes and noble has new for $23, and used from $5: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kids-stuff-spanish?store=allproducts&keyword=kids+stuff+spanish

First, I love your approach! I think that's one of the best ways to introduce a foreign language into the home. I would highly recommend the book Kid Stuff Spanish. It is basically a list of all the phrases you'd say to a child, exactly like what you're looking for. I put the corrections in red below :) There is also a forum at wordreference.com that is a great place to look up translations. Native Spanish speakers help English speakers and vice versa. Its a very active forum. Spanishdict.com is another good site that not only lists definitions of words, but example of usage in common phrases. Another good tactic is to google the phrase in quotation marks. That will let you know if its widely used or not, or which phrase is more common between two. For instance if you google the phrase "pongo de lado sus juguetes" you will get zero hits, which is a good indication that there's something wrong with it. :) I'm sure of most of these, but I'll call my dad later and ask about "be nice"....i'm not sure what the best way to say that would be. :)

I'm wondering how others have made it work schooling at adut height desk or tables with little ones. Has anyone used one of those Stokke style adjustible high chairs? Or what about an adjustible office chair with a footrest? How can I make a regular height table more ergonomic?

1/2 hour of math, 1/2 hour of reading, and that's it. It's easy to do in the morning before we enjoy the rest of our day, and you'd be surprised how much you feel your getting done if you do it consistently!

We went with Barton and it has been a god-send. It is $$$$, but cheaper than a tutor, and resale value is high. It has made reading lessons go from the most stressful, frustrating and tearful part of the day to the smoothest. My son actually looks forward to it, and is making a lot of strides after struggling for years. Going with a system like barton has taken all the stress and worry and work out of teaching my son to read.

I am one of those people who gets stressed out by lesson plans. What works for me instead is a schedule, with a certain amount of time allotted to each subject. The curriculum I use are pretty open and go. So at 9 a.m. I literally set a timer and we do Barton reading for 45 minutes. Then I set the timer again and we do math for 60 minutes. This is what works for me. So I guess in a way I do use lesson plans, but lesson plans that someone else wrote :) But it really does not work for me to plan out "i have to get through x, y and z today." I just completely self-destruct once I go down that road!

Yes that's the site. I find their website kind of confusing. I think that's the website where you'd log in if you had a paid subscription. But if you click on the Spanish tab I think you can get to the free version. There is also this link which brings you straight to the free version: (click on the green banner.) http://www.spanishprograms.com/ ETA: or it looks like this link will bring you to the free lessons which a slightly better interface than the link above: http://www.learnalanguage.com/learn-spanish/spanish-courses/

TPR is a strategy for teaching foreign languages that stands for Total Physical Response. You start out with a few phrases at a time, and make your intention known by modeling or gesturing with no English. The student then responds physically, not by speaking. So a typical first lesson would be "Pedro, levántate" (signal for him to stand up." Then "Pedro, siéntate." (signal for him to sit down.) Etc. It can work really well building up understanding pretty quickly. TPRS is a specific company that sells materials--the S stands for storytelling and they incorporate stories with their materials. TPR is very common in ESL classes, or immersion type programs. GSWS is Getting Started with Spanish. It is too un-engaging for my taste, and had too much grammar for my young kids. But you can find a preview online and see if it appeals to you. I also was stuck in the beginner Spanish frustration for a long time. It seems all books for younger kids focus on colors, numbers, animals, etc. and eventually you're like "OK, THEY KNOW THE COLORS! THE KNOW HOW TO SAY 'ME LLAMO_____"!! Then there's this gap and the next level are textbooks that start with verb conjugations. But lately I'm having more luck finding this middle ground of elementary curriculum that really focuses on listening and speaking 'real' Spanish, not just vocab. (Programs like Calico, Sube, BJU...There's also a series of textbooks published by McGrawHill that look good and you can get used on amazon.) Personally I think if you have the background in Spanish those complete programs are the way to go. They include songs, conversations, TPR, worksheets, etc all with easy to follow lesson plans. The downside is that they cost $$$. But you also can't go wrong doing Visual Link and then just using what they know around the house. It really focuses on useful spanish, so pretty quickly the kids learn "quiero", "necesito", "tengo que"....it really makes it easy for them to form phrases, and if you already speak it you can prompt them to talk in Spanish more as their skills grow. For instance today my son asked for a napkin, and I prompted him "en español?" and he said "necesito una servilleta". He wasn't doing that before VL...he would have just uttered a word or two....it really has him speaking in complete sentences now! Sorry if this post is scatterbrained....but I'm pretty scatterbrained at the moment :)

I second Visual Link. It is having amazing results with my two kids. As far as written programs, there are a few options that look fantastic, but are pricey. I just bought a used copy of BJU Pasaporte al Español and I am really excited to use it. It has all the material you need, a 15 minutes scripted lesson that includes memorizing verse, songs, TPR activities, and a workbook. Basically everything I was looking for in a program!! But it would not be worth it if you were trying to do it secularly, because you'd have to skip or replace all of the verse and songs which would be a pain. I have also downloaded the sample for Calico Spanish and that also looks equally amazing. The reason why I went with BJU is that it is almost impossible to find used copies of Calico,whereas I was able to get BJU for $100. Other curricula you might want to check out: Sube Spanish, Risas y sonrisas, El Español Fácil, and Español para los chiquitos. Do you speak Spanish at all? If you do there is also a TPRS which a few levels of curriculum that look good and I have heard some teachers swear by them. I don't know how any of these would be for your oldest, as I think they are mainly geared towards elementary. But Visual Link would definitely work for all of the ages you have, if you could add a written element to it. I think what works for you will depend on if you have and Spanish background, or were at least comfortable reading it. If you don't than I think you'd need something with a audio component. I am not a fan of GSWS but I know it works for others. It might also be a good supplement for your oldest who would probably need more grammar instruction than the other two to make a foreign language make sense.

I don't agree with that list even though it's widely circulated. I think year 1 is first grade, year 2 is second, etc. My daughter just finished first grade in catholic school and no way was she doing any of the things in MEP year 2. I think you could start year 1 in kindergarten at a slow pace, but I don't think it would be a normal pace to finish the whole year in one year and then move on to year 2 at age six.

I would say I was already making accommodations for him without realizing it was dyslexia. I.e. i already knew reading and writing were painful for him, so I would scribe during math and read all directions to him, etc. I would never expect him to do worksheets on his own or do any programs that required reading and writing. The only thing that changed for me with his diagnosis was my attitude toward his struggles (becoming more understanding) and my education level after reading about it. The other big change was discarding other things we had tried with reading and spelling and biting the bullet and getting a program specifically for dyslexics, and making sure that I set it as the main priority in our lives right now. That has been huge.

I also plan on using it for 1-6.

Just wanted to mention that, FYI, AAS did not explain the rules well enough for my dyslexic son. I felt it kind of glossed over them and moved too quickly. I haven't used LOE, although it was on my short list when I was searching for something to remediate my son's reading. But looking at the Scope and Sequence of LOE, after having worked with Barton for a few months now, I can tell it would not have been as effective for my son. Barton builds up a very strong foundation. The things in LOE lesson 2 and 3 do not even get addressed until Barton level 5 or 6. I am on Level 4 right now and it has done so much for my son's confidence and dare I say, even enjoyment of reading. I think its important that these programs go slow and steady. Dyslexics need things taught in a very orderly way, and I have to say I have a hard time finding the order in the LOE scope and sequence which is ironic given the name and purpose of the program.

I believe this is how Dr. Nebel intends to book the work, and why he doesn't give a straightforward order of topics. It took me a long time to realize this. I spent a lot of hours trying to come up with an order of topics that made sense, but I always reached a frustration point. Eventually I realized I should just do one at a time--that's what made it work for me. One chapter at a time is not overwhelming, and like the previous poster said it allows you flexibility in where to go next. I read the chapter I'm going to do, and I outline and highlight in the book to make it open and go for me. This is the ONLY book I've every highlighted in. I feel I need colors and underlining in the text to bring an extra level of organization to it. I highlight the main points that need to come across in discussion, and what I'm supposed to say/do. I also go to the library and get books that have to do with the topic of the week.

I am asking for a Mexican friend of mine....she is looking for something she can use over the summer with her 6 year old to teach her how to read and write. I used Rod and Staff but that goes at a slow pace for an intensive summer course.

So glad to hear this since I am going to be using PL this year. SFC is the single worst curriculum I've ever come across as well, so 'opposite' is good :) Sorry OP I don't have any advice for you. We are having great luck with Visual Link, and this year I'm adding BJU Pasaporte to add a textbook component, but I havent used PL yet (other than glancing through it) so I can't say what is similar.

Personally, it doesn't sound like AAR is working if he is still having trouble with CVC words. I'd look for more serious remediation. FWIW, I never tried AAR but we did do AAS. It moved too quickly and was not incremental enough for my mildly dyslexic son. PP was the same way. Even though those programs teach phonics rules, and AAS/AAR is OG-based, they just aren't the same IMO as programs like Barton, Wilson, etc.

Is it this ? http://simplycharlottemason.com/store/the-way-of-the-will/ I've heard others criticize some CM websites/books for not being faithful to her original writings...would you all recommend any of her original books for this topic or do you think SCM does a good job in this respect?

Do you need the companion and the handbook? the DVD's? if you get it all it adds up quickly...

That is open on my other screen right now :) It is pricey to buy unless I know if its good or not, so thanks for the recommendation!

What books/websites/PDFs can I read to let me know what her ideas were about habit training and how to put them into effect? Thanks!