Speech & Language & Comprehension for Kindergarten

[blessedmom3]

Which books or programs have you successfully used with a child who has a very mild language delay and comprehension issues ?

 

My son will be 5 in two months , his language is like a 48 month old (4 yrs) . He is not able to narrate anything from a simple book and doesn't seem to understand stories...I think I will homeschool him though I am not sure is best for him .

What curriculum or books should I use ? We started Adventures in phonics and MCP math but I am not sure it's best for him .

He can count to 50 , can do one digit addition and started to read short vowel 3 words .

He is smart , yet he cannot understand simple books . He was tested for autism and they said he was not in the spectrum .

 

I guess I am looking mostly for books to help with comprehension and any other suggestions that would help me homeschool him.

I have looked at Lindamood-Bell but it is too expensive .

Edited August 15, 2009 by blessedmom3

[Mom0012]

Are you aware that you can buy the LMB books and do the program at home? Also, there is another program called IdeaChain that is supposed to be very similar to LMB's Visualizing and Verbalizing program, but it is much more parent-friendly because it is fully scripted.

 

If the reading program you selected doesn't work out, you might want to look into a program called Funnix. It's a direct instruction program and it worked very well for my son who has a language disorder.

 

Lisa

[gingersmom]

I would look at Explode the Code and Beyond the code.

 

I would read to him and discuss what each paragraph is about, then each page.

 

I really also like Plaid Phonics (from Modern Curriculum Press).

[Ottakee]

If he is just starting to read, the I See Sam books from http://www.3rsplus.com might be very good for his reading as well as using them for comprehension, etc. They start out very simple and build up.

 

You mention Kindergarten for him. I would urge you to consider holding off on calling him Kindergarten this year. He is VERY young for K, a boy ,and has a slight delay. He might do much better if you call this year PreK or Young 5s and give him an extra year.

 

You can still TEACH him at what ever level he is ready for but this will give him a bit more time to mature if he ever does go back to public school, joins any scouts, sports, church activities, etc. Generally it is much easier for a boy to be on the old side of a grade than the very youngest.

 

In our area, most boys are at least 5 1/2 when they start K and quite a few turn 6 the summer before starting K. That would mean that if he ever went to public school, he might be a year or more younger than some of the boys.

 

Again, teach him at what ever level he is ready for but maybe consider calling him PreK or Young 5s---this would help as well if you move to a state that requires testing, etc. for homeschoolers.

 

Which books or programs have you successfully used with a child who has a very mild language delay and comprehension issues ?

 

My son will be 5 in two months , his language is like a 48 month old (4 yrs) . .

[blessedmom3]

OTTAKEE,

You are right , I shouldn't call him Kindergartner , but to be honest it's kind of hard for me . He has an older bro who is only one year older than him and he is already reading at 3-4 levels ahead his age and doing math 1 yr ahead also. I think my younger senses that and he feels even more inferior to his bro ...that's why I want to work hard with him so that he would be at least at his age grade ... this sounds maybe selfish but I believe in my boy and I know he can do more that he seems like .

[Mandamom]

How about pictures and experiences in your day to day life? Can you get some good photos and have him discuss them --- eventually you could even have him create stories from them. But for now, just looking at them and describing them could help improve the language delay.

[Ottakee]

But even calling him PreK or Young 5s he WOULD be working at his age/grade level. Your area might be different but there are very very few, if any, boys that start K at 4 and then turn 5 1-2 months into the school year. They all go to Young 5s or PreK and then start K when they are closer to 6.

 

I hope I didn't offend you and I do encourage you to work with him at his own level. I was saying that more for maturity and physical reasons. If later he joins any sports, much better for him to be one of the older kids on the team than the youngest and smallest. Also, if some of the girls in his class are starting school near 6, they are more than a full year old and when they reach middle school girls tend to be 1-2 years ahead of the boys physically and maturity wise. That might leave him being "3" years behind some of the kids in his church group, sports, school if he ever goes, etc.

 

I guess this is just a big soap box for me as I have seen this happen so much. My SIL is a teacher as well and she said she can always pick out the young boys in each class---even if they are smart enough, they lack the maturity, etc.

 

 

OTTAKEE,

You are right , I shouldn't call him Kindergartner , but to be honest it's kind of hard for me . He has an older bro who is only one year older than him and he is already reading at 3-4 levels ahead his age and doing math 1 yr ahead also. I think my younger senses that and he feels even more inferior to his bro ...that's why I want to work hard with him so that he would be at least at his age grade ... this sounds maybe selfish but I believe in my boy and I know he can do more that he seems like .

[Dobela]

OTTAKEE,

You are right , I shouldn't call him Kindergartner , but to be honest it's kind of hard for me . He has an older bro who is only one year older than him and he is already reading at 3-4 levels ahead his age and doing math 1 yr ahead also. I think my younger senses that and he feels even more inferior to his bro ...that's why I want to work hard with him so that he would be at least at his age grade ... this sounds maybe selfish but I believe in my boy and I know he can do more that he seems like .

In my state the child has to be 5 before Sept 1 to be eligible for Kindergarten. My son was a young 5 for K and we homeschooled. He is still delayed in some areas but with peer activities he is with the grade that corresponds with his age (he is larger than most kids his age as well so that makes a difference). He will tell you he is going into 4th grade but we do course work at his appropriate level-which happens to be anywhere from 2nd to 3rd. On the state required paperwork I have my son listed at 3rd grade and held him back a grade on paper (a couple of years ago) so the official paperwork would more accurately reflect his actual working level. So, you can call his grade whatever you want, just remember to only work at his current level (which I think you will).

 

Remedia publications, and other publishers, have books on comprehension for very young readers. At the K-1 level, the child begins by reading short paragraphs only. Then they answer a series of questions about that paragraph only. You can probably find some at your nearest teacher supply store fairly inexpensively. There are probably lots of free worksheets online with this same task if you google for them. Some of the free teacher websites have an unbelievable number of worksheets for this type activity. He may also need work with sequencing - putting pictures in order or sentences in order from paragraphs and stories - focusing on words like first, next, last, before, and so on. Those transitional words are very important for reading and difficult for many normally developing children of his age. When I was teaching this age we spent a lot of time after reading the story doing visual hands on activities about the story to add to comprehension.

[Year Round Mom]

My son and I have had success with a little book by a Betty Lou Kratoville, called Listen, My Children, and You Shall Hear.

 

The first section is made up of stories, written in three ways, or levels. The first story says "A little boy went for a walk. He saw a mud puddle. He jumped into it. Then he went home and took a bath."

 

Your child would recall as many details as possible. The author provides a place for you to record whether your child's recall was "good", "fair", or "poor".

 

The next level for the same story includes details, like the fact that the boy jumped "up and down, up and down, up and down".

 

The same happens for the third level.

 

I've seen that as I've done three stories with my son daily, he's gotten very good at listening for details, which is my goal for his K year!

 

I haven't done much with the second section of the book, which gives exercises to help the child learn how to listen.

 

HTH!