OK, I'm nervously putting my ideas up for feedback, please be honest but nice!

[IsabelC]

My son will be 6.5 years old when we start our next year of schooling, so that puts him 'officially' in grade 1.

 

He has a provisional diagnosis of Aspergers: this was done a couple of years ago, he should have had follow up evaluations, but we chose not to put him through this as it's really just designed to help schools deal with kids, so it didn't seem relevant once we'd decided not to send him to school. His only major disability is in the area of socializing and interacting with others. He has some difficulties with sitting still and maintaining concentration, but I don't think it's ADHD, because he can easily focus on his special interests for several hours when he wants to. He is a perfectionist with low confidence, ie he tends to give up easily if he can't do something straight away. (Eg he used to often have a meltdown and scrunch up his paper if he tried to draw something and it didn't look right, although he has got a lot better now.)

 

He has minor learning difficulties in some areas, however these are due to personality issues. His IQ is normal to high (when he was tested they couldn't get a valid result because he refused to co-operate with the psychologist). As far as where he is at currently, his reading is a bit below average as far as I can tell, although he is progressing very fast so I hope to have him 'caught up' soon. His writing is very behind, we are working on it but he can only do capital letters so far. Until this year he would not use a proper pencil grip, instead doing the baby 'fist' grip; now that he picks the pencil up correctly, he is getting somewhere. Math he seems to have some natural ability, and has memorized quite a few concepts and facts although we haven't done it formally so he doesn't know anything like times tables. Sciences I think he is ahead on. His favorite special interest is electronics, and he has started doing high school level pracs on this.

 

We started this year using mainly an unschooling approach and very little formal learning. Next year we are planning to move more towards the TWTM approach, so we've started him on a few short daily lessons. In the next couple of months we need to decide on his program for the next year (we get an annual visitation from our state home ed regulatory authority so they can recommend whether our proposed program gets approved).

 

So, here's what I've got so far:

 

Daily Core Academics

1.Reading lesson

This is our biggest priority: G is now keen to read, he has benefited enormously from daily practice so far and gaining reading fluency will help him with all other areas of knowledge acquisition. We will continue to work our way through The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading along with the Fitzroy Readers series and the Magic 100 Words flashcards. As G progresses, this will be supplemented with children’s books at his reading level.

2.Handwriting practice

G will continue to work with the Handwriting Without Tears program until he can remember how to form each letter and number correctly and reasonably accurately. We will gradually transition him through copying sentences to eventually writing his own sentences out. On days when we have had an excursion or done a science experiment, we will help him to write these up. On the other days we will ask him to write narratives, for example on the history or literature we have done.

3.Numeracy skills

We plan to alternate between practicing applied arithmetic (eg counting money) and working on number facts. Since G enjoys working with numbers on a practical level, we will do as much as possible using methods other than worksheets and drill, to begin with.

4.Listening to books read aloud

We intend to keep going with our program of reading history and literature to G. We will be loosely following the suggestions in The Well Trained Mind – a Guide to Classical Education at Home; so much of our reading will be focused on ancient history and mythology, with the rest being books relating to the current season or to G’s current interests. Practical activities to complement our reading will be done as and when G is interested and time permits.

 

Daily Extras

1. Music

Music appreciation will consist of listening to selected musical works during our evening family time.

G will also learn music with short daily practice of his chosen instrument

2. Virtues Study

We will continue to work through the Family Virtues Guide during morning family time. As well as general character building, this will assist G to learn more appropriate behavior during social activities.

3. Physical Exercise

We will ensure that he is allowed plenty of time for physical play outside on a daily basis.

 

Weekly Extras (1 or 2 per day, rotating)

1.Educational excursions to tie in with other subjects

2.Science concepts and/or experiments

3.Nature walk and journalling

4.Organized physical education (currently gymnastics class, but this may change)

5.Gardening activities

6.Cooking or other home skills

7.Art and craft projects

8.Social interaction in a group setting (with other home edders)

 

As you can see, I want to keep up a pretty intensive focus on the reading and writing, because it will be so much easier for him to learn other things once those are under control. Now, I have a few questions for you wise women (and a few wise men!) please:

 

How far along with reading does a child need to be before it's worth introducing spelling and/or grammar? I can't see any difference between phonics and spelling at the stage we're at. Grammar, he learns the real basic stuff incidentally (eg parts of speech, what a sentence is), when do you start it seriously?

 

I'm very cautious about introducing formal math, basically because he loves working with numbers and I don't want him to find out that math is hard and boring! But I would like to try something a little bit systematic as you can only get so far with games like prime number marshmallows. Can anyone recommend good quality free or cheap 'math-lite' resources that we could use to plug any gaps in his informal learning?

 

I haven't fitted in art appreciation, as we tend to do this in fits and starts for several hours one week and then not for the next few weeks. Should we make the effort to fit it in regularly?

 

Is there a book or website somewhere that covers 'narratives for dummies'? I read the other thread about how to get kids doing good narratives, but my son won't do them at all. I can read him two sentences, ask him what I've just read, and he will say "I don't know". He does know, he just hates the idea of repeating things back to me. Any more tips on how to get him started with this?

 

We have been umming and ahing over whether to start him on formal music lessons. He is keen to do an instrument. I'm thinking of Suzuki violin because it de-emphasizes the music reading and it seems taxing to start another form of reading when he's still getting started on ordinary reading. WDYT?

 

Finally, I'm hoping that he'll get used to more demands being placed on him as we progress. So when it's time to beef up the curriculum a bit, what would you see as the priorities?

 

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks in advance for any comments or input!

Edited October 13, 2009 by Hotdrink

[lulubelle]

I'm not sure if I know enough to be of any help. You may want to post this on the learning disabilities board also. As for narration, I would just focus on having him answer basic questions first. Instead of directly asking him to narrate after you read something, try having him tell someone else later in the day what happen in a fun story you read (maybe his Dad). Try a back door approach. As for math, I would pick a curriculum and give him a try - he may surprise you and really like it. If he likes numbers, he may really like math. Is he doing more than HWT for his writing skills? Like cutting, dot to dots, mazes, coloring, etc.? I would have him do all these and more everyday to help improve his writing skills. And, as I know nothing about violin, my first thought on that is do piano, because it seems more basic and easier to pick up whether he has reading down or not. If he is good with numbers, he most likely will be good at piano. Piano is very systematic. My ds7 takes a group class that his Dad does with him and it is really great. I'm not sure if I addressed all your questions? Doing more art appreciation one week and not so much the other sounds good to me. I hope this may be helpful. Take care and good luck!

[Caribbean Queen]

The Well Trained Mind says start working on spelling when your child is at least halfway through OPGTR. Since your son is still working on handwriting, you may want to hold off on Spelling for a while.

 

WTM recommends starting grammar in first grade. I have First Language Lessons, and it is gentle and age appropriate. If I was going to teach grammar to a young child, I would use it, but I am not convinced that a grammar program is necessary for small children. I am planning on starting a grammar program when my son is around 8-10 years old.

 

We have used and enjoyed Singapore Math's text books, Songs That Teach Addition music CD, and a book called Family Math that has math game ideas in it. We like to play games with dice. We like Uno and dominoes.

 

Inconsistant art appreciation? Well at least you do it sometimes. That's good enough. Caribbean Queen says so.

 

A few times my son didn't want to narrate and I just sat there and stared at him for a while and he finally said something. It went like this:

 

"What happened in that story, Supersmarty?"

.........silence.....clock ticking....crickets chirping.....

"You had better come up with something."

................

"Was it about Bunnies eating marshmellows?"

Then my son laughed and finally coughed up a resonse. It was nothing to write home to mom about, but it was something and it taught him that he better come up with something to say.

[IsabelC]

Thank you both for the comments :)

Btw I should have probably mentioned that we homeschool every day. Well we occasionally have slack days due to sickness or unexpected things happening, but we don't have holidays or weekends off. So if our schedule looks very light on it's partly because we're doing about 350 days a year rather then the 180 or so that schools do.

 

Instead of directly asking him to narrate after you read something, try having him tell someone else later in the day what happen in a fun story you read (maybe his Dad). Try a back door approach.

Hmmm, I have tried that, and he just said something like "It's a secret, I'm not going to tell Daddy". But I'll keep trying, maybe it's a matter of picking something he's so keen on that he actually wants to share.

 

As for math, I would pick a curriculum and give him a try - he may surprise you and really like it. If he likes numbers, he may really like math.

You might be right. I guess I haven't really looked into them enough yet. I got totally put off by Mathemagic Computer Tutor (I didn't buy this, my MIL got it, and it was terrible).

 

Is he doing more than HWT for his writing skills? Like cutting, dot to dots, mazes, coloring, etc.? I would have him do all these and more everyday to help improve his writing skills.

Yes, he does do these things (although not regularly or every day). It just didn't occur to me to list them as 'schooly' activities.

 

And, as I know nothing about violin, my first thought on that is do piano, because it seems more basic and easier to pick up whether he has reading down or not. If he is good with numbers, he most likely will be good at piano. Piano is very systematic. My ds7 takes a group class that his Dad does with him and it is really great.

I don't want to do piano because first, we don't have a piano (it's on our list, but we won't be able to afford it for a while), and second, I used to be a piano teacher, and I would be more comfortable with him learning something I'm not good at so that I can leave it to the music teacher, if that makes sense. Oh and he wants to do violin.

 

The Well Trained Mind says start working on spelling when your child is at least halfway through OPGTR. Since your son is still working on handwriting, you may want to hold off on Spelling for a while. WTM recommends starting grammar in first grade. I have First Language Lessons, and it is gentle and age appropriate. If I was going to teach grammar to a young child, I would use it, but I am not convinced that a grammar program is necessary for small children. I am planning on starting a grammar program when my son is around 8-10 years old.

I might put grammar on the list as a possibility for the second half of the year. I'm a bit undecided about the merits of formal spelling and grammar, because in my experience a lot of people either naturally get it and don't need the lessons, or naturally have difficulty and so find the lessons frustrating and difficult.

 

Inconsistant art appreciation? Well at least you do it sometimes. That's good enough. Caribbean Queen says so.

Thank heavens for that [bows to superior knowlege of Caribbean Queen]:lol: D'ya know, until I read the article hear about scheduling, I actually thought that most TWTM fans did all the suggested subjects religiously.

 

A few times my son didn't want to narrate and I just sat there and stared at him for a while and he finally said something. It went like this:

 

"What happened in that story, Supersmarty?"

.........silence.....clock ticking....crickets chirping.....

"You had better come up with something."

................

"Was it about Bunnies eating marshmellows?"

Then my son laughed and finally coughed up a response. It was nothing to write home to mom about, but it was something and it taught him that he better come up with something to say.

Yeah, I probably do just need to persevere. He probably thinks that if he resists I will give up on the idea. He was very resistant when I first told him he would be learning to read, and now he's fine and even enjoys the reading most days. So it's very possible that this narration resistance is just him trying to establish whether I'm actually going to stick with it or not. Little does he know what he's in for [evil maniacal laugh] Edited October 13, 2009 by Hotdrink

[mom2boys030507]

My son is 6.5 and had a provisional diagnosis of Aspergers and we as well never followed up on it.

 

Things that have worked for us. A Schedule. My son loves it when I write out what he will be expected to do before Daddy comes home from work. He understands that not everything has to be done in one sitting and each new item is introduced before it is added to his list. My son is reading so that is helpful for the list.

 

Before he was reading my biggest help was doing school at the same time in the same order - or giving him a choice about what todo first - only two choices at a time.

 

As far as narrating, my son also struggled with this until I figured out that he didn't like telling me the story because he knew I knew it - I had just read it. So now we pretend that he is telling Daddy or practice what he will tell Daddy afterwork. This little trick turned my son in to a kid who could narrate decently.

 

I think your schedule looks good and with your focus on your sons needs he will thrive.

[melmichigan]

:iagree: with the schedule.

 

A few thoughts from raising my own DD9 who is an aspie, and my now DD6 who is highly suspected of being an aspie. :) Many asperger's children also have some associated ADD, it is usually internalized. That is why you will see it most in certain areas and not others. Many asperger's children also have dysgraphia and problems with creative writing. They also struggle with pragmatics and have difficulty with infered meaning in fiction. All of these could be in play in your son's situation. :grouphug:

 

So, with that in mind. A disco seat, an exercise ball, a wedge with bumps on it, can't think of the name... All are great tools to give your son it allow him to do something other than just sit still, and allow him to concentrate better. Seems like it would be counter productive doesn't it. :D My DD's both color when I read aloud. They remember more, seriously. Right now I use the coloring pages that come from the SOTW AG, even with my DD9 so she has something to do. Also realize that they might need outside stimulation as they get older to occupy part of their mind. My DD9 does high math listening to music.

 

Dysgraphia, read all about it. There are many types. My DD9 has difficulty with handwriting, it's worse than my non-affected DD6 (a twin). HWT is wonderful, as are some of the other suggestions you have gotten. Be very patient. Some also find cursive easier.

 

As for narration. Two things. Part of dysgraphia and some of the problems with AS affect the ability to then put your thought in line and put them on paper or repeat them back to someone. Putting on paper at this point probably isn't important. Work strickly on putting the thought together, with answering very simple questions first. Then in time that will grow. You might even use something non-fiction that he enjoys first. Fiction is a real hang up with aspies, especially as they get older and are asked to comprehend meaning. Another option would be drawing a picture instead of narrating, or some combination of those. My DD9 just made it to grade appropriate in writing the beginning of this year, and I think a big part of why then is that she now keyboards her creative writing. My DD6 is a good year behind in writing. It will come, but so many things have to come together first.

 

Your son would be in the same "grade" as my DD6 (Suspected AS.) We use Singapore Math, a good math program. Also as you mentioned any computer interactive programs that allow him to answer without writing, or anything you can scribe for him. We just started grammar this year as well as spelling. We do spelling on a white board writing "very big" one day and "smaller" the next without as much focus on the letter formation; or in shaving cream on a cookie sheet, pudding works well since they can eat it too. :) My DD6, rarely writes lower case letters, outside of HWT, and that's o.k. for now. We are still working on correct upper case.;)

 

Run with the science. Most AS children do very well in math and science. They are black and white subjects, with very little gray area. Which they prefer. It also gives them something that they do well with to help ofset some of the things they struggle with.

 

Sounds like you are doing a great job of seeing your son's needs! And the above is only my experience and my two cents worth. :lol: (We need the two cents smilie)

[cbollin]

being honest and nice...

 

My youngest has autism (PDD NOS not aspie)

 

I want to let you know some resources out there:

http://www.headsupnow.com

great resource for homeschooling with kids with autism, adhd, sensory issues, etc.

 

and also I want to encourage you to help teach social/life skills to your child as part of their life long education. A dx of aspie isn't just and only for school time. It is important to know about this stuff so that you can parent, and teach. And more important to point you in the right direction when looking for resources that fit your child's needs.

 

Aspie kids need direct instruction on how to interact with people. Lots of great books out there these days for that. Check Future Horizons's website for some. One popular one is The Social Skills Picture Book, by Jed Baker. This will help with the direct instruction needed to learn how to read social and body language cues. That's equally as important to teach as how to read letters and words.

 

It's not easy to teach that stuff. One example could be from "it's a secret. I'm not telling daddy" --- that's an opportunity to teach your child that perhaps daddy would enjoy knowing what you have done today and it is polite to tell him. Then you can use leading questions to help with narration. This way you are working on "school lessons", and "language therapy" and "social skills" lessons all at the same time.

 

just want to encourage you to look for those kinds of connections with things he needs and ways to use his strengths to build up areas of less strength.

 

-crystal

[melmichigan]

One popular one is The Social Skills Picture Book, by Jed Baker. This will help with the direct instruction needed to learn how to read social and body language cues. That's equally as important to teach as how to read letters and words.

 

 

just want to encourage you to look for those kinds of connections with things he needs and ways to use his strengths to build up areas of less strength.

 

-crystal

 

:iagree: We also use The Social Skills Picture Book, there is also a newer one for middle school and high school age. My oldest DD9 is actually gettin speech and language therapy to work with pragmatics, social skill.

[Rhonda in TX]

I didn't homeschool the early years, so I'm not much help there. I do have a few comments/suggestions, though.

 

You mention that you plan on having him write some history/literature narrations. Do you mean have him physically write them himself? I honestly think that's too much at that age. The process of getting things from his brain through his fingers is difficult for many kids that age, and especially difficult for Aspies. Even TWTM doesn't expect written narrations at that age, I don't believe.

 

I followed this excellent article to get started with oral narrations. One thing I did was have DS narrate to me, and I would type it up as he narrated. He really enjoyed that. I then printed it off and he drew a picture to go with it. It worked really well. (article is written for a Charlotte Mason approach, but works very well for the TWTM approach as well)

 

As far as ADHD goes, it is very usual for kids suffering from ADHD to be able to concentrate on their specific interests for long periods of time. Frustrating, but there it is!

 

You are doing the right thing by homeschooling your Aspie. I wish we had homeschooled from the beginning.

[IsabelC]

Things that have worked for us. A Schedule. My son loves it when I write out what he will be expected to do before Daddy comes home from work. He understands that not everything has to be done in one sitting and each new item is introduced before it is added to his list. My son is reading so that is helpful for the list.

I asked him what he thought about having a schedule and he liked the idea, so we're going to develop that. He already has a morning time schedule (using words and pictures) of what he needs to do before breakfast, so it's only a matter of extending it.

 

As far as narrating, my son also struggled with this until I figured out that he didn't like telling me the story because he knew I knew it - I had just read it. So now we pretend that he is telling Daddy or practice what he will tell Daddy afterwork. This little trick turned my son in to a kid who could narrate decently.

That sounds worth a shot.

 

 

Many asperger's children also have some associated ADD, it is usually internalized. That is why you will see it most in certain areas and not others. Many asperger's children also have dysgraphia and problems with creative writing. They also struggle with pragmatics and have difficulty with infered meaning in fiction.

Hm, I think I need to read a bit more about these associated problems.

 

So, with that in mind. A disco seat, an exercise ball, a wedge with bumps on it, can't think of the name... All are great tools to give your son it allow him to do something other than just sit still, and allow him to concentrate better. Seems like it would be counter productive doesn't it.

Anything would be worth trying I reckon. His utter lack of ability to just SIT STILL for even a moment drives me batty! He constantly wriggles, jiggles, flaps and jerks various parts of his body around, I feel like tying him up sometimes!

 

As for narration. Two things. Part of dysgraphia and some of the problems with AS affect the ability to then put your thought in line and put them on paper or repeat them back to someone. Putting on paper at this point probably isn't important. Work strickly on putting the thought together, with answering very simple questions first. Then in time that will grow.

So maybe I need to separate handwriting from narrating and keep them separate for the time being? I was thinking that combining them would save time, but maybe it's too intensive to be making him do two things he finds difficult at the same time?

 

Aspie kids need direct instruction on how to interact with people. Lots of great books out there these days for that. Check Future Horizons's website for some. One popular one is The Social Skills Picture Book, by Jed Baker. This will help with the direct instruction needed to learn how to read social and body language cues. That's equally as important to teach as how to read letters and words.

I agree Crystal, social skills are crucial. I have been a bit stymied on how to go about teaching them though. I was keen to do it by role play, but he just won't co-operate. It always ended in him not talking and his sister (2 years younger but socially ahead of him) butting in with her responses.

:iagree: We also use The Social Skills Picture Book

I might check out this book.

 

You mention that you plan on having him write some history/literature narrations. Do you mean have him physically write them himself? I honestly think that's too much at that age. The process of getting things from his brain through his fingers is difficult for many kids that age, and especially difficult for Aspies. Even TWTM doesn't expect written narrations at that age, I don't believe.

I was thinking to start out with him dictating a few sentences and me writing it for him to illustrate, then move on to me writing it out and having him copy. But based on the advice here, I'm rethinking this.

 

I followed this excellent article to get started with oral narrations. One thing I did was have DS narrate to me, and I would type it up as he narrated. He really enjoyed that. I then printed it off and he drew a picture to go with it. It worked really well. (article is written for a Charlotte Mason approach, but works very well for the TWTM approach as well)

Thanks for reminding me of this article - I read it some time ago but didn't go back to it because I liked TWTM slightly better than CM.

 

As far as ADHD goes, it is very usual for kids suffering from ADHD to be able to concentrate on their specific interests for long periods of time. Frustrating, but there it is!

OK, I didn't realise that. Maybe he is ADHD then...

 

You are doing the right thing by homeschooling your Aspie. I wish we had homeschooled from the beginning.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Some people have told us that kids with social difficulties need more time at daycare and school to force them to socialize. Apparently if we don't send him off to be bulllied by his peers, frustrated by work he can't do and bored by work he should be extended in, we are causing him to have problems. Sigh.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for all the helpful comments. As a newish home educator I am finding this forum very supportive. :)

[IsabelC]

Oh and have found a math program I like :hurray:

We have ordered Mathspower on a free 3 week trial, so I'll see how he goes with it.

[StephanieZ]

I love suzuki, and violin is the classic suzuki instrument. There are other options as well depending on where you live. The music school where my dc take lessons has suzuki violin, viola, cello, guitar, piano or flute! So, if your child is attracted to one of those others, check out your local options.

 

Math: Check out Peggy Kaye's games books (Math Games, Games for Learning, etc.) You could plan to add one new game each week (and replay old favorites of course) and thereby have loads of fun and learn a lot of math (and other stuff, too). For your desire to be informal, they could be just the thing.

 

Art appreciation is fun. I found the easiest way to get it in was to pick an artist for 6-8 weeks, put up a "gallery" of 8x11ish size prints in a hallway. . . and do an activity or two or three over the couple months from various art books (I loved Art in Story and Discovering Great Artists) plus read a biography or other books (Mike Venezia has a great series of bios). You can start small. . . pick an artist -- find a handful of prints (online, cheap calendars, etc). . . check out the venezia biography from the library +/- any other related story books you can find. . . search the books I mentioned or online for artist inspired activities . . . and do one thing a week on that artist for a couple months (read a book, do a project, do a picture study). It's really painless and fun and you'll be amazed when your kid sees some picture hanging somewhere and says "hey, that looks like a picasso!)

 

I hold off on grammar till about 3rd grade, personally, after having found that doing it earlier is just a time suck and doesn't add much to my dc's education.

 

IME, spelling can be started around the time the child is reading 2nd grade level if you wish, depending on the program. Spelling Work Out can be started early, but I don't think it's really needed. Personally, I think that using Explode the Code as part of our phonics learning is the biggest spelling component for my dc. I use SWO as well, and my youngest started with A in Kinder, but my middle child started with D in 3rd grade and is a great speller, despite having no other formal spelling until then. . . So, it just depends on the program and the kid, but if you are trying to stick with minimal requirements to allow max flexibility, I'd let the spelling wait.

 

HTH.

[tdeveson]

I think you've got a wonderful plan -- very well thought out. You're going to do great.

 

I have two comments. One is grammar -- I'm not sure you need any grammar until he's in fourth or fifth grade. I know it's traditional to start in first grade, but my experience has been that you can teach the whole thing in 12 weeks in fourth or fifth grade and done.

 

My other comment is on handwriting. Some kids just don't get into manuscript writing at all. My son refused to write even in second grade. A good friend recommended HWOT and it changed everything. He now has a beautiful hand (although he prefers to type).

 

You're going to do a wonderful job. It's very obvious that you have planned this very carefully and thoughtfully. Your ds is lucky to have you.

[ElizabethB]

I just have one thing--don't teach those magic 100 words by sight.

 

They look similar to the Dolch words (the Dolch words were the most frequent 220 words in children's literature as of the early 1900's.)

 

Here's how and why to teach the Dolch words phonetically instead:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/sightwords.html

 

I've tutored so many children with problems from the Dolch words, please consider spend a few extra minutes up front to teach them phonetically, you could be avoiding years of remedial trouble.

 

If there are any on the list that seem irregular and aren't on the Dolch list, let me know, and I'll see if there is a good rule or pattern for you.

 

(The words eye, one, once, and a few crazy French words are the only words I can think of offhand that truly need to be taught by sight as wholes. And, I teach one and once both at the same time in a pattern of craziness.)

[The Governess]

I highly suggest getting yourself a copy of Writing With Ease by Susan Wise Bauer. It is a great resource for teaching writing starting with grade 1. By the end of grade one, the goals are for them to be able to copy a sentence neatly with proper punctuation and capitalization, and to be able to orally answer specific questions about a 2-3 paragraph-long passage that was read aloud. That's it! So I wouldn't worry about having him come up with his own sentences to write or that he can't come up with a general narration just yet. You can save that for second grade. :001_smile: If you get the book it will tell you exactly what to do for grades 1-4. It really is a great program!

 

I also second the recommendation for First Language Lessons. It's so easy and fast, my dd5 doesn't even know she is learning grammar. :D

[IsabelC]

Elizabeth, we don't actually learn the Magic Words as sight words, iykwim. We introduce them phonetically, or as close to as possible, and just practice reading them with the flashcards.

 

Eg instead of bringing out the as a sight word, I explained the th sound plus the rule of one syllable words ending in e taking the long vowel, and then added that the ee turns into a schwa in front of consonant words, unless we're saying 'thee' for emphasis.

 

Instead of introducing have as a sight word, I did the bit about silent e on the end lengthening the vowel sound, and explained that there are some exceptions due to English words generally not being 'allowed' to end in a v (except for the exceptions! eg molotov, which is Russian and not in his vocab yet.)

 

I checked out your (or Don's?) excellent hints and the list of Dolch words to remind myself about the different groups of words, and so far I have managed to explain every word that is suggested as a sight word in our two main reading programs. Luckily my kid actually likes to know the whys and wherefores! He is even interested in the history bits about vowels shifting, final e dropping off the 'ild' word family, etc. (Did you know that the word one was actually pronounced like own (or ane in some places)until at least the 14th century?) Weird French words, well we aren't up to many of those yet, but we did come across sorbet and I simply told him that it's French and the 'et' is pronounced like 'ay' in French words.

 

I know that a lot of people think it's too boring or difficult for beginning readers to learn lots of rules and exceptions, but my boy finds it reassuring to know the patterns. He would hate being told something like "you just have to remember this word for now, and we'll get to why it's spelt like that later on".

Edited October 14, 2009 by Hotdrink

[IsabelC]

And please stop already with the fantastic resource recommendations - I can't afford 'em all!:lol:

[ElizabethB]

Elizabeth, we don't actually learn the Magic Words as sight words, iykwim. We introduce them phonetically, or as close to as possible, and just practice reading them with the flashcards.

 

Eg instead of bringing out the as a sight word, I explained the th sound plus the rule of one syllable words ending in e taking the long vowel, and then added that the ee turns into a schwa in front of consonant words, unless we're saying 'thee' for emphasis.

 

Instead of introducing have as a sight word, I did the bit about silent e on the end lengthening the vowel sound, and explained that there are some exceptions due to English words generally not being 'allowed' to end in a v (except for the exceptions! eg molotov, which is Russian and not in his vocab yet.)

 

I checked out your (or Don's?) excellent hints and the list of Dolch words to remind myself about the different groups of words, and so far I have managed to explain every word that is suggested as a sight word in our two main reading programs. Luckily my kid actually likes to know the whys and wherefores! He is even interested in the history bits about vowels shifting, final e dropping off the 'ild' word family, etc. (Did you know that the word one was actually pronounced like own (or ane in some places)until at least the 14th century?) Weird French words, well we aren't up to many of those yet, but we did come across sorbet and I simply told him that it's French and the 'et' is pronounced like 'ay' in French words.

 

I know that a lot of people think it's too boring or difficult for beginning readers to learn lots of rules and exceptions, but my boy finds it reassuring to know the patterns. He would hate being told something like "you just have to remember this word for now, and we'll get to why it's spelt like that later on".

 

That's great!

 

My daughter generally likes explanations as well, but sometimes I get carried away, and she'll say, "Mom, please stop."

 

I didn't know that about one, thanks, that's really interesting!

[walkermamaof4]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Rightstart Math to you. I have a dd with Fragile X - some similarities. and i have a ds 6.5. He loves RS math and I have all of my kids do it with him as it is helping them all gain a better grasp of seeing math in their head and not just learning facts. I tried Miquon and it wasn't my cup of tea, but many love it. My kids all ask to play RS math games. Even if you don't use the curriculum, you can buy the games kit separately. Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. Asking for input is such a smart thing. Enjoy the road before you!