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A mama brag and a big THANK YOU

ondreeuh

By ondreeuh,
in K-8 Curriculum Board

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ondreeuh

ondreeuh

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I realized today that my son is reading at a third grade level. This is a HUGE accomplishment for him! To give you an idea of how big this is, let me take you back to where we were a year ago.

 

Prior to homeschooling I had taken my son to a Lindamood Bell tutoring clinic 5 days a week for 5 months. At the end of 5 months, they advised me that his progress was so slow as to basically not be worth the money I was spending. I have the printout from the clinic from last Feb. that shows in the 5 months of tutoring he had barely made any improvement - and then only in sight words, not in phonics. Most disturbing is the last paragraph of the report:

 

"As stated previously, we recommend that Corbin's difficulties with speech, attention, anxiety, and frustration be reevaluated. He often stated in his daily sessions that no one likes him, he hates school, he hates [Clinic] and his instructor, and even said he wishes he could die. Naturally, these comments were of great concern to us. Many of our students struggle with self-esteem issues. Corbin's daily mantra was of greater intensity than we normally see here. His learning is definitely negatively impacted by his other struggles. In order to maximize his learning potential, we believe he will need to have these other areas addressed. Corbin is a smart little guy with a sweet heart. At this point, he is not able to demonstrate his true academic abilities."

 

I promptly took him out of tutoring and out of public school (the tutoring was replacing his reading instruction at school after THEY couldn't make progress either). We went back to the beginning of phonics, and have just worked from there. He still gets frustrated, but nothing like they are describing. We keep it low-pressure and fun, and he LOVES learning and LOVES being homeschooled.

 

I attribute his success to this forum - I have benefited so much from your wisdom and see which programs work for other kids. This is where I learned about AAS, which unlocked his phonemic awareness and got us off to the right start. I never could have taught him to read without the support found here. :grouphug:

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ondreeuh

ondreeuh

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That's wonderful. See, only you, the untrained parent, can really do the best job. ;)

 

Ain't that the truth! I just re-read Overcoming Dyslexia yesterday and was struck by the very patronizing tone. "You are just the parent. Leave teaching reading to the professionals." Yeah, THAT worked out well. :lol:

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Jen+4dc

Jen+4dc

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I realized today that my son is reading at a third grade level. This is a HUGE accomplishment for him! To give you an idea of how big this is, let me take you back to where we were a year ago.

 

I promptly took him out of tutoring and out of public school (the tutoring was replacing his reading instruction at school after THEY couldn't make progress either). We went back to the beginning of phonics, and have just worked from there. He still gets frustrated, but nothing like they are describing. We keep it low-pressure and fun, and he LOVES learning and LOVES being homeschooled.

 

I attribute his success to this forum - I have benefited so much from your wisdom and see which programs work for other kids. This is where I learned about AAS, which unlocked his phonemic awareness and got us off to the right start. I never could have taught him to read without the support found here. :grouphug:

 

:party:

 

Way to go, Mom. Isn't it such a great feeling!! :thumbup1:

After struggling and struggling and struggling with reading for over a year my son finally told dh the other day, "Dad, reading is easy." It brought tears to my eyes, literally. Homeschooling is the best!

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nukeswife

nukeswife

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What a great success story, and it gives me hope. My dd has never been to PS, but she struggles with reading. She turned 8 in Nov and is probably at a mid - late first grade reading level. Hearing your story gives me renewed hope that she will eventually get it, we just need to take it at her pace.

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siloam

siloam

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Yea!!!

 

I attribute your success to the fact that you care enough to follow through. ((Hugs))

 

I would also encourage you to print this thread off, and store it in a safe place, for those days when everything goes wrong and you feel like you are spinning your wheels. It is good to remember where you came from, and how where you were wasn't working at all. That gives you the courage to pick it back up and keep going, even through you aren't exactly going at the speed you thought you would (forward, instead of two steps forward and one step back).

 

Heather

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kalanamak

kalanamak

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Ain't that the truth! I just re-read Overcoming Dyslexia yesterday and was struck by the very patronizing tone. "You are just the parent. Leave teaching reading to the professionals." Yeah, THAT worked out well.

 

I remember reading that line! I put the book down.

 

I'm happy you found guidance here, but don't forget to pat yourself for the mental elbow grease you applied.

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ondreeuh

ondreeuh

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Well yes, I had to do the teaching, but honestly I would have had no idea what to do or what kind of attitude to have if I hadn't benefited from everyone's experiences here. I knew he was "reading challenged" for 2 years before I began homeschooling and I stuck with the approach that had worked with my daughter (Bob Books) but didn't know what else to do when that wasn't working. Without the homeschooling community (and this is the forum I find most helpful) I would still be wandering blind.

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RanchGirl

RanchGirl

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What a great story, thanks for sharing and congrats to you and Corbin on making such great progress!!

 

I am really impressed with that note from the tutor, their concern and honesty was impressive. But I am even more impressed that you took immediate action and pulled him from ps. There are many parents who wouldn't have the foresight/courage/concern/whatever to do the best thing for their children and would just continue to trust the public school "experts". You should be so proud of both yourself and your son!!

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Capt_Uhura

Capt_Uhura

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Yes, I am very, very impressed you had the fortitude to take him out of PS and do it yourself. You go girl! You have just changed your son's life forever. Congratulations! And congratulate him for his hard work. My friend's DD had issues with reading. She tried several things. But all of a sudden, about age 8-9, her reading just took off and she was soon reading Harry Potter. Sometimes i think there is just a development switch that takes longer in some than others......along with a nice healthy dose of phonemic awareness skills and phonics.

 

You did it! :party:

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Brindee

Brindee

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What a great story, thanks for sharing and congrats to you and Corbin on making such great progress!!

 

I am really impressed with that note from the tutor, their concern and honesty was impressive. But I am even more impressed that you took immediate action and pulled him from ps. There are many parents who wouldn't have the foresight/courage/concern/whatever to do the best thing for their children and would just continue to trust the public school "experts". You should be so proud of both yourself and your son!!

:iagree: This is almost word for word what I was going to say! I'm impressed they admitted it wasn't working out, but realized that your son was a bright boy! Plus that you took action, got him out, searched out answers and applied what you felt was best for your son! CONGRATS to both of you! :001_smile:
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