cajunrose Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I don't know why, but I've been down about homeschooling. I have a sneaking feeling that I'm not doing right by my DD (JUST turned 7). She's not reading well, her handwriting is terrible, her spelling is just as bad (she very much spells phonetically) and I KNOW she's 'behind' in math (although I know this is my fault b/c she picks up anything I introduce). She's in book 4 of ETC and doing quite well in it. She can sound out nearly every word she tries to read...but she is SO slow. It takes her about 15 minutes to read about 8 regular sentences. Because of this, her comprehension isn't all that great either. She WANTS to read chapter books in the worse way (all of her friends read them), but she's just not there. We are reading one together and it takes her so long to get through it. Tell me she'll catch up and that she'll be fine...that she won't hate reading forever and that it's a matter of time before she blossoms in this area (I have been told this but have yet to see any evidence of it). Or tell me that I'm messing her up and send her to public school...lol I guess I just need encouragement and stories. Thanks Stephenie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 :grouphug: I'm pretty sure you're not messing her up. I know you'll get tons of encouragement and great stories here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Read some Raymond Moore and try not to stress too much :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 You're doing fine... It sounds like she's making progress and she's within range (if not quite where either of you would like her to be) for her age in reading at least. She's getting one-on-one tutoring daily (I think?), which she would not be getting in school, even if she were pulled out to spend time with a reading specialist, etc. Things I would keep in mind (and perhaps you're already doing them)... Consistency. Even though it's summer, I would keep reading, handwriting, and math as daily subjects. Ideally, I'd do each for about 15-20 minutes twice a day (so 45min-1 hour in the morning and the same in the afternoon), but if swimming with friends or a really great day camp or whatever comes in the way and sometimes you can only do them once a day, that's okay too. I would drop other subjects 'til fall *unless* there's something she just *lives* for. Personally, I wouldn't worry about spelling as a separate subject -- I'd just keep up with the phonics in ETC and know that the stronger her phonics foundation, the more easily spelling will come later on. Also, it sounds like your major reading concern is about fluency. For that reason, I would make sure she has something that's a little easy to read every day. And re-read. Some of her daily phonics practice should be on decoding (ETC, challenging reading), but some of it needs to be reading something that's manageable. If she's still having trouble, ask her to go back and reread from the beginning of the sentence each time she has struggled her way through a particularly challenging word. So that she hears the whole sentence up to that point, and then moves on. It may be that she starts a sentence 4 or 5 times. That's *okay*. This is actually great practice for her. And it will help her improve both her fluency and her comprehension... For handwriting, sit next to her. Correct as she goes. Correct pencil grip, correct her starting point and the direction of her strokes... Gently, consistently... And praise good work. Encourage her to identify her own best work. Have her circle the best "e" on the row, or choose which "boat" on the row is the most even... For math, just be consistent. If you do two sessions a day, let one be her math "lesson" and the other be some sort of drill-oriented game or a different workbook from her regular one. Just be positive and consistent and she *will* get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 :grouphug: You aren't messing her up. There's a lot of time to keep working and growing together on this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommy4ever Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I understand that anxiety well. I have been there the last 3 months.... :grouphug: That she is wanting to learn, and anxious to learn is a huge kudos to you. It means she is enjoying learning, and that is important! I don't think many children at the end of grade 1 are reading chapter books, truth be told. That they are claiming they are, I wonder if maybe they are being read chapter books or if their chapter books is more of a reader? I know from my own journey to reading, and that of my 3 older children(all were in school, mind you), none of them read chapter books until grade 3, last half if I remember correctly. One not until 4th grade. DD6 was just assessed, and she is doing well according to the school board. She isn't anywhere ready to read a chapter book. She can spell decently within the scope of the spelling rules she learned, but spells phonetically for anything else(so cute). See if you can't grab the Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading from the library. This is considered a 2 year program, and go through the lessons, you should find out where she is. It's a fun program with lots of silly sentences, some little stories, and some poems and tongue twisters mixed within the rules. DD6 loves this. Math, just keep plugging a way. Play games with her, adding dice. Taking a deck of cards you can work on additions. 6's? Keep only cards 1-5, and play a version of go fish. Ask for the addends you need to make 6. Works up to 10. It won't seem like math, it's FUN. Also, if she is being slow, change up her counters to some yummy chocolate chips, smarties, skittles, etc. ...can't eat them until we do our work AND go over it to make sure we did a good job. Don't forget stickers! On great worksheets, spelling tests. Even make a chart for after completing lessons. And mom, if you are finding you are falling behind... take a deep breath... it will even out. The more you do it, the more organized you will be the easier it will be for you. Look for a planner, and sit down one evening a week, and plan for the week. Plan for 4 days, and use day 5 to finish up what didn't happen. Remember, especially in math, if your dd has mastered something, and it's just SOOO repetitive, just do a few from each exercise to make sure it's good, and move on to the next. I have learned this with Math Mammoth. It's a fantastic program with lots of practice. But sometimes, they don't need the extra practice, and it's ok to move forward. She is learning.... so you are doing your job. You need to take a BIG breath. What other children are doing, doesnt' matter. That your child is making steady, solid progress is better than rushing her and not getting the concepts. This is why we homeschool.... to stop where we have to focus when needed. Schools won't do that for your child, only you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 At 7, there is an enormous range of what kids can do and your first grader sounds like she's perfectly on target! It's all about learning to read, to write and to do math. It's not a race -- you're going at an absolutely reasonable pace and she will get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieD Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 You're not ruining your daughter! :grouphug: Something that was very effective for reading with my daughter was to stop independent book reading. We spent five minutes sounding out isolated words. If she wanted to make up a sentence after sounding a word out, I let her. Then we read together for another 15 minutes or so. We did well with Charlotte's Web, but you could use any chapter book your daughter wants to read. I explained we would read together, and when my finger paused it would be her turn to read a word. I picked words she could sound out easily, and only a couple of words per page. So I did 99% of the reading at first, but her eyes were following the page as I read so she could tell when it was her turn. I generally used words at the end of a sentence, and after a while I stopped when there were two words left. She automotically read both, but you might have to excitedly tell your daughter that she's ready to do two words now. Keep proceeding like that. Short dialogue sentences are the easiest to do when she's ready for whole sentences, but probably no more than one sentence per page. Then we worked up to having her read two sentences, then a short paragraph, then a longer one. We still read together books that are harder for her, but now she does one page and I do the other. Anyway, I really think you're doing well with what you've picked. We just found this a very pleasurable way to deal with the frustation of knowing HOW to read, but not really being able to do it. And as for the handwriting, my son struggled so much. He was really 9 before it started to become easier for him, but it did happen. Think how wonderful it is that she isn't at school being constantly frustrated by written work that is beyond her. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I don't know if this helps you...but my 3rd grader went to ps for K and 1st grade, scored in the 99th percentile in standardized testing and was going through the gifted interviews. In 1st grade, she was sooooooooo slow when she read. I actually used to get phone calls from her teacher, complaining about how slow my kid did her classwork. :tongue_smilie: Oh, and math? Fuggetaboutit!! She was horrible! :D We started 2nd grade with 1st grade math. She also wrote phonetically until about 2nd grade. I gotta say, though....something happened about a half of the way through 2nd grade (right around when she turned 8 yro) and she just started leaping through her schoolwork. I don't know if something just clicked or what, but we're basically doing 3rd and 4th grade this year with her. I think what I'm trying to say is...they're so little at that age (and even at 8)...you don't know what they're really capable of and their minds/reasoning/cognition are still developing...:tongue_smilie: I also have a 7 yro boy and I really think they are still babies at that age. :blush: I woke up this morning and he had crawled into our bed in the middle of the night. :001_rolleyes: They're still little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamd Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Stephenie I can tell you from my expierence that we all feel we are failing in some way at some time, and for me it seems a few times a year. lol :lol: This forum has been an awesome support :grouphug: so I will tell you now what encourages me the most. We chose to home school because we care and we have to get rid of the ps comparision and keep digging in. The biggest thing I have learned is DON'T switch curriculum through the year make it work for that year and change next year if need be. Don't compare your dc to others God made us all different for a reason. You cared enough to take the time and spend your life with your dc and teach so that in its self is a major accomplishment. So congrads on being a super mom and keep your head up. I am sure many more will give you great advise they have seen me thru some hard times. If we worry I believe we care enough to make it work it is our caring that is most important. Good luck and we are here for you.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicalTwins Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I am in the same spot with my 7 yr old twin boys...however it seems things are changing with them. They turned 7 in November. Tonight one of them as we sat a traffic light read "Red" "Lobsstter"...That's Red Lobster, mommy he exclaimed! Slow down....calm down...it will come. For me I have to remember, I never thought we would finally get through potty training, but we did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayt ul-Hikmah Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 For me I have to remember, I never thought we would finally get through potty training, but we did! I love this! I'm in need of this sort of reminder as well. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Mama Bird Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I'm more of a lurker, but I wanted to thank the OP for her question and all the wonderful responses. Perfect timing. We went through the same phase over this past year with my 6, now 7 yr. old DS. He lost his reading skills and we had to start over twice - I've shed many tears over it. Lately though something clicked and he's retaining. We had a similar sign-reading story too - that's when I knew something was different :001_smile: It'll come - keep up your hard work Stephenie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Food4Thought Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 :grouphug: My 6-yr old will turn 7 in October. I can't imagine him reading chapter books any time in 2010. His fine motor skills are not up to par on writing yet. He writes little notes and such, but his spelling is all phonetic (he's getting better, but still mostly at CVC words). But he's a genius, I tell you! And I'm sure your daughter is too. What are her strengths? Does she speak well? Does she enjoy science or history or geography? Remember that kids at this age all develop so differently, it is truly hard to judge whether she is "behind" or "ahead" until age 8 or older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma H Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 She will be fine. Better she be behind at home than in PS! Maybe keep your eyes on her and make sure she does not have a little dyslexia. My kids both did and learning to read was hard for both of them. We had taken my now 13 year old son to Dianne Craft for dyslexia when he was little and I just saw her at our CHEC conference and I was able to tell her he is now reading at a sophmore college level. This was NOT the case when he was little! He would cry after 3 pages of a BOB book! Hang in there and be on the lookout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 First, my 5th child turned 8 in May and just started reading with fluency. You're doing just fine! The rest has been said, so I'll just agree! :iagree: You're doing fine... It sounds like she's making progress and she's within range (if not quite where either of you would like her to be) for her age in reading at least. She's getting one-on-one tutoring daily (I think?), which she would not be getting in school, even if she were pulled out to spend time with a reading specialist, etc. Things I would keep in mind (and perhaps you're already doing them)... Consistency. Even though it's summer, I would keep reading, handwriting, and math as daily subjects. Ideally, I'd do each for about 15-20 minutes twice a day (so 45min-1 hour in the morning and the same in the afternoon), but if swimming with friends or a really great day camp or whatever comes in the way and sometimes you can only do them once a day, that's okay too. I would drop other subjects 'til fall *unless* there's something she just *lives* for. Personally, I wouldn't worry about spelling as a separate subject -- I'd just keep up with the phonics in ETC and know that the stronger her phonics foundation, the more easily spelling will come later on. Also, it sounds like your major reading concern is about fluency. For that reason, I would make sure she has something that's a little easy to read every day. And re-read. Some of her daily phonics practice should be on decoding (ETC, challenging reading), but some of it needs to be reading something that's manageable. If she's still having trouble, ask her to go back and reread from the beginning of the sentence each time she has struggled her way through a particularly challenging word. So that she hears the whole sentence up to that point, and then moves on. It may be that she starts a sentence 4 or 5 times. That's *okay*. This is actually great practice for her. And it will help her improve both her fluency and her comprehension... For handwriting, sit next to her. Correct as she goes. Correct pencil grip, correct her starting point and the direction of her strokes... Gently, consistently... And praise good work. Encourage her to identify her own best work. Have her circle the best "e" on the row, or choose which "boat" on the row is the most even... For math, just be consistent. If you do two sessions a day, let one be her math "lesson" and the other be some sort of drill-oriented game or a different workbook from her regular one. Just be positive and consistent and she *will* get there. We all come to stages and places of doubt. My most recent was high school planning. Once I got over the emotional hump, we're crusing along. You can do this. Just don't give up...and definitely don't send her away to school...it's a jungle out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooblink Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Keep working, slowly and patiently. You'll be amazed when she has those Aha! moments and suddenly "gets it." FWIW, my 10 year old only recently started writing several of his letters and numbers correctly, recognizing that his "old" way was backward. Every time he'd write a backwards 3 or d for b, I'd simply correct him and move on. Eventually, he'd recognize and correct it himself and now he writes them out properly the first time. One thing I've learned is that when a kid is ready to learn something, she will pick it up very quickly. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 Thank you guys so much for the encouragement and advice. I guess it's hard b/c her close homeschool friends are well ahead of her...and are reading chapter books, etc. It makes me feel so far behind with her but I guess she's right on track. It's hard not comparing. I just got back from a 3 week trip to Paris (with her) so we haven't gotten back on track with school yet (planned to school year round with LOTS of breaks). I'll start doing minimal things with her today to get her 'caught up' in math and reading. I have already been reading with her several times a day (library reading program keeping us up with that!) Thanks for the reminder to make sure she is reading something that's very easy for her in addition to her reading challenging things. I knew you guys would make me feel better!! Thanks Stephenie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 I wanted to add that my 7-1/2-year-old DD sounds exactly like yours. Math is painfully slow. We've gotten "behind" because I had to just stop after 30 minutes. She counts on her fingers regularly and doesn't seem interested in just trying to get it done. She is reading more quickly now (key word more quickly, not fluent), and we are only just beginning ETC book 4. She loves science, though, and drawing. She draws all day long. I thank you for starting this thread, as it has helped me too. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekmom Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Have you heard of Victory Drill Book? All my kids use this book to improve their reading fluency. It is a hardback book, and it can be used from PreK to 8th grade. The main practice pages have 100 words listed in columns. The first page is extremely simple with all 3 letter words with short a sound. You time her as she reads the words. For 1st grade, your goal is for her to be able to read 40 words (or it may be 30- I can't remember right now) without missing more than 4 in a minute - 3 times in a row. Once she does this- she moves to the next page which I think is short o 3 letter words. -You definitely want to reward her for "mastering" a page. I bought a treasure chest and filled it with dollar store toys/gum/candy etc. for when they reach their goal for each page. - You could also just give her a ticket and have the tickets = certain rewards/privileges. You will be amazed at how much faster she reads her books once she gets the hang of it. The words get harder as you go through the book. You can find it at Rainbow Resource if you're interested. I HIGHLY recommend it! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmeraldGirl Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Don't think you are messing her up. She is just taking a bit longer to catch on and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Keep plugging along, but don't torture her or yourself with long lessons. And continue with lots of read alouds together. Maybe try some tandem reading also, allowing her to read the words she knows well so she can have success with that for now. She will blossom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midwest Pixie Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Stephenie, My oldest child didn't really bloom academically until after he turned 8. I was really panicking for awhile. Any pressuring just resulted in tears and frustration. It was a great comfort to read Dr. Raymond & Dorothy Moore's book "Better Late Than Early." I encourage you to do your mama-heart a favor and check this one out of your library. ;) BTW, even though DS #1 is now 12, he still *really* needs supervision and hand-holding or he daydreams and lollygags around. Sometimes I wonder if he will ever mature! :D But it is a great comfort to see him reading, spelling and writing so much better than he was a few years ago. I kind of expected slowness with a son, but my second child is very verbal and seemed precocious for her age, so naturally I was surprised to discover she ALSO is an incredibly reluctant reader, writer, and poor speller. This flummoxes me as I was always an incredibly good student, and very talented in all those areas. She is SO much like me in so many respects that I naturally assumed the academics would be a snap. Nope. Not so. I totally understand your discouragement (especially when it seems all your homeschooling friends have 4-year-old daughters reading at a third grade level, blah blah blah...). :blink: I have noticed a lot of progress with my daughter in the past year though. She just turned 10 this spring. Sometimes kids just need time, maturity, and continued encouragement. Because of the public school mentality, we tend to expect all kids to do XY and Z by a certain age, and if they don't, we panic that they are <gasp!> behind. I have no doubt that your daughter will bloom in her own time! Keep loving her and encouraging her. Spend some time with Raymond & Dorothy Moore and hopefully you will feel at peace about just being patient. (((Hugs!))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckymama Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 I truly believe your daughter is getting the best one on one attention she will ever get. If she needs more time to learn, this is the best place for her to get it. Keep up the great work, Mom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Comprehension comes later as an emerging reader. Right now you want her to read. Chapter books seem too advanced for now. Let her pick books she likes whether they are on level or not. Kids are more comfortable reading lower than level and let her get practice that way. My dd was slow to start and then took off in all subjects. She'll catch up in math. My dd was math phobic then took off in that too. Don't worry. If she was in school, she'd really be in trouble. Slow and steady... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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