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Posted

My SIL, BIL, 2 nieces and MIL moved here earlier this year after my FIL's death. Niece (10 yr old) was already struggling with reading before she moved but now has lost her minimal reading skills while in PS. She qualified for special help in TN but not here. She also has a speech delay that she does not qualify for help with here.

 

SIL has asked me to help her figure out if homeschool is a good fit for her dd. I am happy to do so but don't know where to start. She is coming over Wednesday to look at what I have and discuss a plan for her dd. I feel brain training is important and have the curriculum to do it, but do not feel qualified to DO it with someone not my child. It's very intense and hard work and don't even remember every aspect of it as my child did it almost 4 years ago. But I'm certainly going to share what I have and see if she will be able to do it. Obviously the child needs to learn reading skills but feel that brain training would help her overcome her inability to decode and remember. But we also have to consider our legal obligations for her schooling. What curriculum can I choose that will cover all her legally necessary subjects while not being too "young" for her, yet not too hard for her? Her mom has only ever been in PS, niece has only been in PS, this is way outside their norm but mom is desperate for dd to get some help and this is her only option as far as she can see. They are extremely poor so they can't get in any programs or even buy a lot of books. Basically I feel like we are building a program from scratch with only what I have in my house, but if something is not terribly expensive, I'm willing to spend some money on books that will help her.

 

I need ideas and input, please. I want to do right by her but feel ill equipped. Thank you!

Posted

I am thinking, since the mom has never homeschooled, a curriculum that is scripted and pre-planned may be very helpful.

 

I would look at Barton to remediate reading skills.

 

Alternatively, if you are looking for an all-in-on curriculum, you could look into Verticy (very expensive), but all laid out and very straightforward with lessons plans for the mom to easily follow. It is a curriculum designed for language based differences. They have a placement test to get you into the right level.

Posted

Since the budget is very low, I recommend going with Dancing Bears for reading. It's open and go, and cheap. If your niece struggles to know the sounds letters make then I suggest going with the industrial strength version which is Bear Necessities. Samples are here: http://www.prometheantrust.org/usshop.htm

 

Here's a free phonics program I found online. http://www.thephonicspage.org/Phonics%20Lsns/phonicslsnslinks.html

 

For math I recommend CLE Math, it's cheap, but her daughter should take a placement test because from what I've seen the math runs ahead a grade or two. http://www.clp.org/store/by_subject/4

 

For spelling R&S Spelling is about as cheap as it gets. http://www.milestonebooks.com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Spelling/ Another option would be Apples & Pears, which is from the same publishers of Dancing Bears.

 

Maybe she could use the library for everything else?

 

I've heard that Rainbow Resources gives out Hardship gifts to homeschoolers. http://www.rainbowresource.com/hardship.php Perhaps she could apply for the hardship and then buy everything she needs at Rainbow Resource?

 

I wouldn't want to be responsible for teaching other people's kids, especially family members, but that's just me.

 

I'm not into "Brain Training", but if it works, great. ;)

Posted

You don't mention an age for your niece, but I think my suggestions stay the same.

 

Reading - OPG. Hands down, the best there is and not expensive. Once she can read have her check out easy books from the library and read every week day.

 

Writing - Copywork from books that are read-alouds. If handwriting is a problem then a basic workbook would be good to get. I used "Italics: Beautiful Handwriting for Child" with my dd, then a cursive book.

 

Math - Singapore. You can normally get the textbooks "free" from Paperback Swap, and sometimes the workbooks. I normally get the workbooks from Christian Books through Amazon for about $4.00. They can last half a year to a year depending on the kid.

 

Science - Nature walks and library books.

 

Social Studies - (my pet peeve subject because it's so subjective) Generally this means history, geography, and community relations. In the young elementary ages you can do this through field trips to the police department, the fire department, the county court house and the post office. Upper elementary ages I am in favor of SOTW on CD (expensive but easy and worth it) along with a history encyclopedia to give a visual reference for the child's mind (I use Kingfisher). Geography is problematic. I like the Evan-Moore series on the Continents but my child does not like it. Also, you need to photocopy pages out of the book and your SIL may not have a flatbed copier. In theory you could have the child check out a book from the library on a different country and have you niece find the country on a world map. It would be a good idea to have a world map, a globe, and even a map of SC up for her to look at.

 

Your SIL can try to get books from The Book Samaritan - http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/ . I've heard through the grapevine that SC libraries are very hard hit financially right now so I don't know how useful your local library is.

 

I really need to write up my "how to home school on the cheap" post so I can just copy and paste when a thread comes up.

Posted

Elizabeth, it seems like that might be a good post to keep on hand. I'm sure it's a common issue. :)_ Thank you for your suggestions! Niece is 10 yr old, btw.

 

Thank you ALL for your suggestions and links. I will share all of these with her and I believe we can find something she can do. SIL will do the bulk of the schooling, my part in this is to help her plan and try to use my books and whatever free resources we can. You guys are awesome and I appreciate your help! :grouphug:

Posted

I forgot to mention about the Speech Therapy - maybe you can get it prescribed through a doctor. My DD got it through her psychiatrist, who is supervising her treatments for Asperger's. We didn't do ST through the school system but through the OT department of a local hospital.

Posted (edited)

My students with underlying speech difficulties do well with marked print. The 1879 McGuffey readers have marked print and are a good thing to read through to build up vocabulary and reading skill once the phonics basics have been mastered. Most libraries have copies, and you can download the pdfs free online.

 

Also, phonics is hard to learn unless the underlying speech problems have been dealt with, and even then, the phonics is harder to learn and takes more time and more detailed and explicit instruction. I would recommend the things on my how to tutor page and Phonics Pathways as well as my online phonics lessons. Back on the Right Track Reading also has some good ideas and is geared for an older remedial student.

 

This link has some ideas for showing lip and tongue placement for sounds, some of my students with underlying speech difficulties find it helpful.

 

The marked 1908 Websters Speller is also helpful for my students with underlying speech difficulties, they need the help of hearing and learning syllables and seeing the schwa/accent pattern of syllables. The sounds of syllables are slightly different than the letter sound approximations of letter sounds, so it helps to be working with syllables when there are underlying problems hearing and saying sounds. My dyslexia page has pictures and explanations showing why syllables and not letter sound approximations are the true atoms of reading instruction. (About 1/3 of the way down, the atomic nature of syllables.)

 

She may need to start with some kind of phonemic awareness program. LiPS is highly recommended here, but there are some free online resources, I'll see if I can find my link to a good thread with some free and cheap phonemic awareness ideas later.

Edited by ElizabethB
Posted

Thank you again, Elizabeth. You are a wealth of information.

 

Niece had a cracked skull as a baby (sister dropped her) and a stutter that has gotten better with age. Until she moved here, she was in speech therapy for that so these pages will be very helpful to her parents I know (shoot, I'm fascinated by them myself!). They have really struggled with knowing what to do for her; the only thing they know for sure is the school system here is failing her and fortunately, they are the type who are willing to think outside the box.

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