mymommy1 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Need ideas for soon-to be fifth grade, 10-year-old boy, ADD, visual-spatial type child: I'm working full-time. Dad and I share hsing. I NEED something planned or very easy to follow as my husband also has ADD and has a hard time finding and tracking things. I don't have time to plan and write everything for everyday and sleep. We are in the country with low bandwidth limits, so online isn't an option. (That would be my first choice for this child.) DS reads well, comprehends well, spells horribly, writes better (letters are going the correct direction now!) but slowly in print, low memory recall typical of ADD, needs lots of change and excitement. We do short lessons. We've done AAS 1 and 2 with little retention, WWE 1, lots of narration with me scribing, some misc. worksheets on grammar and writing. Math is beginning to improve, and I'm more confident dealing with that as I teach math. My thoughts: HOD Preparing for the variety and notes to student, ease, etc. Ideas? Biggest issue is what to do for writing, grammar, and spelling. Thanks for any ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymommy1 Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 I should have mentioned that he is interested in Vikings, Middle Ages (castles and such), and maybe China/Japan/etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Are you certain there is no dyslexia component? Frequently ADD and dyslexia can be co-morbid. And dyslexics can sometimes "read well" but still be dyslexic. Look up stealth dyslexia.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 You might consider a program like IEW coupled with Fix-It Grammar (new one, not old). In IEW here are DVDs to teach the parent and DVDs for the child. The second book of Fix-It is based off of Robin Hood and there is an IEW Middle Ages based writing curriculum. I would not suggest jumping ahead and starting those without doing the first book of Fix-it and the main writing program first, but those could be started now and probably finished by mid-Fall, then move into the Middle Ages material from there. You would still need to work on spelling separately. Let me think about that one and get back to you. Couple those two above with audio books on a Kindle that relate to the Middle Ages and he might be happy and you and your DH would have a clearly laid out schedule and program to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymommy1 Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 I have considered stealth dyslexia. Some of the issues he was having got better when he got glasses. Flipping letters has stopped. He has almost got his numbers fixed. Really, besides the physical act of writing and spelling, he's made lots of progress this year. (He spells like me!) He reads well and learns from what he reads. If he didn't, I'd be more concerned. I'll look at IEW again. I was afraid it would break it down too far for a VSL. I know he needs steps to follow. What about the Executive Function Training Elementary book I've seen mentioned on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Never read that book so I can't help you there. IEW does break things down and for some it breaks it down too much. For others that sytematic breaking down then reconstructing is the only thing that actually works well. Hard to say until you try it. At least there is a 100% money back guarantee if it doesn't work. And yiur husband will have clear guidelines and a schedule to follow. Maybe someone else will have other suggestions, though. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shortmomto4 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 As a mom of a 6th grade VSL/RB learner I understand where you are coming from - variety, variety and lots more variety. Please keep in mind that VSL kids tend to write later; it is a lot of work and energy. I switched my ds this year to the new Spelling U See - wow! what a difference. Comes with marking pencils and easy easy to implement. There are no rules to harp over and over which I think is a problem with VSL learners. Key to remember with a true VSL is that once they get a concept there is no need to drill and drill. An occaisional review but truly no need for drill. I have HOD Preparing on my shelf but for whatever reason didn't go with it - oh yes, now I remember. While the "Ages" book is bright and colorful, the main spine is not! He'd love the art projects but the writing that is taught at level was not going to work. They begin the process of writing short paragraphs about the selection of history that is read that day. I think it might just be once a week (for the life of me I can't remember) but I still didn't feel my ds was ready for that connection. For grammar I am using the new Fix It grammar from IEW. I've also been known to read a short picture book that covers the topic but overall that doesn't happen that often. He just seems to understand the concept and the lesson is short, short, short. The HOD option is R&S and you can do the lesson on a white board because otherwise they will probably get bogged own on the amount of writing. I'm using a level from the Write Foundation for his writing this year and he does enjoy this but I really think he became extremely creative in his writing from the 4th day assignment in the Spelling U See book. One day per week the child can draw a picture and then write their own story. No rules aloud. If words are spelled wrong just let it go. He is now at the point where the book has them write sentences using some of the words but he was so upset that it didn't assign the story part. Well, hey, who am I to say no to writing. He writes sentences on a separate piece of paper and has continued on with his stories. I think I'd focus on more creative type writing as these types of learners are so creative and you just want to really bring that out. There is plenty of time to work on essays; I'm not a fan of boggin them down at such a young age. As for history I've found tons of graphic comic style novels that he reads, read and reads. We look at the options on the computer for the library and go with it. I just go interest-led. I had given the SOTW a try (twice) but both times were flops! No pictures. I did use an colorful encyclopedia but he still didn't enjoy or retain. Now, I've given him these books (ex. Nathan's Hazardous Tales) and he just reads and reads and then asks for more books on the subject or we move on to something else he's interested in learning more about. I personally would love a planned history option but so far I've had nothing but duds! I'm wondering if the AWOA (a world of adventure or learning adventures) something like that would be a good fit. They love the hands-on, artistic part but you have to keep changing things up or they get bored. My ds also gets frustrated (we tried MFW one year) with reading from more than one book at a time. In reality, Sonlight might be a possible option. Key is to keep them engaged with their hands or minds. My ds is a stealth learner. All the years that I had been reading to the older kiddos just seeped into his mind and he just seems to know the information. Flexibility is key. Math is even more fun trying to teach! :closedeyes: Just remember VSL/RB take a little longer to mature, are very sensitive and extremely creative. Use those gifts and the learning takes off!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Maybe use Winston Grammar? I haven't used it, but I love the idea of the cards--you might also consider getting a diagramming reference. My older one is visual and diagramming really clicks with him. (I use one from this lady: http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/) Iplan to make my own Winston-style cards to use with Grammar Island when my little guy is ready for that. We use Michael Clay Thompson grammar, coupled with Daily Grams for mechanics. I picked up The Giggly Guide to Grammar at convention to use as a grammar reference. The teacher version has a CD with lessons and additional exercises. It looks really good. When he makes errors in his writing, his writing tutor and I plan to point him to the appropriate section of the book to find and fix his mistakes. We found MCT grammar to be a good fit for our VSL learner, but I would say the bigger deal is that it's whole-to-parts instruction but also gives a framework for analyzing sentences that works linearly as well. So, if your VSL is a whole-to-parts learner, it might fit. We use Sequential Spelling--it's pattern-based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymommy1 Posted April 22, 2015 Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 Thank you so much for the extra ideas! It gives me some things to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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