“Catching up” (totally against my style)

[Carrie12345]

We’re anticipating having 6 and 8yos in our home this summer. I’ve homeschooled early elementary 4 times now, 4 different abilities, 4 different learning styles, lots of different resources.  But I’ve never before done it with the intention or expectation of meeting a grade level and (re)entering public school. We’ve always followed their unique development, except for that time I tried to force one of the kids to learn “on time” and then spent years trying to repair that damage.  

I don’t have any detailed academic information about them other than that they’re expected to be held back in the next school year.  It’s entirely possible that they might not even have the firm foundation to successfully start this past year over.  All I’m told is that they are beginning to make some progress.

Much of what I used for my 9.5yo was just hand me downs from the past 13 years of homeschooling without any major research into anything new and improved n the market. And I recently gave away, sold, and threw away the vast majority of all those K-2/3/4ish materials, so I’m pretty much starting from scratch.

I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions for me to look into, specifically math and ELA, and more specifically ones that generally align with public school grade levels.  I won’t be purchasing anything right away, but I’d like to have a better idea of our options for some summer work to continue their progress.

[8filltheheart]

It's going to be summertime and it sounds like the kids will be in a transitional situation??? I wouldn't "do school." I'd play games. 

SSRW has decks of cards with phonograms for go fish. Bingo with sounds and words.  I'm sure things like that are probably easily available can be homemade.. A regular deck of cards can be used for math war. Dominoes can also be used for math games.

Handwriting exercises can be made fun. You can make "magic" writing by having letters disappear by using expo markers going overtop of permanent marker.

And lots of fun reading time by partner reading. Curl up and take turns.

[PeterPan]

Fwiw, do you think the holding back is warranted? Why would they not be given IEPs to try to get them on track? Or at least some RTI? My ds has an IEP, has had one since he was 6, and I swear it's impossible to get these people to agree to hold him back. No matter how poorly he performs, they're like next grade, next grade. So that might be something to push back against. Surely you can cover the equivalent of K5 between now and fall so that the 6 yo can proceed to 1st. If not, they should IEP him. Unless there's some really obvious reason. And the 8 yo, again, is he rising 3rd? How far behind? Would he fit in socially with the 3rd grade? Why not an IEP and intervention by the school to keep him on track?

So what I would do, and I'm sure you have your own ways, is I would review their files to see if there's any helpful evals/testing data. Then I would administer https://bartonreading.com/students/#ss  the Barton screening tool to make sure they have the foundational tools to succeed with whatever reading program you choose. I would focus on reading and math with the K5er while doing cultural literacy (common read alouds, etc). If he's turning 7 this summer and on the young side emotionally, you could red shirt and have him be rising 1st. But if he's a younger 6, then he should be on track by fall. 

For the 8 yo, same gig administering the Barton screener to make sure he has enough foundation to succeed at whatever reading program you choose. Then I'd just run your preferred tools for diagnostics (spelling, reading comprehension, decoding) and see where he's at. I always used the tools from SWR, but whatever you've got. Again, he only needs to get through gr2 reading to be ready to go into 3rd grade and not be retained or even need an IEP. If there's no SLD, this should be doable. If there is an SLD, it might be doable with the most efficient materials. I probably would *not* bother with mainstream/normal materials if you suspect an SLD. If you suspect SLD, I would go ahead and use Barton or the big guns, bring it in, see what happens. In that situation, I would use Talking Fingers to use typing practice to reinforce the phonological processing. 

Timberdoodle recommends the 6 Traits Daily Writing series, and I'm using it with my ds right now in a very nontraditional way, doing gr 1-4 together in parallel. It's going great and I LOVE this program. It's ps writing, yes, but it's not so stupid. It's highly structured, focused on narrative, and at least really good for building conversational skills. Can't go wrong with improved social/conversation skills for kid who've been through a lot. 

I probably wouldn't bother with writing for the rising 1st grader except for actual handwriting. But for the rising 3rd grader (4th?), you might be able to do say grades 1-3 of the 6 Traits Writing in parallel, no problem. An older student FLIES through the lower grades, but it gives them this simplest presentation of the concept so things click. My ds is diagnosed with SLDs in reading, writing, math, has language issues, apraxia and autism, the works. Even he's getting this. I own some therapy level narrative language programs, but really this 6 Traits series is doable and would get them "caught up" as you say, ready to do what they'll be expected to do. 

For reading comprehension practice for the older dc, I would consider

https://www.carsondellosa.com/104390--skill-builders-reading-comprehension-workbook-grade-3-paperback-104390/  This will be $5 on amazon and it comes in all the grades.

https://www.evan-moor.com/daily-reading-comprehension-grade-3-teachers-edition-e-book  This has been revamped for this year and now has open ended questions instead of multiple choice, a dramatic improvement. The intervention specialist at our ps LOVES Evan Moor. So working up to grade level in Evan Moor materials, at least in our district, is a way to know we're on track, getting caught up, in the flow of where they would be. 

I like a wide variety of materials, but when you're saying you need to get through a specific list of skills, bam bam bam, this is the kind of stuff you want. I just ordered that Skill Builders series for my ds and am going to have him do it. The workbooks are colorful, cheap, serious winners. If the dc isn't ready to read at that level, then you're using readers that go with the reading intervention program (Barton, whatever) you're using. In that case, I would use the table of contents, which gives you a list of skills, from one of these grade leveled workbooks, and I would hit those skills via picture books you read aloud to both kids.

Also consider audiobooks and getting them qualified for BARD/NLS.

[JessinTX]

9 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

We’re anticipating having 6 and 8yos in our home this summer.

What does this mean? Are you fostering? Are they relatives just staying for the summer? I think the status of their life change is going to be a major factor. Also, WHY are they expected to be held back. Do they have learning difficulties, special needs, is it just instability and lack of engagement with school?

[Carrie12345]

10 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

It's going to be summertime and it sounds like the kids will be in a transitional situation??? I wouldn't "do school." I'd play games. 

SSRW has decks of cards with phonograms for go fish. Bingo with sounds and words.  I'm sure things like that are probably easily available can be homemade.. A regular deck of cards can be used for math war. Dominoes can also be used for math games.

Handwriting exercises can be made fun. You can make "magic" writing by having letters disappear by using expo markers going overtop of permanent marker.

And lots of fun reading time by partner reading. Curl up and take turns.

That’s how we would normally roll, but I don’t know (today... I will eventually) what a student is supposed to know before starting a grade in traditional school.

3 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Fwiw, do you think the holding back is warranted? Why would they not be given IEPs to try to get them on track? Or at least some RTI? My ds has an IEP, has had one since he was 6, and I swear it's impossible to get these people to agree to hold him back. No matter how poorly he performs, they're like next grade, next grade. So that might be something to push back against. Surely you can cover the equivalent of K5 between now and fall so that the 6 yo can proceed to 1st. If not, they should IEP him. Unless there's some really obvious reason. And the 8 yo, again, is he rising 3rd? How far behind? Would he fit in socially with the 3rd grade? Why not an IEP and intervention by the school to keep him on track?

Snipping just for the questions. 
They didn’t really get much school time this school year. Like, almost none. It’s suspected that there wasn’t much before that either, but I haven’t gotten confirmation on that.
Before they were school aged, I was able to see the level of interaction that they were given, which is to say almost none. Like, being read to was new.
This past 11 weeks, most of them in lock down, has probably been the biggest/longest growth period they’ve ever had.  I won’t have access to the nitty gritty details for a while longer. But it does sound like they’re starting from scratch.

2 hours ago, JessinTX said:

What does this mean? Are you fostering? Are they relatives just staying for the summer? I think the status of their life change is going to be a major factor. Also, WHY are they expected to be held back. Do they have learning difficulties, special needs, is it just instability and lack of engagement with school?

It’s looking to be a semi-permanent situation that may legally require them to be in public school.  More above.

[Lecka]

I am not looking at previous responses.

Its not possible to artificially catch up.  You have to meet them where they are after finding out where they are.

Also public school grade levels are very, very, very broad.  It is normal (not desirable or ideal, but totally normal) to be below grade level.  Teachers deal with this and kids can get extra help.  
 

With that said — you can probably make major progress this summer!  Kids thrive with 1:1 or 1:2!  

[Lecka]

I agree with previous posters:  triage.

If one of the biggest needs is math, then do math.

If it’s not one of the biggest needs, then first things have to come first.  There are more important things than math and kids can catch up later.

If math is appropriate then go for it!  If it’s not — have peace with that, other things are more important and kids need to have their most important needs met first, before they can thrive in other areas.  By focusing on other things you ARE contributing to math even if it is totally indirect in the short term.  It is helping set things up to go well in the future.  

Edited May 6, 2020 by Lecka

[Lecka]

I am also curious or just speaking hypothetically about them possibly being held back.

Did they miss a lot of school?  Or are they struggling and it’s not just from missing school? 

It is going to make a difference.  You might not know this yet but it will probably make a difference in whether they do catch up quickly (or semi-quickly) or not.  

[PeterPan]

44 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

But it does sound like they’re starting from scratch

The people at Mindwings/Story Grammar Marker have been doing a lot with narrative language work in the trauma and averse childhood experiences (ACES) population in the ps. It's something to think about, especially if they were not getting read to. https://mindwingconcepts.com/pages/methodology  Here's a chart and jist to bring you up to speed. Narrative language testing is something you can get the ps to do. The SLP can do it and they can make IEP goals for it. As you look at it, you'll see *emotional learning* fits in there. So it fits in with that need to process what they experienced, to begin to communicate. So it's what you're used to with classical narration, but this is just how you take it a step further. You could say the ps has caught up with us. But rather than being random and just do FLL/WWE type narrations,  you can actually see the developmental chart and help them take those steps of narrative development. I would suggest trying to take the 6 yo through the first three stages (descriptive, action, reaction), and the 8 yo through abbreviated or if possible complete. What you'll see then is the expository writing naturally connects to those narrative stages and the language pieces that come from reading picture books and building their language connect. So we're using adjectives and nouns in a descriptive narration. We add verbs for an action. And so on. We add emotions in an Abbreviated. So you can see where it would be a big deal for an 8 yo to be able to give that narration and include some emotion as the REASON for why he did what he did. Big moment. 

Not that you need to buy a program for it necessarily. But if you watch some of their youtube videos and look at their charts, you can gradually step up your expectations using the picture books and help them systematically go through those steps of development. They kind of happen naturally for most kids. But when you say behind and want to step it up, that's the progression and what you're trying to make happen. So you can teach the components explicitly and accelerate a bit, yes.

56 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

may legally require them to be in public school.

Sounds good. I'd still be asking for evals and an IEP. They can be compelled to squish the RTI process into the IEP timeline. They don't like to, but they can be compelled. Maybe do something you can demonstrate was the equivalent of RTI. Have you thought about hiring a reading tutor for them? Seriously. Like if you want to pull rank and cut through chaff, you could have an outside person work with them as well. There are SLPs who specialize in literacy who could do a bangup job. Or an OG tutor. Around here we have full time OG tutors who were also SLPs in their former lives. They bill around maybe $60, so less than speech therapy. And then you can say he's had 3-4 hours of tutoring a week. If you can get them qualified for SLP services through whatever insurance covers them, that might be another good thing. More people on the team, not just you burning out doing everything. If they were that neglected, then bringing in services would be totally appropriate. 

It would be nice to have things they do *together* that they both narrate and interact with at their own level. So one book read aloud, but the narration for 6 yo is a stage 1 or stage 2 and the narration for the 8 yo is a stage 3 eventually a stage 4. Not just length, but the language components. 

You could also do some work with picture spellers, things that build vocabulary. And of course audiobooks. You know all this stuff.

Well good. What a great thing for them to have someone trying to rebuild this foundation and help them go forward. Your initial question was grade level, and I think if you're comparing them to an updated workbook from Evan Moor, it will give you a pretty good sense. But the ps is not going to intervene on FOUNDATIONS the way you can. Narrative language development, vocabulary, phonological processing, you want the basics.

If they don't pass the Barton screening tool, you can come over to LC and gab. Hopefully they pass, but if they don't the intervention hopefully will go quickly. 

[JessinTX]

2 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

For context, I'm coming at this from my background as both a special education teacher with experience with kids that age in foster care, and as a parent of a child who came to us through kinship adoption. 

I think that your first focus needs to be on attachment, and safety, and incorporating them into your family routines.  In the long term, that sense of safety and connection is what is going to let them learn in the classroom, because stressed out kids don't learn.  I also think that the role of "parent" and "teacher" are different, and adjusting to you in the role of parent will be a big enough task.  

I'd spend the summer reading as many stories as they'd let me, and playing hotwheels, and having sensory experiences like running through the sprinkler or making homemade playdough. If I was going to push something, it wouldn't be academics at all, it would getting into a healthy sleep routine, and participating in family meals, and self regulating emotions.  And then, in the fall I'd send them to school knowing that they were as emotionally ready to learn as they could be, and let the teachers be the ones to work on academics for a while.  

6 and 8 year olds are very little.  There will be years to catch up, and with your love and good parenting, they'll be in a good place to do that.  But right now, it's not the priority.  Schools deal with kids with gaps and delays all the time, they may not do it perfectly, but they do a decent job.  So, I'd let them do that job, and focus on the job that only you can do, which is parenting.  

 

I'm going to totally 2nd everything CuriosMomof3 said. Also as an adoptive mother and former foster mom, and a social worker who has worked with a lot of kids labeled a developmentally delayed but really were mostly just never developmentally nurtured.  The sort of nice thing (and I use that term loosely) is there are going to be a whole whole bunch of kids who missed a big chunk of this school year, and are going to be a bit behind or have gaps. They will have company. Teachers are going to be doing a ton of reteaching. 

And from what I've heard from friends with PS kids they've pretty much said everyone is going to the next grade regardless. So I'm wondering what this idea of holding them back is based on. Are these school people saying it or a social worker/CPS type person saying that? I'd ask... 

I don't want to contradict anyone who obviously has tons of knowledge, but I'd hold off on really pushing for special ed evals. Tutoring or Intervention services maybe, but I'd want to see what these kids are capable of one they have some stability and routine and someone doing things like reading and playing games and exposing them to educational opportunities, and a chance to attend school on the regular. They might really surprise you! I wouldn't wait too long though. If by October or December they are really making some strides - evals would be more on my radar. Totally just my 2 cents. 

But none of that answers your original question😛. If you are determined to focus on academics this summer. You might look at these. I've use quite a bit of her stuff with my PK kid, and even some of her literacy stuff with my older kid with special needs who does not read well. She has levels from PK - 2nd. There is one particularly for summer that wouldn't be too intense but might help improve some skills, and I've never used the KinderBookClub, but could be fun for the 6 yo at least and maybe the 8 yo. depending on how behind he is. It incorporates some math and science as well as reading. Plus neither are terribly expensive. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summer-Learning-Mats-Kindergarten-Edition-Distance-Learning-3810846

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/KinderBookKlub-2-Bundle-A-book-club-for-kindergarten-teachers-4756439

Good luck to you. Sounds like your going to have your hands full!

[PeterPan]

42 minutes ago, JessinTX said:

I've heard from friends with PS kids they've pretty much said everyone is going to the next grade regardless. So I'm wondering what this idea of holding them back is based on. Are these school people saying it or a social worker/CPS type person saying that? I'd ask... 

That is such a good point. Around here my ps people are saying the work kids are doing at home varies widely, with some staying on track and some doing almost nothing. All will be promoted. So there's definitely going to be a lot of review and catching up this fall as teachers deal with that unevenness, yes.

42 minutes ago, JessinTX said:

special ed evals. Tutoring or Intervention services maybe

Their situation is exactly what RTI is for. They do intervention to see if the issue was lack of instruction. Some schools will hold kids in RTI a year or more even. A district near us is very anti-labels just as a culture, so they tend to hold kids in RTI and not write an IEP. The kid gets the same intervention from the same highly qualified person, just never gets an IEP. Op can just know it's there and that she has the legal right to make a written request. The school can then say they want to observe a grading period, do RTI, whatever. I think it's just a conversation to have. 

And really some schools are better than others about services. If you find out the school has an OG or highly trained reading specialist, you're going to be more inclined to ask for that RTI. If they're just pushing failed methodology, you might not care and will just continue intervention yourself privately or at home. 

[Carrie12345]

8 hours ago, PeterPan said:

And really some schools are better than others about services. If you find out the school has an OG or highly trained reading specialist, you're going to be more inclined to ask for that RTI. If they're just pushing failed methodology, you might not care and will just continue intervention yourself privately or at home. 

 

I don’t want to go nuts quoting everything and repeating myself, but I do want to say thank you to everyone who’s responded. My personality is to research, research, research, and then strip everything down and tailor it over and over again. One thing that’s never changed is my feelings about early elementary public school education, so it’s been challenging to put myself in the position of looking toward public school success strategies.

As for services, @PeterPan, my fingers are crossed that improvements have been made in our district. My oldest ds atttended 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in this school as a twice exceptional student.  3 years of intense advocating got him very few and not very substantial services.  I’m ready to act as though I’m starting with a clean slate with the school, but my hopes are not pinned very high. That was over a decade ago though, so I’m trying to be positive.

I don’t have enough information to go on to either agree or disagree with retention. I’m only aware of enough to say that it is entirely possible that it’s genuinely needed, and also that I have, in the past, seen them capable of picking up things quickly when engaged. My hope is that I’ll receive the full reports in their ginormous file as soon as possible, but I don’t know if that will happen.  The phrasing I was given for this school year is “they’ve been out of school more than in”, referring to before shut down. I strongly suspect it was the same before that, based on gossip and known moves. So anything is possible.

Really hoping for as much time as possible with them before I or anyone else has to make actual decisions on the matter.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Carrie12345

[8filltheheart]

I don't understand the situation.  Are they going to be with you longer than the summer? Do they have disabilities or just lack of cohesive academics?

Barring neurological deficits or LDs, 6 and 8 yr olds can't be that far behind.  Many 6 yr olds are still emerging readers. (My grandson, who is in a very stable, loving environment, just turned 6 and can't read.)  Basic phonics, letter formation, possibly simple reading, knowing/writing numbers and simple addition facts would be ok for a 6 yr old.  If the 8 yr old can read, then I would consider that a monumental boon.  If reading has been achieved, then being "behind" has vastly different connotations.   Just knowing that they have been out of school more than in could mean just about anything.  It really doesn't offer much context.

It is impossible to know what to suggest without any idea of where they are actually functioning.  But, either way, I agree with @CuriousMomof3 that cocooning in family and building trust/stability with tender care would be a much higher priority than anything academic in our home.  (But, I have had kids who didn't even start any academics (zero preschool) until they were 6. I'm a minimalist in early childhood, so snuggling with books, outdoor play, opportunities for creative expression/imaginative play would be my priorities, regardless of any academic background info.)

[Lecka]

Well, I think it offers a ton of context to hear they have missed a lot of school and have also been seen to pick things up quickly when engaged.  
 

 

[8filltheheart]

41 minutes ago, Lecka said:

Well, I think it offers a ton of context to hear they have missed a lot of school and have also been seen to pick things up quickly when engaged.  

I missed that comment in the larger discussion about services (I skimmed that discussion.) If they pick up things quickly, then I would even be less worried about deficits at those ages.

[PeterPan]

Keep us posted on how they're doing! It's exciting to think of the good changes coming for them and how this could change their lives. 

 

[Lecka]

1 hour ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

I missed that comment in the larger discussion about services (I skimmed that discussion.) If they pick up things quickly, then I would even be less worried about deficits at those ages.

I agree.  

My older son was in speech therapy in pre-school with a boy who was adopted out of foster care (by his foster parents).  He made amazing progress over the time we knew him!  Just amazing!  

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Lecka

[Carrie12345]

4 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

don't understand the situation.  Are they going to be with you longer than the summer? Do they have disabilities or just lack of cohesive academics?

There is no way to know for certain whether they’ll be here for a month or forever.  There is no way for me to know if they have learning disabilities before getting access to confidential records.

It is my personal belief that there is no “behind” in the early years. But it is also my belief that a child who might be legally required to attend traditional school will have many difficulties being tossed into the 3rd grade if, for hypothetical examples, they cannot read or write simple sentences. In my very limited experience of 1, children who get the impression from their peers that they’re dumb go on to have deep and lasting self-esteem issues. Regardless of the fact that that child is anything but dumb.

Ultimately, I do not have full authority to do as I see fit for these kids for the foreseeable future.  I can only try to influence and then support the decisions of others.

[8filltheheart]

2 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

There is no way to know for certain whether they’ll be here for a month or forever.  There is no way for me to know if they have learning disabilities before getting access to confidential records.

It is my personal belief that there is no “behind” in the early years. But it is also my belief that a child who might be legally required to attend traditional school will have many difficulties being tossed into the 3rd grade if, for hypothetical examples, they cannot read or write simple sentences. In my very limited experience of 1, children who get the impression from their peers that they’re dumb go on to have deep and lasting self-esteem issues. Regardless of the fact that that child is anything but dumb.

Ultimately, I do not have full authority to do as I see fit for these kids for the foreseeable future.  I can only try to influence and then support the decisions of others.

But do you even know if the 8 yr old can read?  

[Carrie12345]

2 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

But do you even know if the 8 yr old can read?  

No, I do not. I specifically labeled it as a hypothetical and chose it from my book of personal experience.

Look, I’m not asking for anyone to change their beliefs about early elementary. I’m not even asking anyone to give me specific advice. And I’m certainly not looking to argue about a situation *I* am incapable of fully evaluating at the moment, never mind strangers.  I’m also typically not thin skinned, but I’m beginning to feel argumentative and encouraged to divulge inappropriate details and I’m not liking that one bit.

The recommendations for browsing are greatly appreciated.

[Lecka]

I hope things go really well and you find good resources that will be a good fit.  
 

I hope they will have a good experience at public school too and not have self-esteem issues.  
 

I would hope that if they are severely behind, they will be getting extra help in school too to help them catch up.  And I would hope those teachers would be sensitive and help kids to feel good about themselves.

I think a lot of kids like to work 1:1 (or 1:2), get that positive attention, get that sense of accomplishment, etc. I think it is priceless.  

[ktgrok]

Lots of reading to them, look for rhythm and rhyme, like you would a preschooler, to develop those phonological skills. If they are behind in reading maybe get Equipped for Reading Success - it has the best info on how the brain learns to read, the various developmental steps needed, and how to identify which steps are missing and remediate them efficiently. But most of all there is a HUGE section in the back of phonemic awareness activities that are done orally, in one minute or less. Easy to work into the day, in the car, etc without a ton of stress or it looking like "school". And those will help them be ready to start really reading when school starts back up. 

If you need math that can move from level to level and be efficient, Khan academy might be good, or even games on a tablet for math. A way to do "screen time" that helps rather than hinders. And games like Teach Your Monster to read might go over well, without push back. 

[73349]

.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[PeterPan]

On 5/7/2020 at 7:33 PM, whitehawk said:

they might benefit from an Author of the Week study. You can go for easy but really attractive books

This is so spot on. Op may have already read this years ago https://www.amazon.com/Honey-Childs-Heart-Imaginative-Family-ebook/dp/B003LSTJUA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3G6S5TPWG36CA&dchild=1&keywords=honey+for+a+child's+heart&qid=1588998438&sprefix=honey+for+a+child's+%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-1  but I found the thought process of *why* we use picture books so compelling for my ds with his ASD and delays. I still use picture books from the library with him because I'm always wanting that way to communicate social, to get to the why/understanding, to get the understanding of the language. He's been enjoying the Mercer Mayer books lately, and they might be a good level for 6 and 8 yos with less exposure. So many great real life topics. 

Hunt makes the point that there are aspects of relationships we see best with books. She particularly loves the Polacco books for their depiction of relationships. 

We loved a series, name slips my mind, with a hen, because it was so full of inferences and irony. 

Op is going to have so much fun with this I think. My ds is a challenge in many ways, but reading picture books and lexile controlled nonfiction with him has been such a joy.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

You might check out MEP (Mathematics Enhancement Programme). It’s totally free, available immediately (printable from online), & has at least grades K-6 if not more. 

[MistyMountain]

Kate Snow's new Kindergarten Math With Confidence looks really good and gentle. That would be a good way to do math with a 6 year old. Maybe something like torchlight kindergarten for both kids so they get exposure to lots of books on all topics but it has a lot of picture books. Since it sounds like they have not been in school much but they do seem to do well when they do get exposed a good systematic phonics program that starts from the beginning would be good to start with. I really like using the I See Sam readers with a beginning reader to go along with whatever phonics lessons. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by MistyMountain