Kellie's Son and Abbie's Daughter, 'Sputnik Moment' Video
By Heather Idoni
Added Thursday, July 23, 2009
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families
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Vol. 10 No 53 July 23, 2009
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2009 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from Heather
-- Homeschooling with Dyslexia
Helpful Tip
-- Sputnik and U.S. Education
Winning Website
-- Unlimited Math Practice
Reader Question
-- Help for Abbie's Oldest Girl
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Notes from Heather
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Practical Help for Kellie -- Mom of a Dyslexic Son Just Beginning
to Homeschool...
---
Our HomeschoolingBOYS Yahoo Group is such a wonderful resource
for parents of boys to connect! Recently on the email group a
mom wrote in asking about the transition from public school to
homeschooling with a dyslexic son. Hopefully Kathy's answer to
her will help other parent's struggling with a similar situation!
And if you are homeschooling a boy or two, you may want to check
out the helpful resources at http://www.HomeschoolingBOYS.com --
Blessings! -- Heather
---
"I am so excited to be here and apart of this support group! My
name is Kellie and I have two boys who are 10 and 8 years old. I
am very nervous about homeschooling this year, it being my first
time EVER! :-) My oldest son, Tyler, has a reading challenge...
he suffers from dyslexia. Being from Mississippi (a state that
doesn't view dyslexia as a disability), Tyler has sadly been passed
through the school system with little to no help. So that's where
I come in! If anyone knows of a great language program for dyslexia,
I would greatly appreciate the info. Also, I would like to get some
feedback to see how your children have adapted to the homeschooling
environment versus a regular school atmosphere. Thank you so much!"
---
Kathy's Help for Kellie:
"We have 3 boys -- 9 1/2, 7, and 4. They all have dyslexia (the
4 year old is a little young to be diagnosed, but he's showing
every single warning sign) as well as Auditory Processing Disorder.
Our oldest started in a school as well and was doing horribly with
no help. We switched to homeschooling 4 years ago, and WOW, what
changes we've seen! To be perfectly honest, it usually ends up
bugging me when family notices how well our oldest is doing. They
typically finish by saying something like, 'See, he didn't have
that bad of a problem after all.' Oh, yeah -- the hours we've spent
toiling over the last 4 years didn't have anything to do with that!
Oh man, don't get me started there either. ;)
There are GREAT programs out there designed for dyslexic kids. We
use Barton Reading and Spelling -- http:/www.bartonreading.com -- it's
considered the 'Gold Standard' of programs for dyslexics. I'd highly
recommend starting at that website and read everything you can on it.
Her other site, which is fantastic, is http://www.brightsolutions.us .
Her program is expensive, but many people buy it one level at a time
then sell it to pay for the next level. The resale value on these
is almost what you pay for it new. You don't get that very often!
We've seen incredible progress over the last year with both our oldest,
as well as our middle child. Another very, very good program is
Wilson Reading -- www.wilsonlanguage.com (Go to the store section,
click on curriculum, you would choose the Wilson reading system that
has steps 1-12.) This program is much like Barton, but the customer
service is not there like it is over at Barton. Honestly, this is
what swayed us in the end to go with the Barton program. She will
bend over backward to help you with whatever questions you have as
quickly as she can. Wilson doesn't. Once you buy their program,
you're basically on your own, and the training to do their program
is minimal. Barton's is exceptional. Other programs that I hear are
good are the S.P.I.R.E. program sold at EPS books (www.epsbooks.com),
and ABeCeDarian (www.abcdrp.com). I know little about these to give
any guidance. The important thing to look for in a program is that
it is heavily based in the Orton-Gillingham style -- this is the only
method that has been proven to work with dyslexics.
A great book to read, if you haven't seen it, is Sally Shaywitz's
book 'Overcoming Dyslexia'.
It explains the in's and out's of the disorder, which is helpful
when trying to understand. And, without question, if you can get
your hands on a DVD called 'F.A.T. City Workshop: How Difficult Can
This Be?', do it!!! Without a doubt, it's the best thing out there
to watch when you're trying to understand what's going on inside
your child's head (try the library for this one - it is a PBS video).
A wonderful Yahoo group you should look into is called 'Heart of
Reading'. The lady that created it is the woman that does our reading
testing. It's a fantastic group of very, very knowledgeable ladies
who are going through, or have gone through the very same things we
are right now. The information and moral support on there is priceless!
Finally, how have we adapted to homeschooling after 'regular schooling'?
LOVE IT!!! I can't see us EVER going back. My kids have really taken
off. They're confident now, they can explore things that interest
them, they have time to just 'be kids' instead of using up their whole
evening trying to play catch-up from the school day. You are giving
your children a major gift by homeschooling. In fact, our Audiologist,
Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Educational Psychologist
ALL have told us that the very best thing for a dyslexic child is to be
homeschooled. Nothing else compares. One thing I'd highly recommend
before you 'officially' begin is to take a month or two (or more if
needed) to just learn some fun things slooowly - no textbooks allowed. ;)
Take a field trip to an aquarium if your son is into ocean creatures,
or a history museum if he's into a specific time period, etc.
I've become quite passionate about helping these kids and helping them
to see that they are so much more than their weaknesses! Good luck in
your first year of homeschooling!" -- Kathy D.
---
Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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Helpful Tip
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The Sputnik Moment -- The Year America Changed its Schools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhJnt3xW2Fc
"This is an hour long video that I enjoyed watching and thought
others might also."
---
Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
==================
Winning Website
==================
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test scores, and is used by a wide variety of homeschoolers and K-12
public and private schools. MathScore fully supports 2nd grade
through Algebra I."
Free trial available! Go to THIS LINK for more info.
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"I am a mother of 4 (ages 1, 2, 5, and 8 ), I currently am finishing
up 2nd grade and kindergarten. My oldest, a girl, does not like to
be left to do her worksheets because she wants to do the 'fun' things
her brother is doing in kindergarten. I have explained that she did
these activities and I don't mind her doing them again - IF she
completes her work also. However, when it comes time to focus on her
work, she begins to act as though she were never taught the lesson.
An example of this: She completed a book exam and was ready for the
next math book. The first two lessons of the next book are nothing
but review of the previous book. Seat work that should have taken
10 to 20 minutes to complete took nearly an hour and a half. The
concepts were so simple that my frustration mounted at each missed
question. No matter how I presented the material (10 + 4 = 14), she
just sat and guessed every number around the right answer. How do
you get past days like this? It's not just math -- it's all subjects.
Needless to say, I cannot spend every moment with her. The other
child must be educated and the babies have needs also. Suggestions?"
-- Abbie
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Our Readers' Responses
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"Abbie -- I have countered this problem by changing my schedule. I
do all the 'fun', hands-on activities in the morning, allowing any
of my children to join in who want to (including my 11 year old!),
and then, while my younger children are asleep in the afternoon, I
do the 'sit-down' work with my 1st grader after she rests for a bit,
as well as meet with my older children to do any one-on-one teaching
necessary, and to correct their independent work. This way she is
not anxious to be doing what the others are doing, because it's
already been done! She also really likes this alone time with Mom,
and she works much faster and puts out higher quality work than if
I'm trying to get her to do it on the side while I'm working on other
things. My older children work fine independently, but my 1st grader
still needs Mom." -- Mindy
---
"Dear Abbie -- I also have 4 kiddos (14, 8, 5, and 3) and one of the
most important lessons I have learned is to be flexible. Your oldest
may be needing some extra one-on-one time with you. Maybe you could
include her in, or even let her lead, some of the activities for the
younger children -- and save her seat-work for a time when you can
sit with her. Even though she is your oldest, she is still just 8.
I have to remind myself of this often. I have scheduled our day
around one-on-one time with each child, even the 14 year old. You
would be amazed at what you can accomplish in 30-45 uninterrupted
minutes! Perhaps you could plan time for the 5 year old to entertain
the younger ones quietly or work during their nap times.
Regarding her 'regression' in abilities, it could be many things. She
may be acting out because she craves more attention, or maybe she is
going through a growth spurt and really is having trouble recalling
the information. Either way, spending an hour and a half on one
assignment won't help anyone's frustration level. When frustration
levels spike, put away the books and play a game. Math bingo, Blurt,
and Scrabble are favorites around here. Remember, one of the greatest
advantages to homeschooling is that you are in control! You are not
a slave to any one curriculum, schedule, or plan. Relax and have fun
with your little ones... all 4 of them!" -- Bonnie
---
"When we started homeschooling our 4 children, our oldest daughter
started having trouble staying focused on simple tasks. I began
setting a timer for 15 minute intervals and told her she needed to
finish an appropriate number of math problems, maybe 10 problems, in
that amount of time. I tried to find mostly positive rewards for
finishing with accuracy, but occasionally there had to be a negative
consequence. It took awhile to practice this, but she finally began
to internalize the ability to stay focused and motivated." -- Jody P.
---
"Abbie -- It is tough trying to schedule school time with more than
one child at home. I too have experienced what you are talking about.
What works for me (which, if I were still using Calvert, wouldn't work)
is having a shared History and Science. They are on the same level,
so we read the same things to both, but they might have different
projects and expectations. Then, with Reading and Math, I do the
one-on-one time. So I have that special time with them and the other
child is doing work on the computer, such as Rosetta Stone Spanish or
Click N Read phonics.
This has really helped me out; they don't focus so much on each other's
work -- they are separated -- and using headphones helps this out even
more!
Now if my oldest did a good job and has finished schooling, he can sit
with the younger one and actually do some of the teaching. The older
one likes to feel important (they know it because they have already
done this work before) and the younger one gets a different viewpoint
from my own. I do have to sit in or around them just to keep things
running smoothly." -- Heather B.
---
"I have a baby, two toddlers, and a Kindergartener to be, as well as
older boys, and my older boys do not like to work (excepting my almost
12 year old) when I am not at least up and rotating between them and
the little ones. Some kids just need Mom to be there while they're
working, and won't get past that until they mature some more. Just
accept it as something that your daughter needs and, if you can, come
by to check on her every few problems and put checks by what she's done
correctly so that she gets some positive feedback. Then go back to the
little ones. That's one suggestion. Another might be to try a unit
study approach or something like that where you can include all your
children together for instruction. Yet another idea might be that you
can offer to devote your time to her during part of the completion of
her worksheets if she, in return, will do some of the preschool teaching
herself. There are so many different solutions to this; figure out what
works for you!" -- Shelly S.
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Answer our NEW Question
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"I am homeschooling my soon-to-be 17 year old and he will be in
the 11th grade this year. I am looking for some art for him and
I don't know where to start online. A DVD would be fine, too.
I would be most thankful for any help with this!" -- Mary H.
---
Do you have high school art program ideas for Mary? (Replies will
be featured in our special HIGH SCHOOL issue of 7/27.)
Please send your answer to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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