Hi lilbean Welcome here ....My name is Tina and I have 3 boys. My oldest just turned 10 yo. He sounds a lot like my son. My son loves music and math both. He only went to ps part of a year in Kindergarten, but it was long enough to change his mind on reading. My kid that liked reading before he went to K, didn't like it afterward It took me 3 loooonnng years to get that love back but not without some real magic :wink: and lots of hard work on his part and mine both. So hang in there and I have a few tips :wink: First, lower his reading level by quite a bit. Lack of comprehension and decoding makes it a real bummer to read and not enjoy. He needs to feel mastery over what he reads right now. He needs to understand every word and you want him to *whiz* through what he reads. What this does is build confidence, reinforces what he does know and otherwise gets back his love for reading. The reason a lot of kids struggle too is because they did not have enough time to *lounge around* in easy readers. The ps is trying to get them to move ahead so fast they forget the process of becoming hooked on books for the love of reading. Young kids nees to read lots of simple easy books while you are introducing harder ones. One series of books that will get that love back is called Nate the Great. My science loving, math loving, visual son loves this series. Its about a boy detective that solves mysteries. Some of the series are on first grade level and the rest I believe are early second grade level. Anyway the series is fun, not babyish and keeps his interest. The boxcar children will too. Then for phonics practice let him read the beginner books of Dr. Seuss. Yes they are easy, but that is the idea :wink: Let him *hear* and say those vowel and phonics sounds. Go back to *Hop on Pop* *Green eggs and ham* *Go Dog Go*. I think he will tolerate these because they are so funny and they are real books instead of those little controlled phonics readers that make him feel young or what he might have used in the earlier grades. Also, let him read into a tape recorder. My son ABSOLUTELY loves this. Then have him play it back. He gets to hear himself read the same book or passage twice. In addition, take advantage of tapes on books! I cannot tell you how much they helped my son and ME when we were working on getting his love for reading back. They help because he can still be read too when mom needs a break. Your library should have lots of them. They don't take the place of your read alouds, they help fill in for you. Next, there is a company called www.highnoonbooks.com that specializes in low level reading for older students, ie. 3rd grade + and up. They have a wonderful series called Tom and Ricky series. This company is part of another called Academic Therapy Publications and have been around for a long time. The books are formatted for older students with high interest and a lower reading ability. They make chapter books with like a first grade reading level. :wink: I personally don't care for the hooked on phonics programs. I think something more straightforward for your son would work as far as phonics for your 1:1 time with him. A program called Reading Reflex by Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness is a wonderful resources for older students that need that remedial help. Sometimes it is just a lack of struggling with the mechanics of reading because of the way they were taught and they may need a review of the phonics rule. Sometimes they are reluctant readers because they just don't have the basic skills. I would spend 1/3 of our time on doing that type of written work and do as much as you can orally together. The rest of the time, i would read to him as Jackie suggested. Most children coming out of ps just did not get enough interactive time with the teacher. He needs to hear your voice and he needs to hear you think outloud pointing out phonics rules and words as you go along. Just point them out here and there, don't do so many that you distract from the reading. :wink: Go to storytime at the library on a regular basis. Find a good storyteller. We have one who reads orally well, plays a couple of instruments and loves to act out things. My oldest still loves this. If not at the library check out Barnes and Noble or other teacher supply stores around to find a storyteller that is talented. A boring one will turn him off. Leap frog makes first grade game about reading by Spider man that my boys still love. There are tons of software games by reader rabbit, Scholastic and Jumpstart that you can for 1/2 half off or less at Half Price book store. Get some of those easy phonics ones for first and second grade..He will love playing those instead of having to write out lots of worksheets. :wink: I'm not sure you mentioned which curriculum you were using....what are you using for spelling? Again, welcome here.... Blessings Tina
Thanks Tina, great advice. I actually read with him everyday. He is reading the level 1 and 2 books. I am using edhelper.com for all his work.
Sounds like you are on your way to having him get back his love for reading :wink: A couple of things, I would invest in a few pieces of curriculum. The money you save on school lunches, school supplies, 2 sets of wardrobe (one for fall and one for summer) and fundraisers could be used for investing in a few good pieces. There are tons of good used homeschooling sites.. One site is www.vegsource.com/homeschool. There are others too. For example, since his spelling is not as good as you think it should be, there are some wonderful spelling programs like Spelling Power that uses word families and builds different endings onto root words. In addition, a good math program to keep his interest peaked is a must imho. :wink: As far as reader or literature you can get that from the library as well as good science and history books... But for grammar, writing,spelling and math, I would look at putting something together. I know you said you have been homeschooling for a year now, have you used anything other than edhelper? I think websites are good,but at times they don't have enough review or instruction for student and mom too :wink: It sounds like you have been doing a great job in helping him rekindle his love for learning. I know in the older grades it gets especially important to have curriculum that is benefitting you and him both... Blessings Tina
Sorry so late in welcoming you! Been catching up on that today. I know you will like it here....and it seems you are already getting some great help. Again, welcome!
I have also used quantim leapfrog pads and workbooks from a homeschool supply place in my area. He has no problem in math. He is amazing in math. I will check out the site you posted, thanks. Thanks for the welcome Brooke........and everyone
