Homeschool and the Struggling Reader

 

Between Bee and Bug, I thought I had a seen a lot, and I thought I was a pretty experienced homeschool mom.  I also thought that reading was fairly straightforward.  The kids learn the basic sounds, and then they start to read simple books, and you just tell them about additional phonograms, silent e, and words with unusual spellings, right?  Well that's how it went for Bee and Bug.  Bee could read pretty well at 6 and Bug at 5.  They became obsessed with Garfield comics at around the age of 8.  We did some spelling instruction but almost no reading instruction.  (They both learned most of their basic sounds at Montessori school).  They always tested very high at reading.  

Dot, on the other hand, was completely different.  She did not go to Montessori school.  When she was 4, I got All About Reading pre-reading.  We did all of the lessons.  While going through them, I noticed that she struggled with the sound games and became extremely frustrated at times.  We went very slowly, and I did not force her to play games that she found upsetting. 

After that, I thought we would go right into Explode the Code Book 1.  That proved to be far too difficult. So, we did Explode the Code's pre-reading program, which was immensely helpful.  It also took a while, and I think we finished when she was 6. At the same time, she tried a handwriting class, which she found extremely frustrating.  She also worked on phonics and sounds as part of a weekly kindergarten homeschool class. 

At the time we moved house, she had turned 7, and the concept of using sounds to make 3-letter words was just starting to click.  She had difficulties that her brothers never had: adding sounds that weren't there, lack of sound awareness, doing lots of guessing, struggling with very simple word blends.  Letters D and B constantly mixed up.  When writing, letter reversals were constant.  (Her focus and concentration, however, are excellent.)

Still, her reading skills improved.  We continued with Explode the Code, and it gradually got easier.  We bought every BOB book in existence, and she read them repeatedly.  She seemed to need a lot of reinforcement on the basics.  

I didn't push her, and we didn't spend an inordinate amount of time on reading and phonics, just a little bit a day.   Explode the Code, BOB books, The Good and the Beautiful handwriting.  

I have tried very hard not to let my stress and my ideas about timelines for reading interfere with her process of developing the skills of reading, writing, and spelling.  Her brain is ready when it's ready!  

Gradually, we finished Explode the Code Book 1 and tried Book 2, but it was too hard, so I got book 1.5.  One day Book 2 was very easy, and we skipped a lot of it and moved into Book 3 and worked through it pretty quickly.  

Gradually, she started reading words in the wild more frequently.  She graduated the BOB books and reads things like George and Martha.  We are currently working in Explode the Code books 4 and 3.5 and continuing with handwriting.  Her dad reads to her at night, and she reads to him, and she listens to hours a day of audiobooks.  

She loves to write and illustrate stories for fun and loves calendars and her planner that she got for Christmas.  Her spelling is unusual but shows consistent improvement. 

Meanwhile, I found out that at least two of her cousins have a dyslexia diagnosis.  I also talked to many homeshool moms with children who had that diagnosis, and it seemed like Dot and I were already doing what was recommended for reading difficulties (phonics, individual attention).  I suspect she could qualify for a dyslexia diagnosis, and we might want to have testing at some point, especially if it can be done in a convenient and inexpensive way.   

I also have homeschooling friends whose children have far greater struggles than Dot.  Some have chosen to use a professional reading tutor, and that is something I would absolutely want to utilize if I felt we were stuck.  But as I am seeing steady progress, I have not explored that route.  

I have NO ISSUE at all with her having a "label."  But it isn't worth the time and effort of acquiring the label will not change how we are educating her.  There have been times when I have been worried that people might judge us and think that we are not educating her properly.  But her Sunday school teachers and other teachers have all been kind, understanding, and supportive.  When I told one of them about her being behind in reading she just said, "Oh, I hope you're giving her lots of phonics, since they don't do that in the schools." 

At the age of 8, Dot keeps making steady progress, and I think she is doing great.  She has a very solid foundation in phonics and continues building on it. 

Most importantly, she loves reading and says that it is her favorite subject! 

Reading, Writing, and Math with a Planner

 

As a very last-minute gift, I ordered Dot a planner for Christmas.  I found a kid's planner from Erin Condren, and I bought it because I like planners (especially bullet journals), and I hoped that Dot would find it fun as well.  She has been really excited about it, and it's one of the gifts that she has shown the most interest in. 

I was looking for a planner that was monthly because weekly seems like a little too much for an 8-year-old.  This one has all sorts of fun pages for kids to fill out about themselves, so it's a little bit like a diary as well, and it will make a very cute keepsake. 

I also liked that it came with sticker pages for each month.  This means that the planner is not specific to any month or year.  Dot has to put the month sticker in and then all of the numbers, which is good for her.  Simply by using the planner, she has been practicing her reading, writing, and math (calendar/time) without knowing that she is doing any sort of school. 

She has had a wall calendar for a long time.  I got that for her because she kept asking me "how many days until..."  Having a wall calendar allowed her to write important dates on it and seemed to alleviate some of her anxiety.  I'm hoping that planner will help her to feel a little more in control of her life as well.  

Mostly, though, I'm just happy that we have a shared hobby and can sit on the couch together and do planners. 

10th Grade Homeschool Plan

Well,  my wonderful Bug, my 10th grader, is nearly a foot taller than me.  I never put his 9th grade plan on here.  He is my middle child, and he is the child who looks the most like me (except much taller and far more masculine).  Bug struggles to do "homework," and so I attempted to find him online classes that have optional homework and emphasize class discussion and activities.  We do not "teach" him anything, as he thinks his parents are dumb.  Even though he thinks we are dumb, he prefers that we choose all of his classes for him, and he refuses to request to learn anything.   My husband is supposed to badger him about getting his co-op classes done.   Again, I am in seminary/grad school full time, and my time is very limited.  Here is his plan, which may change: 

English:  2 co-op classes.  One focuses on reading The Lord of the Rings, and the other is a Creative Writing Class.  He also reads audiobooks voraciously, often for many hours a day.   

Social Studies:  He will be taking Western Civ at co-op and attempting to pass the CLEP.  

Math:  I signed him up for Algebra II on Outschool.  The class meets twice a week and homework completion is up to the parent (my husband).  Math comes easily to Bug, so I think this will be a good fit.  He does not do well with self-paced classes, so we really needed to find something interactive. 

Science:  I am hoping for him to take core science at community college next year.  I signed him up for 2 science electives, Astronomy and Earth Science, on Outschool, where the course objectives are met during class.  Bug learns well from lecture and discussion.  

Foreign Language:  Bug got burnt out on private lessons, so he is signed up for a group Spanish Class on outschool that meets 4x a week.  I'm sure the teacher is good, but she is not a native speaker.  But I do need to compromise with Bug, who felt anxious during private lessons.  I think the 4x a week will be very good for him, and maybe he will start doing Duolingo Spanish as well. 

The Arts:  So far, I have signed Bug up for an Anime drawing class and an Anime discussion class.  I may add more classes/piano lessons, but I want to get settled into our schedule first. 

2nd Grade Homeschool Plan

 

Well, Dot is 8 and entering the 2nd grade.   Because she was my 3rd child, because she was my last child, because I was 35 years old when I had her, because I had been homeschooling for a very long time, because I am a little bit OLD, it seemed only to make sense to delay starting kindergarten with her.  As it turned out, she also took a while to show readiness for reading, and I am so grateful that I listened to my "old mom" instincts and didn't rush her.  Because at the age of 8, she is suddenly taking off with reading.  Over the summer, while I was too busy with my internship to work with her, she started to understand the need for vowels, stopped reversing most of her letters, and became able to read signs and all sorts of things that she sees in her daily life.  I am so excited to witness this!  The miracle of reading!  In the meantime, she has been listening to audio books (often for several hours each day).  

She will be attending co-op classes one day a week this coming year.  Because I am in school full-time I was not able to drive them anywhere last year.  My husband decided he could not either, but after a year of having them home all day while he worked, he changed his mind.  They will each have 3 co-op classes this year and lunch.  We are also using some online classes, carefully selecting them for her hands-on and artistic learning style.  And we are involved in a social group that we will try and meet up with once a week or so.  When the weather turns bad, it will sadly be less.  Thankfully, there are neighbors to play and interact with. 

As always, this plan is a rough draft.  We will adjust and change as we see fit.  As the weather gets worse, we may add some fun online classes. 

Here is her plan.  Of course, so much more is learned through play with friends, family, and by herself, through interactions with people and animals, through her own explorations and times of introspection.  Most of what she learns can never be recorded or quantified. 

English:   

• Explode the Code phonics (She is in book 3 right now and going through it very quickly).  
• The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting (continuing the first grade level). 
• Various readers
• Phonics with crafts class online
• Daily self-directing listening to audiobooks 

Math: 

• Life of Fred

• Addition and Subtraction worksheets & activities

Science:  

• Kiwi Crate
• nature study
• gardening
• composting 
• field trips 

Social Studies: 

• Wonders of the World craft class online 
• field trips
• historical books 
• Sunday school
• Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (if offered) 

Foreign Language

• Sign Language class at co-op

The Arts

• Craft Class at co-op

• Piano at co-op 

I homeschooled while attending seminary full time

 Yes, I homeschooled for a full year while attending seminary full time, while my husband worked from home.  I nearly lost my mind, my husband nearly lost his mind, and the children learned!  We survived!  We took the summer off, and we are ready for another year.  I can't believe I haven't updated this blog in so long.  Bee (age 19) took a year off to work, and now he has gone away to college. 

I just finished writing up my yearly progress reports for Bug (age 15) and Dot (age 8), and I also wrote out plans for the coming school year (which are the rough drafts for next year's progress reports.)  

I'm so glad we are still homeschooling.  I never expected to have kids with special needs, but Bee has ADHD, Bug has characteristics of autism, and Dot has a reading delay/possible dyslexia (something I never anticipated).  I think that all three of them are intellectually gifted, which is both wonderful and complicated.  For spiritual, academic, and emotional reasons, I do think that homeschooling has been a good decision for all three of them.  It has not always been perfect or ideal or easy.  I hope that this blog (however poorly updated) shows something of our struggle.  

We have been homeschooling for 12 years, and it has been a joy and and a struggle, and so many times I have questioned myself, but right now I am just thankful to God and to all of the wonderful parents and teachers who have helped us on our journey

8th Grade Homeschool Plan

 I see that I never wrote out Bug's homeschool plan for the year.  Poor Bug, my middle child.  

For his 8th grade, we are doing:  

• English:  Bug reads constantly, mostly fantasy books.  It is not unusual for him to spend several hours a day reading.  He prefers audiobooks.  He has taken an Outschool course on Shakespeare, and is currently in an essay writing and a creative writing course on that platform.  
• Math:  Teaching Textbooks Algebra I.  If he has questions, he can ask his very own dad with a PhD in math.  Bug has done pretty well with this program.  Once we figured out how to access the textbook, he stopped watching the videos and is much happier and scoring higher.  I like this program because it is easy to keep track of Bug's progress.  
• Social Studies:  For the fall semester, we took a road trip out west and visited several national parks.  Bug also read Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac.  So I am giving him half a credit for "Geography of the Western United States."  For spring, he is taking a couple of classes in economics on Outschool, one more traditional and another that is kind of an RPG.  
• Science:  Bug took a Life Science course on Outschool his first semester, and is now taking a speculative evolution course this semester.  In addition, he chooses to watch science videos on Youtube for fun.  He has also been teaching himself Javascript.  
• Foreign Language:  Bug takes private Spanish lessons with native Spanish speakers online from Homeschool Spanish Academy.  
• PE:  Taekwondo, scout activities, family hikes.  

Next year, I am going to insist that Bug add some kind of artistic endeavor (other than writing) to his life.  

The Futility and Appeal of Record Keeping

I am starting to think about our next homeschooling year.  We will be moving to a different state, and I will be a residential graduate student/seminarian, instead of a hybrid-distance student.  This means that I will be on a schedule more than I have been in the past.  I will need to be a little more structured with our time, I suppose.  I will be homeschooling my two younger children, both of whom are not too challenging to homeschool.  

My wonderful oldest, Bee, really is kind of like an insect, hopping about from flower to flower.  Keeping records on his learning has been nearly impossible.  He is one of the smartest, most knowledgeable 17-year-olds that I know, with an excellent SAT score to show for it.  He is incredibly articulate, has a strong writing voice, and possesses a storehouse of knowledge on history and computers, among other things.  He also speaks Spanish with a beautiful pronunciation.  He plays guitar and sings.   And he cooks, cleans, and can make home repairs.  But planning and tracking his learning has been like, How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?  

So, I am starting to think about keeping more structured records this coming year, checking off the subjects that were studied each day.  And I question my motivations.  Because I know that whatever structured school I provide is often very good, but often the most quality learning that happens in my children happens internally, is self initiated, and I may not even be aware of it.  Homeschooling creates an ideal environment for spontaneous learning and creativity.  For instance, Dot makes up songs constantly.  Bug has become obsessed with java script as of late and works on that.  

And am I really concerned about someone accusing us, after all these years, of educational neglect?  Some social worker coming around to tell my husband (PhD) and me (MEd and MDiv-in-progress) that our precocious children are, in fact, ignorant?  Concerned enough to check a bunch of boxes and count "school days?"  But, on the other side of it, record keeping, even though I always sort of forget about it after a while, often has the result of making me feel affirmed because I see just how much learning that my children are doing.  

Bug and Dot are a little bit easier to track than their older brother.  And, now that I don't have anyone who is hyperactive or really little running around, it's easier for me to take a little time to keep records on a more daily/weekly basis.  I'm having fun making a planner (that's definitely the fun part), and I plan to share what I created on this blog at some point.