Friday, 10 April 2009
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Something I want to remember
Jade and Daniel pretend quite a bit, giving voice to dolls or animals or imaginary beings that I can't see. A frequent character is named Sonalaw. It took me quite a quite a while to figure out that they mean "son-in-law." No idea where this originated, but I think it's precious.
They are pretending now that Sonalaw likes to wrestle, but they say "russel."
Wednesday, 08 April 2009
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My dentist may be the only one happy about this
It's stress. I know it is.
I suddenly feel compelled to floss my teeth multiple times a day. Like five times. Or six. Or more if I don't fight the urge. I swear I can feel things stuck between my teeth. Even right now.
If I know it is stress-induced, does that make this little OCD revelation any less bizarre? Probably not but it's a small comfort to me to think that it does!
Monday, 06 April 2009
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I said I needed a plan, so now I have one...
It's official. Daniel has a formal diagnosis: severe dyslexia and severe dysgraphia, speech articulation issues that merit one-on-one speech therapy, and a suggestion that we have Daniel tested for ADD and/or Asperger's. Then, let's add to that the sensory integration issues we already knew about.
I'm not a huge fan of labeling people according to disabilities. I don't think everyone who is different needs to be "cured" or medicated. In Daniel's case, though, we felt like we needed a direction. We had tried several different reading programs, and he would start strong but then reach a point where he couldn't move forward or would become seriously frustrated. Or, in some cases, he would take a step backward. With this diagnosis comes recommendations of things we can do that are proven to help kids with dyslexia learn to read and spell and, most importantly in my mind, rediscover the love of learning.
One example of a little thing that already is helping in a big way: Having a number line taped to the table while he is doing math. Daniel is really good at math, but he spends a lot of energy thinking about how to write the numbers, and that takes away from the pleasure of a subject he could enjoy. With the number line, he can see the shape of the number he wants to write and not have to visualize it, which is very difficult for him to do.
I don't know if we will test for ADD or Asperger's. There doesn't seem to be need to rush into it right now, but we may in the future if we feel a diagnosis would be helpful to Daniel or to our family in some way. I feel like I can do reading and research on my own for a while.
In the meantime, I am rethinking the way we home school. The curriculum we had been using is fairly heavy on workbooks, labeling maps and timelines, copy work, recitation and the like. So... out with a good chunk of it, at least for now. We also will be schooling year-round, taking short breaks when we need to instead of taking a long break over the summer.
Here's the new plan. Some of this we were already doing, but some is new. We will start on Tuesday if all goes well. The only books I'm missing at this point are the handwriting workbooks, and I'll have to wait till the next payday to order those.
LANGUAGE ARTS
* Barton Reading System
* Evan Moor "A Word A Day" vocabulary
* Story books and chapter books of interest (read aloud by Lisa)
* Audio books of interest
* Speech therapy starting mid-May
HANDWRITING
* Handwriting Without Tears program
* Sandpaper letters
TYPING
* Type to Learn Jr. computer program
MATH
* Singapore Math (3A for Daniel and 1B for Jade)
* Cuisenaire rods/activity book and other manipulatives as needed
SCIENCE
* "Nature" DVDs and the like
* "Living World Encyclopedia" and other books for reading/discussion on topics of interest
* Experiments from Usborne science books
* Encourage nature journals/photography and hands-on nature activities
HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
* "Story of the World" for reading/discussion
* Consider how SOTW would work with timeline we already have set up
* Periodically review states, oceans, continents, directions on wall map
ART AND MUSIC
* Continue private art lessons once a week
* "Children's Book of Art" and other books for art history/appreciation
* Craft projects of interest
* "Story of the Orchestra"
BIBLE
* "101 Favorite Bible Stories" (Lisa reads and kids illustrate/retell/dramatize/felt board/whatever, etc.)
OTHER
* The Book of Days for seasonal activities
* Park days and field trips with homeschool friends
If you've gotten this far, you may notice that there are no spelling tests, no math drills, no memorization of rote facts. I can't say I'm sorry to see any of that go!
Friday, 13 March 2009
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Brain dump
My thoughts are all jumbled right now. Daniel has now gone through a total of four hours of testing, broken down into smaller bits over two days. We are fairly certain he has dyslexia. We already knew he had some lingering speech issues. And the speech-language pathologist alluded to "other stuff going on," possibly involving a problem with his long-term memory. We'll get the full report back in another week or two.
I'm doing what I do: I alternate between feeling like we can conquer any learning disability thrown our way OR freaking out over the stress of wondering what we need to do. I need a plan. I'm not the sort who functions well on maybes and mights at some undetermined time in the murky future. I want to know what we have to do and when we are going to do it, or my mind can't rest. Of course, we can't make a plan until we get that report back.
I've been scouring Amazon and dyslexia Web sites to put together a book list. That's something else I do. I read everything I can get my hands on. I have some credit to spend at Powell's, but I want to read some more reviews online check the library before I actually buy anything.
I have:
* Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
On the wishlist:
* The Misunderstood Child: Understanding and Coping with Your Child's Learning Disabilities by Larry Silver
* Basic Facts about Dyslexia and Other Reading Problems by Louisa Cook Moats and Karen E. Dakin
* Your Child's Growing Mind by Jane Healy
* About Dyslexia: Unraveling the Myth by Pricilla Vail
* How to Reach and Teach Children and Teens with Dyslexia: A Parent and Teacher Guide... by Cynthia Stowe
* A Special Education: One Family's Journey Through the Maze of Learning Disabilities by Dana Buchman and Charlotte Farber
* Mothers Talk About Learning Disabilities: Personal Feelings, Practical Advice by Elizabeth Weiss
* Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success by Wiley Blevins
Web sites to study:
* Barton Reading System: http://www.bartonreading.com/
* Bright Solutions: http://brightsolutions.us/
* International Dyslexia Association: http://www.interdys.org/
* Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/questions/dyslexia
* Learning Disabilities Online: http://ldonline.org/
* All Kinds of Minds: http://www.allkindsofminds.org/ptk/index.aspx
* Texas Scottish Rite Hospital: http://www.tsrhc.org/dyslexia.htm
Our entire homeschool curriculum is going to have to be evaluated once we get the results of Daniel's testing. My thinking right now is that we will immediately take six weeks or so off for me to gather my wits and figure out what we need to do as far as tailoring a curriculum, then start back to school at the beginning of May and work through the summer -- essentially year-round school with short breaks when we need them instead of following the traditional school calendar. There's so much I don't know right now, but I hope putting all of this here will help my brain power down so I can sleep!
Wednesday, 04 March 2009
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Cleaning up a bit
I've just gone through and made my posts from the last five years private. I'm not trying to hide anything from anyone specific, but since I don't post much here anymore it feels strange to have the old posts public. There's a lot of emotion in those posts. This is, perhaps, a fresh start. Or maybe it's a finish. I don't know just yet.
midnightowl
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- Name: Lisa
- Country: United States
- Member Since: 11/18/2003
