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We're getting ready to start homeschool in the Fall. Emma is going to be 4 1/2, the age at which her preschool ends (or we'd keep her there another year.)
I've got dance classes picked out (she wants to do ballet, tap, and Irish step dancing; I found a dance studio within walking distance that is well regarded and has intro to ballet and tap in one class for kids her age, and a studio nearby that offers Irish dance starting at age 4. If she does well in the intro class and still wants to do Irish dance, and shows she has the discipline to practice and stick with it, we'll start her in Irish dance.) I have math planned (at her age, a mixture of number recognition concepts, counting and grouping with tactile objects, shape recognition with tactile activities, and when she progresses past that to basic addition and subtraction, flash card games.) Science ditto, science is already part of our day to day life, we'll expand to doing experiments or observations several times a week and use online resources and museums to learn about the wider world that we don't have immediate access to. Social studies and geography at this level will be mostly covered by reading stories about families and cultures similar and different to ours and discussing, augmented with field trips to museums and cultural events and experiences (we are very lucky to live in L.A.) and games with the globe and maps. We'll be doing ASL with the Signing Time! program that is shown once a week on PBS and practicing throughout the week. So I'm pretty confident in all that; my trepidation is mostly in reading and writing. Hence the questions.
I already know that Emma is a very tactile learner. I'm looking into the Handwriting without Tears program. I'd start with the Kindergarten program, which uses the workbook Letters and Numbers for Me, as well as chalk and slate practice and wood form manipulation to teach printing and concepts of left-to-right and up-and-down letter and word orientation (I already know one of her big issues is the concept that letters have to go in order from left to right to make words) as well as correct form, sequencing, and pencil technique. Does anyone have experience with this program? Will it be hard to "un teach" her any bad habits she may already have (though other than a problem with orientation I haven't noticed any?) I've read that it is specifically designed to do that.
Also, reading. I'd like to use something that uses a mixture of mostly phonics and a few sight words. I've heard that Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (which is the SRA/McGraw DISTAR or Language for Learning method of phonics) is a good one for home use. In fact, I've heard rave reviews. However, from what I'm reading, it's not extraordinarily interactive. What can I supplement with since Emma is a very tactile/interactive learner? Or will the writing program being interactive be enough for her to connect with the reading?
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I have used Handwriting without Tears and hated it...infact I and my collegues refered to it as Handwriting with Tears because it seemed the students struggled with it more than regular handwriting, it may work well in a one on one setting but it sure did not work well in a classroom with 25 kids.
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"Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" is what my mom used for me and my sisters (we were/are all homeschooled), and she's one of the people who would give it rave reviews. I honestly don't remember much of it (I was a child), however me and all of my sisters are proficient readers and really didn't have any problems learning. I don't know if that has to do with our predisposition towards reading or with the curriculum, but my mom would give at least partial credit to the curriculum.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I was not homeschooled persay, but my mother did much of what you're describing above anyway, and she's also an early childhood educator, so the below is me drawing on her knowledge and what happened in my house.
If she's a tactile learner, how about buying her refrigerator letters and sitting down at the fridge with her? Try putting word labels on everything in the house (cupboard, door, cat, sister) etc. So, she gets used to attaching words to things, rather than only in books. Obviously, in all your experiments and cooking and museum visits you can help her find words she recognizes as they appear in the world around her. She can help write things on the shopping list and such.
I don't think the order of letters needs to be taught out of her, as it were, but will simply come as she gets used to it.
I don't think that you have to follow any kind of pre-set teaching regime when you're starting out. I certainly wouldn't become fixated on one particular regime to the exclusion of other ideas or indeed your own ideas, but only use one as workbooks or guidance. Surround her with words and letters and books in all shapes and forms and work with her as you learn how she approaches them.
It's a real shame that this series doesn't exist in America. They're great and according to my mother's experiences, they can be very successful where other books failed at getting kids interesting in reading. (They're really exciting!) Me and all my siblings, along with dozens of other kids my mother has taught, learnt to read with them (not with the whole system but with the graded books, starting at stage 5; the books get more difficult, in the same story, as they go, so it's like starting a tv show only to discover that at the end you're an expert and you didn't even notice.) If you can order them or something, I highly recommend them.
She may prefer to read non-fiction than fiction (my brother did), so don't forget to visit the non-fiction kids section of the library.
As for the interactive thing, I'm pretty sure that most kids, regardless of their learning style, find reading relatively interactive, since they are active in figuring out what words say. If not, you can always write your own books and do your own illustrations to keep her interested or get a couple of books with flaps and such.
Read frequently, but not for too long.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I don't know anything about the program you are talking about, but if you want a resource of leveled readers that you can print out at home, I recommend www.readinga-z.com. For a $80.00 year subscription, there are over 2500 books and other resources that you can download. Then you print out whatever you need whenever you need it (this year or in five years, you still have the download for that one year's subscription). And many of the books also come in French and Spanish if you are going the dual-language route. The levels range from pre-primer (one word on a page) to fifth grade level. The pictures on the nonfiction books are excellent and realistic. On the fiction books they can be colored in (line drawings). There are 32 free samples you can look at. ~Sala (also Sparky on Nauvoo)
Posts: 315 | Registered: Dec 2005
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Sala, that is a great resource I haven't seen before. I don't think I'll use it this year but maybe next year when we're more set and I've figured out more of what exactly I'd like to do and use. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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KQ - When my middle son was in school, and really struggling with his dyslexia/dysgraphia, many people on the forums I frequented at the time (related to his struggles) had high praise for Handwriting Without Tears for their own tactile kids.
I never had the chance/money to try it for my son, and he was already pretty much beyond that level by the time he was diagnosed -- but I wanted you to know there were many people who thought it was excellent.
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I asked my mom (an OT) about it and she says she's never worked with it (she works mainly as a nurse) but she has only heard good of it from other OTs and in publications that examine it.
As far as reading, as an alternative to the system I mentioned I'm looking into the "Explode the Code" phonics workbooks. Anyone have experience with those?
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Yeah Like I said about Writing without tears...I think it would work well one on one but I know I would never use it in a multilearner setting if I had a choice. It just does not work well it is a lot more one on one based and it made it very hard and uncomfortable for both me and the students to try and do handwriting.
Posts: 176 | Registered: Jun 2008
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I've used Writing Without Tears, as have the OT's that worked with my son on his handwriting problems when he was in gradeschool. I can't say I love it. The main problem that we keyed on was his posture and how he held his pencil. The best way to fix that was to use a Penagain (I think those have been discussed on Hatrack before...it's been a while though).
Mostly I suggest for handwriting just lots and lots of practice. Rainbow (she's 6 now) loves to write words, which is a lot less boring than writing the same letter over and over again. Get wide rule paper and use two lines to form letters, rather than getting the special paper for handwriting. That way it will seem like grownup writing which is more fun. I would approach it from a 'this is a fun way to communicate' direction than 'this is the way you write' way. One fun way I have her practice, and this is a great boredom buster when you don't have anything but paper and a pen, is to write notes to each other. Or play word association by writing the words rather than saying them. Forget about spelling while doing this, and just have fun seeing what words you share with each other. Also, write notes to relatives or friends and mail them with her.
You can play 'how pretty can I make my letters' if she tends more toward speed than accuracy.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Um... Since right now she's having trouble even writing letters in the correct shape and order, I'm going to assume that was a tip for when she learns them?
I'm going with HWOT for writing. I've decided, for her learning approach and particular problems, it's ideal.
Now I'm just trying to decide about reading. I never had a problem reading, I came to school basically learning to read (hadn't been taught-- just "picked it up") and never had a problem. If Emma's like me the "100 easy lessons" method will work fine, because once I got to a 2nd grade reading level I never looked back and had no problems working up to more difficult material. I didn't "sound words out", I just read them, the whole process was quickly internalized.
My husband, on the other hand, had trouble learning to read. He has no problems now (although sometimes comprehension of very technically worded stuff can be a trial for him) but we know now that he has some kind of learning disability that was never diagnosed. Once he did learn to read he was fine with reading (though still had some other minor learning problems) but getting there was a struggle. If Emma takes after him, I'm worried that 100 easy lessons will leave her without the phonics support she needs.
So I think I'm going to talk to KPC's mom in detail about how he learned to read, what helped him, etc. Then I'll see if I can figure out by playing some "games" with Ems if she might have difficulties that lie along the same lines. If she does I'll definitely get something that goes slowly and gives lots of support and reinforcement of phonics, so she's not left behind later.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I have a great program that deals with phonic training for struggling students, but because of my shift and recent move, I am not sure where it is or the exact name of the program...I want to say Phonic Blending but not 100% sure I will try to hunt it down and pass the true title onto you. It works very well with showing letter cards and sounding out the sounds and then blending them together...for example you would show a t say t says tah then show and a and say a say a and the show a p and say p say puh. The slowly say the sounds again tah a puh. Then say faster and faster to get tap. Each time you to it you slide the letters closer together. Kind of like the old Electric Company Shadows.
Posts: 176 | Registered: Jun 2008
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I did 100 EZ lessons with my older two and LOVED it. They actually didn't even make it to the end of the book because they picked up the lessons so quickly towards the end and went off reading. I am trying to incorporate it a bit more with my youngest that I am not homeschooling at the moment since his school doesn't teach phonics - they use sight words which is worthless because all he does is recognize a few letters and then guesses until he guesses correctly. I want him to learn to sound things out. The lessons are short max of 20 mins so they are perfect for young learners. At the end of each lesson they practice writing the letters they were learning. If she needs more practice have her write in sand or other textures after practicing on paper. I really recommend 100 EZ lessons. I used it and then used Explode the Code and it worked very well together. Oh and 100 EZ lessons will teach her the sounds of the letters so she'll be able to sound out words - its very phonics friendly.
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I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that a 4 yo doesn't need a curriculum yet.
Some lined paper and a pencil, magnetic letters/numbers, and a shelf-full of her favorite books will probably do it. My wife would also suggest some Barney video's (alphabet & counting themed), but that doesn't sit well with some people!
Four of my five kids started public school at approx. 6 years of age. They all knew how to read, count to 100+, and do some simple addition and subtraction. We accomplished this with only the items listed above.
Last year we pulled all our kids from public school and began homeschooling (long story, many reasons... best decision we ever made!). We've tried and discarded many curricula (curriculums?) in the past year; it's been a royal pain in the keister (and my wallet).
If I were you, I'd bag the formal curriculum for now, start teaching the basics and then follow her lead as you observe her progress. When she's older (6 or 7) you can start looking at the different curricula out there.
Suggestion: Avoid the "all in one" packages (i.e. math, reading, science, social studies, etc. in a box). We discovered that usually, we liked one course of study, like reading, but hated some others, like math or science.
Check around for a local homeschooling group. (we have two here in NE Indiana link, link) Each year they hold a "curriculum swap". It's an excellent source of free or inexpensive used curriculum, and if it doesn't work out, you can always bring it back and foist it off on someone else next year!
There are TONS of other resources on the web also. If you want, I can ask my wife for some of the more helpful ones she's found and post them here later (or send them directly, your choice).
For now though, your daughter will probably learn the most sitting in your lap with her favorite book!
Posts: 692 | Registered: Feb 2000
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DSH, we are not going with formal curriculum for anything but reading and writing. I have already spent years observing her learning style-- and I have come to the conclusion that, for her, formal curriculum in these subjects is necessary right now to address some issues she has. I've got a huge list of web resources, which I plan to use-- eventually. This fall, we're just going to focus on reading and writing, with some math and science "play" interspersed, and dance classes, and some stories, and most of the day devoted to undirected playing.
I do lean heavily toward unschooling. I wouldn't even be teaching at all this year except that Emma is eager to read and write, and I want to capitalize on that while she has such great enthusiasm.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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