Thursday, March 1, 2012

What I Haven't Done

When we made the decision to homeschool our two children, we knew a few things we'd be up against: questions of socialization, the loss of a second income, having to choose curricula.  The first two, though decidedly un-American, we've dealt with.  My kids are not shy recluses, though I admit that my daughter is something of a history geek who has announced that she prefers Colonial history despite Byron's efforts to get her interested in the Civil War.  I don't have a problem with that.  And the second has somehow worked, by the grace of God.  Remember that fish-and-loaves miracle?  Well, let's just say Jesus never changes and though we're not taking lavish Disney vacations, we always have enough.


The third is where I continue to struggle.  Folks, there are A LOT of options out there for homeschoolers, and at times it can be overwhelming.  And part of the struggle is finding what works for your children, who (guaranteed) are not going to learn the same way you or their siblings do.


Take Akea, for instance.  We're on reading program #???.  She's an auditory learner who can memorize anything from Shakespeare to Robert Frost...and she could probably pass a high school history SOL test.  But throw a word at her that she's never read before, and she falls to pieces.  I, on the other hand, am a visual/kinestetic learner, so I have literally cried over the past two years in trying to find a way to teach her to read without shelling out thousands of dollars that we don't have for a private tutor.  At seven, I thought she'd be at least plowing through Shakespeare Magic Treehouse books, but even those are a struggle for her.  And it's been a struggle for me, too.  I've taught older kids, but had been told teaching a youngster to read is simple.  Sorry to say it, but in our case, that's delusional.


I also thought we'd have started a foreign language program by now, but that's been put on the back burner.  AND I thought I'd have time to teach her some drawing skills, go on field trips once a week, and do weekly history and science projects.  We are a part of Classical Conversations, and I thank God for that program.  And though we've done several lapbooks this year, it's been a struggle to find the time to do those, because above all, I want her to be able to read the books she loves so much.


So what are we doing?  Well, I dig the whole phonics thing.  Really, I do.  I found a wonderful program called All About Spelling that focuses on phonics and presents the information in logical, bite-sized ways.  And don't let the "spelling" part fool you.  This is very much a program that can be used to teach reading, though they have come up with All About Reading recently.  I've started that with Charlie and have been very pleased.


Last week I added in something else that I think is helping her tremendously.  At my sister-in-law's recommendation, I got a couple Mr. Pudder and Tabby books from the library.  At Byron's suggestion (he is also very auditory), she sits down with one and reads a chapter.  On a scrap piece of paper, she writes down words she can't decode (read).  I then transfer them onto flashcards, using my best wanna-be-elementary-school-teacher handwriting.  We have a pretty big stack from just one book, and we go over them daily.  Phonics purists may cringe, but you know what?  It's working.  It's strengthening her visual memory.  And being the nerd that I am, I point out phonics rules to her, though I think for the most part they go in one ear and out the other.  Maybe it's a Machiavellian approach, but she's reading those books beautifully. 


I'm including this in the Rural Thursday blog hop because like homesteading, homeschooling is a bit of an "opting out."  And I'd love to meet others who have similar struggles/solutions/ingenious suggestions.

Rural Thursday Blog Hop

9 comments:

  1. BRAVO! You are doing something!!! You are seeking to find the best way for your children to learn and recognizing that they are all different! As a fellow home educator (for 18yrs and still going for another 3) I can totally relate to the reading issues. Hang in there. She'll get it. On her own time. That's one of the reasons you home educate. Finding something that peaks her interest and gets her in a book is important. You can teach phonics as you go along, just like you're doing! Great post, btw :)

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    1. Here's a link that I found several years ago and it really helped me to understand Dyslexia better. I know it can be overwhelming, and people who haven't experienced it have no idea what it's like. I hope it helps.

      http://www.cannell.com/learning-center.html

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  2. I'm impressed! I taught public high school for 34 years, and I'll admit there was a time when I questioned homeschooling, but I got over that. Parents need to do what they think is best for their children; hopefully, they are helping their children. I'm 69 years old, so I learned to read and spell through phonics. When I taught, I would often say, "Sound it out" when someone was struggling with a word, or when my own two boys saw a new word. I'm a visual learner and a darned good speller. ;-) I 'see' the word. My husband misspells words that I don't think he should. Both sons are good readers and spellers, but still have some weaknesses. I'm such a believer in reading's power to open all sorts of wonderful self-learning for children, and I hope you've figured out how best to teach Akea this wonderful skill.

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  3. I did not homeschool, but I think you will find many of my blog friends do and hopefully, will have some insights for you.

    I applaud what you are doing -- :)

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  4. It sounds like you're doing all the right things - just by being flexible and creative about it. Pierce was an early reader, and he started with sight words and then I taught him the phonics part about 6 months later. It was just what worked for him, and he was really self-motivated to learn. Math on the other hand......

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  5. i'm curious. being that i came from a huge family of teachers... i went to public school & suddenly i've seemed to come in contact with lots of people who home school ... was curious to hear you reasoning behind it ... is it religious reasons? because of work reason? time or health issues? i hope it is ok to ask? seems to be a very popular thing lately. glad to meet you, hopped over thanks, to the rural thursdays. take care. (:

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    1. Hi, Beth! I may need to do a post on this, but let me start out by saying that my husband is actually a public high school teacher! Though he loves his job, he really felt that our kids could get a better education at home...and so did I. Mandatory standards are continually being scaled down, private school is not an option for us, and the classical model we use really takes into consideration the development of the child. I also feel that my daughter would have easily slipped through the cracks, in many ways, in a large classroom. We're taking this one year at a time, but for now, it seems to be the best option for us. Thank you for asking!

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  6. I homeschooled my two kids (now 25 and 26) k-6 and loved it... I always looked forward to new books and lessons each year! God bless you!

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