Getting school books this year has been an adventure. A. They are expensive. B. I needed to try something new with our youngest because she has had learning difficulties with the traditional textbook/workbook way of doing things. I have already worked very intensely on remedial reading with her. She is now reading on her grade level, praise be. We are still working on fluency, but for the most part, she has come a long way with that. Also, Math was so impossible. It didn't matter how I explained things, it just didn't stick. She would understand right then, but later I would have to start all over. I finally broke down and called a professional that works with dyslexic kids. After informally testing her using this person's online testing site (since her offices are in California), we found that her problems probably do not stem from dyslexia at all, but rather in auditory processing. Suggestions were made for very expensive learning centers, the closest of which is in Boston. Well, she and I would have to move there for 6-8 weeks. Hmmmm. So, I had Terry call the Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers.( I have placed a link to the right for these centers) I was emotional and panicky. In my book, I had failed her. I shouldn't have been that way, but I was. Turns out I was probably panicking way too soon. I am obviously in the wrong line of work and certainly should have gone for a Master's degree in Education. These people get $1,000.00 a week for the type of tutoring she would need. ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!??? And that was with just two hours a day. Do the math on that one! WELL, I had already figured out that she was an auditory learner. That's why I put things like Scripture or times tables to music for her, or let her listen to history on tape. So, after talking things over with these people and finding out some of what they do, researching on my own ( an ongoing endeavor ), and buying ebooks to read along the way, I decided that I would not wait to try and implement what I had learned would help her. If there comes a miraculous day when we can afford the six weeks in Boston, great, but I am not willing to wait. I also calmed down quite a bit after realizing that I was on the right track all along and understood how to do a BUNCH of stuff they do. Praise God for a wonderful, well-rounded education in education!! Thank you, BJU!
Some of what I have learned led me to the program Earobics, a listening skills computer program made especially for rewiring the brains of kids with auditory processing issues. We started that immediately. It's a little young, and she hates it, but I have to say, it has helped a great deal. Since, I have found a different program called Hearbuilders that I may invest in to use when we finish with Earobics. I think she will tolerate it better since it is made with an older child in mind. All of this helped me look in another direction for curriculum as well. Teaching Textbooks for math is is what I decided to try last year. It is done on the computer. It keeps track of where the child is and reviews if they need it. She HAS to listen, and only has to do one problem at a time. She has loved it, and it has really helped her! With the informal testing, I found that she has trouble sequencing. Hmmm, no wonder she has trouble with the simplest math problem! So, we are working on that, but she is in the fifth grade for math and consistently passing each lesson without extra help. HALLELUJAH! Reading has already come up, so she is doing BJU Press Reading 5, and doing great! YAY! History she loves. Science she enjoys. Both subjects are at grade level and her grades have come up in those subjects since her reading is well in hand. Now, the only things left to tackle are spelling, which up to this point has been a dismal failure, and Writing. She has great thoughts, but since she knows how difficult spelling is, she hates writing. I have decided to really attack the spelling weakness, and knowing what I know about how she learns best, I was able to find the All About Spelling books. It uses the Orton-Gillingham method that is used for dyslexia, but can be used for kids with other issues as well. So far, light bulbs have come on both with her and with me. Several AH HA moments. I think it's going to work. We'll see. Several of these AH HA moments occurred when I realized that I myself have some of the same problems that I apparently learned to compensate for as a child. INTERESTING!!! The same thing happened when we started working on sequencing and auditory memory. No wonder I still struggle with some things. :)Since the decision was made to attack spelling, writing will be put on the back burner for a short time.
All of this sounds like a huge problem, but we have found that with just a few minutes a day working on the problem areas, we have already been able to see a big improvement, and for the most part, she is working at grade level. Thank you, Lord! Alana is a precious gift. She is smart, and has a lot on her heart and in her mind. I am so thankful that I have found ways to help her do better in school.
Meanwhile, Mikayla is off to a wonderful start as a senior at Dublin Christian Academy. Another miraculous journey for our family worthy of its own post. Nathanael is in his first year of high school. We looked into several options for him but came back to the tried and true. A friend of mine supplied me with a complete set of curriculum that she didn't need anymore and all I had to do was order the consumable. As I was doing that, I found that Science has been updated, leaving me unable to buy the consumable workbook for the older edition that I had. That left me in a quandry. Do I try something new, or deal with the frustration of not having some of the stuff I need in order to save money???---- I got something new. I switched to Apologia for Science. So far, he loves it. There! School Schmool! We got it under control, Dude. With God's help, that is.
