Have you ever seen a letter "b" with a circle on either side of it? Or what about a "d" that could go either way because it's so blurred? Now imagine trying to learn to read or write whenever you can't distinguish between letters because they run together...makes it a little hard, huh? And then imagine your teacher losing patience with you several times and not understanding why it was so hard to distinguish between a ball/bat (for b) or a doughnut (for d). Oh, how I wish I knew that is exactly what my child was seeing last year! How I wish I knew that was at the root of his reading, writing and spelling issues. But, I had no clue and often had more frustration than anything else because we could not get past the whole "b" and "d" dilemma.
I did a lot of research on dyslexia and processing disorders thinking maybe NoNut was headed in that direction except he just didn't line up with the typical characteristics and symptoms. Despite that, we experimented with techniques and methods used to help children with dyslexia. It wasn't until May that I began seeing that NoNut struggled with any letter and number with a circle and stem yet he could read any word that didn't contain a circle and stem combo perfectly. I was hoping summer break and time would increase his comprehension and reading readiness, but I never expected a pair of glasses to solve the problem!
At my annual eye doctor appointment, my eye doctor recommended I bring in NoNut for an exam since astigmatisms are usually hereditary. My first reaction to his suggestion was that it wasn't necessary because NoNut has passed all of his annual eye exams at the pediatrician and doesn't show any signs of struggling with his vision. However, within moments of NoNut's eye exam, I saw that he was really was struggling to read anything with a curve, circle and stem. He did fine with the larger letters which reassured me that he knows his letters, but the smaller they got, the more he could not distinguish between letters. My eye doctor was right and unfortunately, NoNut is following in my footsteps...glasses will be a part of his childhood as much as they were a part of mine.
Today was the first day we put NoNut's glasses to the test with our first day of school. Everything went well until it came to reading, spelling and writing. I caught NoNut struggling with all three subjects, but all three times he didn't have his glasses on. Once he put his glasses on, he would make comments about how he could see the letters or how the letters didn't have extra circles to them or how everything was so clear. His reading took off because he wasn't having to decipher what the letters were. His handwriting was neater because he could see the handwriting chart and could form and copy his ABC's correctly. He found the right spelling tiles on the first try since he could tell the difference between b and d.
I did an experiment with NoNut and saw that the reason why he could tell the difference between b and d in certain situations was because of bigger, clearer or more spaced out print in a book. Everything just clicked in that moment. Here I was wondering if my child had a learning disability when in reality, he needed an eye exam and glasses! It will take time to undo some of the reading habits that were formed as he struggled to decipher between the letters, but to know that we will jump over this hurdle with a little more time is exciting!
With my son's severe allergies, I feel like I'm very aware of his body and what is normal and what is not for him. But when you teach your child something from scratch and they aren't getting it and there is nothing to compare it to, it is easy to miss the obvious while fearing over all the other things that it could be. And when your child is passing all of his annual eye exams at the pediatrician, not putting a book up to his nose or showing any outward signs of visual issues, an eye exam is the last thing I would ever think of especially at such a young age.
I'm so thankful that our eye doctor was blunt with me about the real possibility of NoNut acquiring my eyes and reminding me of what it was like to go for so long with undetected vision problems when I was a child. The difference that a pair of glasses makes is night and day!
The point of this is to encourage those of you with vision issues to consider taking your child to the eye doctor rather than rely on the pediatrician alone. If your child isn't catching on to reading, it could be a readiness issue, developmental issue or a vision issue. Don't discount the helpfulness of an eye doctor when it comes to your child's education.
After today, I feel like a whole new world has been opened to NoNut as we witnessed his confidence soar after one morning of reading and writing without much effort once he put his glasses on!
btw, after our experience, I will no longer think it's really weird to have an eye doctor set up shop at a homeschool convention!! It makes perfect sense and hopefully helps a child from silently struggling!
Monday, June 23
Tuesday, June 17
Getting Ready for a New Year
Tis the season for homeschool moms to research and purchase curriculum! One of the benefits of year-round schooling is that we stagger curriculum purchases throughout the year as we finish some subjects earlier and others later. However, we received our last box last week and we are ready to have our "official" first day of school next week (hopefully).
Several of you have asked what we are using this year. I get slightly overwhelmed thinking about everything we are using, but I'm excited because we finally broke free of school-in-a-box and created a school year customized to our child, our beliefs and our preferences! And, just because we have it, it doesn't mean we will use all of it...we'll see how (and where) it goes!
Like last year, we will do Bible, reading, writing and math every day and then rotate through other subjects throughout the week. We also don't do everything during "school hours". We usually do Character Concepts for family devotions and we do Read Alouds for quiet time or bed time. Art and PE vary according to what we have time for but we often replace those with NoNut's current interests (sports, field trips, etc.).
I'm noticing that the older your child gets, the longer your school day gets, too. The 30-45 minute school days are long gone, and even now, I'm wondering if two hours will be long enough! We have yet to have a full day of school, so it will be interesting when it all comes together next week. Like every other year, we will be tweaking our schedule a lot the first few weeks especially as we juggle hanging out with friends who are on summer vacation and going to the pool. However, going to the pool is the best incentive for getting school done work early!
Here is what we are using this year:
While we were traveling this past weekend, I began creating our lesson plans for the first ten weeks of school. Every year, I relied on Sonlight to tell us what to do and when for every subject, so it was rather fun creating our own lesson plans. Okay, I felt liberated and like a Sonlight rebel creating our own version of the familiar Sonlight boxed schedule! It is exciting to see everything come together for a new school year!
NoNut and I had our usual ice-cream celebration after we mailed off our Notice of Intent (NOI) last week. And then we celebrated again when we received the customary NOI form letter from the Superintendent. Every year, we use these days to celebrate the freedom and blessing to homeschool. We want NoNut to realize that homeschooling is a gift and a sacrifice that come at a cost. There are many pioneers who fought for the right to educate our children at home and we have no clue what the future holds for the freedom of this educational choice. So we purposefully celebrate this freedom and thank God for this blessing!
NoNut asked me today if we can start school on Friday because he just can't wait to officially start his school year on Monday! I love my child's enthusiasm for school and for his desire to learn, to snuggle up together and read the afternoon away (although we don't need school to do that...) and to see what adventures await him each school day (me, too)! While we have a lot on our plate this year, I am confident that God will lead us to what He wants us to know for each day. He will lead us to the right resources, right field trips, right contacts and right opportunities that enrich and complement NoNut's education.
Here is to another great year...!
Several of you have asked what we are using this year. I get slightly overwhelmed thinking about everything we are using, but I'm excited because we finally broke free of school-in-a-box and created a school year customized to our child, our beliefs and our preferences! And, just because we have it, it doesn't mean we will use all of it...we'll see how (and where) it goes!
Like last year, we will do Bible, reading, writing and math every day and then rotate through other subjects throughout the week. We also don't do everything during "school hours". We usually do Character Concepts for family devotions and we do Read Alouds for quiet time or bed time. Art and PE vary according to what we have time for but we often replace those with NoNut's current interests (sports, field trips, etc.).
I'm noticing that the older your child gets, the longer your school day gets, too. The 30-45 minute school days are long gone, and even now, I'm wondering if two hours will be long enough! We have yet to have a full day of school, so it will be interesting when it all comes together next week. Like every other year, we will be tweaking our schedule a lot the first few weeks especially as we juggle hanging out with friends who are on summer vacation and going to the pool. However, going to the pool is the best incentive for getting school done work early!
Here is what we are using this year:
- History: Sonlight Core C, God's World News
- Science: Science in the Beginning; How Things Work book; Magic School Bus (books and Netflix)
- Math: Horizons, Life of Fred (Butterflies & Cats)
- Language Arts: Explode the Code, Easy Grammar, Sonlight Reading, All About Spelling, Handwriting Without Tears and Sonlight Read Alouds
- Bible: Positive Action Bible, Character Concepts Kids of Character, Notgrass' Walking in the Truth and words2remember4kids
- Extracurricular (as we have time/desire): Baby Lambs Book of Art (still working on How Great Thou ART curriculum...it still has not captured our interest like we had hoped even after meeting the author) and Fitness 4 Homeschool (Family Time Fitness).
While we were traveling this past weekend, I began creating our lesson plans for the first ten weeks of school. Every year, I relied on Sonlight to tell us what to do and when for every subject, so it was rather fun creating our own lesson plans. Okay, I felt liberated and like a Sonlight rebel creating our own version of the familiar Sonlight boxed schedule! It is exciting to see everything come together for a new school year!
NoNut and I had our usual ice-cream celebration after we mailed off our Notice of Intent (NOI) last week. And then we celebrated again when we received the customary NOI form letter from the Superintendent. Every year, we use these days to celebrate the freedom and blessing to homeschool. We want NoNut to realize that homeschooling is a gift and a sacrifice that come at a cost. There are many pioneers who fought for the right to educate our children at home and we have no clue what the future holds for the freedom of this educational choice. So we purposefully celebrate this freedom and thank God for this blessing!
NoNut asked me today if we can start school on Friday because he just can't wait to officially start his school year on Monday! I love my child's enthusiasm for school and for his desire to learn, to snuggle up together and read the afternoon away (although we don't need school to do that...) and to see what adventures await him each school day (me, too)! While we have a lot on our plate this year, I am confident that God will lead us to what He wants us to know for each day. He will lead us to the right resources, right field trips, right contacts and right opportunities that enrich and complement NoNut's education.
Here is to another great year...!
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