I'm not feeling the hsing this year...curr. help...

[farmgirlinwv]

My dd just turned 12 and will be going into the 6th grade. She has some issues w/ dyslexia and dyscalculia, as well as convergence and tracking issues. We are having an eval done by ps this month for further info. She has trouble staying focused on her schoolwork, esp multistep tasks. I was hoping to put her in private school, but it's just too expensive right now. I don't really want to cont to hs her, but it's really the only option. She has always been hsed.

I was hoping you could share what you've used w/ your dc for 6th grade if they shared similar issues. Here's what I've got so far:

Math: Life of Fred, fractions
Spelling: Maybe AAS
Vocab: We used vocab cartoon last year and need something else, WW?
Grammar: R&S 6
Logic: Critical Thinking Co.
Writing: No idea. Needs lots of help. Loves to write, but no organization, spelling and grammar poor.
Typing: Mavis Beacon
History: Cont. Am. Hist.
Geo: No idea. She loves geo.
Science: Something hands on. Loves science.
Art: Maybe a hs class.
Repeated reading for fluency. She reads at about a 5th grade level, but only likes books w/ larger print. Doesn't like books w/ lots of words on a page. Right now she likes Hannah Montana books. :glare:

I will be working PT so I need lower prep stuff. Any ideas appreciated!

Lisa

[EKS]

My son has dyslexia and ADHD. I would streamline things as much as possible, given your situation. I'd do math, spelling, grammar, writing, typing, history *or* geography (not both), and science.

Have you done REWARDS by Sopris West with her? It explicitly teaches how to decode multisyllable words. My dyslexic son's reading level went up by 5 grade levels after using it.

Also, does she have reading glasses? My son used them for a while and it got him reading books with normal sized print.

I didn't see literature listed there. My son has done well with K12's literature program. The readings are generally short. If you get the program, it also comes with grammar, vocabulary, composition, and typing. But they're separated from each other so you only use what you want to.

I would spend a lot of time and energy getting her reading well.

[siloam]

Math: Life of Fred, fractions

This might be a good choice, but for a child who is having problems with vision do you want that much reading?


Spelling: Maybe AAS
Vocab: We used vocab cartoon last year and need something else, WW?
Grammar: R&S 6
Logic: Critical Thinking Co.
Writing: No idea. Needs lots of help. Loves to write, but no organization, spelling and grammar poor.

You might combine spelling and vocab by using Megawords. If she is a really poor speller then I would still do AAS, but once you get to book 2 I would add in Megawords (BTW I am told they cover similar things at near the same time this way).

I adore Classical Writing for its step by step processes, but it also isn't easy. Maybe IEW? I hear people with LD children do great with it.


Typing: Mavis Beacon
History: Cont. Am. Hist.
Geo: No idea. She loves geo.
Science: Something hands on. Loves science.
Art: Maybe a hs class.
Repeated reading for fluency. She reads at about a 5th grade level, but only likes books w/ larger print. Doesn't like books w/ lots of words on a page. Right now she likes Hannah Montana books. :glare:


There is a program called DIBELS (https://dibels.uoregon.edu/) where you can get free reading assessment tests. My 9yo tested about a year below grade level in fluency so we are going to be doing Great Leaps to build fluency. Fluency and reading level are different animals. You can read college level texts, but do so slowly. Slowly enough to have a hard time keeping up with a college class.

For history I would go with an audio resource, and lean into how she likes geography.

Heather

[farmgirlinwv]

Great replies!

I'm going to look into these options, esp Rewards and Megawords. I think they'd be a good fit. I don't know about IEW. It looks difficult to implement. Also, I read k12 had a lot of busy work. Did you find that to be true?

She's very visual. Anything that's video oriented that you could recommend?

Thanks!:lurk5:

ETA: She does have reading glasses, but she hates them and the doc said not to fight over it. We need to find a new dev. opt. I think there's one close to where we now live.

[EKS]

Also, I read k12 had a lot of busy work. Did you find that to be true?



I will either skip the things I think are busy work or else have them do it orally.

[Terabith]

No advice, but we're in Roanoke, and Dr. Karl Saliba is a WONDERFUL developmental optometrist.

[farmgirlinwv]

No advice, but we're in Roanoke, and Dr. Karl Saliba is a WONDERFUL developmental optometrist.

Thanks! That's who I was looking at! Do you remember the pricing?

[ElizabethB]

She's very visual. Anything that's video oriented that you could recommend?

Thanks!

She can try my online phonics and spelling lessons, they are QuickTime movies and free. They are specifically designed for older students who are having trouble, so they are not childish at all. (In fact, they are a bit on the boring side, but that helps make the bandwidth small and allows me to afford to keep them free.)

AAS looks like a good program for spelling, a lot of people here like it.

You could also try my Blend Phonics with spelling rules and follow on with Webster's Speller, I explain how to use it on my how to tutor page (http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html).

[Terabith]

It was $95 or so when I had my dd examined. It was soooo thorough.

[farmgirlinwv]

Thanks Terabith! I paid a lot more than that for her others!

[LizzyBee]

http://www.time4learning.com/

I've heard good things about this website from parents of kids with dyslexia.

[farmgirlinwv]

http://www.time4learning.com/

I've heard good things about this website from parents of kids with dyslexia.

Thanks Lizzy..I tried it last year. I liked it. She didn't.

[LizzyBee]

I use LOF with my 13 yo who is mildly dyslexic and has weaknesses in organization and problem-solving. She likes LOF and it's added an element of fun. The problem we've had is that LOF makes logical leaps and my dd cannot always figure out how to get from A to B. This is a common problem because dyslexics don't intuitively fill in blanks that other students do. After working through LOF Fractions twice, she's doing Key to Fractions and it's cementing the concepts. I think LOF and the Key To series complement each other nicely.

I wish someone would develop a complete math curriculum based on OG principles. There are a lot of OG reading programs available; a lot of dyslexic kids need an OG math program too.