Questions

[Suzybearybake]

Ok, I spoke with the Abedcedarian people and they said that they have a revised program coming out in the next couple weeks that incorporates spelling into the program. Micheal did mention that readers were not included but didn't suggest what to use. I have BJU's reading program but think he might have some difficulty with the larger words. I am hesitant to do SOTW on tape because be have already been through the program and his brother is in Omnibus. I think we might keep on using BobJones with me doing the reading for now or should we just skip history? I think writing and grammar might have to take a back seat for awhile until he is caught up. He tested in at level B or second grade reading level and seems to have difficulty when we get to the vowel digraphs. He loves science and I hate to stop that. Should we continue with Abeka or switch to something else? What has worked for you? Apologia? How long does remediation usually take before they are in grade level material? My son is 9 and just started 4th. He is about two years behind in reading level but not subject matter. If it is a couple of years to catch up he will be in sixth without much background, is that ok? I am so afraid that he won't catch up. Do I back him up in everything? I don't know where to go for answers.

[Cadam]

Keep reading to him or get the books on tape for him.

[Laurie4b]

Right now, what you want are decodeable readers that more or less follow ABCDarian, if that is what you've chosen. I believe there is a yahoo group online for ABCDarian and I'd ask them about which readers they've found that correspond most closely to the sequence of ABCDarian, or call the guy back and ask him. Someone on this board already recommended the I See Sam Readers. You just need to find out if they match.

There are answers to your questions about history and science in response to your first post. The people who answered were pretty unified in their opinions. No one recommended textbooks.

The answer as to how long it will take a child to catch up is that it varies depending on the exact cause of the problem and the experience of the person doing the remediation. I have seen kids with just phonemic awareness issues catch up in reading (not spelling) in a few months with an experienced tutor. I've seen kids never catch up with those same problems if they are not getting the type of direct instruction that they need. Some kids have problems in addition to the phonemic awareness, which it's likely that yours does given the dysgraphia as well. They can take longer to catch up to their potential.

To repeat what we all said below, yes, it will be fine if he gets to 6th grade without instruction from textbooks in science or history. He will not be behind, especially if you do what was suggested below.

You are right; there is no point in having him re-do a program he has already done like SOTW.

No, you don't put "back him up in everything." You teach him where he is in each subject.