Homeschooling the Difficult Reader

I've shared semi-openly here that Jeremiah is my reluctant reader. Capturing his interest (and keeping it) has been my biggest challenge in homeschooling...ever.

I'm fairly certain that Jeremiah is a right-brained thinker. He doesn't enjoy anything concrete. He has creativity oozing out of his ears. He struggles with the phonetic code. His progress has been 3 steps forward, 2 steps back.

I truly believe in letting each child work at their own pace. I follow my kids interests when I choose what we will study next. However, there are those times that you have to push a child to do things they simply do not want to do. Many times my kids have discovered a new interest or talent after a little nudging from Mom or Dad.

I can't say that I haven't worried over Jeremiah. So many times I wondered, "is homeschooling right for him?" or "am I going about this the right way?" I haven't been in any particular hurry. I've waited patiently for that magical moment to kick in for him. That moment when all the letters on the page just suddenly make sense. However, that just has not happened for Jeremiah. So it's time to explore other options.

Some of the things we've tried: How to Teach Your Child in 100 Easy Lessons: I used it to teach the other two boys how to read with no issues. I didn't even finish the book before they were reading independently.

Right Brain Phonics: We did this one for a while. We used the flash cards and word lists. But it's very dry. There aren't any stories. It just never held his interest long enough to be very effective. There wasn't that feeling of accomplishment you get when you read a story. Besides, he's had so much trouble with the phonetic code...

Reading Incentives: We did the summer reading challenge at the library this past summer. We went to the library every week. I even set a family goal of taking everyone out to Sonic for Happy Hour, if everyone completed a book that week. We made it to Sonic almost every week. He made a lot of progress this summer, but he still wasn't reading independently.

So now we are trying Hooked on Phonics. I bought the first grade kit, since that is about his level.

He puts in the dvd and watches his lesson. Then we read the workbook pages together. At the end of every unit, he gets a book that he sits down to read on his own. This was the first time he ever sat down to read a book without my help! He was so stinkin' proud. 

After he does his silent reading he comes to me and answers some comprehension questions. He is flying through the first box. He actually comes to me and ASKS to do a reading lesson. The curriculm was a little pricy, but it was totally money well spent.

I did not receive any compensation, nor was I given any of these products as a sample.

This Week for School

We took a trip to the Capitol and the Museum of History. I think we will be taking several trips to this museum now that we are back to American history. It's great to get out and see exhibits for the stories we are reading about. Not only is it entertaining, but it's free!

There is a new exhibit called The Story of North Carolina. We learned about many local stories such as Cary's Rebellion. Walking through it is like walking through a time warp. It's very well done. 

We also started the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's slow going, the boys aren't falling all over themselves to find out what happens next. Still, it's a good story and a great way to get some discussions on morality and the importance of separation of church and state.

It's been a pretty good week. Jeremiah started Hooked on Phonics. Reading is still his least favorite thing to do, but he's made lots of progress this week. We also found a box of Scrabble Cheese Nips. We had fun putting together words.

Waiting in the Car

Kelsea has been taking driver's ed. Her classes are 30 minutes away, which means more time in the car. We're homeschoolers, we're used to it.

Maybe, I do take too many pictures. :P

Disney's Little House on the Prairie

We love Little House on the Prairie. LOVE it. We read through the series at least every other year. My boys thoroughly enjoy it just as much as my daughter and I.

If a book we are watching is made into a movie (or series) we usually watch it. We decided to watch the Disney version after this round of reading the book together. I expected many inconsistencies. After all, it is Disney. I was prepared for things like the children being materialistic/modern, and Jack not being a brindle bulldog.

However, so many things are opposite of the book.

Laura has blond hair (yet they still have the scene where Mary and Laura fight over which is prettiest?)

There is no baby Carrie.

The ice actually cracks when the Ingall's cross the Mississippi.

They came across the foolish family that wouldn't leave their wagon in the beginning of the movie instead of the end.

Mrs. Scott was rude and a nasty woman (watching her eat was so disgusting).


Ma was chummy with the girls, and the girls were disrespectful (but I expected some of this)

The mountain lion attacked Pa and the Indian saved him. (in the book the mountain lion did not attack)

Pa was afraid of the Indians and banded together with Mr. Scott and Mr. Edwards to form a stockade. Something Pa was very against doing in the book (he was adamant about not showing fear).

Most of these points were minor and didn't change the storyline. But when you add them all up you might as well change the name of the movie to Big House in the City. 

I do want to say that the movie wasn't all bad. Ma and Pa were young (and Ma was very pretty). The scenery was very pretty. The actor for Mr. Edwards was a good fit and true to the book. It did a good job of portraying the dangers and trials of frontier life. If this were just a Disney movie by any other name I would have very little complaint about the overall plot.

What the Bakers Are Reading

Kelsea: Further Chronicles of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Ishmael: Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol (he just discovered that this is book 1 in a series. He can't WAIT to get more from the library)



Joshua: Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain. This book was recently given to us as part of a set or Companion Books. The boys think these are the coolest books ever. You flip the book upside down and start a new story from the other end. lol He's almost half way through this story already. I was a little concerned about the slang and southern dialect messing him up. He seems to be doing fine. This book has gone everywhere with him.


Jeremiah: Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff. Jeremiah has been my latest bloomer when it comes to reading. Last night he wanted a book to take to bed just like his brothers. One that he could read all by himself. Mostly he's just been reading his lessons. So I pulled off Danny and the Dinosaur and told him he could read it all by himself. He was very skeptical. But he opened the book beside me and started to read. You should have seen the look of surprise on his face when he read the first page with no help whatsoever from his mother. Oh, I am just so excited for him.

Homeschoolers

Look Who's Reading!

Cozy Winter Morning

We stayed up late last night, packing up all the Christmas decorations. I always feel a little melancholy when it's officially over.

We also had our first official day of school for 2008. We had such a nice morning. I read from our Little House book, By the Shores of Silver Lake. I love reading to the kids. It's my favorite past time. I took this picture last month. You see the cozy fire and my coffee cup behind Ishmael on the hearth. I'm so glad my kids love story time as much as I do!