?? for homeschoolers and other mom's too....

[wife]

My dd is in K this year. Socially she should stay behind and is doing so at our 2 day program. She is reading on level and does great. Her math is a little below average... She is doing a spiral program and I think that confuses her. She doesn't have enough time to master something. This never bothered my boys but she is different....

The problem lies in directions. She cannot follow directions. For instance in math today. This is what the problem looked like


_______ 62

The directions: Write the number that comes before. She wrote 63. There was a number line right above all the problems that she consulted......
If there is a picture of a frog on the head of a bear and one by his feet and the directions say to circle the frog on top of the bear, she will circle BOTH frogs:faint .

She is also regressing in her math. but that is another topic all together and I really don't want to bore you all. So can anyone suggest SOMETHING that I can do to teacher her before/after over/under top/bottom. We go over it everyday but it just isn't sticking and I feel like http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d189/dimebar_probably/Smileys/th_wallbash.gif

Thanks

[lisaann]

You know, my dd has experianced many of the same things this year. I see improvement since the beginning of the year so at this point I am chalking it up to her brain development being behind her body development. She is 6yo and still get's confused with yesterday/tomorrow among other things and she absolutely cannot figure out shoe tying :willie . You might just need to give her brain time to mature more.

I am planning on having her hearing checked though. When she was a baby she had many ear infections, once her eardrum even ruptured it was so bad. I know she can hear sounds but I am not so sure how clear the sounds are to her. I am wondering if her ruptured eardrum healed incorrectly and it 'warps' sound for her now. :idunno She passed the hearing test at her yearly physical but that only tests if she is actually hearing a sound or not. It doesent test if that sound is coming through to her properly. You might consider having her hearing and eyes checked. If nothing else it will assure you that they arent a problem.

If you are planning on homeschooling her you might want to consider Math U See as it is not a spiral program. It concentrates on one math concept at a time.

[wife]

Thanks Lisa


I had her hearing checked and it came out normal BUT she was in there max 10 min, so I am thinking it is like you said, not thorough.

She will also say things like..."When can I for to go to XXX's house"

Or "it itches my finger" "What itches your finger?" and then I get that look:scratch When what she is saying is "my finger itches"....

So I think I just need to get a psych test done on her and maybe me too:gaah LOL

[wife]

Oh and I forgot to add that I am switching to ACE math for her and also for her reading. I think she needs something that will focus on instruction and just reinforce her reading instead of moving on

[HSmomto4]

My 2nd daughter went through this and didn't really get out of it till this year. Kindergarten and 1st grade were very frustrating to me, but 2nd grade has been great. We still have days where she just can't follow directions, but they are getting far and few between.

[Leialoha]

Looking back, I wish that I would have resisted teaching my son at any formal setting until he was older. We put all reading instruction on hold for a whole year and when I picked it up again he actually read better, not worse. He also jumped 2 years in his ability (although he is still slow at reading).

I remember hearing this advice from veteran homeschoolers but I thought they were crazy to suggest waiting until 7 or 8 for formal instruction.

I don't know what that is worth to your situation but thought I'd share just in case it helps.

[Leialoha]

Thanks Lisa


I had her hearing checked and it came out normal BUT she was in there max 10 min, so I am thinking it is like you said, not thorough.

She will also say things like..."When can I for to go to XXX's house"

Or "it itches my finger" "What itches your finger?" and then I get that look:scratch When what she is saying is "my finger itches"....

So I think I just need to get a psych test done on her and maybe me too:gaah LOL

Maybe she is just maturing slower than your other kids. :)

I'm leery of psych tests, but that is probably due to my occupation before I was homeschooling the kids.

I know how frustrating it is when one child doesn't seem to learn like the others. I've spent hours and hours researching, talking, reading to find what could possibly work for my ds. In the end, there is no one more committed and caring and conciencious to do the very best for your daughter than YOU. :hug

[Lorren]

My dd also has trouble with similar things. The thing she has trouble with now is fewest/most.

I think that it's probably normal.

[Polly]

My daughter is in 1st grade in a christian private school and she is having a hard time, especially with math. She has a hard time following instructions too. We go over her papers she does at school every night when she gets home, she does fine when I help her, but at school she does not do well. The kids in her class don't get a lot of one on one, which is what I think she needs. There are 25 in her class and the teacher, with no helper! That is too many! I am considering holding her back to repeat the 1st grade in public school. Private school is too expensive for her to fail the 1st grade!

[Polly]

I've also had her eyes checked and considered having her hearing checked. I hope things get better for you and your daugther, let me know. I understand what you're going through.