Dear Parent, Thank you for your question! I'm glad that you have chosen to homeschool your son, because I am sure that he is thriving in his new setting. Public school can be very difficult for a child who struggles a little in school. The problem with switching programs, even if they are good programs, is that their lessons and the way in which they are taught, will vary widely. So in switching back to CHC's materials, you will find some gaps in your child's learning, simply because you are using a different program. I think the first thing you need to do, is find out what exactly he struggles with in reading. Is he having trouble with blending sounds? Is he having trouble with letter recognition? Does he have difficulty with reading comprehension? You can do this by going back through Little Stories for Little Folks, and start where he seems to have trouble and review with him. Whatever reading program you decide to use with him, it's critical that you pinpoint exactly what he is missing and begin at the level where he struggles and practice from that point forward. If he can work independently on the second grade spelling and language books, then his reading is not all that far behind, so that is a plus. Once you have figured out where he is missing the pieces, you can concentrate on helping him learn what he has missed. It is good that he has strong memorization skills, but as you have realized, this will only become more difficult as the words become longer and more complicated. If he has trouble with spelling, it's important that you provide maximum practice with the words. You will also want to vary the ways in which you test him on the words. Many students will memorize the words when they are in a particular order. By varying the way you quiz him, it becomes more challenging and he cannot rely purely on his memorization skills. I'm glad that you are encouraging him to write and make up sentences for him to write. This encourages him to work independently, and help him think about what he is doing. The more that he can be involved in the activity, the longer he will remember and learn. One way to help him in general with his reading, is to find age-appropriate books about topics that he might find interesting. This way reading doesn't become such a chore for him. Also, this helps him practice. The more exposure he has to books, the more he can practice his reading. God bless you and your family! Laura Nicholson |
