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MamaJen
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| Posted: Dec 16 2006 at 8:28am | IP Logged
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I have been doing so much reading and research (many, many thanks to Willa and her blog and homeschool journal, who has led me off on many of my own virtual "rabbit trails"). After the last couple of months of trying to teach my 7 year old in a "normal" way (ie, like I teach my oldest), I am coming to realize how different he is from his brother. I'm fascinated by the "visual-spatial learner" concept, because he shares about 85% of those traits. I do believe that he is going to really benefit from an "unschoolish" approach.
I'm concerned, though, because at almost 7.5, (technically a 2nd grader, though his late July bday makes me think of him more as a 1st grader) he isn't "getting" phonics, has lots of sight words but isn't at all a fluent reader, and he doesn't want to, (nor is able to) write (as in, handwriting) at all.
I feel pretty confident about "unschooling" when it comes to history, science, even math. But reading and writing? I'm just not sure what to do!
What do I do? I know that I need a different approach, but I'm not quite sure where to go from here. Any ideas??
MamaJen
Aquinas Academy Adventures
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Willa
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| Posted: Dec 16 2006 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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Hi Jen,
What approach did you use with your oldest?
I used 100 Easy Lessons with all my kids, but in different ways with different kids. I found it very flexible and it suited MY style, which is important. I think it is important for visual-spatial learners that their teacher be comfortable with the material she is using. When I look back at my homeschooling, I see that not very many formal curriculums worked with my kids, but the ones that did work were sort of low-key and part of that was that lowkey curricula suit MY style. Since VS kids are intuitive, they will notice if Mom is using a curriculum she doesn't really enjoy, and it will affect their attitude.
One son did not read well until he was nine, even though he seemed ready at about five.
Drawing, dot to dots, coloring, and mazes were some "writing readiness" exercises we tried with various children. Oh, yes, and tracing maps and labelling them. They didn't think of it as writing, but it was helping with their fine motor skills and eventually transferred over. I will vouch for Legos too, and stencils. But which types of things work depend on the kid. Visual spatial or "right brained" children really need to be invested in what they are doing, or it will not "take" (at least in my experience).
One of my children, probably my most right-brained, wrote in all capitals (and often transposed his letters) until he was almost twelve. I'm mentioning that because when he did finally learn to write fluently, he acquired the most beautiful script in our family (using the Italic system). Meantime, keyboarding helped him compose stories and other writings. So it may take time, buckets of time, more time than you thought possible. 
Taking time doesn't mean just doing nothing -- it means trying different things, planting seeds and seeing which ones grow, and being patient sometimes when nothing much seems to be happening on the surface.
I could go on and on. I am glad you are getting something out of my blog -- I find this visual spatial learner info so fascinating and when I'm fascinated, I ramble on and on and on!
__________________
AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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MamaJen
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| Posted: Dec 20 2006 at 11:19am | IP Logged
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First of all, Willa - thank you SO MUCH for your blog post, in reply to this message. I've been late in getting back to you, what with the holidays and all, but the insights you've shared in your blog, and here, have had my mind spinning for days!
WJFR wrote:
Hi Jen,
What approach did you use with your oldest?
I used 100 Easy Lessons with all my kids, but in different ways with different kids. I found it very flexible and it suited MY style, which is important. I think it is important for visual-spatial learners that their teacher be comfortable with the material she is using.
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You are SO right in what you say here. My #2 visual learner son, in particular, just *completely* senses when *I'm* not comfortable doing something. And he then rejects whatever it is, utterly. We've always called him our "emotional barometer" for our family, and it's only now dawning on me what the implications are for our homeschooling life.
With my oldest, I used a combination of Phonics Pathways and Explode the Code workbooks. (He was, and is, an easy child to teach, for the most part, though.) For whatever reason, that approach didn't work at all with Alex, it caused many, many tears - and I didn't even push it that much! I've tried 100EZ lessons, and gosh, I wish it worked, cuz I hear so many good things about it, but not a single child in my family so far has been able to get anything out of it - perhaps it's not an approach *I'm* comfortable with, as you say. I've also used parts of "Reading Reflex", and so far, with Alex, that seems to work the best, so I'll continue with that. I did pick up a used copy of "MCP" phonics, because it's more visually appealing, IMO, than the simple ink drawings of Explode The Code - I'm wondering if my visual child will like that better?
WJFR wrote:
"Drawing, dot to dots, coloring, and mazes were some "writing readiness" exercises we tried with various children. Oh, yes, and tracing maps and labelling them. They didn't think of it as writing, but it was helping with their fine motor skills and eventually transferred over. I will vouch for Legos too, and stencils. But which types of things work depend on the kid. Visual spatial or "right brained" children really need to be invested in what they are doing, or it will not "take" (at least in my experience)."
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Oh, yes - I *definitely* see that these types of kids need to be "invested" in what they are doing. I think that could be a key, and I've been pondering it greatly. I definitely need to encourage some more "writing readiness" activites, as you describe. I did that with my oldest, when *he* had trouble with handwriting, and I definitely see I need to offer more of these sorts of opportunities to Alex. I've also been thinking that perhaps the traditional, learn one letter at a time sort of methods aren't going to work for him. I've had this thought that I need to teach him to learn each letter first, before we go any farther, and it's just not working, not at all. I'm wondering if I try to teach him to write words, in particular words that are important to him (like the names of all the Godzilla monsters, lol!), that I will get more "buy-in" from him. I'm betting I will! I'll keep you posted on how that turns out! I think the arbitrariness of an individual letter ties into the problems he has with phonics - he needs things to have *meaning* in order to learn, I think.
WJFR wrote:
So it may take time, buckets of time, more time than you thought possible.
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You know, it is so valuable to me to hear you say that, and hear about how your children developed. Sometimes I'm still caught in this panic of, "oh my goodness he should be in 2nd grade, and he's not doing x, y, z, yet - maybe he'll never learn, or maybe the school police will come and lock me up and tell me I am totally inadequate as a parent-educator..." (and we live in a pretty reasonable state, as far as homeschooling laws and atmosphere!) To be reminded that it's really, really OK if it takes more time than it "should" - that is just so reassuring. I need to keep reminding myself - Alex does everything on *his* time frame, not mine, he always has. At one point I worried something was terribly wrong, that he would never talk - and now, in the last year, it's gotten to the point where he talks more than his incredibly verbal oldest brother! On good days, I am *certain* that reading will be like that with him - but it sure helps to have these reminders! Actually, one thing I've noticed, just in the last week or so, is that Alex is starting to "play" with language. When my oldest was learning to read, he and my dh used to play truly elaborate ryhmying sorts of games. Alex never got into that, he really struggled with the concept of rhyming words. But the other day, I caught him giggling and making silly rhymes - I'm thinking perhaps that's an important language development milestone that will help his reading?
WJFR wrote:
| "I could go on and on. I am glad you are getting something out of my blog -- I find this visual spatial learner info so fascinating and when I'm fascinated, I ramble on and on and on! |
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Please, please - ramble away! :-) I, too, find the visual spatial learner concept completely and utterly fascinating. I see so much of myself here, too, and as an mother/educator, this self-knowledge is really useful. I'm also just completely intrigued with knowing my children better - they're all such individiuals, I love that!
Thanks again!!!
MamaJen
Aquinas Academy Adventures
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Leonie
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| Posted: Dec 21 2006 at 5:42am | IP Logged
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I haven't had a late reader so really appreciate Willa's comment.
That said, the way we work on reading is the way we work on everything - games, real life, conversation, giving it time - and a little bit of focused time a few days a week.
Just my two cents. 
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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florasita
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| Posted: June 02 2007 at 12:13am | IP Logged
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I really would like to visit this conversation a bit more but right now it is almost 12am and I've got to ick ds up at 7am from night shift . yes I'm tired seeing as I'm a morning person 
Our ds Indigo was the first hs child from strcatch so to say as the others all had a bit of ps now and then . So he being the first one I had to teach to read well lets just say the word failure came into my head often as he is a very late reader . It did help I had two very dear friends who each had a dd who both learned to read at age 11yo in gr5 one was hs the other in ps . Indigo is now 11 yo and reads at gr 3 .
What really gave me a new light was a whole re-looking - relearning myeslf .Looking also at other aspects of a european culture in regards to our aboriginal peoples etc. reading is actually in our education system a very european way of learning .
I began to meditate on how so many cultures survived for so long using oral learning . story telling is big in our family and is part of our heritage and culture .
Yet reading is almost a survival skill now could any culture survive now another thousand yrs without the written word ?
Maybe some of us are not meant to read ? This came into my mind . Would we be any less intelligent ? Would my ds be any less then if he could not read ? What label would he have ?
What if a person made a choice not to read ? where would they be in our written society ?
We had a women come to our parish to speak on conversion and she was ojibway and how it can be confusing leaving religious ways of our peole but keeping our culture and ways etc. she said her conversion really came when she heard the story of the samaritan woman at the well how Jesus accepted her . Anyway this lady she is actually a sister now . She said how the jewish religion that Jesus belonged to was actually a very oral religion and society and really when they read it was from scrolls but people told and talked and stories were passed etc.
Now maybe if eople had more access to materials there would have been more written word but it is interesting to me how so many survived just fine without it as well and yet we see now it is a skill that is needed even to people in remote parts of the world like the amazon where tourism is coming the native peole are being taught how to speak and wrire/ read to run businesses .
I struggle at times is this what Jesus meant go out and teach the nations . Or did he just mean go and tell about Him the good news the word and thats all .
Ok far to much already . off to bed no more deep thought for me just deep sleep please
Much Love , Rox
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May I rise & rest with words of Gratitude on my Breath
May I have the Heart & Mind of a Child in my Depth
May I forever remember to be a Light
May Peace Love & Hope be My Sight
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Angel
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| Posted: June 02 2007 at 5:37am | IP Logged
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Both my kids who are now reading were technically "late" readers. Reading didn't really click for my oldest, now 10, until he was about 8.5. He has a lot of v/s traits and didn't really talk too much until he was about 3.5. But, like his speech, when reading did finally click for him, it was almost like he became fluent overnight.
I've never used 100 Easy Lessons, but what we did over the yearswas fairly low key. I used Phonics Pathways until he got bored with it (my dd was the same way; they really liked the book until about 1/4 of the way in, and then it was like pulling teeth, so I dropped it); MCP Phonics A (not B, because it requires much more writing); phonetic readers that were more geared to his interests (the Veritas Press books, which I know are not that great but since he was interested in history...);some little make-your-own books from Scholastic that he could color; the stories at starfall.com; then I wrote some of my own little books for him to read...
I think that probably the biggest boost to his reading, however, came from quiet time and those DK Cross-section books. He loves those books, and somehow by using the pictures, he could figure out what the labels said. So I had an 8 year old who could read innumerable words that dealt with castles, but had problems with the easiest phonetic words. Eventually he got those, too, but it did take time.
In the past year, though, we became aware that he might have visual processing problems, so we took him to a developmental optometrist. It turns out that he does have quite a few visual problems, and the doctor couldn't figure out how he reads as well as he does. Once he got some new glasses and started vision therapy, however, his reading *really* took off. So you might think about having a developmental optometrist check your ds in addition to maintaining a v/s friendly learning style.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: later reader, also handwriting
