Dyslexia homeschool

Moving brings more excitement, challenges to homeschooling

2013-01-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

Colorado ho!

Well, moving to Colorado has been great for us. The homeschool community here in Greeley and the Northern Colorado area is large and we've been joining in some of the fun. It has been nice. I looked up and joined the group a month before we moved to try to get to know the members ahead of our arrival. I think knowing that there were kids around his same age, who enjoyed the same things, just waiting to meet him here, made the transition easier for Nick. He even played Minecraft online with some of the kids before we moved.

The available resources (i.e., things to do for bored kids) are tremendous as well. We've been to several very nice restaurants (one that is completely based on fondue eating where we ordered a bowl of chocolate first and then dinner), a couple of sports games (the Harlem Globetrotters and a University of Northern Colorado hockey game), several downtown events, and have enjoyed what the local recreation department has available (rock climbing and swimming mainly but we are looking at the archery lessons).

We've learned there is a lot more educational opportunities available to us through the homeschool group and other new friends as well. We've learned about classes available to homeschoolers through the public school system as well as some charter schools. Some of the classes, including game design, sound very exciting and we are looking forward to starting those. There are several art classes as well that I know Nick will enjoy.

On to the challenges

So, those are the exciting parts.

The challenges started with the extra workload we've piled on since this is high school. Nick was having a hard time adapting from our previously, mostly unschooling style to paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. Practice makes perfect, we keep saying.

I really, really, really hated doing that to him but we've explained to him many times that a game designer requires loads of math. To help him understand, we sat and did research on how math is used in game design and 3D design. I've told him that I use Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry on a daily basis as an artist, but he needed to hear that from other artists because sometimes Mom is wrong. It's true that I am sometimes wrong, but this time I wasn't. They even said a little calculus wouldn't hurt either.

Nick is also having to get used to a new teacher. His dad is being a tremendous help by teaching the math. Of course, he has a different style, so they are getting used to each other and their own learning and teaching styles.

And to make the situation more difficult, the Math-U-See that we bought isn't as helpful as we hoped. I had heard wonderful things from other homeschool parents about it and how it helped their children who learn best visually and kinesthetically. But none of those parents had made it to higher levels of math yet. The main reason I bought the program was to provide that different way of learning, but we are finding the manipulatives aren't used much. Also, the student text we got has very little and sometimes NO explanation on how to work the types of problems he's encountering in each lesson.

The parent book and DVD are somewhat helpful (though Nick finds the DVD lectures boring), and even without those, Nick's dad is able to work through Algebra I with Nick easily, and would be able to do geometry, Algebra II and trigonometry without much outside guidance. But we were hoping to have Nick learn how to work independently, as he will eventually need to do in college. The student text is basically just a bunch of practice pages. Practice pages are fine and definitely important in order to make sure Nick masters each type of problem, but we need something more.

That's where being a part of a homeschool group came in very handy! I sent a message out to the group requesting suggestions for higher level math. I got a couple of responses that I think we'll be quite happy with:

Life of Fred is a book series that provides math in the form of a narrative. It goes all the way up to calculus, statistics and linear algebra. I have used story form before to try to get Nick to see why we use or how to solve certain kinds of math problems, so this may work for him. Some of the other homeschool parents hate it and some love it, so I'll be checking it out of the library first before I buy anything. I have heard from most parents, however, that it can only be used as a supplement. So we'll still need practice pages.
The program that really caught my eye because it was described as working great with visual learners is Teaching Textbooks. I watched their demo online and it is definitely more involved than Math-U-See. The student text has the explanation we are looking for and there are DVDs providing a lecture on how to solve the problem types. After the student works through the practice problems in the text, they can then go to the solution DVD to see how to work the ones they missed. Every problem is written out and worked out right in front of their eyes.

There were other textbook choices provided: Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding by Harold R. Jacobs and Algebra and Trigonometry: Functions and Applications by Paul A. Foerster, but I really like the idea of having something presented more visually or in story form.

Bringing it home

Other challenges we've encountered include additional chores, general teenage drama (though he's not nearly as bad as I was, so I'm thrilled), and not getting to see his old friends from Nevada as much (or play online with them as often).

Overall, though, when we ask Nick how he's enjoying Colorado and the changes, he tells us things are good. He enjoys the additional activities available and the additional time he gets to spend with his dad. He's teaching his dad some of his favorite video games and his dad is teaching him about sports (and math). Nick tells his friends in Nevada that he's making good friends here. We both enjoy the closer shopping and can't wait to go back to the fondue restaurant.

I'd say that despite the challenges, we are quite happy with the changes.

Great online homeschool resources

2012-11-24T15:05:00.001-08:00

Here’s a collection of online resources of games, videos, audio and other things kids actually enjoy learning with. There's also some parent resources for putting together your own curriculum if you like or getting help teaching.

For Kids

Fun video/audio sites

LearnOutLoud.com has a bunch of audio and video resources. There are tons of educational audio books, MP3 downloads, podcasts, and videos. They are categorized wonderfully to make finding what you need easy, including a Kids section and a Free section.
Mangomon special education games are online games that help with reading and math.
Neok12 has a collection of free online educational videos, lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles. We recommend watching the videos first to make sure they are good quality because not all are.
Math Playground is for elementary and middle school students. Kids practice math skills, play logic games and have fun. There aren't as many math games for basic math like addition and subtraction as there are for decimals, fractions and percentages. Also the videos aren't exciting and fun like the games are.
Starfall is a great site for beginning readers. There are great activities for kids just starting out. It helps reinforce phonemic code with visuals and sounds.
Funbrain has a lot of educational games to help kids with a variety of subjects and several just-for-fun games too.
National Geographic Kids has lots of videos, stories and activities. This is more of a look and discover site. If you are looking for something specific to help teach a certain subject, you may find it hard to find exactly what you are looking for. But it is a fun site for kids to go to and learn while on the Internet.
The History Channel site has many free videos of their shows. Be sure to watch before showing any to your kids because not all are for kids. Because this is not a strictly kids' site, there are commercials to worry about before videos. This site also has games and a few other interesting features.

Some reading needed (audio or video may also be included)

Despite the name, some of the stories on Online Audio Stories are only available as text on the screen. You can click on the ALL AUDIO STORIES tab at the top to see the vast selection of children's stories available as audiobooks. There are a lot of children's classics, myths, fables, nursery rhymes, fairy tails, and poems.
The Exploratorium site covers science, art and human perception. There are plenty of videos and other things on this site that bring the subjects to life. This is also a good site for parents to pick up some lesson plan ideas.

Reading required (mostly text)

Science News for Kids has a lot of really good articles on a variety of science topics, especially recent discoveries and science news.
BioKIDS helps kids learn about animals. It provides plenty of photos of the animals along with information about their lifestyles and habitats. It is a good site for doing research for reports.
Project Gutenberg is the place where you can download over 30,000 free ebooks to read on your portable reading device. Their audiobooks partner site is LibriVox.

For Parents

Science buddies has many science experiments to help you enhance science lessons or to use for science fairs. The great organization on the site makes it easy to find exactly what you need for whatever science topic your kids are studying.
Math Projects Journal has lesson plans for teaching pre-algebra, algebra and geometry in multi-sensory ways to help make the lessons more memorable and fun.
A to Z Teacher Stuff is a teacher-created site designed to help teachers find online resources more quickly and easily. Find lesson plans, thematic units, teacher tips, discussion forums, downloadable teaching materials and eBooks, printable worksheets, emergent reader books, themes, and more.
Discovery Education has free lesson plans written by teachers for teachers. Classroom Resources has hundreds of original lesson plans for all ages of students. Use them as-is or as a base to develop your own lesson plans.
The Science News for Kids Teacher Zone provides lesson plans that go along with the most recent articles as well as a long listing of more websites that might be useful for parents or teachers.
Adrian Bruce's Educational Teaching Resources has fun educational games (that can be printed) and more to help create fun lessons for kids.

If you know of any other sites that should be listed here, please list it in the comments section below.

Homeschool High School

2012-09-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Homeschooling a high schooler is a whole new ballfield

Now that Nick is officially a high schooler, I thought, "We've got to get serious!"

I'm kidding, but only slightly.

We've been skipping along merrily for a while now, letting Nick decide his fate ... I mean ... education.

He's been learning Blender, the 3-D modeling program, really well and has created quite a bit with it. It still intimidates me, but he knows his way around it and I'm proud. He uses Blender Cookie for instruction and subscribes to their YouTube account so he's always up to date on new tricks.

He's decided he wants to lean toward the artistic side of game design, so I've shown him several websites for learning to draw and learning the graphics programs I use at work. We also purchased a video game character development and storytelling book that we are working our way through.

Most of you probably already knew that if you read my previous stuff, but what is new this time is that Nick is going into high school. I know we don't have long before he will be looking at video game design colleges. We need to be able to provide those colleges with some WOW factor, so I started doing a lot of research about what they are looking for in a college applicant.

High school transcripts for homeschoolers

The first thing I learned is that I'm going to have to somehow come up with a high school transcript all on my own. I'll admit, I freaked out ... a lot. I wondered how official they have to look, do I need to print them on special paper, what do transcripts even look like, things like that. I found a few sites that I found very helpful and I want to share those with you:

PEAH's Homeschool Curriculum Savings.com has a nice little introduction to creating your own homeschool high school transcripts and a little digging (scroll down very far on this page) allowed me to download a sample transcript and a template I can use for my own purposes. The only thing I didn't quite understand on their samples were the codes they used for their "TYPE" column. I get that it is requesting the type of class it is and some of the codes make sense, like MA for math, SS for Social Studies, EN for English and so forth. But for some of the classes I'll be teaching Nick, I'm not sure what code I'd put (since they didn't provide samples of all types of courses). I don't know if these are standardized or not, though I don't think they are because I couldn't find anything online about them. I tried sending a comment to the website owners but haven't even seen the comment published and I haven't heard back from them. Nonetheless, just seeing a sample transcript was very helpful.

After reading more articles about creating my own transcripts, I realized the "TYPE" column isn't necessary. The type will be obvious to anyone reading the course titles, I realized, after a couple of other articles mentioned I should be very descriptive when naming the courses. Rather than putting English II, I should put something like European Literature, 1300-1800. Below are some of the other articles I found helpful in creating homeschool high school transcripts:

Hopefully, I won't need that last one, but the information in it was very good.

What are game design schools looking for?

So, after panicking and learning about high school transcripts, I finally got back to learning about what game design schools are looking for in a prospective student.

Math

First off was a lot of math. Several said students needed to study math at least to pre-calculus. OK, math is not really my thing, but I got that covered already!

Math was tough for me to teach because I'm not as much a visual learner as my son is. It has been a lot of trial and error trying to create lessons that allow him to see what is taking place. When I studied math in high school, I just memorized what I needed to do and did it. Nick needs to know the why and how and I understand that, but it took a while for me to figure out how to show it. Sometimes I'd draw pictures of money or pie or number lines, but it still wasn't clicking.

My first tip came from the All About Spelling program we've been using. Our previous attempts at doing spelling never worked. Nick would learn his spelling words and make a 100 on every test, only to misspell some of the same words a day or so later in his regular writing. Clearly it wasn't sticking. When I ordered the All About Spelling program, there were no tests, but there's a lot of repetition as well as magnets, color coding, and a whole lot of other stuff going on. His spelling improved drastically within days and is still strong.

Well, the program works because they not only use visual learning (the color coding) but kinesthetic and verbal as well (with the magnets and the repeating of information out loud).

So I applied this concept to math, allowing Nick to feel the math (with LEGOs, dice, rulers, etc.) and that has helped.

But now we are going into higher math and I was getting a little nervous. Even though I took up to pre-calculus in high school, that was a while back, so I am going to have to relearn it all in order to teach it.

That's when I finally decided to try Math-U-See. They teach higher level math all the way up to Calculus, so I ordered the Algebra I. I got the package in and have looked it over. There are blocks that snap to each other to demonstrate a lot of concepts. There are decimal and fraction attachments too. I watched the sample video lessons on their website and know that it is a very visual and kinesthetic method of teaching. The package comes with a teacher DVD as well to teach me the concepts I'm going to need to teach. Nick gets to watch the DVD as well, so that will help. We haven't started it just yet because we are currently reviewing general math (at least the fractions, exponents, decimals and pre-algebra stuff). I will keep you up to date on how well it works for us as we get more into it.

Variety is the spice of life and game design

After heavily emphasizing math, most of the game design folks said they were looking for students who study a wide variety of topics. They mentioned psychology, history, and science.

Mostly, though, they don't want kids who focus too much attention on working the equipment because they will be teaching them that stuff. What they want to know is that the students are well-rounded. Video games are interactive stories and the best stories come from those who have lived the most.

This is great news for us as unschoolers since we live to visit museums and learn new things all the time. However, I can't create a high school transcript based on all our esoteric talks with museum curators. But I also don't want to fence Nick in to regular classes like regular high school because that would sort of NOT be what the game design folks are looking for (on top of not being fun).

So, as well as considering very descriptive titles for courses that say "He LIVED!" I looked for actual interesting lessons and courses online that Nick would enjoy and have their own lively titles.

I was already using The Great Courses for some lessons in science, history and math. But I knew there had to be other options that are free that I could use to give Nick a well-rounded education which is also fun. Below is a list of free high-school and college-level courses I found (many are provided in video format as well):

I'll admit, we likely won't be using all of these, but they are there to provide education to all and I applaud these institutions for providing these opportunities to people.

Making high school count

So, that's what I've learned about going into high school as a homeschooler (and unschooler). Being prepared for life after high school was clearly essential and I'm glad I did my research ahead of time rather than waiting until Nick was a senior. Now I can really make what he learns count toward what he wants to do with his life (and make it look nice on paper too).

Life really is the best lesson in homeschooling

2011-12-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, learning while living is a terrific option for homeschooling dyslexic children. The unschooling method is really paying off for us.

Learning to live, living to learn, or both

I'm in a homeschool group and one of the other families has a dyslexic son as well. Both our sons are into game design, so we thought we'd get them together often to work on a project of their own choosing. We really didn't set up protocols or expectations or any kind of curriculum. We just thought we'd let the kids figure it out on their own. They would plan and develop their game and we would just let the whole thing be a learning experience.

At the very least, they would learn teamwork and compromise. At best, they'd create a really cool game we can sell on iTunes.

The only thing us parents did was help decide which program would be best for them to work with. We chose Blender because it is free (big plus for both families), and there are a lot of video tutorials, user forums to consult and support for the program and its users.

The first time we got the boys together, my son, Nick, showed Jacob Minecraft and Blockland. These building games are perfect for teaching physics in games and creating scenes, plot, action and other things games need. Nick has been using the games for a long time and I'm often surprised by what he comes up with. He created his own Blockland Zombies series on Youtube with the Blockland program as well as doing his own animation. He can set up situations in Blockland and Minecraft, and it's basically like an introduction to coding and design.

The second time we got the boys together, they got serious. Jacob's dad is teaching him Python, the code language Blender uses, and Jacob had written some code for the game. Then the boys discussed characters and what the characters would be doing. When Nick got home, he began working on a model for the game so the boys can have something to work with. He did this all on his own without me having to prompt him.

Truthfully, I don't know what they are doing. I'm beginning to think I need to learn more about Blender so I can at least know what they are talking about. I know that I might be of assistance with the artwork because I am a graphic artist. Nick has been talking about creating textures in Photoshop, and I know ALL about Photoshop. I know I could help there.

But I'd also like to know what's going on because I'm curious. I'd love to be able to get more creative and I've seen some of the things other Blender artists have come up with. I'm really, really amazed. Nick and Jacob are off to a good start with the paths they are choosing for careers. But I think it could also help me venture into new avenues in my own career.

A learning experience that couldn't have gone better

So this is turning out to be a big learning experience for all of us. And it is all just from living our everyday lives and following our dreams.

Dyslexic students can look forward to bright future

2011-12-04T01:15:00.001-08:00

I found this interesting article about a study performed on dyslexic boys, following them through their lives over a 55-year period. The study confirms what I (and many of you as well) already knew: our dyslexic children are bright and have a promising future. Here's the link: Dyslexia and Adult Careers.

Back to the blogging

2011-11-29T19:14:00.001-08:00

I haven't written in a long time and I wanted to let everyone know I'm still here. I moved and lacked Internet for a while. Now I'm settling in to my new house.

When the student becomes the teacher

One thing I really wanted to share was something my son requested. Nick and I were watching a DVD he got in the mail from the LEGO company. I am always amazed by the creativity employed by the designers and the people who love LEGOs. On the video they showed a behind-the-scenes look at how LEGOs are made as well as several snippets of master builders at work. They also showed LEGO conventions and some of the amazing work LEGO lovers around the country create.

Of course, I know LEGOs are an important teaching tool for math, science, art and history (and maybe more). I use them frequently (see my post on using them after studying Egypt) to help enhance the lesson and make it fun.

However, my son piped in with his own idea for using them in history that I never really thought of. So I'm sharing because this is right from the student's mouth. He decided history (his most disliked subject) would be more fun if we could just act out the whole lesson with LEGOs.

I learned my lesson! LEGO history acting, here we come! It would require a little more planning and some scene and dialog development, but it would certainly be fun and if my son says he would like to do it, then I'm all for it. If he helps with the scene and dialog development, then he's learning everything he needs to know even before we start the show. I told him it was a great idea.

Reading and spelling successes

We've been working a great deal on Nick's spelling using the All About Spelling program. We completed the Reading Horizons at Home program and his reading is spectacular now. He reads without being asked and he enjoys it! He's even asked me to buy him books in a series he's been enjoying.

However, his spelling was still ... hmmmm ... lacking. So we have been working through the All About Spelling program to fix that. Even though he's 13 now, we started at the very beginning because I wasn't really sure if there were some basics I might have missed in my teachings. Just trying to get him to memorize a list of words every week never worked. He'd memorize the spellings and could pass a test with a 100 percent, but never spelled them correctly in his regular writing after the test was over.

So I thought this program, which teaches rules rather than memorization and uses multisensory teaching, would be better. I had started it a long time ago, but it sort of fell by the wayside for a while. So I picked it up again and finished the first set, and started on the second. In just a few short months I've noticed a tremendous difference in his spelling skills.

What I find most odd, however, is that his spelling on those sight words, like "said", is still not there yet. We've been texting each other a lot and he spells "said" phonetically ("sed") but in the same text spelled "animation", "watching" and "video" correctly. I'm going to keep going with the program though because I know the sight words are addressed soon. I'm really impressed with how his spelling skills have improved thus far and have faith they will continue to improve.

That's all for now

Sorry to keep it short but I've got other blogs to apologize on for my absence. I also have to get some education into my boy!

Because children around the world need a chance to survive

2011-08-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

I know I am straying off topic this time, but this message urgently needs to get out. I thought who better to share it with than parents who would do anything to protect their children.

In East Africa there are parents who can do nothing to help their children. Due to the worst drought in 50 years, poverty, and rising food costs, more than a million people are facing starvation. The ones who suffer the most, the ones who need more food for growth and brain power, are the children.

Please consider donating to help humanitarian efforts bring relief to these children and their families. I support the group Save the Children, because children are our future, in this country and around the world. Save the Children not only works to create lasting change for the children they help, but they also support their families' efforts to help themselves. They are also top-rated by charity watchdogs, so I know my money is going straight to those who need it most.

A group working to bring emergency water supplies to East Africa (as well as look for more sustainable water sources) is Oxfam International. They are helping communities look for more sustainable sources of water by drilling boreholes, developing motorized water schemes and improving traditional water harvesting systems. In the worst affected areas they have been trucking in emergency water supplies. The water is treated and used for drinking, cooking, washing and keeping animals alive. Each person gets at least 5 liters of water per day, the bare minimum people need. Community health workers also conduct public campaigns to help stop the spread of water-borne diseases.

UNICEF is another group that focuses on helping children. They have been operating across Somalia since the 70s. They are working on health interventions and vaccinations for those who are more susceptible to disease because of hunger and malnutrition.

Samaritan's Purse is also helping by distributing food staples to the area.

Please consider giving to any one of these groups (or others you support) to help provide relief to the starving families in East Africa. Think of the parents who love their children and want to be able to help them, but can't. None of us wants to ever be in that situation. We can help those parents help their children.

Fun with the first test of the season

2011-08-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Getting back into the swing of things can be tough sometimes. I like to have a little more play and fun in the beginning of the school season, so that when we have to do serious stuff (because some history lessons are very serious) it's easier to get through once we've opened up the gates to learning.

I write a lot on Squidoo to reach other audiences as well as connect with other homeschoolers and teachers. Plus Squidoo gives me the opportunity to do some things more easily (read I don't have to learn too much CSS or HTML).

One of the modules I can use on a Squidoo lens is a quiz. I thought it would be fun to create some quizzes for different lessons for my son (because he loves doing things on the computer). I thought I could do history on it and make some of the answer choices absolutely and obviously crazy in order to make it more fun.

I had never tried the quiz module before, so in order to test it out, I created a silly little quiz on superheroes. He definitely got a kick out of it.

If you'd like to have a little fun with your kids before hitting the books (videos, software, etc.), go ahead and try it out. It's called Are you a superhero?

Free fraction teaching tools

2011-08-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick note to let everyone know I just found a site that has free tools to help teach fractions more easily.

The Conceptua fraction tools are very visual and makes understanding fractions much easier. They have a paid subscription service (only $10 a month) but the free tools are there for anyone willing to learn them.

Conceptua has webinars to help teach people how to use the free tools and there are introduction videos for them.

I just want to have Nick brush up on fractions before we move on, so this is perfect for my purposes. Hopefully it will suit your needs as well.

Need help teaching multiplication and division?

If you need help with multiplication or division, check out Big Brainz' Timez Attack with the division expansion pack. This game is super fun. Kids (OK and me too) love it because of its videogame interface. They aren't just facing math problems but other challenges like mazes and moving platforms. The videos below show how incredible the program is.

Free videos for teaching higher grades

2011-08-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Since I started homeschooling 8 years ago, I have always been excited to find a website that helps me teach (especially with subjects I need to learn or relearn myself).

Now that my son is going into 8th grade, I need more help with certain subjects. For one thing, because I work a full-time job, my time with Nick is limited and if I can find someone else to do some of the teaching or explain some lessons, then I have more time to help him with his extracurriculars (like videogame design) and with actually practicing new skills.

I have previously used videos I've found on YouTube, National Geographic Kids, History Channel and other sites to help with science, social studies and a few other lessons. With a little bit of research you can find all kinds of videos to help you create a multisensory lesson that helps deepen your child's understanding of it. (For a more complete list of the free stuff I've found on the Internet, click here.)

Where does the time go?

The problem with trying to find the perfect video to go along with a lesson is all the time it takes! I won't say it is wasted time because videos do help make a lesson so much more interesting, but it still seems like a lot of lost time.

When I found BrainPOP I was willing to pay a nominal fee for the ease of finding the videos I needed. With YouTube you never know what you are going to get, but with BrainPOP I knew it was going to be kid-friendly. I can still use a lot of BrainPOP videos even though my son is getting older because he doesn't feel BrainPOP is too childish. They do cover some topics that will be part of his studies this year, so I'm keeping my subscription. Plus they just introduced games. We haven't tried many but we are certain to discuss them when we discuss videogame design.

Another site I was willing to pay a fee for is Lynda.com. They do mainly creative lessons (graphic design, website design, 3-D animation, etc.). I thought this would be perfect for my son who wants to learn more about game design. I think it's important for him to know what others he would be working with are doing. (Plus, truth be told, I use Lynda.com for my own education. I enjoy learning code and animation and things like that.) At Lynda.com the lesson are all organized and I don't have to create a lesson plan or anything. That's perfect for both of us.

What about government, higher math and sciences?

But I was still on the lookout for some way to provide video lessons for those big subjects. I still plan on going over book lessons (for reading practice), but I think videos on certain math formulas or government lessons will make the lessons sink in better (that and lots and lots of practice when it comes to math).

So I was happy to find a couple of free sites that have lessons for these higher-level topics.

Brightstorm has thousands (yes thousands) of free videos of instructors discussing math (algebra up to calculus) and science (biology, physics and chemistry). They aren't as exciting as BrainPOP with all the animated characters, but they do cover the topics pretty well. I think they will be wonderful introductions to a topic that we will cover in more detail later. Most of the time my son is actually paying attention to them (I can tell because he actually knows answers when we discuss the topics later).

Most recently, I discovered HippoCampus which actually does do a little more on the graphics side with their videos. They cover algebra, American government, biology, calculus, environmental sciences, physics, psychology, religion, statistics and U.S. history. Plus, the couple of math lessons I tested out quizzed me. I can't wait to look into those videos a little more.

Incorporating videos while not home

I mentioned earlier that I'm not home during the day. Yes, I work a 45-hour job. So, how, you may ask, do I get my son to watch the correct videos or do other online tasks that correspond with his schoolwork?

I create a computer file for my son with the list of things I want him to do. Because it is a computer file, I can copy and paste links to videos I want him to watch and all he has to do is click and watch. If there are worksheets or reading that go along with a topic, I will put those as separate items on the list and leave the supplies he needs on his chair in front of his computer. I will number items on the checklist if they need to be done in a particular order. Of course we discussed this plan long ago and he knows how it all works.

NOTE:
You may know (if you've read previous posts) I mostly unschool and my son creates his own schoolwork, but I do want to make sure he gets the basics. It's a give and take for both of us. I allow him to explore topics of interest to him as long as he gets through the list I create for him. I refuse to let him just sit around and play videogames all day.

Any links to share?

If you know of other websites that offer lessons for higher grades, please let me know in a comment. I am always looking for new sites to explore. Of course, I'll be sure to share any others I come across as well.

My stance on proper parenting

2011-08-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

I received an email this week from someone promoting a story on how to embarrass your kids off of Facebook. The title already made me squeamish but I tried to remain positive and hope they were not actually encouraging parents to humiliate their own children publicly. Some writers will try to use some kind of reverse psychology in their headlines to lure readers in.

However, I looked at the story and realized they were, in fact, encouraging parents to alienate their children. I was completely disgusted. It was basically teaching parents how to be cyber bullies to their own flesh and blood.

Let me just go on record right now and state:

It is wrong to ridicule, humiliate, belittle, bully or otherwise alienate your own children!

The way I think of it is this: Do I want to have a wonderful relationship with my son now and when he is all grown up? Well, of course I do!

If I treat him with respect — and that means respecting his feelings as well — then I am building a bridge of trust between us.

But parents who think it is funny to embarrass their children on the Internet — which would be the same as standing in the middle of town and shouting things to every passerby — are setting their children up for failure.

Failure number one

First off, how can children go to their parents to discuss important topics (like illegal drugs or puberty) if they don't trust or respect their parents? Parents who makes it a practice to ridicule their children are effectively cutting their children off from ever listening to them again. If they have something important to teach their children, their words will fall on deaf ears.

Failure number two

Secondly, if parents make a habit of humiliating their children in front of all their friends, then the only friends the children make will likely not be introduced to their parents. That means they will never know what kind of people their children decide to hang out with (or what kind of influences they will be). That also means their children will begin the practice of lying to keep the parents from finding out about their friends and their lives. That could only lead to more deceit and betrayal. And that starts them on the path to no good.

Failure number three

Finally, when children who have been bullied repeatedly by their parents move out, they will undoubtedly inflict the same kind of punishment on their family if they ever have the chance to have one. It will be hard for them to learn to form loving, trusting relationships with people if they have never experienced those kind of relationships at home while growing up. If they do form a family, it will likely be based in fear or superficiality.

Parents should be parents AND trusted friends to their children

When I first started out learning how to discipline my son in order to teach him to be a good person, I read everything I could find about child behavior and child psychology. I came at it with a scientific approach but also knew that I should trust my gut in some situations. It helped to understand how children learn and how their brains develop in order to know if I was using effective techniques in teaching my son right from wrong.

Many times I would read or hear: You cannot be your child's friend. You must be an authority figure.

At first, I understood why it would be important to be an authority figure. Young children must understand that they cannot do as they please. Young children have not yet learned how to be a good friend, so being an authority figure was best to help my son understand when he was not being nice to someone. This is important when teaching children to share, to respect another child's space and things, and to not hit and shove when they don't get their way.

But as my son got older and learned how to be a good friend, I felt it was important to allow him that sense of independence of being a trusted advisor. Family decisions were not made for him or without him. He was allowed to voice his opinion so that he knew he was an important part of the family and not just some object to be commanded around.

I did this partly because I knew I needed to develop independence in him. Some day he will need to make important decisions on his own, and he needs the confidence to make the right decisions. Being wishy washy when peer pressure is involved is the reason some kids fall to it. Knowing that his opinions and feelings matter means he will be more secure in telling someone "No" when he needs to.

Of course the fact that he feels comfortable coming to me about important decisions he has to make helps too. As a trusted advisor to him, he knows I won't belittle him or ridicule him when he needs to talk to me about something. On that same note, I know he will listen to me when I offer my opinions and knowledge on something because he knows I have his best interests at heart.

So I had to go with my gut on that whole friend thing, but so far it has paid off. He does come to me with questions or problems. And he does listen to me when I need to talk to him. Not only is schoolwork easier but teaching him about life itself is easier.

And none of this would be possible if I had decided to be a big bully to him.

Remember, children learn what they see NOT what you tell them do

Do you remember the poem Children learn what they live? It has always had an impact on me. Hopefully, you will take it to heart too.

Children Learn What They Live

By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D. © 1972

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

What about writing?

2011-07-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

I know I discuss reading and teaching reading a lot, but I don't really focus much on writing. So today, I'll go over some tips on getting a struggling writer to express him or herself on paper.

Started off the wrong way with reports

Nick teases me a lot because I apparently say, "When I was your age ..." or the equivalent of that phrase often. It often ends up being technology related. That's because when I was his age and older, we didn't have the resources kids have these days to get information to write really great reports.

The reason I mention this is that I tell Nick to do a report and he goes to the Internet, copies and pastes information he finds on websites, add pictures he finds on Google Images and he's done. He doesn't learn anything. When I read these reports, I see grammar errors galore and questionable information. I also don't know where he gets his information because he never cites his work (despite the many times I have stressed the importance of giving people credit for their work).

So, I realized doing reports wasn't a good way to start teach writing. He's not ready for report-writing yet. When he is older and has learned how to lend his own voice and opinion to his writing, we will try that again. Obviously the Internet is a wonderful resource, but one must understand its limitations before using it.

Starting off with personal essays

So, now what we are doing is working on essays on personal things. These could be a funny event he has seen, his favorite game, his summer vacation, etc. These are things I know he can't just look up on the Internet and ones that I know he will want to discuss.

The first essay we did was on his favorite video game. We started off with doing a story web. This is a visual element that helps him think out the essay before beginning to write it. The center theme is the name of his favorite video game. Then we talked about the things he likes about it and wrote those down in circles surrounding the center theme. He likes the story line, the added details in the graphics, the overall artwork, the action, the puzzles, etc. We then grouped those interests into three main categories.

The basic construction of an essay

We had previously discussed that an essay is formed of an intro, body and conclusion. If you haven't discussed this with your child, you should before he or she begins any writing.

I usually draw a candy wrapper shape (drawn vertically as shown) to show visually how an essay should be written.

In the introduction, you state the main theme of the essay (the center of the story web). You also state the three main categories everything was grouped into. You will discuss these in more detail in the body of your essay.
In the body, you talk about those three categories in detail, giving examples (and Nick likes to add photos since he does his essays on the computer).
In the conclusion you wrap it up with a solid opinion or funny fact or something similar. I always tell Nick to never start a conclusion with, "So in conclusion ...". It's overdone.

As far as the actual words to use, I just have Nick tell me verbally what he wants to say and then tell him to write that. Most kids (and adults too) are afraid that writing on paper needs to sound more formal than the way we talk. I always say that writing the way you would say it verbally sounds more natural and people would be more likely to read just as they are to listen. We will worry about spelling and grammar after we get the words down.

Starting the actual writing

With his story web drawn out and sitting next to him at the computer, he began to write out his essay.

The good thing about doing it on the computer is that it is less frustrating for students who abhor the act of hand writing. Many dyslexics have a very difficult time forming letters and concentrate too much on the creation of the letters and words than the actual story. It is a slow and painstaking process and when you need to go back to correct spelling and grammar or rewrite parts, it can bring them to tears. So I avoid all this by having Nick write on the computer.

An added bonus is that he immediately corrects spelling errors when those little red lines show up. I've noticed his spelling is getting much better due to this.

I sit with Nick as he writes to add support if he asks for it. He will ask me how to spell things or ask what he should write when he's stuck on how to express a certain part. Usually I go back to having him tell me what he wants to say and for the most part it's good enough to write. He never has trouble expressing himself verbally, other than finding the right word, so I think he just needs validation sometimes that his thoughts are good enough for paper.

Writing the body of the essay

The body is the toughest part because I ask for examples and details. So for his statement that the graphics are really cool in the video game, he knew how to show me with a picture (and tell me) what he liked but wasn't sure how to verbalize it on paper (at least he didn't think he was sure).

That is why we pull over pictures into the report so he can "show" what he is trying to say. I tell him that it needs a caption and that is where we get the details I'm looking for. By pulling over images, he is able to give me multitudes of examples and details. He's still writing them down, but the images just give him the encouragement to do so.

Because this is homeschool, I figure whatever tool I can use that will get him to express himself will work for me. I don't worry about traditional essay-writing when it comes to getting my son to write. I know some day he will need to learn to write without the use of picture cues, but for now, we are just getting over the hurdle of writing as a form of expression. With enough practice he will be able to write well enough for college or work without needing pictures to help.

Writing the conclusion

With the body written, we are ready to wrap it all up. Many people find it hard to conclude an essay when they just got through saying everything they wanted to say about their topic. Nick just likes to say, "OK. That's it. Go home folks."

I tell Nick to think of ending an essay as the same as ending a phone conversation. You don't just say what you want to say and hang up. You lead up to the hang up.

Ending an essay is the same. You may want to restate your overall opinion in a different way than you did in the introduction. You may want to offer suggestions to the reader (if they should try the video game, restaurant, vacation spot, etc.). You may want to state what kind of person would like said game, restaurant, vacation spot, etc. You may want to mention one negative thing, but that overall you like it. You may want to leave the reader wanting more by hinting at some secret they could discover. But you do need to find a way to not just hang up.

We talk it through and come up with something to end it. It doesn't need to be brilliant or thought-provoking or philosophical; it just needs to end politely.

Now we edit

Just when you thought all the sharks were out of the water....

Because the act of writing, even on a computer, is difficult for dyslexics, we take a break before editing. He just got through pouring his heart out and that's tough work. It's time for a cookie.

But I never leave it undone and never wait for too long a period. His thoughts and ideas about the subject must still be fresh in his mind when we go back to edit. I will not wait a day. I will wait a couple of hours at most.

Flowing like a stream

What I'm looking for when we go back to edit is spelling, grammar and flow.

When I worked at a newspaper, my favorite copy editor would always say, "Good copy must flow like a stream." It's good advice. When you read back over a story it needs to feel natural like a friendly conversation. If it sounds choppy or seems like it is missing something or jumps from one subject to the next without gently leading up to the change, it will feel more like being in the rapids and not a gentle stream.

So the first task in editing is reading it over again. I find it best to read it out loud so you can hear how the story sounds, much like you would in conversation. That is generally how you will know where to add commas or other pausing devices. That is also how you will know when something needs to be added to make the story flow more easily.

Spelling is usually accomplished with spellcheck, but you do have to watch out for homophones like "its" and "it's" or "there" and "their." You also need to check for words that are spelled correctly but are just wrong (likely a typing error). For instance you might see "greet" instead of "great". My and Nick's biggest error in writing is not typing the letter "s" when we need to make things plural (like mother like son??). These things happen, so a careful reading will help eliminate these errors.

Be there or be square

It is especially important for a parent to be involved in the editing process because sometimes children just don't know the grammar rules or the right homophone to use or the right word to get the connotation desired.

Going over these rules as you are reading through your child's work will help immensely for the next time he or she writes. I usually tell Nick to listen for the pauses in my voice as I read out loud so he knows where to put some kind of punctuation. I overemphasize the pauses to help.

I also stop when we get to homophones and either tell him "good job" when he used the correct one or talk about the correct one to use if he didn't. And when a word doesn't seem to be a good fit, I'll tell him what it really means or how people feel when they see it, and we discuss what a better word would be. Sometimes he just doesn't know and so we look it up in his computer's thesaurus.

I never just correct everything on my own or just tell him where it needs to be corrected. He needs to learn why it needs to be corrected so he can adjust his writing the next time he does an essay.

Practice, practice, practice

Obviously, going over the rules of writing once is not going to make a famous writer out of your children overnight. You will need to do many essays (and eventually reports) so they can build on the knowledge they grasp each time.

Our dyslexic children should not be overloaded with all the rules at once, so some corrections you make in the first essay will be forgotten the next time he or she writes. That's OK and to be expected. But that's why we practice. You may want to focus on homophones for the first few essays, then commas and punctuation in the next few. Repetition is the key to building solid writing skills.

Novelist in the making?

We may create some wordsmiths out of children yet, but take it slowly. They'll get there. Start with personal essays and build from there. Use whatever tools work to help your children express themselves. Pictures work for my son, but your children may like a voice recorder to verbalize their thoughts before writing them down. You may want to use a speech recognition program to help your children with their writing. These programs are not perfect, so your children will still learn to edit.

Whatever works, use it. Just allow them plenty of practice and they'll be fine.

Plans for summer school

2011-07-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Learning never ends. Learning takes place all the time, even during the most mundane of tasks. I like to use this to my advantage during the summer when most kids expect to be able to take a break from school.

Yes, I'm relentless in my education of my son. I can't help it. I've always enjoyed learning new things, and I'd like to think that he will too as long as I make it fun and/or rewarding.

I've convinced my son to do a summer reading program of our own making. The libraries around our area each have their summer reading programs, but the prizes are more fun for younger readers. So I told my son I'd get him prizes he would appreciate and enjoy if he agreed to read during the summer. He accepted that challenge.

We are also still doing computer software training (Flash and Photoshop mainly) because Nick really enjoys creating cool animated graphics. It wasn't hard at all to get him to want to continue that education. I use Lynda.com to teach him these programs because it's all videos. He can watch a little, pause the video and practice what he just learned. Each video is usually less than a few minutes, so it works for those with short attention spans. He also does a little of his own research on programs he wants to learn, by looking for tutorials on Youtube. I'm proud to say he came up with that idea on his own.

I also bought K'Nex Education toys to brush up on some physical science fun. My son loves his building toys, so these K'nex Education toys are terrific. They come with a Teacher's Guide CD to give teaching points on the projects involved. I'll try to keep a low profile on the teaching thing and just let him have fun. I know I'll probably squeeze some tidbits of knowledge into these activities somehow, but for the most part, the act of engineering the structures will be the best learning for him.

We will likely take several field trips and just explore what nature has to offer as well. Sometimes something as relaxing as watching the wildlife is an education too.

What does everyone else have in store for their young learners this summer?

Inspired by a tween girl

2011-05-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Charity starts from the heart

My son was invited to a friend's birthday party and on the invitation she had asked that instead of bringing gifts, people donate to a favorite charity or bring nonperishable food items she could donate to the local food closet. I thought that was beautiful.

It began a conversation between me and my son about charity and giving and kindness. We often have these philosophical talks and it does my heart good to hear my son contribute so much. He thinks deeply about this topic and I know he will make me proud. I was about to say "some day" but he already has.

He told me some day he wants to change the world and make it a better place, and I told him you don't have to change the world. Just do what you can to share love and kindness and the world will follow. Kindness and charity spreads across time and oceans. It doesn't take much; just one act of kindness can change the world for one person. If you continue that practice, you will change the lives of many, who may in turn change many other lives.

I enjoy these talks with him. I know that deep inside that wandering mind is a brilliance we will all see and he will change the world.

Looking to the future

2011-05-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about the future.

Why? Because I'm certain the future is going to be grand.

I did my research

Doing research is key to knowing where you stand, where everyone else stands and where the world stands. Doing research is what I do. It is key to teaching my son, key to his education and my future education. Education doesn't end just because you graduate and get a degree. Life is an education and you really do learn something new every day, no matter how old you are.

So what's all this about research and future?

It's simple. The reason I educate my son is to ensure a happy future for him. The reason I do research is the ensure I give him a good education. It's all connected.

On top of that, I teach my son to research. He has used it well to educate himself. Sometimes it has simply been to get through a video game he is playing, but sometimes he does research to learn how to work certain programs or build things or fix things. He's a curious boy and I encourage him to look more into what it is he's curious about.

Research also helps you make good, educated decisions. We do this when we are standing in a store considering the purchase of some item. I'll look it up on Amazon on my phone to look at the rating and customer reviews. This often saves me money in a couple of ways: one is when we find out it's cheaper on Amazon with free shipping; and the other is when we find out it doesn't work that well or people just don't like it.

Obviously good, educated decisions are important in so many more aspects. Making choices on who or what to vote for, choosing a college or university, choosing a career, choosing a home, partner, pet, and more require research. With dedicated research, you will be able to change your future for the better.

And that is why the future is going to be grand!

I wish you and your family a grand future too.

Game design looks like fun

2011-05-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

On with the show

Now that I have accepted that Nick really wants to be a game developer, I have been ordering books and we have been going over the basics. Nick and I have wonderful conversations about some of his ideas and are really having a lot of fun developing them.

Game Development Essentials

There's a game design book series, called Game Development Essentials, that is really popular with Amazon readers and has a lot of interesting titles. I ordered the book Game Story & Character Development and have been finding the text very interesting.

It's really a great book on story and character development in general, discussing the history of storytelling, different character types, story structure, plot twists, conflict and the essentials that go into a good story. It also discusses character psychology, character growth, and things that general writers need to know.

Of course it includes different ways to tell the story within the confines of the gaming atmosphere because that is the point of the book. But in general I felt it did a better job of teaching story and character development than other books I've found on creative writing. So I was really happy with it.

Developing game ideas together

The real fun I am having is seeing how Nick's creative mind comes to life when we talk about his ideas. We talk about the future of gaming and how it can be used in many ways: not just for fun, but for other areas of life like exercise (like the Wii Fit Plus or now the Xbox 360 with Kinect), or education.

I bought him a multiplication game when he was younger that he still likes because it was actually fun. It's called Timez Attack. The makers didn't just have players do flash-card style multiplication, but they made it a real game with real challenges (jumping onto moving platforms, crossing narrow bridges, working their way through a castle or other maze-like area, etc.). They have recently come out with a division game that I'm just going to have to get. It's a really fun way to help kids memorize basic math facts.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that there's a whole untapped market that game developers haven't really hit the mark on yet when it comes to making educational games. There's educational software, but it's not as engaging. Nick and I talk about the possibilities all the time. He thinks it would be great to learn history (a subject he dislikes), science or other subjects in a video game format. There are some game developers out there that are beginning to realize the potential, but of the games we've seen, they still need to work on their delivery.

When Nick and I talk about the existing games and what they could do to make it more fun, his mind goes into hyperdrive and he comes up with all kinds of ways to make a history game come to life. He believes if a game could be made where the player has to search for clues or work out puzzles and make it through levels and challenges, then kids would have fun with it and not even realize they are learning. All I need to do now is keep teaching the basics of game design and hopefully he will remember these conversations when he's actually creating games. From a marketing standpoint, there's a huge audience out there waiting for them. Not just parents like me whose children learn best through multi-sensory methods, but schools who are trying to accommodate students who need more engaging educational materials. It would be especially wonderful for dyslexic students who easily retain information when it is delivered in a more interactive way.

Other possibilities for gaming

Some of the other ideas we've come up with for gaming include vacations at home with your own holodeck-type room added to the house. Nick also came up with the idea of a virtual reality helmet that doesn't put you in the game but makes the world around you part of the game. That way you can move around without worrying about tripping over the dog.

It's good to think about the kinds of obstacles people might have. Truthfully, that's how a game developer needs to think. So we're halfway there! Now if only they had a game to teach game design. I'd buy it.

Making a (lesson plan) list and checking it twice

2011-04-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

I know it's not Christmas yet.

I'm actually going over my son's school game plan. Every once in a while I assess where he is (in a very nonofficial way) and think about where he should be, by my standards, and where he wants to be by the time he's 18 and ready to go to college.

Nick wants to be a video game designer. I'm not a huge video game fan, but I do enjoy the hidden objects and match 3 games I get from Big Fish Games. However, I can see the potential for a solid, happy career for Nick in this field and I'm happy to help him along this path.

Becoming a believer

For the most part, when your child says, "When I grow up, I want to be (fill in the blank)," you smile, nod and say, "That's great honey." That's because the fill-in-the-blank part changes nonstop for most kids.

However, Nick has been saying he wants to be a video game designer (and nothing else) since he was 7 years old. Well, there was a short time when he wanted to be an actor on the side, but video games have always been his first love.

Here we are almost six years later, and I have finally decided I believe him. It took me long enough. I think my hesitation was that I was afraid he thought designing video games meant just dreaming up ideas and then playing the games after someone else made them. His fascination and adoration of them led me to believe that what he really wanted to do was play them. (You thought I was going to say "direct" didn't you?)

Well, the more he said he wanted to be a video game designer, the more I thought I should look into what it really is. If this is really what he wants to do (or thinks he wants to do) then we should both know what it is exactly.

Who knew?

As it turns out, being a video game designer is EXACTLY what Nick thought it was. You dream up the ideas and let the tech people and artists work on it. OK, well, it's not that simple. The video game designer takes the lead, creating the direction the game will go in, and works with all who are working on the game to make sure it stays true to his idea or vision of what the game should be. In a nutshell, the video game designer directs. (There, I said it.)

Doing my research

So how did I find this out? Lots of Internet research and a little bit of ingenuity.

I decided to look at the colleges that teach game design to see if I could get any information from them. I found Full Sail University and read some of the interviews they had done with graduates. At the end of an interview with game designer Jameson Durall was his blog site. I went to the blog and read what he was doing. (By the way, if you click on the link to his blog, please note it is NOT intended for younger viewers.)

I then contacted him and asked him what suggestions he had for teaching my son in order to prepare him for the world of video game design. To my astonishment, he responded to me and quickly. He was very nice and supportive, and gave me great advice and the name of a book to get that would tell us all about the reality of video game design. I looked at that book (The Art of Game Design) on Amazon and several others in the "Customers who bought this item also bought" section and actually learned a lot just by reading the descriptions.

So what does this have to do with the education game plan?

Now I am re-evaluating the education plan. I've been following an unschooling game plan, with a little traditional schooling thrown in for good measure. My thought was that Nick needs to have the basics in everything (literature, science, history, math, art, vocabulary, etc.) but he also needs to take the lead in what he really wants to do as a career. So along with doing the basics he's also been studying Flash animation and 3-D animation. He'll be studying PhotoShop, Unity, Blender and other animation and game design programs along the way too.

How will I cram it all in? It dawned on me the other day when I was talking to a co-worker. I was talking about the legend of the phoenix (because I had to draw one) and she didn't know anything about it really. She knew it was a bird that caught fire and came back to life, but that was it.

It occurred to me that it wasn't really necessary for her to know all about it. She's a very intelligent woman and one I turn to quite often for details on how to do my job (to make life easier for all the other workers). I did not think she was unintelligent at all for not knowing the story.

That's when I realized, it is NOT necessary to teach Nick EVERYTHING. The goal of unschooling is to expose him to as much as possible and let him decide what he needs to know in order to reach his goals. Nick does NOT need to know calculus to enter the world of game design. (Geometry would be good though. I use it all the time as an artist. And a video game designer does work with artists.)

He does NOT need to read every piece of classic literature out there. I can expose him to quite a bit through summaries and Cliffs Notes. If he decides he wants to hear more, we can read more. I pointed out a video game we played was based on a classic novel (Phantom of the Opera) and he liked the video game enough to want to hear the story. But for the most part, just knowing the basic story is enough.

I make a point to mention when a video game references certain classic tales, or legends or historic events. I have told him many times that learning about a lot of things will give him many ideas for video games. And it's true. Some stories, either fictional works of art or actual events, make great material for video games. We see it time and again on Big Fish Games.

So I am able to pare down the material I was going to teach him by realizing not all of it is absolutely necessary. If there is a time in history he is not really concerned about, we'll cut those lessons short. If he wants to learn more about a specific art style, we'll concentrate more time on it. We're just going to play it by ear for the most part, but have a list on the side for me (because I'm a list maker and it'll make me feel better).

Most important skill to teach

Most important for all of us to know, however, is that whatever you want to know or need to know is available to you if you just do your research. It starts with a simple library or Google search and goes from there. I think that is probably the most important skill Nick needs in life and he's already got that mastered (doing video game research wouldn't you know).

Many uses for guided reading lessons

2011-04-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

At first I was using guided reading lessons to help my son gain more reading practice and improve his comprehension skills. For the most part, fiction stories were the main focus. But I have found it works really well with the rest of our lessons, especially history (a subject my son seems to hate).

I have been using the new skills I've developed to help him grasp new terms, make sense of the new information he's getting, and come away from the lesson with much more knowledge.

Planning is important to a guided reading lesson

I have my son read the history section we are working on during the day while I'm at work (as sort of a primer). But before he's even read it, I go over it and look for new vocabulary words or other terms he may not know. I make sure I know the location of the part of the world we're discussing on the map beforehand, and I locate any videos or websites that will help add a little to the lesson. I plan a hands-on project ahead of time too.

An example using an upcoming history lesson

Right now in history we are going over the rise of civilizations, and the next lesson is about Egypt.

I know where Egypt is on the map so I don't have to worry about finding that ahead of time. The lesson also mentions the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, and it mentions that Palestine and Syria were once under Egypt rule, so I'll make sure I know where all these are.

**By the way, if you have kids who love to color, Knowledge Quest Maps has great historical maps that will help a history lesson be much more interesting and memorable. There are literally hundreds to choose from and you are sure to find one to match your lesson. They are perfect for the project part of a guided reading lesson.**

Looking through the lesson I see the words pharaoh, chariot, fertile, shaduf, irrigation, surveying, hieroglyphics, hieratic, and scribes that may need some explanation. I'll create a vocabulary list that we can work on together. This is project number one. Because the word hieroglyphics is in there, we may try our hand at writing in this form later.

Of course the big project after reading the lesson will be to build our own pyramids because it's Egypt! I will locate some videos on the History Channel website about the pyramids and maybe look up something on the seven ancient wonders, of which the pyramids are the only ones left standing. I just found the Culture focus website that has lots of pictures that will be interesting to my son.

And that is the planning part.

The actual guided reading history lesson

When I get home from work (after he's read it once) we will go over the vocabulary words. Sometimes he surprises me and already knows what some of the terms mean (one of his video games is set in early civilization times and helps me out more than I would have thought). Then I'll have him read the lesson out loud to me. I'll stop him at times to look at the map or discuss certain events or the artwork on the page that goes with a certain passage.

In traditional guided reading lessons you are supposed to get kids to look at the clues in a book and predict the outcome of the story (for fiction) or tell you what they expect to learn (for nonfiction), but because I have Nick read the text once to himself before we begin the lesson it's not necessary for us to do that. Sometimes we do look at the next lesson (right after we've finished one) and discuss it a little and I let that be the prediction part of the lesson.

The reason I have Nick read the lesson to himself ahead of time is to help him practice his reading skill. In the book Overcoming Dyslexia author Sally Shaywitz wrote that having a dyslexic child read the same passage a few times will help cement some of the words they read in their long-term memory. So I am making his history lesson dyslexia friendly.

After we've gone over the text, pictures (and their captions) and sidebars and seen some videos or did our research on the websites I locate ahead of time, then we will do our project. This is the fun part. This is what brings the lesson home and helps it all sink in. For the pyramids, I imagine we'll make them out of LEGOs because Nick loves building with LEGOs. But we could try modeling clay or the magnet toys we have. I can imagine that we'll try to build tunnels through our pyramids to replicate the real pyramids and talk about what they are for. I know that my son has a mummy LEGO character that he may want to put inside of his.

Other ideas for projects

As I mentioned before, we might try our hand at hieroglyphics or we might get a blackline map of Egypt and color in where the major pyramids are (after doing some research), the Nile and other important features of Egypt. Because I'm teaching him graphics programs right now, I could have him practice his skills on drawing a mummy, one of the many gods ancient Egyptians worshipped, the sphinx, or any number of Egyptian icons. Of course, in order to do that, we have to research them and this is where more learning comes in.

I'm only mentioning these ideas to give you examples of the possibilities. If you were to choose guided reading as a way to teach history or other subjects that are troubling your child, you should know that there are many possibilities to the project part to make the lessons fun and, therefore, more memorable (and less troubling).

Visit my other blog for in-depth details and information on creating outstanding guided reading lesson plans.

***
The book I use for my son's history lessons is The Complete Book of World History. I love this series of workbooks because it makes teaching a lot of subjects fun for the kids. The World History book has each lesson on a two-page spread so the lessons are like bite-sized little chunks. The U.S. History book from the same series wasn't quite so bite-sized but did have the projects already planned out for you in the "Show What You Know" sections. For the most part, planning a lesson and the project is easier on us teachers.

New blog on guided reading lessons

2011-01-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a new blog I created on creating guided reading lesson plans. While this blog focuses on life in general with a dyslexic and homeschooling a dyslexic child, my Guided Reading Lesson Plans blog focuses on actual reading activities to help struggling readers.

On the blog I give the basic guidelines to developing guided reading lessons, how to test your child's reading level, and how guided reading will help (and of course what it is). It is still new, but I also plan on sharing specific lesson plans and hands-on activities to do with certain books and book genres.

The site is geared toward teachers, tutors and homeschoolers (or just parents who want to do more for their children). So please go and visit Guided Reading Lesson Plans. I hope it is very useful in helping parents and teachers help their struggling readers.

Dislecksia: The Movie will raise dyslexia awareness

2010-12-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

If you have ever wanted to help a cause that will help dyslexic children worldwide get the recognition and respect they deserve, then have I got a cause for you.

Dislecksia: The Movie promises to bring awareness and assistance to kids who suffer through school without any help or understanding. Harvey Hubbell V, the Emmy-award winning director of the movie is himself dyslexic and wants to share his and other dyslexics' joys and pain with the world. He and his crew, many of whom are also dyslexic, want to let people know that while dyslexics have trouble reading they are also extremely talented in many other areas. They want to share the stories of these many talented people and inform the uninformed of the condition.

Right now the film is in the last stages of production and they are trying to raise money to get it done and get it out to the public. If you can donate even a dollar, it would help the crew create this much-need documentary to help spread awareness of dyslexia. Please donate today. It would mean the world to the dyslexics in your life.

The upside to dyslexia

2010-09-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

I try to find inspiration where I can to help my son feel better about what sometimes feels like a curse to him.

While we are making great headway with the Reading Horizons and All About Spelling programs, his mind sometimes reverts the words on a page back to the spinning vortex that is dyslexia and he gets frustrated. It is usually when he is tired or has been working a long time, so that's usually a sign to take a very long break.

When this happens, we can start working on art or LEGO construction or something creative like that. Science projects are very good or something else that is hands on, like cooking or maybe even some of the more fun household chores (the dogs still need to be walked).

The point is, allowing his creativity to flourish always helps him calm down when he is getting frustrated with his reading or writing. I always try to make a point to tell him that most people with dyslexia are very creative and, while it can be frustrating at times, there is an upside to it. Of course, I have a few names of some very famous people who are dyslexic that I rattle off, but he knows them all now.

However, I was recently introduced to a longer list of very successful dyslexic people that impressed Nick enough to make him feel proud of himself. There were a few on the list that I knew, like Tom Cruise and Whoopi Goldberg, but there were several more that I didn't know about.

I can't say the names on the list surprised me much because they are all extraordinarily talented and creative people. I would expect no less. After reading The Gift of Dyslexiait is easy to understand how a dyslexic person could be so creative and yet have a difficult time reading.

Basically, a dyslexic person's brain wants to shape, mold, rotate, move and create before physically doing so with the hands. For an architect, artist or engineer this is an indispensable talent. Being able to see the blueprints in your head makes it a lot easier to work out the details and/or kinks before you begin to build. However, when you need to read and need the words and letters to stay in one location, the brain's desire to rotate, mold or move them makes it really hard to see what is actually on the page.

So when the words are moving around and Nick is getting a headache and getting frustrated, we create. I let him draw or build or do something with his hands so his mind calms down. But I also like to let him know it's OK. That despite the frustration he feels with reading, there are upsides to dyslexia. And having a list of famously successful dyslexics to point to and say, "They are doing more than OK because of their dyslexia," doesn't hurt at all.

~

A success story

2010-09-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting someone living his dream. He is not extraordinarily wealthy — he lives off of the kindness of strangers — but he is happy. Very happy.

The story of Fox Elipsus
Fox Elipsus went to good schools and attended Oxford based on the direction his family wanted him to go. He did really well in school and easily graduated with top scores. His girlfriend knew the path he was headed down was not the one he really wanted to be on. Just after he graduated, she encouraged (and even pushed) him to try out singing rather than continue along the path everyone else expected him to take. Even family and friends who were supportive of his song-writing were not encouraging the path of a musician. His father even said he would disown him if he became a musician because he believed it would bring shame on the family.

Despite a huge lack of support he went for the life he wanted. Why? Because he said success is not measured by money or objects but by happiness. And happiness is not making other people happy; it's enjoying the life you want. He certainly could have taken another path because he had the skills and education, but he knew there would have been a hole in his life that could not have been filled with financial success or making the family proud.

So he's out there now, touring the world with his music of peace, love, acceptance and cats because that's what he wants to do. He considers himself successful because he is happy and gains support from those who listen to his music and love it.

Going against the expectations
I saw Fox perform at a coffee shop in Carson City, Nev. Rather than just sing his songs, he talked to the crowd and got us to respond back to him. It was a very interactive and lively performance. Because he wants people to take part in his efforts to change the world, he engages the crowd so they feel up to it. No one feels alone or out of place at his show.

He also shares a great deal of his life with his audience. You really feel as if you know him when you leave. He's very open and encourages lots of hugging. He shared the story of his father with the audience and the lack of support he got. His song about his father nearly brought me to tears. It really made me think about how we parents affect our children through our actions.

I talked to him later to hear more of his story. Because of his experience, Fox believes parents should not force certain expectations on their children. Just because children are good at something doesn't mean they would enjoy doing it for the rest of their lives. His message to parents is to not teach their children to live a life that others want but one they would enjoy. He said living to make someone else happy will not make you happy. He shared that having all those expectations placed on him by his family made him feel like he was letting everyone down and he felt bad. He felt bad that he did not have his father's support. But he had to learn to let go of those feelings to do what he felt was the right thing for him.

Part of what he is doing is sharing his vision of a better world with others and asking them to join the movement to make a better world for us and our children. He feels it is worth stepping out of the norm and doing his own thing in order to create this change. He says on his website, "I believe that we can save the environment, but it is going to take change of such drastic proportions that we may be doomed unless a truly global movement takes over us, and soon. A movement which supports people ... human rights ... the earth ... and peace."

A strong spirit
Fox may not realize how lucky he is to have the kind of spirit that keeps him going despite the odds. I have friends who continued the path their parents laid for them because they did not feel they had a choice. They were afraid of not being able to make it on their own without support and probably, deep down in their subconscious, they would have felt ashamed for going against their parents' wishes or letting their parents down. It takes a strong spirit to go your own way without support, emotional or financial.

One of my friends was an accomplished pianist. She had incredible talent and accolades from friends, family and teachers. She dreamed of a life on stage performing at Carnegie Hall and other famous music halls. Her parents did not feel it was a good path and thought she should go a more "sensible" route. They could have sent her to any college or university she wanted to go, not only because they had the money but also because she had the grades to enter some of the more prestigious schools. She had a school in mind that had a terrific music program, but her parents refused to pay for it. They wanted her to go to the university they attended and would not pay for anything else.

So she went to the school of their choice, not hers, and became an administrative assistant. She is not happy with this path and has now lost her ability to play because of an on-the-job injury. She is miserable and I'm certain her parents did not expect this life for her either. But because they made a big decision about her life without even considering what she wanted, no one is happy.

Another friend of mine had been accepted into an MIT program but his father wanted him to study theology. His father refused to pay for MIT and sent his son to a theology program of his choice. Now my friend is working in sales, listening to people complain to him all day and not having any fun at all. He is financially successful but is also miserable.

We often make decisions for our children based on what we think is best for them, especially when it comes to their education. However, if we don't listen to what our children really want, we sometimes make decisions that will hurt them in the end, or at the very least give them bad memories or resentments toward us.

Let them go their own way
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that had made all the difference."
lines from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
If you are reading this because you are seeking help for homeschooling your dyslexic child, then you and your child probably march to a different drum beat already. Obviously, I think that's wonderful.

When I first found out my son was dyslexic it turned my plans for schooling him upside down. I had to learn a whole new way to teach. I had these expectations for him, plans and a set curriculum for study. But the more I pushed, the more he struggled. I had to learn to let go of my expectations and let him lead.

Letting go and letting him set his own curriculum was the best thing I could have done for him. His electronic expertise is far beyond anything I could have expected. I don't understand the tasks he's performing but he gets things working. I am no longer the teacher, yet he is still learning. I guide; I help when I can. I buy components or software he tells me to buy and he does what he needs to do. He tells me how to operate certain gadgets and programs we have. I couldn't have, in my wildest dreams, taught him all of this on my own, mainly because I never would have considered it. But this is the path he wanted to take and I got out of the way.

The future looks bright
I have no doubt now that my son will be successful in doing whatever he wants to do, and I will support him every step of the way.

Fox had just a little support in his venture but believed enough in himself to go after his dream. Not all kids have that strength of character in them. We humans are social animals and we need the love and support of others, especially our families. As parents, we want what is best for our children. We want to be sure they can make it on their own. We fear for their safety and well-being. So sometimes when they bring up dreams of being rock stars, actors, astronauts or careers that seem difficult to impossible to attain, we feel we need to teach them to be more sensible.

However, Fox's message would be to believe in the dream. We need to believe in our children more and let them dream. Dreams lead to wonderful accomplishments. Dreams lead to new and better technology. Dreams lead to the impossible becoming possible.

~
If you would like to support Fox Elipsus' dream of helping create a better world through music, please visit his website, listen to and buy his music, watch his videos, go see him live for free, and donate to the cause. Every little bit helps him continue on his journey.

Another great review
Fox Elipsus Shares Music, Fun, and Serious Messages on Free US Concert Tour

Fixing the Playstation and growing up

2010-09-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Recently my son, Nick, told a friend's parents that he thought he could fix their PlayStation 3. They said they were watching a movie on it and it just died. Now it won't turn on at all. They figured, what the heck, they would let him open it up and look at it. They didn't expect that Nick would be able to fix it, but thought it would be a good education for him to see the inner workings of the thing.

However, in my family we have an electrician and a certified electronics technician. My son brought the Playstation home and we all opened it up to take a look inside. After much tinkering it was decided that the power supply was dead. After much research (YouTube searching) we found out that it's easy enough to buy a replacement and fix it ourselves (assuming it is the power supply).

When it finally came in, I decided I'd have Nick watch a video on replacing the power supply so he'd know what we were doing when I got home. I gave explicit instructions to not attempt to replace the power supply without one of us adults supervising. It wasn't that I thought he might hurt himself, because I know he knows better than to mess with it while it's plugged in, but I was just trying to play it on the safe side.

So while my friend, the electronics technician, was in the other room, Nick decided to go for it. He totally believed in his ability to do it and just did it. He kept the YouTube video on the computer and paused it at every step so he could follow the instructions carefully. And then he called me at work. He needed to know where the power cord was to test it.

At first, I was surprised my friend was helping him because I thought she was going to leave it up to us to fix it. Then Nick explained he was doing it all by himself. He had so much confidence in his voice and was certain he had done it correctly because he did everything the guy in the YouTube video did. So, I didn't really get mad. I was just a little nervous.

But when it was all said and done, it worked. He plugged it in, turned it on and got signs of life. So, there you go.

Realizing he's growing up
This isn't the first time Nick has put something together and got it to work, so I really should have trusted him more. He knows his way around electronics, that's for sure. I just get nervous because I still see this little boy in my mind, when he's not anymore. And knowing that he can take things apart and put them back together again, especially electronics, means he's getting older and maybe I can't handle that very well.

I know I need to let him try things, so I'm happy that he did it all by himself. I know he learned a lot in the process too, so that's good. But my little baby boy is growing up and while I'm very, very proud of him, at the same time I'm a little sad too.

Is anyone else going through this?

~

School is starting around the nation

2010-08-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Many homeschoolers follow a schedule that mimics the public school schedule, so this week and last was probably the beginning of school for many homeschooling families.

I never really stop educating my son because it is my firm belief that you learn something new every day. Also, I don't want to get him out of the habit of learning. However, because he has friends in regular school we do lighten up a bit during summer.

I know I sound like I'm being too strict by continuing school through the summer, but Nick doesn't even realize it because I use the unschooling method for the most part and let him direct his own education. Because of this, he's actually the one deciding to continue his education through summer.

This summer Nick learned a great deal about making stop-motion videos and other short movies (using our digital camera and Flip video camera) and editing them in iMovie (we're on Macs at our house). We got him his own YouTube account and let his creativity soar.

Nick also learned a great deal about research as he spent a lot of his time looking for video game walkthroughs and other video game-related information. He got an education in setting goals, saving and spending because of these same video game desires. Every day I'd come home from work and he would tell me what he learned that day. I don't care that it's about video games because I know he's developing a lot of Internet search skills that will serve him well into the future.

Now the real work begins
But now with the official start of school I've developed a loose educational plan. Because he was so interested in video games and creating movies, I thought we'd continue his education with the software programs he was researching plus learn a little more about graphic design and programming. I know enough about graphic design to be of help there, but I turn to others for the programming part (Lynda.com helps out there along with all the free tutorials I can find).

There's a free program called Unity that allows you to build video games and they have a lot of tutorials to help you get started. We are going to be looking over that and learning more about actually creating a video game. Because there's a lot that goes into it, he will be learning coding, art, math, writing (or at least story development) and more. Hopefully we'll have something I can share with everyone and their children by the end of the year (or later, I don't know yet).

I'm also going to be ordering the Adobe Design Suite for him to begin working on graphic arts and design. Because I homeschool I can get MAJOR discounts from Academic Superstore on the set.

Still considering the curriculum
Even though unschooling is my main method of teaching Nick, I still have this nagging feeling I need to teach him the mainstay stuff they teach in public schools: history, science, math, etc. So I use all the free videos and online resources I can find (YouTube, the History Channel, National Geographic Kids) to help out with that. I also sign on to a lot of iTunes Podcasts which are free and very helpful in sharing important information. I recently joined a local homeschool group too and we have a lot of group activities planned that will allow the kids to learn a variety of information (ecology, food preparation, conservation, etc.) as well as hang out together and learn from each other.

Excited for the possibilities
I have a lot of expectations for this school year, but I will let things go as they wish to go. I hope everyone has a great school year. Please share your plans for the year and any ideas you have or triumphs and anything else you'd like to share. I love to hear from other parents on their educational goals and successes with their children.

~

Dreams of Ivy League for your home schooled child?

2010-08-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend of mine recently who is already thinking about college possibilities for her 13-year-old son. He's super smart and was giving me lessons on C++, computers and the like. He built his own computer without any classes; he just did the research and figured it out. Yep, he's headed for great things.

My friend was worried about how well he'd do in regular school (she's putting him in a school with accelerated studies). She decided if he didn't feel like he fit in, she'd home school — they were using charter school previously but he was so far ahead of that curriculum too.

Her main worry with homeschooling was whether Ivy League universities or other elite schools, like the one she attended, would consider home-schooled kids. Many colleges are accepting home-schooled kids with excitement, but she feels the Ivy League schools might not give them a second chance.

Many institutions are relaxing their admissions policies
I had read somewhere recently that many schools, Stanford included, are relaxing their admissions policies when it comes to homeschooling. A GED is fine as a certificate to prove an education in most and some don't even require that. All they really want is good SAT or ACT scores. Some request a letter of recommendation and an essay.

But I got to thinking about Ivy League schools and wondered if home-schooled kids are rejected more often or have a harder time with admissions. I did some research and found that is NOT the case. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association's website, many prominent universities are accepting home-schooled kids with glee. Harvard only requires the "results of the SAT and SAT II, an essay, an interview, and a letter of recommendation" from home-schooled teens. Yale, Princeton, Texas A&M, Brown University, and the Carnegie Mellon Institute among many others have flexible transcript criteria, accept parental evaluations or do not require any accreditation.

No worries
So the worrying about a higher education can end. I joked to my friend that by the time our kids get to college-age, the curriculums in most public schools will be so poor, that many colleges and universities would jump at the chance to have a home-schooled kid. Hopefully that won't be the case, but it certainly seems like that how things are going.

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