Ideas to Help My Son in School- Thank You All!! I Will Keep You Posted!!!!

If you need a tutor -- I am reading certified and would be willing to see if I could help...don't jump to special education and testing too soon...depending on where you live..

My step-son's kindergarten teacher reccomended the Leap Frog book system and it worked great with him. I see you posted an update but just wanted to let you know what the teacher suggested and it really worked on working with hin. We got the Leap Frog plus writing, and he still uses it but we're upgrading it soon.

Hi B.,
Make sure your son is not dyslexic. I have a brilliant friend who is now an engineer but struggled at school as a child because of dyslexia. Check it out.
C.

Hi B.,

If you are looking for ways to make it fun, I would suggest the Leap Frog videos. The first one we used was "The Letter Factory" it teaches phonics. Then, we got "The Talking Word Factory" it teaches putting sounds together. Then was "The Code Word Caper" which teaches silent "e", sh, th, ch, vowel blends, etc. It helped a lot with basics. I played them on the DVD player in the car (captive audience) and the kids really liked them and learned a lot without realizing they were learning.

My kids also have a Leapster. It's like a handheld video game but all of the games are educational. My mother-in-law got one for my niece after seeing what a difference it made for my kids. My niece's grades have gone up. The games are grade based and a lot of fun.

Good luck!

do what you can to make it fun. make a game with spelling. What sort of things does he really enjoy?? I had the same problem with my oldest, and going thru it now with my 7 year old too. What worked with my oldest is during that time he loved pokemon, so I would buy pokemon books, something that I knew he enjoyed and liked to read. Comic books, the funny strips in the newspaper.. etc. as for spelling me and my youngest make a game out of it. Hopefully this can be of help for you.

When I am looking for resources the library is always my first stop, (ok maybe the internet then the library lol). They will have books with tips to help your son and also just a larger variety of books in his level and higher.
To encourage more indepentdent reading with my son I would do a trade off. For each book he read (short books, he was on level 1 or 2 then) I would read a chapter from a hard book that he liked (like Junie B. books or Magic Tree House) That way he was getting his own practice and I got to read more advanced books that piqued his interests.
Good luck and kudos for taking the inititive with your child!

If you find a book about something he is interested in that could help. My daughter loves to read. Sometimes if you have another young child that likes to read that will read with him and help him he also might like it more. I hope this helps. Take care and good luck. Sincerely, L.

B.,
Which school is your child enrolled? Many offer extra tutoring opportunities if the teacher feels he/she needs it. Is your son in the 1st grade or a late kindergarten student?

I ask because I teach middle school, however, my oldest is 6 years old.

J.

I had my daughter tested. Because her father is dislexic. She was not just a low average. I put her in speech classes. She is 12 now and can read as well as spell very well. Sometimes it's things we can't see thats the problem.

Hi B.,
There are a lot of fun things that you can do to encourage him in those areas. There are a few computer games that can be used for spelling. There is also a great website called http://www.spellingtime.com. It's a really fun website with all kinds of games for your kids to play and it's free! Let him pick books in subjects that he is interested in and take turns reading from them. They love to read together at that age & it will really peak his interest in books. Also, if he sees you reading, it will make him more interested in his own reading. You can also use words in the books that he has trouble with to learn new spelling words. You can have a notebook, that he can design the cover of, and keep track of the words in it. Then test him once a week with the words and a fun game, like hangman. I hope that helps you out!
Y.

I would "play" school with him at home and giv ehim little tricks to help him remember stuff. Little songs and flash cards will help. If you can help him fina another way to look at things it might help him to learn.

someone has already mentioned getting an eye exam done on your son. i encourage you to have his exam done by a behavioral optometrist. your son may be a candidate for vision therapy. difficulty with reading and spelling can be indicative of problems focusing the eyes. my daughter (now 9) has had wonderful success with vision therapy. check out this website for more information and a doctor in your area. http://www.covd.org/

B., I was a reading specialist in PA and currently staying at home. If you give me some areas he is struggling in (ie: doesn't know letters/sounds, trouble forming letters to write, trouble recalling/memorizing sight words or spelling words, etc.) I might be better able to help you. I would love to help in this area for you.

L.

Flash cards! Also, there are so many learning games available. Not just video games but human interaction games. You might check out a teacher supply store. I know there's one here in Florence but I can't recall the name of it at the moment. But then of course, Walmart or Target. Just get involved with his learning and constantly praise him for his progress. He's only 6 so don't worry too much. But if he sees that learning is important to you, it may stimulate a desire within him. My 5 year old hates to write; so I journal and write letters when he's around. Then all of a sudden, he wants to write too.

I'm a special ed teacher and work with elementary school students, so I deal with this issue on a daily basis. First, make sure he reads to you AND you read to him every night. Ask him lots of questions about what is read and talk a lot about it, even the pictures. Talk with his teacher about appropriate leveled books for him to be reading with you at home. For spelling, use magnetic letters or letter cards to spelling the words. Making letters with clay or play doh to form words or writing them in sand is a fun way to learn. Dry erase boards are also fun to practice with. Most 1st grade word lists have word families in them (ex: cat, that, hat, bat, rat, etc.). Finding patterns in his lists can help him remember his words. Tell him, if he can spell cat, then he can spell that, etc. Having him write spelling words over and over doesn't help.

Other things to have your child do while he is reading with you:
*Take a picture walk before reading. This will help him figure out unknown words during the reading.
*Have him use the pictures to help him with unfamiliar words.
*Have him blend the individual sounds of a word together.
*Look for word chunks (smaller words inside the word).
*Skip the word and read ahead. Then go back and make a guess as to what the unknown word is.
*If a word doesn't make sense, reread the sentence and try it again.

Also remember, he may not be developmentally ready to read yet. He shouldn't feel inferior or dumb. It may take a little longer for the lightbulb to come on, but when it does, he will really take off. Above all, make it all fun for him and not stressful.

Hope this helps a little! Good luck to you both and I would love to hear about his progress!

I would speak to his teacher and guidance counselor and see what resources are available to him at school. Has he been tested? Is there tutoring available through his school? A little extra one-on-one time may help a lot. You can give him this, by spending extra time with him on his spelling and reading a lot together, and the school may be able to provide a tutor to give him some extra help. I wouldn't be too alarmed, but on the other hand, now is the time to address these challenges so that they don't become a big problem in later school years.

I`m a Bright Minds Independant Consulant,a divison of The Critical Thinking Company. www.brightminds.us/web/SouthCarolina777

I used these products with great sucess!

In Christ,

B. Cooper
____@____.com

Hi B., I'm having the same thing going on with my 6 yr old son. School has tested him for Special Ed, He needs a little extra help at school. At home we try to make it a game with learning new spelling words for that week.We also get him books for beginers. That seems to help. What school does he go to? They should be able to help you with this. If you have any more question please email me. Dottie

My daughter had some issues with spelling and reading when she was that age. We would start studying as soon as she got her list. When she would get one wrong, we would make her write it three times. In my opinion, this is the best way to get them to understand the words and the spelling.
With reading, have him read aloud every night to you for 30 mins.
If he is still having problems, try getting an eye exam. Also, watch closely for problems such as dyslexia, etc. that he may be having.
Good luck to you both.