Thursday, March 5, 2009

A call for help.

Good Morning dear readers! I am looking for advice, tips, ideas, etc. to help me with my 6yr old son.

He is in kindergarten this year. He is doing very well in art, and is close to genius at building and putting things together. However, he is falling behind in phonics/spelling/reading.

Does anyone have any FUN ways to help him learn these things at home? Have you used a program that really worked well?

I've been working with him: reading the books he brings home from school, playing games with letter sounds, etc., but we need better ways to learn! I also have a 4 and almost 3 yr old, so they will be included in this learning!

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!!

Friendliest online image hosting at cetrine.net

Friendliest online image hosting at cetrine.net

Friendliest online image hosting at cetrine.net

Friendliest online image hosting at cetrine.net

Aren't these photos fun? Do your own here!

5 comments:

Paperprincess34 said...

Awe he is a doll.

Have you got the school involved? Asked them for extra help in the areas he is struggling in. Your son is a lot like mine. He does very well artistically and mathmatically, but he is struggling with reading. When we lived in NY the school had him recieving extra help in these areas. When we moved, this school (in another state) required him going through the proper testing to recieve these same services. I think it was a big waste of time, where my child could have been bennifiting from the services, rather than falling behind in the regular classes. But once the testing was complete (around December) it did show he qualified for these services. Maybe you can talk to your child's school.

I have also sat down with his teacher and discussed what I can do at home. His spelling has improved 90%, just by having him spell out the words each night. His reading level is lower than where I think he is really at, but I think the school sometimes just give up on children.

I would really talk to your school and see if they can offer.

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

We had the same problem with my son last year in 1st grade. We found out too late it was the teacher (a long story, she was a peach). When I asked about extra help and she told me he wasn't behind enough for extra help. I spent a lot of time teaching him myself how to read and sound things out.

I have one website I LOVE (bonus was my son loves it, too)...
www.starfall.com

Jessica Cauthon said...

My brother and I played a somewhat "flash card" game growing up. He was a little slow at spelling and reading, so my mom and I made 3 sets of alphabet cards on index cards. We would then play something similar to a combination of Go Fish and Scrabble. Dealt 7 cards to each of us and we made words with our cards until they ran out. Longer words received higher scores. It made spelling a little more fun for him.

Heather said...

Everyone learns at their own pace, so don't worry too much. Here are some ideas:

Starfall.com - It's a cute free phonics website and my boys love it. That is their "reward" sometimes.

Label household things - Go through the house and label "oven", "chair", etc. so he can memorize those words.

Leappad - My nephew learned to read on his leappad learning system. I've seen them at the DI fairly regularly then you just have to buy the books & cartridges.

Parents as teachers - I've heard of this program that helps kids 0-5 with development. You get a mentor to come and evaluate your child and suggest ideas. http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=272119

Our neighbor Annette takes her son Lucas to a reading center. Kaplan? Sylvan? or something. You can talk to her.

Alisha Stamper said...

Try Starfall.com. great site, helps with reading.