Reading Without Tears

My youngest son is finally starting to read. He is one of my later readers, but with the older students doing well in school, it has been easy to feel relaxed about it. However, it is one of my goals for this season to get him reading fluently. Once a student is reading, they can move much more easily into independent learning, as well as being equipped to absorb tons of information naturally as they read.

It is also one of my goals to keep learning an active process as long as that is needed, and to keep learning tear free. Some of my son's work involves writing in a workbook (Explode the Code, Cursive Copywork), so for other reading activities I try to incorporate games as often as possible.





Some of these games I have referred to in other posts, but I made up a few new ones this week..



Word Pick Up- My son had dumped a huge tub of Duplos on the floor. I told him that for every word that he could read, I would pick up a Duplo, for every word that he could not read, he would have to pick up a block. It not only got the toys picked up without tears, but it also got lots of reading done.

Obstacle Phonics-Another afternoon with a messy floor, but this time the floor was covered with stuffed animals and a bin of toys. My son set up the toys as an obstacle hop, and for every phonogram he answered correctly he could take a hop forward. If he missed one, he would have to go backwards. He loved the extra challenge of jumping over his toys, and was happy to take his time about getting through the obstacles.

Mosaic Spelling- I had a pencil outline of a heart, and for every word my son spelled on his little chalkboard, I would glue a scrap of paper inside the heart. I explained to him that when the heart was filled in, he would be done with spelling. This helped him focus enough to pay attention to improving letter formation, and helped him see that there would be an end to the task.

None of these activities took me much time in preparation or clean up. The mosaic activity was a left over art project from our history day, that I really wanted him to do as a record of our day. The other two activities helped get toys picked up, and in every case, the reading, and the activity, accomplished dual purposes. Cleanup, exercise, and crafting, all got done along with the reading.



I can't always make reading fun, but when possible, I will take the time to make school an opportunity to build connection, and show my son how well loved he is.

This post contains affiliate links.

Resources For Special Needs Homeschooling

Some Great Resources For Parents of Special Kids

1. www.nathhan.org  A lending library, family directory and discussion board are just a few of the resources available here for families with special kids. This Christian ministry also helps match adoptive families with special needs babies.

2. www.hslda.org  Home School Legal Defense Association has counsel at their website for parents of special needs children as well as being a great resource for all your home education questions.

3. Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready by June Oberlander- This book is full of developmental activities for children to age 5 and a list of what is “normal” development.

4. Homeschooling Children With Special Needs by Sharon Hensley- Another book, this one a great overview of how to homeschool a child with special needs.

5. Homeschooling the Challenging Child by Christine Field- One of my favorite books about homeschooling special kids, full of practical advice, checklists and resource lists.

6.Too Wise To Be Mistaken…. by Cathy Steere-  A memoir about one family’s journey through helping an autistic son. It also includes a good list of resources and explains some of the nutritional aspects of special needs as well as giving an overview of the neurodevelopmental approach to helping a child with autism. 

7. The Out Of Sync Child-Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.- The first book that really gave me insight into my daughter. It includes many exercises to help children overcome hypersensitivity. It also includes an excellent checklist to help parents determine if their children have sensorimotor issues.

8. Healing The New Childhood Epidemics by Kenneth Bock, M.D. - This is a fascinating book which links asthma, autism, adhd and allergies to toxins that children are exposed to as infants. I appreciated the information about the impact food allergies can have on learning and function and I feel it is important for parents to be aware of the connection between nutrition and behavior.