Learning to read with developmental delays using sight words

My son who has developmental delays that go along with his special needs is now 12. We first started on this "learning to read journey"six years ago. It has been a journey full of mountains and curves.  I have used everything and anything to help him learn to read. One of the most useful things we did early on is teach him sight words. Sight words are the most frequently used words in the English language. Learning to recognize and read sight words will help your child read more fluently and help them be more confident about their reading. Many of the words on the Dolch list are not words you can sound out phonetically. If you think about it we all use memorization of words as adults to read. We do not sound each word out anymore, (unless it is an unfamiliar word) but instead, just know the words from seeing them repeatedly.

Don't get me wrong I still put a lot of value on learning to read phonetically, but especially with a child who has delays, it is invaluable to initially teach them some key words with flashcards, sight word books (my kids liked the Bob books especially!) and also with games.

 Here is a site that has the complete list of the dolch sight words. This site also lets you make flash cards for your child and plugs the words into the games at the site. Another thing you can do with kids that have mastered the basic list of sight words is to make a list of the words they consistently have problems with when they are reading you a book. Spelling City lets you make your own list of such words. Recently I scheduled our annual homeschool testing  (eeeeek! ) to take place in June. We are taking spring break this next week but the two months we will have before testing I am going to take A~man's "trouble words" from his books and make a list to practice with. We may even review the basic words although he pretty much knows all of them.

Reading is one of the most important things (scholastically speaking) you can teach your child. It creates the opportunity for a life long of learning plus the pure joy of reading for pleasure.

How to begin homeschooling

Long long (haha) ago, before children I always thought in my head "I would really like to homeschool my children". I was already teaching (although it was preschoolers) and though that would be the plan. After the long wait of parenthood we were blessed with a wee little guy that came to our home with all of these extra attachments: feeding tube, apnea monitor, bipap machine, nightly feeding machine....surely I'm forgetting something oh and about 4-5 appointments a week to various physicians, therapists and the weekly trip to DSS for visitations with A~mans biological family.

As you can see with all of THAT any thoughts of eventually homeschooling went out the door as he came in the door. Then after the experience of kindergarten (I need a link back to that info;) as it is a novel in itself) God showed us that we should keep A~man home and teach him ourselves. In our state a child does not have to be registered in public school until they reach the age of 7 and he had just turned 6.. All states are different though and I recommend this site for the rules and regulations of homeschooling.

When I first started teaching him at home there was a nifty used homeschool curriuclum/bookstore nearby. I had a lot of fun picking things up there. Mainly how to books and also some manipulatives to use for learning skills. Fortunately though, I also had most of my things from when I was a preschool teacher which was very beneficial as he was still learning preschool basics.

What would have been REALLY helpful would have been a basic easy to read guide that told the basics of starting to homeschool. This How to Home School guide does just that! I cannot tell you how many homeschool books I have read over the last 6 years! I've read some really good ones but something like this guide would have been a good way to quick start our homeschool.

Another helpful thing for the child that is going to be schooled at home would be a book about another homeschool child. Recently I did a review at Homeschool Literature about a family trying to decide if they want to homeschool their children. This book is called Katy. Another book that might be helpful for a child to see the day to day of another child homeschooling is Allison's Story, which is written for younger children. Check out my reviews to see if theses books could benefit  your family.

Whatever your reason is for wanting to start homeschooling, or even considering it, knowing the basics is the first step to success!!