Although Skil-Care is a company selling products, they also want you to view them as a resource to learn more about how to best support your kids with sensory needs.

Jonathan Treiber, CEO of Skil-Care (LinkedIn)

website: https://skil-care.com/ 

Are you able to give unlimited screen time with no consequences?

Does your kid become an unrecognizable monster after 20 minutes of video games?

Have you noticed any impact in their learning?

Do you use educational apps with your kids?

I would LOVE to know all of these answers! Please email me at Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com and give me any insights into what you are seeing experiencing in your own home!

This week, I’m beginning what I expect will be a series of episodes diving into the use and role of technology in education and with our students. 

In future episodes, I plan to interview experts in the field and go deeper into the research and solutions.

Listen to this week’s episode, and then email me at Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com and let me know your thoughts and experiences!  I REALLY want to hear from you!

Almost 2 years ago I created an IEP checklist to help you do what I do for my clients and the tech gods were not on my side.  For some reason, it would never SEND the dang emails with the pdf for you!  I’ve messed with it over the years and FINALLY got it working, just in time for my birthday!  AND for you to enjoy the end of the school year with this in hand! When working with clients, I go through every part of an IEP to ensure it is well-written, accurate, and is working toward reasonably ambitious goals.

With this PDF download, you can now do the same thing!  The PDF links to videos that go deeper into some of these topics to help you better determine how to support your kiddo and how to best evaluate your kiddo’s IEP.

https://yourparenthelp.com/iep-checklist 

Click here to watch the podcast!

Message kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com if you would like individualized support for your child's IEP.

Learn more about Dr. Hurford at https://www.jettpublishing.net/authors/about-the-author and get your copy of his books at the same link!

original notes from Season 5:

Dr. Hurford is doing great things in the world, studying dyslexia and teaching kids with dyslexia as part of his non-profit organization!

You can hear all about that as well as some books he’s published (that I just had to get my own copies of, so expect to see another episode on those in the future!) in this week’s podcast episode!

To learn more about his organization and his books, go to: https://www.jettpublishing.net/authors/about-the-author

Email Evan Connell: Sales@SprintCentral.com

https://sprintcentral.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanconnell/

I’m finally back at putting out new episodes of the podcast! This week is a soft intro into what to expect this season, and how I plan to avoid the problem of last season.

For more information on how to work directly with me (looking over IEPs, preparing yourself for IEP meetings, getting your kid onto an IEP, etc; or working on how to help your child with dyslexia or dyscalculica succeed, email Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com!

Is your child?

Someone you know well?

Chances are that you answered yes to at least one of those! And yet, for most people, dyslexia is still a mystery!  Myths still abound, and kids with dyslexia often feel alone and different.  

Feeling alone and different leads to lower self-confidence and can further impact academic success as well as friendships and navigating social situations.

Kids need to know that they’re not alone, and actually far from it!

Adults need to know some essential facts and truths about dyslexia.

@Dyslexia_Diaries on Instagram aims to do just that!  They’re busting myths and sharing stories and doing what they can to educate the public and ensure that kids don’t feel alone with their dyslexia.

Listen to this week’s podcast with Dyslexia Diaries!

Then be sure to share your own stories of dyslexia!

Listen in to this week’s podcast to learn more about Restorative Justice in Education including what it can look like, and how it can change a school’s disciplinary system to a system with redemption built-in.

To help you with some notes you may want to take while listening:

In this episode, Nicholas Bradford shares 4 questions that drive a restorative justice conversation:

1. What happened?
2. What was the thinking?/ What were you trying to accomplish?
3. Who was impacted and how?
4. How do we move forward?

He also shared 5 overarching principles of Restorative Justice:

1. Conflict Happens; let’s talk about it
2. Engage all stake holders
3. Empower the author and the victim
4. Value Empathy; Connection over shame
5. Develop Agency

Additionally, (although this is not the official layout of a Restorative Justice system) an RJ system typically includes:

• Preventative Work:
  • Relationship- building
  • Self- Reflection
  • Social and Emotional Intelligence
• Intervention Work:
  • Self-Reflection
  • Accountability
  • Recognizing Impact
  • Making it Right (if needed)

Learn more about Nicholas Bradford’s work at: https://www.nationalcenterforrestorativejustice.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/nationalcenterforrestorativejustice/ 

Summer break is here or nearly here.  Are you thinking ahead to next school year? 

You may be worrying about if your child will lose progress over the summer and you may be looking for ways to maintain their educational levels.  (Hit reply and let me know if you’d like to discuss tutoring options)

OR

You may be wondering if you need to change schools for your kiddo.  Maybe that school they’re at has not been serving them well and you’re just so tired of the fight.  

Seeing schools fail to meet the needs of kids breaks my heart every day.  I know those educators went into the field to help kids, but things are complicated and now they’re fighting with parents over what the kids actually need and no one feels like they can trust the others.

Have you heard of microschools?  A microschool may be just what you’re looking for to solve the educational difficulties your kiddo is facing.  Small communities of parents and teachers working together to best meet the needs of the kids?  Sign me up!

Check out Changemaker Education here! https://www.changemakereducation.com/

In previous seasons, we have talked EXTENSIVELY about motivation and because it is such a critical part of a child’s academic success and overcoming learning challenges, I’ll always keep bringing it up again and again!

This week we’re diving into a quick and easy way to motivate a child.  It won’t work for every child every time.  And it won’t work if your mindset going into it isn’t clear and motivating.  

And yet, overall, it’s such a simple action to take to increase learning!

I recently was confronted (on this podcast episode!) with a myth that I had spread widely believing to be true: that learners retain 90% of what they teach.  I had never believed that the pyramid this fact was based off of was exact or precise but rather a generalization of lots of research.  It also was supported by the real-life experiences I had.

And yet– I had trusted the sources that first told me about this pyramid.  That led me to spread it to others and so on, and if any of us had looked into deeply, we would have seen it’s just a common myth that has spread WIDELY!

So, do educators lie?

Sometimes.  And sometimes educators fall for misinformation just like everyone else.  So what do we do about it?  Check the facts!  And set the record straight when you can!

In this second conversation, Gretchen will share her knowledge of Self-Directed Learning, which we discuss calling “Collaborative Learning”!  You’ll learn what it is, how to implement it in any learning situation, and why it’s worth taking the time to implement well!

Video version available at DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Be sure to check out Gretchen's FREE resources!  These are shared during the conversation and I found them to be so helpful with my own kids and students!

Video version available at DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Gretchen Wegner, a former classroom teacher, is the founder of The Anti-Boring Learning Lab. This is a wonderful resource for all educators to check out, including home educators!

In this conversation, Gretchen will share her knowledge of neuromyths, why they are not accurate, and why we need to bust them! Check out Gretchen's blog article about Neuromyths here! This article is what led me to invite Gretchen on the podcast! Also be sure to check out Gretchen's FREE resources!

In this week’s episode, I take an old-ish quote and apply it to how your kids learn, leaving you with action you can take to make learning more successful for your kids!

This is extremely helpful in working with kids with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and so many other specific learning disabilities! It also benefits those with ADHD or any learning struggles!

You can hear all about that as well as some books he’s published (that I just had to get my own copies of, so expect to see another episode on those in the future!) in this week’s podcast episode!

To learn more about his organization and his books, go to: https://www.jettpublishing.net/authors/about-the-author

So watch for emails from me on Thursdays at 12:34pm.  As much as I’d like to get back to weekly emails and episodes, I think bi-weekly is the most attainable for me at this time.  I am dedicated to continuing to keep this a free resource (for you; it costs me plenty, haha!) and hope that you find it valuable! I’ll be focusing this year on Education law (especially the special education side of it), book reviews, learning/teaching tips, and guest interviews!

If you have any ideas for any of the above OR any other questions you would love for me to answer on the podcast, please email me: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

They won’t, unless they’ve been practicing.  

This is probably obvious to you when you stop to think about it, but it’s just so common for parents to also be surprised when our kids have forgotten something they TOTALLY knew!

And this learning-requires-practice truth is exponentially more true for kids with learning disabilities!

Listen to this week’s episode and get some ideas for how to go about helping your kiddo to make progress that lasts and doesn’t leave them saying, “I’m stupid!”  No kid deserves to feel that way!

Check NOW!  We’re approximately ⅓ of the way through the school year (depending on your school’s calendar).  

We need to be sure that everything in place still makes sense and is benefiting your kiddo.  

We need to be sure the goals are appropriate and progress is being made.

And we need to be sure progress is being made in all the areas that don’t have IEP goals too!

I will not tell you who or what to vote for, but I would love the opportunity to let you know about a few things that can impact your child’s education.

I’m intentionally releasing this episode well ahead of Election Day because I want everyone to have time to research fully, and never to act out of fear.

I’ve just created an IEP checklist to help you do what I do for my clients!  When working with clients, I go through every part of an IEP to ensure it is well-written, accurate, and is working toward reasonably ambitious goals.

With this PDF, you can now do the same thing!  The PDF links to videos that go deeper into some of these topics to help you better determine how to support your kiddo and how to best evaluate your kiddo’s IEP.

In this week’s podcast, I’m going over this PDF and how to use it most effectively.

Click here to watch and get the PDF for yourself!

https://decodinglearningdifferences.com/Letters

Or email me at Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

• Stay in frequent contact with all general education and special education teachers working with your kiddo, as well as any other service providers (Speech, OT, counseling, etc)
• Be sure that everyone is very familiar with your child’s needs and accommodations and be sure that they are actually implementing them, not forcing your child to be the one to ask for the accommodation before it is provided!
• Monitor your child’s progress and ensure IEP goals are being worked on, are still appropriate, and progress is being made.
• Be friendly, be approachable, be firm.  The goal is for the school’s IEP team members to treat you like they would a close friend or family member, providing the best for your kiddo; not taking advantage of you, and not keeping you in the dark out of fear.

This week’s podcast episode is long overdue!  This is an analysis of a real IEP accommodations page sent to me by a parent concerned about their child’s IEP and wanting some free feedback. I love parents who care and who ask great questions to understand how to help their kiddo.

In this episode, I take a look at this IEP for the first time and give feedback on what I’m seeing and noticing and what I would write differently, if anything.

Did you know?? If you want free support on an IEP, email me (Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com) and tell me, “free help, please!” Attach any IEP documents you want me to look at.  I’ll take a look, remove any identifying information, and provide some feedback on a future podcast episode, sending you the episode before it’s published! Or- Do you want more intensive help and guidance?  Someone to hold your hand and guide you through more than a year of IEP process and ongoing monitoring and support?  Email me (Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com) and say, “I want ALL the help!” and we’ll set up your 1:1 support.

Watch the video here:  https://decodinglearningdifferences.com/SherrikaMyers/ 

Links to Sherrika Myers's resources: https://www.every1voicematters.org/

https://www.lilherbieseries.org/

When I first became a special education teacher, I had received NO instruction on how to write an IEP.  I asked another special education teacher how to write it and was told to mostly just copy what the previous year’s IEP said, just making the goals more advanced. I was so clueless going into that first IEP meeting. I cared DEEPLY about my students, and I wanted to do right by them.  

I wanted to provide every student with a really great education that would meet their needs and see them excel. I felt that parents were an important part of the team, knowing more than I did about their student and best positioned to address and suggest certain parts of the IEP. I did not feel well-positioned to make suggestions on the rest of it…

A few years later, after talking to more special education teachers, receiving a little training, and writing and holding over a hundred IEP meetings….

I was still inadequate.

I still cared.  I still wanted to do what was best.  And I still felt like there was a ton I didn’t know and needed to know in order to best serve my students.

Eventually, I got A LOT more training and feedback from experts on how to actually write effective IEP goals.

I had someone over my shoulder showing me what was right and what I needed to change to write effective goals.

I will forever be grateful to that person and the training I received which allowed me to finally be better at that aspect of my career.

And now that I’m not writing hundreds of IEP goals every year as a special education teacher, I want to help others know HOW to write and recognize good IEP goals When the IEP team sends you a draft IEP goal, I want you to be able to look at it and determine for yourself if it is any good.

Check out the video for this week’s episode: “IEP Goals: Let's Fix One!​” by clicking here!

Send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

If you don’t know about her books, you’ll probably want to grab some, especially if your kiddo is in the early reader phase (or if it’s coming up)!

In this week’s episode, Sue shares about her background, her inspiration to create these books, and her hopes for them.

Check out Sue's books at: https://www.suemarasciulo.com/ 

Send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Be sure to send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Punishment

Now that corporal punishment (physical abuse/hitting) is very rare and illegal in most states, punishment is usually about taking something away from a child (called a negative punishment).  Punishments you may have seen in schools:

“You didn't do your work, you don't get to go out to recess.” 

“You didn't do well enough, you get an F.” 

“You get a zero.” 

“You have a missing notice that has to go home and get signed by your parents.” 

Now, that last one can also be a type of communication between parents and teachers and doesn’t need to be punitive.  It really depends on the teacher’s mindset.  Do they want to punish or just communicate?  Is the note given privately and with empathy or is the kid put on blast in front of the whole class?  Is the tone of voice kind or upset?

Similarly, at home we tend to not spank much anymore (there is a lot of evidence around the harm that spanking causes) but we will take things away (negative punishment):

“You didn’t do your homework, you don’t get to watch TV” (or ride your bike, or play on the tablet, etc)

All of these punishments send the message that you believe the child has willfully chosen to do the “wrong thing” or to not do well enough on an assignment, etc. All of these punishments create a power struggle between child and adult.  All of these punishments can cause kids to feel like they are bad or dumb.

Rewards

We can also flip some punishments to be rewards: “you don’t get to watch TV until you do your homework.”

Or we can use bribes, “If you read this page to me, you get an M&M!”

We’re letting kids know that doing the homework or reading is not worth doing unless they are being “paid” to do it.  “If you do A, I’ll give you B” let’s the child know that A is a bad thing and B is a good thing.  If they already like A, they quickly start to realize that they’re not supposed to.

If your kid loved eating broccoli, you could kill that love pretty quickly by telling them they only get ice cream if they eat their broccoli and then one day stop giving them ice cream.

Reading is a wonderful and pleasurable activity for people to engage in.  Writing, mathematics, athletic endeavors, and playing music are also.  If we start rewarding a child for engaging in any of these, we are sending the opposite message.  We are telling kids that they shouldn’t like these.  They should only like TV, tablets, candy, etc.

Because I never want my young children to lose their love of books and reading, I will never bribe or otherwise reward them for reading with me.  Reading is already intrinsically motivating and enjoyable.

Praise

Praise is a specific type of reward.  Saying, “good job” tells a child that they are being evaluated.  It lets the child know that there is a right and wrong way to do things and that they better be careful not to do the wrong thing.

This can kill creativity.  If a child comes up to you with their drawing and you say it’s a beautiful drawing, expect to see lots more just like it.  They’re less likely to risk drawing something different because you might not like it.  They’ll stick with the safe drawing.

If a child is working on writing, and you tell them, “great hook!” you are giving a specific praise, but you are still evaluating them and they’re likely to use the same type of hook in their next piece of writing. (A hook is the beginning of the writing that grabs a reader’s attention)

Keep in mind that many famous, award-winning authors were rejected by dozens of publishers before being picked up and then going on to become famous.  Those professionals didn’t think that book was good enough but now it’s being taught in classes on literature.  It doesn’t matter what those particular professionals thought of the book and it really doesn’t matter whether or not you like the hook.

It does matter whether or not your child is able to learn and grow from what they are doing.  It does matter how they feel about their writing.  So, ask them questions: 

“How do you feel about the hook?”

“What part do you feel you really nailed?”

“What are you going to work on improving next time?”

“Are you aware of the conventions around dialogue?  May I show you how we mark dialogue in a text?” OR “Do you know how most English writers show when characters are speaking to each other?  May I show you?”

You can guide and teach without your child feeling evaluated.

What to do instead

Motivation is tricky.  In Alfie Kohn’s book, Punished by Rewards, Kohn goes deep into why rewards are problematic.  And yet, he doesn’t offer much in the way of what to do instead.  And that’s because it’s rather complicated and there aren’t any easy and quick answers.

In Season 2, we discussed a lot of options and in Season 4, I've got some new ideas for you!

Be sure to send IEP documents you want free feedback on to: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

Laura and Megan of the Developing Readers Academy are this week’s podcast guests and they are full of wisdom and inspiration! Join our conversation and gain some ideas for how best to help your “growing reader”. Learn more about what they're doing at:

https://www.developingreadersacademy.com/ 

Do you feel clueless?  Do you feel like you are an expert?  Somewhere in-between?

This week’s episode is for you if you land ANYWHERE in that range!  I completely geek out over Science of Reading stuff and this conversation was a super fun one for me!  I got to ask an expert on the topic some questions and along the way, he gave a good overview of what good reading instruction requires and what the research says about each of those elements.

He lists 6 Pillars of Reading Instruction.  Can you name them?  

Find out more about Nate Hansford and his work at (one of my top favorite websites):

https://www.pedagogynongrata.com/

Punishment

Now that corporal punishment (physical abuse/hitting) is very rare and illegal in most states, punishment is usually about taking something away from a child (called a negative punishment).  Punishments you may have seen in schools:

“You didn't do your work, you don't get to go out to recess.” 

“You didn't do well enough, you get an F.” 

“You get a zero.” 

“You have a missing notice that has to go home and get signed by your parents.” 

Now, that last one can also be a type of communication between parents and teachers and doesn’t need to be punitive.  It really depends on the teacher’s mindset.  Do they want to punish or just communicate?  Is the note given privately and with empathy or is the kid put on blast in front of the whole class?  Is the tone of voice kind or upset?

Similarly, at home we tend to not spank much anymore (there is a lot of evidence around the harm that spanking causes) but we will take things away (negative punishment):

“You didn’t do your homework, you don’t get to watch TV” (or ride your bike, or play on the tablet, etc)

All of these punishments send the message that you believe the child has willfully chosen to do the “wrong thing” or to not do well enough on an assignment, etc. All of these punishments create a power struggle between child and adult.  All of these punishments can cause kids to feel like they are bad or dumb.

Rewards

We can also flip some punishments to be rewards: “you don’t get to watch TV until you do your homework.”

Or we can use bribes, “If you read this page to me, you get an M&M!”

We’re letting kids know that doing the homework or reading is not worth doing unless they are being “paid” to do it.  “If you do A, I’ll give you B” let’s the child know that A is a bad thing and B is a good thing.  If they already like A, they quickly start to realize that they’re not supposed to.

If your kid loved eating broccoli, you could kill that love pretty quickly by telling them they only get ice cream if they eat their broccoli and then one day stop giving them ice cream.

Reading is a wonderful and pleasurable activity for people to engage in.  Writing, mathematics, athletic endeavors, and playing music are also.  If we start rewarding a child for engaging in any of these, we are sending the opposite message.  We are telling kids that they shouldn’t like these.  They should only like TV, tablets, candy, etc.

Because I never want my young children to lose their love of books and reading, I will never bribe or otherwise reward them for reading with me.  Reading is already intrinsically motivating and enjoyable.

Praise

Praise is a specific type of reward.  Saying, “good job” tells a child that they are being evaluated.  It lets the child know that there is a right and wrong way to do things and that they better be careful not to do the wrong thing.

This can kill creativity.  If a child comes up to you with their drawing and you say it’s a beautiful drawing, expect to see lots more just like it.  They’re less likely to risk drawing something different because you might not like it.  They’ll stick with the safe drawing.

If a child is working on writing, and you tell them, “great hook!” you are giving a specific praise, but you are still evaluating them and they’re likely to use the same type of hook in their next piece of writing. (A hook is the beginning of the writing that grabs a reader’s attention)

Keep in mind that many famous, award-winning authors were rejected by dozens of publishers before being picked up and then going on to become famous.  Those professionals didn’t think that book was good enough but now it’s being taught in classes on literature.  It doesn’t matter what those particular professionals thought of the book and it really doesn’t matter whether or not you like the hook.

It does matter whether or not your child is able to learn and grow from what they are doing.  It does matter how they feel about their writing.  So, ask them questions: 

“How do you feel about the hook?”

“What part do you feel you really nailed?”

“What are you going to work on improving next time?”

“Are you aware of the conventions around dialogue?  May I show you how we mark dialogue in a text?” OR “Do you know how most English writers show when characters are speaking to each other?  May I show you?”

You can guide and teach without your child feeling evaluated.

What to do instead

Motivation is tricky.  In Alfie Kohn’s book, Punished by Rewards, Kohn goes deep into why rewards are problematic.  And yet, he doesn’t offer much in the way of what to do instead.  And that’s because it’s rather complicated and there aren’t any easy and quick answers.

Check out Season 2 for more ideas on how to motivate kids to read, write, do math, and more!

Did you experience a traumatic birth?  Do you suspect it may have impacted your child?

I don’t want this to scare you, worry you, or bring any kind of burden! I’ve just seen an anecdotal connection between birth difficulties and an increased likelihood of learning disabilities.  I’ve seen some research to support this, but more certainly needs to be done. As I talked with my doula friend Jemilla White about this, we decided to take this conversation to the podcast so that the wisdom can be shared more widely! The conversation took some unexpected turns and I found some surprising parallels between the world of birthing and the world of education!

Learn more about Jemilla White and Doula services at: https://marimamadoula.com/  Find the video version at: https://decodinglearningdifferences.com/jemilla

Learn more about the program at: https://www.walkabouts.com/

Click here to watch this fascinating and hope-filled conversation!

If you have tried or wind up trying neurofeedback, I would LOVE to hear about your experience!

Find out more about Dianne Kosto's work here: https://symmetryneuropt.com/ 

Today’s podcast episode is super special to me.  I have a good friend who exudes positivity and adventure and friendliness.  

She’s someone I want everyone to know.  She’s not an education expert.  She’s not a parenting expert.  

She’s simply an amazing human that I want to share with even more of the world.

I finally got her on a call and couldn’t wait to release this episode!

In this episode, you’ll hear about all of the amazing and adventurous professions she has held that do not require a college degree and have given her an amazingly successful and joy-filled life!

You’ll also hear about her life motto that has served her very well over the years.  Click here to watch  this beautifully inspiring conversation!

Check out: https://readingsimplified.com/

Some links discussed in this episode:

Readingsimplified.com/switch-it

ReadingSimplified.com/reading-tests

ReadingSimplified.com/one-and-done-nearly

ReadingSimplified.com/power-up-phonics-activities

readingsimplified.com/academy

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young is the founder of the Arrowsmith Program, an assessment process and suite of cognitive exercises designed to stimulate and strengthen areas of cognitive functioning that underlie a range of learning difficulties.

Her work is recognized as one of the first examples of the practical application of neuroplasticity to address learning difficulties and its application has expanded to address those dealing with traumatic brain injury, addiction, cognitive decline with aging and those who want to enhance performance. She is the recipient of the Leaders and Legends Innovation Award from the University of Toronto for her contribution to education.

Barbara's vision is to transform lives worldwide through the application of the principles of neuroplasticity. On your podcast, Barbara would be happy to discuss a wide range of topics such as:

• How our Brain Shapes Our Behaviour
• The Power of Neuroplasticity in Shaping Our Brain
• Common Learning Difficulties and the Brain
• Cognitive Enhancement in the Classroom
• Looking at Behaviour Through a Cognitive Lens
• Knowing Your Cognitive Profile
• Putting the Brain in Education
• Neuroplasticity and Mental Health

Click here to watch, listen, and learn! 

While you’re here, be sure to subscribe, rate, and write a review to help others discover all that you have found so helpful!

While you're here, be sure to subscribe, rate, and write a review to help others discover all that you have found so helpful!

Every three years, the school district must determine if your child is still “eligible” for an IEP and while this brings updated information, it can also mean that the school may recommend “exiting” your child from special education/ an IEP.

And that’s amazing news!  Your child is doing so well that the school thinks your kiddo will be just fine without an IEP! Take a moment to celebrate your child’s successes (even if you disagree!).

And if you disagree and don’t want your child exited?

Watch the video or download the audio for this week’s episode where we discuss your options and my recommendations.

However, for many other kids, their needs get brushed aside and they are never assessed, and never put onto an IEP unless a parent or guardian steps in and advocates for them.

So how do you get your child an IEP?

First, write a letter to the school (all the details are in the episode).  Then, be sure that your school follows the law and responds correctly.  Too many schools don’t know the law and unintentionally break it all the time.  Oops!

Get all the details by listening to this week’s episode!

If you’re feeling that the school’s report didn’t find give you the answers you needed regarding why your child is struggling, you might need a second opinion. And the beauty of the system is that you can request an IEE that is free of charge to you. I don’t encourage the use of this option for most people, as it is a big expense to school districts and we’d probably have them use that money to actually educate our children and their teachers well. Click here to watch the video or download the audio for this week’s podcast!

Do you have concerns about your child’s IEP reports?

Then go check your kid’s accommodations.  Are they crystal clear to you?  Do they need some explanation (and therefore, a rewrite)? Let me know!

Those goals need to leave no room for interpretation.  If 2 different teachers both read that goal, will they use entirely different methods of measurement?  If so, the results will likely be vastly different. Unfortunately, many special education teachers are never taught how to write really good goals.  They get barely any guidance at all and even the “goal banks” that the teachers use are full of poorly written goals. Click here to watch the video for this week’s podcast!

Then go check your kid’s goals.  Are they crystal clear to you?  Do they need some explanation (and therefore a rewrite)? Let me know!

An IEP document 30 years ago was 2 pages long.  Now IEPs are often more than 30 pages long.  They can be so large and overwhelming that many parents need help looking them over, understanding them, and knowing if the IEP is providing what their child needs.

While I actually love analyzing IEPs and doing consultations with families, I also want to help everyone understand IEPs better so that everyone can make an educated decision when it comes to their child’s IEP.

Click here to watch or download the audio for this week’s episode: IEP tips: Parts of an IEP.

Next week we’ll start going deeper into some of the most important parts of an IEP to help you analyze them in more detail.  Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

And when there is conflict around your child’s IEP, your child is not benefiting.  Communicate regularly with the entire IEP team!

Listen for more details on how and when and where and why and what to communicate with who!

You can watch the video here!

When it comes to attending an IEP meeting, don’t show up empty-handed and clueless!  There are specific items you can and should bring with you for an optimally successful IEP meeting.

Click here to watch or listen to this week’s podcast episode and get all the details!

Listen or Watch the video to find out what you should consider when trying to decide if it's time to hire an advocate or a lawyer, and what to look for if you do decide to hire one.

Learn more at www.DecodingLearningDifferences.com!

Last week we discussed how to set your child up for optimal learning and one of the key pieces to that is to make learning pleasant or even fun, and this week Dr. Vicki will give us plenty of ideas to get us started engaging our kids’ love of learning and creative spirit. Click on over to get the free PDF: “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It”, full of fun and creative ways to engage your child’s learning!

Watch or listen to the podcast, download the PDF, and buy Dr. Waller’s book!

Watch the video at: https://decodinglearningdifferences.com/home/basics/ 

Around this time of year, a lot of High School seniors are considering colleges, applying to colleges, and taking SATs or ACTs. Younger kids are beginning to think about their future careers and the colleges they may be interested in attending.

And even if your child is quite young, the path to college might be something you either have thought about, or feel that you should start considering.

This conversation is for you!

Find Kim Duckworth here:

Website: www.parentsareyouready.com 

Email: kim@parentsareyouready.com 

Facebook: @parentsareyouready  

Instagram: @kpduckworth 

Twitter: @KimDuckworth12 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kim-duckworth-048aa152 

In a recent episode, Dr. Vicki Waller discussed the importance of not waiting to get your kid help.  There is a myth that if we wait, kids will just catch up and outgrow their difficulties.  

And while some kids DO need more time to mature or more access to direct instruction to then “catch up” to peers, when a parent feels certain that their child needs some extra help, that parent is usually accurate!

The thing is, the sooner kids get help, the better the outcomes.  And, let’s pretend a kid who gets help early is later determined to not have had a diagnosable disability.  That kid still benefited (if the intervention was appropriate)!

All kids benefit from 1:1 instruction.  And the sooner that help is provided, the better the trajectory for your child!

In this week’s podcast episode, we have a fascinating conversation with Linda Karanzalis.  Linda is an ADHD and NVLD expert.  And if you’ve never heard of NVLD, you are not alone!  NVLD stands for NonVerbal Learning Disorder, and can be mistaken for ADHD or autism, but is entirely different, and those with NVLD are definitely NOT nonverbal!

This episode is a fascinating first look at what NVLD is, and what to do if you suspect that you or your child has NVLD.

One of the easiest ways to begin to explore this subject, is to check out Linda’s book!  This book has just been released TODAY!  

Click here to find out more about Linda’s book! https://www.lindakaranzalis.com/ 

And her other work can be found here: https://addvantageslearningcenter.com/ 

If you have ever felt that worry, “Will my child ever….?” listen to today’s podcast with Dr. Victoria (Vicki) Waller. 

From Dr. Vicki Waller’s materials:

“Every child can succeed in school and life, but some children need more help than others. For over 40 years, internationally acclaimed reading specialist and student advocate Dr. Victoria E. Waller has helped children who have trouble reading, who can’t sit still in class, who don’t feel like they can participate—children whom teachers have all but given up on. In Yes! Your Child Can: Creating Success for Children with Learning Differences, Dr. Waller shares with parents, teachers, and therapists her proven techniques for motivating any child to love learning, overcome their particular challenges, and succeed in school. Her methods are designed and proven to draw out the singular genius within your child, whether they’re just a reluctant reader or have a diagnosis such as ADHD or other learning differences.”

In this interview, we discuss Vicki’s new book, giving you some solid ideas on what you can begin to do to support your child!

Find Dr. Vicki Waller on: 

Instagram: @DrVictoriaWaller

FaceBook: @DrVictoriaWaller

Twitter: @DrVickiWaller

Website: http://www.drvictoriawaller.com

I can not count how many times I’ve heard parents worried about their child’s weekly spelling lists.

Parents want to know what they should do as far as accommodations, or if the list is reasonable, or if it’s just cruel to mark a kid wrong for letter reversals when they otherwise would have gotten 100% (finally).  Ouch!  Yeah, for the record, I do think that is cruel!

But I also just loathe spelling lists in the way that they are typically given!

The problems with traditional tests

Traditional tests are typically a list of words, often unrelated to each other.  Some lists are words all found in a common story that is being worked on that week.  Others might be a variety of ways to spell the long A sound (combining those all into one list is confusing and unhelpful!).

Additionally, we know from research that memorizing 10 - 20 words per week is NOT how anyone actually learns how to spell in their everyday writing.

We don’t memorize 20 words/week and then move on to using those words correctly in our everyday spelling.  We mostly just forget whatever we managed to memorize for the test, or we already knew how to spell the words.

To learn to spell, we need to learn the patterns of words.  More on that in a bit!

Kids who are successful on weekly spelling tests typically already know how to spell all or most of the words on the given list.  Other kids are further behind in spelling and might not know any words on the list.  

Handed the same list, some students only need to memorize 2 new words for the weekly test.  Other students will need to memorize all 20 words on the list if they are going to pass the test.  

Therefore some students are being expected to memorize significantly more words each week than other students.  And these are the very students who typically are struggling the most to learn spelling patterns.

I find it cruel to expect struggling children to memorize more words than their peers, especially because it is unlikely to benefit them in any way.

Finally, most spelling tests are graded on an “all or nothing” model for each word.  You either get the word completely correct or you get zero points.  In fact, the child may have spelled the word correctly but reversed a letter and the word is scored as wrong. I recently saw a parent post her child’s spelling list which would have been 100% correct if reversals were not counted against the child.  The child scored 10%.

The all or nothing approach also causes student growth to be missed, not showing the hard work they are putting in.  For example, some students are spelling using only an initial and final sound, without a medial vowel sound.  If that child remembers to use 3 phonograms on their spelling list, they are showing significant growth in their actual spelling ability, but might still “fail” the spelling test.

Accommodations

Yes, if your child’s school is still using an archaic practice of weekly spelling tests, please list accommodations for that test in your child’s 504 plan or IEP.

Some accommodations you might want to implement:

• Credit given for spelling reversals
• Oral test instead of paper/pencil
• Reduced list (child can take the full test, but is only responsible for knowing the first 5 words)
• Excused from test (receiving spelling instruction in an SAI environment while the whole class is doing the weekly tests)
• alternate/individualized list based on spelling patterns the student has mastered in the SAI setting
• Informal progress check with no set list to memorize, just assessment on patterns mastered (may be part of SAI instruction)
• Weekly spelling list used for spelling practice on homework, but not for testing at end of week
• Partial credit given on words for each spelling pattern correctly mastered.  (Ex: ship has 3 phonograms: sh, i, p.  A student spelling it as “sip”, “shep”, or “shib” would receive 2 out of 3 possible points.  A student spelling it as “chop” would receive 1 out of 3 possible points)

A better way

There are 31 spelling rules that account for the spellings of about 95% of English words, and the other 5% is mostly all words that are borrowed from other languages, and follow the rules of that language!

We can teach children to become proficient spellers in a systematic way that explicitly teaches each of those rules, and gives plenty of practice in applying those rules.

Explicit instruction is necessary for spelling acquisition in most children.  In fact, research has shown that most academic skills require explicit instruction.

There are great programs that teach these rules explicitly (such as Spelling Mastery, Logic of English, or All About Spelling), or you can teach them using your own scope and sequence.  The key is to have a solid plan to teach these spelling patterns in a logical way and to follow it, ensuring that the student is learning along the way.

see video version:  https://www.yourparenthelp.com/podcast_0239 

“Specific Learning Disability” versus “Dyslexia”

I’ve heard so many parents question the school’s report of a “Specific Learning Disability” and ask how they can get their child diagnosed with dyslexia.  In some states, a school can actually give a diagnosis, but this is outside of the scope of schools in many states.  

A diagnosis is a medical function, while determining eligibility for an IEP or 504 is a school function.

Assessing for an IEP or 504

A school assessment is done to determine if your child qualifies for an IEP or a 504.  A 504 evaluation is often more simplified and has less regulations than an IEP. 

When you are writing a request for assessment from a school district, you are writing a request that the school determine if your child is eligible for either a 504 or an IEP.  The schools are required to provide all children with a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).  FAPE is not the same for all children.  It is not appropriate to have a wheel-chair bound child run laps around the field.  It is not appropriate for a child with a significant reading impairment to be required to read a text far above their ability level simply because it is a grade-level text.  Determining what specific accommodations, modifications, and services a child needs is an important step in ensuring FAPE is being offered.

Schools in most states are not able to officially diagnose, but will perform a lot of the same assessments as a private evaluator who is able to diagnose.  Asking the evaluator if your child has dyslexia will often give you the unofficial diagnosis.  Alternatively, you can seek out an education specialist or a similar professional to help you make sense of the school’s testing.

Do I need a diagnosis?

You do not need a diagnosis to receive special education services on an IEP or to develop a 504 plan for your child.  However, some people feel more comfortable having that official label.

Keep in mind that dyslexia can be defined in different ways and in the broadest sense, any child with a reading impairment caused by a processing disorder/Specific Learning Disability can be considered to have dyslexia.  So if your child understands the stories read to them, has had reasonable reading instruction, and is not learning how to read, your child can be considered dyslexic.

Some people define dyslexia far more specifically, but because it is sometimes defined broadly, it is not always helpful to have the label.  It doesn’t tell us WHY your child is struggling, other than telling us that there is some kind of brain structure impacting their learning.

“Specific Learning Disability sounds vague”

Yes!  Specific Learning Disability is a qualifying disability for an IEP under IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).  There are a wide range of processing disorders that can be identified with SLD including: Cognitive, Auditory, Phonological, Visual, Visual-Motor, Sensory Motor, Language, Attention. (Although Language Processing disorder is often considered part of a Speech and Language Impairment rather than SLD.)  Each of those processing disorders gives the teachers and professionals working with your child a clue as to how your child’s brain operates a bit differently and how your child is likely to learn best.

So, while “Specific Learning Disability in Reading” is vague, it has as much meaning as “dyslexia” and with an identified processing disorder, is actually more specific.

Motivating Dyslexic Kids is much like motivating any child!

Before watching or listening to this episode, be sure you have seen/heard the previous episodes:

Motivation Killers

Motivation: Focus on the Relationship

Motivational Autonomy

Motivational Reading

Motivational Writing

Motivational Outings: Zoo

Motivational Modeling

Motivational Problem Solving

If you want to motivate your dyslexic kid to work on academic skills that they are struggling with, be sure to have conversations.  In these conversations listen way more than you speak.  Be curious and ask lots of questions. Get to know your child’s hopes, dreams, and concerns.  Find out why they choose to do some things and resist doing others.  Collaborate with them to come up with a plan that will work well for them!

If you find yourself forcing your child to engage in tutoring, or to do homework, step back and start trusting your child.  Use those conversations to decide on an approach that will work.  Trust that your child does want to do well!

In a recent episode, Diagnosing Dyslexia, we discussed whose role it is to diagnose dyslexia and whose role it is to educate those with dyslexia.  

This week, we’re talking about how to get the process of getting your kid help in public school started!

Request an evaluation

Write out a request for an evaluation.  I recommend emailing your request to as many relevant people as you can, as well as walking the letter into the office and asking the office staff to date stamp it and give you a copy back.

What to include in your request

Start your request with something along the lines of: “I request my child be evaluated to determine eligibility for an IEP (and/or 504 plan).” (see below for more on 504 v IEP)

Now list out your areas of concern.  The best phrase to use here is “areas of suspected disability include:” and then list out all of your suspicions.  The most common qualifying disabilities are: Other Health Impairment (ADHD falls under this); Specific Learning Disability (dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia fall under this); and Speech or Language Impairment.  If you suspect a specific learning disability, I would suggest including a request that your child be assessed “in all areas of processing”, or include specific concerns (ex: “Sara has difficulty following directions, copying from the board, and keeping track of where she is in a book.  She also often seems distracted.”)  Listing out those concerns, even without the name of the area of suspected disability gives the description of an area of suspected disability that the school needs to consider in their assessment plan.

You may also want to include any family history of learning difficulties, any official medical diagnoses your child has, and specific examples of how these areas of concern show up (ex: “just yesterday we were reading together and….”

Individualized Education Program (IEP) versus Section 504 Plan

If you want your child to get services, ask for an IEP.  In some areas, a Section 504 Plan (or 504) will include services, but this is not the case in many places.  IEPs also have goals that are being worked on through the services and tracked to determine if the services or accommodations should be adjusted.

I would recommend requesting an IEP unless you know that your child is performing at grade level, is able to learn in the general education environment without any direct services, and just needs a few accommodations (such as shortened assignments or extended time on assignments) for them to be fully successful.  

Timelines

Timelines vary by state, so check your state’s laws on timelines for IEPs.  504s do not have specific timelines (another big reason I recommend asking for an IEP).  

In California (and most states, from what I’ve gathered), states must respond to a written request for an IEP within 15 days.  This is 15 calendar days, not business days.  The timelines only stop for school breaks of more than 5 days.

A school can respond to a request for an evaluation by providing an assessment plan or by providing a “Prior Written Notice” informing you of why they are denying your request.  In most cases, the school will provide the assessment plan, especially if your letter lays out areas of suspected disability.  Some schools may ask you to meet, try interventions first, and rescind your request in the meantime.

Once you sign and return the assessment plan, the school has 60 days to assess your child to determine eligibility for an IEP.  Within 60 days, the assessment must be complete, and you should have met to determine if your child qualifies for an IEP.  If your child qualifies for an IEP, the school has 30 days to meet to generate an IEP.  In many school districts, the two meetings are combined and a child is on an IEP within the 60 days.

You can request an advance copy of the assessment reports so that you have time to go over it.  However, I recommend only doing this if you have knowledge of these reports or if you have someone to go over them with you, as the school’s explanation is often an important part of understanding the report. (Reach out to me Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com if you want help understanding your child’s assessment reports)

Takeaway

You know your child best.  If you believe your child needs additional help or support in some way, ask for it.  See Difficult Parents, My Take

Once your child qualifies for an IEP, the next step is to be involved in creating an IEP that adequately provides for the needs of your child.  Again, reach out (Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com) for help!

Effective Dyslexia Interventions

The “Gold Standard” in dyslexia interventions is Orton-Gillingham, often called “OG”.  There are many programs that are Orton-Gillingham-based.

The effectiveness of each OG-based program is highly dependent on the knowledge base of the person implementing the program.  If they are not actually trained in the program and/or dyslexia in general, the program will be far less effective.  

There are a lot of great programs available, but when someone can take those and individualize the education to YOUR child, you will see bigger improvements at a much faster pace.

There are also more contested interventions such as phonetic training (training your child’s brain to hear the differences between sounds), visual training (for those with visual tracking or visual processing difficulties), and other tools.  Each of these might work very well for some students and not at all for others.  This is because the tools are designed for specific types of brain wiring and if your child does not have that type of brain wiring, it will not solve the problem.  It’s kind of like giving glasses to a kid who can’t hear well.  Great for someone else, but not gonna help this kid!

Find a Specialist

Like I said, if you want to make a really great impact on your child’s growth, hiring someone who can individualize well is important. A specialist who has been extensively trained in dyslexia, has a lot of experience, who is engaging, and who is up-to-date on the latest research will be the most effective.  

I see a lot of recommendations for “Barton” or “Wilson”, etc.  And while each of those programs are great programs, they will not individualize to your child automatically and they will not necessarily address the difficulties your specific child is having.  Some kids need do well with Barton, and some will not.  (Luckily, Barton has a screener that gives you a good clue as to whether or not a specific child will benefit!)

Is your child ready for extra help?

For a variety of reasons (such as too much time on ineffective interventions), some kids are resistant to extra help.  They may not be interested in improving their reading right now, which will make them not make as much progress as the same child who is eager to improve.

Having an honest conversation with your child – in which you genuinely listen to their concerns and tell them about yours – is hugely important.  This conversation can make all the difference between your child engaging and finding success and your child continuing to struggle (while time and money are wasted).

Frequency of Extra Help

As I’ve said SO many times before, people only have a 10 minute attention span, at best.  This means that hour-long tutoring sessions are bound to be a lot of wasted time.  

There ARE circumstances in which hour-long sessions can be highly effective such as: the tutor is highly engaging, changing activities frequently, and the child is not mentally exhausted from a long day at school.

However, in most cases, a few short sessions several times per day is more effective than one long session.  That being said, one session daily is more effective than 1-2 sessions per week.

Yes, a lot of OG tutoring sessions in a week will get very expensive, very quickly.  However, your money will be more effective than if you pay for OG tutoring once/week.  In other words: 20 sessions delivered in 4 weeks is typically more effective than 20 sessions delivered in 20 weeks.  

AND- you can stretch your time and money by doing a lot of the skills practice with your child throughout the day and on any “off days” that your child has in their tutoring schedule. 

For example, you might only pay for OG sessions once/week.  And then you might ask the tutor for homework that you can do all the other days.  You might do that homework every morning and evening for 10-20 minutes.  That will all combine to lead your child to make much stronger progress than if your child is only getting the practice with the tutor.

As a reminder- if your child is mentally exhausted or resistant to the tutoring, homework, etc, you will not see much progress.  Before committing to a particular tutor, be sure they are a good fit for your child and that your child is ready for the extra help.

Takeaway: When your child is ready for extra help, find the right person and the right timing!

If you are interested in your child working with me directly, send me an email: Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com.  I have some specials right now (until Dec 1 or the spots are filled).

Personally, I love that these two share a month because there is a high rate of co-morbidity, meaning they often show up together!

And to kick off this amazing month, today’s podcast is an interview with Dr. Kathryn Garfoth of Garforth Education and the Right to Read Initiative Podcast.  From her website: “Dr. Garforth has professional expertise in Educational Psychology and a personal understanding of the frustrations children and adults with learning difficulties experience at home, school, work, and in extracurricular activities.”

Listen in as we discuss reading development and what you as a parent can do to support your little (and big) learners!

Click here to watch the video interview or download the audio version! (www.YourParentHelp.com/podcast_0238)

Listen to the podcast and then be sure to read more of the details, ideas, and nuances at: www.YourParentHelp.com/podcast_0237 

In a continuing effort to find ways to motivate our child’s academic/educational progress, this month’s Motivational Monday is on Problem-Solving.  

While doing a worksheet full of “word problems” can be boring and unmotivating, solving genuine problems can be very motivating!

Consider some of these problems and all that your kids would learn in helping to genuinely solve them:

• We have no more space on our bookshelves…
• We have $X saved for a family vacation…
• What's for dinner?
• The back gate was blown down…
• The tomato plants died…
• We are in the midst of a super drought…

These problems, large and “small” all require an incredible number of skills to effectively solve.  Some skills that will be involved in solving these:

• Brainstorming 
• Measuring
• Calculating
• Budgeting
• Analyzing
• Evaluating
• Researching
• Donating
• Building

And there will be so many more skills, specific to each problem and to each child’s attempted solutions to that problem.  Notice that none of the given problems are ones that have a single solution.  The possibilities are endless, as are the possibilities of what your child will learn in helping to solve these problems!

Takeaway: Life is full of everyday problems that require a variety of skills to solve- involve the kids!

See more at: www.YourParentHelp.com/podcast_0236

When you’re teaching your child, or supporting them academically in any way, even just in thinking about how to get outside help for them, you NEED to understand a few principles of how kids learn to easily avoid conflict and increase actual learning!

• Teachers learn the most.

When we teach something, we retain 90% of the content.  Compare that to just 15% retention when something is presented both auditorily and visually! 

Prioritize creating opportunities for your child to take on the role of teacher.  Many young kids will do this naturally by quizzing the parent, or telling the parent to pretend to be a student.  Follow that lead!  Let them turn in to the teacher!  You can also set up other “students” like stuffed animals or the dog.  “Teddy looks confused.  Can you explain that to them again?”

• Learning happens in a fun challenge, and when interested.

If your child is stressed or bored, they’re not learning much.  We want all learning opportunities to be enjoyable.  One way to do this is to consider their interests and make learning opportunities around something interesting to them. 

Another way is to challenge them.  If something is too easy, it feels boring.  And some kids make more mistakes when they find something too easy.  They aren’t paying much attention because they’re not interested.  However, if something is too hard, they’ll become frustrated and feel defeated.  Finding that fine line of giving only what feels almost easy can really engage effort and attention and make them proud of what they accomplish!

• Most people can not attend/focus for More than 10 minutes at a time.

Keep learning activities short, light, and fun!  An hour of tutoring once per week is far less impactful than 5 minutes of intentional practice or quick lessons twice per day.  Your kid can focus better, and gets lots of opportunity to process between practices, building more automaticity.  

Bonus tip:  the best time to practice is right before bed!  Our brains process all night long and the stuff that happens right before bed gets the most processing.

With these three principles, you can be effective in designing meaningful educational opportunities for your child while avoiding resistance, boredom, and frustration!

Ever wonder (or know) if your child has one of these and what to do about it?

Listen to this week’s podcast, where we dive deep into what these disorders are, and how to approach behavioral challenges with these kids.

Learn more about Michele’s work at: https://micheleshilvock.com/ 

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Micheleshilvockconsulting 

And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micheleshilvockconsulting/

Michele starts off walking us through her behavior visual, then explains lagging skills, ODD, and PDA.  We definitely didn’t have time to go as deep as I wanted on everything so watch for Part 2 coming soon!

Download the Guide at: https://www.yourparenthelp.com/readingcomprehension 

Eventually, I climbed the stairs, took a breath and went for it.  And I was so glad that I had found that courage.  That motivation.

I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences, but have you ever taken the time to consider how this might apply to your relationship with your child?

When I became a parent, I read a lot of books and listened to a lot of people.  One thing that struck me was that a child could be “taught” manners by not being forced to say please and thank you, but to just hear and see manners modeled genuinely and often.

Good news! This applies to motivating kids to learn (even those with learning disabilities and learning challenges).

If you want your child to read, grab a book and find a cozy place on the couch and dig in!

If you want your child to do math, model all of your mathematical thinking out loud.

If you want your child to write, write a letter to your cousin who you haven’t seen in 3 years.

If you want your child to love learning, work on learning something new (and be sure your kid sees how terrible you are at it right now, and how you aren’t giving up!).

Watching others engage in an activity can be very motivating.  Especially, if it is not tied to: “I’m reading, you should read too!”  If it feels coercive, it will not be effective.  

And, it might take a lot of modeling, so enjoy the reading, writing, math, and learning activities for their own sake.  Know that your child is benefiting from it, and let the struggles and expectations go.

I have never met that child.

Every child I have ever worked with has had periods of explosive growth and periods of stagnation and even regression.

We expect that steady straight line, but the spikes and dips and plateaus is closer to the reality that I see.  I also want to point out that some kids will not start or end at the expected points, although I had them line up for this illustration. (www.YourParentHelp.com/podcast_0230)

And while it is easy to look at this overall graph and think, “Yeah, there’s nothing to worry about.  That kid made great progress!”  it’s not so easy to feel that way in November, when a kid who WAS doing really well, hasn’t made growth in months!

So one big takeaway I want you to see here is that kids will make progress, at their own pace, and you don’t need to panic when progress hasn’t happened in a while.

But you’re probably wondering: Why does this happen? What can we do about these plateaus and dips?  Is there a way to maintain better momentum?

Great questions!

Why does this happen? 

Kids often get very enthusiastic initially, and then become bored.  So their progress can be directly linked to their enthusiasm for learning the skill.

Kids also will have enough background knowledge to make rapid growth initially, before getting stuck on a harder concept for a while.  Then when they break through that struggle, they excel again for a while, before hitting another roadblock.

And for some kids, it has to do with self-confidence.  They don’t feel self-assured enough to make progress initially.  Then they have a breakthrough and feel great, and make huge growth before getting stuck and losing confidence again.

What can we do about these plateaus and dips?   Is there a way to maintain better momentum?

One of the best strategies to try when you notice boredom or resistance to daily lessons is to bring in novelty.  When things are new again, they feel fresh.  This can be as drastic as changing which curriculum you’re using, or can be as simple as:

• Changing the tool: Crayons instead of pencils
• Changing the location: outside, on the couch, under the dining room table
• Changing the time of day: after lunch instead of after breakfast
• Bringing in something new: music, snacks, a “new student” (the dog or a stuffed animal)

Of course, I am never a proponent of forcing a child to do something they are really against.  Have a genuine conversation with your child to see what is going on and why they’re feeling resistant.  Give them options, and ask for their suggestions.

You might need to take a break from the lessons for a while, but perhaps your kiddo would be on-board to do a little practice to maintain previously-mastered skills.

A word of caution

As you can imagine from all the possible learning graphs of spikes, dips, and plateaus, every child is different and comparing two kids is rarely beneficial.  

Keep your own feelings about your child’s progress in check.  

Your child is an awesomely unique human who is developing their skills in their own way and at their own pace.  Another child’s pace does not reflect anything on your own child’s pace.

However, if in your gut, you know that something is off- your child needs more help, a different program, etc. - make it happen!  Don’t ignore those gut feelings, just be sure that they ARE gut feelings!

Takeaway

We expect kids to make slow and steady progress, but I’ve never met a kid who did.  Adjust as needed!

Listen to Sue’s answers to these questions (and more):

• What led you to choose unschooling?
• What is your take on unschooling children with learning disabilities such as ADHD or dyslexia?
• Is unschooling ‘right’ for everyone?  If not, describe who it is best for and who it is questionable for.

And then let me know if you’re currently unschooling or considering it, or if you just think it’s crazy!

Sue Patterson, a homeschooling mom with over 25 years of experience, is also an author, and an unschooling coach and podcaster. She helps families who aren't happy with their educational situations, and shows them how learning more about unschooling will help. She runs Unschooling Mom2Mom, available on all the social media platforms and offers courses, guides, group coaching programs, and private coaching.

www.UnschoolingMom2Mom.com 

Sue's book: Homeschooled Teens: 75 Young People Speak About their Lives without School.

(Digital and HardCopy at Amazon)

Podcast: Unschooling Mom2Mom http://www.UnschoolingMom2Mom.com/podcast

Sue sends out unschooling resources weekly by email.

Join her free email list here: Unschooling Updates

Teaching our children at home has so many benefits!  Even if your child attends a traditional school, you can support their learning difficulties at home.  Here are the benefits that I see:

(Watch or listen for more details on each!)

• Relationship Building
• 1:1 Instruction
• Instruction/Intervention throughout the day
• Individualized ABCs:
  • At your child’s level
  • Building on strengths
  • Challenging appropriately
  • Deficits worked on consistently
  • Engaging your child’s interests
  • Fun for your kid!

Note:

• Know yourself and your kid (will this work for your family?)
• You may want to hire a tutor or enroll your kid in a class instead
• At home interventions is highly effective for kids in traditional schools too (for all the same reasons)
• Very little time should be spent on intensive intervention

Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of fourteen books and hundreds of articles, he lectures at education conferences and universities as well as to parent groups and corporations. Kohn’s criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in Time magazine as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.”

Listen as I ask Alfie about some of our previous episodes on motivation and my suggestions on what you should be doing and I get his feedback.

Some of my biggest take-aways were:

• Ask yourself: What are my long term goals for my kid(s)?
• Kids don’t have to be given intrinsic motivation to learn
• Before trying to motivate your child, ask: what am I motivating them to do? Why? Is it developmentally appropriate? Does it meet my child’s needs?
• Imagine how things look from your kid’s point of view.

What were your take-aways?

https://www.alfiekohn.org/

Start reading his books today!

Coins!

Coins can be used to teach so many math concepts!  And yet, money is barely mentioned in the common core standards.  I understand that coins aren’t necessarily critical, but I do think it’s important as a life skill AND it’s a great mathematical tool for tons of other concepts!

First, we need to work on teaching our kids to identify coins- their names and values.  

Then we can use those coins to practice counting by 1s, 5s, 10s, and 25s!

Counting by numbers means we can also use coins to practice multiplication, making groups of one nickel and 2 pennies to practice 7s, for example.

If our kids are comfortable with knowing that 4 quarters makes a dollar, then we can use that to reinforce fractions.  Three quarters means ¾ of a dollar!

This knowledge of fractions then ties into decimals and their equivalent fractions.  25/100 is equal to ¼ because $0.25 is 1 quarter, which is ¼ of a dollar.

We can then use this to work on ratios in much the same way.  We might discuss the ratio of 5 pennies to every 1 nickel.  So 5 nickels is 25 pennies.

Along the way, our children will have also learned a lot about place value, including decimal place value.  They can practice trading 10 pennies for 1 dime.  And the opposite.  Think about how this can be used for multi-digit addition and subtraction.  They can trade dollars, dimes, and pennies as needed to make counting easier and to make subtraction possible.

Having our kids be very comfortable with counting and using coins is a wonderful example of everyday learning, using an everyday activity or skill to learn deeply.

Vocabulary as a skill is essentially about understanding the meaning of the words being read.  A strong vocabulary allows children to understand the meanings of higher level texts.

Some learning disabilities will hinder a child’s vocabulary development or retention, causing them to struggle to understand what they are reading.

When we help them overcome this difficulty, we help them to find more reading comprehension success and enjoyment.

So what can we do to support vocabulary development in those struggling?

First, just use a variety of vocabulary and when you notice a word that is confusing to your child, make a point of adding it to your vocabulary and helping to make neural connections by using it as frequently as you can.

The natural follow up to this is to then reinforce vocabulary as you are reading with your child.  Give reminders of words that have previously been practiced.

Next, make building your child’s vocabulary intentional.  Play games with vocabulary words, grab a word-a-day calendar, create a vocabulary log/journal where they can record the words they are learning and practice using them a few times.

What to avoid

The old dictionary copying is REALLY bad teaching practice!  The kids don’t really learn anything from this approach unless they are able to overcome the tedium to gain interest in the meanings of the words.

I would also recommend avoiding completing vocabulary worksheets.  These are similarly boring most of the time, and kids wind up “doing” the worksheet, not learning the vocabulary.

Additionally, keep in mind that almost no one can learn a word after having it explained once.  Some kid with memory challenges, will need A LOT of repetition before they actually remember the meaning of the word.  Don’t be too eager to constantly introduce new vocabulary, unless you are able to also constantly practice the previously “mastered” vocabulary words.

More TO DO

Develop your own vocabulary and use new words around your kids!  Modeling is a great teacher and the more a child hears a particular word in use, the more they will truly understand the word wherever they come across it.

Next, model curiosity around new words and their meanings.  Demonstrating that you don’t know every word can be encouraging for kids.

For some kids

For some kids, intervention with a speech and language specialist may be your best choice.  You may reach out to your local school district for an evaluation.  Medical insurance also covers speech and language services in some cases, so talk to your doctor/insurance about how to have your child evaluated.  If you’re up for paying out of pocket, you can research private practices in your area.

Takeaway:

A strong vocabulary leads to improved reading comprehension and should be fostered intentionally.

If you need some help in figuring out more specifics around the HOW to help educate your own child, or to provide your child some extra support, reach out to me (Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com) for more information, or to schedule a call.  You can also check out the Available Services page for more information on some options that may work well for you and your family.

This week, I want to offer some inspiration in one way to inspire and motivate your children academically.  And that is with the use of outings, specifically zoos.

A trip to the zoo can be incredibly motivating and educational without any extra effort or considerations.  However, it can also be tailored to be especially motivating to your child with just a little reflection and consideration before you go.

Discussions

Be sure to take time away from the frenzy of “Look at this! Look at that! Look over here! Look over there!” to have some deep discussions with your kid.  It will tend to make things go slower, and that might allow everyone to relax and enjoy themselves more.  Or, if you all just have to see everything, have the discussions between exhibits.

Some discussions might be:

• Why an animal is doing something (Why is the camel rolling in the mud?)
• How the habitat is designed
• How the zoo chose where to put animals
• What the animals need
• The purpose of zoos
• Ethical considerations around zoos

Writing

All that discussion can definitely be a jumping off point for some writing!  

Types of writing that may be generated during or after a zoo visit:

• Journal
• Log
• Letters
• Research paper
• Persuasive writing
• Creative writing

Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger Hunts might be linked to math or a writing or discussion topic, or might just be purely for fun.

Some examples of Scavenger hunts:

• How many "hoofed" animals
• Where are all the restrooms/ water fountains?
• Which animals have bodies of water?
• Specific animals/ items at the zoo

Math!

This is a huge topic and it varies widely by math ability and what your child is working on learning or practicing, as well as what your child is interested in and motivated toward.

Some ideas:

• Counting animals, exhibits, restrooms, etc.
• Adding and subtracting any of the above (“There are 5 gazelles over here and 7 over there, so altogether that is ____”; “There are 12 birds in this aviary, with 5 herons, so that must mean there are how many ducks?”)
• Fractions (the sign says there are 9 giraffes, but we only see 5, so we’ve found 5/9 of the giraffes!)
• Math projects (questions that take extra research and time to carefully calculate and figure out- possibly over lunch, or later at home):
  • how much does it cost to feed all of the animals?
  • how much space does each elephant need?

Takeaway:

More than anything, I’d like you to be inspired to stay open-minded when it comes to how an outing might be motivational for your child.  Allow the discussions to go deep and wander.  Do not force anything (it almost never pays off), but encourage!  Always remember to model these same skills/ motivations/ activities yourself!  

Let me know what inspires your kiddo and what you would add to this list!

Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

First of all, books!  We read a lot of books!  Those books drive discussions and some other discussions drive us to refer to books.  We read a lot of books and we have a lot of discussions and those two things are a huge part of their education.

We go to the park almost daily, meeting kids and playing with old and new friends constantly.

I set up play dates with more and more people.  I decide where and when, and the kids decide what to do!

I involve my kids around the house.  There are things I expect them to do in terms of cleaning up and tidying up, but I also invite them to join me in the chores that I am doing.  I also involve them in grocery shopping, cooking, planning, and other aspects of daily life.

We go on outings to the zoo, the beach, museums, hikes, libraries, and farmers markets.

I’ve signed them up for a couple of classes and am looking to sign them up for more: swim, dance, martial arts, gymnastics, art, and music.

Do I use a curriculum?

No… But I have purchased quite a few!  I’ve got a lot of early literacy and early math materials and curriculum supports but we aren’t currently using almost any of it.  We’re just now starting to work on learning letters in a concentrated way, but all of the learning is still mostly from books.

Do I follow a particular educational philosophy?

We do some unschooling although it’s probably better described as relaxed homeschooling because I have a specific idea of what I want them to learn, but I go at their pace and follow their lead.

We also follow some wildschooling philosophies, with trying to constantly get outside.

I also adore the Montessori math materials and have purchased some of that and follow their general concepts on how to teach mathematics, although I am not as rigid in our set up or presentation.  

For learning letters, I’m playing with a Waldorf book: The Alphabet to inspire them to learn each letter.  I love the playful fantasy of Waldorf while also loving the real concreteness and practical application of Montessori.

As my kids start to show preferences over a particular style of acquiring information, our educational system will be further tailored.

And all of this is just what works for us!  You will find your own path and what works best for you! 

If we think about the Hierarchy of Needs (I learned Maslow’s originally, but then found out that Indigenous people have taught very similar hierarchies long before Maslow), the concept is simple:  we have to have some basic needs met in order to have space in our lives to access the best of ourselves.

If our children are not fed, rested, and feeling safe, they can not learn.  Schools in California (and I’m sure not just California) now offer free breakfast and lunch to every child (no proof of poverty necessary).  Schools encourage parents to send children to bed early.  Schools provide mental health services at higher rates now than ever before.  Schools are trying to step in when parents can’t provide these things to their children.

And that is why I love and support public schools.  Public schools are desperately trying to save the world, one child at a time.  The public school system may very well be broken, behind the times, and far too bureaucratic, but it’s also never been better (imo).  It is also there to serve children, and offer them the best it can.

But this episode isn’t really about public schools, because this podcast is aimed at parents and how parents can support their child’s education.

To support your child’s education, you need to be sure that their needs are met.  So let’s cover the easiest stuff first, the stuff that is so obvious it shouldn’t need to be said, but since we are in it daily we might need that gentle reminder:

Make sure your kid is getting adequate sleep.

Make sure your kid is getting fed adequately.

Make sure your kid feels seen, loved, understood.

Make sure your kid is clean, and dressed comfortably.

A little less obvious: Make sure your kid’s sensory needs are met.  Are they sensitive to light or sound or certain textures?  Do they need pressure?  Do they need movement?  

Any of these things can distract your child from being able to focus on their education- whether they are homeschooled or schooled with others.

But because we are relational beings, the needs of others will impact your child as well.  A cranky first grader might ruin your child’s day because that kid didn’t get enough sleep and your child was standing too close to them at lunch.  A sullen 5th grader may bully your child daily because they feel so inadequate themselves, and because empathy was never instilled in them.

When we support public schools, we support our society.  Right now, public schools are under attack.  And everyone is being harmed by these attacks.

If you want to support your child’s education, you need to support your local public schools.  Ask what they need in regard to what you are able to offer: volunteer time, money, supply donations, organizational skills.  Stand up for them when others criticize unfairly.  Post support of teachers, who are trying their best to be the best for our country’s children. 

Again, schools have a lot that needs to be fixed.  Teachers are often not taught what they most need to learn to be a truly good teacher.  There is still a disgusting obsession with behaviorism in schools.  I have many complaints, but the people are loving and deserve support.  The concept of free education should be expanded, not attacked.

Beyond supporting public schools, support your community.  Maybe you can let the schools know that if someone seems to have trouble with drop-offs and pick-ups, that they can reach out to you and you’ll help.  Maybe you can volunteer in whatever area is a good fit for you: animal shelter, food pantry, hospital, library, etc.

Now, I would also encourage you to advocate for your kid and others: teenagers have different rhythms than young kids.  They are biologically wired (and technology makes this way worse) to stay up later and sleep in later.  They need their schools to start later.  Go to your school board and fight for later start times.  Early start times are impacting their education.

Representation matters.  What our children are taught matters.  Be vocal in your support of all children feeling seen and validated.  Kids from families that are black, brown, gay, transgender, muslim, atheist, and everything else all need to know they are not the only ones.  And the other kids need to know that too! 

Representation improves the emotional and social well being of all children.

And of course- we need to stop the mass shootings that make all of us fearful.  Vote, call, write, and make your voice heard.

Sound familiar?

If so, I’ve got you!

Some kids can stare at a blank page and have no clue how to begin to write something. 

Conversations

Before beginning to write, kids benefit from discussing what they might write about.  They need to toss around some ideas with someone.  I can’t remember who said it, but I’ve been told, “If you can speak, you can write!”

Research/Inspiration

Depending on what they are writing, kids will need to do some research, or at least will benefit from gaining some inspiration.  Research and inspiration can come from books, movies, and “field trips” to museums, gardens, trails, beaches, etc!

Brainstorming

Before deciding on a topic, brainstorming can help get the ideas flowing.  I find that a lot of the students I work with benefit from me being their scribe, writing down all of their ideas for them, so they can just focus on thinking!

An alternative is to have them use Voice Typing to get their initial ideas out. This can help the be more independent in the brainstorming step.  However, they’ll need some training in how to take this “brain dump” and pull out the pieces they need from it.

Adding Details

After a brainstorm, your child should have a general idea of what they want to write about.  Using a graphic organizer such as the Flow Map or Tree Map by Thinking Maps can help kids organize their thoughts with relevant details.

Similarly, you might train your child to use index cards, bullet points, or another type of outline.  

During all of these steps, your child might benefit from you being their scribe, so that they can focus on the thinking part.  (No, this isn’t cheating, you’re just accommodating your child.  Just remember all the rich bosses who used to dictate everything to secretaries who did all the actual writing for them!  And now voice typing is so common, that your child will always have access to a scribe!)

What do you do to support your kiddo in generating ideas for writing?

I’ve heard this same question countless times.  And with this year’s focus on motivation, I wanted to answer it!

There are so many strategies that can be helpful, but all require that you let go of any particular expectation of what the writing might look like.

Modeling

One of the most motivating ways to get your child interested in writing is to not pressure them into it, but to model it to them.  As you read the below ideas, consider first trying these yourself before even mentioning it to your child.  Let your child ask YOU what you are doing and see if they ask to join you!

Journals/Logs

Many kids enjoy keeping some kind of log or journal.  This might be a nature journal that they take with them any time they are out in nature, or that they use to record what they saw after they’ve come back home.  

The journal might be a travel journal, especially if your family is one that does a lot of travel.  They might write about their adventures, what they saw, what they learned, what they ate, etc.

The journal might be a food journal.  Maybe they record everything they eat or maybe they just record their favorite foods or the foods they eat when you all go out to eat or try a new recipe.

The journal might be about animals.  Maybe wild animals that they see.  Maybe they like to go bird–watching.  Mabe the journal is about their pets, or about an insect they “adopted”.  Maybe they journal to record the changes in a caterpillar that they have inside or outside.

The journal might be about plants- either ones they have found or ones that they are purposefully growing.  They might record the trees in the neighborhood and how they change throughout the year, or what they are doing to care for the plants in the garden (and how well it is working).

The journal might be a gratitude journal, listing each day or each week all the things they are grateful for.  Or a prayer journal.  Or a pride journal, listing all the things that they are proud of themselves for each day.

Letters

You might help your child find a pen pal.  Or they might write to family or friends, including a friend they met on a trip. 

They might write letters of thanks for gifts they were given after a birthday or holiday.  

Or they might write letters as part of some activism.  They might write letters to politicians, or to the newspaper, or to others calling them to take action on something they are passionate about.

Creative

Some kids love to get creative in their writing, once the idea is suggested or demonstrated.  They can write make-believe letters or journals.  They might create short stories or full novels.  They might write a play (that perhaps will get acted out!).

Research Projects

Some kids are passionate about a particular subject and eager to learn more about the topic.  This can lead them to write about all that they have learned, synthesizing their ideas.

Strewing

Sometimes just laying out a pencil and paper (or notebook/journal) can entice a child to start writing!  Maybe it’s stationary or a fancy pen.

Tools

Some kids have fine motor difficulty or difficulty with spelling and it can cause a greater resistance to writing because of the multiple skills that are required to be successful in their endeavor.  Using Voice Typing (Google docs has it for free under “tools”) can allow them to turn their thoughts into writing more easily.  (See my video on how to use this here)

Takeaway

Go back and look through the extensive list here and then choose what YOU will try!  Remember that if you aren’t doing it, your child is less likely to adopt writing into their daily activities.

Wesley was brilliant in so many ways.  He could read and comprehend grade-level texts.  He understood math.  And he was reluctant to write ANYTHING!

He would sit for an hour staring at a blank page.  If anyone asked if he needed help, he’d say no, “I’m thinking.”

Spelling was difficult for him and he had fine motor difficulty as well.  I know this was PART of his writing reluctance.  It wasn’t the whole story though.

Wesley just couldn’t figure out how to put his thoughts into words.  I suspect he thought in pictures and emotions more than in words.

What worked?

It took a variety of strategies to help Wesley.

To start with, we’d supply sentence starters when he was stuck.  As he got better at it, we would question him so that he could be the one that was creating the sentence starter when answering a question.

I would also offer idea choices.  These are those suggestions that most of us are already doing.  I tried to do it based on conversations we’ve already had.

Having conversations with Wesley was very helpful.  We’d talk about the question he was trying to answer, the essay he was trying to write, or anything related that might provide information or background knowledge.  I would ask questions to get more information on the topic, and also just to try to get the ideas flowing!

I would usually scribe for Wesley, writing down for him what he was saying.  This was because he had difficulty with spelling and with fine motor tasks such as forming letters.  

These difficulties made the task of writing significantly MORE difficult by requiring concentration and use of additional skills that he hadn’t yet mastered- splitting his attention and making it harder to focus on the already difficult task of thinking about what to write!

Besides my scribing, Wesley also had access to Voice Typing whenever he wanted to use it, but this was rarely sufficient.  He needed help in getting his thoughts on what to write.

There were times, however, when all of these supports just weren’t what Wesley needed.  Sometimes, he did just need time to sit and think or for the writing assignment to be put aside for a while.  

Do you have a kiddo who struggles to come up with what to write?  What works for your child?  Please share!

Some learning disabilities impact a child’s ability to comprehend anything, such as with a language processing disorder.  

Some learning disabilities impact a child’s ability to just read the words, which then brings down their reading comprehension score.  If you can’t read a text, you’re not going to be able to comprehend it without it being read aloud to you.

And that’s how you can tell the difference, most of the time.  Typically, if a child can understand what they listen to (a story or directions, etc), they will be able to understand it when they read it to themselves (with sufficient accuracy and fluency).  

However, if a child can’t understand what is read aloud, then they are less likely to understand what they are reading, regardless of how well they can read.

Essentially, if a child has a strong reading ability, their reading comprehension and listening comprehension should be equal.

We also have to discuss the levels of comprehension.

Some kids are able to recite back the basic facts of a story, and this is considered the base level of comprehension.  “Just the facts!”

Kids then need to be able to answer inferential and analytical questions, making sense of what they are reading in a deeper way.  They know not just that the character wore a red jacket, but that they must have worn a red jacket because it was cold, further validated by the description of gray clouds in the sky.

They also need to be able to make predictions about what may happen next, using logic, background knowledge, and an understanding of what has happened thus far.

Further, kids need to be able to evaluate what they are reading.  Does it make sense or are their plot holes?  Does it do an adequate job of describing people, places, events, etc?  How well can the reader relate to the story?  Who was the likely intended audience?  What was the author’s purpose?  And on and on.

So how do we boost reading comprehension?

There are many ideas in the Octopus’s Guide to Reading Comprehension, so download that guide, if you haven’t already! (And if you have, refer back to it!)

Beyond that, we can also simply make deep discussions a regular part of our day.  We can discuss books that we read aloud to our children, or that they read aloud to us.  We can discuss audiobooks that we listen to together.  And we can also discuss shows and movies in much the same way, asking the same sorts of questions and validating our children’s thoughts and ideas.

How is your child doing with comprehension?  What have you noticed?

Email me! Kimberlynn@DecodingLearningDifferences.com

So many of us parents are avid readers and want to instill a love of reading into our children.  However, it’s not something that can be achieved through force.  In fact, any coercion is likely to have the opposite effect!

However, we can inspire our children to want to read.  But to do so, we may have to think outside of the box.

First, we have to meet our kids where they’re at.  We have to take into consideration any learning disabilities/ challenges that they have.  If they have a short attention span, we can’t expect them to sit down to read a novel.  If they struggle to decode words or to read fluently, we can’t expect them to read for long without wearing out mentally.

We also have to take into consideration their interests.  Allowing them to read books of their choice is paramount, but we may also need to consider other reading activities beyond books.   

For example, putting captions on a TV show or movie can help reinforce reading.  Allowing kids to play video games can be a very motivating way for many kids to read.  I’ve heard many times that it was wanting to be able to read a video game that led a child to learn to read, or to become better at reading. (To be clear- the reading is part of the video game, not a requirement to be allowed to play the video game.)

A child may be capable of reading at an 8th grade level, but still gravitate toward the picture books.  Let them.  Many picture books are actually written at a high level, and the pictures may be supporting their comprehension or the short stories may be supporting their attention span and mental effort.  There is no harm in kids who are “capable” of reading high level books choosing to read simple books or picture books, as long as they are wanting to read!

Similarly, many kids enjoy graphic novels.  Some parents worry that it is too little reading, but the same principles as with picture books would apply here.

Similar to graphic novels is visual novels, a type of video game that is telling a story.  Again, there is a lot of reading involved in this, and it can be very engaging for kids.

As you can probably guess, I have no problem with kids reading books that are above or below their “ability” level, if it is what they are wanting to read.  When kids are interested, they’re engaging in learning.  Even if the words are easy, they’ll get something out of it, or they wouldn’t bother reading it.

A final tip- model a love of reading to your kids.  Read books yourself, where they can see you.  Talk to them about books you are reading and enjoying, and books that you read and enjoyed when you were younger, closer to their age or ability level.

What’s working for you?

So what did we do for dear Clarissa?

We started with an additional assessment by a speech and language pathologist (SLP), who determined that Clarissa has a language processing disorder and recommended speech and language services.

With these services added, I was able to collaborate with the SLP to reinforce what was being worked on there.  My main focus was working on building up Clarissa’s reading comprehension. 

I had Clarissa read texts in small chunks, just one or two sentences at a time.  These texts were well below her reading ability level, and she read them multiple times.

Then we focused on visualization of these 1-2 simple sentences.  I would have her describe what the sentences she had just read LOOKED like.  At times, I would have her draw something she had just read about (she enjoyed art).  She also would act out some of what she read.

We bolstered her vocabulary knowledge explicitly and had her act or draw out the vocabulary within the context of what she was reading. 

We helped build connections between what she was reading and any other background knowledge she might need to better understand it.

And we focused on her interests- providing books that she wanted to read, and texts about subjects that she was interested in.

With time and a lot of patient practice, Clarissa began to more quickly comprehend what she was reading, and was able to comprehend most of what she was reading.  She still had more to practice, but she was on the way!

I am not endorsing the product, Elephant Learning.  I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t use it!

I was not given access to Elephant Learning to trial so I can’t speak to it from any personal experience/ first-hand knowledge.

Before you listen to the interview, I want to share my thoughts.

First, the pros:

• Data- allows for a clear picture of how well a child is learning various skills; motivates a child to see their own progress 
• Individualized- pre-assessment and monitoring allow each child to receive just the lessons/practice that they need
• Instructs in math language, which can otherwise hinder a child from understanding what their teacher is talking about
• Support is available to help parents work through difficulties and know how to best teach their kids

Now, the cons:

• I’m not sure that it actually teaches math concepts, possibly just math vocabulary?
• If a child struggles, there is no reteaching of a concept in a new way (I have yet to see a program actually do this)
• Requires parent/teacher involvement if a child gets “stuck”; meaning that you are likely to have to teach your child how to do all of the math.  However, teaching them so that they can make progress can help kids want to learn the math that you are teaching.
• They claim 1 ½ years of growth in a 3 month period but I’m not clear that any outside assessments confirm this rate of growth and I’ve seen similar claims made by other programs that are really just using their own data and skewing things in their favor.  Outside measures don’t support the claims from these other programs, and I’m not sure that Elephant Math is actually any different.
• Not a full curriculum, only supplementary.
• Might be too language-heavy for some kids who need more of a visual or kinesthetic understanding of math as their foundation prior to learning any vocabulary.  (Aditya says that math is best learned through discovering concepts, but they start each lesson with definitions…)

What I hope you get out of listening:

• Your own thoughts and insights into whether this program or one of the MANY others like it would be good for your family
• What to consider when making these purchases
  • What a math program should include
  • Be aware of the emotional appeal these products are making

To begin with, kids need a few “pre-adding skills”, skills that they must be comfortable with before they can successfully learn to add.  They must be able to count, they must recognize numbers and the plus and equals symbols, and they must have 1:1 correspondence.

All math skills should be taught first with concrete exploration, then pictorial representation, and finally with abstract practice (such as standard algorithms). 

Early Addition (K - 1st)

Addition starts with just adding small numbers within 5, then within 10, within 20, and within 100.  Each step takes on a new level of difficulty for a child.  Some progress quickly but others need time to work through each new challenge.  

Rushing kids through any level is likely to cause difficulty later on.

When introducing addition to your child for the first time, be sure to have lots of practice with physical objects.  To start with, your child will just be exposed to conversations about addition. “You have two carrots.  If I give you two more, you’ll have 4!”

When the concept of adding objects is solid, they can be presented with pictures and discuss the addition represented by those pictures.

Finally, the algorithm can be presented.  In the course of all of these (concrete, pictorial, and abstract), stories about the numbers should be used.  This helps to make the connection between numbers/addition and story problems, helping to prevent difficulty with “word problems” later on.

Before moving into double-digit addition, addition of multiple addends should be introduced (5 + 4 + 3 + 2).  

Multiple-digit Addition (2nd - 4th)

Once kids are adding single digit numbers to double-digit numbers with confidence, they’ll move into adding 2 two-digit numbers, first without regrouping (also called carrying), and then with regrouping (carrying).  

Again, we want to introduce this concept with concrete and pictorial before jumping to the abstract with just numbers and symbols.  The tendency to rush kids through these skills can lead to kids knowing tricks and performing the addition task without truly understanding how the numbers are working, which can cause difficulty later.

I highly encourage the use of base ten blocks, or the Montessori “Golden Beads” to support the understanding of place value with addition.  A 100s Number Table is also beneficial in moving from concrete through to abstract (and in supporting abstract).

Decimal Addition

After children have mastered adding multiple-digit numbers with regrouping, they can start to add decimal numbers.  First, they’ll add numbers that have the same number of decimal places.  (3.56 + 4.12) But then they’ll start to have numbers with different numbers of decimals places. (3.56 + 2.3)

To be successful at this level, kids need to have a strong understanding of place value and exactly what decimal places are representing.  Many kids will think that 2.567 is a larger value than 35.3, for example.

One way to support this understanding of place value is to use those same base ten blocks as before, or something similar, perhaps using a different color for decimals, to avoid some confusion.

Once at the abstract stage, I would suggest setting the problems up horizontally so that the child has to then “stack” the problem accurately, understanding how it must line up.

Fraction Addition

Around the same time, and possibly prior to, decimal addition, children will often be taught fraction addition.  First, the numbers will have the same denominator.  Working with fraction tiles, legos, or evenly sliced foods (such as pie) are all helpful concrete representations of what a fraction is and how it works.  

 And it is critical for kids to truly understand what numerators and denominators represent before attempting to manipulate fractions by adding them.

When moving from concrete and pictorial to abstract in this step, I often encourage kids to think of the denominator as “apples” to help them remember not to add the denominators!  Instead of ⅜ + 2/8 they might say, “3 apples plus 2 apples”.  This can help them to remember that denominators are the name of the size of the object, not a number to be manipulated during addition. Side warning: never teach multiplication and division of fractions at the same time as addition and subtraction.  The different rules can be very confusing to keep straight!

Once adding small fractions of the same denominator are solid, you’ll add in adding fractions more than 1, and learning how to turn an “improper fraction” (also called “a fraction greater than 1”) into a “mixed number”.  

Then kids will add different denominators, first less than 1, and then more than 1, and mixed numbers together. 

Again, having something physical to represent those numbers is important in demonstrating why ⅔ + ¾ does NOT equal 5/7, as they are likely to want to try.  They need to see and feel why different denominators require first finding a common denominator (or “cutting all the pieces to be the same size”).

With fractions, use concrete and pictorial representations for longer than you think necessary as anything with fractions tend to be confusing to kids, even after they seem to have mastered it.  Also, be sure you are practicing it frequently after it is mastered so that it stays fresh for them.

Algebraic Addition

Having letters and symbols represent a missing number can happen early on, as soon as a child seems to have first mastered adding using an algorithm.  This makes them truly understand all of the pieces of the algorithm and what each piece represents.  It may not be how you were taught, but it can be beneficial for your own kids!

Takeaway

Addition requires skills to be mastered before beginning and new skills before increasing the difficulty.  Use concrete, pictorial, and then abstract when teaching addition (and all math skills).

-OR-

“Hey, I’d love to get the garage organized this weekend!  Would you be willing to handle the shelves?  Or would you rather tackle the pile of tools?”

Which would most get you on board with their project?

I am certainly MUCH more motivated when I’m not being told what to do, but being given choice.

As promised, I’m back with more ideas on what TO DO to motivate your learner!

Back in January, I had a fabulous discussion with Vibha Arora in which she suggested giving a child autonomy if they are shutting down and refusing to work.

I agreed with Vibha on so many things, and this was no exception!

Autonomy is very motivating!

When a child is told that they “have to” do something, a child’s autonomy is being removed and they will fight to get it back.  “You have to ____” is instantly going to make a child less willing and interested in doing that thing.

Autonomy’s definition is: “the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision”.  When we are using rewards and punishments, we are using coercion.

How do we boost autonomy and motivation?

Give Choices!

Give developmentally-appropriate choices.  Two choices for some kids, and many more for others.

Give meaningful choices.  Asking “do you want to use the crayon or colored pencil?” is less meaningful than “do you want to practice counting or do you want to practice your letters?”  Both kinds of choices can boost autonomy, but more meaningful choices will go further in this aim.

When kids feel powerless, they fight back.  Which then causes us to up-level our authoritarian instincts (or is it just me?).  We start to threaten or punish and they feel more powerless and things just spiral…

But the opposite is also true: the more often we give choices, the more empowered they feel.

When giving choices, you can give information about what is important to you.  “It is important that you work on learning your letter sounds.”  Then asking them how they’d like to do it, but offering choices that they can select from.  

Younger kids will have had less exposure to all the different options in how to learn something, so giving them a variety to choose from is helpful in their selecting a choice.  Older kids won’t necessarily need specific choice, but just the freedom to come up with ideas on how to achieve the goal.

Give Responsibility

When you are giving meaningful choices, you are giving kids control over something and allowing them to recognize that their choices are important.

Don’t force the responsibility, but allow for it.  Allow them to engage meaningfully in the family and participate in what needs to happen.

Rather than choosing a curriculum for your child, allow them to choose for themselves.  This might be between two choices you’ve looked at, or it might be more open-ended and allowing them to do all the research behind it (for older kids).  (“Would you like to use A or B for your reading curriculum? Look at these features…”  or  “We need a reading curriculum for next school year, do you want to take the lead on researching and choosing one?”)

We might also allow our child to choose how or where they go to school.  Maybe they can choose between two nearby schools, or maybe they can choose home school or public school.  Maybe you homeschool, but are open to them selecting the style of homeschooling.

You can allow them to take responsibility over their work space.  And with that and other responsibilities, you can give parameters around what is acceptable to you, and establish what is important to them.  “You need a clear space where you can focus on your studies.”  and “I need this desk kept cleared off when you’re not using it because having clutter in the living room doesn’t work for me.”

Give responsibility as a gift.  Responsibility comes with benefits and consequences.  It can allow for more freedom, but also more opportunity for messing up and needing to make repairs.  Give responsibility and trust in your child.

Follow Their Lead

Whatever a child is already interested in, they’re already intrinsically motivated toward.  Encourage and support these interests as well as doing whatever you can to encourage them in developing new interests.  (These are the WORST times to utilize rewards!)

Takeaway: Autonomy can be very motivating!

How do YOU foster autonomy?

Kids like “Freddy” add by always starting at 1, instead of “counting on” from one of the two numbers.

For kid’s like Freddy, there is a lack of number sense that is slowing them down and can cause bigger problems later, so it’s worth fixing now!

What worked- Asking Questions

“How many fingers are on that hand?” 

“What comes after 5?”

For a lot of kids, these questions aren’t enough because they haven’t practiced counting on so they aren’t able to.

What worked- Practice Counting On

Build into your routine regularly starting the count from numbers other than 1 and zero!

As you’re out on a walk or driving in the car, just start counting on from a different number and then stop to let your kiddo take over. “3, 4, 5…” “32, 33, 34….”  

At home, start counting on, and then mime handing the mic over to your kid for them to then continue.  Then switch and have them start and hand you the mic.

*Keep in mind that the biggest challenge in counting on for most kids is “29…” (and 39, 49, 59, etc).  I would recommend practicing this after they’re more comfortable with the easier ones, and then be sure to practice this one A LOT!  You’d be shocked how many older kids still struggle with this!

Model

“7 + 2.  Okay, 7, 8, 9! 7 + 2 is 9!”

Explicit Instruction

You can explicitly teach a child to use the counting-on strategy.  This should be a quick 5 minute lesson in which you show your child.  “I’m going to show you a way to add a little faster! Watch me.”

Specific Practice

Once your child has learned this strategy, let them know that they are going to practice it and then  have them do a few problems on a worksheet to practice.  You can also play games instead.  I like using cards or dice to mix things up a bit.  I might roll two dice and have my child write down the numbers and then I’ll cover the die that has the higher value, encouraging them to count on from that number.  With cards, I’ll do essentially the same.  (I also might practice without writing anything down)

Does that sound reasonable?

To most of us, it does.  We have likely heard and maybe said something very similar ourselves.

In a society focused on how “productive” a person is, we expect kids to finish worksheets like it is their job.

We even talk about school being a child’s job, and some parents pay kids for how well they do at their job! (Please see the episode “Motivation Killers” on why I don’t support this practice)

But learning is way more important than a job.  We can choose to quit a job, and we can choose to quit doing a “learning activity”, but the actual learning is happening.  Kids are constantly learning, especially when they are having fun and are interested in what they’re doing.

The more focused we are on a particular task being completed, the more likely it is that our child will find the task unpleasant and learn little from it.

Instead, ask yourself, “what is my goal in giving my child this task?”

Now, a worksheet to practice a particular math strategy is totally valid.  I recommend starting with hands-on learning first, and then worksheets can provide good practice and review.  

However, the goal of the worksheet is to allow for that practice, not to finish a worksheet.  And maybe completing two problems is sufficient practice.  Maybe two full pages is more appropriate.

And there are plenty of times that a worksheet is too easy and not helpful practice, or too difficult and getting the child to complete it leads to a child who has a finished worksheet that they have no idea how to do or what they were supposed to have learned from it.

I see this last one all the time.  The other day I was given an incomplete comprehension page that one of my students was supposed to finish with me because they didn’t do it in class.  I immediately could see that the worksheet was at a much higher reading level than this child’s ability, and was not on a topic the child was interested in.

I certainly could have gotten that worksheet finished with the child, but I have limited time with these kids and I want the time that I do have with them to be used wisely.  So, instead of doing the worksheet, we worked on what I had planned already- some reading and math activities that were at her level.

The next time you are about to ask your child to complete something, question yourself: what is the purpose of this activity?  At what point will it have fulfilled its function?  Is it an appropriate level for my child? And then make an appropriate plan with that information.

With a strong phonics knowledge, your child will be able to read and spell unfamiliar words.

But phonics can also be confusing!  In English, there are 44 sounds, 26 letters, and 75 basic phonograms (single or multi-letter representations of sounds).

And kids with dyslexia REALLY struggle with phonics!

If you show your child a nonsense word (like fisp), can they read it?  If you ask them to spell ‘plit’, how do they do?

If your child is struggling with phonics development, there are things we can do to help them!

First of all, there are Orton-Gillingham based programs that provide a strong phonemic awareness and phonics foundation.  

But you can also follow the same basic process at home, by following a few steps:

Step 1: Start by developing phonemic awareness!  Check out the episode on phonemic awareness for specific steps on how to do this part yourself!

Step 2: Be sure your child knows the letter and sound correspondences.  For most kids, this is just about plenty of exposure and practice.  It could be flashcards, but multi-sensory approaches typically work best.  

• Write letters in sand, build them with playdough, make whole body dance moves about letters and sounds!  
• Some kids with dyslexia need the mouth formation for each letter sound really demonstrated explicitly for them.

• Keep in mind that there are 75 basic phonograms and many of those 26 letters have multiple sounds

Step 3: Have your child put their letter-sound knowledge to use!  Reading is typically easier than spelling for most kids, so reading will develop faster.  Take each at their own pace!

Get progressively more complex (C = consonant sound; V = Vowel sound): 

• CVC
• VCC
• CCV
• CVCC
• CCVC
• CCVCC 

Step 4: Next come the multisyllabic words!  

• Take individual words that they can read and make compound words.  
• Then use prefixes and suffixes.  

Many multi-syllabic words are VERY phonetic, making them easy to read and spell once a child knows how to chunk them and use phonics skills!

Takeaway: Phonics is important, but can be difficult for those with dyslexia.  A systematic intervention is necessary (but it is also something that you can provide completely for free!)

If you suspect your child may have dyslexia, take the quiz “Is My Child Dyslexic?” here to find out how likely it is!  (This is not a diagnostic tool, but a simple pre-screener that you can use to help guide you!)