Why does everything take her soooo long?

[gwen's mom]

DD#1 is 8 and has always been homeschooled. She is a late reader and still struggles some. I am a WOHM and do HSing teaching every night after work and on the weekends. DH is a SAHD and during the day he covers what didn't get done the night before-things like math worksheets, the re-reading of books, etc.

DD#2 is 5 and in kindy this year, also HSed. DD#2 is a quick learner and frankly has a different work ethic than DD#1. DD#2 is an intense child, likes to work hard in all she does and does so quickly.

It has been good HSing both of the girls for the fact that they both sit down together and I can teach some things simultaneously (history/science).

Everything is good except for the time things take DD#1. Today for example DD#1 had 4 math worksheets to do, no new concepts, nothing overly long, basic facts, no more than 20 problems per page. It took her 3 hours. Maybe I'll be criticized for this much work but DD#1 is still stumbling over basic facts. I feel like repetition is essential for her to remember her facts which will then factor into her speed as the problems get more complex.

DD#1 is so easily distracted, so worried about how much less work her sister has to do, etc. DH sat down with her for awhile but he said that she was continually asking questions she already knew like "What is 8+8?" DH is very frustrated and just doesn't know what to do with her. At 8 shouldn't she be able to focus and work independently? This combined with her reading difficulties make me wonder, should we have her tested for a learning disability? We are planning to send both of the girls to school next fall and I am really worried about the adjustment for DD#1.

Any advice is welcome.
Thanks!

[Aeress]

If you are concerned I would get her tested. My DD has a vision concern that affects everything she does, from reading to writing, math to even physical activities.

For me, I knew dd got things and was smart, but any type of paperwork or bookwork was very slow and difficult for her. If I asked her to do things like math facts out loud, she was fine, so I adjusted my expectations so that she would continue to grow and flourish. With some help, she is beginning to read more efficiently.

It could be her learning style too. Or you could take a break from reading/writing activities for a bit and see if she picks it up later.

I would say though, if you are concerned, it wouldn't hurt to get her tested.

[shoefairy3]

4 math worksheets * 20 problems is alot of math work for a wee one imo. We dont do math drills or memorization. I teach my kids how we can get the answer if we dont have it memorized. Memorization come with exposure imo. Drill stuff can be made much more fun. Like playing Yahtzee or a similar game.

My nearly 9yo is capable of independent work, but he works far better if I am there with him. Not necessarily helping him, just there.

[PGTlatte]

Our 7.5 yo DS is quite slow with his work. I used to wonder why and be frustrated by it.

Now, he is being treated for amblyopia and has some convergence, suppression, and eye teaming issues. These were diagnosed by a COVD developmental optometrist. He also has some visual processing issues and while he is good at figuring things out and remembering a procedure, he has a very hard time memorizing a piece of associated information like a math fact or how to spell or recognize a non-phonetic sight word.

He did addition and subtraction problems for a full year without learning any of the math facts. He would grind the answers out very slowly, but had no problem knowing how to do them or getting them right - he just didn't know the facts no matter how many times he used them. I finally stopped having him do the problems and we are working on nothing else with math but memorizing the addition facts until he knows them.

It has been a couple of months of daily work. He is getting close. Some he learned quickly. Others he gets hung up on and for those I come up with a memory trick to help him. I use two decks of flash cards (they are two sided and I only wanted to use one side) to separate the ones he knows automatically from the ones he doesn't, then we go through the ones he didn't know quickly, then I make worksheets for just those problems. It seems to be random which ones he learned easily and which ones are hard for him. He is very encouraged by his progress. I know that once he knows these addition facts, he will be able to do problems faster and they will not be so tiring for him. Realizing that he has very real challenges with memorizing has helped me to be very patient and supportive. He is tackling something that is really difficult and frustrating for him, and he's winning. He has to fight for every inch of ground. It's just going to take some time, but it will be worth it for him to achieve this.

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that when our kids need to learn something in a different way that most people, we can be flexible and help them in the way that is best for them. Having the test results for DS1 really helped me see more clearly what specific things were slowing him down and make adjustments, and he's making much more progress now that I understand his struggles better and can give him very specific help and support with those things.