My dd is 8 and I've just come to the realisation that she is very likely dyslexic.
I am single and have 3 kids. I live on a Caribbean island where the mother tongue is Dutch - so the local resources would be in Dutch including teachers. (My dd does speak Dutch but I can't really help her read in Dutch nor would she want to.) My first son was slow to read and my second was quick. I thought she was just slow like ds1 but reading more about dyslexia I think it is VERY likely she is dyslexic. (For example, she confuses before and after, confuses yesterday and today, cannot recall words easily, cannot recite the alphabet at age 8 no matter how many times we practice it... cannot spell anything except her own name and "Mommy," and even then she does not know the names of the letters she is using - if I say 'how do you spell Mommy?' she cannot tell - she can only write it. Her name has an R and a T in the middle (like Beatrice but that's not her name) she can never recall which is the T and which is the R nor what sounds either of those letters make. I've tried to show her the words no, go, so and bo (as in Skip Bo) - but no amount of working on those 4 words will they stick. (well she sort of remembers no and so but not go and bo.) She definitely does not know the phonics behind the letters - finds it confusing that the letter B makes a B sound because it's pronounced BE.
One issue is that things like Starfall, because she's 8, are super duper boring for her. Even though she doesn't know that info.
I'm not having her tested - as another issue is that being a Dutch island they are extremely, extremely, extremely against homeschooling. I do not want to call attention to myself more than I already am by homeschooling. It has been a constant battle to be allowed to do what I am doing. They have threatened to prosecute me for it.
What I need are some SIMPLE resources to get started with her. Preferable something I can print. I mentioned I'm single because I'm sort of overwhelmed already doing this all on my own. My ex husband lives in Italy and only visits occasionally.
On that note it could be relevant that dd speaks Dutch, English, some Italian but not much anymore and often hears Spanish and the local creole language. Also up until age 3 she understood French as that was spoken in our home a lot. So I've always chalked up slow reading and slow to speak (all my kids) to multiple languages. I don't know if a child would be slower to read who speaks multiple languages but I'd think that with English being the main language she'd be able to recite the alphabet by now at the very least.
I don't know how unschooling and dyslexia can fit together. I feel like in the short time that I've 'discovered' the dyslexia I've been in a panic and have been almost harassing her with alphabet songs and worksheets. And she is NOT enjoying that. She avoids any 'reading' or work with letters at all possible costs.
She is, however, improving with numbers and until recently didn't know the difference between letters and numbers. Now she can add together 4 different numbers (as in 4 +5 + 2 + 3) - whereas in the past she didn't even recognise those numbers on paper. She can also play go fish with a full deck of 52 cards, which is new. I'm not sure if she memorised what the cards look like or if she is really seeing the numbers but I do think she is probably seeing the numbers.
She is great at games like quirkle, uno, blokus, set, mancala, connect 4... where reading really isn't necessary. She can beat me every time at some of those. She loves minecraft and animal jam and somehow compensates by asking her friends or brothers or me for help when she can't read something - that is to say she can't read anything )-;
Sorry - I guess my questions are mixed - because she has not been 'diagnosed' so I'm going on about why I think she is dyslexic and I also just need to know what I can do to help her or if I should continue to wait or what others who are unschooling have done regarding dyslexia.
We will be in the US for at least 3 or 4 months this fall where I would be willing to go to a specialist if necessary.
Thank you in advance!
I am single and have 3 kids. I live on a Caribbean island where the mother tongue is Dutch - so the local resources would be in Dutch including teachers. (My dd does speak Dutch but I can't really help her read in Dutch nor would she want to.) My first son was slow to read and my second was quick. I thought she was just slow like ds1 but reading more about dyslexia I think it is VERY likely she is dyslexic. (For example, she confuses before and after, confuses yesterday and today, cannot recall words easily, cannot recite the alphabet at age 8 no matter how many times we practice it... cannot spell anything except her own name and "Mommy," and even then she does not know the names of the letters she is using - if I say 'how do you spell Mommy?' she cannot tell - she can only write it. Her name has an R and a T in the middle (like Beatrice but that's not her name) she can never recall which is the T and which is the R nor what sounds either of those letters make. I've tried to show her the words no, go, so and bo (as in Skip Bo) - but no amount of working on those 4 words will they stick. (well she sort of remembers no and so but not go and bo.) She definitely does not know the phonics behind the letters - finds it confusing that the letter B makes a B sound because it's pronounced BE.
One issue is that things like Starfall, because she's 8, are super duper boring for her. Even though she doesn't know that info.
I'm not having her tested - as another issue is that being a Dutch island they are extremely, extremely, extremely against homeschooling. I do not want to call attention to myself more than I already am by homeschooling. It has been a constant battle to be allowed to do what I am doing. They have threatened to prosecute me for it.
What I need are some SIMPLE resources to get started with her. Preferable something I can print. I mentioned I'm single because I'm sort of overwhelmed already doing this all on my own. My ex husband lives in Italy and only visits occasionally.
On that note it could be relevant that dd speaks Dutch, English, some Italian but not much anymore and often hears Spanish and the local creole language. Also up until age 3 she understood French as that was spoken in our home a lot. So I've always chalked up slow reading and slow to speak (all my kids) to multiple languages. I don't know if a child would be slower to read who speaks multiple languages but I'd think that with English being the main language she'd be able to recite the alphabet by now at the very least.
I don't know how unschooling and dyslexia can fit together. I feel like in the short time that I've 'discovered' the dyslexia I've been in a panic and have been almost harassing her with alphabet songs and worksheets. And she is NOT enjoying that. She avoids any 'reading' or work with letters at all possible costs.
She is, however, improving with numbers and until recently didn't know the difference between letters and numbers. Now she can add together 4 different numbers (as in 4 +5 + 2 + 3) - whereas in the past she didn't even recognise those numbers on paper. She can also play go fish with a full deck of 52 cards, which is new. I'm not sure if she memorised what the cards look like or if she is really seeing the numbers but I do think she is probably seeing the numbers.
She is great at games like quirkle, uno, blokus, set, mancala, connect 4... where reading really isn't necessary. She can beat me every time at some of those. She loves minecraft and animal jam and somehow compensates by asking her friends or brothers or me for help when she can't read something - that is to say she can't read anything )-;
Sorry - I guess my questions are mixed - because she has not been 'diagnosed' so I'm going on about why I think she is dyslexic and I also just need to know what I can do to help her or if I should continue to wait or what others who are unschooling have done regarding dyslexia.
We will be in the US for at least 3 or 4 months this fall where I would be willing to go to a specialist if necessary.
Thank you in advance!