OT-Getting DS9 caught up over summer or at least maintain

[danjoealexis3006]

Long story short-My DS is 9 (will be 10 in Aug) and has been diagnosed as being LD. He is very smart and has many talents, only reading is not one of them. He goes to resource room for reading but he is behind and this affects all the other subjects as well. As of now he is reading at a beginning third grade level. My DH is very against keeping him back a year.

I would like to tutor him over the summer to at least maintain what he has learned only I have a hard enough time getting to do his homework. He never wants to do anything that has to do with school for me (I've even tried bribing although not with a trip to Disney ).We live in the sticks so finding a tutor has been impossible.

I am looking for ways that I can get him to cooperate with me. I am looking for lessons that will improve reading, blending, ect. They need to be intresting (more than just book work), maybe reading software and intresting lesson plans, websites, anything!

Any advice would be helpful!

 

[Magic Mom]

The great thing abour summer learning, is that it doean't have to follow a specific curriculum. Let your DS guide you. Sit down with him and talk about his interests..is it race cars, spiders, Transformers, football...etc. Then talk about some fun field tips you can take revolving around those interests. Work the learning into that. A trip to a baseball game can include reading a great baseball novel (reading)....figuring simple player statistics (math)....budget planning (math, research, reading) and even a little physics. Let him help you plan the learning activities so he has more ownership of them.
Also check out these sites:
John Hopkins Center for Summer Learning
http://www.summerlearning.org/

http://school.familyeducation.com/summer/family-learning/36089.html

Summer Home Learning recipes from Ed Pubs

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Recipes/index.html

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

I don't know if you have a decent library system around you, I'm blessed with a great one, but if you do try getting some books on CD,along with the same book. Have you son listen to the story while he reads along. My DD does this every night for at least 30 minutes before bedtime. I even upload the cds to her ipod so she can listen and read in the car, out to dinner etc. Each time she finishes a book we do something small to celebrate (frozen yogurt,movue etc.)

 

[brymolmom]

If it is in your budget, would you consider hiring a professional tutor, even for once or twice a week? My ds is the same way with doing school work for me - but is much more agreeable for his teacher. Rather than 'argue' about it and cause tension between you during what should be a fun summer break - you could consider that option.

OR, if not - my recommendation would be to start with a pretty strict routine from day one. Document it (I agree with a pp who says to tailor it to his interests) - Monday from this time to this time we will work on READING THE RACECAR BOOKS; Tuesday from 10 - 11:30 we will work on READING STRATEGIES; Wednesday from 10 - 11:30 we will work on.....and so on - being sure to throw in a SPECIAL day here and there where he gets to choose a topic OR where he gets to choose an educational field trip (for example, we can go to the amusement park, but you need to read all the material from the brochure first (or on the web site) and come up with a list of the rides that you want, etc. )

If you start right at first and have a documented routine, hopefully you won't get into this 'but I don't want to do it NOW Mom- Can we do it after I go play outside?' arguments....

 

[Snow Shoe]

I know the feeling your son is going through. When I was in school in the early 50's, I was always in the "Buzzard" read group. I was taught site word reading first, then phonics. Talk about being confused!!!! After I became a teacher myself, only then did I begin to learn that I was dyslexic, even though I always had suspected it many years earlier, as well as having a LD in reading.

The one thing I really did enjoy reading when I was young, were books about space. Wheather it was sci-fi or about the U.S. space program it kept me engaged. My point is, I'm sure your son has a passion for something, what ever it is, find books on it that the two of you can read together.

 

[danjoealexis3006]

Thanks for all the advice so far! I'll have to find out what he is intrested in. The challenge will be getting him to do it. Maybe we could learn about an animal and then take a trip to the zoo or insects and then collect them while we camp. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[SmallWorld71]

This is just piggy backing on what others have said, but children with LD's often have a very difficult time reading non-fiction text. This can be doubly difficult for someone your son's age as this is probably a fairly recent focus in class since in the primary grades so much of the reading is fiction. So, definitely find some non-fiction that ties into your son's interests. (For my DS9 it is baseball, The Revolutionary War and Disney.) Also, remember reading doesn't have to be a novel type book. For example, DS9 has a book of World Records which he loves to read. A book like that has great vocab. and word practice in it, but doesn't have to be read cover to cover so it can take the pressure off.
You might also want to throw in some word work where he has to manipulate sounds and letters. I wish I had a good program for you, but I teach 1st grade. Perhaps someone else will know an age appropriate program.
Above all, keep it fun!

 

[DVCLiz]

I was a Children's Librarian for many years and two things that were always helpful were giving the child a certain amount of money and letting him choose anything he wanted from the bookstore, and getting a subscription to a couple of magazines he was really interested in.

Something about the freedom to spend money on anything he finds interesting at the bookstore is very appealing. Also, a magazine is a lot less intimidating to a new reader than a big book. It's a good combination.

Think of it as money you would otherwise be willing to invest in a tutor, since you said there is not one nearby. You can always order books and magazines online!!! Ten or fifteen bucks a week can buy a lot of reading material over the course of a summer!!!!

 

[karliebug]

I'm a first grade teacher. Does your school district provide summer school or summer math and reading camp? At out school we provide 4 weeks of reading/math instruction from 8:30-11:30 each day. What about your local library? Ours has a weekly story hour combined with a craft or something related to the book and an incentive program for reading so many books over the summer. What about making a chart, and for each book he reads he gets a star and when he reaches a set amount you do something special?