Tracing high-interest words is a meaningful and motivating way for my son to practice handwriting. So, I made these Christmas and Nativity-Themed Handwriting Tracing Pages for Junior. He definitely enjoyed these more than his usual handwriting sheets.
Take a look:
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As many of you know, my son Junior, who has T21, has become a voracious reader. Hence, we make several trips to the library to keep him well supplied. To simplify my never ending job of finding reading material, I find a publisher/series that I like and order as many books from that series that I can from the library. Here are our favorite books and publisher series for emergent readers.
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Here are more FREE picture and sight word cards for those of you teaching your kids to read words by sight. This is a set of thirty-eight pictures of items around the house, some clothing, and favorite foods. Use them to build vocabulary, teach sight words, talk about word function, and for sorting.
Continue reading “Around the House and Food-Themed Picture and Sight Word Cards” →
Last fall, I began teaching Junior how to decode words. Having taught my five other children to read, I knew that I would have to make each step along the way very incremental and use materials that were hands-on and visual. I was ready for the process to be slow and bumpy, so I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly Junior learned to decode CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.
So today I’m sharing with you some videos of Junior at work and the resources and methods we used that worked best.
Continue reading “Teaching Children with Down Syndrome to Read: Our Top Ten Resources for Beginning Phonics” →
Can you believe it’s autumn already?
Here are eighteen autumn-themed sight word pictures and word cards. They’re great for building vocabulary, too. Use them just the way you use the See and Learn kits. And since books are always so motivating, here are two books that go with the words:
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Today I want to share with you one of the *best* resources I’ve used and read as a parent.
Here we are at the start new school year, busy juggling academics, sports, social activities, and so on. In the midst of all this I try to keep our ultimate goal in mind — something I’ve thought about, prayed about, written about, and prayed about again and again. The ultimate goal in raising and educating our kids is sanctity — our kids’ and our own. And so a question I am often pondering is this: how can I help my kids encounter Our Lord in deep and meaningful ways so they grow in their faith and love for God?
Continue reading “Helping Our Children Encounter God: An Interview with Kristen Fisher on “The One Best Thing”” →
Last fall we moved into a new house… actually a very old one, but new for us. So that meant I got to arrange a new homeschool room!
With our oldest daughter in the convent and the three teenage boys in school, we no longer need a large school room like the one we had in our previous home. But we still have a room dedicated to homeschooling our two youngest children. It’s actually the dining room converted into a school room….
Continue reading “Our Homeschool Room no. 2” →
Just in time for a new school year, here is the third book in our FREE Writing Lessons from Literature series. And it’s based on Clara of Strawberry Fields, a story of a dreamy, imaginative girl growing up on a farm and her perpetually-growing family. It’s a historical novel that will make your daughter laugh and cry as she reads about the misadventures of this impulsive young girl living in the Patapsco Valley of Maryland right before the Civil War.
Continue reading “Writing Lessons from Literature, Book 3 – Clara of Strawberry Fields” →
I am so excited to share the news that my daughter Carolyn has just published her seventh novel. Set in the Dark Ages, The Tale of Finegan Patches is the story of an impoverished young serf and his epic battle against evil.
For centuries the sinister, blood-thirsty dragon Trepezard had lain asleep in his lair. But something mysterious has awaken him and his wrath. In one fiery breath, the dragon can burn entire villages. The peasants of Leatholin live in mortal fear of their lives. Yet the treacherous and corrupt lords and knights are too afraid to protect their people. Meanwhile, there are threats of the the wild and powerful invaders from the North. The situation is dire and hopeless.
Until one insignificant, simple-hearted farm boy sets out to fight the dragon.
Continue reading “Just Released! The Tale of Finegan Patches” →
Here’s the second in our series of FREE Writing Lessons from Literature, and it’s based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s heartwarming tale of friendship and generosity: A Little Princess. Like Book 1 in our Writing Lessons from Literature series, this is a nine week course suitable for children in grades four to six. If not used as a writing course, it can be used for reading comprehension or for a book club.
The main goal of this series is to teach children how to write by studying and analyzing passages from novels and by imitating writing techniques used by the authors. The secondary goal is to help children develop an appreciation for the novel by looking at the underlying themes and character development.
Continue reading “Writing Lessons from Literature, Book 2: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett” →
Mercy for Marthas