Resources for teaching children with T21 and other special needs
Teaching my son with Down Syndrome to write letters and numbers has been a long, slow process. But little by little we’re getting there! Many schools and homeschoolers use the wonderful handwriting program by Learning Without Tears (formerly Handwriting Without Tears.) But I have needed to adapt some of their materials in order for Junior to be successful.
Continue reading “More Handwriting Worksheets for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome” →
Here’s a cute set of handwriting worksheets that will help your child learn to write lowercase letters. Similar to the uppercase set, these have dots which show your child where to begin forming each letter. In addition, each worksheet comes with verbal prompts to help your child learn the order of strokes.
Continue reading “Let’s Learn Letters: Lowercase !” →
Fifteen or so years ago, I began homeschooling my oldest child, and I’ve been homeschooling ever since. I’ve homeschooled five of my kids from preschool through sixth to eight grade. Even though my children differ widely in temperament, I eventually settled on a piece-meal curricula that worked well for everyone with some minor variations and changes over the years.
And then Junior came along. Junior, with his extra special chromosome, his zest for life and learning, and his gritty stubborn streak. Very early on, I realized that teaching him would be a whole new adventure. So I was not surprised when I came across the following:
Research has shown that young people with Down syndrome not only take longer to learn new skills but also learn differently in some key areas. Additionally, they benefit from some teaching strategies that are different to those typically used in education. Down Syndrome: Guidelines for Inclusive Education, International Down Syndrome Society and Down Syndrome Education International, Dec. 2021
As I read and researched about teaching children with T21, I began to keep a rolling list of best teaching strategies and practices. These have been incredibly helpful for homeschooling Junior and teaching three more little boys with T21 who come to my home for a Down Syndrome co-op.
Today I’m sharing these strategies with you and how we can use them at home.
Continue reading “Homeschooling a Child with Down Syndrome: Effective Strategies for Teaching” →
It’s winter! So here are some winter-themed picture and word cards to build your child’s sight-word reading vocabulary. This free download also comes with a book that allows your child to practice reading the new sight words. The book is best suited for children who have completed See and Learn Phrases 3. But the cards can be used at any level.
Check it out:
Continue reading “Winter-Themed Picture and Word Cards” →
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:
Continue reading “Christmas and Nativity Themed Handwriting Tracing Pages” →
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.
Continue reading “Our Favorite Books and Publishers for Emergent Readers” →
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:
Continue reading “Autumn-Themed Sight Words and Pictures, See and Learn Style” →
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” →
Mercy for Marthas