Down Syndrome Education at Home - Mercy for Marthas

Ten Tricks for Motivating and Engaging Children with Down Syndrome

Published on November 25, 2024July 23, 2025 by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

How many times have you called your child/student with Down Syndrome to come and do some school work and that child balked or refused to co-operate? Sigh. Yes, in our little homeschool and co-op it’s a common occurrence. But necessity is the mother of invention, so I’ve learned many ways to motivate my son and his little friends. I really believe that what most hinders our children with DS from learning is not intellectual delay/disability, but non-compliant behaviors. So to help elicit co-operation, here are my latest tricks for motivating and engaging children with Down Syndrome:

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Simply Addition Level 1 Math Games

Published on November 9, 2024 by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

For those of you who are using Simply Addition Level 1 to help your child master addition facts within ten, here is a set of FREE Math Games. After all, playing games is the fun way to practice math skills.

This set contains a variety of games that align with most of the lessons in Simply Addition Level 1.

Take a look:

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First Steps with Phonics, Book 4: A FREE Phonics Workbook for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome

Published on October 26, 2024January 30, 2026 by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

Here’s the fourth and final book in the First Steps with Phonics Workbook series, designed especially for children with Down Syndrome.

While most phonics programs begin with CVC words, this introduction to phonics begins with something even easier: the phonograms that make one and only one sound. Book 1 teaches children to sound out and spell words that have the phonograms AY and AI. Book 2 teaches the phonograms EE and IGH. Book 3 focuses on the phonograms OA and OE. And Book 4 teaches the phonogram EIGH.

Here are samples from Book 4:

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Get Down to It! A New Podcast About Down Syndrome

Published on October 14, 2024 by Mary Cooney4 Comments

I’m so excited to share the news about a newly released podcast: Get Down to It! by Tara Boogaerts. In two episodes I talk to her about the Homeschooling Option for Children with Down Syndrome and Teaching Reading and Learning Phonics.

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First Steps with Phonics, Book 3: A FREE Phonics Workbook for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome

Published on September 19, 2024January 30, 2026 by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

Here’s Book 3 of First Steps with Phonics!

This is an incremental, picture-based introduction to phonics designed for children with Down Syndrome. It’s both Orton-Gillingham and Montessori friendly! Read more about this program and watch some videos here.

If your child is struggling with phonics, give these workbooks a try!

If your child hasn’t started with phonics, here’s an easy way to start for both parent and child.

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See and Learn Phrases 1 Practice Workbook

Published on August 29, 2024January 31, 2026 by Mary Cooney3 Comments

Are you looking to teach your child with (or without) Down Syndrome to read? Or looking to build your child’s expressive vocabulary?

As many of you know, I’m a great fan of the See and Learn Kits from Down Syndrome Education. It was the See and Learn Phrases 1 Kit that launched my son with Down Syndrome into the wonderful world of reading. I began using See and Learn with my son when he 3.5 years old and discovered that 1) learning to read sight words was a great way to build his expressive vocabulary and 2) reading was a very enjoyable activity for him. To see videos of how we used See and Learn, check out this post: Teaching Preschoolers with Down Syndrome to Read with See and Learn.

Naturally, we also used this with the boys in our Down Syndrome co-op. So, to help the busy moms practice See and Learn daily with their kids, I made this homework packet/workbook. And now, with the generous permission of Down Syndrome Education, I’m sharing it with you for FREE.

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First Steps with Phonics, Book 2: a FREE Workbook for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome

Published on August 15, 2024January 30, 2026 by Mary Cooney4 Comments

Here’s Book 2 of First Steps with Phonics. This is an incremental, picture-based introduction to phonics designed for children with Down Syndrome. It’s both Orton-Gillingham and Montessori friendly! Read more about this program and watch some videos here.

If your child is struggling with phonics, give these workbooks a try! Unlike most phonics programs that start with CVC words, this series begins with vowel teams that make one and only one sound, which helps to prevent frustration and confusion in the early stages of decoding.

If your child hasn’t started with phonics, here’s an easy way to start for both parent and child.

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Construction Vehicles Three-Part Cards

Published on July 23, 2024 by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

About this time last year, my son was really into all the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site books. We read them over and over again. So I decided to make him Construction Vehicles Three-Part cards.

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First Steps with Phonics: A FREE Phonics Workbook for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome

Published on July 11, 2024January 30, 2026 by Mary Cooney4 Comments

Is your child ready for phonics? Here’s a free and easy way to try it out!

A year ago, I came across the newly published book Phonics the R-igh-t Way for Children and Adults with Down Syndrome by Judy O’Halloran and Marilee Senior. My son with T21 was already a fluent reader, but I was interested to see if there were any ideas that might help the boys in our Down Syndrome co-op.

What the authors presented, among several great ideas, was a very unique and clever order of teaching the phonograms. Almost all other phonics programs teach the CVC (Consonant-vowel-consonant) words first, such as cat, pig, and dog. However, each of the vowels produce several different sounds. For example, think of the different sounds of A in the words apple, cake, and father.

Judy O’Halloran and Marilee Senior recommend teaching the seven phonograms that make one and only one sound first, to avoid early confusion and frustration. These phonograms are as follows: ay as in say, ai as in rain, ee as in bee, igh as in night, oa as in boat, oe as in toe, and eigh as in eight. Starting with these phonograms also helps a child get used to the idea that multiple letters can make one sound.

Very clever indeed!

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“Bear Wants More” Three-Part Cards

Published on June 21, 2024 by Mary CooneyLeave a comment

My son loves the picture book Bear Wants More by Wilson Karma and all the books in the series. We have borrowed them from the library again and again. So, I made him these Montessori-inspired three-part cards to help him read the names of the animals.

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