Sandwichs and Phonics

Today is National Sandwich day and on Saturday I promised to share how to teaching phonics using sandwiches.  Several years ago I became acquainted with the Stevenson Learning Skills program for reading language arts. The Stevenson program uses mnemonics and multisensory methods to teach reading, grammar and writing.  The Stevenson program uses a very controlled vocabulary to give students early success in reading.  That is one thing that makes this program good for struggling readers. The first two groups of words learned are Peanut Butter and Jelly words and Layer Cake words.

PBJ words are CVVC

Peanut Butter and Jelly Word

Peanut Butter and Jelly words follow the consonants-vowel-vowel-consonants pattern. The bread is the consonants and the vowel digraphs are peanut butter and jelly. PBJ words begin with the following digraphs or vowell friends: ai, ea, ee and oa. Only the fir The visual clues help children remember when a vowel is long and when it is short.

Layer Cake word C-V-C-Silent e

Layer Cake Words

Layer Cake words are also contain long vowels. The follow the consonant-vowel-consonant and silent e pattern. Cake is an example of a layer cake word. The e is like icing on the cake and does not make a sound.

Today at Homeschool Benefits: Be sure to check out today’s article about resources about Thanksgiving.

November is Here

November is here! Theme ideas for November are posted at HomeschoolBenefits.org. Next week I will posting information for Thanksgiving and other November themes at HSB. Some of the highlights for November include Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day, and of course election day.  Did you know that Nov. 3rd is national sandwich day. That is one of the many fun “holidays” I discovered.  Actually, sandwiches can be a great teaching tool. Good way to teach fractions, following instructions and even phonics. If you are wondering how to teach phonics with sandwiches be sure to check back Monday.

Can you believe there are just two more months left in 2008? Things have been very busy around our house and time has flown by. Speaking of time don’t forget to set your clocks back tonight before going to bed. Of course, you can wait until tomorrow to change your clocks. I guess that would make it easier to get to church on time.

Today is National Author’s day. Take some time today to read your favorite author or even write something yourself. Have a great weekend.   — DH

Manadatory Vaccinations and Homeschooling

Apparently, there is a rise in homeschooling in Mississippi that some are attributing to the state’s vaccination laws. All states require vaccinations but it seems that Mississippi’s policy is stricter than most. Mississippi only allows exemptions for medical reasons.  Other states allow exemptions for religious and personal reasons.  Some officals would like to extend Mississippi’s manadtory vaccination policy to homeschooled children. The reason is that of the cases of measeles reported in the past year 91% where unvaccinated homeschoolers. Interestingly, enough none of theses cases where reported in Mississippi.  Yet, officials in Mississippi cite cases in Illinosis, Washington and other states to support their argument that unvaccinated children pose a threat to other children.

While, I support vaccination for personal reasons, I also support a parent’s right to choose. So what do you think?

Welcome!

I have decided to set up a blog for my education related writings. I may still have some on my personal blog. Also, be sure to check out my professional blog.

October is Learning Disabilities Awareness month. Making others aware of learning disabilities is one of my reasons for writing.  Personally, I know the struggles of living with learning disabilities. I have dysgraphia, dyslexia and ADHD.

Growing up it was very frustrating when I had ideas in my head that I could not make appear on paper.  Many of my teacher refused to understand and preferred to punish my poor handwriting by either giving me poor grades or making me re-do the work. I even had one teacher who delighted in ripping my papers up in front of the class. Of course two of the worst tortures I endured in were the weekly spelling tests and penmanship exercises. I was constantly re-doing penmanship papers and writing all the words I missed on a spelling test 10 times each.  Of course, neither of these punishments helped.  In fact, they made me hate writing and do anything to get out of writing.  Imagine my surprise when as an adult I discovered I enjoyed writing.

So, why am I writing this? I write about my own experiences in an effort to help others become aware. I write to help parents and teachers understand that child who is smart but cannot write legibly or struggles to read. I write because I can. I write because my secret weapon the computer has allowed me to foil the evil plans of my nemesis dysgraphia/dyslexia. (OK, I know that is overly dramatic but it was fun to write). I write because I am no longer hindered by my inability write legibly and poor spelling.  I’m sure this will surprise my senior English teacher but I write because I want to.

Want to learn more about learning disabilities? Check out today’s feature on HomeschoolBenefits.org.