This was amazing!! I just sent this video to my daughter’s teachers. We go to a wonderful progressive school in NYC that is extremely supportive. The knowledge and information in this video was fabulous. Thank you! 🙏🏾❤️
Wow. I am so blown away. I recently decided to pull my daughters from school because I felt they needed individualized instruction because they were being pushed through the topics and grades without mastering concepts. Also, my 7-yr-old struggles with self-esteem issues related to reading and math. She's forever comparing herself to the rest of her class and finding herself reading at a lower reading level than the other children. Of course, her lack of reading fluency has an effect on other subject in school, and she interprets this to mean that she is not smart. Additionally, when she began seeing a speech pathologist for help with her stuttering and enunciation challenges, she felt certain that this proved her lack of intelligence. She refused to practice speech exercises with me at home, and said, "Mom, I'm so dumb that I don't even know how to talk! That's a baby problem, not a big kid problem!" And of course, I could not seem to convince her otherwise. The crazy thing is that she is the one that blows us away with her amazing, creative ideas. She is such a deep and yet 'out-of-the-box' thinker. She is so delightfully inventive and different, but she is so intimidated at school that she is rarely able to really express her talents there. At home, she is constantly creating, sewing, building, painting, and inventing. She isn't held back by her fluency level when she is creating, and her confidence in working with her hands is so beautiful. Similarly, she has a keen interest in science, nature, and social injustices, and she has so many ideas but often struggles when she tries to express them. We do work on reading regularly at home, but it is slow and difficult and very frustrating for all parties involved. Frequently, reading practice results in weeping, and sometimes my daughter gets teary too :) I decided that we needed more one-on-one time teaching her and that the school day was really preventing us from putting in the hours that she needs. I clicked on this RUclips video on the off-chance that it might have some helpful suggestions for homeschooling a struggling reader. Now I'm convinced that I need to learn more about dyslexia. My 7-yr-old has most of the signs that were mentioned. And her father is dyslexic. And just as I was about to feel ashamed that I had not figured this out sooner (even though my husband is dyslexic), I remembered that Marianne herself said that she didn't know right away the first time either. Thank you Marianne for sharing! I'm so excited to explore your resources! I'm so glad I found this video!!!
I am sorry to say that I hear your story all the time, Carlie. The schools are failing our bright, creative dyslexic kids. I am so glad that you are finding your way out of that. Remember, everything your daughter has gone through will strengthen her in the end. Having a caring parent to advocate (like you) is the number one factor that determines success in the life of a dyslexic.
I just needed to drop in once more to say that 5 months after watching this video, our lives are entirely changed by it. I am so grateful to the ihomeschool network for these wonderful podcasts that are so helpful to a rookie homeschooler like me. I am forever thankful to Marianne Sunderland for sharing her experience and expertise here, so that families like ours, struggling in the dark, could find our way to the help that we need. This podcast is the reason I began to research dyslexia, and it is the source of advice that has helped us most. The more I researched dyslexia, the more I clearly understood my daughter, Summer. When I pulled her from school, just 5 months ago, her self esteem was non-existent. We discovered that she had been carefully hiding her challenges from her teacher, who regularly reassured me that Summer was fine and doing very well at school. On the contrary, when I began to homeschool her, Summer fiercely objected to lessons, becoming uncharacteristically angry and obstinate, and I knew it was because she did not want me to discover how deep her challenges truly were. She was angry at being exposed and she seemed to hate the world. What I discovered caused me to feel a little like a failure, myself. At almost 8yrs old, Summer still struggled with individual letter names and sounds, as well as with numbers. She did not understand the value of any number over 10. She could not properly write a letter or number to save her life, let alone write anything legible. I decided to order a children's book about dyslexia and I nonchalantly read it to Summer. I will never forget the way she looked at me like she had just discovered something amazing and she said, "Mom, is dyslexia really a real thing?" "Yes", I replied, "Why?" "Well", she continued thoughtfully, "If this is really true, then I think that maybe I have dyslexia because I'm just like the people in the book and that would mean that I might not actually be stupid." Summer's self-confidence began to blossom that day. Based on Marianne's advice, I ordered All About Reading and All About Spelling right away. I also ordered RightStart Math for her. These 2 programs have been a godsend for her. Once Summer knew she was dyslexic, she was much more open to going back to the basics. It was still very difficult (and often still is), but because we know what to expect, there are far fewer tears and we really celebrate the successes. We focus on concepts, rather than written work, and Summer is really learning. Recently she informed me that she is actually pretty good at math (Wow!) Last week she even picked up a book at bedtime and said "Mom, I think I would like to read the story tonight." (Cue tears) I was hesitant to take Marianne's advice to try cursive writing, but one day I finally asked Summer if she wanted to practice cursive instead of her regular Handwriting Without Tears printing book (which we daily did WITH tears) and she was eager. Well, we have been practicing cursive ever since. Summer amazed herself when she wrote her name correctly, in cursive, on first try. I took Marianne's advice to focus on Summer's strengths too, and we enrolled her in sewing lessons and she just seems to glow when she is sewing or wearing her homemade apparel. She knows she has a talent, and she loves it. As for me, I have bought the recommended books and am reading as much as I can about dyslexia. I am planning to take the Orton-Gillingham introductory course this summer. I'm also gleaning much from Marianne's websites. I'm constantly surprised at how much there is to learn, but I'm on the right path, and that's what matters. We are still very much at the beginning of this path, but I feel like I have my real daughter back. Summer is finally comfortable in her skin, and enjoying her childhood in a way that I don't think she has been able to do since kindergarten began, almost 3 years ago. It may sound a little dramatic, but this podcast honestly altered the trajectory of my little girl's life. I know now that whether or not she ever becomes a strong reader, she certainly has a full life ahead of her. Sorry for the wordy comment, but I needed to express just what a difference you have made in my family's life. Thank you.
Carlie McCracken What a great comment to read! Thanks for coming back to share what you're learned from this particular hangout with Marianne Sunderland . We wish you the best for your daughter!
This was amazing!! I just sent this video to my daughter’s teachers. We go to a wonderful progressive school in NYC that is extremely supportive. The knowledge and information in this video was fabulous. Thank you! 🙏🏾❤️
Can you please help an easierv at for retention on learning to read and write with sight words and sentence structure
I loved this! +Marianne Sunderland -- you are so wise and I learned so much.
Wow. I am so blown away. I recently decided to pull my daughters from school because I felt they needed individualized instruction because they were being pushed through the topics and grades without mastering concepts. Also, my 7-yr-old struggles with self-esteem issues related to reading and math. She's forever comparing herself to the rest of her class and finding herself reading at a lower reading level than the other children. Of course, her lack of reading fluency has an effect on other subject in school, and she interprets this to mean that she is not smart. Additionally, when she began seeing a speech pathologist for help with her stuttering and enunciation challenges, she felt certain that this proved her lack of intelligence. She refused to practice speech exercises with me at home, and said, "Mom, I'm so dumb that I don't even know how to talk! That's a baby problem, not a big kid problem!" And of course, I could not seem to convince her otherwise. The crazy thing is that she is the one that blows us away with her amazing, creative ideas. She is such a deep and yet 'out-of-the-box' thinker. She is so delightfully inventive and different, but she is so intimidated at school that she is rarely able to really express her talents there. At home, she is constantly creating, sewing, building, painting, and inventing. She isn't held back by her fluency level when she is creating, and her confidence in working with her hands is so beautiful. Similarly, she has a keen interest in science, nature, and social injustices, and she has so many ideas but often struggles when she tries to express them. We do work on reading regularly at home, but it is slow and difficult and very frustrating for all parties involved. Frequently, reading practice results in weeping, and sometimes my daughter gets teary too :) I decided that we needed more one-on-one time teaching her and that the school day was really preventing us from putting in the hours that she needs.
I clicked on this RUclips video on the off-chance that it might have some helpful suggestions for homeschooling a struggling reader. Now I'm convinced that I need to learn more about dyslexia. My 7-yr-old has most of the signs that were mentioned. And her father is dyslexic. And just as I was about to feel ashamed that I had not figured this out sooner (even though my husband is dyslexic), I remembered that Marianne herself said that she didn't know right away the first time either. Thank you Marianne for sharing! I'm so excited to explore your resources! I'm so glad I found this video!!!
Thrilled that this hangout helped you, Carlie!
I am sorry to say that I hear your story all the time, Carlie. The schools are failing our bright, creative dyslexic kids. I am so glad that you are finding your way out of that. Remember, everything your daughter has gone through will strengthen her in the end. Having a caring parent to advocate (like you) is the number one factor that determines success in the life of a dyslexic.
I just needed to drop in once more to say that 5 months after watching this video, our lives are entirely changed by it. I am so grateful to the ihomeschool network for these wonderful podcasts that are so helpful to a rookie homeschooler like me. I am forever thankful to Marianne Sunderland for sharing her experience and expertise here, so that families like ours, struggling in the dark, could find our way to the help that we need. This podcast is the reason I began to research dyslexia, and it is the source of advice that has helped us most. The more I researched dyslexia, the more I clearly understood my daughter, Summer. When I pulled her from school, just 5 months ago, her self esteem was non-existent. We discovered that she had been carefully hiding her challenges from her teacher, who regularly reassured me that Summer was fine and doing very well at school. On the contrary, when I began to homeschool her, Summer fiercely objected to lessons, becoming uncharacteristically angry and obstinate, and I knew it was because she did not want me to discover how deep her challenges truly were. She was angry at being exposed and she seemed to hate the world. What I discovered caused me to feel a little like a failure, myself. At almost 8yrs old, Summer still struggled with individual letter names and sounds, as well as with numbers. She did not understand the value of any number over 10. She could not properly write a letter or number to save her life, let alone write anything legible. I decided to order a children's book about dyslexia and I nonchalantly read it to Summer. I will never forget the way she looked at me like she had just discovered something amazing and she said, "Mom, is dyslexia really a real thing?" "Yes", I replied, "Why?" "Well", she continued thoughtfully, "If this is really true, then I think that maybe I have dyslexia because I'm just like the people in the book and that would mean that I might not actually be stupid." Summer's self-confidence began to blossom that day.
Based on Marianne's advice, I ordered All About Reading and All About Spelling right away. I also ordered RightStart Math for her. These 2 programs have been a godsend for her. Once Summer knew she was dyslexic, she was much more open to going back to the basics. It was still very difficult (and often still is), but because we know what to expect, there are far fewer tears and we really celebrate the successes. We focus on concepts, rather than written work, and Summer is really learning. Recently she informed me that she is actually pretty good at math (Wow!) Last week she even picked up a book at bedtime and said "Mom, I think I would like to read the story tonight." (Cue tears) I was hesitant to take Marianne's advice to try cursive writing, but one day I finally asked Summer if she wanted to practice cursive instead of her regular Handwriting Without Tears printing book (which we daily did WITH tears) and she was eager. Well, we have been practicing cursive ever since. Summer amazed herself when she wrote her name correctly, in cursive, on first try. I took Marianne's advice to focus on Summer's strengths too, and we enrolled her in sewing lessons and she just seems to glow when she is sewing or wearing her homemade apparel. She knows she has a talent, and she loves it. As for me, I have bought the recommended books and am reading as much as I can about dyslexia. I am planning to take the Orton-Gillingham introductory course this summer. I'm also gleaning much from Marianne's websites. I'm constantly surprised at how much there is to learn, but I'm on the right path, and that's what matters.
We are still very much at the beginning of this path, but I feel like I have my real daughter back. Summer is finally comfortable in her skin, and enjoying her childhood in a way that I don't think she has been able to do since kindergarten began, almost 3 years ago. It may sound a little dramatic, but this podcast honestly altered the trajectory of my little girl's life. I know now that whether or not she ever becomes a strong reader, she certainly has a full life ahead of her. Sorry for the wordy comment, but I needed to express just what a difference you have made in my family's life.
Thank you.
Carlie McCracken What a great comment to read! Thanks for coming back to share what you're learned from this particular hangout with Marianne Sunderland . We wish you the best for your daughter!