Light Bulbs

Scott's accomplished a lot in the past 2 weeks. We have worked a little, ok-a-lot, everyday. He's co-operative and doesn't complain. We are about done with Level 2. Level 1 is phonemic awareness. Level 2 introduces the letters, sounds they make, digraphs, phrasing and fluency.
I had one set-back in Level 1 with his concentration. Next time we sat down, he was great. We finished the book.

The only set back I have had in Level 2 was when I showed him the lesson that introduces the who, the what, and the where phrase (if you are a 2 D thinker that's the subject and verb). He said he didn't get it. The next day I was anxious if we would ever get past this. When we finally sat down again, I backed off and I told him just to mark the "who" and forget the other phrases for now. He said that he had figured out the tricks of the whole lesson and completed it quickly and accurately.

His lessons are with tiles printed with letters or combinations of letters that make a sound, ei... qu, wh, th, ch... , his fingers, yellow lined pads, and blue work sheets. His says he likes yellow paper and the blue work sheets, which come with the curriculum, better than white paper. The good thing about having yellow pads around the house instead of spiral notebooks is that for my left-handed son, the wire spiral doesn't get in the way. This is the first time Scott has COMPLETED work sheets. And I must say he is doing a very good job with them.

He is holding a pencil much better now. He likes using the pencils that you twist the point out. I found triangle crayons for him that "gently" guide your fingers to the right position. He has enjoyed coloring this week. I framed one of his most creative action guy drawings and put it on my night table.

This is an interesting observation. Now I have noticed some d-b confusion. Fortunately he hears himself and recognizes this error quickly. Remember before I said there was no d-b confusion. I am figuring the reason he didn't have it before was perhaps because he never got to a level where he had a chance to make a mistake like that or perhaps and more likely, there was always a picture of a dog, boy, or a lad to give him a context clue. There are no drawings in the Barton system. You can't fool your way to the next level. Every letter matters. I have not seen any other confusion or reversals yet. Letters and ideas are added in a very controlled way, where the student can master one concept before learning a competing new one. Another learning strategy in this program is that lower-case letters are on the tiles. All the other reading curricula and spelling games in my house emphasize capital letters.

I continue to read out loud to Scott. By the Shores of Silver Lake got interrupted with the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Scott loved the diary. Books like that get him excited and motivated to learn to read.

Scott wants to be an inventor of video games. Now he is talking about college and taking algebra (of all things!). John told him that being an inventor is great, but he should have a back up profession. He came up with being a politician! George Washington, Jefferson, Kennedy, and Woodrow Wilson were all dyslexic.

I can see why the Barton Reading program uses a light bulb for their icon. I have seen all kinds of light bulbs go off these past two weeks!