Well after about a years brake I am back to ask yet another question about my son.
I posted a few times year befor last (2ed grade) that he was having trouble in school. Some of that WAS the teacher, some was me and Some was my son, as normal a combo of a little of everyone involved!
The last year (3rd grade) was a lot better. His teacher was super grate, and in some ways he came a really long way. That being said he still strugles. His math isnt the best nor his writing. Its not jsut his hand writing, but also his spelling and getting thoughts onto paper. Befor school elt out for the summer his teacher and I sat down and had a really grate talk about him and his learning. We agreed that summer school for his writing would be good, and I would help at home keep up on his math skills.
She (his teacher) Also asked if I had ever wondered if he might have a bit of an LD. I tryed hard to keep from laughing, because I am dyslexic and have asked his teachers (Including her) if he ever showed signs of it and I always got a no from them all. But after her working with my son for a full school year she thought it might be a good idea to go on and have him tested. She felt pretty bad that she didnt have it done sooner. I would like to add here that I am not upset with her at all for not doing this sooner, some times it jsut hard to tell.
Any way thats where we are. He starts summer school for writeing only (Because it had to be eather wriging or math...they cant do both), but I am a little stuck on what I can do to help him at home this summer. I am lucky enough to be able to be at home with my kids all summer long and can divote a lot of time to this. But with my own LD Its is going to be a chalange.
I was hopping that you wise woman (and yes men too) could help me with ideas to help keep his skills he lerned in school this last year, and maybe start him on a few new one that he will need to know next year (Like division). Any web sight or books or other learning programs that would be helpfull.
Blessings and thanks as always for your help
P.S. I dont want to over do it eather. He needs his down/fun time, so I could use a little help wiht Ideas on how to find a ballance
Sorry this was so long
Check to see if your local library has a summer reading program.
Ours is O. evening per week.
Also, you can get him the 4th grade math practice books just about anywhere---Target, Dollar Stores, etc.
They also have reading comprehension workbooks.
Good luck.
type in "writing ideas for kids" in pinterest - tons of great blogs and fun, fresh ideas!
There are cute apps for my Nook to help students with math skills, apps for Ipads and Kindle and Iphones, do you have one of those? OR websites like Math First and other websites. Find a program that he enjoys doing and that offers fun rewards. Ask his teacher to give you some suggestions and to tell you exactly what he needs to work on in math, computation(multiplication, addition, subtraction?) and or word problems. She should be willing to write down exactly what he needs the most work on, and she may have great ideas for you!
I used to buy me kids a workbook at the beginning of each summer and push them to do it especially in the car when we drove on vacations! When they finished the entire book they got five dollars (or what ever) do not pay by the page as they feel they can stop doing the work once they get one payment. He has to finish the whole workbook!
It seems like with the summer school for writing, what you've got to work on mostly is math, am I right?
Math is hidden all over the place. There are things you can do, that he might not even know is him studying math! Like baking. Make muffins together, and double the recipe - you are adding fractions. Have him go to the grocery store with you, and let him keep a tally of how much money you are spending as you put things in the basket (which is a good money-saving exercise, anyway!). Now you are rounding (up to the nearest half dollar, maybe?), and doing addition with decimals. Does he have an allowance, or at least a piggy bank? Figuring out how much money he has, and how much he wants to spend, and how much he'll have left over, is math, too.
We have enjoyed the Kumon workbooks, too - they are available at a regular bookstore. There are some for lots of grade levels and subjects. Also, duck into a teacher supply store, and explain the same thing to them, that you have told us. They will probably have lots of helpful ideas!
Mostly, though - try to have fun with it. Do something YOU find interesting, too, and that will speak a lot to him. He'll have more fun with it, if you are having fun with it, too.
I hope this helps a little bit, anyway. Have a great summer!
It is important to keep it fun and not push him too much, or else you risk having him resist it. Try to find some computer games that he might like that are math based. For writing, ask him to keep a daily journal. Even if all he does is write what he did that day, it will help him work on his spelling and grammar. Likewise, reading more can make a big difference too, since he'll be exposed to more words and sentences. Sign up for your library's summer reading program, so he's encouraged to to read more by earning prizes. Go regularly to the library so he can pick out new books and stay motivated.
I sell Discovery Toys and we have a few board games that are really fun for children in this age group. We have a couple that really focus on spelling and one or two that are wonderful for teaching math (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing). You can view them on my website at http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao
For reading/spelling, consider Memo Spell, Wiz Kidz, and Wordy Speedy Spell
For math, Number Rings is excellent. Take All, Reversi, and Tricky Fingers will also help with general thinking and reasoning skills that are part of the foundation for strong math skills. If you have questions about any of the products, please don't hesitate to call me.
