Teaching Reading

I guess it's not a surprise to any of you that our daughter has taken longer than most to learn how to read.  We've tried everything (well, I have), going through quite a few curricula. (That's the plural of curriculum--see here.  Who knew?  Not me, until now.)  We are now using Level 1 of All About Reading and it seems to be working.  Maybe it's working because Luci is just ready for it now.

Dyslexia is one of the struggles we've diagnosed, which was rather apparent today in the switching of "d" and "b" throughout.  That is a classic sign.  Until a few months ago, entire words were moving on Luci and she could not sound out even the easiest of words.  I am so thankful she is overcoming some of this!  Her brain has developed more, I suppose, and is able to comprehend.  The other struggle is Auditory Processing Disorder, which is closely related to dyslexia.  Dyslexia covers so much, that it is all intertwined and quite a puzzle to figure out in this little girl.

Today Luci had her LPS (Littlest Pet Shop) characters reading.  She set them up in a "classroom" and had them come up two-by-two to read each line.  They got a little crazy and I had to have them start over a few times!  This method works well with Luci.  If we had more children at this stage, it would be quite crazy trying to "get it all in," but with one, it is not too vexing for the mama.

Four LPS characters were stuck behind at their desks, taking tests, according to Luci.

Luci-isms

This has been a productive week for my creator of Luci-isms (that's Luci, if you weren't too sure).

First:

Luci was in the bathroom, um, going to the bathroom, when I heard her yell hysterically:

Mama!  Come quick!  Mama!  Come quick!

I thought that perhaps she didn't get there in time and needed some help.

Mama!  Quick!  

She had a magazine in her hands, and said,

I think I read something!

She did, too!  She read part of a hair color ad.  She was so proud, and so am I.  It's been a long road, lots of phonics and sight words, and nearly every reading program known to man, and now the lightbulb has come on and the reading has started!

Second:

When Life gives you Lemons,

You make something with the Lemons.

Third:

JT and Luci were playing, when Luci came running and fussing to me.

Mama!  JT is saying bad words.  He is calling me names!  He said, he said, he said I was a (whispering this last word)   democrat!

Reading!

It's not great literature, but it was great this morning to hear Luci READING this Dr. Seuss book to me.

We have tried every phonics/dyslexic program/method out there, it seems.  And it's all finally starting to click with Luci. 

I am so proud of her, and she is so happy and tells me, "My brain is clicking!"  We are over the moon about this scholastic achievement!

For the Ladies...

Take the Quiz here!

The description given was pretty accurate...

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Dyslexia Can Be Fun!

Bet you've never heard that one before.

Yesterday we were in town and saw this sign:Bryan read it out loud to us:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Democrat!

We've been studying the upcoming election, can you tell?

photo from Amazon.com

My Baby Is Reading!

We have fortune cookies as part of our New Year's tradition. Luci opened hers, and read it herself! Here's what she said:

"It says: Nander babba ditta ditta bonk."