Homeschooling for dyslexia and gifted children?

Question

I have b/g twins that are in 7th grade and not getting the help they need in their public school. One is dyslexic and the other is in the gifted class. Both are very intelligent. However the school doesn't know how to deal with either one. I have another child that does fine in the public school. My son is slowly getting left behind due to the dyslexia and my daughter is bored and coming down in grades due to not being challenged. How do you suggest I homeschool the two very different children. And what do you suggest on curriculum?

Answer 1

I homeschool my gifted, dyslexic 5th grader...and I agree, life is never boring!

Because there are so few curriculum choices that fit his needs, I have pulled together a lot of his curriculum through notebooking and lapbooking.  These options allow him to learn and research as deeply as he wants, but he doesn't have to go through the workbooks that either bore or confuse him.  My search through curriculum choices have shown an abundance of material that either makes no sense to a dyslexic person - it's full of "piece by piece" information and is based on rote learning - or material that, although he could handle the writing portion, would bore him silly.

Here's what I've chosen for him for 6th and 7th grade, starting in July:

TRISMS - this is an all-in-one type of curriculum that allows kids to research through history, but also includes literature study, language arts/grammar, writing, geography, culture studies, history of science and math, and a special interest project.  Because the kids study and research according to their level and interests, it would probably work really, really well for both of your kids.  They basically build their own coursebook (or text book, if you will) through their research.  After the first few weeks, kids are often pretty independent with this curriculum, and it keeps them engaged because they get to research according to how they learn best.  It gives a wide range of suggested books and other resources to choose from, most of which should be at your local library.  The first volume, History Makers, is designed as either a 1 or 2 year program for 6th-8th graders.  There are other volumes that reach all the way through high school.

Math - we've been using Math U See, which I've been very pleased with.  For Pre-Algebra on up, we'll be using VideoText Interactive.  Both are very concept based and interactive, and should be something that both your kids could work through.  The lessons are on DVD or video, allowing your kids to work at their own pace.

Science - we use Apologia, partly because it offers a huge range of options, and partly because it offers the course by textbook, CDRom, and MP3.  This is huge for my son, who learns best by hearing but needs to be able to explore the information through different means.  He can read it while listening to it, and then he can explore it through the computer graphics, animations, and lab videos.  Again, this can be taken at his own pace and he can be fairly independent with it.

We use a few other things for foreign languages and such, and he does A LOT with Scout badges.  I supplement pretty much everything with notebooks and lapbooks that allow him to build his own reference manuals and visual organizers.  It does become difficult to keep up with him sometimes, but allowing him the resources to learn independently when I'm not available has been key.

You can do it - I promise!  It takes planning and some good curriculum choices, such as the ones above, but you can definitely do it :-)

Answer 2

Take BOTH to the pediatrician.  For the dyslexic, get referrals for treatment for that type of problem, maybe a learning center that will help him overcome his dyslexia and help him learn how to work with it.  For the other one, get referrals for testing and evaluation for placement into a Montessori program or gifted school.  Once the one child overcomes his dyslexia, he may even show the aptitude to be placed in a gifted program as well.  If the pediatrician won't assist with this, then get another pediatrician.  My daughter's pediatrician referred her to a therapist that specialized in evaluation and testing for Montessori placements.

Answer 3

Since you have 2 children who learn differently, you may need 2 different programs for each child.  Since they are older students, they will be able to do much of the work independently, leaving you a little time to work with both.

Read about these homeschooling methods and see which ones you feel will be good for each child:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Then you can start looking at curriculum.  There are way too many for me to list here, but here are a few good ones that I know of:

http://www.abeka.com

http://www.bjupress.com

http://www.aop.com

http://www.aceministries.com

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com

Switched on schoolhouse is a good computer based program.

http://www.aop.com/sos/

Some good literature based or unit study methods are:

http://www.sonlight.com

http://www.winterpromise.com

http://www.mfwbooks.com/

NATHHAN is an organization that supports special needs homeschoolers:

http://www.nathhan.com

Another one is Little Giant Steps:

http://www.littlegiantsteps.com

Answer 4

Wow, what a challenge for you! The great thing about HSing is identifying your children's strengths, weaknesses and intrests and coming up with a plan that works for each one of them so they both get the best education for them.

The first thing, if you haven't done so already, is go to

www. HSLDA.org and check out what the laws for your state are(assuming you are in the US). From that site you can also find local HSing groups; they are usually a great source of information!

I am sorry to say that I do not have many suggestions as for a certain approach or curriculum to use. That tends to be hit or miss and trial and error for each family. Once you find what your state requirements are you can go to a local teacher supply store or book store and see what they have, that way you can get a hands on look at the books.

Another great place to use as a guide is your states board of education website. They will outline what each grade is to learn each year. I like to use it as a guide since we don't use an actual "grade level" curriculum it keeps us on track and helps my girls if at anytime they will have to go to the local public school.

Answer 5

Some suggestions for your gifted child or both...

1 - I'm not sure if it is too late or not, but look into one of the regional talent search programs.  My gifted son is in one of these and it has been awesome.  See link.

2 - Allow some freedom and student input into the curriculum.

3 - Give your kids support and encouragement in pursuing things they are passionately interested in.

4 - Let them progress at their own speed.

5 - Look into pursuing the Congressional Award for student achievement (also at link below).

Curriculum?  We pick and choose.  For us, one size does not fit all.  We use our local teaching cooperative, Abeka, some software, historical novels, lots of hands on projects...

Our ds is taking the ACT for the second time this spring.

Starting next year we are going to try an online dual credit course through either Stanford, Harvard or IU.  We may try a local community college course as well.

Your kids will not be bored!