The Battle Rages On.... Update On Jay

                                  

I know that this is a subject that I have spoken about before but as it is one that We struggle with each and every day. Odds are this will not be the last post about it. 

            Jays struggle with 2nd grade reading, writing ,spelling and sounding out words .

We have been working on different 

Styles of learning tools.

There are so many different tools out there

These days. The internet provides

So much that I never knew was out there.

We checked out a few sites

Not anything that was great until

We found Education.com

Where you can get great print outs for free!

You can also sign up to get even more for

A very small monthly price.

I would recommended this site to everyone

Homeschooling or not.

This site can help build your child skills

And remind them why learning is fun!

               ( Example of some of the First Grade Sight Words)

     

      

      I know these struggles are not Jays and Jays alone  there are millions of children out there fighting the same fight he is. 

I am so proud of him in the way he works so hard to learn everything he needs to know. 

His reading has gotten better in the past few weeks and I hope that soon we can move on to 2nd grade reading sight words. 

          

    I know that with continued support and one on one teaching that he will be on the right grade level sooner then Sylvan Learning Center or any where else he had been tested with in the past. Could have hoped to have him on. 

        
                              ( I love how much he is enjoying learning )
                            Thanks to Education.com and there print out!

                                

                                      ( Jay with his flash card sight words)

                                                      

      I have added some helpful links for those who have been struggling with the same issues with their own children and please feel free to email me anytime for help or support. 

                                          Thank you to everyone who has been there for us in the past few months as we started our home school journey and those who have emailed educational links to us. To help ensure that we are using all of our resources to help him in his struggle. He is loving learning and I hope he keeps that love for learning for the rest of his life!  

                    Just Remember You Are Not Alone! 

Truth Of The Struggle

       The truth behind the " No Child Left Behind ."  In North Carolina this " program " is to ensure that children don't get left behind. The North Carolina Public schools failed my children, Especially my son. The truth behind this program is IT DOESN'T HELP THE KIDS! I was held back in first grade for failure to learn how to read, my husband was held back in first grade for issues reading. We survived being held back and for the most part went on to have no problems reading. We both needed more time to learn, more one on one attention. The " No Children Left Behind " act/program fails the kids who truly need to be left behind. The kids who for what ever reason never learned what they should in whatever grade. Leaving a child behind is not a bad thing in fact I know it's a good thing. Whatever happened to doing what's best for the kids? When did learning become about statics and making the school look good?

        It breaks my heart my son's reading level is a 1.5 ( 1st grade in the 5th month of the year. ) If Jay ( my son ) were in public school he would be ending his 2nd grade year. He would be going into 3rd grade with a reading level of 1.5 and to the public school system that is okay. This fact is a huge reason why we decided to year round homeschool. ( or as its known in Kansas we placed our children in a year round private school ) My son struggles with reading and the basic stuff that he should have learned by now. So we start at the beginning and have been teaching Jay nouns, verbs. The basics of reading spelling and writing. His struggle breaks my heart. Noun work with his sister seems to really help him. He adores her and she loves to help him. It's a different approach to learning but it seems to work very well for our kids. My kids have not been " left behind " we just decided to redo their 2nd grade and 3rd grade year to help them. Learn what they didn't learn from the 1st and 2nd grades ( for Jay ) and 2nd and 3rd grades. ( For Hayley ) It is needed for their success in school in the future. Luckly I have kids who have gained a love for school and a passion for never giving up. 

It breaks my heart to think so many kids in the public school system are pushed onto a grade. That they shouldn't be going to yet, thst they aren't getting the help they need. Due to the failure of the teachers , system and honestly by the parents. In the end it is the parents that need to start standing up for their children's education. You can help your kids succeed in school you just have to stand up for them. 

"  What is right is not always popular but what is popular is not always right. " Albert Einstein 

Jay working on learning nouns on our white board. 

Hayley helping teach the Jay about nouns

Why we decided to year round homeschool

     

     Catching Our Kids Up! 

   Deciding to Year Round Homeschool is not for the faint of heart! .... There are MANY reasons we knew it was right for us.

What it means to our family might not be what it means to other. Homeschooling this is for us is about catching our kids up. They had a very rockie past with being "homeschooled" by a former step mother. Do to their experience with her they are very behind there with school. We have tested both kids with Sylvan Learning Center and the results well they were not good. Jay is on a 1.5 grade level when in a public school he would be going into 3rd grade. Hayley is on a 2nd grade almost the beginning of 3rd grade level. When she should be going into  4th grade. It breaks my heart to see how far behind they are due to someone elses failure. That is one of the largest reasons why we not only decided to year round homeschool. It is also the reason we have to year round homeschool. If we didn't then they would never catch up. They need alot of extra attention. One on one help to build the skills they should know by now. It's  alot of work day in and day out but it. Will be worth it to know my kids are on the grade levels that they should be.

   The kids Enjoy Picking Their Days Off

        It means long days and for us , it means that we can't take breaks the way alot of people do. We have to home school 6 days a week on most weeks. We have to do everything at each kids own speed. There are some days that we get done at 3pm and some days we go right up until 5pm. But at the end of each day we are all happy and the kids are proud of how far they have come. They are proud of the things they have learned. They get to pick days off. They get to have fun learning. It's hard work but there is nothing in this world that would change our minds about year round home schooling.

   We Prayed About It, let their faith grow

        We prayed about year round homeschooling for about 6 months before deciding to go ahead with it. We as a family believe that God should be the foundation for education. Our Catholic faith is a huge part of our life. We want our kids to learn every day the joys of our faith and to grow there love for God snd the Holy Mother. We sat down and talked as a family to our kids and asked what they want. How they want to homeschool and what subjects they want to learn. They get the freedom to pick fun classes, to pick what class work they do each day. ( luckly we have kids,who know the basic subjects must be done every day then they get to do the ones they want to do. )

   Give The kids Freedom To Pick What They Learn!

They get to help design activities and lessons every day so to them even on the subjects they struggle in are made fun.We believe in structure and that just because we are on school and we must do class work. That doesn't mean we can't have fun, do field trips, explore the world around us. Discover history as its meant to be learned. Learn the fun of science and grow there imaginations.


                 

Freedom To Let The Kids Learn Their Own Way!

         We wanted the freedom for our kids to be able to learn the way they want in the time frame that is best for them. Every child is different and learns at their own speed and own way. We believe our kids need to be able to learn the way they learn the best not the way the school teach. We are against common core and don't think it's right to attempt to make children learn one way of doing everything. There are many ways to learn. Just because one child gets the right answer one way doesn't mean a nother will get the right answer that way.

Our Believes About What Shouldn't Be!

     As a family we wanted to be able to spend time together. With traditional public school it seemed my kids were not being given the one on one attention. They need and they were moving to slow in some subjects and to fast in others. The kids bringing guns to school. The schools going on " lock down " every other week due to strangers attempts to enter the school. It was just all too much. Too much worry too much stress and too many fears. Not to count the teachers being caught for sexual relations and the fact that we don't feel our children need to learn " sex education." Until they are personally ready for it and I'm sorry but my children will not be ready for a long time. We wanted the freedom to not have to pull our children out of school due to a PCS. Our kids get to know other kids , build relationships and bonds. They get to play sports , they get to just be kids and not robots!

We don't believe in long school breaks for the kids. They get to pick a few days every month they want to have with no school. They get a say in their school year and they absolutely love it. Children deserve say in their schooling. We believe they want to learn when they get more say in their education.

Though our reasons might seem strange to some they mean alot to our family!