Writing Practice

Writing Practice
The Schoolroom

Welcome to Homeschooling Sam and other adventures...

Hello friends, fellow homeschooling parents, and prospective homeschooling parents, this blog is for you!

My hope is that this blog will bless you as you create your own adventure homeschooling your child who has Down syndrome. My plan is to provide you with information that has helped me successfully homeschool my son, Sam. Every child is unique, so you will need to discover what works best for your child and situation. However, perhaps something you discover here might start you on your way or lead you in a new direction. Homeschooling a child who has Down syndrome can be a joyful adventure and one you will surely treasure.

Mother of Pearls


Curriculum, Educational Materials, And Such That I Have Used and Liked

The following is a list of some of the curriculum, materials, toys and such that I have used and liked. I have tried to place them in order from birth onward. However, there is so much overlap in teaching children with Down syndrome (because their skills tend to be scattered) that age limits that might apply for typically developing children don't tend to provide absolute guidance in selecting materials for our kids. My philosphy is to find curriculum or materials that meet the needs of a particular child's skill level no matter his/her age and move forward from there. It is important that your child have success in learning so that his/her confidence and love of learning will thrive. So choose items and curriculum that challenge your child while also allowing your child to be successful often.



Books, books, books

-books with rhyme schemes

-books that have touch & feel component



Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles

Toys that provide musical feedback

Toys that promote cause & effect

Toys that promote pretend play

Kindermusick(http://www.kindermusik.com/)

Lekotek (http://www.lekotek.com/)

Love and Learning

( www.loveandlearning.com/)

See and Learn Reading Program http://www.dseusa.org/

Preschool software computer games

Earobics (http://www.earobics.com/ )

Handheld Leapster Games(sequencing, math, alphabet, spelling practice)

Board games which promote counting, turntaking, etc. like "Sorry" or "Candyland"

Teaching Reading to Children with Down Syndome" by Patricia Oelwein

"Bob Books" phonetic readers by Scholastic

Site word reading books that provide lots of word repetition and site word flashcards

Bailey's Bookhouse reading software by Edmark

Bailey's Bookhouse math software by Edmark

Luke's Life List by Joyce Herzog //www.joyceherzog.com/ under "teacher helps"

Luke's School List by Joyce Herzong http://www.joyceherzog.com/ under "teacher helps"

"Fine Motor Skills in children with Down Syndrome" by Maryanne Bruni

Handwriting Without Tears (http://www.hwtears.com/)

Get Set for the Code, Go for the Code, Explode the Code phonetic writing series

-http://www.starfall.com/ reading website

"Teaching Math to People who have Down Syndrome," Book 1 by DeAnna Horstmeier

"What Your 1st Grader(2nd grader, etc.)Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch Jr.

Kumon Math (http://www.kumanbooks.com/) Mazes, Dot to Dots, puzzles, as well as number sense learning

Personal journal writing that begins with drawing, move to letters, words, etc. through the years

Magnetic letters for spelling practice and magnetic words for sentence building.

Copywork practice(many workbooks available)

Number Skills Development for Teenagers with Down syndrome(11-16 yrs) by Bird & Buckley

Reading and Writing Development for Teenagers with Down syndrome(11-16 yrs)by Bird & Buckley

Kumon Math Addition and Subtraction Workbooks-great to use with number line addition and subtraction and/or with calculator math addition and subtraction.

A talking calculator is great for the older child who is struggling with adding and subtracting. (see blog post on the subject 11-17-11)

*Explode the Code Online www.explodethecodeonline.com is fantastic! (Read blog post on this curriculum)

Bob Books App for IPAD



Friday, February 22, 2013

IPAD and APPS for education

I finally have an IPAD that I purchased largely for educational apps for my child with Ds and in anticipation of the upcoming adoption of our 8 year old with a developmental disability.  While there are certainly plenty of apps available, I was largely disappointed.  While there are lots of games to entertain and there is always some learning in games, I haven't found a great deal of teaching that occurs via apps rather more practice and most with very little repetition opportunities.  There just doesn't seem to be enough intermediate steps between advancing from one concept to the next, rather big leaps are made that most typical kids can handle, but my child needs instruction to be broken down into much smaller steps to progress.  I am longing for a online math curriculum that provides small step by step math instruction with loads of repetition once a student is beyond recognizing numbers and number sense and is ready to add and subtract.  There are so many possibilities and simple alterations that could be made to apps and online programs for typically developing kids that would  make a huge difference for our visual/hands on learners.  What I want is an Explode the Code Workbook and online version but one that teaches Math. 

I do very much like the Bob Book series apps.  Great graphics and the practice and spelling component is fabulous.  If you like these, you'll like Explode the Code Online.
BTW, I receive nothing for promoting Explode the Code; I just really like it.

No comments:

Post a Comment