Dyslexic

When you realize that the way you are teaching just isn't working. Not saying that every child has this issue but after so much research I have realized and have been told before that my daughter is dyslexic. This only means that i need to change how I teach her and nothing else. So while she is working i am trying to figure out what works best for her. Although i wish it was just stamped on her! 

Background: If you ever struggled with reading or spelling or can relate on how this all feels. I was so mad at my mother when she held me back in 3rd grade because I was not a good reader. Although I realize know that, that year i was determined to figure out how to read better and with the extra help in school I did learn ways that helped me. I have watched enough shows on how dyslexia affects people in different ways that I to am dyslexic. No i have never been diagnosed nor do i wish to pay someone $$$$$ to tell me I am. I have also realized and my husband has realized that he to is affected. He was great in school as long as he didn't have to write or keep notebooks. I was opposite the only way i could remember was to keep notes and highlight in many different colors and rewrite my notes each night that i had taken that day. For those of you who are reading this you may say well a lot of people do that and this is just one example of how i coped. 

Today: So we have started some programs with our daughter and have seen some great gains in a day. But i feel like it is always 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Just because she learned it today doesn't mean she is going to remember it tomorrow or even in 20 minutes from now. So we do a lot of work over and over and over again and then we break and go back to see just how much she has remembered. We are hopefully that one day she will learn ways to help herself when she is struggling on something new and we are hoping that we can help her train her brain so both the left and right side work together. 

She is one amazing and loved kid no matter how hard it is for her to learn and no matter how much we have to do things again and again. 

For those of you out there with kids with dyslexia hang on it is a journey. It is not always easy but you have to keep trying. I will never give up on my daughter or any of my kids. I hope they know just how much I love them and try to do the best for them!

Vacation

Everyone deserves a little time away now and then! We try and go on vacation at least once a year. Thanks to my sister having a time share that we are able to use, it makes it a lot easier to vacation. A place to sleep is your biggest cost then eating out. We have always been very frugal or cheap! When we are traveling we normally stop at a grocery store and buy bread, sliced meat, cheese and a bottle of ranch dressing. That is just one way we save. This year we are going to Myrtal beach. Our 3 kids will be more then happy to spend every day at the beach and in the resort pool but because we homeschool I try to find something educational to do on the cheap. This year I am not overly worried about it though because with a ocean just feet from our resort there will be plenty to learn. Another way we save is by driving not flying. Most people think this is crazy to ride with kids for 15+ hours in a car but we load up with books on tape some great movies and there is always binder work! So in the next few weeks look out for some pictures of ocean views. Also, a few suprise pictures from other places along the way!