My Boys Will Love This One

Snickersnee

noun
1. a knife, especially one used as a weapon.

The sentences we made!

Sight Word Bingo - Word of the Day

We are playing sight word bingo this week.  A simple and easy way to review sight words.  Make one at home and start having fun.

Simple put your sight words into a table.
Print them off and away you go.
Don't forget to print a list of words for the call to pull out of a plastic container.

Word of the Day

Enervate
verb
1. to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.

adjective
1. enervated.

Goodbye Miss 2 Hello Miss 3 and Word of the Day

How is it that it can feel like she has been a part of our family forever but that she was a tiny (ok not so tiny at 10 pound) newborn yesterday!

 Happy Birthday Miss 3

 Word of the Day

timocracy
Noun

1. a form of government in which love of honor is the dominant motive of the rulers.
2. a form of government in which a certain amount of property is requisite as a qualification for office.

Holiday Fun With Words

It's school holidays here and we are taking a break from our normal reading routine and having some fun with words.  Join us for "Word Of The Day".

Each day I have a new word on my little white board.  A word I know the boys will have never heard before and we try and guess the meaning.  Then we chat about what it really means and how we could use it in a sentence and we each make up a sentence.  Then we have fun trying to slip it into a sentence during the day.

Today's Word

Gingerly - with great care or caution; warily.

We are going to be putting a word up each day so join us and send me any words you think would be good.

Sight Word Ladder

Having a bank of sight words in your memory makes reading easier and research shows that it contributes to a child learning to read successfully.  Our school has developed it's own site word list based on the pm readers so check out the list your school uses or you can start with the Dolch List.

I strongly belief that now is the time to help him with his reading and over the last 6 months he has improved over ten levels of reading.  We do an hour tutorial every Sunday and 30 to 40 mins 4 nights a week.  A big commitment so I am continually finding ways to make it fun and to keep him motivated.  My Mr 7 has a competitive side and I often harness this to keep him motivated.

At the start of the year I developed this sight word ladder to make practicing sight words a little more fun and competitive.  It's easy to make and it doesn't take any fancy resources.  As you can see mine is not super pretty!

Sight Word Ladder

• Get a copy of your child's sight word list from school or use the Dolch List. You can find a list of these words here.
• http://bogglesworldesl.com/dolch/lists.htm
• Print them out as flash cards.  If your child is Dyslexic try printing them in the comic san font.  Many Dyslexic children find it easier to read.
• Grab some coloured paper and cut it into strips to make some rungs for your ladder on a door.  We use the pantry door in the kitchen.  A place where kids can see them a lot and it is easy for us to spend a few minutes doing them.  My kids are always asking for more food so by having them here they are exposed to their words many times a day.
• Start with the words at the bottom and then each time your child gets them right move them up a rang.
• Our ladder has 6 rungs and we started off just working on 6 to 10 words at a time
• Once they are at the top you get to start on a new list.

Shaving Cream Words

This is a simple and fun multi-sensory activity to help children learn sight words.

• Buys some cheap shaving cream
• Spray it on windows, glass doors or the shower walls
• Provide kids with a list of sight words they have been trying to learn
• Right your sight words in the shaving cream

My three kids loved this and luckily we live somewhere warm because after they were finished with their sight words they did a bit of body painting.

A Book Review

 Helping Children with Dyslexia by Liz Dunoon

Once Dyslexia was on our radar I hit the library.  I burrowed a few different books and I bought this one from Speld Qld.  Out of all the books I have read this one has been the most helpful.  It helped me to develop a plan to help our son.  It is an easy read and the fact it comes with audio is great as it made it easy for my husband to listen to it while we did our evening chores.  You know those chores that make the next day easier when you have three kids 7 and under, like making lunch boxes and washing dishes! 

What did I like about this book?

1. It gave me a starting point.  
2. It helped me work through my feelings on what we were going through.
3. After reading this book I developed a plan of attack for the the start of the school year
4. Even as an experienced teacher it empowered me to go in and meet with my school and ask the hard questions and to expect clear, concise answers where I was actually getting to see my sons results and being able to compare them with average results.
5. It helped me understand the importance of assessment and what it would do for my son and me.

Liz Dunoon the author of this book is a teacher, her husband and three children have Dyslexia.  In writing this book she has talked to some of the best researchers in the field of Dyslexia, some of the most famous Dyslexics such as Richard Branson and many ordinary parents like you and I.

If you are just starting out on your Dyslexia journey this might be a great starting point.  It empowered me to have the confidence to make sure my son didn't fall between the cracks in the school system and convinced me that I was the my husband and I were the ones that would make the biggest difference for him.

You can buy the book here:

http://www.helpingchildrenwithdyslexia.com/

Disclaimer:  This is book review is my personal opinion.  I have no affiliation with the author or her products.