SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE...

Less Is More...

Sometimes, less is more. I'm talking about academic help for kids with learning differences or delays. I started reading to my daughter as an infant and she always loved stories. We read together every day and as soon as she was old enough, she begged for more. She began school in a Waldorf preschool class and continued into the Grades from there.

When she was in 3rd grade her teacher became concerned that her reading skills were not progressing as quickly as her fellow students. She suggested tutoring with a Waldorf specialty teacher. She met with the tutor twice a week, missing class time to do so.

By 5th grade she was not showing improvement. In fact, her abilities seemed to have declined. To make matters worse, she was refusing to read! She would cry and fight any time she was asked to do any reading. I continued to read to her, despite people telling me she should be reading to herself. I just didn't want her to be without her precious stories that she loved so much.

The specialty teacher said it was time to have her evaluated for learning disabilities. We took her to Psychologist for an evaluation. He diagnosed Ella with ADD and Slow Processing. She was reading at barely a 3rd grade level. He said even with "major intervention" and drugs we would be lucky to get her to 6th grade reading level by High School. Obviously, this was alarming news.

After consulting with numerous doctors, we were advised NOT to introduce drugs. So, we upped her tutoring time at school and tried to drill her a home. All of this resulted in a miserable kid who hated to read. She started becoming ill at school and frequently needed to be picked-up before lunchtime. She dreaded going to school.

That was when we made the decision to homeschool. I decided to take the pressure off and let her listen to all the audiobooks she wanted. I read to her every day and we plowed through book after book. Her love of stories had not diminished. I found a very patient and kind reading tutor that had experience working with children with learning differences. She started Ella off with science articles on animals she was interested in. She came once a week for one hour. This was the only time she was asked to read.

Ella is in 8th grade now and is reading at a 10th grade level. Her tutor just recently said she's finding it difficult to challenge her. She still reads slowly and prefers audiobooks over reading to herself, but her skills are there, and her comprehension is off the charts! I truly believe this is all due to lack of stress from the school environment.

There is support and help available to you and I'm happy to share my experience in seeing this approach work for many children just like your own.

​As always, for homeschooling ideas go to Blossom Learning. Happy homeschooling!