As I've mentioned before, Andrew has been struggling in school. We have discussed what to do when we move into a house ... whether to enroll him in kindergarten or first grade in the new school, or homeschool him for the rest of the year. Today Andrew stayed home from school because he has a cold (or possibly strep throat as it has been going around his classroom ... he has a sore throat and a cough), so I told him that we would do a "practice" homeschool day. He was totally up for that.
(Back story: He's been saying for a while that he wants to stay home with me, that he misses me, and he wants more breaks. I've been trying to help him understand that if he stays home, it won't be just playing games and having fun ... there will be work and learning to do as well.)
So, today, we did his reading lesson, then we worked on spelling for a little bit. I got out the movable alphabet, but that seemed to overwhelm him ... looking at all the letters and trying to find the right ones. That's when I remembered the idea for this activity, and it actually yielded better results and participation.
I poured some salt into our broiler pan, and handed him a paint brush. Then, I gave him a word from his sight word list that he's studying this week, and he wrote it out in the salt. Such a great kinesthetic activity. I love that he hears the word, sounds it out, and then uses a different medium than pencil and paper to write the word. It also helps him with his fine-motor skills, and after spelling the words he drew in the salt for a time, increasing his artistic skills. I saved the salt so we can do this activity over and over again ... and so Eliza and Kate can use this activity as well to study their spelling lists. So, today, I am grateful for people who share their awesome studying ideas!
Comments
(Oh and good luck on deciding what to do with Andrew. It's got to be hard. I know that if you chose to home school him, he'll catch right up, but if you don't I'm sure you'll find ways to help him along. That's really what's important in the end, making sure that they know you're there for them no matter what.)
You are doing so well and the best thing -- you are trying so hard to do the right thing for your child. Learning will always be work, but if you can figure out the best way to make learning enjoyable, engaging, and worthwhile, then you've really accomplished something. Way to go to really figure out what works for Andrew!! he's going to love you all the more for your effort to help him! :)