Our school year in a nutshell!

Over the last year or so, it's been challenging enough keeping up one blog-let alone two.  So I've merged "The Thorne Family Escapades" into this blog.  In reality it  makes sense.  Homeschooling isn't a part of our lives, it is our way of life.  The teachable moments don't end when our  "formal" lessons are done for the day-they occur ALL day long-every day.

My future blog posts will incorporate all aspects of our lives, but since my final blog on www.cardiokidz2008.blogspot.com chronicled what has occurred since Nov. 2012, the remainder of this post will include school-related topics.

Since my last blog post from the school blog occurred prior to the start of school, I'll just reiterate that Leah is in 2nd grade now and Nolan is in Kindergarten.  I could go on here to list all the curriculum we've been exploring, all the classes we've attended, field trips we've participated in, history we've covered, books we've read....etc..etc.  But instead,  I'll post some of  pictures on the side bar, but for this post I wanted to share what has been my focus since December and I feel God is calling me to share this information.

I have spent countless hours (in my "free" time) researching, exploring, and delving deeper into the phenomenon known as Dyslexia. I've read over a dozen books, perused well over 50 different websites, and talked to many individuals with children who have it, and discussed topics at length with various friends & family members.

Of the numerous facts I've discovered about this topic-the one thing that stuck in my mind is that I had many misconceptions about this learning anomaly.  One of those being that dyslexia is "just" a reversal of letters.  I was quite surprised to learn that this is not the only predisposition of dyslexia, and in fact some of the characteristics of dyslexia are more inclined to be character traits.

I've found this absorption of research to be very enlightening and I hope you will as well.  I'll share more later on future blog posts.  For now-here is some information I found very interesting.
The following comes directly from one of the numerous websites I've found on the subject-www.dyslexia.com: 
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Most dyslexics will exhibit about 10 of the following traits and behaviors. These characteristics can vary from day-to-day or minute-to-minute. The most consistent thing about dyslexics is their inconsistency

General

• Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level.
• Labelled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, "not trying hard enough," or "behavior problem."
• Isn't "behind enough" or "bad enough" to be helped in the school setting.
• High in IQ, yet may not test well academically; tests well orally, but not written.
• Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing.
• Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, story-telling, sales, business, designing, building, or engineering.
• Seems to "Zone out" or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.
• Difficulty sustaining attention; seems "hyper" or "daydreamer."
• Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, and visual aids.

Vision, Reading, and Spelling

• Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading.
• Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
• Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
• Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing, or copying.
• Seems to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don't reveal a problem.
• Extremely keen sighted and observant, or lacks depth perception and peripheral vision.
• Reads and rereads with little comprehension.
• Spells phonetically and inconsistently.

Hearing and Speech

• Has extended hearing; hears things not said or apparent to others; easily distracted by sounds.
• Difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases; leaves sentences incomplete; stutters under stress; mispronounces long words, or transposes phrases, words, and syllables when speaking.

Writing and Motor Skills

• Trouble with writing or copying; pencil grip is unusual; handwriting varies or is illegible.
• Clumsy, uncoordinated, poor at ball or team sports; difficulties with fine and/or gross motor skills and tasks; prone to motion-sickness.
• Can be ambidextrous, and often confuses left/right, over/under.

Math and Time Management

• Has difficulty telling time, managing time, learning sequenced information or tasks, or being on time.
• Computing math shows dependence on finger counting and other tricks; knows answers, but can't do it on paper.
• Can count, but has difficulty counting objects and dealing with money.
• Can do arithmetic, but fails word problems; cannot grasp algebra or higher math.

Memory and Cognition

• Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces.
• Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced.
• Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words (little internal dialogue).

Behavior, Health, Development and Personality

• Extremely disorderly or compulsively orderly.
• Can be class clown, trouble-maker, or too quiet.
• Had unusually early or late developmental stages (talking, crawling, walking, tying shoes).
• Prone to ear infections; sensitive to foods, additives, and chemical products.
• Can be an extra deep or light sleeper; bedwetting beyond appropriate age.
• Unusually high or low tolerance for pain.
• Strong sense of justice; emotionally sensitive; strives for perfection.
• Mistakes and symptoms increase dramatically with confusion, time pressure, emotional stress, or poor health.