mummy roo , my little one is getting better at remembering words . i am using teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons . i don't follow it very strictly and probably your boy will zoom through the first 20 or so lessons that teach letter sounds , but then come words and story reading with picture comprehension and questions . it tells you to ask your child a question related to every sentence he reads . In the begining my son would sound out every word , tell me what word it is and move on to the next , by the time he ends the sentence he had no clue what he read . We did it as a game every time he finishes a word and move to the next i repeat the previous ones . by the time he finishes the sentence he would ask me himself to reread it for him . Now he starts stopping me and say the words himself , and is able to answer the comprehension questions.
You see during read aloud by me , he has excellent comprehension and can narrate back to you the story but it seems when he was sounding out words he was not focusing on the meaning .
what i like with100 easy lessons every story uses words from previous lessons , so in a way this reinforce sight reading . for few weeks now he has been recognizing many words by sight like little said will . For some reason my kids never liked bob books or any early phonics readers . But the stories in 100 easy lessons are more fun , more interesting . try it , it is highly used on he well trained mind site .
viv

Dear Ella
YOU ARE  ADORABLE , your violin playing ,dancing , presence , personalitiy , Bravo ELLA . I showed the videos to Christina and Matti and both were amazed . Tina said mama she is great . Thank you for the motivation Ella xx now both of them are determined to practice more so they can play as well as you xxx
love you
viv

dad dude , i don't ask him to sound out the words but he learned it from me , or from reading bear when we sound out a word he can easily say it , bu than he probably learned that i can read any word by sounding it out . not sure if i should just move one and show new words or keep repeating the same set of words till eventually can read them by sight . the thing he complains and says mama i read those 
i know i shouldn't worry and it will come but it is kinda of hard to wait .
viv

Mummyroo i spent the last hour on your blog , nikki is an adorable boy . Like you i was fascinated by montessori , i did teacher training course , i had very successful experience with doman with my first child ( specialneed ) , but i liked the hands on approach and developing independance in montessori . i spent lots of time making material , bought some and i am now the proud owner of beautiful montessori shelves hat unfortunately do not attract my kids much till later . my daughter at six is now enjoying some of the extensions of the sensoriel material . my 4 years old was always rough with them , and i kept taking them off the shelves thinking he is still not ready , he didn't want to do anything with the knobless cylinders the montessori way , he wanted to roll them on the floor like cars . now at four he is still very active , has great imagination and do not really enjoy three step lessons and montessori presentations . Whenever i say i like to show you something , he and his sister before him would take the material from me and say mama i show you , and they do whatver they want with the material . I complained about this to a montessori teacher and he thought my kids need more discipline . my kids still learn so much but they choose to learn outdoors in their own way and i think it put them off me treating the montessori material like gold . now i changed my attitude and although i have a special shelf for sensoriel i started putting the material in basket and bring it over while they are playing and let them use it . Only when i allowed them to use the red rod to build mazes for their cars that those red rods got used .
i have all the beads material , bead cabinet but i deicded not to use them , since i am working with rightstart with my six years old , her younger borther was learning in the backround while playing and found it made more sense to introduce all numbers a la right start , 6 as 5+1   7 as 5+2 and using the abacus .... instead of spending time with the colored beads . i used only the golden beads to demonstrate 10 100 1000  , but i cannot see my child sitting and learning skip counting by using the short and long bead chains in the bead cabinet . it is too slow and boring for them . there are many different ways to learn skip counting . So now my bead cabinet is packed with some other montessori material waiting for me to find the courage to let go and sale them .
i am writing this so you don't really feel bad about not being able to have all the montessori material , in montessori time and the kids montessori has worked with didn't have the learning opportunities our EL have . Yes i made sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet , but i found all i need is to spend time with my litle one playing with his small chalkboard and some kumon tracing cards . i was chocked when i decided to make more effort to teach him writing and sat with him telling him mama ket us try to write letters i write first , he said no he can write and asked me to name a letter , and we wnet through half of the alphabet , he didn't trace , he didn't copy from a model , he would stop think then write .This is a boy who loved the sand tray but not to trace letters but to create a dinosaur word or construction site for his vehicles. I just got tired from stopping him from misusing the montessori material  .
so yes i have a montessori room full of material but we spend most of our learning time outside in the garden or cuddled up on the couch with a book . Not to feel all my effort was wasted i bring out like i said during playtime some material in a basket and let them explore it any way they like , if they like .
The only montessori material i never regret having and are used a lot are the puzzle and pin maps maps and my continent boxes . my kids are fascinated with all those miniatures from all over the words and books like children like me , and atlas ,many fiction books from all over the words .
their practical life activities they do it all the time ( in a messy way ) in the kitchen , in the garden in their sandpit . I was so proud of my sound activity , they used it once and as soon as i turned my back those containers were open and my kids decided to use the content in their play kitchen
thinking about it our kids have soft mozart , LM , they are already stimulated music wise , do they really need those sound eggs to shake and sort out ??
Anyway I am always happy to find another EL mum from UK . We live in Gambia in west Africa but we get our main supply of almost everything from UK , We have family and friends flying back and  forth almost every month.I could use your help locating some of the material needed since I am not able to go out and shop by myself
anyway my post is getting long , i just wanted to say hi and happy to know a friend from Uk , looking forward to read more about all he fun you are having with nikki xxx

the problem with my son he would tell me mama we did this he doesn't like repetitions he wants to move on to the next lesson , or whatever book he is reading , mama we did that , so early readers won't work for him and practicing by repetition won't work also . The same happened with his sister i felt we were stuck on the sounding out for long time before shoe could read fluently but by five she was reading very well and now at six she is very advanced reading way above her grade level with excellent comprehension , and her read aloud is very expressive . I just wonder if i can do something to speed it up , she had different caracter and didn't mind practicing , he doesn't like it
 

I hope i can get some advice here , my 4 years old can decode and read practically every word in reading bear but that 's it , even when showing him the word 20 imes he will sound it out then say it , also in books , he can read a whole paragraph sounding out every word then saying it , and his comprehension is not bad . he cannot sight read . what can i do to help him ?? viv

Koralle you are right you can always retrieve them from your apple store account but with our slow internet connection it took ages for me to download them to my i tune , i prefer to keep them there and synchronize back and forth it won't take time as if you download the application .from apple sore . like manda said i like more focus work , i see my son now scrolling through the applications not spending enough time on any of them .and having one ipad for the three of them is not practical . i am so excited i just got a message from a friend who just bought her specialneed son the new generation ipad and offered to pass the old one ipad 1 to us if we can use it . i guess we can always use ipad 1 ?? no ?? ideally i am saving for the mini ipad for my Isa it is more portable light weight and much easier for her to handle . i got so many applications by following application friday on facebook , they are good applications free or discounted , i often click and download in bulk and don't even have a chance to check them out , so i do have applications i never viewed and it is really a waste. i thought if i move them off my ipad then i can select few at a time and make sure we use them all we delete them permanently .
viv

hello friends

Can somebody tell me please how it is possible to move all my apps from my ipad but still have them in my itune library . Little by little we have accumulated a massive amount of apps and ebooks . I pad can be a wonderful learning tool but the way it is in our house now i cannot control what apps my little one open . of course all of them are good educational apps but i like him to do more focused work on specific subjects like math science , work on specific application for a certain amount of time . he has to work independently while i am teaching the others and he does switch to other applications . i decided to clean up my ipad and just put the ones we want to work on now . there are some applications i got from apple store directly to my ipad , i don't have them in my itune library , i am scared i might loose them . also is there a way to organize your apps in i tune in folders like math , science language art logic ,...
God o much to learn so little time available .
I hope somebody can help me out
thanks a lot in advance
xxx
viv

hello friends
i didn't share an update about how my kids are doing for a long time so here we go :
Tina is six , Matti  4y 3 months . It is  my special need daughter Isa who opened our eyes to the amazing world of EL and taught us what babies are capable of . We were on The Institutes intensive program for years did the brain injured child and better baby course. Unfortunately heir physical program didn't help our daughter , she is still very hurt physically and we have moved on and adopted another therapies which helped her more . Isa did great on their intellectual program , she was reading independently at 2 with full understanding , developed speed reading and was able to learn very advanced subjects .

I was looking forward to do the program again with my well children .I learned so much in my journey caring for isa about physical , emotional , intellectual excellence  ,I couldn't wait to use it with them . i was so confident it will be easy thing to do . I was so wrong .
My kids were born at home , natural unassisted gentle water birth , just me and my husband , after isa's traumatic birth i couldn't trust any doctor .
my babies crawled , held their head up looking left and right with eyes wide open from the moment they were born , pulled themselves up on furniture a only few months old , were on the go all the time , moving exploring ... flash cards never worked with them , it was so difficult teaching a moving target compared to isa who couldn't move and was there like a sponge absorbing everything and asking for more .
they said their first words at 6 months , were talking in full sentences before their first birthday . 
they tandem nursed , meaning shared nursing , tina weaned herself at 5 , matti  at 3.5 . it was so odd for everybody around us that they nursed so long and they nursed together .
hose moments we had together were so precious and i am so happy unlike when babies wean early and can never remember they nursed , my kids proudly talk about those moments and how much they enjoyed it . I can say learning , reading books mostly happened during those times , and later before nap and at the end of busy day when they were too exhausted to move their body , only then they would stop and learn .
In our community kids are sent to school or nursery at 2 or even before . I never planed to homeschooled them . All i wanted is to keep them longer at home so they bond with their hurt sister . I am a teacher in my previous life and i learned so much bringing up Isa I wanted them to be with us at home . I have to admit i also felt i could save money by keeping them home , money we need it for isa's ongoing therapies .
During this time I learned about Montessori and fell in love with the montessori approach , i did an online primary teaching course and started making material setting up a homeschool room .Like i said physical flashcards , sight reading never worked for us , i felt so disappointed , frustrated till i found out about brillbaby and it was god sent . not that my kids learn to read following the program , but i credit brillbaby for their advanced vocabulary and general knowledge . my kids didn't as babies like many of the babies on this forum , but i continued to show them words , read books to them . Only when i introduced dad dude cards and some phonic instruction that their reading took off .we never read bob books or beginners  leveled readers  . they wanted more meaty content , they picked up words from books we read together , then we did lots of joined reading .Sitting for a book was the only time my kids would stop and take a break from jumping around . Friends even suggested tina might be hyperactive or have ADD , hehe , and they suggested medication .
Thinking about it now maybe having my first child completely immobile , i just couldn't interfere with their need to move , play and discover . i didn't want to stop it to show a stack of cards . i simply let them be . i made sure to provide them a healthy environment where they can thrive .I spend endless hours online reading blogs looking at beautiful photos of kids doing montessori activities , or reading about other kids learning with their mummies .
my kids won't let me teach them anything . whenever i sit and announce i want to show you something , my baby would say ; mama i will show you , grab whatever material i have for him , play with it for a while than walk away . boy i was frustrated and felt like i am failing in teaching my babies . At three i sent them to school and they didn't last 2 weeks , they begged me not to go and stay and learn with me at home .
How do we school ?? i myself still don't know i still have to spend many hours a day caring feeding doing hands on therapies with my Isa . My dream was and still for them to become independent learners , i am there to help them when they need me but i can continue to work with Isa . I worked hard on setting our school room , packed with educational material . they showed little interest and we are rarely in there . The one investment i never regret was our big libray of books . my kids would spend hours running in the garden , pretend play ,... and they take a break crash on their bean bags surrounded by piles of books , enough time to catch their breath and go out again .
school time , nope we don't have .
no structured curriculum , , little table work . Can this be un-schooling ?? Tina didn't do any writing before she was 5.5 . and in six months time she progressed to have a beautiful cursive handwriting . She reads so well , learns quickly and remember what she learned , very good memory .
Why i am writing today is to encourage other parents who are frustrated and feel their babies are still not reading , it doesn't matter if your child read at 6 months or 1 or 2 , of course it would have saved me pulling my hair and getting upset and frustrated and relax and enjoy my kids even more . The time we are spending together reading playing interacting , my kids were learning all the time and they show what they know in their own time .
Homeschooling is not common in Gambia . I am the only homeschool mum in my area . I keep hearing negative comments and criticism about what we are doing , how much my kids are missing out on things . I myself question daily my decision and wonder if what we are doing is enough or if my kids are really missing out on things by staying home with me . i am exhausted trying to plan playdates and enjoy other kids company , my kids request their friends all the time . I tell them if it is so important for them to be with their friends they can choose to go to school but of course they would say no we want to learn at home with mama . I tell them but we are not working much on school ( meaning i did purchase few workbooks and books in various subjects for our school time , but unfortunately our days are so unstructured  , we make a lesson one day and stop for a week because kids find interest in other things to learn .

Today was so special for me , because i always felt we are not doing enough ,  a very good friend who is an english teacher and tutor most of my kids schooled friends in the afternoon ( yes this is also something i found hard to understand , kids here go to school and have private tutoring in the afternoon because parents feel they are not learning anything at school so poor kids have no time to be kids during the week )  she  felt my worries and knew how busty i am with isa  so she proposed to have Tina  twice a week to give me a small break and Tina the opportunity to learn with other kids ( she takes them 2 or 3 at a time ) .
Today i go to pick tina up after her lesson and what i hear was music to my heart . They had a reading test , tina 6 was placed to work with two 9 years old kids doing grade 3-4  work, my friend , the kids were all praising tina talking how excellent she was in her test . My friend said Tina is wonderful motivation for those older kids seeing at only six how much she is able to do , even one of them was so determined to learn to write cursive and asked tina to help her write beautiful like her .
Also today while his sister was having her private lesson , i sat with my 4 years old trying to give him some one on one feeling sorry he is not getting enough time with mama . I read all your posts about handwriting and all what you are doing with your kids and felt I am not spending enough time with him working on that . we read together then i got a small lap blackboard and told him let us try to write some letters . he took the chalk from my hand and said mama i can do it and sure enough he was able to write all his letters not tracing or copying , i would say a letter , he will stop , think for seconds then write it with proper strokes . I was so happy , he was so proud of himself . This is a boy who never had any writing instructions . The only way i explain it is we have a big wall chalkboard and most of our learning with tina happens there while he is playing around with his cars or blocks . he often repeated things I was teaching Tina few days later . yes he won't sit for school or to learn but he was learning all the time .

Wow I was really slow to understand and trust in what we are doing , myself and my kids . Up till today i was still questioning my decision to home school , would they miss out on anything , can i teach them , do i have enough time having to care for isa ???
Today with confidence and pride I can say i am a homeschool mum and pray that we could continue to do it . I spend every minute of the day enjoying my kids and they are still learning much better then their schooled friends .
maybe if i can add more structure to our life , maybe if i have more time , we can learn more , i can accelerate my kids learning more . This used to frustrate me ,
remember it is not a race , don't let EL make you anxious and keep you from enjoying your time with your little ones . it doesn't matter for me anymore if we advance 3 grades in a year . what is more important that they are happy and they love learning and they have their whole life to keep learning .
i am sorry this is getting long but i felt like sharing with you all , and thank you for being there for me all these years , the love and support i get here i couldn't get it even from my family and closest friends . Thank you xxxx
Viviane  proud mama to Isabelle , Christina and Matthew

Linzy i have a question about daily language review , i like to give it a try with my six years old , she is fluent reader , doing fll2 aas 3 , do you think i should start from grade 1 and move quickly or skip levels , how can i know what level is right for her ??
viv

hey go to sleep girl

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henty books free online

http://www.henty.com/s86p1052.htm

what a beautiful sight , enjoy xxx
will write more .
viv

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xxx

Gush I am really behind on forum posts . I do have RC and used it with my special need daughter . I love dr Robinson approach , my dream is to get my two little ones to be independent learners so I can spend my time focusing on their hurt sister who needs one on one and it is a full time  work .
I have the CDs , there are 20 include all the books on their list . But like linzy I add from other lists and although my daughter is excellent reader at 6 she insists reading together with mum is more fun  . She will be looking at books all day long , reading short stories but long chapter books are saved for joined reading with mum . I choose history of the world for our history study , wwe and fll , alas for language art , and we love right start starting level c  , and they have the rest of the day for free play and exploration .xxx viv