School Approaching

This is often the time of year that parents start thinking about their children's needs once school starts. Here's some advice to help your child to be prepared for the classroom:
1. Pull out the sight word cards and do some reviewing of what they are and what sight words means. They are words that don't follow phonics rules and we just need to memorize them. Sometimes it's helpful to have them write them down. They should write them 10 times each but say their name before writing them.
Example: If they are writing the word at, they would say "at" before each time they wrote at.
2. Review the alphabet letters with out singing it, just having them say the names of each letter.
3. Play word games or review math counting, adding, subtracting, or multiplication or division (depending on your child's school level).

Some school advice:

1. If you think your child needs accomodations or help-schedule testing before school starts

2. Once testing is done, sit down with the teacher and or spe. ed team (if your child qualifies) and decide as a team what is going to be done for your child. Don't just agree to anything. Do your homework, you shouldn't sign anything unless you know what you are committing your child to.

3. Do your homework! If they have a reading or a math program they want to use with your child, go home and look up info on it, what's it about? What's the research behind it? Does that National Reading Research team approve it? What does the International Dyslexic Association think of it? What do other schools that are dyslexic use for their math programs?
Yes, this absolutely requires homework on your child, but if you do it, the payout will be tremendous to your child!

4. What if school doesn't have what your child needs? Find out if they will get it, or why they won't and what can you do to help them get it. Schools have free appropriate education. If they can't or won't, then get your child help by looking outside the box. Talk to parents, educators. Look on websites, investigate, study your options. Just a reminder to check out: ubida.org (Utah Branch of the International Dyslexic Association).