I homeschooled my daughter for several years, and I have worked with hundreds of homeschool families over the years in my career. I love that we have this option to help our children in this wonderful way.
She shared that having rigid, structured guidelines is not the best avenue for some children, even though in our culture we are often taught this is the only and best way. I already knew that from all the experience I had working with clients, but it was nice to hear another professional have the same opinion. She also shared that if a child read anything they wanted to read for 2 hours a day during the school year, and that’s all they did for schoolwork, they would be fine academically.
So, we tried that during my daughter’s 5th grade year. I let her choose books that interested her, and she read 2 hours a day. We also belonged to a co-op and she took some fun and educational classes one half-day a week. In addition, she had volleyball, singing and theater (her interests) outside of “school”. My daughter loved that year and so did we. It was so balanced and enjoyable. We also took her on some family ’field trips’ to museums and other cultural exhibits. To me, it was what homeschooling is all about.
We had her tested and she scored above average in all academic areas except math. She scored average in math even though we didn’t work on math at all that year. I was very pleased with the test results knowing I hadn’t made a poor choice for my child.
Absolutely not. In fact, one of her co-op classes was English grammar and another one was fun science experiments. What I am suggesting, however, is the strict specific standards are not always necessary for a well-rounded education. We can learn all kinds of information in a variety of ways.
She credits that year with her lifelong love of reading, and her strong writing ability and spelling skills. By reading so much, she gained a strong command of the English language and can artistically create amazing sentences, poems and stories. It also helped her to think outside the box and think for herself. Don’t we all feel that is important?
It was so relaxing, loving and peaceful to get a break from formalities. The next year we did incorporate more structure and added in math, but that 5th grade year will always feel to me like reading a book in a meadow with a slight breeze. It is a wonderful memory and I wouldn’t change a thing.
I do feel some structure and learning specific subjects is important as well. I just think there should be more of a balance, especially for some students that are not traditional learners. And that balance has to be determined by parents, the students, the type of learner they are and their interests and goals.
That is where I step in. I am an educational therapist. I taught my daughter the skill of visualization, which my programs teach to improve reading comprehension and memory, since she was 3. I would read to her and ask her what the dragon looked like or what color various items were, as an example.
But for those that are old enough, I developed the Read-A-Rific Reading Comprehension program. It is the easiest and most cost-effective way to learn the life-changing skill of visualization.
You can find some specialists, if you are lucky, that have training in this technique, but they will cost much more than this program. Specialists who have extensive experience with this technique are also difficult to find. And it is literally the very best technique I have seen in my career to teach reading comprehension and memory skills.
They thought one-on-one learning would help. For some it worked slightly, and for others not at all. Parents often felt frustrated and concerned. When they found my practice, I informed them that weak or non-existent visualization skills are often a significant part of the reason students struggle.
Since this is a foundational skill, for students that don’t have this skill in place, everything else they learn will take more effort and be more difficult. They will not have a love of learning or reading like those that make a habit of this skill.
We never build the walls of a house before we build the foundation. It won’t work well. That is why learning this skill is so important and can change the path of a student’s future. If you can understand and remember what you learn, what can you NOT do?
We don’t live in an ideal world, but this makes sense. Those that visualize well often learn and remember more easily.
I can’t tell you how many lives have been changed in my career by students learning this amazing technique. It takes consistency, and a few months of practice, but since the sessions are only around 15 minutes in length with this program, it is easy to fit into a busy day.
There are many programs and ways to improve decoding. However, the market has much less to offer in regard to memory and comprehension skills. You will notice that most reading comprehension programs have students read information and answer questions. That is essentially testing them over and over again. They are not brain training programs that teach students to learn in a different way – but Read-A-Rific is. If students can correctly read words, that is very important. Yet if they read well but do not understand and remember what they read, there is a big issue.
Students need to be taught this skill step-by-step until it becomes a habit. That is what Read-A-Rific can help you do. And then, homeschooling can become closer to the breath of fresh air that it is truly meant to be. And while some students will have other learning issues that need to be addressed, the skill of stronger comprehension and memory is a big piece of the puzzle for many.
And rather than stay in my practice, developing this program and offering it at a much less cost than in-person services is the best way to reach more families. We also offer unlimited access and the ability for all your children to use the program without extra charge. We made that decision based in part with homeschool families in mind. You are important to us!
My desire is for the homeschool journey to be a positive experience for you and your student or students – the way it was truly meant to be.
Warmly,
Janel Nansenn, M.A., Founder and Developer of Read-A-Rific, LLC And, most importantly, Homeschool Mother