Back in the Saddle Again

Day 5-6

It's always hard to get back into routine, whether it is the teacher getting back into the swing of school time (as opposed to summer time) or a certain (now) 12 year old who is still recovering from a week of "Boy Scout Camp Time".

Alas, mom's plan of the day prevailed as we are getting back into the swing of things and  it has been a challenge. In spite of that, it has also been instructive in seeing what has "stuck" in the Josh brain, and what hasn't.

The encouraging thing is that when we reviewed the sounds the first time--before Josh could really think about them--he had all four letter/sound correspondence RIGHT! (Cue sound of angel choir)! I gave him a big high five, knuckles and 2 Pokemon cards.

From Google Images

What Josh looks like when he starts to doubt.

 From Google Images

I'm thinking...Hey, success! This OG approach is the way to go! However, my happiness bubble was dashed. Apparently my reaction was a bit of overkill since his accuracy decreased as we continued to practice. The same habits I saw before he left for camp came back with a vengeance. I saw the doubt cloud his eyes, the hesitation in creating the sound, the looking to my face for the verbal or facial cue to create the sound and most frustrating of all...the negative self-talk about his ability to unlock the world of letter/sound correspondence. That look of defeat is what sucks the very soul out of me.  While we were able to finish the lesson and I grabbed the next sound (/g/) to introduce, I was still stuck on the fact that my perky boy has zero confidence in his ability and his doubt overwhelms what his brain clearly knows.

What BOTH of us need to remember

. From Google Images

Cue the mommy guilt. How could I have not known this? How could I have let it go on for so long? Aren't I supposed to know these signs and advocate for him?

So, I had my moment, made myself some coffee and thought about what to do next. I pondered how I could change the OG approach to be more of an errorless learning environment to try and change the thought process he has by eliminating the "failure" factor.

Then I looked across the dining room and saw the Lindamood Bell LiPS kit that came while he was gone. This approach is another phonics approach to learning to read, but has the starting point as defining and recognizing the sounds of the language first, then attaching the letter symbol to them. This is the approach Jen, Josh's Speech Therapist, suggested to me. Her thought is that since Josh already has the learning pattern in his brain of copying speech sounds, starting with the sound and moving to the letter might be a better approach. As I thought about it, and reflected to the fact that the symbol/sound approach is tapping into Josh's "doubt" thought process, I figured, why not? Tonight will be me grabbing a glass of wine, cracking open the case and seeing if there's a way to meld the OG and the Lindamood Bell approaches together, or if I can figure out the Lindamood Bell approach fast enough to change up the game plan and find a way to break the cycle of doubt so Josh can finally find a way to trust his instincts and finally break through the code of language.

Well, that and plan for a 12 year old slumber party for Saturday night. However, that is a whole separate adventure!

What I'd rather be thinking about! From Google Images