What We're Up To This Year... 5th Grade ESL

Okay, I've been w-a-a-a-y too busy homeschooling this year to post about homeschooling! With a high schooler still doing most of her work at home, a middle schooler preparing for high school work, and a 5th grader who has only been in America just over a year, school can get pretty interesting around here!

I recently answered a post on an adoption Yahoo group (CAFE Kids, if you're looking for an awesome group of Christian adoptive families who have adopted kids from Ethiopia), and I linked my blog. I realized how much I would love to say what's working for us in case that would help anyone at all (NOT because I'm any sort of expert!!!) but how I have neglected to do so.

SO. While the boys are getting started on their morning independent work, I am going to take a few moments to link what is working for Minte so far this year. And add what we're changing this semester.

The above photo is Minte playing a sight word BINGO game from our Sonlight 1. (We use change from the change jar for BINGO markers, and once he BINGO's, if he can read me the words on the row, he gets to keep the money. Fun!) I have LOVED using Sonlight with him this year. It is World History, which he can completely comprehend and is a body of knowledge to which he has had no exposure. It's so interesting to me that he has come from one of the most ancient lands on the globe, but has no idea what has happened there (not to mention all over the world.) It has been fun to study this together using Sonlight's literature-rich approach. However, since he is an English Language Learner, we are using the Level 1 Readers and Read-Alouds. I have accelerated the schedule a bit and I feel like we might be ready to order the level 2 books soon.

For math, he originally started in a co-op class using Right Start Math. It was a great class, and he enjoyed the interaction and the teacher, but it was not a good fit for him. We have since switched to something more consistent for him and with which I am more familiar: Math U See. I have used that program for years with my other two and I. Love. It. It is thorough, hands-on, and visual. He is currently working throught the Gamma level. Due to his prior schooling in Ethiopia, he is zipping through portions of it, but I am getting a measure of assurance that he is getting a solid foundation. He will also complete the Delta level this year. He was in school in Ethiopia before he came home, but we have been on a year-long quest to solidify his knowledge of basic facts, as well as learn to tell time and do measurements in English. I love how it is taught in a hands-on way through Math U See. Also, the pages are plain and not too distracting. A good fit for us.

In addition to his Sonlight readers, he has loved going through the Explode the Code books for phonics. This semester we will begin slowly working through Wordly Wise A for sequential vocabulary-building. He has been "real life" vocabulary building for a year now, but I think it's time for a more systematic, academic approach. I like the format of the early Wordly Wise books, so we will begin doing exercises a couple of times a week through book A and possibly get through book B before summer.

Handwriting: I've always used "A Reason For Handwriting" because I love the short daily exercises, only 4 days per week, and copying Scripture. He has done well with this. He is almost through with his first book, so I'm considering switching to Draw Write Now. In his school in Ethiopia he had no drawing/ art experience and actually has a disdain for art. I want him to feel more confident in his drawing. There are short sentences to copy as well, which I think he will be able to read now. I think it is a good fit, even though he has told me he does not want to learn how to draw. We'll see. ;)

Last year we worked our way through Abeka's level 1 science reader. Then we just added in whatever I came up with, like growing butterflies, planting flowers, other science experiments and concoctions. (One of my favorite resources for this is here.) This year he's in a science class that meets once per week. It's one of his favorite things and I don't have to deal with the mess. We still like making concoctions... I just don't want the pressure of a weekly one. ;)

Writing: Here is something I'm toying with. WriteShop Primary. I got it at a book fair last year. Now that he's more fluent in English, he has soaked up enough good English through literature and read-alouds, he is ready to begin writing stories of his own and learning how to write. (Remember, you can't squeeze anything out of a dry sponge! Kids need to spend time absorbing good writing and rich stories in order to compose their own.) I think we'll start some short lessons from this program each week.

So, that's his schoolyear in a nutshell. I realize he is 5th grade age, but he has flourished using the primary levels. He came from a culture that doesn't even use our alphabet. In fact, I just overheard him doing his math and I heard " arat, sost, and, hulet..." (4, 3, 1, 2 in Amharic.) He still does quick calculations in his first language. Plus, even a year later, he's still adjusting. Plus, because of his past, he's still grieving some days. Plus..... There's always a plus. There's always a bigger picture, and it's not always about school. I am seeing him poised to absolutely "snowball" in his progress, once the basics of phonics and vocabulary are in place, along with his increased comfort level with the English language. My goal is to have him on "grade level" by high school. I am seeing great strides!

I hope the above suggestions help someone who may be walking this road, or just starting out homeschooling an English Language Learner. It has taken us a year even to get to this point. To read what we started out doing, go here.) Enjoy this journey! Don't put pressure on yourself, which always has a way of putting pressure on your child. Each day with this precious person is a gift. In many ways, you are making up for lost time... but our great God, the God of time, will do that. He will make up what you lack. I have seen this day after day in our home!

Homeschooling Older Adopted Children

One day last week while we were eating lunch, Minte began to look thoughtful (even a bit concerned) and then asked me a question.

"Mommy. Ahfter Chreestmas... Minte go to school?"

"Yes, after Christmas we've got to start our schoolwork again."

"No. Ahfter Chreestmas, Minte go? Out? (pointing to the door) To other school?"

"Oh, no baby. We're going to do school at home still. Minte will go to school here. With Mommy and Kyle and Bethany."

Then it was my turn to think, and perhaps be concerned. Maybe he wants to go to school. Maybe he feels like he's missing something. Maybe he's asking me, hoping I'm going to tell him "yes." Maybe...

So, of course, I asked.

"Does Minte want to go to school? To other school?"

His eyes widened and he replied, "NO! Minte no English. Teacher talk, Minte say, 'I don't know!'"

He seemed happy and reassured that we were, in fact, going to continue homeschooling. Of course, that made me happy and reassured me that we are doing the right thing for him.

He really is a "best-case-scenario", in the adoption sense. He was very well cared for and loved by all of his caregivers, in a consistent, well-run, small orphanage with a nurturing environment. He is generally happy, appears to be extremely resilient, has a positive disposition and a great sense of humor, has a deep, abiding faith in God, has positive memories of his "former life" and his Ethiopian parents, which he freely talks about daily. He seems secure and responds well to new situations. He's extremely obedient and courteous. He's highly intelligent, has the capacity to learn and retain large amounts of information, and can recall facts to a great detail. Overall, he's an excellent student. By all accounts and estimations, he would do well in a traditional classroom setting. But, at his deepest level, it's not what he wants. There is an underlying insecurity there, and I'm really glad he shared it with me.

I shared part of our reason for homeschooling him, and a little bit of background here. I am hopeful that sometime during our holiday break, while I'm at the computer putting the finishing touches on our school plans for spring I'll be able to share more specifically what we've been doing. But for now, I'll just share that it's working. It's working for me, our other children, and most of all, it's working for him. He is learning about family, about love, and about home. He's progressing academically, and learning a new language and culture at a manageable pace. He's learning that when he needs to, he can look me (and the others with whom he's in constant contact throughout each day) in the eye and ask questions using his broken English without fearing that he'll be misunderstood or made fun of. He's learning that he can throw some Amharic in there as well and that it makes Mom smile. He's learning that sometimes Mom will try to answer him in broken Amharic with a Texas twang, and that makes him smile. What could be a barrier in another setting is actually part of the bonding process in the home setting. Our bond is growing day by day, and homeschooling continues to be a major part of that.

Here are some articles I read and bookmarked as we began this journey. If you are adopting, and have the ability or inclination to homeschool, I highly encourage you to think about it. It's awesome. And I believe it's a gift. One for which I remain so thankful.

Homeschooling the Older, Adopted Child

Parenting in the Home School: Homeschooling Adopted and Traumatized Kids

Homeschooling The Internationally Adopted Child Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

WFMW: Learning His Language

A recent morning conversation between me and my 10-year-old Ethiopian son:

Me: Sent encoulat tehfalligalli? (How many eggs to you want?)
Minte: Yeh-teh-teh-beh-seh ena yeh-teh-kuh-kuh-leh? (Scrambled or boiled?)
Me: Yeh-teh-kuh-kuh-leh. (boiled)
Minte: Sent tefalligallio? (How many do we have?)
Me: Hulet (two)
Minte: Mmmmm, ...and tehfalligallio ( One, please)
Me: Eshi. (okay)

We're about 9 weeks into our transition home with our precious son, and since November is National Adoption Month I've been taking time on Wednesdays to post some things that have been "working for us" during our first few weeks home.

My first posts on this subject have been on my main blog, but since this one is sort of "homeschooly" I thought I'd bring it over here today! If this is your first time to visit either of my blogs, welcome! I'm so glad you are here! My previous posts on this topic have been about the benefits of establishing a routine, labeling the house, and how we have utilized afternoon movie times.

Today, as you can see from above conversation, I'll be discussing language. This has been a biggie! That's always been one of the first questions people have asked me, even before we brought him home, "Does he speak English?" The answer: "No." The language he speaks is called Amharic and is the primary language spoken in Ethiopia. It is a beautiful language, but bears absolutely no resemblance in sound or in written form, to English. He had very little English instruction in the school he attended while at the orphanage. It consisted mostly of copying English worksheets into a composition book. SO, I've started from the beginning with him. I listed some of our curriculum here, and I'm preparing to write another post on homeschooling ESL again soon. God is being so faithful to bring to mind ideas that are helping me... as I have no idea what I'm doing, and there aren't a lot of resources for teaching ELL's (English Language Learners), especially within the context of homeschooling.

As you can see from the photo, what has been "working for us" involves notecards. But hopefully, you noticed that there are two sets. His and mine. Every couple of days, we sit with his box of notecards and he simply names words he wants to know how to read. Sometimes he has had to point to an object so I could tell him the name of it, but frequently it's a word he knows (like "bike) but just doesn't know what it looks like. We pull the cards out every few days and he tries to read the words he has chosen. For the most part, he's successful because those words mean something to him: favorite toys, his siblings' names, our address. Even though he's really reading "word shapes" at this point, he's getting used to reading English print, which is a step. But that's not all this exercise is about.

You see, it's a two-way street. Mom has her notecards, too! Just about every day I ask him how to say something in Amharic (if he can give me a translation) or I get phrases from one of my three can't-do-without-'em resources: Talk Now Amharic, Lonely Planet Phrasebook, and Simple Language for Adoptive Families. He absolutely loves hearing me speak to him in his native language, and he loves the give-and-take of teaching each other. It is so sweet to hear him slowly pronounce things so I can write down what it sounds like on my card. Then I repeat phrases back and he corrects me, isolating certain sounds. I work on it (genuinely work on it!) and then use the words and phrases in conversation. His face absolutely lights up when I throw down some Amharic when he least expects it! He understands only a fraction of what he hears all day, everyday, and it's a welcome "interruption" when something familiar is spoken to him. He smiled SO big the other morning when I asked him in Amharic how many eggs he wanted! Such a small thing, but it meant a lot to him, I could tell.

What distinguishes these moments from other ESL/ELL teacher-student situations is that this is my child. Part of our bond is being able to communicate with each other. Learning English is an all-encompassing task for him right now, and I think it "spurs him on" to see that Mom is doing the same thing. When we're having an Amharic conversation and I have to dissect e-ve-ry sound and see if I'm tracking with him, for that brief slice of time, I can feel how he feels every other second of the day. I can understand why "bucket" sounds like "basket" and how "popcorn" sounds like "pumpkin." I botch phrases all the time and he practically rolls in the floor laughing... I love it! Being an active learner of his language has gone a long way toward how we relate to each other, and it's really working for me... and for him.

For more ideas that work, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

There are many more precious children like Minte who need a forever family (and would love to teach you Amharic!) If adoption, either domestic or international, is something you're considering and you need a place to start, you can visit our agency's website here.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Homeschooling ESL

Okay, now I've done it. I've titled this post in such a way as to attract Google searches from people researching how to teach ESL at home, people looking for how the "experts" do it, or some brilliant ideas. Well, I apologize in advance if that's what led you here! I can't promise any longtime-ESL-teacher wisdom, brilliant research or a scope and sequence for how to do it. In fact, as I researched this topic myself, I didn't find much on the subject. I would have LOVED to come across the blog of a fellow homeschooler who recently adopted one older child and was homeschooling him. If that describes you, welcome! Let me know who you are and let's encourage one another!

A couple of posts ago I wrote about how God is "doing a new thing" in our homeschool. He's doing many new things, actually, one of which is bringing a precious English Language Learner into our midst. What an adventure this is! We've been home for about two weeks with our new 10 year old Ethiopian son. When we met him about 4 weeks ago, he knew and spoke very, very little English. In the few weeks we've been together, he has learned multiple new words per day, and our communication is mostly nouns and charades, but we are bonding wonderfully and communicating effectively nonetheless. God is so good! But... what about school? How do I approach academics with an English Language Learner? Isn't it best to leave this to the professionals?

In case this is your first time to read my blog, I'll give a little background on myself. I received my MEd in 1991 and taught public school for four years before coming home to stay home with my children. We began "officially" homeschooling in 1999. I have a daughter who is 15, working at approximately the 10th grade level, a son who is 12 doing 7th grade this year, and our new son, a fourth grader. We have always homeschooled, and plan to always homeschool. Yes, even through high school. So, when we decided to adopt an older child, it was with the intent of homeschooling him just like our other children. I know other homeschool families (whose blogs I've read) have handled it differently for very various reasons, but we feel strongly that we are to homeschool our new son. Our conviction to homeschool our kids has not changed because someone with different needs has come into our midst. In fact, homeschooling has become the perfect answer to those needs.

Among other reasons, bonding is a key issue. That's 35+ additional hours per week that he will be with his family. When he lived in Ethiopia, he lived in an orphanage and went to a school. He was exceptionally well cared-for, loved, and taught but the reality is that he spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in some sort of institution. It is time for him to spend that kind of time living and learning family. He turned 10 the week after we arrived at home, and I already felt time ticking. Homeschooling has always felt like God gave us a big, beautifully wrapped box and inside it was T-I-M-E. I have LOVED that aspect of it most of all. It has never felt like the gift of time as it does now. I thank God daily for that gift!

Another reason is that though he is 4th grade age, he is not, at this point, functioning at a fourth grade level. There are many reasons for this, but I am so glad that he can be in an environment in which that is not a problem at all. I have materials in all subjects beginning at the preschool level, so he is able to have curriculum which is tailor-made to fit his academic needs in all subjects and allow him to experience success and build confidence as he begins to learn a new language, and learn subjects in that language.

Enough of the "why's" (because there are more, and I could go on all day!) and on to the "how."

Like I stated earlier, I'm not an "ESL" expert, or specially-trained in that area at all, but from my years as a teacher and now as a homeschooling mother I know how children learn, so I'm basing what I'm doing on how I've taught my other two, my "gut instincts," random ideas that just pop into my head, and a couple of things I read on a Yahoo group. God has been so faithful to lead me to information just when I need it!

I was planning on waiting several weeks after bringing him home before starting school. But, he had been on a school break for two months when we got there. All of his friends were going back to school the Monday after we got back, so I think he was in "back to school" mode. I, of course, was not in BTS mode, but after a week and a half back, he needed the structure and my older son needed to get back to his school work. Last Monday we began our main subjects: Reading , Math, and Life. (I'll add the others in as his English gets better.) As you can see from the photo above, today he played with Play-doh. We are doing lots of playing and talking. Talking and playing. He used all of the cookie cutters and cut out shapes, which we talked about... colors, animals, textures, etc. We have spent lots of time blowing bubbles, kicking the ball, writing with sidewalk chalk, painting pictures, building with blocks, playing with the RC car, listening to music, playing with puppets, reading books (in English and Amharic)... anything to spur creativity and foster conversation. So, before I get going on the curriculum aspect of our school, please know that it is a small part of the big picture right now.

For reading we are currently working our way through the Scaredy Cat Reading System, developed by Joyce Herzog. (No, it's not for people who are scared to read, it's referring to the fact that vowels are "scaredy cats"... they make different sounds when they are scared. Cute!) I came across these materials at our homeschool book fair back in May and I just loved them. I only purchased Level 1- The Alphabet, and I am deciding if I want to purchase the next level for vowels or keep going with other materials. So far he has responded very well to the videos, songs, visual aids and workbook. I was afraid it would be "beneath" him a bit, since some of his schoolwork in Ethiopia was done in English. But once I got him home and got a chance to sit down with him and his composition books full of written English, I realized he could not read me any of what he had written. I realized that we needed to start at the beginning. So, though some of it is basic (for instance, he knew what the letter "A" was) it's good to teach phonics thoroughly, sequentially, and in context, so that I can know that he understands it before moving on. Besides, there is so much in his life that he doesn't know right now. Everything is new for him. There is a degree of comfort in hearing information repeated that one has already learned, and it gives him an opportunity to feel successful. Additionally, it is helping solidify his understanding of our written alphabet and the phonics rules and is filling in inevitable gaps. It helps me to ensure that he has thorough phonics/English instruction. (Any English he knows right now, after all, was taught to him by teachers for whom English was not their first language.) So, it's okay if some of it is review. He needs to hear it and I need to teach it, and we are enjoying our time together!

Part of learning to read is distinguishing between different sounds. To that end, I purchased two fun Bingo-type "Listening Lotto" games: Sounds at Home and Outside Sounds. We played the "sounds at home" game today and he *loved* it.

An additional supplement which was shared with me by an elementary ESL teacher is the website Starfall.com. We have been doing the ABC link (at the top) and going through the letters as we do them in our Scaredy Cat reading. Each letter has an activity that goes with it. Later the program works through the vowel sounds and and words, and reads stories to them and has fun games, activities and printables. A very helpful resource!

Of course, I've got one of my favorite resources, Phonics Pathways ready, as well as Bob Books. Unless I feel like he needs to continue with Scaredy Cat Reading, I may transition over to those after we finish the alphabet. Those are my "tried and true" resources that I used with my first two, plus I already own them and it would save some money.

Speaking of money, that's always been one of my weaknesses when I face a schooling challenge-- throwing money at the problem! So, what did I do last week? I went to Sam's and bought every level of Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills books from grade 1 through 4, as well as Math K-3 and Phonics K-3. He loves doing those colorful sheets, especially for math, he's on such different levels in each subject, and will progress at such differing paces and they were only $7.86 each. (So, I didn't throw too much money...) I think those will be a handy supplement over the next couple of years.

Oh, I can't go any further without mentioning some of my favorite resources EVER-- the books by Peggy Kaye: Games for Reading, Games for Math, Games for Learning, and Games for Writing. My copies of those are well-worn and loved, and I've already got many of the games made from using them with my other two. Playing games is one of the best ways to learn, in my opinion.

Well, this post has gotten long enough! I'll close for now and post again about what I found for English and Math, as well as some wonderful games and other resources I've found. So many links, so little time!