I am by no means an expert, but I do have a boy who is a struggling reader and at one point we had tons of dr. appts (mostly for me and my high-risk pregnancy).
1. I still read outloud to them (the oldest is 9) and I plan on reading outloud for many, many years to come. Kids can understand a much higher level than they can read. I read science, history, literature and poetry to them. All told it’s an hour or two of reading each day. Then they do some independent reading, at whatever their level is.
2. I read in dr’s waiting rooms and in the exam room. We listened to books on tape (ok, CD) in the car and at bedtime. We listened to classical music during lunch or at breakfast. Sometimes we’d look at art books.
3. They drew narration pictures in the car or at the drs. They narrated what we’d read earlier that day or the day before. They also did handwriting/copywork at the dr (I had a bag with books, paper, clipboards, magna-doodles and crayons/colored pencils).
4. Sometimes we just took it back to basics and only did a few subjects on a given day. I tried to stay consistent with math, read-alouds, reading practice (where they read to me) and handwriting. If I had to ditch something every now and then I (tried) not to worry.
Just because a child can’t read doesn’t mean they can’t get a good education in the meantime. It just takes some creative scheduling and some work on your part. Best of luck to you!
Heather
