Auditory Learner help!

[nacmama]

Hey everyone, is there anyone with a child who is an auditory learner? I am a visual/kinesthetic and this is difficult for me to grasp. and even more difficult to figure out how to teach that way!!! (relized after i got done, this got long, tried to get as much "info" so you can get a better picture)

Here are my main 'issues'
I have an 8 year old girl that i watch 3 days a week and she is homeschooled(always been?? I am pretty sure never been to PS) and i 'school' her when she is at my house, both the mother and i are having the same problems. I have her with my 5 year old son doing LHFG, he is quite advanced so a lot of our stuff is on the 1st grade level, anyway, but she still can't keep up with him, so i have seperated them as it was making things worse being together. But the content is basically what he is doing, i think she uses Math-u-See at home some, but she HATES math so much that they don't do a lot of it. the other subjects her mother primarily pulls from literature and doesn't have any particular curriculum. So she doens't send anything with her, was sending ARFH (a higher level than what i have) but it was really too hard for her so brought her down a level to what i am using. also was sending bible verses, but she said totally fine to use what is in my HOD stuff, as she didn't have any particular reason for each verse, where the HOD ties into our weekly theme. anyway,

we are using singapore math 1A and Miquon Orange book. We have every manipulative imaginable(plus household items EXCEPT for an abacus. She has told me that the manipulatives make it very confusing and harder for her.

The mom and i did a little brainstorming last night, and i am convinced she is an auditory learner based on the different characterisics i have read online(several places, mom isn't sure yet, anyway, WHAT DO WE DO for math???????????????????? (I LOVE LOVE LOVE math and it was very easy for me so this is a HUGE struggle for me, i DO NOT want my frustrations to come out and be a part of why she is struggling, but I am afraid i can only 'hide' so much)so for right now we are pretty much incorportaing math into our playtime - for instance we get out money and play store.(she is still struggling with it in that presentation though)

She is also struggling with reading, after several painful days(on my end, not hers, lol) of her trying to read i started her from the beginning of 'The Reading Lesson' That was 3 months ago??? and we ARE making progress, BUT, she obvioulsy goes from memory instead of sounding out. when she comes to new words she will say something that has the same beginning letter, or maybe one or two other letters the same, i know this is somewhat normal, BUT with the vowel sound she looks at it and is clueless, for instance yesterday we were on 11-4 of TRL working on teh oo sound as in moon. (for anyone who doesn't have this here is what was on the bottom of the page)
(also, i cover up the other lines we are not reading, with a white sheet of paper, to cut down on eye distractions, it only helps a teensy bit)

pool poor tool boot

she got the first 3 fine, no problems, (even said poor with an "oo" sound) but she got to "boot" she was lost,

said "buuuhhht"??? "bot"?? "boat" and i don't know what al else she said!!, so i go back a page wtih the oo and briefly ask what sound does that letter combination make, she says "oo"(the right way, confident, no problems) so turn back and she still said one of the others (bot, buuut, something) THEN said boot correctly. (this is very typical everyday and especially if it is a word she hasn't seen before)

For the stories she also looks at the pics and will COMPLETELY make up words as she is reading, so i have been covering the pics and she gets to see them after as she would struggle with simple, simple words because she was making up a story of what she saw in the pic. she has been reading old "dick and jane" books that my dad and aunt had in school(50's) and she is doing ok, with the 1st grade level one reader, but still has problems with new words BUT, if i don't watch her close she makes up the story.

I stay calm, i praise her, i am not negative, i try to make it fun, i smile while she is reading as i know that is going to help my body language when ever i do say something it will come out nicer. I am so frustrated that many days we are 'stretching' to even say we are doing school, and i am a montessori type person who does ton of everyday, discovery, play type stuff. anyway, would LOVE suggestions for resources, approach i should be taking, testing for her (i have suspiscions she might be dyslexic but of all the more reading i do on that the more i think she isn't but is just an auditory learner) She is intelligent, she doesn't have any other problems, she is just way behind and struggling to get make progress.

As for history, dramatic play and science she is great! she is definately at an appropriate level for those,

she struggles with the memory verses(the longer ones mostly) but it takes her longer to get them even with the AWESOME activities carrie has in the curriculum!!! And i try to do them with a beat of some sort. I was teaching Kindermusik and am a HUGE believer in music being a part of all learning and how the 'beat' plays a role. Sometimes it helps her, other times not, I think she just already kinda knew the verse from sunday school or something. My 3 yr. old frequenly gets them before her,(that makes it even worse, as you can see her frustration, and her ego gets smashed! i try my best to let her ego be filled and find creative ways to make sure the others aren't always winning) anyway,

the critical thinking book, she is so-so on, some portions she whizzes through others not. (i'm not too concerned there as i think she just hasn't been presented with the stuff)

handwriting isn't the greatest, getting better, but looks the same as my 5 yr old. and i have to constantly remind her to remember her spaces. we are using A Reason For Handwrting A. She is great at coloring and pretty good at cutting but says her hands get tired.

Ok, i think i am done! tried to be as detailed as possible, i really want to make her time with me enjoyable and for her to LOVE school!!!

Thanks

Salena

ds 8/05
ds 6/07

[mamas4loves]

Hi,

I am so sorry things have been frustrating to you! I have the opposite---my oldest dd appears to have an auditory deficit, which through God's graciousness she is making huge strides on. I can't really offer much help beyond encouraging you to pray for God's wisdom. Some things that have helped us is Dianne Craft's website. She has programs for learning glitches. Many of her 'exercises' helped our dd. As for math--My oldest dd got very confused with math manipulatives and still does not like to work with them. Some things that I have done to help her 'get' it. On a new lesson day I simply present the lesson without expecting my dd to do any problems herself. This helped to reduce anxiety and any performance pressure (she would decide she couldn't do it and then would fixate on that and would not listen to me present the lesson). As I presented the lesson I would verbally and on paper work my way through problem after problem until she would begin to tell me what the next step is. but I would not require her to do any actual work until the next day. On day 2 of the new lesson, I would work through 2-3 problems verbally and on paper, then hand her the pencil and walk her through each step of the problem. The time frame would vary, but eventually she would be quite confident and complete the problems on her own. We started out using Saxon, moved to Rod and Staff, and currently we are using Math-U-See. One thing that I noticed was that my daughter did not fully begin to grasp the concept behind Math until close to the middle of her 5th grade year. Now that I have two other children whom I am teaching Math too, I think some kids just get the concept behind Math at a younger age and for others it takes longer to click. I am not Mathy, but even I was very frustrated and my dd seemingly inability to remember Math from day to day. So I can sympathize with your Math problems.

I hope a little of my story encourages you! Keep seeking the Lord's wisdom. He is faithful. And maybe check out Dianne Craft. she has some wonderful resources!

I just wanted to add that my dd and I are opposite. She is a visual learner and I am an auditory learner. the best thing that helped me to learn was hearing my own 'voice'. I would murmur under my breath, or repeat in my head what I was hearing. I used a tape recorder a lot, especially in high school. I would record whatever it was I was suppose to learn and then listen to my voice. that really helped cement information for me. (I aced many exams that way!) Maybe a possible variation would work for this little girl. Record her saying the letter names (single letters and combination letters), then have her listen to herself. then use record her reading word families. This could work for math facts too. Just a little brainstorming for you!

In Christ,
Jess

[doubleportion]

I am a visual learner and my two oldest are auditory. I had to discover new ways for my dd to learn from how I did. Math was a big struggle for her. Singapore has helped as we have stuck to it. The manipulatives never really did help her much. She'd usually say "Do I have to use those!?" Doing math facts with a tape (Math Raps was what we used) and flashcards helped allot. She learned her phonics sounds best through two different approaches Sing, Spell, Read and Write (was a huge break through for her) and the Leap Frog DVDs Letter Factory and Word Factory. She learns her bible verses best through them being sung. We have used Sing the Word CDs before; and having just started with HOD Preparing this year are loving the CD used in that year. If she can't pick up the verses through oral repetition and music then I would think she was not actually so much an auditory learner IMO. The Bible verses are always one of my dd's easiest things to learn and anything spoken or said out-loud by her or more often read out-loud to her and then repeated becomes memorized very quickly.

I did listen to Cynthia Tobias speak in a homeschool workshop one year and something she said really hit me. She said that auditory learners do not need to hear you speak but rather need to hear themselves speak. You might check out her book The Way They Learn. I was just starting to teach my dd and knew that she was probably an auditory learner but being a visual learner myself had no idea how to help her learn through her strongest learning style.

Don't know if anything I said is helpful, this was just our experience.

Praying that the Lord will give you wisdom, insight, and creativity to teach this dc.

Edie

[nacmama]

WOW!! THANKS for the replys!!! This is a great start to get me her and her mom on track!!

i am NOT an auditory learner in the least, so it is very interesting and exciting to hear from a mom who is! thanks!!!

And THANKS for the encouragement to remember God in all this!!! THANKS!

[my3sons]

I just wanted to second the Leap Frog DVD's. They are excellent for all types of learners, but especially auditory. I agree with pp that most auditory learners benefit from talking through things themselves and hearing "themselves think out loud". So, when you do the wonderful HOD hands-on math lessons with her, first model talking through the lessons using the manipulatives yourself, and then have her do the same. She'll feel more comfortable with it after she sees you do it first, and then I think she'll really benefit most from talking through it herself as you listen. Getting the music CD for the Bible verses should be a HUGE help. I know it was for my ds who is an auditory learner. When doing phonics, you can teach her to say the first sound the loudest. It helped my ds to us a black dry erase marker on a whiteboard. Here's a portion of a past post where I described what we did:

When my ds was struggling, I spent more time modeling than he did reading. Then, he just had to repeat after me for awhile. That worked well and took the pressure off him at first. One other thing that helped was to write the word he was sounding out in black on a markerboard. If the word was "mat", I'd write the letter "m" in black quite large and I'd say the sound for it, then I'd write the "a" and say the sound for that, and then I'd write the "t' and say the sound for that. Then, I'd put a black line under it all and say it blended, "mat". Then, he'd do it that way with me writing as he did it. Another trick is to pronounce the first sound the loudest. One more idea that worked for our dc was to use a rubberband to stretch as we were saying each sound and then snap it back when we blended it.

Have you heard of the BOB books? They are inexpensive, funny, and excellent for beginning readers. We went through these slowly and loved them.

One of my ds's struggled with spacing in his handwriting. Here is a past post where I explained what we did that helped him with this:

Pics of hi-lighting Riley’s lines for HW:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4618&p=34014

I do think it's a good idea to teach her completely separately in her areas of struggle - especially reading, writing, and math. I would try - though I know it is hard to do - to have her out of ear shot of other dc if possible. Her confidence could be shattered otherwise, especially if the 3 yo is getting some things before her. She won't want to "guess" at reading anymore after awhile either, so I think you have an excellent idea to teach her separately for her more trying subject areas.

I hope some of these things can help, and I think over time she will begin to bloom with the loving kindness poured into HOD's curriculum! It's a wonderful way to teach and learn.

In Christ,
Julie

[nacmama]

THANKS julie!!!

I like the post about the handwriting too!! I think that will definately help her!! Can't wait to try tomorrow.

Yes, keeping her out of "ear shot" is what i try to do, as she is a superb listener!!! I have to get creative, and sometimes it just isn't possible, but i do have to keep reminding myself how important it is to keep her from the little ones at critical times

Ofcourse with all our 'tweeking' I am sure it will take some time to see what really does and doesn't work. I have just been so frustrated the last few weeks and after talking with her mom i was hoping for some easy fixes. On one hand it was nice to know it wasn't just me having these problems, but on the other i wanted a solution that could be implemented imediately and fix everything, lol!

Thanks again!!

[Tabrett]

I have 2 dd's who are very much like the girl you describe. One dd is 16 and attends SC Governor's School of Arts and Humanities for voice (opera). This school is a free, merit based public boarding school for the extremely gifted in SC. I'm telling you this to let you know that even if the child struggles with academic school work, it doesn't mean they are doomed for life. My oldest dd did not start reading really well until 6th grade. She was homeschooled from k to the middle of 2nd grade then for 6-8th. I used phonics for her reading instruction. She could "orally" read anything I said. For example, if I spelled the word out loud she could tell me the word (what is c-a-t? DD's reply: cat!). When she looked at the book with the word cat she drew a blank. She was put through every kind of testing a public schools in SC would do. SC doesn't recognize dyslexia and therefor doesn't deal with the problems associated. SC just pushes more whole language instruction. My dd got glasses and had vision therapy in 2nd grade. I didn't see any improvement from the therapy, but that could have been because our doctor wasn't very good. I really don't know. What did helped her was time. She is an avid reader of fiction, but still really struggles reading a text in which to learn from. She needs a story line to remember what has been read. She did tell me that when she read aloud she retained facts better. She can memorize anything that is put to music! She also fails about every test she is given is school!!!! This really stumps her teachers because she does all her work and makes A's on almost everything that isn't a test.

My youngest dd is 7. She is not as talented musically as our oldest, but is following a similar pattern as our oldest dd. I have been through 3 phonics programs with her and her memory of phonograms are hit and miss. One day she knows what /ai/ says and the next she is crying telling me she doesn't remember. She got glasses about 3 months ago and that has made a big difference. Her eye problem is not sight, but tracking and focusing issues. These are the same issues my oldest dd had. I took her to the eye doc when she was in Pre k and the doc never told me she had a problem because it was a developmental issue. The doc gave her glass this time, but said that she would probably out grow her eye issues.

Has the little girl had her eyes check for focusing and tracking problems? Her eyes could be working so hard to read the first several words that by the time you get to the end of the list, her eyes are very tired and letters might start "jumping" around.

There are many studies that say that many dc's eyes aren't developmentally ready for the strain reading causes until ages 8-10. This is a hard pill to swallow because we expect our dc to be reading by 8, not ready to start learning to read.

I struggle with this tremendously! I keep reviewing and reviewing the phonograms. I keep pushing her reading and don't slack off because she struggles. I KNOW from experience that she will eventually start to read as long as I am consistent, but I still keep searching for that magic fix that will instantly fix all her issues.

For some dc time, constant review and determination is the only thing that is going to work!

I really, really, really suggest that her mom and you try to find out what talents and gifts God has given to the little girl in which to put lots of focus. If you do this, she is going to see that God made her for a purpose and she will not be as frustrated about her lack of academic skills, but will blossom in her God given talent. I truly believe that God makes dc exactly the way He wants them made for His purpose. It is our responsibility to help dc find their God give talent and aim those arrows in the way they should go!

I'm sorry if I have rambled on, but knowing that God designed my dc with their learning weaknesses and strengths, because He know this will shape them into the person He wants them to be, gives me hope for their future!. It helps me to keep doing my best to teach them! I hope this is an encouragement for you and her mom!