When you say "slow to improve with his reading," do you mean he is not able to decipher the words, or that he doesn't do well in reading out loud as far as intonation and pausing at the right places and such?
The reason I ask is because it sounds like you are describing my son a few years ago. He has always been extremely meticulous with drawing and writing. He was coloring within the lines long before the other kids his age had graduated from scribbling. This has also translated into his handwriting. He is very meticulous about getting each letter just right (which makes it take a long time for him to complete a writing assignment). He read very early (deciphering the words), but is just now (at 8 yrs old) "getting it" when it comes to intonation and pauses.
One thing you mentioned about the feeling of clothes and tags in his shirt makes me think that is connected with the coloring skills. I don't know if you have ever heard of sensory processing disorder or not, but that is what it sounds like to me. My son has this. I don't really like calling it a disorder, because as I have learned more about it and learned how to help him deal with the frustrating issues (tags and clothing textures, etc), the less these issues affect him. Then I am able to embrace the good issues that have stemmed from it (how meticulous he is, how super-focused he can get on something that interests him, how he notices when something is out of place and has to make it right, etc.) I could go on and on about this topic, but I just wanted you to check out this disorder to see if your son fits the descriptions. There are checklists out there to help determine if he does, and if he does you can begin to help him with the other issues while more fully appreciating the cool things about it and overall find out what makes him tick, so to speak.
If you do find that he does match up with the descriptions (not mine, but the checklist because SPD has many different faces), I would be glad to give you more information. Since I have two kids with this disorder, I became a self-taught "expert" on the subject, lol.
I hope it is ok to post a link to another website on here since it is not for another curriculum, but for a checklist of SPD. If not, I apologize. Here it is:
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder. ... klist.html
Blessings!
Allison
Wife to Clay
Mommy to Rachel (Preparing), Luke (Beyond), and Sarah (LHTH)
I've never seen a child soooo into his coloring. He can copy intricate, detailed circle-line patterns with ease. Does this fall into a learning style or something entirely different? He is one of 4 children and the only one that is like this. I thought since he is so extreme in this way, it might help for me to curve some of his lessons toward his passion. What do you think?
I thought if he were visual, the reading thing would come easier. There could be other things going on, but I was just thinking that perhaps it had something to do with a learning style. He can be fussy about tags in t-shirts, the "feel of clothes", etc. (kinesthetic), but he is also so "into" coloring (visual). I wasn't sure if I should change how I use my reading time with him.