RAR #176: Homeschooling with Dyslexia

Sarah (00:08): You're listening to the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Mackenzie, homeschooling mama of six and author of The Read-Aloud Family and Teaching From Rest. As parents, we're overwhelmed with a lot to do. It feels like every child needs something different. The good news is, you are the best person to help your kids learn and grow, and home is the best place to fall in love with books. (00:33): This podcast has been downloaded seven million times in over 160 countries, so if you want to nurture warm relationships while also raising kids who love to read, you're in good company. We'll help your kids fall in love with books and we'll help you fall in love with homeschooling. Let's get started. (00:52): On the previous episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, we talked about what dyslexia is, why the way we've been thinking about it may very well be flat out wrong, how to see warning signs in our kids, and what to do if we suspect dyslexia. If you missed it, you definitely want to head over and listen. It's episode 175 in your podcast app, or you can find it on the website at readaloudrevival.com/175. (01:29): Today we're going to talk with Marianne again, and this time we're talking specifically about homeschooling. For those of you traditional schoolers, I'm going to send you to Marianne's book Dyslexia 101. That's actually the book I recommend anyone read who suspects dyslexia in any of their kids. I think it's the best first go-to place if you suspect dyslexia. It's a very quick read, it's extremely helpful, and it's really hope-filled and encouraging. There's an entire chapter in there for you on how to navigate the public school system for your dyslexic child. (02:02): But since the majority of Read-Aloud Revival listeners are homeschooling, that's what we're going to dig into on the podcast today, on how to homeschool our dyslexic kids. And trust me, Marianne Sunderland would know. She's homeschooled eight kids and seven of them are dyslexic. Her website homeschoolingwithdyslexia.com is a tremendous resource for parents who are teaching their dyslexic kids at home. And in fact, she's a pretty passionate advocate for homeschooling being an excellent, excellent choice for dyslexic kids. (02:35): I started our conversation this week by asking Marianne why she believes so strongly that homeschool is a fantastic learning environment for dyslexics. Marianne (02:46): Well, our family initially started homeschooling because we wanted to travel and we wanted to be around our kids and we figured how hard could it really be? Famous last words. Sarah (02:57): Jokes on you. Marianne (03:01): And so we did those things, but we rented out our house while we were on a trip at one time and the people who rented our house put their kids in the local public school where our kids would have gone, and their dyslexic daughter was really shamed and ridiculed in a way that was very damaging to her, at about maybe 10, 11 years old, by her teacher. (03:29): And so we came back and I was like, "Oh, okay, well, that's not good." And my husband who is dyslexic had grown up in England where he would... They're not as child centered as we are here in America, so he would get the slipper, he would get the ruler. He was always getting spanked and in trouble because it looked like he wasn't trying and he wasn't paying attention. And so it was really important to him that we keep homeschooling and not let our kids have to go through that. (03:59): Now, the more I learned... You know how us homeschool parents are when we discover an issue, we're like the FBI, right? We're just like, "Okay, we're going to figure this dyslexia thing out." And so we just kept going and hoping for the best. And when my oldest son was 12... And he learned to read when he was 12, and we were trying, we were trying everything to try to get him to read. It was beautiful. He loved to read and he was reading good books and he'd been listening to books all along and went into high school... and he went to high school to play football and excelled. (04:36): And so I thought, "All right, well I don't know what I just did," because sometimes I didn't know what to do so we'd just stop. We stopped for a couple weeks. And then when we started again, he was doing well. It was like it filtered down or something and he was able to learn. (04:51): So the thing with homeschooling is that your child is free to learn at their pace. And children with dyslexia do learn at a different pace. In the younger years, they just need a lot more review. A lot of them need a lot more hands-on outside time. They need to be able to develop at their pace. And as difficult as homeschooling can be sometimes, when you're teaching the same thing over and over again, kids with dyslexia are notorious for forgetting things. Math facts, very difficult to remember. Sarah (05:25): Silent E, man. This morning. Marianne (05:26): Oh, and the... the. But the beauty really is in allowing them to just grow at their natural pace, to not be defined by their weaknesses. Because a lot of school subjects revolve around reading, and so if your child's not reading, that's a constant reminder that they're behind. They're feeling like they're not smart and those can have damaging effects, depending on the teacher. It can have a long-term bad effect and homeschooling, it allows them to pursue their interests. (06:02): And so what's so beautiful, as your kids... You do a little bit of reading, do a little bit of math, right? You're doing whatever you do around the house and then they're out there raising their bunnies, right? Or sanding their skateboards, or playing guitar and doing things that bring them joy and give them confidence. So I could go on and on and on about homeschooling. (06:24): Even that International Dyslexia Association says that homeschooling is a good option because schools aren't equipped to handle the needs of... They have 30 kids in a class. You could have somebody who's got social, emotional issues or autism or down syndrome. We have all of these issues, it's hard for them to give children the individualized education that they need and homeschooling is a perfect way to do that. Sarah (06:50): Well, and I think reading too is one of those skills that's a little bit easy to fly under the radar. We hear so many stories of kids who couldn't read well beyond when fifth grade, sixth grade, before a teacher finally realizes that they've just been, quote unquote, faking it. Marianne (07:07): Yeah. Sarah (07:08): I've heard so many stories like that and so I think it's one of those things that you can't exactly do that at home when the ratio is so much smaller. They can't really hide that. And then you can give them the skills they need to learn. (07:21): I've heard you say that dyslexia is more an issue for the teacher than the student, because it requires a different way of teaching. So what can homeschooling parents do that helps our dyslexic students in a way that's more teacher focused, than student focused? Marianne (07:36): Well, I think the main thing is to just be observant and sensitive to your child. If they're struggling to remember something you taught them last week, it's not going to help anybody to say, "We just went over this." Trust me, I know. Sarah (07:51): Me too. Marianne (07:52): You take the cue from the kid, right? And you just go back and review it. And any kind of games... There's a woman on Teachers Pay Teachers called... She's The Literacy Nest, Emily Gibson, and she has some fantastic reading games, but you can buy a whole pack, a PDF of reading games for 30 bucks. And I love those, because having trouble remembering the why on the end of a short word, pull out a game and play a game, or have an older kid play a game. And it doesn't even seem like school. Right? They're just getting that practice. (08:27): So being sensitive to how your child learns, understanding and accepting that they learn differently and not... It's not bad and it's not good. It just is what it is. And try not to... I think it's harder for us to get outside the box than it is for our kids, really. Because especially for me, who's an inside the box, just tell me how many pages to do and I'll do it. Give me a list so I can check it off. And my kids are just like... I'm like, "Why didn't you make a list, honey?" They're like, "No, why would I make a list?" "Because your brain's all... it's spilling on the floor, honey." I'm like, "Here, let me write one for you." (09:04): So, being sensitive to how they learn and some days with kids with dyslexia, I don't know what it is, but stuff just won't go in. On days like that, it's not a bad idea to just shift gears. Take a break, read out loud or something, or pull out a game. Find something else to do. That's what all the dyslexia tutors do. They always say to end on a high note. End with their favorite thing. Try to make it fun and they will learn to read. (09:33): My oldest son.... We traveled for three years, so we were pretty much... We would do reading and math and go outside most days. Some days we didn't do... If we were sailing, we weren't doing reading, but they all learned to read. I had all these little kids and I was so worried, because I'm like, "They're just playing." That is the thing, they should be playing. Really, not stressing, embracing their strengths, helping them to embrace their strengths, giving them time to pursue their interests, especially as they get older. I think it's so important in the... especially in the middle school years, to have something that they're good at. Sarah (10:13): What I'm hearing from you is because you said this in the previous episode too, not stressing is so important. And I think if we sit on that for a second, we realized that if the parent who's homeschooling is not stressing and understands that there is nothing wrong with your dyslexic child's brain. There's nothing wrong, it's just a different wiring, so they just need to learn differently in a systematic way. (10:40): Then marrying those two things together, you'd probably enjoy homeschooling a whole lot more and your kids will probably enjoy learning and have more self-confidence because they won't keep butting their head against a wall going, "Why is this so much harder for me, clearly mom or dad thinks I should understand this. I should have gotten this by now." So to me, it feels like it just takes this huge burden off my shoulders. Marianne (11:02): What's really interesting and what studies are showing, especially studies on un-schooling, is that kids... is it Benezai? a math guy out of Italy, I think. But he would say, "Don't even teach math until sixth grade." Sarah (11:19): Okay. Marianne (11:19): And then that they can learn everything that they would have learned K through six in a few months. And if you think about it, adding and subtracting, multiplying and dividing is kind of a basic concept, but some kids when they're young, it just doesn't make sense or they don't like it, or they don't have the attention for it, there's no reason to know it, but they can be... It's the same with grammar. You can teach grammar as needed in high school or later. Sarah (11:48): Absolutely. Or later. Marianne (11:50): They can pick it up. Sarah (11:53): I love this because what you're doing is, you're flushing out something that you say in this free resource on your site, and it will have a link to this in the show notes, but listeners, you can get Marianne's Dyslexia Friendly Guide to Buying Homeschool Curriculum at her website. And in that guide, you were talking about how it's so important for us to narrow our focus to what's most important at each age. (12:16): And I really feel this, because I think every homeschooling parent I've ever met has the same question, which is how on earth am I going to fit everything in? And the more you're running around in homeschooling circles, the more you'll find people who do Latin or who do deep dive history, like real hands on history, they mummify chickens and stuff. (12:39): And then you'll find people who do really... maybe they bake from scratch a lot or they raise... they homestead, they raise chickens probably, they do gardening or really amazing science experiments or lots of incredible field trips. And to me, what would happen is I would sort of collect these ideals from all of these different homeschoolers and think I need to take them all on, but the truth is that none of us can do all of that. (13:02): We sort of have to figure out what's most important at each stage. And when we're talking about dyslexic kids, which I think is what you were saying in your guide, that's even more important because the basics are going to take longer than they would if your child wasn't dyslexic. Right? Marianne (13:15): Exactly, and so in those elementary years, we're exposing them, we're not stressing about science, like a science curriculum. I started a few years ago using the notes app in my phone and every time my kids would ask a question, I'd jot it down and then use that for learning. It's interesting, if you're actually paying attention, your kids ask a lot of questions every day and a lot of times I would normally I would just answer them. Why is the sky blue? Well, I don't know. Sarah (13:45): Yeah, ask your dad. Marianne (13:47): But I would write this stuff down and I would... I'm telling you, I've been homeschooling a long time and the burnout's real. I'm like, I'm just not excited about it as I used to be, in certain ways. But exploring general questions, like how do bees do their thing or whatever, it's really fun. (14:07): Anyway, following interests, having a garden, this is very like... Who is it? Ruth Beechick, she's the one who kind of inspired me to not stress in the younger years. And then in middle school, I would tend to maybe get a general science curriculum, and kind of work through that with the kids and then let the little ones follow along. But just like, here's a cohesive piece of... here's general science. (14:34): I felt like we tied all the little loose ends together. In high school you have requirements, which I would accommodate with audio books and hands-on or videos or whatever. But yeah, I think in the younger years focusing on that remediation, and when I say focus, I mean like if you had to choose between science and reading, do reading. I'm not saying, sit them down for three hours and do a three hour reading lesson because that would not end well. Sarah (15:07): That's so good. Yes. If you have to pick between, and we always do. I think there's always a trade off, right? If you have to pick, then you pick the... In that guide, by the way listeners, Marianne has some recommendations depending on those ages. So if you've got high schoolers or middle schoolers, you can find some specific recommendations in there as well. (15:23): Let's talk about reading, learning to read, because this is the big hurdle for so many dyslexic kids, right? Let's talk about why Orton-Gillingham programs like All About Reading and the Barton Program and Logic of English, why they work so well. And I think I mentioned this in the previous episode, but I did not know that I was moving to a dyslexic friendly reading program when I originally moved to All About Reading. It just started working with my son and I thought, this is magic. These days, we're using Logic of English. I kind of like how it's all in one, everything is in one. It's very open and go. There's lots of games. Marianne (16:01): There's more kinesthetic stuff too, I think. There's more throwing balls and feeling your throat and your nose, which I think is a benefit to a lot of kids. That's one tenant of the Orton-Gillingham approach, is this multisensory. This idea of making it multisensory. And the reason for that is that if your eyes are seeing it and your ears are hearing it and your hands are touching it, your brain's getting input from three different sources. And so the idea is, is that three sources is better than one, right? So multisensory is really important. Sarah (16:38): And the games repeat. As you were talking earlier about how we need to teach the same things again and again, we do a quick run through on our flashcards with Logic of English, to practice those sonograms and then we do some sight words, and then there's lots of games in the program that are repeating. Having your child practice that silent E, which right now is the bear that we're trying to tackle. But it's in a fun way. The kids don't really feel like it's... It's not like a reading lesson, because it feels fun. (17:08): I'm kind of curious about what you'd recommend too for ratio. I think we've mentioned this in the last episode of sort of a recipe, for lack of a better word. We can read aloud to our dyslexic kids and do a solid reading program, systematic reading program, probably an Orton-Gillingham program, and then give them time, because all three of those are going to be necessary. You can't rush this process. You're not going to have a dyslexic six-year-old reading above grade level, probably. That's just not how that's going to go. (17:37): What I've been doing... So, I'd be curious to know what you think about it or if I should change this up, is we read a lot of just... lots. Right? We do about... I'd say 15 to 25, never more... I don't think it's ever more than twenty-five minutes of Logic of English are All About Reading, whatever we're using. Like I said, right now it's Logic of English. (17:56): ...a school day, and that's about it. And I'm always trying to read aloud more than I'm doing phonics. You know, the phonetic program. Yeah. I was looking for the right word there. Does that seem right to you? Marianne (18:08): How old are they? Are your kids that you're teaching? Sarah (18:10): The ones that I'm teaching are seven and nine. Marianne (18:12): Yes, that's plenty. Yeah. I would say, to their tolerance or if you feel like you're at a good place to finish up, that's fine. One thing I used to do is, while we were using All About Reading and they had those fluency strips, you know? And so I would cut them into strips and I'd put them in a jar and while I was cooking, I'd have a kid come in, kind of cycle around and I would try to sneak in some creative ways to review. But yeah, they say in Orton-Gillingham training that a 50 minute lesson is good, but I never had a kid who could sit that long. Sarah (18:51): Yeah, or if you have a bunch of kids like I do, that I would think, "Wow, that's like three hours of my homeschooling day and that's a lot." Marianne (18:57): Yeah, exactly. You do what you can do. I forget Logic of English, combined spelling with- Sarah (19:02): It does. Marianne (19:03): All About Spelling, what I'm doing right now with my boys who are 13 and 10, is just running them through All About spelling, just from the beginning to the end. It's teaching the rules and practicing them, teaching the rules and practicing them. (19:16): So if you have the little fluency sheets or the little books, have them read it to the dog, have them read it to dad. Be creative, get some stars, get some... I'm a psychologist by training, behavior management is my gig. I'm like, "Here, you want some stars? You want a candy?" Sarah (19:37): Chocolate? I know, that's what I was going to say. M&M's? Marianne (19:39): Whatever it takes, yes. I don't know you have to be creative because it's not something that they're naturally going to do, but you don't want to err on the side of making it seem like work or like they're starting to hate it. Sarah (19:54): And I think one of the things that feels so comforting to me as... A lot of times, if our kids are not reading... Well, I'd say almost all the time. If our kids are not reading as quickly as we expected or as quickly as their peers or our neighbors or the other kids in the co-op, we're going to start worrying about our kids. Right? (20:10): And so, one of the things I kept coming back to when I was reading Dyslexia 101, and when I'd been thinking about using these Orton-Gillingham programs and what can we do, is the question we're often asking or I'm often asking at least, is when should I be worried? And I think what I'm hearing you say in these two episodes, you shouldn't be worried. You don't need to be worried, but you should make a plan. (20:31): So here's a plan: do some Orton-Gillingham, read-aloud, print-rich, take your kids outside, let them experience life, let them... You cover a lot of ground in history and science and geography and all these different content areas through your read-aloud's anyway, so focus on a good, solid reading and math base and let your kids follow their interests and you're going to be in good shape. Marianne (20:52): Yeah, and I would say... You know how we talked in the last episode about how there's different degrees of dyslexia? Sarah (20:58): Yeah, we did. Marianne (20:58): So they could be more mildly dyslexic, more moderate or more profound. And that just has to do with the level of processing delay that your child has. But for example my son who's 13, he was... I'm going to guess he was 10, and we were using All About Reading, and he loved it. He'd come and he was really happy to have that one-on-one time with me, but his progress was really slow. (21:24): For me, where I was at in my life, and I know a really good reading tutor in town, we decided to put him with her. We had him tested and sure enough, he was profoundly dyslexic. His processing... It's basically processing speeds. They compare your IQ to what you're actually putting out. And he... So, we put them in with this tutor, because it's like they work on those underlying weaknesses. So I have a post on my site called When Orton-Gillingham isn't enough. Sarah (21:55): Okay. Marianne (21:55): So, now it absolutely is enough, but he probably wouldn't be where he's at right now. You know what I'm saying? Sarah (22:03): Okay, okay. Marianne (22:04): It would be a lot slower. So if you feel like your child is starting to feel bad about themselves, or they're being embarrassed in classes that they might be taking, or there's some extenuating circumstances that make you feel like you need to hurry the bus up, then I would consider getting an experienced dyslexia tutor to implement a program. And they have a lot of tips and tricks and they've seen a lot before, so they know... We can use these Orton-Gillingham programs, like All About Reading and Logic of English, but we don't have all the tricks up our sleeves like some of these tutors have. (22:38): And it can also take a lot of pressure off of both of you, because homeschooling is hard enough on your relationship as a mom, let alone when you're trying to get a kid to read and maybe they're starting to get upset. And then, if they're in their tween stages, then they're getting angry, because their hormones can't behave. Sarah (22:59): Yes. Marianne (23:00): You know what I'm saying? So, I 110% believe that parents can teach their dyslexic kids to read, but if you feel like you need help, it's absolutely okay to get help and it allows you to focus on other things. Sarah (23:14): That's so good. I think that's true across the board too. I know at one point I realized my homeschooling or my parenting relationship with my children would improve if I was not the one teaching math. And that has been true. (23:27): I wanted to ask you about testing and I almost forgot. So to test or not to test? I want to know, what do you recommend, first of all? Listeners who think that they might have a dyslexic child, should they get tested? What are the benefits of doing so? All that good stuff. Marianne (23:41): Okay. So testing... There's different kinds of testings. There's assessments that you can go online and look up a list, and if you have a large amount of the signs and you have a close relative with dyslexia, it's probably dyslexia. That's an assessment. But to get a diagnosis, you need someone with a PhD who can administer a variety of tests. There's no one test for dyslexia, there's a variety of tests. They're going to test your IQ, always, because your child just may not have that high of an IQ and that just may be the reason. Sarah (24:15): So dyslexia is when their IQ is not lower than you would expect, but their processing is? Marianne (24:21): Yes. Sarah (24:22): Okay, got it. Marianne (24:23): So there's working memory. I have a couple of classes on this if you ever... I'm such a nerd, I love learning about learning. Working memory is kids with dyslexia have poor working memory. So holding something in their head and using it while it's in there. Like word problems in your head. Visual auditory processing, executive functions, that's your organizing, planning, emotional regulation. (24:49): So they're going to test all those things, your phonemic awareness, but that can be very expensive. So for a lot of families, that's not doable. You can try to get it done through the school, the public school. We joined a charter school for a couple of years, got some kids tested and hopped out. (25:08): So, if you're planning to homeschool, like you were saying, "I'm going to homeschool and I know what to use, so do I need to test?" Absolutely not. Now, if you want your son to have accommodations on the SAT or ACT, you're going to need recent testing. So that would be like ninth grade and above. And then you'd have to also show that you have used accommodations in school. So, that's one reason to test. (25:34): Another reason to test is if you're really insecure or your family's insecure and your child feels like they're not intelligent, a dyslexia... a battery of tests would show your IQ is here and your... everything else. This is why. Right? Another reason to get tested though, is that the department of rehab in the United States now considers dyslexia a disability. Oh, and ADD. So, if you have a diagnosis, you can go to the Department of Rehab and it varies by state, but my daughter just got finished her bachelor's degree and didn't pay for tuition or books. Sarah (26:17): Oh, wow. Marianne (26:17): You have to jump through some hoops. You have to give them the information that they need you to, give them the testing, check in and so forth. Here in California, they'll pay your tuition, like whatever grants and financial aid FAFSA gives you, they'll take that first and then they'll pay the rest and your books. So, that's a really compelling reason to get tested. (26:42): Now, here's how my daughter got tested, because she's more mild and she learned to read on her own and I didn't feel a need to test her, but she did go to a community college to start out because I didn't want to stress them out by making them do all the requirements and taking the SAT. I just... I can't. I can't be a sane mama and do that. (27:06): So, at the community college, she got tested for free. So she went into the student services and asked to be tested and they were like, "Yeah, sure." And the testing was amazing. So those are some reasons why. If you want to accommodations on the SAT, ACT, you want to get financial aid from Department of Rehab, or you just want to know. (27:30): One of my kids was super quirky. I was like, "I don't know, if we're talking maybe some Asperger's or..." So, we had him tested just to see what was going on with him, and it helped to know. His intelligence was fine. He just has really low processing and really low executive function. Sarah (27:53): Yeah. I wanted to ask you about executive function actually. So I think I understand executive function to be like being able to organize yourself, manage your time and organize your space. Is that right? Am I getting that right? Marianne (28:05): Yeah, and it's attention. So kids with ADHD would have poor executive function skills. So kids with ADHD, they have trouble focusing, but they're also unorganized, forgetful, impulsive. Not all kids with executive function weakness are impulsive, but like emotional regulation, social stuff can be difficult. Yeah. Sarah (28:26): Okay, and this is a struggle for a lot of dyslexic kids. Is that right? Executive function? Marianne (28:30): Yeah, not all, but maybe 40 to 60%. Sarah (28:35): Okay. That's a pretty large number. So, do you have any tips or helps for parents who think they might want to help their kids in that area, or any articles or anything that we can link to... Marianne (28:46): Yeah. Well, I have a class and again, I'm not wanting to promote my stuff like this- Sarah (28:49): This is great yeah. Marianne (28:50): But I really do have a class on my site and it's called Executive Function something, but it's really good. I went to class with a... It was the International Dyslexia Association and someone was teaching on it and it was just so good. So it gives a lot of different tips for helping a kid because essentially, like with reading, your dyslexic kids need to be explicitly taught each rule systematically and reviewed, it's the same with executive function. (29:24): It needs to be taught in little pieces and reviewed and practiced until it becomes a habit. I don't know if you've ever read that book, is it the Power of Habit? Sarah (29:34): Yeah. Marianne (29:34): It's the yellow book with the red bike on it. Sarah (29:36): Yes. Marianne (29:36): That book was so good. But the power of habit is profound. So we want to get our kids in a habit of like their morning routine, and this class will talk about lists, and different ways to help keep them in check and help them to keep themselves in check, like passage of time, prioritizing is really difficult for them. Sarah (30:00): It sounds to me like... I'm going to actually go grab that course after we're done talking, because this sounds to me like, especially a really helpful set of tools to be able to give your high schooler who is dyslexic, because these are the skills that they're going to need to succeed in their adult life or in college or whatever they're doing after high school and even through high school. Right? Marianne (30:19): Yeah, like things like learning how to use a planner and to divide up assignments into chunks, and then to estimate how long they think they're going to take. There's even an exercise on there where you could have them estimate. Well I think it's going to take me 20 minutes to read this chapter. Right? And then it takes them an hour and 20 minutes, and so you can kind of just... It's a chronic situation in my house. (30:43): I tell people, I'll take dyslexia over executive functioning weaknesses every day of the week, because you feel like you're nagging them and then they feel like you're disappointed in them all the time. So it's really important to get some strategies. And then I'm trying to think... A site that I really like is called ADDitude, but it's with A-D-D, Additude. They have a lot of really helpful articles and a lot of research. Sarah (31:17): Now it's time to hear from the kids. They'll tell us about the books they've been loving lately. Jason (31:32): Hi, my name is Jason and I am 14 years old and I live in Wisconsin. One of my favorite books is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling. I love this book because of the danger and I love the society called the Order of the Phoenix. Ellie (31:44): Hi, my name is Ellie. I'm 12 years old and I live in Wisconsin. One of my favorite books is The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy. I love in this book how the main character, Michael, stands firm through the many trials he faces and how God redeems his life by many miracles, even though the world is torn by war. Megan (32:02): Hi, my name is Megan. I am 10 years old and I live in Waukesha, Wisconsin. One of my favorite books is The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I love this book because in the Battle of Five Armies, when all seems lost, Beorn and the Eagles came. Then Beorn slew Bolg and the Goblins and Wargs ran in fear. Gracy (32:16): Hello, my name is Gracy and I am five years old, and I live in Wisconsin. My favorite book is the Berenstain Bears, and I like when they get mad at each other. Edith (32:38): Hi, my name's Edith and I live in Seattle. My favorite book is Miss Nelson is Missing! And I am five years old and I like it because Miss Viola Swamp teaches them a lesson. John (32:54): Hi, my name is John. I live in Seattle. My favorite book is Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, because Fudge is funny. Zach (33:05): My name is Zach. I live in Papua New Guinea. And I'm four years old and my favorite book is Desert Baths by Darcy Pattison. Zeke (33:16): My name is Zeke. I live in Papua New Guinea and I am eight. My favorite book is The Nantucket Sea Monster by Darcy Pattison. Aleshia (33:31): My name is Aleshia. I am 11 years old and I live in Michigan. My favorite book is the Bible because it's filled with so many good stories, but my most favorite one of all Bible stories is David and Goliath, because it's just how someone little just stood up to someone like a big bully and won, because of God's help. Speaker 12 (33:53): [inaudible 00:33:53], five, Michigan. [inaudible 00:33:53] because it's about God and we have a family crest. Speaker 13 (34:11): [inaudible 00:34:11], eight, Michigan. My favorite story [inaudible 00:34:11]. Sarah (34:14): Excellent. Thank you so very much kids. Hey, the show notes for this episode are at readaloudrevival.com/176. You're going to find links there to Marianne's website, Homeschooling with Dyslexia. You'll find links to her book. The one I recommend so highly, Dyslexia 101, and also her courses, including the course on Executive Function that she mentioned today. (34:38): You'll also find links to some of the other things she mentioned, including that set of phonics games from Teachers Pay Teachers. I actually snagged that myself to be able to use with my own emerging dyslexic readers. So, really excited about that. Again, those links are at readaloudrevival.com/176. That's it for me today. I'll be back in two weeks with another episode. In the meantime, you know what to do, go make meaningful and lasting connections with your kids through books. (35:19): So many of us feel overwhelmed in our homeschool. There's a lot to do, and it feels like every child needs something a little different. The good news is, you are the best person on the planet to help your kids learn and grow and home is the best place to fall in love with books. (35:45): I'm Sarah Mackenzie. I'm a homeschooling mother of six, the author of Teaching from Rest and the Read-Aloud family, and I'm the host here on the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. This podcast has been downloaded over eight million times and you know, I think it's because so many of us want the same things. We want our kids to be readers, to love reading. We want our homes to be warm and happy havens of learning and connection. We know that raising our kids is the most important work of our lives. (36:22): That's kind of overwhelming, right? You are not alone. In Read-Aloud Revival Premium, we offer family book clubs, a vibrant community and Circle with Sarah, coaching for you, the homeschooling mom, so you can teach from rest, homeschool with confidence and raise kids who love to read. (36:46): Our family book clubs are a game changer for your kids' relationship with books. We provide you with a family book club guide and an opportunity for your kids to meet the author or illustrator live on screen. So all you have to do is get the book, read it with your kids and make those meaningful and lasting connections. They work for all ages. From your youngest kids to your teens. (37:15): Every month, our community also gathers online for a Circle with Sarah, to get ideas and encouragement around creating the homeschooling life you crave. They're the most effective way I know to teach from rest and build a homeschool life you love. (37:38): We want to help your kids fall in love with books, and we want to help you fall in love with homeschooling. Join us today at rarpremium.com.