Way Cool

We are almost finished with our convention season. We have one more convention to attend and as it is right here in our hometown of Morgantown, Wv, it makes the trip easy and with little prep work. This will be the state convention and I hope making the move from Charleston to Morgantown means it will be bigger and better. We have enjoyed and learned from every convention we attended this year. We were asked over and over if we had a high school line. We have had many, many talks at our business meetings about this. It seems now is the time to put all our ideas onto paper and develop this line. It is not anything we are throwing together or taking lightly. To develop a line that high schoolers would want and use takes A LOT of consideration and thought. But let me just say, that the idea that did come and is in development (all over my kitchen floor and table) is WAY COOL…..It will take quite some time and trial after trial, print after print, tweak after tweak…….but the skeleton frame I am working with……..WAAAAAAAY COOOOOL….I wish I was in high school again. The first stage of development will deal with timelines for literature. We use Pockets of Time for the elementary level. These just wouldn’t be cool enough for the grades we had in mind. If all works out on paper as I see it in my head, your readers will WANT to get to the next chapter in the book. I love this stage of development. I can’t wait until we have enough to tease you with. We will be planning issue dates soon. Keep checking back every so often. We work fulltime through the summer and have LOADS of new stuff coming out before school starts again.

Blessings,

Shannon

Pocket Pics

We have had several people wonder about what a pocket looks like upon completion.  Well here they are!

    

MORE PICS TO COME SOON!

Learning Disabilites and Fortunately For You Books Part 2- UNIT STUDIES

The more I read the less I know. I heard this statement when I was a child and can remember trying to wrap my brain around it and thinking it just doesn’t make sense. Now it is a recurring chapter title in my life! We can be confident and a living testimony when we tell our children that the learning NEVER ends. We will never know it all and if we are readers, we will learn on a daily basis.

Which brings us to reading. Which brings us to unit studies.

 Reading is THE recipe for lifelong learning. If you read, you can learn about anything. My favorite places in Morgantown, WV are the libraries, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million. I love being surrounded by books. I love to read. I love to learn. I knew absolutely nothing about dyslexia. I THOUGHT I knew a few things but turns out what I thought I knew was just stereotypical and something I probably picked up from a movie. It all makes sense to me now.

And I am still amazed at how the product we developed- not with learning disabilities in mind- uses elements that will help my son learn.

We now have three unit studies that are for sale: Fortunately For You: Books 1-3 A Series of Unfortunate Events, Wisdom from the Wardrobe: based on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Within the Web: based on Charlotte’s Web. Soon to be released is Gatherings from the Garden: based on The Secret Garden. Every one of these unit studies uses these approaches:

discussion approach- an oral discussion about something in the story takes place

notebook approach- there will be a piece of paper with something to show for this activity

investigative approach- a little more research and a little more though will be needed in this activity. There will usually be some paper result at the end.

experience approach- this is where you physically try something out that relates to something that was read

Not only do you have 4 approaches that engage the whole mind of a child, some of these activities can be combined in an activity. As our unit studies cover everything but math, you will have a huge menu of options to pick from. There are so many ways you can read a chapter, you will certainly be able to use this again with the same child in later years or with other children and never touch the same selections you already used! Under Language/Writing, Science, Social Studies, Health, Lifeskills, Bible, and Art  you are able to pick the approach you child needs that day. You are never tied into what you HAVE to do to use this unit study. This curriculum is based on  your child’s needs and is made to conform to what you see is most beneficial for that day.

Children with learning disabilities need ways of learning that engage yet conform to their daily needs. Being able to change daily and pick approaches purposefully for your student will benefit them greatly. Our activities are what we like to call “micro bursts”. They are short trips into learning. You read of something in the story, you take notice, engage and learn and go back to the story. I find this so beneficial with Jesse. Break it up, keep it short. We get lots done, but do things in small increments.

I love our unit studies and as we gear up and are preparing for our convention season, we are most excited to get the unit studies into hands of parents. If you can help your child with an LD love a story and engage their mind with knowledge from that story, you are nurturing something that can help them their whole life. Our unit studies help children with short attention spans and a need for non-repetitiveness to connect with a piece of literature and come away with a portfolio of knowledge.

I know so many parents would love these unit studies. We just need to get them in their hand.

You will want to be watching for our Gathering from the Garden release. There is not a better way to end the school year that with a unit study for the classic The Secret Garden. The book itself is amazing and this unit study is one of the best. (heads up- 144 pages of free worksheets alone!!!!) We have made a whole collection for this unit study. Some things may benefit one of your children or all of them. All can be used alone without needing another product. But ALL will be worth every penny.

Fortunately For You Books is committed to giving you the tools that will help you develop a love for reading. If your child has an LD and reading is a struggle, these unit studies are worth a try. I can now speak from personal experience (read Part 1) on this issue. Not all unit studies are the same, and not all unit studies can give a daily freedom to meet a child’s needs. For those children who need a structure that considers their needs, try a unit study of ours. You can get them instantly as an ebook.

Your friend at FFYB,

Shannon

IN 7 DAYS!!

In 7 short days a whole “Secret Garden” line will be released!  This is not JUST our unit study.  We have many supplemental books to go along with “The Secret Garden”!  We have been working diligently to get this all released for you on the same day.  There will be copywork, pockets, and several NEW things for you purchase.  What a great time to introduce or reintroduce Mary, Colin, and Dickon to your child as they take a magical adventure into The Secret Garden.

Learning Disabilites and Fortunately For You Books Part 1

How is it possible that the youngest child of a family that has homeschooled for 16 years could get through 6th grade and be dyslexic and no one ever have a clue? I offer this article realizing if it can happen to me, it can happen to you. What I had seen with Jesse (12 yr. old youngest son) over his school years were problems I could pass off with different reasonings or excuses. Spelling was a huge source of frustration. Writing, well you have read some previous posts on how hard it was. Reading, always seemed stressful and not quite the joy the other children had. I reasoned that I was somehow neglecting him in some areas…or that he didn’t try hard enough…or care enough ( thankfully, I never voiced those thoughts to him!)….or that some of the years I focused extra hard on highschool with the older kids, I had made him a bit behind in his grade level. Several things were eye openers for me: when I realized that Jesse could not sit and read the Spiderwick series alone, when his spelling showed no remembrance of vowel rules or patterns(6th grade and I was STILL repeating the two vowel rule), and when I realized how fantastic an oral/visual learner he was. These things started my investigation and learning that possibly Jesse was a mild to moderate dyslexic. My limited knowledge of this disability was evident in that I thought it was just kids reading words backwards. I had no idea of the many symptoms this disability could be revealed. I could spend all day writing about this, but I am still learning myself and will share more as I learn more. I am still in the humbled stage of realizing that even as a veteran homeschooler, I still missed something so huge in my child and if I had known earlier, would have saved Jesse from frustration and difficulty. I do not want to lessen my responsibility and blame, but I also do not want to think that as homeschooling parents we will ALWAYS have the ultimate knowledge. I do believe that timing is of the Lord, and for some reason it was now that it was revealed to me how to help my son in a more productive way. Maybe I wasn’t listening before, maybe He wasn’t leading before. Either way, I am now thoroughly humbled yet in awe of this one thing: The curriculum and tools Fortunately For You Books has been working so diligently on for the last 3 years is an excellent tool for children with learning disabilities. I know I should not be surprised to know this, but to think that three years ago the Lord laid something on our hearts that would turn out to the tool that MY child needed, well, that is just downright awesome!

Let me explain. I ordered the reading program The Stevenson Method and sure enough, within days a significant improvement was seen. Now four weeks into this program and virtually all stress from spelling is gone, reading is fluent (not grade level yet), and comprehension is perfect. I recommend this program for any child, with or without learning disabilities. It is a wonderful way to get phonics rules in a way that recall is immediate. So now that we had reading on track, and he is picking up books and now I don’t want to say anymore, “Jesse, that is going to be too hard for you to read alone”……..He is picking up books and excited that maybe he can read this alone, but I am afraid he will be making up words because he can’t break them apart and sound them out yet. I am afraid he will read and read and not understand what he is reading. I am afraid that he will read this whole book, NOT get it and then the book will be lost to us for pleasure and enjoyment as he will not want to read it again! So I handed him the book and I handed him a POCKET of TIME that went with the book. The POCKETS used the same elements of design that Stevenson’s Method recommends: a break up of activities in short amounts of time….there is reading, coloring, cutting, and then placing in order. Never one long process that loses the mind. When I gave him the book, I sat at the table with coffee, waiting. He came back not too long afterwards, showed me his order of cards placed in the pockets. I was thrilled that every one of his colors was in order. He was obviously able to read with enough fluency that all his attention wasn’t going to just reading, but remembering details as well. And so it went. And with these pockets, I will know the moment reading becomes difficult again.

While Pockets of Time were not originally created for children with learning disabilities, they are certainly beneficial for them.  For children with dyslexia who can read, this is a way to let them read independently and be assured of their comprehension without pages and pages of tests and fill out worksheets.Nothing screams torture for a dyslexic child than pages and pages of worksheets! For dyslexic children who are still struggling to read, the best thing you can do is still read TO that child on their grade level or above. While they are reading themselves below grade level, it is imperative that they be read aloud in their appropriate grade level. You can do this using our Pockets of Time. This will increase and develop the comprehensive thinking and evaluation skills. They can prepare and handle the cards as you read and place into the pockets in order as they happen.

I had no idea when we sat at a kitchen table three years ago and burned with a desire to develop these tools and curriculum to help homeschool families, that the mind of the Lord was directing us with something that my own child would need to give confidence and independence with reading. I am so thankful and in awe about that.

I am going to continue writing several articles about this subject as days go by. I am afraid there is too much on my heart and this post would be miles long if I wrote all I want to now!!! Come back soon as I am on spring break and hope to do a lot of catch up on the blog.

Blessings,

Shannon

By Design

That seems to have been my mantra for school this year…..by design. I am referring to how God designed our children right from the get go. And how if we would really pay attention, we could see it so clearly in everyday little things, thereby saving us LOADS of frustration and money and time.

Frustration because we try to put information into their little heads in a way that may make sense to us, or worked for us, but by design, is not being filtered correctly.

Money as we spend precious resources on products that appeal to US or that we think will be the best savings because you can use for ALL the kids! Wrong- been there, done that. What works for one does not always work for another. Go ahead and spend the extra money now and get what the child needs because you are going to anyways. Either now or in 6 years after you beat your head against the wall, and I do not mean the proverbial wall.

Time- the obvious. We waste time. Our most precious resource. Don’t fight, resist or deny the way God designed your kids. Study the different ways children learn and retain information. Honestly, the longer I homeschool, the less I know! I am still learning so much about how children learn. I wish I had some years back. Hind sight doesn’t need to be everything. Observe your children.

Let me tell you what I observed this week in math class. Oh, math class. With this unnamed child, I swear I am beating my head against the wall. Not that he can’t get algebra. He is very bright. Gets it. ( we are in Saxon Algebra 1). He questions EVERYTHING…he gets hung up on details. Little things in the word stories that DO NOT MATTER WHATSOEVER SO JUST DO THE PROBLEM….whew…..ok..We have gone past the silly questions like “why does it have to be an x, why can’t it be j?”…that was so last year. Now it is more like…”who sat down and figured this out? Why? didn’t they have jobs?  Can’t I do it this way? see. mom I did it this way and it worked so why won’t it work every-time?” and on and on and on and on. Very good questions. Very creative. I have nurtured him and taught him to question everything. Don’t believe just because someone said it. I am paying for those golden nuggets every day! I am not a math person. I can flub  and act my way through Algebra 2. But I have paid through the nose for the extra teacher solution manuals, I have studied in the late night hours for the next day, I have gone into the bathroom to practice acting confident so they don’t spot weakness (anyone who has four boys understands this!). But I don’t care about this stuff and I don’t know all the answers to the thousands of questions I face everyday.

Which leads to another son who had math class. Show him the formula. Show him what problems go with that formula. Write the formula. Replace the formula with numbers. Solve. Do this. Do that. Done. No questions asked. Done. Done well. Pride in accomplishment.

           

And here is where design comes in: can you tell which one is the United States Marine and which one wants to be a detective more than anything in the world??? Can you see what was already instilled and yes, even installed in them since they were created? I am telling you, this knowledge is the only thing that saves my sanity on a daily basis!!!!

Blessings,

Shannon

Top 10 List of Things to be Thankful for After Reading Little House Books

 

Okay, we have just published the first Pocket of Time in the Little House series. More will be coming. But after reading about this life, it makes one thankful for being born at the time we were born in! Here is our list of things we are most thankful for having after reading these books:

10. butter that comes in 4 neatly packaged stick. I don’t do churning

9. mattresses- proper ones, not the ones you have to stuff with hay, to be beaten and taken out to dry daily

8. our bathrooms- IN the house

7. internet- we need news NOW, not two months from now

6. grocery stores- they do all the storin’ up for the winter!

5.  urbinization- we have yet to see a bear!

4. meat that comes in those cute little packages- without a face and fur!

3. modern horse power- Nascar fans know what I am talking about!!!! ( Go Jeff!)

2. razors- no wonder there were so many big foot sightings!

1. our church- we are debating if we could sit at home and stare at our families all day.

note from Kelly- (In the little house books…on Sunday all the children were allowed to do was sit in a chair.  There was to be no laughing no loud talking…only listening when stories were being read or told.  There was no playing, no cooking….very old testament!!  Very strict rules on sunday…oh my)

 There were many others, such as running water, washing machines, refrigerators, on and on it could go. This might make a good activity when the kids are reading the book. Keep a journal of the things that are different and/or you are thankful that they are!

Please feel free to add to our list. I am sure we missed some good stuff!

`Shannon

What TAGS OF TIME Look Like

If you wondered what our newest product Tags of Time look like, here are some pictures of  a set of Tags from The Courage of Sarah Noble. These little chapter tags are such a great way to work with memory, comprehension and accountability!! Please pass the word along!

 Available Tags of Time:

      

Visit our website to order these Tags and to see our Pocket of Time products!!

www.fortunatelyforyoubooks.com

Shannon

Copywork for February

The homeschooling world has fallen in love with copywork these last few years. Charlotte Mason knew what she was talking about all those years ago. We are getting back to basics and learning to adapt our curriculum to fit the child’s mind. Copywork is a fantastic approach for teaching observation, attention to detail, penmanship, and giving quotes to a child that they would never have come across any other way. Hanging in my own son’s bedroom are quotes they have read as result of copywork. Fortunately For You Books puts out a wonderful Pocket of Copywork every month, thanks to the effort of Kelly. She has a great eye for finding quotes children will be drawn to and finding that perfect balance of length and substance for elementary level children.

This month the theme is love…what else can you have in February??!!! But the fantastic thing about this Pocket is it covers not only the love for our family, our friends and our Lord, but also love for our country as Presidents Day and two of our greatest president’s birthdays are this month. What a clever way to mix the two!

Check out our website to purchase this months edition of Copywork.

www.fortunatelyforyoubooks.com

~Shannon

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

We now have SO many emails and sign ups for our newsletter that we had to go to Constant Contact as our mail distributor. And we are not talking the FREE 100 addresses program. We are talking having to PAY! And we do not mind in the least. We are more than happy to have this wonderful business grow and expand and need to include extra costs in our budget to meet the ever changing needs of our customers. Thank you to all who have forwarded our address and site to your friends. You are the best  advertisement we can have! Keep passing on the site and this blog address. We have a wonderful list of products that will be released this spring. Right now we are working on a unit study for The Secret Garden. We also have many Pockets of Time and Pockets of Copywork coming out. Little House fans should keep a close eye out for our emails. Spiderwick fan? Our collection is complete!! Patricia St. John collector? Keep checking for a release date!

So, congratulations to FFYB for making one more step in reaching more people with reading tools. And thanks to all you who help us water the seeds for a love of reading in your child.