Homeschooling the Dyslexic Child: Math

All our children have used Math U See (MUS), so I’ve been with their program for the past 12 years.  This has been a good fit for our dyslexic son, as the hands on, manipulative approach appeals to him.  The curriculum includes a video for teachers, but my kids always watch the video with me before we discuss the lesson.  There is an article on the MUS website about using Math U See for students with special needs.

UPDATE: This school year I felt our son (7th grade now) wasn’t quite ready to move on to Pre-algebra.  One of the struggles dyslexics have with math is that it can be hard for them to remember what order to do certain steps in.

I felt one more year of review and maturity would help get him ready for Pre-algebra, so this year we departed from Math U See (rather than complete the same text again) and did Teaching Textbooks.  Teaching Textbooks is done entirely on the computer (well, almost…he does use scratch paper).  The material it is covering is very similar to what he did last year, but in a different format.  It has worked very well for him, and he and I are both enjoying the independence he has gained from being able to do everything on the computer.  If he gets anything wrong, Teaching Textbooks will walk him step by step through the problem and show him how to do it correctly.  When he completes the curriculum in a few weeks I intend for him to skim quickly through the MUS text he did last year and make sure he has a good mastery of all the concepts.

Next year I intend to enroll him in a co op class for Pre-algebra.

Math Journal:  One thing we have done which is helpful is to keep a math journal.  In his math journal, my son writes formulas that he needs to remember, conversion charts, and the like. It can be helpful to refer back to his journal when necessary, and this has been a useful memory tool, as well.