Finally, a great program for my dyslexic son!

Thank God for T4L!

I have been to this site probably over 100 times in the last 3 years of our homeschooling only to think there had to be a “catch” to it and that an online program without ANY books could not be very good! Well, I was wrong! I have homeshooled my kids for 4 years. The last 3 years have been with a boxed curriculum that I thought was adequate–though I disagreed with its delivery, political/religious stance and the laborious everyday rote work. I have to admit, I was a snob. I thought if there were no books, then the program had to be suspicious and without any academic merit. My thinking was not only challenged, but transformed the other day.

My son is dyslexic and in 4th grade, but reading on a 2nd/3rd grade level. However, when we were working on the second phonics lesson of T4L (on our second day of using the program) and it actually tracked his reading fluency, I was literally brought TEARS! For 3 long arduous years I have struggled working with him using different programs and a very expensive reading tutor all promising to deliver results regarding his reading.

Yet, there was always a voice in the back of my mind wondering if he was getting enough instruction or if any of the programs/tutoring were working. Incidentally, the reading tutor after 4 months told me she just couldn’t help my son any longer. She simply stated that he needed to be placed back in public school for a year so that we could get a voucher and he could go to private school in a very competitive LD program. After her “suggestion”, I always felt insecure and the last straw occurred when my husband told me that our son was falling farther behind in his reading and we needed to reconsider our plans for him with homeschooling. Talking about pressure! But then when the program, to my surprise, tracked his reading fluency and my husband and I could see and hear his progress, I knew we made the right decision with T4L!

Additionally, I have two daughters (11 and 14) who were in learning disabled programs in school. They absolutely HATED the boxed curriculum and now they love T4L. My 14 year old is very mature and opinionated and I feared she would consider some of the graphics/program a bit childish, but she loves all of it! My 11 year old finds herself academically challenged and surprised to find how hard she actually has to work. She can no longer just fill in the blanks and be finished, she actually has to think and then be accountable for what she has learned. I love it for my child!

I now have the opportunity to look at their progress everyday and it is encouraging and empowering as their mother/teacher to feel as though I am truly in control of their learning. I know where we are going, the goals for each activity and can generate reports based on this learning so I can examine them and have a record excites me tremendously! I have always wanted to feel this way from day one when we made the decision to school at home.

Now instead of dreading the annual evaluation, ducking questions from “concerned” relatives and friends about just what the kids are learning and of course wondering if what I did by taking them out of school in the first place had any merit, I can finally rest assured that with T4L all that I’ve hoped and prayed for is now a wonderful reality!