I totally doubted my ability to teach him, and secretly suspected he should just be taught to shine shoes while we got the sofa ready to be his life-long bed. Not being the type of person who gives up without a fight, I did a lot of studying on my own. My research pointed me directly at the idea that Jasper might possibly be dyslexic. I also did some reasearch into Learning Styles, and between the techniques outlined for the dyslexia and adapting our homeschool to Jasper's learning style, we began to and continue to find joy in our learning journey. Although most people have a mixture of learning styles, they are ususally most comfortable with one style.
Auditory learners learn best by being told how to do something.
Kinesthetic learners learn best through physical activity, learning by doing. Visual learners are the ones who have to be shown how to do something, either by example or by written instructions. Jasper is very much an auditory learner, learning best from being told how to do something, being read to, or by telling others what to do. To adjust our curriculum to his needs, I began reading the reading material aloud, writing his stories and papers while he dictated them to me, and by using a tape recorder to re-inforce lessons he had learned earlier. My son Isaac, on the other hand, is a very Visual learner, learning best by reading all the materials himself.