Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

Easy Peasy is the curriculum I nearly talked myself out of using many times. I’m so glad I didn’t listen.

Poetry? Surely my active, ADHD, hyperlexic son would hate poetry. But we stuck with it and Mr. David’s videos became one of my son’s favorite EP memories. He even recognized several poems in other contexts. I’m so glad we stuck with it.

Such hard reading assignments! No way will he enjoy archaic language and long chapters – in first and second grade? But we stuck with it. And his vocabulary blossomed. And his comprehension grew. And he liked it.

But having him restate what happened in the chapter? No way. And I wish we had stuck with it. By fifth grade I learned that one of the best ways to help a hyperlexic learner (or any learner for that matter) with comprehension is to have them restate what happened often in a reading passage. It increases speaking skills, articulation, summarization, comprehension, visualization, and application skills.

Heidi? No way will my son enjoy a book about a sweet little girl. But I stuck with it and he loved it. In fact he shivered with excitement at some parts, laughed out loud at others, and tears welled up when the grandfather reconciled with God.

Swiss Family Robinson? No way! It’s boring and scientific and wordy. But I stuck with it. And he liked it. He still has his diorama he made of the island.

And I can’t count the times I thought this about a science lesson or a history lesson. “He’s not going to like this…” and he loves it.

But the biggest surprise of all was Penrod. Reading about an irreverent, irrepressible, impulsive, indolent, and irascible boy was one thing I don’t think my own incorrigible imp of a son needs to do. It’s bad enough reading “Calvin and Hobbes!” But he laughed and laughed through the chapters. So did I! And right when I thought there was no hope for Penrod, we meet his great-aunt. Her wisdom in raising wild boys gave me such hope and encouragement. I’m so very, very glad we didn’t listen to myself talk us out of this experience.

-By EP user Beth Swan