{"id":60001,"date":"2018-10-04T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/simplehomeschl.wpengine.com\/?p=60001"},"modified":"2026-02-12T10:02:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:02:36","slug":"story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/story\/","title":{"rendered":"Literature and Learning Differences: The Power of Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Literature and Learning Differences ~
\nWritten by Shawna Wingert of Not the Former Things<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

F<\/span>or years, I have felt like a read aloud failure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I love books. I worked in the library all through college, and spend far too much money buying books on Amazon because they will deliver them to my door in just two days time. My boys, however, do not have the same relationship with books.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I have adjusted my expectations.\u00a0We use Audible<\/a> (afflink)<\/em> liberally.<\/p>\n

I allow my boys to choose books that some families might consider frivolous.<\/p>\n

We even stopped going to the library<\/a> every Wednesday when it began to feel like a chore.<\/strong> (My heart hurts just typing this. I was the one who loved our Wednesday afternoons in the stacks the most.)<\/p>\n

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t meet the ideal I had in my own mind about how literature should work in our home and education.
\n
\n\"Literature<\/p>\n

My boys have significant learning differences<\/a> that effect almost every aspect of how they learn and how I teach. Both are dysgraphic and my youngest is also profoundly dyslexic.<\/p>\n

Necessarily, over time, I have learned that the best way to engage them in learning is through story, despite their resistance to traditional, more formal literature requirements. (Incidentally, I think this may be true for all of us – but it is essential for my kiddos.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Moreover, the more I have let go of the list of books I thought were important for us to read and allowed their interests and personalities to guide our choices, I have learned one very important lesson –<\/p>\n

Literature can make a significant impact on children with learning differences.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Literature<\/p>\n

My children struggle to feel comfortable in a world that seems to focus on their differences rather than their strengths.<\/strong> They see what our culture celebrates, and what the definition of success looks like for children their age. They know they cannot compete.<\/p>\n

It’s discouraging, at best. Demoralizing and depressing at its worst.<\/p>\n

Finding books that center on and even the celebrate the different ones, the outcasts, and the kids with unusual talents and strengths, is one to the best ways I know to counteract this negative messaging.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It also exposes them to themes that include overcoming adversity and using your own strengths to succeed – something they both need to master in order to function well as adults in our world.<\/p>\n

\"Literature<\/p>\n

Over the past year, we have listened to the following books on audio:<\/p>\n