Homeschool: Creating Short Stories For Little Readers

I pretty much share all of my crafty projects and things with you guys. But, now that we are a homeschooling family, I figured I would share some of the creative ways I educate my two boys. My youngest (the outspoken 7 year old) has struggled with reading since the beginning (He was diagnosed with PDD-NOS which was later changed to Autism Spectrum Disorder. What does this mean, exactly? As far as learning goes, to attempt to simplify a complicated diagnosis, he tends to be a bit delayed in certain areas of childhood development. When he was in school, the delay was VERY OBVIOUS and frustrating...for mom and child. Now that we are homeschooling, he has come a LONG WAY!) Ok....so fast forward to present day......We have conquered letter recognition, sounds, proper pencil grip, writing our full name and so much more....WOO HOOOO!!! Seems silly to celebrate this but if you knew where we started, you would be jumping for joy right along with me! Now, we are knee deep in expanding his world of reading. I purchased "The Reading Lesson:Teach Your Child To Read In 20 Easy Lessons" ( Buy Here ) and I really like it! The problem was that I couldn't find too many books that had JUST the words he knew from each lesson. When it came time for "Quiet Reading Time" he was frustrated because he couldn't really read any books we had (and we have PLENTY....lol). He didn't like the fact that his brother could go into his own corner alone and read while he "always has to wait for mommy to read everyyyyything" <=== Yes, his words, exactly...lol. So, I began creating very short stories based off of the words he already knew and boy did it make a difference! He is so proud of himself for reading alone and he fills up his reading chart, with stickers, in no time! Here's how I made them:

This was the first book I made. It was a few pages and about 3 sentences per page. This was the first and LAST time I did it this way because I felt like it was wasting paper and time.

I started making short stories, on one page.
How I created them: First, I wrote down all of the words he knew. Then I made up simple stories containing those words.
Using Microsoft Word, I typed up each story, then cut and pasted pictures that pertained to the story. (I did a simple google search for free coloring pages to get the pics).

I made a simple "Lap Book" to store his new words and stories. The clear pocket (is that what they are called? Well, that's what I call them....lol) with the green trim, was purchased awhile ago. It's perfect for holding the short stories. He can switch the pages easily and place it back in his folder when done. 

*What creative ways do you use to help your little readers? I would love to get more ideas!

(This post is a REBLOG from last year)