Literature
GROWING STRONG | PAST THE GRAY CURTAIN | HANDBOOK FOR LEARNING TO READ BRAILLE BY SIGHT | KESTER BRAILLE | HANDBOOK FOR ITINERANT AND RESOURCE TEACHERS OF BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS | NOTHING BUT THE BEST: RESOURCES FOR HOMESCHOOLING YOUR BLIND CHILD
Author: Sarah J. Blake
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers
Review: Do you ever find it hard to keep on suffering the trials and tribulations that come your way? Do you struggle with challenges? Meet Sarah Blake in this endearing book, and see where she found her strength as a child and as an adult, in the midst of blindness, illness, and misunderstanding.
Both heartrending at times, and heartwarming at other times, this is a book to inspire us, to console us, and to broaden our horizons of understanding.
Available in electronic format for $5.95. Easy to buy; easy to download. Easy to love. Click here to visit the author's website and to buy the book.
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Author: Sarah J. Blake
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers
Review: Past the Gray Curtain, Sarah Blake's newest ebook, is an inspirational account of her own experiences with blindness, her feelings, and her spiritual journey.
As a parent of a visually impaired child, this book helps me to realize the myriad feelings my son may have, and also inspires me to be proactive in addressing his issues.
At times sad, at times exciting, always written in a friendly, engaging style, this is a hard story to "put down" without finishing.
The final chapter is a culmination of events and emotions into continued commitment and a wonderful understanding and explanation of God's providence.
To buy the book, CLICK HERE to visit the author's website, and then scroll down to: "Inspirational Ebooks by Sarah". The cost of this ebook is $5.95.
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Author: Leland Schubert
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers
Review: What a great book for sighted parents and homeschooling teachers who want to learn Braille in order to read what their children write in Braille! You can use this book on your own, at your own pace. I spent two years getting through it, because of various family interruptions; and it hasn't been the only resource I've used for learning Braille. But I want to say that working my way through this book has been enjoyable and increased my fluency in reading Braille (by sight).
Comprehensive and incremental, this handbook starts with the alphabet, a few punctuation marks, and numbers. After teaching most of Grade One braille, the book proceeds with Whole-Word Alphabet contractions, then the contractions for: "and, for, of, the, with," followed by dot-5 contractions.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry; after pursuing this book, you soon shall. I was pleasantly surprised to see my learning expand as I worked my way through the interesting, adult-level exercises in the book. An answer key is provided in the back, so we can see the word we got stuck on or perhaps that silly mistake.
This fun book is available from American Printing House for the Blind.
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Author: Louise Johnson
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers
Review: Would you like to start teaching your child to read using braille? Here is an ideal set of books for you, as a parent, to use in giving your child that head start for school. Or, if you homeschool, this would be an ideal place to begin. It would seem to me that these books would also be good for those special ed or itinerant teachers who may or may not have a lot of experience with braille yet.
You don't need to have a prior knowledge of braille to use these books. The Teacher's Guide provides all the information that you need, including how to teach the child tracking. All you need is the books, a Perkins braillewriter, and a few minutes a day.
Level One introduces the letters of the alphabet and beginning sounds. Level Two introduces three-letter words with short vowel sounds, writing sentences, and the numbers 0 to 20.
Even for an older child who already knows how to read in print and now must learn braille, I feel thse books are worthwhile; I am going through them quickly with my ten year old son, who is now loearning braille, to give him some extra success and to help him learn tracking.
The books are $40 for each level or $75 for the set. Each level includes a consumable student text and the teacher's guide. To order yours, or to learn more, CLICK HERE to visit the author's informative website.
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Author: Doris M. Willoughby and Sharon L.M. Duffy
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers
Review: Don't let the long name and the 1989 copyright of this book fool you as this is a treasurehouse of practical advise and instruction for teachers and homeschooling parents. Some of it is specifically for the itinerant or resource teacher, advising her how to deal with parents, staff, and IEPs. But much of it teaches you step-by-step how to teach!
The book includes, among other things:
*Hints and tips about teaching braille, note-taking, handwriting and keyboarding.
*Techniques for independent living, cooking, sewing, and industrial arts.
*Discussions of social life, dating, marriage, and the family.
*Cane curriculum with instructions and illustrations.
*Guide to the Nemeth Code.
*A "paper-compatible" abacus method.
In this book there is a strong slant toward NFB (National Federation of the Blind) philosophies. Even if you happen to be one of the people who doesn't agree with some of the particular philosophies, this handbook contains loads of good information and ideas that I think you will find extremely useful.
The book can be obtained, new or possibly used, through Amazon. Or CLICK HERE, then scroll down to BOOKS ABOUT EDUCATION, then scroll down to Willoughby, Doris M., and click on the link.
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Author: Sarah J. Blake
Reviewed by Margaret Mary Myers
Review: How would you like to have a friendly, knowledgable person in your living room any time you wish, telling you all about how to homeschool your blind or visually impaired child? Imagine her speaking to you conversationally over a cup of tea, telling you of her own experiences as a blind child and a blind adult, making complex explanantions about the eye simple to understand, sharing with you what methods various people have used in homeschooling their children. Now imagine that in her Mary Poppins type carpet bag, she has a limitless supply of resources of all types about homeschooling, blindness, and the education of blind children. And sometimes when she comes, she brings guest speakers who are experts on various related subjects. This is the virtual reality of Sarah J. Blake's electronic book, "Nothing But the Best."
If you've never bought an e-book before, now is the time. When you buy this user-friendly e-book, you follow the prompts to download it to your computer, where you can read the author's ample explanations and illustrations, print pages as you wish for your own use, and connect to countless other resources. Each link opens in a new window; you never have to worry about losing your place. The text also boasts a search feature, so if you are interested in a particular topic, you can type it into the search and it will quickly give you the page or pages where you can find that topic.
Although the book was designed and designated particularly for homeschoolers, other parents may also find much useful information, including the chapters on blindness, low vision, social skills, college preparation, career planning, music, art, and other subjects. Teachers of the visually impaired may find the abundant resources for all the academic subjects helpful in their planning. And homeschooling parents, as well as prospective homeschooling parents, will gain insight on making the decision to homeschool, getting started, where to find supplies, books, organizations, and other resources, besides all the valuable information on teaching children who are blind.
You can skim the table of contents, the layout, the features, and get a feel for this book in a day or two. You can spend many an enjoyable evening perusing its contents. You can use it as a resource for many years to come. But I believe the benefits will be with us and our children for a lifetime.
The cost of the book is $14.95. To buy the book, or to read about other products Sarah offers, CLICK HERE to visit the author's website.
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