Bringing my 6th grader home and need advice

Jennifer,

Here’s what I would do if it were me:

Pull your son out and don’t start history until fall. For the rest of this school year work on basic subjects that he needs help in, plus get him reading a book at a time (or you read aloud to him) that you rotate between a biography/history topic, a science topic, and a literature selection. I would want January to May to be relaxed, just doing the basics, giving him time to focus in things that need work. Those basics for me would be: math, reading, writing.

You say he has a writing disability, can you be more specific? Is it the physical act of writing that he struggles with or something else?

For the math my advice is to choose a curriculum and take their placement test. He’s probably going to need to go backward some so he can get a solid grip on math. That’s OKAY and one of the blessings of homeschooling! My daughter started over learning basic addition in 3rd grade. Now in 5th she’s into division and actually understands what she’s doing. We use Math U See, which we love, but I’ve also heard good things about Teaching Textbooks. Both should have placement tests on their websites for your son to take to see which level he needs to begin with.

Spelling – we use All About Spelling because it works for my oldest, who was a bad speller. It is step by step and makes sense. Your son would likely fly through the first level or two but they build a solid foundation so I wouldn’t skip them. I have another child who probably won’t need a spelling program beyond copywork and dictation. I think there are different children and it’s okay to do different things.

I know this is an overwhelming time for you. I just want to encourage you that it sounds like you’re absolutely doing the right thing for your son. I didn’t read everything everyone else wrote, but I know there are lots of wise women here to offer you advice. I agree about waiting on history until fall.

I do want to offer my advice, for what it’s worth, on Teaching Textbooks. I used it for grade 3 for my one son, and grade 4 and part of 5 for my other son. My sons are not strong in math, and this program did not make them any stronger. The program that I have used that is finally working for just plain, solid, strong foundation in arithmetic, after trying a hundred different curriculums, is Rod & Staff. My 10 year old son was getting farther and farther behind in math, and Teaching Textbooks was just too easy and he didn’t have to really understand to move on. With Rod & Staff there is so much practice (and you don’t have to do it all, sometimes I just do half to 2/3 of the problems, unless they’re struggling and then I automatically have more problems to let them practice with). There is also oral drill time everyday which is awesome. I can’t say enough how the repetative oral drill has helped my sons math skills. I’m not saying they’re were they should be in math just yet, but they are definitely getting a much more solid base than any of the programs we used before. Obviously no program is perfect for everyone. I know I heard lots of both good and bad about Teaching Textbooks and I hate to criticize a program that I’m sure many people love. But I’m wondering if those people who love it have kids who naturally understand math better than mine? Or if they are really making sure they’re kids are getting it? Or if they don’t require the practice that my kids need? Because the practice is NOT there with TT like it is with R&S.

I did try R&S English also. It’s a really strong program as well. For us it was almost too strong. Ha! I wouldn’t make him do a whole lesson of R&S English everyday written as is or he’s sure to hate it. This should be a time to start learning and moving forward, but also about learning to LOVE learning again, so I wouldn’t shove full lessons of R&S English at him right away. I have done some orally with my kids and it was better.

About spelling, I want to say that my ds10 is also a horrible speller. I am using studied dictation (Spelling Wisdom, and there is a video on how to do this on the SCM website) along with a most common words list that someone recommended on this board. It has 1000 most frequently used words that I want to make sure my boys are solid on. So I will do dictation, and then we’ll go to our words list. I started him right at the beginning, now he is on to the 2nd hundred. I give him words to write on the white board and if he knows them, super, if not he writes it at the top of the board until there are five words he doesn’t know to practice for that day. The next day I’ll give him those same words again and practice them again. The ones he knows I make bold type on the list so I remember which he’s really good at. The ones he knows but I wonder if he’ll retain I make just black again. And the ones I know he doesn’t have at all yet I make red. I just keep going to my list on the computer each day and keep working. He has improved. He is slowly making progress. I do review words frequently also. Sometimes words have to go from bold (I thought he had it) to red again if he forgets.

Ok, this may have been a wordy, long post. I hope some tiny part of it will help you. Best wishes and God bless.

Oh, one more thing. My ds11 is in Grade 5 R&S. My ds10 is in Grade 3 R&S. That may sound “behind”, but they are really doing well where they are. I love not having to shove them ahead into something that they simply would fail at. They are where they are. Don’t get caught up in the fact that he’s “behind”. It’s not good for you or for him.

I have youngin’s, so I’m not very experianced in homeschooling yet.  This is our first year in 1st grade, but I think narration would help best with writing papers.  Just thinking about what he has read and formulating the info in his head is the hardest part.  I would just start with narration with literature and other books you are reading for science or anything else.  Then when he has the art of forming his thoughts in his head down, and it may take a few years, move onto writen narration, which is pretty much the papers the schools want.  You could do an english program, but I would focus it more on the grammer and rules and not tie it in with the the narrations until he can do the headwork well.  Then when he is required to write his narrations he can focus more on the grammer and rules and formulating how to write his thoughts down, since he has alread thought through what he wants to say. 

Just some thoughts I hope will help.

I have a few more thoughts to add in, although my oldest is only 2nd grade. I think typing/keyboarding is a great idea for him. Do have him work on his handwriting, but don’t stress too much over it. It is better for him to have a short, focused handwriting lesson, like 10 minutes tops. He does not need to write the same letter over and over and over again. He DOES need to focus on forming the letter correctly, even if it is only a few times. Are you looking to work on cursive, italic, or manuscript? We use the Christian Liberty Press handwriting workbooks, focusing on a page per week with 5 – 10 minutes per day. He is in book 2 for learning cursive and traces the cursive letter, then writes it 2 or 3 times and then traces a short word and writes it 1 or 2 times. (We also do some copywork in manuscript.)

For math, we use Mathstart now and it works for us. I can tell that he is understanding it and I love the math games that reinforce the lessons in a real way for him. He understands the AL Abacus, whereas he did not understand the MUS blocks. We have also tried Saxon. He struggles the most with math, whereas my dd could use ANY math book and understand it. Please note that Rightstart only goes up to the level of division and then a book on geometry, but no algebra. No matter what you choose for math, don’t think that you are stuck with it if it is not working. The sooner you know to switch, do it. And once you find what works for him to learn by, stick with it and stop switching. Sometimes you just don’t know until you try, which is what we have had to do.

No matter what math program you use, be sure to regularly play games that include math. Pretty much any game with dice, dominoes, or numbered cards are going to help him. Shut the box is a fun addition game he could play on his own. http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Orange-291-Double-Shutter/dp/B001454DQM/ref=sr_1_8?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323832168&sr=1-8

If you want more math focused games, Rightstart has a math games kit that you could supplement with. It includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and time games. http://store.rightstartmath.com/mathcardgames.aspx It is on sale right now. I would also add a standard abacus which is also on sale now. Rightstart author says something to the effect that games are to math as books are to reading.

Have a nice time teaching your dc and SCM is always there for you. This forum has been a huge help for us.

I have not read all of the responses yet, but my son is in 6th grade this year and we pulled him out around the end of 4th grade. He also has ADHD with some underlying yet minor learning disabilities.

We use Teaching Textbooks and LOVE it!!! It puts one problem at a time in front of him to solve and if he can’t “get it” the built in tutor is great (I was a lousy math student back in the day LOL). You can find Teaching Textbooks on all sorts of for sale boards for less than retail,  but it is well worth the money. I also keep a grade book for him with TT so if I see his grades drop a bit, I ask him where did he have issues. He tells me and then we do worksheets, etc that I find online to supplement. Once he gets it, we go on to the next TT lesson.

We tried Rod & Staff English Grade 6 and HATED it!!! It is a LOT of written work and reading involved. Not to mention the use of biblical names. I am not saying biblical names should not be used, but when you have a struggling reader who is ADHD, those names can really throw them for a loop.

We switched to Easy Grammer Grade 6 and are truly liking the simplicity of it. Rod and Staff was very teacher involved as well as it seemed to move too fast for us. My son DID NOT like all of “textbook” reading with Rod and Staff either.

Next year, I will be using:

Teaching Textbooks 7

Easy Grammar 7 (or whatever comes after 6..they changed names, I think)

Copy work as well as memory work

Module 1 SCM

Real Science 4 Kids—Chemistry (maybe LOL)

I also have a 3rd grader currently so I am very much interested in keeping them together in the same studies whenever possible. I will be using Easy Grammar 3 for next year but will keep her with Rod and Staff Math until she hits 5th grade. She will be using TT 5 at that point :0)