lovemywhirlygirls Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I'm writing from Nashville, TN and I have a single friend who recently adopted a teen girl from Moldova. She has been in the states for about 4 months, knew some English when she came over and is currently attending an English immersion class. My friend would like to have her daughter tested to see where she is so that she can best know how to place her and help her. The girl is quite bright and has a tremendous hunger and appreciation for the opportunity to learn. The mom will not be homeschooling, but plans to supplement her school learning with tutors and work at home as needed to support her. Any recommendations for tests that she should look into? Where should she look for outside tutors? I'm new to homeschooling myself and knew you guys are a tremendous source of information. Thank you in advance for any suggestions that you may have for me to pass along to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 One of my students was adopted from Haiti three years ago and she has made SUCH HUGE progress over the last 3 years. She is homeschooled (and goes to the co-op where I teach). It has been a lot of work and at times discouraging to be so far behind her peers, but she is doing very well!! I don't know of any testing resources, though. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Up here in Northern Illinois, we have a lot of tutoring places like Huntington Resource Centers and Sylvin. They would be expensive but if cost isn't a factor, I've heard that they are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 These are two resources that we have here in town. Can anyone here speak to having used one of these? I plan to call and interview them, but was hoping to get some references from people who have actually used them. Also, are there any free testing resources that she would have access to via the internet that might help her? I'm going to contact a couple of umbrella schools to see if they would work with her for testing purposes. Thank you for your responses! Have a great day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Is she going to school? I'd talk with the teacher at school and see what she needs, what her weaknesses are. I'm assuming they just placed her by age, because kids usually catch up pretty quickly. The teacher is going to be very in-tune to her needs and would have good suggestions without spending a ton of money on testing. Don't see how you can do thorough testing anyway, not unless you get a tester who knows russian or whatever her home language was. ;) I'd suggest asking what her interests are and getting her connected with after school activities with other kids her age. It will help bridge gaps socially, build her language skills, and give her interests to follow (instrument, science, art lessons, whatever). That will help her language skills come along. And I assume your friend already knows this, but I'd consider whether she needs any counseling for issues she experienced in the orphanage. Not to be morbid, but when I was in Russia girls in orphanages were forced into prostitution, etc. Maybe Moldova is a little better, don't know. BTW, I'm sure people who've adopted can speak to this better, but she might want to focus on developing healthy relationships with men in the girl's life, being careful about guys she connects to, etc. Since this is a single mom, is she able to get the grandfather involved to build healthful family relationships? I'm just saying her social development and health will be as important as her academic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 We had friends that used Sylvan. They said that it really help their children. I also had a friend a couple of years ago who was a certified teacher, who was staying at home with her young children, and who was a tutor at a Sylvan. I think more important than the place is the tutor with which you get paired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 Thanks for the input. Great suggestions and thoughts. I'll run all of this by her and help her get started. I'm just so proud of her for wrapping her arms and life around this young girl! What a powerful opportunity to overwrite some of the negative input this young lady has no doubt had...by simply (but not easily) laying down herself to come alongside her. It moves me. I've always wanted to adopt, so I know I'm set up that way...but it gets me. Thanks again for the ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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