What worked and what hasn't this year?

[OneStepAtATime]

Since some are starting to plan for next year, I thought I would start a thread so we could share what DID work and what DIDN'T work this year (I realize it isn't over yet :) ).  

 

This year, what worked:

 

Barton Reading and Spelling (well, DD for sure)

 

CLE math

 

Veritas Press Greeks and Romans (for DS)

 

CNN Student News

 

Engineering for Kids (commercial facility - classes are mainly for ps kids but they started a homeschool one)

 

Basketball class (weekly)

 

Student Council through two different co-ops

 

Drama Class

 

Private Swimming Lessons (boosted DSs confidence no end)

 

On-line science (this started off bumpy and I initially placed it in the didn't work pile but while the on-line class hasn't been a super great fit there have been some really cool things and the material is working well for the kids)

 

 

What didn't work:

Math in Focus (for DD - DS it worked fairly well)

 

 

 

4-H (never had time for it)

 

 

[PeterPan]

Not good:

 

Doing government instead of history.  Apparently history MUST be included when you're a history lover, oops.  History-hating mother will attempt to remember.

Getting pneumonia mid-year.  Don't do that again.  

Realizing mid-year you really are gonna have to sit down and do the math with her to get it done.

 

Good:

 

Getting evals.

Getting tulips when you have pneumonia.  (The ONLY good part.)

Watching your dc blossom and do a great job on a college visit.  (She's coming back today!)

Finding out Barton is AWESOME.

[Heathermomster]

Good:

Intro to Poetry by Progeny Press

Foerster's Algebra 

Informal Logic

Landry Academy Biology Intensive

Fixit Grammar--I broke down and started it.

World Geography DVDs from the Great Courses

Computer Literacy text

 

ho hum:

Apologia Biology

Glencoe World Geography with Oak Meadow

Elegant Essay-- He is taking that in a class.  Next year I expect to teach writing.

 

Bad:

Dive Biology was a bust,

 

[Crimson Wife]

What worked:

-Applied Behavioral Analysis. It has been amazing the progress we've seen in both language and social interaction since last April and this is even with the hearing loss.

-special needs soccer and dance

 

What didn't work:

-reading materials geared for typical kids like Hooked on Phonics, BOB Books, Starfall, etc. I should've pulled the trigger on LiPS sooner but she was so young that I didn't want to jump the gun.

-assuming that the normal audiology exam from 2011 meant her hearing was still okay. But even the SLP who has specific training on hearing problems didn't realize that DD was lip-reading and was only mildly concerned about the consonant pair mix-ups.

 

Looking ahead, I'm going to be learning Cued Speech, getting LiPS, Linguisystems Contrasts for Auditory & Speech Training (C.A.S.T.), possibly Stevenson Reading, possibly Structured Methods in Language Education (SMiLE) by Dr. Enid Wolf-Schein, and possibly Davis.

 

I'm not sure yet exactly what is the best approach for reading but it needs to be highly visual and she may need multiple methodologies. Being able to read well is going to be so crucial for her that I'm willing to make the investment in multiple programs if I need to.

[Heathermomster]

I should have mentioned this earlier.  Algebra Lab manipulatives, work by James Tanton, and the VoiceDream app have been extremely helpful this year.  The Echo LiveScribe pen is turning into a success, and GeoGebra, which is free and mentioned yesterday over on the High School Board, is looking to be AWESOME for visualizing math.

[OneStepAtATime]

Cool.  Thanks for the responses! I am enjoying reading them!  :)

 

 

[lauranc]

What is working for my dd this year:

 

Explore Math http://www.attainmentcompany.com/explore-math

and little by little trying to also learn time and money using various things...

 

Learning state capitals with these: http://arty4ever.com/right/brain.htm

 

Drawing Around the World http://brookdalehouse.com/product/drawing-around-world-usa/

 

Using this to learn about cats and dogs  http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/plant-animal-science-curriculum/

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reproduction-and-Development-Coloring-Book-Complete-Science-Literacy-Unit-1024267

 

Most of what we're using this year has been good.  I'm still looking for a really good idea for history---

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterPan]

What is working for my dd this year:

 

Explore Math http://www.attainmentcompany.com/explore-math

and little by little trying to also learn time and money using various things...

 

Learning state capitals with these: http://arty4ever.com/right/brain.htm

 

Drawing Around the World http://brookdalehouse.com/product/drawing-around-world-usa/

 

Using this to learn about cats and dogs  http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/plant-animal-science-curriculum/

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reproduction-and-Development-Coloring-Book-Complete-Science-Literacy-Unit-1024267

 

Most of what we're using this year has been good.  I'm still looking for a really good idea for history---

Wow, those are great finds!  Thanks for sharing!  :)

[OneStepAtATime]

Wow, those are great finds!  Thanks for sharing!   :)

:iagree:

[pitterpatter]

Neat! Might get these for DD's Easter Basket.

 

Is there a product sample somewhere for Drawing Around the World?

 

What is working for my dd this year:

 

Explore Math http://www.attainmentcompany.com/explore-math

and little by little trying to also learn time and money using various things...

 

Learning state capitals with these: http://arty4ever.com/right/brain.htm

 

Drawing Around the World http://brookdalehouse.com/product/drawing-around-world-usa/

 

Using this to learn about cats and dogs  http://www.4-h.org/resource-library/curriculum/plant-animal-science-curriculum/

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reproduction-and-Development-Coloring-Book-Complete-Science-Literacy-Unit-1024267

 

Most of what we're using this year has been good.  I'm still looking for a really good idea for history---

 

[FairProspects]

Fun thread!

 

The Good:

 

AAS (love this for both my stealth dyslexics)

Immersion Reading/homemade literature discussion

Engineering is Elementary/Engineering Adventures/Engineering Everywhere science units

GEMS science units

Keyboarding without Tears

Singapore Sentences to Paragraphs

Beast Academy (ds 2, my fast processor)

Math Circles

Outside co-op classes (Lego stop animation, Iditarod, Chocolate Touch, Sherlock Holmes/forensic science, Engineering of Flight, Wild West, & more)

Math, reading, & programming tutors

Awesome field trips - science of water engineering, laser optics/light tag, animal skull investigations, Pompeii, full day pioneer school immersion experience, volcano/living history presentations, student participation in symphony performances

Landmark materials for teacher training

 

The Bad:

 

Verticy Writing (it is just too many writing assignments with too little language support for us)

Lexia Core 5 (total timed disaster)

Singapore is a slog with a slow processor, but I don't see a way around this because that is true for all math with a lot of calculations. Maybe I need to give even fewer problems or offer more supports.

Co-op classes are taking a lot of my time to prepare and teach. Fun and I enjoy them, but I think I need to scale back on this next year.

 

Verdict is still out:

 

Reading Horizons (we've only used this for a couple of weeks, but so far ds 2 loves it and is willing to spend lots of time reading on it)

Home2Teach writing classes (haven't started these yet but plan to try them for spring and see if live feedback/participation is better than Verticy)

SOTW - I love this series, but my kiddos DIG history and detail and I am spending hours adding to it. I think we just need to move up a level to middle school materials for next year.

[Lecka]

http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Fire-Book-One-Dragonet-ebook/dp/B0080K3HES/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1424119263&sr=8-5&keywords=tui+sutherland

 

We are reading this book together now, and my son is easily able to read it on his own.  I just read it to him some.  I am excited b/c it is a series!  I hope he will keep liking it!  

 

It is always hard to find books that he likes, that he can also read.  I still read to him from books higher than his reading level, but before we started this book, I had been feeling like our balance was a little off and like he was lacking in reading at his fluency level.  

 

We will be looking for a new typing program, but probably not until summer.  The one we used I think is fine, but he did not care for it, and then I was not consistent.  

 

My daughter is doing well, I am not going to do another outside reading program with her until summer -- she is doing well with the the things coming home from school.  She was not picking up on some things earlier this year, but she is doing well now.  

 

For my younger son -- we are keeping on with his programs.  I think everything is going fine.  Progress is slow, but he is making progress.  We have chosen as priorities:  social/classroom/behavior type skills in school -- he is doing well in participating and there is a little forward movement in him being more independent in following daily routines without prompts -- trying to teach him to use a visual schedule.  He is doing great in art and PE and music, he is doing well at recess, all those things are going well.  We chose (as an IEP team, with talking to his ABA therapist) to opt him out of some direct instruction in academic skills that he qualifies for, but it would mean taking him out of settings where he can work on social skills.  So -- this means he is working more on academic skills in ABA.  For now he is not in outside speech or OT -- he is just in ABA.  There is just not enough time to take him to different therapies and let him have the free time and home time that he needs.  

 

They are flexible here in letting parents take special needs students out early or bring them late, so they can have time for private speech or OT.  But it would mean less time working on social skills and communication skills -- nobody thinks it is desirable.  

 

He does have a great OT at school for group OT ---- she is considered the best OT in town for autism, and this year is the first time I feel like I have a good sensory inventory for him and description of his sensory needs and interactions (for what things calm him or help him concentrate).  I have filled out the parent questionnaires before, but some combination of the OT not being as good, and his behavior being a lot more contradictory than it is now, has meant it just has not been that helpful until this year.  

[Cynful]

Love this thread.

 

Working:

Mystery of History 3/AAH1/with all extras

Apples and Pears Spelling

Movies as Literature

Audible

Trail Guide to World Geography (through co-op)

Co-Op

 

Not Working:

Apologia Biology

CK12 Biology (love the videos though)

 

A little of both:

Saxon Math - ok explanations, LOTS of repetition, HATES to copy out the problems (may consider CLE but not sure yet)

 

Adding in soon:

Notgrass Gov't/Bluestocking Press - spread out over a year's time

Some TLC courses

Essentials in Writing

 

Looking for: 

Grammar

[OneStepAtATime]

Lucidity, I am thinking of doing Movies as Literature as well as Trail Guides to World Geography.  What did you like about them?  Any pointers?  Things to look out for?  Resources to add or ignore?

[MyLittleBears]

Hey I like the looking for part!

 

Working:

Barton

CLE Math

Horizons math

IEW- through coop w/me scribing

Trail guide geography-through coop

Young explorer science for my younger ones-through coop 

Art classes- through coop

coop in general- kids are loving having friends and gym time and most classes going well  :hurray:

Apologia Physical science for older one- who knew he would absolutely love it, especially w/experiment done at coop. double yay!

 

Hey,I sense a theme here. My boys are doing well in most classes not taught by me!  :glare:

 

 

what did not work:

 

Rightstart math

Elegant essay- through coop- yikes- what a nightmare for a "cannot think outside the box aspie"

 

What remains to be seen:

Fix-it-grammar 

 

 

 

[alisoncooks]

Great thread....I'm adding to my wishlist as I type...;)

 

I'm not sure what worked, but this is the year oldest DD became a reader. Not three months ago, I was pulling teeth to get her to read JUST ONE chapter in Frog & Toad. Now, she's reading a Rainbow Magic Fairy book in two days, on her own, and then begging for more.

 

We've had some success with:

High Noon -- though we only used it for a few months, it really solidified some skills for DD

CLE math -- working well

CLE Reading/LA -- I started my 3rd grader in the 2nd grade materials and we are really enjoying it; been a great fit

 

As I mentioned in a previous thread, we took a 2-month break before Christmas, and it was after that that DD made the reading progress. So what worked? Time and maturation? ;)

[Mrs. Tharp]

For my 11 year old, ASD, afterschooling:

 

Rod & Staff Grammar & Comp.

Rod & Staff Math

Calvert Spelling

 

Verdict still out because not sure about retention:

 

VocabJourney

Elementary school--being around other kids is the biggest plus here.

 

Not likely to work in the future:

 

Middle school, on a full time basis. Maybe part-time.

 

Extra currics that are wonderful:

 

Cub Scouts

Sunday school

Mentoring program

Counselling

[Cynful]

Lucidity, I am thinking of doing Movies as Literature as well as Trail Guides to World Geography.  What did you like about them?  Any pointers?  Things to look out for?  Resources to add or ignore?

 

I haven't added to anything in Movies as Literature, but my son loves it.  I don't worry too much about the essays.  I'm teaching the class at co-op and my ds and dd and I watch the movie, go over the questions first at home, then I discuss them with the teens in the class.  For the essays, I've helped my son a ton and it's been good.  If it's a week he's busy though, we skip it.  I'm ok with that.  I think comparing the movies with the books would be wonderful too but we don't have the time and since he has dyslexia, I have no idea how many we'd get to.

 

He's also doing TrailGuides at co-op with another teacher.  He has a very hard time with too much map work and since he has low memory, it's pointless alot of the time too.  I'm interested in him just knowing the basics.  However, for the research part, he's loving it.  He researches everything online (again, I'm ok with that) and then types it out in Word.  He's actually really learned alot and is even retaining quite a bit too.  It's kind of all random facts but he loves it.  I just need to create all curriculum for him based on random facts.  LOL

 

Oh, resources to add, I don't think any.  Resources to ignore, the atlas has been pointless for my son.  It's just too busy for him.  I also think adding what you could to make it more real would be good too.  Pictures, documentaries, travel videos, food, etc.   One curriculum I wish I had used more was A Child's Geography.  I'd pull up pictures and videos and have them ready and go over each lesson.  We'd take rabbit trails with it.  He still remembers alot from it and we only did a few weeks.  It's way too young now though.

 

Good luck,

[Cynful]

As I mentioned in a previous thread, we took a 2-month break before Christmas, and it was after that that DD made the reading progress. So what worked? Time and maturation? ;)

 

I find the same thing with my son all the time, for years and years.  I'll be very worried that we've taken such long breaks and then all of sudden he gets it.  :)   I think their brains just need more time to assimilate the information.  Or something like that..  

[ddavies]

Great thread!

 

My high schooler is having a really good year, and the only thing that isn't working is French. He's dyslexic, and the grammar just isn't happening. C'est la vie. 

 

Going well: 

Literature - I've cut down on the number of novels we'll cover and am reading half of them aloud. He's reading lots of essays & short stories instead, which seems to have taken some pressure off. 

Writing! - It's taken up a fair bit of my time, but I've been teaching him directly through discussion & modeling, using The Lively Art of Writing (along with a few other resources) as a guide. He's also independently writing shorter compositions once a week about a short story or essay that he's read, and working on some creative projects with his brothers. 

Demonic Mnemonics: 800 Spelling Tricks for 800 Tricky Words was a fun find. His spelling has improved dramatically over the last few years, and this is just helping us tie up a few loose ends. 

Math, science and music are also going smoothly. 

 

It's been more of a mixed bag with my younger boys: 

 

Working: 

Recipe for Reading (with workbooks & readers)

Sue's Strategies: Best Reading Spelling Method 

Magnetic phonics tiles 

Handwriting Without Tears

Miquon & Cuisenaire rods 

Key to... series

Workbooks from The Critical Thinking Company, Tin Man Press, Evan-Moor, etc. 
Piano & music theory 

Speech therapy

 

Didn't work: 

Dropping all workbooks and worksheets. Silly, silly idea. 

Any type of craft or intentional art project

Teaching Textbooks (why do I keep trying this?)

Writing With Ease / First Language Lessons 

Primary Language Lessons

Mr. Q Science (or Noeo, or RS4K...)

Co-op classes 

[sixpence1978]

I'll bite.

 

What's working:

-A&P spelling.  We are finishing up C and will be moving to D.  DD's spelling continues to improve.

-Treasured Conversations (so far).  We just finished the grammar portion and are ready to move on to the paragraphs.  I don't think this would have worked so well if we didn't have Winston Grammar under out belt though.

-CLE Math.  She flew through the beginning of the 500s.  We have had to slow down just a smidge because of confusion between proportions and multiplying fractions.  But that is just how math goes for us.

-Typing Instructor.  She resisted for a long time, but now is doing really well.  I think she just needed a bit more maturity.

-CNN Student News.  It's just something she looks forward to each morning.

-Playing review games for science.  DD has trouble with vocabulary.  Making up various games to review before science tests has upped her retention of the words a lot.

-Abeka History Book.  Short and to the point.

 

Didn't work:

-W&R.  DD got excited about some of the more creative assignments (like the first one where she got to write the same story but with different characters).  However, once it switched to summaries and amplifications, she really struggled.  There just wasn't enough instruction.

-Abeka History Curriculum.  We like the textbook, but all the questions, quizzes, and tests that went along with the curriculum...not so much.  Again, it hit DD where she is weakest - fact and vocabulary retrieval.

-Fit-It Grammar.  DD was initially very interested in this.  She really wanted to hear the story.  I think she ran out of patience/interest when there was only 1 sentence added to the story each day.  She didn't want to wait.  The grammar didn't provide enough daily practice and wasn't presented in a logical order for her.

-Trying to go through her doctor for recommendations for testing.  While the doctor is very pro testing, he is very pro testing through the public school.  Without that option, we were sent to a place that was very overpriced and a waste of time.  We had to pay for the introductory meeting, were told very little was covered and would have to pay a ton for their testing.  We didn't go through with testing there.  We will be returned to our original plan of getting tested for the neuropsych at the college.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Kid1:

worked:

*generic chalkdust math: the video instruction seems to help (he often was on the stationery bike through it), and we made a year's worth of progress even though I think he and I were both really frustrated with each other most every day at some point in the process. We've committed to doing CD for the long haul, and I am rarely having to scribe for him anymore.

*Prentice Hall Science Explorer Life Science: reading and filling out workbook pages was just his speed. I didn't do chapter tests this year, but I will next year with Physical Science. He did not do as many experiments as assigned, he just wants to get through school and be done.

*Khan Academy and other online programming tutorials

 

didn't:

*History of US through either the K12 materials (too much writing, too many materials to switch between) or the Hewitt syllabus (utterly bombed every test). He reads well, can narrate material, but that written output and recall for exams is just not there.  We are working on note-taking and how to study.

*Writing With Skill 1.....we tried for several weeks last year, put it aside, and have picked it up again this second semester. He needs it, desperately, but it's hard. IEW was a good fit; with WWS the coordinating of notes into his writing seems to be a huge challenge, as is documenting his writing. I'm not sure whether to try to stick with WWS or to go back to IEW. Either way, this kid needs to work on academic writing. He has a great vocabulary, and can narrate great material but the putting it onto paper is awful. Truly awful.

*Voyages in English. This kid did well with FLL1-4; the grammar we've tried to do after has been a challenge. We did this together, orally, and it still wasn't a good fit. He has a good intuitive sense of English in terms of word choice, but the awkward sentences I find in his writing remind me that he still needs a lot of work in this area.

 

kid3:

went well:

*RB, education unboxed, and other math manipulative work = learned many math facts

*time spent in free-reading: my kid whose public school IEP team said would never read from a book is reading several grades above his current grade 

*watching documentaries: Nova, Nature, any science or history documentary can be recalled with a lot of specific detail

 

didn't go well:

*anything that appeared in a textbook...science, history, grammar, it doesn't matter

*getting our insurance company to pay for any type of evaluation or therapy--we've switched major companies twice with no success. Ironically if my husband quit his job so that we went onto state insurance he could get evaluations and then therapy several times a week. We've contemplated that kind of crazy but we seem to like eating and having heat when it's 6F outside. So, we're selling our house, radically downsizing, and doing what needs to be done to give this kid what he needs (a whole lot of OT).

[Crimson Wife]

 

*getting our insurance company to pay for any type of evaluation or therapy--we've switched major companies twice with no success. Ironically if my husband quit his job so that we went onto state insurance he could get evaluations and then therapy several times a week. We've contemplated that kind of crazy but we seem to like eating and having heat when it's 6F outside. So, we're selling our house, radically downsizing, and doing what needs to be done to give this kid what he needs (a whole lot of OT).

 

{{{hugs}}}

[sixpence1978]

I forgot to add these 2 books I picked up months ago (bought at amazon).

 

Working Memory Activities

 

Inference Activities

 

They have been fun ways to add in more therapy.  It's opened my eyes to how much DD struggles with inference.  Regular comprehension has always been great, but trying to get deeper meaning out of our reading has always been a struggle.  Now I know why.

[Guest2]

Oh this is fun..I'm getting some good ideas,

 

What worked/working

Bartons Reading and Spelling...hated to teach it at first, but great success for us

Mavis Beacon typing..Dd 12 types 80+ works per minute with good accuracy

History read alouds and audio biographies

Making memory pictures and Ready Set Remember book from Jerry Lucas. I loved the presidents and state capital pictures. Really hepful for memory activities.

Homeschool onlineconnections video courses..high school

Whiteboard

Scouts

 

 

Not sure

Anaylical grammar....super hard. Junior anyalical grammar...seems like it should start in 6th.

It works, but we are slogging through mud getting it done.

Saxon math..DS is zooming through...dd12 has had a rough time...sweet sophmore finishing alg2

[OneStepAtATime]

I forgot to mention, another thing that worked well here are the Code Breaker books.  So far there are only 2, which is unfortunate.  Unless i am missing something and there are more out there that I missed.  DS really loved these. Bought them off another homeschooler for nothing.  :)

 

Crash Course History is also a hit with DS.  For some reason he doesn't like the Crash Course Science as well but I think it may be because he is not as familiar with the terms and they talk so quickly he can't always follow.  DD can't follow either one at all.  Just too fast.  DS does love these, though.

[Quiver0f10]

Working for DS 15:

Apologia Physical Science with MP3. He loves this!

R&S English 7

TT Pre-Algebra

Notgrass America The Beautiful

 

Not so great: Cap W&R.

 

[Cynful]

Not sure

Anaylical grammar....super hard. Junior anyalical grammar...seems like it should start in 6th.

It works, but we are slogging through mud getting it done.

Saxon math..DS is zooming through...dd12 has had a rough time...sweet sophmore finishing alg2

 

Just wondering what isn't working for you with Analytical Grammar?   I was considering it for the future.

 

Thanks,

[clemota]

For DD12, diagnosed with stealth dyslexia & dysgraphia last spring:

 

WORKING:

 

Vision Therapy: We finished this up in the late fall and have noticed the most improvement from this in her writing skills.  DD has become more confident in her printing, and it slowly is starting to look like she's not a second grade student still mastering her manuscript.  She also taken to drawing/sketching on a regular basis, and while the artwork still looks young for her age, it had improved dramatically.  And more importantly, it's something she now enjoys, whereas it used to be something she would avoid at all costs.

 

ElizabethB's phonics lessons: I used these as a basic overview for DD: with her stealth dyslexia, she can comprehend at a 12+ grade level, but her ability to sound out/ decode new words without relying on other text is abysmal.  She actually enjoyed these lessons as they were really informative and helped her understand individual sounds without having to do a lot of "babyish" work.  We've now moved on to...

 

...We All Can Read: We are only using the book version and not the online phonics version.  The large quantity of nonsense words has been a great fit for DD.  I can see a huge difference in the way she processes nonsense words with real ones.  She's enjoying it so far, and my hope is that it will continue to be a good challenge for her.  We will be continuing this program throughout the summer, so she doesn't lose any progress.

 

outsourced Spanish class: DD is an auditory learner, and does well with foreign languages if there isn't a huge writing component.  Her teacher has a child who is dyslexic, and has no problem with DD turning in typewritten, rather than handwritten work, and does a LOT of oral work in the class.  She is doing well there, and we hope to take the next level in the fall - which may turn out to be too much, as it will be a high-school level class.  I feel it may be worth it even if it's just for the exposure.  We may start looking into the livescribe pen system for this if I can get her handwriting - either print or cursive -  up to speed and without it sucking up all of her working memory.

 

Winston Grammar: Oh, those cards are great.  DD had previously done Grammar Island and Town and while she enjoyed the story format, she had trouble with the 4 level analysis.  Winston has made it more approachable, and the card cues work so much better for her when she can't figure out a word.  And we take it as slow as we need to.

 

Jump In: One skill a day takes the writing pain away.  She's become independent with this curriculum.  And her essays have been very good. 

 

Project Passport:  I'm using the Middle Ages one as a spine and it's working very well.   It is NOT thorough, so we frequently read/watch/learn from other sources to beef it up.  But the hands on projects and the simple small paragraphs she types up for the newspaper are enough to help her remember history in a much better way than anything we've used before.  I tend to read the main section out loud to her while she works on timeline pictures, then we spend the rest of the week adding in other books, readings, and doing the other included projects.

 

Parkour Classes: We joined a set of homeschool classes at a local gym and they have focused a lot on balance and core work.  DD has SPD (on top of the stealth dyslexia/dysgraphia) and "graduated" from OT back when she was 8 years old.  But it's been hard to keep that OT going at home as she's gotten older.  These classes have made a big difference in the balance and proprioceptive skillsets.

 

DIDN'T WORK:

 

Math: We are still looking for a math program that works well.  Right now we are bouncing between 3 programs that work well together (Jousting Armadillos for "deep thinking", MM for breakdown of process, TPS Publishing's Creative Core Curriculum for Mathematics for practice that isn't visually overwhelming)  but I wish I could just find ONE that worked and call it a day. 

 

Human Odyssey for history spine: Nope.  Not enough retention, even when I was reading aloud and she was typing her own notebooking pages.  It works GREAT as a supplement where she only has to read smaller chunks at a time.  But she needs more variety to retain info.

 

GEMS Guides:  I loved them, DD didn't.  She liked the hands-on aspect, but she already knew what she was supposed to "discover"  so it was more like fun busy work for her.  We're now muddling around with online activities and a basic textbook/workbook in pdf form so she can type her answers directly into them.  It's straightforward and gets it done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pitterpatter]

Do you have a link for this?

 

 

For DD12, diagnosed with stealth dyslexia & dysgraphia last spring:

 

WORKING:

 

...We All Can Read: We are only using the book version and not the online phonics version.  The large quantity of nonsense words has been a great fit for DD.  I can see a huge difference in the way she processes nonsense words with real ones.  She's enjoying it so far, and my hope is that it will continue to be a good challenge for her.  We will be continuing this program throughout the summer, so she doesn't lose any progress.

 

[happycc]

for Ker (autism with speech and aba)
Good stuff:

 

Moving Beyond the Page PReK

Handwriting without tears

Math seeds

adventures to fitness

 

Meh-Math in focus k

 

Not working: 

LOE F A

Reading eggs

Rightstart a

Keyboarding without Tears

 

5th grader 

good stuff

attuneup

zingy

jiji math

keyboarding without tears

 

 

meh-moving beyond the page

education exploration-too hard for her

 

 

flop

megawords

math in focus

 

6th graders

good stuff

attuneup

math in focus

 

meh-moving beyond the page-level too easy perhaps

education exploration

adventures to fitness

flops

megawords

[Mom22ns]

What worked:

Sonlight Psychology was a huge hit

AP English

Notgrass Government 

 

What didn't work:

AP Statistics

Overloading ds's schedule :(

 

Ds has always worked long hours on school and we knew the planned load for this year would be the heaviest yet. I guess we found the breaking point. It was overload. There were some extenuating circumstances, but basically he overloaded and crashed. This semester he cut back to just a couple of classes. I had to double check with college admissions to make sure all the drops were ok, but he had all the requirements and all is well. It took a little time, but he is back on track and enjoying life now. It does have me a bit worried about his load next year for freshman year of college, but I am glad he is getting a light semester to refresh before he starts.

[Pen]

I forgot to mention, another thing that worked well here are the Code Breaker books.  So far there are only 2, which is unfortunate.  Unless i am missing something and there are more out there that I missed.  DS really loved these. Bought them off another homeschooler for nothing.   :)

 

Crash Course History is also a hit with DS.  For some reason he doesn't like the Crash Course Science as well but I think it may be because he is not as familiar with the terms and they talk so quickly he can't always follow.  DD can't follow either one at all.  Just too fast.  DS does love these, though.

 

 

What is Crash Course History / Science?

[Pen]

Early in year Hogwartsishere was working well for astronomy/writing. Once astronomy was pretty much done, not so much.

 

Everything else has seemed sort of ho-hum this year, going along, neither wonderful nor a flop.

 

 

[texasmama]

What didn't work so well:

 

Our biggest struggle this year has been with Algebra.  (as everyone knows...)  We began the year with AoPS for 8 weeks, continued with 1 week of Saxon while waiting for Foersters to arrive, which we did for about two months (during which time I hired a tutor for three weeks) before I put him in Jann in Texas's Algebra 1 class a couple of weeks ago.  He is doing so very well in the class.  It is a great class for average math students, and he consistently feels successful with Algebra for the first time this year.

 

Writing With Skill 1 continues to be a slow and steady plod, but he is able to manage it at a snail's pace.  Seriously, he has been working on this level for three years now.  I have given up and accepted this pace since he does the work well, just slowly.  This is actually one for the win column.

 

Easy Grammar Plus was started midyear when Rod and Staff Grammar was not getting done.  It is easy and painless and it gets done.  It is no one's idea of rigorous, but I'm okay with that. 

 

Independent reading fell behind.  I allowed both boys to skip one book that younger son (who started it first) found uninteresting.  Older son has not started a book he was supposed to start a month ago.  His plan is to push it to summer, and I am allowing this.  The amount of assigned independent reading was minimal and should have been doable.  It just often fell through the cracks.

 

Progeny Press Poetry study - meh, kind of dry

 

What worked well this year:

 

Jann in Texas' Algebra 1 class

 

Easy Grammar Plus

 

Apologia Physical Science at co op.  The boys are about to launch into their science fair project.

 

Doing Art of Argument orally

 

Doing my homemade US history based on A History of US orally with no written output, only discussion

 

Doing a short Bible reading and an occasional reading of Sister Wendy's 1,000 Masterpieces

 

Doing literature as read alouds (read by me)

 

Separating the boys in math programs has allowed both of them to be individuals and eliminated competition and hard feelings.  I have a 12 year old outlier in math who is self-teaching AoPS Algebra, and my older son needed not to be comparing himself to his brother.  I need not to be comparing myself to his brother.  lol

 

Note:  Folks here like me to do a lot of the reading.  This will change next year.  I will likely keep literature read alouds but push the history to the boys for independent reading. (both doing 9th grade level work)

 

Next year I will take a break from the literature analysis class I have taught for two years at co op (which my boys have been in) and coteach drama.  I have a drama background so this should be fun.  Also, I want to work with my ds and put together a course for kids on social skills (mostly to help ds to understand the finer points of social skills and nonverbal communication).  We have a captive audience in young kids for co op, even for a 4-6 week mini-course.  I can get some kids for ds and I to do this class with, no problem.

 

[Pen]

Ah. I just googled Crash Course...   Looks like You Tube/KhanAcademy stuff? Maybe we will eventually manage to have an internet connection that will allow that sort of thing. Sigh.  What I really want is to be able to Duolingo again.  Duolingo counts as a "worked" when we could get it--but sadly a flop once it got too advanced for our system to handle.

[OneStepAtATime]

Ah. I just googled Crash Course...   Looks like You Tube/KhanAcademy stuff? Maybe we will eventually manage to have an internet connection that will allow that sort of thing. Sigh.  What I really want is to be able to Duolingo again.  Duolingo counts as a "worked" when we could get it--but sadly a flop once it got too advanced for our system to handle.

Sorry, Pen. That stinks when you know something works and you can't access it.

[Guest2]

I would still recommend Analytical Grammar. I like that it builds upon itself. We use the DVDs , but for someone with a poor grammar background, not quite enough teaching. My kids want explanations and I had trouble giving them based on the teaching. Hope that helps.

[Guest2]

Sorry, dp.

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, another thing that isn't working and I forgot to mention, is the way I have things organized this year. I keep having to shift things around from room to room and stuff gets lost.  Hate that.  I am definitely going to restructure where everything is located for me and for the kids so we can keep track of everything better.  DD at least has an art cabinet for her art supplies but somehow everything else (except Barton stuff) is a jumbled mess most of the time.  Even my wonderful roll around cart is now a mess.  Ugh!

[texasmama]

Well, another thing that isn't working and I forgot to mention, is the way I have things organized this year. I keep having to shift things around from room to room and stuff gets lost.  Hate that.  I am definitely going to restructure where everything is located for me and for the kids so we can keep track of everything better.  DD at least has an art cabinet for her art supplies but somehow everything else (except Barton stuff) is a jumbled mess most of the time.  Even my wonderful roll around cart is now a mess.  Ugh!

My small bookshelf where I keep history, literature, little dd's art stuff and all of my TM's is in good order, but a lot of the rest is a hot mess!  I keep a side table next to the couch and my daily stuff is on top, including our master schedule.  I don't move stuff even when I host Christmas for my family.  That is where it lives, and I am afraid of losing track of it.  :D

[Tiramisu]

Keeping lessons short is really working, and has kept things working even when we've been in crisis mode.

 

EM Daily Language Review. Painless. Mechanics are sticking.

 

WWE. Seeing improvement in writing/legibility since the beginning of the year.

 

Singapore PM with Monopoly. Math speed is increasing, and she's doing math at her own initiative and not leaving it to last. I'm not scribing for math anymore! This is huge!

 

KindleFire for reading more challenging books. No out-of-date covers and small font to turn her off to classics.

 

We're not making much progress in learning cursive. In the future, I need to chose a workbook with shorter daily lessons, instead of breaking it up myself into manageable bites, and then feeling like we're not getting anywhere.

 

The rest of the stuff is getting done--except for Bible and memory work since the family medical issues, etc., started in December--it's just blah. 

[clemota]

Do you have a link for this?

 

http://www.weallcanread.com/

 

I found a used copy of the 3rd grade & up book on homeschool classifieds, but you can probably check Amazon or ebay as well.  I don't have the teacher edition - just the student edition, but if you watch the free videos from their online phonics program, you can get a sense of what the teaching looks like.

 

They do offer the first 28 online lessons for free, so you can see it that would work for you as well.

 

Samples are here.

[lauranc]

 

What worked:

Sonlight Psychology was a huge hit

AP English

Notgrass Government 

 

What didn't work:

AP Statistics

Overloading ds's schedule :(

 

Ds has always worked long hours on school and we knew the planned load for this year would be the heaviest yet. I guess we found the breaking point. It was overload. There were some extenuating circumstances, but basically he overloaded and crashed. This semester he cut back to just a couple of classes. I had to double check with college admissions to make sure all the drops were ok, but he had all the requirements and all is well. It took a little time, but he is back on track and enjoying life now. It does have me a bit worried about his load next year for freshman year of college, but I am glad he is getting a light semester to refresh before he starts.

 

 

Can you tell me more about Sonlight's Psychology?  Are there literature selections? Is it textbook based?

TIA

Laura

 

[samba]

Background:  ds11, mild MR/ID

 

WORKING:

 

* Reading = Stevenson Reading -- LOVE this program; ds has made great strides in reading since beginning this program

 

* Math = Semple Math -- I'm just 'meh' about this program, but it's working with ds

 

* Handwriting = HWOT -- we are about to finish the orange book, and then we're taking a break before continuing on in order to practice some more

 

* Writing = Writing Skills Activities for Special Children (Darlene Mannix) -- really like the flow of this program

 

* Life Skills = Life Skills Activities for Special Children (Darlene Mannix) -- I like having something structured to follow

 

 

NOT WORKING SO GREAT:

 

* OT/ST = ds really doesn't like ST at all, yet we have to do daily exercises.  Ugh.  As for OT, he likes meeting with his OT, but I would LIKE to also do the Brain Integration Therapy Manual (Dianne Craft), but it's like pulling teeth to get him to do it.  We are three-time failures at this program.  Try as we may, we both dislike it.

 

 

OVERALL:

 

I finally feel like I've gotten my stride when it comes to teaching this child.  After several unsuccessful years and many tears, I can honestly say that this school year has been our best one yet.

 

[samba]

Background:  ds11, mild MR/ID

 

WORKING:

 

* Reading = Stevenson Reading -- LOVE this program; ds has made great strides in reading since beginning this program

 

* Math = Semple Math -- I'm just 'meh' about this program, but it's working with ds

 

* Handwriting = HWOT -- we are about to finish the orange book, and then we're taking a break before continuing on in order to practice some more

 

* Writing = Writing Skills Activities for Special Children (Darlene Mannix) -- really like the flow of this program

 

* Life Skills = Life Skills Activities for Special Children (Darlene Mannix) -- I like having something structured to follow

 

 

NOT WORKING SO GREAT:

 

* OT/ST = ds really doesn't like ST at all, yet we have to do daily exercises.  Ugh.  As for OT, he likes meeting with his OT, but I would LIKE to also do the Brain Integration Therapy Manual (Dianne Craft), but it's like pulling teeth to get him to do it.  We are three-time failures at this program.  Try as we may, we both dislike it.

 

 

OVERALL:

 

I finally feel like I've gotten my stride when it comes to teaching this child.  After several unsuccessful years and many tears, I can honestly say that this school year has been our best one yet.

 

[samba]

Kinsa,

 

I'm interested in the writing book by Mannix.  I looked on Amazon and the sample is in Spanish!  Where did you buy your book?  Can you give me some idea how you use this book. I am looking for something to use with my ds13 with Down syndrome. I'm wondering if the Life Skills book would be helpful, too.  I think the secondary book may be too old for him...not sure.

 

Thanks,

Carolyn

[Mom22ns]

Can you tell me more about Sonlight's Psychology?  Are there literature selections? Is it textbook based?

TIA

Laura

 

 

It is textbook based, no literature. It uses the Meyer's AP Psychology textbook which is probably the most popular AP Psych text. There is a guide, they call it a diary for reasons completely unknown to me. It includes the SL schedule and lessons from an Christian AP Psych teacher. It is very Christian - cannot be used secularly, but the Christian perspective never takes away from the Psychology (as I find some Christian material do). There are a lot of projects suggested that we couldn't do because they required experimenting on people we didn't have access to. However, both my kids did this together and we did go through the guide together each day and had a LOT of fun with some of the activities. The guide is really like being in the room with a teacher. He tells stories and applies what the textbook teaches to real life situations. I wasn't at all sure if it was necessary to bother with SL's course to go with the text and I was glad I did. The tests are all multiple choice, but they are pretty tough and thorough. They are all cumulative to encourage study for the AP. My kids took the CLEP at the end rather than the AP with no additional study. They completed the course, tried a practice exam, did great, so they took the CLEP - 3 easy credits :).

 

My critical comments would be there are quite a few editing errors. There is a page left out of the schedule and you have to email SL it. There was a chapter that was reversed in the order that the schedule said it should be v. how it was paginated and we followed the schedule which turned out to be the wrong choice (the review question on the test included things from the chapter we hadn't done yet). Lots of other smaller editing issues, typos and such. It was a little annoying at the price they charge for it, but we really enjoyed it and I did think it was worth it.

[Guest2]

A few things to add for what worked:

 

For my third grader:

Old cd Roms

.Star Wars Math , Yoda's challenge....reviewing math facts / place values

Magic school bus videos and cd roms

Live science study..fish , butterflies, the possum our dog keeps chasing

 

We are all enjoying Scholastic Weekly Readers for current events.

 

Looking into trying to build mods for Minecraft using books from Amazon with Dad. I'm not sure how academic this is, but will be great exposure (and their eyes are lit up ).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0672337193/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071839666/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Jilly]

I love this thread.  For DS 11 - 

 

Working:

 

Audiobooks - He never liked audiobooks when he was little. He always complained they hurt his head. Last year he started enjoying them, and this year audiobooks have become a major part of his routine. He listens to everything from the classics to Doctor Who stories, and he loves them all. 

 

Math Works -  He loved this math book, and he was able to work through it fairly successfully. We are just now finishing the first semester for fifth grade, but I am happy at the pace he is working. We are in no rush in regards to math. 

 

Homegrown writing study - My son loves to write, so I created a fun study to cater to his strengths. He devoured the book Writer to Writer, and he enjoyed reading so many books about authors when they were younger. It has been a very joyous study. 

 

Cursive writing - Something clicked this year, and he finally is able to write in cursive. He doesn't do it on his own, but if I ask him to, he writes in cursive with no complaints. That has been a huge accomplishment. 

 

Intermediate grammar - He really enjoyed Cozy Grammar from a few years ago, and I decided to order the next level up, and it has been a hit too. What is not to love about learning grammar from Marie while snuggled up on the couch. It works perfectly. 

 

Ferret Ecology Problem Studies for One - This is the only science we have done this year, but it worked out nicely. We had to skip a few assignments and do much of it orally, but he finished it happily and learned quite a bit. 

 

Brainpop - He has been watching these little videos for years now, and he still loves them. 

 

Scratch - He makes games and animates shorts on Scratch. They are very well-received on the site, and his confidence has soared over the past few years because of this. 

 

Didn't work:

 

History Odyssey Middle Ages - He does not like history and didn't like the way this was set up at all. I knew on the second day that this was going to be a bust.

 

RSO Biology Level Two - I was very impressed with this.  Unfortunately it was too much for him. 

 

Moving Beyond the Page - He used this for several years when he was little. The upper levels are not interesting to him, and I think there is too much busy work for him to stay engaged. 

 

MCT - I love his products, but again they do not work for my son. 

 

Socializing - I still haven't been able to get him to engage in any group activities or classes. He has been working with an amazing therapist this year, and I am seeing some progress. I am hoping at some point in the future he will discover a tribe he feels comfortable in. 

 

Overall I have been happy with our year. I am looking ahead to next year debating what to do. He is such a different learner than my twins were that I feel a little lost. I have no idea how to approach history or science with him and am not sure what his middle school/high school years will look like. I will follow his lead though and try not to worry too much.