3rd Grade Blubbering Mess

[bigrockfarmwv]

Hi All,

 

I need help-trying to work on our curriculum for next year - 3rd grade!!  I have a 7 year old son (December birthday) who is currently what I call 2nd grade level.  I don't think he is above or below "grade" level.

 

Our current day is BYL 2, LOE Book C (which he doesn't like) - so I switched to ETC Book 2, HWOT and McRuffy Math Grade 2.  (As a side note, I am trying to do one lesson a week of LOE because I have both C & D.)  He is reading but not picking up a book on his own type of reading.  He loves read alouds!!  I am fearful of venturing too far from BYL because I love her book lists....but am intrigued by Beautiful Feet and Trail Guide to Learning.

 

I am trying to figure out what to do for next year  - grammar, spelling, and writing.  Spelling is not clicking with him yet (considering Apples & Pears or Spellwell).  We have not done much writing except copywork.  I am leaning towards CLE Grammar and Bravewriter Arrows (that match up with BYL books) or Writing Tales. BUT I like the thought of MCT Island.  I am wearing myself out thinking about this.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Stacy

Edited October 15, 2017 by BigrockfarmWV

[HomeAgain]

What draws you to each of the programs you're thinking about?

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

My 3rd grade DS is also 7yo but with a November birthday. We're doing LOE D right now and his reading abilities are improving but he too won't pick up a book to read and loves read alouds. We're going to move on to LOE Essentials when we finish Foundations but that may not be a good option for you since your DS doesn't like LOE. What I have done with all of mine - and most definitely will do with DS as well - is work on one LA thing at a time. My typical sequence is first reading well. We do nothing but phonics/reading until they're reading at a Magic Treehouse level. Since I've used LOE with the younger two that does include some spelling,grammar, and writing but my focus is on reading. My DD10 has just recently started to read at the level I want so I'm pushing the spelling a little more. With my older two I moved to working on spelling (with Spelling Powerer), writing (with IEW), then last was Grammar (IEW Fix-It). It took until they were in 5th and 7th grades to have all the components added in. My oldest hates LA (except reading which she loves) so it took longer to get her there. With my younger two I think writing will be the last thing I add. For my DS especially I will probably stick with copywork and oral narration until he's around 5th grade. He likes narrating and I'm sure having to write would be akin to torture in his opinion. So for now, I'll just encourage whatever attempts he makes on his own (labeling things, captions for drawings, lists).

[bigrockfarmwv]

What draws you to each of the programs you're thinking about?

 

HomeAgain ~

 

Bravewriter, MCT & Writing Tales feel like they are teaching without teaching.  Quick and painless, but still have some zest.   I'll be blunt - I do not like to write because I'm not confident in my writing and am worried that I won't be able to guide my son.  (I consider it a form of torture....along with meal planning.  LOL.) That being said, the mentioned curriculums feel like they won't overwhelm me.

 

CLE - I have no idea what is drawing me to it.  Looks like it would get the job done without much pain??

 

Beautiful Feet & Trail Guide to Learning are simply because I want more books...haha!  My son loves history.

[bigrockfarmwv]

My 3rd grade DS is also 7yo but with a November birthday. We're doing LOE D right now and his reading abilities are improving but he too won't pick up a book to read and loves read alouds. We're going to move on to LOE Essentials when we finish Foundations but that may not be a good option for you since your DS doesn't like LOE. What I have done with all of mine - and most definitely will do with DS as well - is work on one LA thing at a time. My typical sequence is first reading well. We do nothing but phonics/reading until they're reading at a Magic Treehouse level. Since I've used LOE with the younger two that does include some spelling,grammar, and writing but my focus is on reading. My DD10 has just recently started to read at the level I want so I'm pushing the spelling a little more. With my older two I moved to working on spelling (with Spelling Powerer), writing (with IEW), then last was Grammar (IEW Fix-It). It took until they were in 5th and 7th grades to have all the components added in. My oldest hates LA (except reading which she loves) so it took longer to get her there. With my younger two I think writing will be the last thing I add. For my DS especially I will probably stick with copywork and oral narration until he's around 5th grade. He likes narrating and I'm sure having to write would be akin to torture in his opinion. So for now, I'll just encourage whatever attempts he makes on his own (labeling things, captions for drawings, lists).

2ndgenhomeschooler ~

 

Thank you for your input!!  You may have just helped me simplify my thought process. Yesterday morning, I told myself to calm down and take it one step at a time - get the reading down pat, etc, etc.  By last night, I felt like he was missing everything and had a freakout. Sometimes, I get caught up in the "what if he has to go to public school and he can't write a sentence" mode and that causes anxiety and curriculum shopping.  I need to learn to trust myself.

[PeterPan]

I usually started my search for stuff for the next year in January, and by fall it was all obselete anyway. :)

 

It's good that you're calming down your anxiety. My ds does that, being able to read but not reading. Now my ds is diagnosed with dyslexia and has been through multiple levels of Barton, etc. I finally took him in, and the tutor tests him and is like oh he's at such and such level, but it's just HARD for him. I also think my ds was just plain not understanding the language, like really understanding what he was reading. I backed up and started him in the Fountas & Pinnell leveled readers I get through the lending library at the local teacher's college. They're not sound decoding instruction, but they're really good for a kid who can already read but maybe needs the length controlled or more pictures. For my ds, the pictures, the humor, the repetition in the language, all this has really set him at ease. And I like that I can see us going through levels and progressing. So I can say to someone he's reading level H or I or whatever of F&P, and if they work in a school (because my ds has an IEP and we deal with the schools) they know what I mean.

 

So that's something you could look for, decodable books with more picture supports. 

 

I really love Writing Tales. I did it with my dd years ago, and I definitely plan to do it with my ds when he's ready. We're doing work in sequencing narratives now, because he needed that work first. Read, Think, Cut & Paste: Evan Moor: 9781557990280: Amazon.com: Books  This is one we're using, but there are many like this at various levels. If your ds can already listen to say a history lesson (SOTW, whatever) and narrate, then he probably doesn't need it. My ds couldn't, so it was a precursor skill for him. A dc needs to be able to do a short narration from a sample to be ready to go into Writing Tales 1. 

 

I find this a really enjoyable age/stage. With my ds, who is super smart but also delayed in some ways, I just tell myself "Embrace the pace." So it's ok to do that, to play a little more, to stall and do some things that maybe others don't do that your ds might. I would do that and just be very in the moment, rather than worrying about next year. At least wait until January or February to start planning next year. A lot can change. He'll probably have a growth spurt around his b-day too. :)