Do you allow television and computer time? If yes, my kids both learned simple reading through leapfrog word factory (and there may be one for sentences too, I don't remember anymore). My son loved watching the new version of Electric Company & he learned a lot! It was on Netflix but that was about 7 years ago. You can probably find them on YouTube. They made learning more difficult blends for my son enjoyable. Lastly, both of my kids really loved an online reading program called "Reading Eggs" (Time4Learning also had great phonics lessons online too, if I remember correctly). Both sites have free lengthy trials, or they did. We also used "Explode the Code", which is a workbook series & my kids both tolerated it very well. I just rotated through several things to make it more enjoyable but they all reinforced one another. Out loud reading time, we liked "I can Read" series (they started with Sam books and Bob books though). There are tons of free resources, readers, online phonics games, lessons, etc. Hopefully someone can link you to those things. I don't remember all that's out there. As for handwriting, my son had a terrible time with it. I mean terrible! His OT recommended broken crayons and golf pencils. This forced him to hold his hand correctly when writing and it really did help. At age 6, we did mazes and tracing, which helped him. We also did copywork (very bitesize amounts), and we used Handwriting without Tears. Honestly though, my son is 13 now and still has poor penmanship. But, it's legible and looks as good as his friends 😊. A lot of the issues with your son's handwriting will develop as he grows. In the meantime, I hope these suggestions help. ETA - if you don't notice improvement with handwriting, you may want to check into dysgraphia. It could be put into your son's IEP if he has it.

Honestly, when she enters public school she is not going to be alone. Many kids do not review over the summer & will have forgotten very basic things that were cemented in during second grade. So the teacher expects this and will prepare for it. They will spend a lot of time reviewing. You can work alongside the teacher & ask for their feedback about any gaps and how to fill them. Also, you have not failed your child with math. It could be a disability or it could just be math is boring and difficult for her. Most children are not excellent in every single subject. Math may never be your daughter's strong subject & she may always have to work extra hard in this area. I imagine all of us could share a subject area that our child struggles in, (and those that can't are the exception & not the norm). ETA-- And FWIW my 13 year old son was in public school for the past few years. He would come home & look at his math homework (that his teacher reviewed that day) and stare at it like he had never been taught a thing from the lesson. And somehow we figured it out and he passed math just fine.

Church, 4H, the local park, or indoor play places. Or if you live near water (we are by Panama City, so there are lots of kids at the beach, rivers, springs). At age 7, my kids would be best friends with other kids they'd never met before. When we would leave, they didn't even remember the other child's name, but they had the best time ever.

We moved when my children were entering 2nd & 4th grade. We had a large homeschool group in our previous town & where we live now is much more rural. The homeschool group here had lovely families, but it was small & it dwindled down even more for whatever reason. We didn't really have a lot of get togethers & the day they met for the park was my husband's day off and our family day. After a couple of years of homeschooling here we decided to put my daughter in public middle school (6th grade). She did great & is entering 10th grade now. She's in honors classes & has a great set of friends. She will dual enroll at the community college in 11th grade. So with her, it's been a great fit. My son entered public school the year after my daughter in 5th grade. He will be in 8th next year & is returning to homeschooling at his request. Academically he did fine, but we both just prefer homeschooling. The homeschool group in the next town has a large community now & started a wonderful co-op that meets once a week from 8:30-2:30. It's exactly what we were missing previously. So, for my son, I'm confident this is going to be the best path for him. He will also dual enroll at the community college in 11th grade.

Maybe more activity and making sure his bedtime routine & schedule are very consistent.

My daughter went to public school in 6th grade. Academically she was ahead & transitioned fine. The biggest adjustment for her was just figuring out how to get around. Fortunately, that's true for any new kid (and all 6th graders) so she adjusted fine. She'll be in 10th grade & is doing great. She is very organized & a self starter. My son entered public school in 5th grade. His biggest adjustment was how much writing was expected of him (but I had let him write his papers on the computer so that was my own doing). He figured it out though & everything else was fairly easy. He will be in 8th grade in the fall & is returning to homeschooling. For him it's just a better fit, but our experience with public school overall was okay. He is very disorganized & needs reminders (a lot). Im sure your daughter will adjust fine. :) Here, school starts off with review and they don't begin homework until the second week. Oh! And if she has a locker (gym and or hallway) practice! This was a huge learning curve for both of my kids!!

I also think homebound is a great choice if she doesn't want to homeschool. My hairdresser's son does homebound education. A teacher comes once a week & goes over assignments & is very helpful. She seems very pleased with this option & they adapt expectations and assignments around all of her son's doctor appointments & surgeries.

I found the thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/645557-reco-for-online-writing-classes-with-author-jennifer-trafton/?do=findComment&comment=7589960 And here's a writing course that includes mine craft :) http://whenyouriseup.com/skrafty-20172018-iew-classes/

Wow! No advice, but I just wanted to say he's doing great! Maybe an online writing course? Someone posted here recently about an online writing class out of TN. I can't remember the name, but it sounds perfect for your son. The OP said her daughter loved it, and like your son, loved to write and was an aspiring author. I hope they see this and chime in :)

We are in a similar boat here. I wanted to cover American History, but couldn't decide what to use. I've been creating our own (which I've never attempted before) & I think my son is really going to prefer this. You could look at Sonlight, Beautiful Feet, Guest Hollow, www.abookintime.com (and so on) for suggested readings. Then just create your own go-along activities and assignments. :-)

Sure, those seem very reasonable for that age. But if they couldn't figure it out, we would work through a couple problems together to help them understand. Then I'd let them work alone to make sure they really grasp it.

Since Level 4 is free & you can see the full curriculum, what do you think of it? Do you think it wIll challenge your child? Does it seem too light when you're looking over it? If yes ,I'd go with your instinct in lieu of the assessment. You can always use Level 5 or 6, they'll be out in June & August. If you do feel Level 4 is appropriate, however, just do multiple lessons in one day when they're easier & slow down when they're more difficult. Like a previous poster said, just supplement in subject areas as needed.😊

Well I've never used this curriculum, so take my opinion with that in mind (reading something and then doing it are so different, ykwim?). I'd say the grammar is hands down more than sufficient. I'd say the writing also is totally appropriate for 9th grade, as it focuses on quality writing & lays a wonderful foundation. From what I can tell it really focuses on learning to write well over quantity. If you gave your child writing assignments across the curriculum, they will definitely have enough writing. Spelling & Reading are also appropriate for grade 9. It utilizes sentence dictation & the reading is not watered down. Also. the challenge readers are books you choose, so that is perfect. Geography may or may not be sufficient, really just depending on your goals. The way I look at it though, if they learn everything included over the years, my son is going to be ahead of the game. Poetry memorization is also totally age appropriate. And it would be easy to substitute a different poem. Also, for State ladders, you could substitute with Sheppherds software. You could always email the author through the contact page. There is also a placement test you can give your child. What I posted earlier was really just verbatim from what their website says regarding their levels & suggested placement.😊 ETA Here's the assessment. http://www.jennyphillips.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/G-B-Course-Level-Assessment.pdf

My son is 13 & going into the eighth grade. I definitely think this curriculum is enough. She said it's for an advanced 8th grader or average 9th grader. She says after Level 7 they will be ready for Honors High School 1, which comes out next summer. If they don't complete Level 7 then in 9th grade they'd take High School Level 1 (not Honors), as that is equivalent to Level 7. It says Level 6 is for 7th/8th grade. And my understanding is there is not going to be a Level 8.

What you describe is my 13 year old to a T. My son is getting ready to come home from public school and I'm so grateful! He makes good grades but only because I have to stay on top of his assignments every.single.day. It's exhausting! A mom on here recommended a book "Smart but Scattered". I'm currently reading it & enjoying it. Knowing that my son is very disorganized (very ADD but no hyperactivity), I'm really trying to get him to become organized. Anyway, not much with advice but wanted to say you are not alone.

Yes, I would definitely choose another curriculum if you are looking for a light grammar year. There is a good bit of sentence diagramming & a strong focus on grammar overall. As for writing though, it seems to be very solid. In-between essays it really focuses on writing well constructed sentences, so the emphasis is more on quality than quantity.

The Level 7 guide says it should be used 4 days a week & won't take longer than 90 minutes a day (that time includes 30 minutes of reading the assigned challenge book too). A mom on TWTM said it only takes her daughter about 45 minutes a day; her daughter used Level 4 or 5 I think. Im not sure if that included extra reading or just the workbook.

My son will be writing with our history curriculum and doing book summaries, so we are not supplementing with a writing curriculum on top of TG & TB. In looking at it though, it certainly seems to be enough on its own, definitely enough if your child is writing in other subjects. The first writing lessons seem to focus on paraphrasing, which is introduced in Lesson 9. In Lessons 19 and 20 it discusses the thesis & body of an essay, topic sentences, styles of writing, etc. And in Lesson 22 the first essay is assigned about nature. The next essay assigned is an informal essay in Lesson 29, so I'd say it moves along nicely. The writing assignments seem to be bitesize though, so it doesn't seem like too much all at once, which I love. It assigns note taking, thank you notes, fictional biography, dialogue, fictional story, friendship essay, editing, short stories, and a literary analysis essay. It is very heavy on grammar. There may be more writing assignments as well, but that's what I see in glancing over it. :-) Hope this helps.

I just purchased and received Level 7. I definitely like this curriculum. My impression so far: The lessons seems short but overall will require my son to really think & apply himself. Nice mix in the lessons, not the same exact thing everyday. Student can work independently If you have specific questions about this level, happy to answer :)

It sounds like my son. I'm sorry, and I do sympathize ((hugs)). The poster who said your firstborn is organized, lol. Yes! That's my daughter! Someone on here recommended a book, "Smart but Scattered". I actually just got it in the mail today!

In looking at her website, I'm not exactly sure how it works? If it's inclusive of all ages which form would you buy when they're divided by grade levels? I am on my phone so perhaps the website would navigate easier on my desktop. Also, it seems to be a PDF purchase only, is that right? That would make the curriculum quite costly imho. From what I can tell it seems very similar to Simply Charlotte Mason's "Keep it Simple" curriculum. Have you seen that? Its really lovely.

Coastalfam my son does have a phone. We definitely will include using a calendar & reminders (I personally would forget everything without my daily schedule on my phone). At school they can't have phones & in middle school the teachers don't communicate to the parents. It has been a challenge to help my son stay on top of his schoolwork (that he is totally capable of - it's just the remembering part that's hard). Thank God his teachers allow him to turn things in late! Onestepatatime... that book looks amazing! I just ordered it (teen edition) and I can't wait to read it! I just finished the preview at Amazon. It really describes my son. He is genuinely such a smart kid, but oh my goodness, this child is disorganized! I love the idea of workboxes. We used them when my children were in elementary school. I think that alongside a daily calendar will work perfectly. Thank you all so much for your thoughtful replies!

Thank you!!

My son is 13 & is returning to homeschooling (we are finishing up 7th grade in public school now). One thing I'd really like to work on with my son is organization. My objective is to prepare him for future college courses and keeping up with his assignments. In our state he will be able to dual enroll in 10th grade. If you have any kind of system that helps teach your child organization with their school work, I'd love to read about it. My son makes good grades at school, but I can't tell you how many times we've had to write a to-do list on his hand in sharpie (he would lose the paper).

Disclaimer: I've never used this curriculum. However, it was a top consideration & looks wonderful to me. "Visits to North America" by Simply Charlotte Mason. https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/visits-north-america