kerenlynne
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Posts posted by kerenlynne
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I don't know that there is a master list anywhere though-you probably need to know what subjects and then research the subject on the threads which will probably lead you to a lot of resources.
A world history for us all-http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/- is free
http://www.montereyi...cdemos.html- has different classes that I think includes the text on-line
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When our T minus schedule was getting farther and farther out because we were getting behind, I went into crazy mom mode. Starting every class with a lecture, complaining to DH, and really stressing out. DS is a sophomore in HS by grade but by credit more like a Freshman so we are already behind that the idea of quitting early can't happen and the idea of going longer was making me depressed. So DH suggested that we do study hall days right now. Spending one day working on World History, next day Science, etc. The only subject that is required daily is math since DS is so far behind in math and he will be doing it all summer anyway. I have gone back in forth about just working on one class until we finish it but feel like this way we won't lose ground in the other classes. Just changing the schedule has taken some of the pressure off both of us.
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Both of my boys have struggled with reading and were very slow readers. We used lots of comic books on the advice of my sister-in-law who swears that Garfield taught her kids to read. Seriously-are there LD's involved? It could be a very difficult and intensive process to learn to read if that is the underlying problem. Either way, I firmly believe in comic books, graphic novels, and DK or other picture books about things they are interested in. I just have boys and I had dreams of reading lovely stories with them and to them, but since day one they were not interested in "Stories". They would look at picture books but I never could get through "Miss Spider" or whatever. They will read or listen to novels now, but still pick out graphic novels or non-fiction books with lots of pictures first. Here is a link to a website about boys and reading that you may or may not find helpful http://www.guysread.com/about/ . I think unschooling sounds great but I have no experience with it. Good luck as you make some choices.
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Oops! I didn't see your 2nd question. It doesn't "link" per se to the CD, it just has a general syllabus for how long to spend on each chapter. There are no page numbers on the CD version so it doesn't line up exactly to the textbook version.
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Here is the Webpage- http://donnayoung.org/apologia/biology1.htm Scroll to the bottom to find the schedule for the CD ROM and there is a link that will open as a Word document.
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My dyslexic son prefers audio but I do think reading is the easier way to process information and retain it. It just facilitates things like note taking where audio is very passive. What we do is require the textbook reading and then use the videos, audio files, text to speech software to help him go through the material as a 2nd pass for clarity etc. The best technology for him is the new Kindle Fire. They have "immersion reading" available with many books. The text in the book is highlighted while he listens to the books which is actually his preferred way to read a book. Unfortunately it isn't available for everything. It is great to have the ability as a homeschooling parent to "fine-tune" a curriculum to your child's learning style. I would take advantage of that ability but, if there is no learning disability, I would push him a little bit. He might as well get used to it before med school ;)
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We are using the CD one thing we like is the live video clips in the text of cells moving and such. I think I would enjoy the book for myself but my son is more computer loving. If you use Donna Young to help with setting up your course and the timetable, be sure to get the schedule linked to the CD because there are no page numbers and there is a difference. Also the test and study guides are on a PDF file so you can print or email the file instead of tearing out pages of a book or making copies. If you want to adapt the tests for your student, you can copy and paste from the file.
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Horrible Histories vidoes - http://www.youtube.com/user/horriblehistoriesBBC we haven't done any of the books. We got Professor Linwood Bell World History for free from a my brother who sells books on the side( it was missing one of the CDs) so you might find someone reselling it or in a thrift store. They also have pretty decent sales so if you watch you can find a lot of courses for 50 or under if you just go with the audio version.
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DS loves history but is dyslexic and reading can suck the joy out of it for him. He loves to watch the Crash Course History videos on Youtube, Horrible Histories and a few other resources. We tied together World History this year with lectures from Teaching Company and various documentaries and movies that go with the time period. We even tied in a few pieces of literature like Tale of Two Cities and All Quiet on the Western front (in audible form) for him to make the subject more exciting. Part of the problem for us is he knows more about history than I do and he is constantly correcting me:( I just kind of serve as the facilitator making sure that he covers areas he might be less familiar with and that he does read source documents which is more difficult and not as enjoyable for him. Use the book as the spine for content guide, but don't let it limit you.
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My rising 8th grader with dyslexia/dysgraphia takes an IEW thematic course with an O-G/IEW certified tutor. He types about 40 WPM, and his writing has shown significant improvement.
I wasn't 100% for IEW when DS started, but DS has made major improvements. I totally believe in the program now and expect DS to take IEW's Windows to the World and the Elegant Essay around 11th grade.
I have been looking at this program. We pulled DS out of PS in the middle of Freshman year after a lot of frustration with the way the school was just letting him fall through the cracks. We have been kind of trying a few different things with some success but I can see he definitely needs to focus writing and a curriculum that can help him on that path would be good.
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However, by high school I want my high schooler doing high school level work. I am not sure I would ever accomodate my student out of writing (that is my controversial statement...sorry).
I asked for the input, no worries.
What I think of as accommodations that are acceptable would be continued limited writing assignments for HS credit. He is not going to be trying to get into any prestigious colleges upon graduation. I consider learning to write part of the process and I am not expecting a college level paper out of him in HS. What I am trying to figure out is how best to get him to an actual acceptable HS paper produced by him on his own. Above and beyond that would be his ability to write and email or FB post that doesn't look like it was written by a 6 year old. I currently hand hold him to the end and then grade on what he says is final draft. I am not sure if that is any better than my crazy thought in the original post.
Tutor is not an option for DS since we live in a pretty rural area. I am willing to try a particular writing program if it will be helpful and I have seen some on-line tutors for writing that look interesting but I am not sure if it is financially doable at this juncture. I have no problem with having myself or DH grade the papers-we are both capable of that.
I guess it is just something I am trying to work through and all input is appreciated.
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How do you deal with grading papers or written assignments for your Dyslexic kiddo once they reach the HS level? Up until HS DS was basically accommodated out of any writing due to dysgraphia/dyslexia, but he is a Sophomore now and I have real concerns about his writing abilities and how best to get him to progress. Our main areas of concern are: organization to complete the assignment, mechanics and self-editing, expressing more mature thought in written expression. I am thinking about setting certain goals like Level One Goal -If you finish the paper with the correct word count and structure and turn it in on time, I will give you an A. Level Two Goal-On time and all the self edits are good, I give you an A. Level Three-On time, good edits, good content A. Is this a terrible idea? This kid is super smart but his output if it isn't in discussion format is so juvenile and I want to help him out as much as possible. Maybe if we master one part of the assignment requirements at a time he can get it.
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A few years ago we had a German Exchange student live with us for a year. This gave me my first glimpse into the Public High School in our small town. She took chemistry and never did one single lab. The teacher was the girls softball and volleyball coach and apparently got confused about the math and was often corrected by the students(Quite the stereotype). I was so shocked that this was going on. No experiments? That was my favorite part of Chemistry and Physics. Since she knew she would have to retake the class in Germany anyway it didn't bother her much but I still can't believe it to this day. I'm sure that was an extreme example but the truth of the matter is whatever curriculum is used, the success of the course will depend on the effort of the teacher. If you put enough effort into your homeschool science class, you can make it interesting. Spend some time on the great science threads on this forum and you will probably come up with some great ideas and resources to fill out your class.
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There is a homeschool guide with suggested assignments for each week. There are 5 daily discussion questions that we either discuss daily for about 10 - 15 minutes or we have a longer discussion once a week(depends on my schedule). DS spends about 30 minutes to an hour reading the articles and exploring the unit on his own each day. The guide provides quizzes at the end of each era that are multiple choice. It's not incredibly difficult, but he is learning quite a bit and I really don't want him to dread Bible Class:)
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Does he have a favorite subject? or an area of interest? DS loves history so that is our priority subject. I try to find as much as possible to make it interesting for him by including movies, documentaries and audiobooks to help. DS loves to absorb information but the written output level is terrible so I give him study questions that are multiple choice for content and we discuss everything else. Also if you can figure out what assistive technology helps the most, that can reduce some stress. We would be lost without audiobooks and a laptop for writing. I used Life of Fred over the past year because with the story and such it seems like a gentle way to do math, but with DS I think he needs more repetition so we are switching to TT when we get past this last pre-algebra book. Math is the subject that he just panics on and he is so far behind that I struggle to not let my worries affect him-that is part of the stress for these kids too IMO. They feel pressure from Mom and Dad to be more than they are or different than they are. The key words are Patience and Perseverance.
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This year we had DS use a new online Bible Program called Bible Mesh. It has an Evangelical Christian Viewpoint(I don't know if that is a plus or minus for your situation) but is a good survey of the Bible. We got it for free because DH is a Pastor but I think it is pretty affordable for a year subscription.
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What a challenge for you to take on. We pulled a struggling Freshman from HS a year ago and are behind but we are making progress. It is slow and steady. If you can challenge her along the way in the areas she is interested in that goes a long way. Does your dd like nature? or is she artistic? My DS is not but I do love the lesson plans that Barb at Harmony Arts Mom puts out. She does biology with an emphasis on nature. My son loves animals and science and did not enjoy biology at all-I thought it would work for him but I have had to drag him across the finish line with this one. I keep waiting for the maturity to kick in, but at 16 we are still along way off. I have found that a lot of gentleness and patience goes a long way with a kid who has been beat down by the world(at least for the 1st year) and unschooling or relaxed schooling for the first year might be a great way to go.
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Thanks for all the links. This will be really helpful since I decided to go with this curriculum this fall with DS.
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The TT textbook looks to be word for word with the lesson(IMO since I really don't watch the lessons). A lot of people just use the textbook with success-It's pretty expensive new but I would think you could pick it up used pretty cheap.
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Do you feel like he needs to take British Lit or do you just want him to be exposed to more literature? EIL and Epi Kardia are both pretty affordable programs that use the whole book approach to literature. They are both pretty heavy on the writing essays and analyzing lit. If you just want DS to be exposed to Literature, I would just google one of those lists called "100 books everyone should read" and assign him a variety of books(at least one per month) by different authors you think he might enjoy. We use the audible versions in our house quite a bit with my dyslexic/reluctant readers and that helps keep us moving. Find the study guides to go with the books so you can have discussions about each book and maybe have him write a couple of papers and come up with a really fun project. I am sure you can find something without stressing about it too much. Just get him reading and keep a record of what he reads.
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Yeah I would love to hear more. My oldest likes open and go. But, he tends to be ultra-conservative to a fault. I don't need someone pushing him too far over.
I have one like that and I was thinking about using the Uncle Eric's until I heard his books were a little over the top. I don't mind something conservative but I would think that a Government Class should be pretty non-partisan. I plan on using this http://www.whatsopro...org/book#praise as a supplement. It is a book about civics that uses speeches, songs, etc. and has a curriculum to go with it.
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HSBC has a free subscription to YourTeacher.com through August 31 http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/homeschool-freebies-curriculum/. You could give that a try.
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HSBC has a free summer subscription to "Your Teacher" right now. If your DS needs help this is a short term free resource for math. http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/homeschool-freebies-curriculum/ They have limited subscriptions so you might rush on over.
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Things that pointed us to Dyslexia with DS- Consistently DS leaves out vowels (we joke at our house that unlike Wheel of Fortune, vowels are free), he does sometimes swap letters (does is consistently spelled dose). His letter confusion is P&Q, B&D, 9&6-he doesn't generally write them incorrectly anymore but he does confuse them still. Rhyming or nonsense words show his weakness. He might know how to spell "pillow" but not "willow". DS also has difficulty with math facts, peoples names, phone numbers, etc. basically general short term memory. Also missing those connecting words like "an, the, and" when reading. It really makes the context a problem in textbook materials not-so-much in fiction. It sounds like there is probably some phonetic weakness and maybe someone can correct me, but the reversals should be done by 9. You might check out the dyslexic websites for some more detailed descriptions of symptoms, and as a starting point for testing. I am so glad that Apples and Pears seems to be helping.
Easier to read classics...
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
DS really enjoyed Watership Down this year which was different from his usual Sci-fi world/dystopian books he likes.