DesertBlossom
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Posts posted by DesertBlossom
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I'm relieved to find out I'm not alone. And I will say that in our month of homeschooling, it's been me who's learned the most. ;)
I need a list of homeschooling resources that also explain if the work can be done independently or if it requires instruction. Because I thought I was doing adequate research before buying materials, but apparently not. Some of it I'm sure I just needed to learn by trial and error.
But really... can I get some recommendations for independent learners?
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Maybe I should just ditch the SWR. He reads on a 5th/6th grade reading level and is a natural speller (I assume) and I think part of his problem is that it's not challenging, despite having jumped up a bit in the word lists. Having him underline the 2-letter phonograms and write the spelling rules for each work I think is boring for him.
He might like Math Mammoth better than Singapore because all the explanations are right in the worktext.
Oh, I had to LOL! I tried Saxon for 2 weeks, and just bought all of the Singapore 3A books. As much as I feel like I've researched all these before I bought them, I feel like I'm dumping programs left and right. I need more money. ;)
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I'm getting frustrated. I still know that homeschooling (for a month now!) has been the right choice and I'm learning, but I'm frustrated.
It really boggles my mind that DS(7) ever behaved well at school. I always expected them to say he had a hard time sitting in his seat or not talking, but his K and 1st grade teachers adored him.
At home whenever we sit down to do anything, he's just goofy and obnoxious. We sat down today and I was excited to teach him multiplication-- 2 digit by 1 digit numbers. After finally getting the Singapore 3A books, it was the first thing in the book he didn't already know. (or so I thought) We spent 5 minutes of him telling me I was confusing him (said w/ a smirk so I think he was joking) and then he took the book from me and did a problem (correctly!!) all by himself. So, I gave him a list of problems to do and he did them fine all by himself.
I still can't decide if he already knew how to do them, or if my 5 minute interrupted explanation actually *taught* him anything. But regardless, he knows how do them, and then he went ahead and did problems with 3 digits.
I bought SWR since I loved how well the Spalding method worked at his public school. He knows the phonograms and the spelling rules inside and out, but sitting down and dictating new spelling words is like pulling teeth. It's a joke to him.
FLL3 is going fairly well. Thankfully the lessons are all really short (so far). The best lesson we had was when he tried to trick me by switching books and he did all the reading and I did the writing. (he knew the info anyway)
The Apologia science books I haven't abandoned yet, but he seems to prefer looking through science books finding his own experiments to do.
And yes, he gets plenty of breaks. The weather is finally beautiful here (in AZ) so he goes outside and plays a lot and we do school in small chunks. He works best if he goes to his room and sits and his desk with the door closed with no distractions.
If you made it that far... someone tell me mine isn't the only kid like this. I feel bad, but I feel like I need programs that are nearly 100% independent, that he can do on his own and ask for help when needed. He absorbs information and gets a lot of things intuitively. But he's only 7 (almost 8).
So... what do I do?
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First of all, welcome to the crazy world of homeschooling where nothing is ever, ever like we expect it to be. Young boys are squirrelly and silly and can drive an organized, by the book kind of mom absolutely nuts. And curriculum programs are often unnecessarily boring and repetitive. You will find your way, but you first need to trust that you are not ruining your child if you "leave something out". Your child WILL have large gaping holes in his knowledge, no matter how diligent you are in following a program. He is a kid, kids get bored and they forget stuff. They most often they forget spelling and and basic punctuation when they go to write, leaving you bewildered and frustrated that program x, y, or z isn't working. It isn't the program -- it is a kid being a kid. You have years and years of school ahead to work on all the usage, spelling and grammar rules.
I think you need less in the way of language arts curriculum than you think. Perhaps it would help to think instead that you need a guide to give you a big picture of what your son ought to be tackling, and you may want some materials to pull out for specific lessons. But grammar or spelling lessons do not have to be every single day. You don't need to keep adding seat work to a 7 year old's day. I myself didn't make regular use language arts materials, preferring instead to work on egregious errors that came up during short writing assignments. My kids could do a worksheet perfectly but would NEVER apply the lesson to their own writing. Made me crazy. But I found that doing copy work helped make those rules a natural part of writing. Even better was rewriting their narrations, or later on their essays, to correct mistakes.
We also made use of the same games CardinalAlt described. We played MadLibs, we diagrammed goofy Mad Lib sentences. We played rummy roots both when they were young (using the basic set of cards and making it a concentration kind of game) and when they were much older. I had a sentence puzzle game where each part of speech had a color code and could only be put together in correct word order.
Having a rich language environment is really the most important element. Read aloud a wide variety of books that he wouldn't read independently, let him read whatever he wants, and talk about what you like, what you're learning. Play with words, too, with puns and riddles. All of this is far more important than having the perfect "complete" language arts program. It is a leap of faith, but it works.
That said, I discovered MCT when my youngest was a sophomore or junior. It wasn't around or I was unaware of it during our elementary years of homeschooling. I loved the style of it, and just assume the younger materials would be as good. But just like FLL, you do not have to use it exactly as it is sold. Make it work for YOU!
Thank you for this. I do like the idea of using games. (I love madlibs and will have to get some of those!) I feel like we've got a pretty rich language environment here. We've always got a stack of books from the library we're rotating through and we've been doing chapter book read alouds at night. My kids are 7, 6, 5, 3 and 5 months, but DS7 is the only one being homeschooled. While he loves learning, he's also got a house full of playmates, so he's constantly distracted!!
I think a lot of my worries just stem from being so new to this. I need to find myself a really good resource that outlines what kids should be taught and when to have as a guide so that at least I know I'm covering all the bases. I have this fear I'm going to leave entire subjects out. :)
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Oops, I meant to edit, not quote myself!!
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If you want to touch on grammar lightly and work with really good texts (non-fiction as well as fiction) I recommend the Galore Park texts. For a bright 7yo, Junior English 1 would probably be appropriate. The first chapter is here - each chapter has a similar format.
L
I like the looks of this a lot! Is it more independent?
That's the one thing that worries me about MCT. People say they snuggle up and read it together... and I'm finding DS is just a goofy kid that plays around whenever we're trying to do something serious. However, if he sits down at the desk in his room (with the door shut to keep out little brothers), he'll work really well for 30-45 minutes. If he find the material interesting and engaging, he'll read forever. He is a very independent learner.
Also, I've got 3 other littles at home which means I have less time to sit with him one-on-one.
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I think FLL specifies which lessons are review, right? You could probably just skip these if he doesn't need them - I would estimate that probably 1/3 of the lessons are review lessons.
Dd is strong in grammar. She used FLL4 and it gave her such a good foundation that we have skipped to R&S English 6 and she is doing great.
Just curious, how old is your DD?
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Thank you for the replies. It sounds like MCT is highly recommended and that's probably where I'm leaning. Is that a complete language arts program? I find myself worrying that I'm completely leaving things out when it comes to stuff I'm supposed to teach and that stresses me out. And the fact that I can't see the materials before I buy doesn't help.
I will look into CLE. And I looked up Logic of English. With the phonograms and spelling rules it sounds a bit like Spalding, but maybe a more complete program? I did buy the SWR, and while I love how well DS already knows the phonograms and spelling rules from his years in PS, I'm finding that I'm struggling with it. He's just goofy and uninterested when we sit down to do it. (it honestly surprises me that his behavior was so good at school, because at home he's a silly, distracted little boy!) I'm thinking something more independent might work better.
As for his learning style... I don't know! He just seems to absorb everything intuitively. We started at 4th grade math because he seems to have figured out everything in between, despite not being taught it. The same with LA-- he LOVES to read and reads well, so he catches on to a lot of things. He's also a fountain of random bits of knowledge. :)
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I've been homeschooling DS7 (2nd grade) for almost 4 weeks now. I spent a couple weeks prior to that finding out all I could about the homeschooling materials available. (overwhelming, to say the least!) I looked for things that were highly rated and low prep for me but ordered everything online without being able to see it first.
Well, I bought FLL Grade 3 and about died when I realized how much repetition there was. Also, I think it's too easy. Granted, we're only 6 lessons into it, but I've already decided once we're through with this I'll find a different curriculum for grammar.
So I'm looking for recommendations for next year.
And just some background on DS7-- his school taught Spalding, which he did well at because he memorizes so well. I don't think he ever got less than 100% on spelling tests. In first grade I couldn't get him to read much until I realized he preferred non-fiction and then he'd read books faster than I could bring the stacks home from the library. Because of his love of non-fiction and being exposed to higher-level vocabulary, he's a really good reader. I've given him one McCall Crabbs test from book B and he got 8/8 and it said a 6th grade reading level.
Every once in a while he'll get excited about writing his own stories and it's almost always dragon related. He does not like copying sentences or dictation (who does?), but he has a really good grasp of conventions. His handwriting is beautiful when he wants it to be, but usually not.
So... help me. What is out there that is not FLL? I keep hearing good things about MCT. Is that just grammar? Is that also a writing program? How do you know what level to start at?
What else works for a 7 year old who doesn't need a week's worth of lessons on how to make nouns plural! :blink:
And if you use an acronym for a program, will you spell it out once in your post, please? I'm still learning what all these are!
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If it makes anyone feel better-- I gave DS7 the test for 3A today and he did fairly well. I do know the WB is just one click away should I decide he needs it. After looking at the material covered in 3B, I will buy that WB when we're ready for it.
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I sincerely apologize for helping to derail your thread by adding fuel to what is a very old argument here.
Hey, no worries. The back and forth was actually rather interesting. I learned a lot from the thread.
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I appreciate all the help and advice over in my "Saxon vs Singapore" thread, despite how intense that got. :001_huh: I'm feeling good about using Singapore as our main curriculum (even though I have yet to see it IRL) but of course all this talk of LoF and BA and others has me curious. Math is definitely one of DS's strengths. I enjoyed math as a kid (until I got to calculus) and it was my favorite subject to teach when I taught 5th grade. So the only thing keeping me from buying up all of these amazing sounding programs is my wallet. I haven't yet decided if I am going to homeschool my other kids, but it's something to keep in mind as I buy.
So my question is... if you're using more than one program, what are you using and how are you doing it? Do you use one at a time? Do you use worksheets from one program to supplement a similar lesson in another?
I was thinking about buying a LoF book to try out until I read that you should start at A regardless of age or ability and I'm not sure I want to throw down another $150 on supplemental books... unless it really is that amazing. (I wish I could see these somewhere before I buy online)
I was thinking about buying just a BA practice book until I read that's a giant no-no! <_< But having 2 textbooks seemed kind of overkill... so thinking about all of this is what prompted the question.
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FWIW, today I ordered the textbook, HIG, IP and CWP. I had a read a few other threads that suggested skipping the workbook as well. We'll see how it goes and I can always go back and order the WB if I feel he needs it. Once he catches on to a concept he instantly wants to go above and beyond that so I'm not worried, especially since I know some of the material in 3A he already understands well.
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This all has been so helpful. DS7 just took the Singapore 2B test, and I assumed he'd get about 1/2 of it right He did really well and only missed 3 problems and I know if I asked him to double check his work, he'd realize the simple mistake he made. So I'm thinking we need to start at 3A.
What is the difference between all the books? (IP, CWP, etc) Some of what's in 3A looks like it'll be review for DS, but some of it I know he needs. So I don't want to spend a lot of money on all the books if we're going to be skipping through some of it.
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Thank you!
Is there a placement test for Singapore or Miquon? I found this online, but I'm still not sure where to start.
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As of 2 weeks ago I'm homeschooling my 7 (almost 8) year old. He's been bored in school and really needs to be moving through things faster. He loves math and his "number sense" is pretty incredible.
I had given him a Saxon placement test I found online and so we started in the Saxon 5/4 book. Last week I gave him the first 3 tests (without teaching anything) and he did really well on them. So this week we started on lessons 21-25, but I still feel like nothing is really new for him yet. I can see how the repetition of Saxon math is good to cement the concepts, but I'm having a hard time find a starting point for him in the book that isn't mostly review of stuff he already really understands.
I feel like we just need to jump ahead to multiplication and division. He does need to work on memorizing all of the multiplication facts, but he understands multiplication and can do most problems by skip counting in his head. Also, he can do simple double-digit multiplication like 20X30.
I've heard good things about Singapore math. Since we're just getting started, is it worth switching over? Since he loves math I want something that is new and interesting to him. So far it's all been, "Mom, I already know this!"
What to do with bright kids who dislike "direct instruction"
in Accelerated Learner Board
Posted
Well, the books explain with pictures the regrouping required. We were doing 42 x 3 and he kept telling me that I was confusing him by saying it was like 40 x 3 plus 2 x 3 and he insisted the answer should have been 1206. (But I could tell by the smirk on his face he was being obnoxious) When he did 24x3 just fine by himself, even carrying the 1, I sent him to his desk to so some problems by himself. I've attached the paper he did. So I sent him back again to do Practice 3E and he did great, except for one problem he wrote down wrong, but did the problem correctly.
His understand of place value and "number sense" is really, really good. In fact, he was trying to do the problems in his head, and actually doing okay, but I insisted he right them down.