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snipsnsnailsx5
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Hello!

My 11 yr old has had a long, rough history with public school from K through 4th grade - last year in 5th grade it started to get better for him. We considered homeschooling way back in kindergarten when we started having problems, I'm just sad that I couldn't have talked my DH into it sooner!

 

Anyway, he's always been advanced and the school had to test his IQ in first grade (per Doctors orders) which showed overall borderline gifted and some parts of the test were in the gifted range. Those parts were in mathematical reasoning areas.

 

In school, he would get bored and daydream in class, space off, not pay attention - thus started many of our issues and a lot of teacher and principal meetings about him not listening. Several teachers even outright suggested he had ADD (thus why the doctor asked the school to IQ test also).

 

Anyway, not to get into all that backstory - but I really want to challenge him.

 

I chose Winston Grammar, Learning Language Arts Through Literature, All About Spelling, and Math U See as his language arts and math curriculum. So far its seems they are all super easy for him. I know its the first couple lessons, and hopefully they will pick up. However, I'm just curious what curriculum you guys suggest or do with your children?

 

Thanks!

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I've found that Michael Clay Thompson's language arts materials and Singapore math are excellent for gifted children. If he needs spelling, Spelling Power might be more appropriate as it moves at the child's pace. If you want rules, Megawords at the higher levels might work.

Edited by EKS
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My 11 y/o son is doing the following this year for 6th grade:

 

Art of Problem Solving - Introduction to Algebra

 

Earth Science (no curriculum; we use books from the library and he does projects; we have Tarbuck text as a spine; we'll see if he likes the lectures from the Teaching Company)

 

History/English: Great Books Medieval and Renaissance

Kingfisher history encyclopedia, read adaptations of great books (see reading list in WTM); writing assignments for English, creative writing

 

Cambridge Latin Unit 1

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Hello!

 

 

I chose Winston Grammar, Learning Language Arts Through Literature, All About Spelling, and Math U See as his language arts and math curriculum. So far its seems they are all super easy for him. I know its the first couple lessons, and hopefully they will pick up. However, I'm just curious what curriculum you guys suggest or do with your children?

 

Thanks!

 

I'm sorry to have to share this, but I think the choices you made will remain super easy........they are super easy even for avg kids. AAS's words are way below grade level for him. MUS and WG are good for kids that need hands on/repetitive learning. It's been a long time since I have seen LLATL for that age group, but I was never happy with what it covered (I owned it umpteen yrs ago.....I have no idea how it might have been revised through the yrs, though.)

 

As far as recommendations on what to use......that is far too open-ended. Is he ready for advanced 6th grade math or something much more advanced? How are his reading/writing/grammar skills? W/o some assessment of his skill level, you could just end up with a repeat of poorly matched curriculum selections.

 

Sorry. :sad:

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See its hard for me to asses his skills because I really haven't been involved in his schooling.

From what I do know about him though, he's a very fast learner and absorbs it well. He doesn't seem to need repetition or a lot of sensory methods. I thought he would because he gets bored easily and gets off task often...however, if its something interesting/challenging enough then he does just fine.

 

For reading and grammar - he's way advanced in reading and always has been. Its becoming hard to find books in his reading level. All the books he wants to read are around the 4th grade reading level it seems...that became problem with last year in school because they wouldn't give him credit for books read that were not in his reading level. He said his last assessment at his public school last year had his reading level "range" between 6.0 and 20.0. That seems like a wide range though. I don't know how to assess his reading myself.

As for grammar and writing...he knows just what he's been taught so far according to grade level. The Winston Grammar is totally new to him, however after the first introductory lesson, he doesn't need me to walk him through the steps and all. Its pretty simple to him. He said that in 5th grade he was writing 1-2 page essays.

As for math, they tested the students in 4th grade and put them in a math according to their level. He was in the "advanced math" in 5th grade. He said he was doing multiplying and dividing fractions, decimals, probability...

 

Thanks!

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I use Saxon for our math, and they have a skills test on their website that allows you to determine what level he needs. For grammar we use Rod & Staff, and I chose their level from the sample pages on their website. Shurley grammar seems to be really good for advanced learners too. Take a look at Spelling Workout, they do a really good job and the upper level books go into Greek and Latin roots of words. I had the same problem with my DS finding books for him, and I met with the children's librarian at our library who was able to help me find some good choices. You also might want to check out the TIP program on Duke University's site. They have lessons you can purchase on writing, math and history that are written for gifted kids and may be a good supplement for your. http://www.tip.duke.edu/independent_learning/index.html

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See its hard for me to asses his skills because I really haven't been involved in his schooling.

From what I do know about him though, he's a very fast learner and absorbs it well. He doesn't seem to need repetition or a lot of sensory methods. I thought he would because he gets bored easily and gets off task often...however, if its something interesting/challenging enough then he does just fine.

 

For reading and grammar - he's way advanced in reading and always has been. Its becoming hard to find books in his reading level. All the books he wants to read are around the 4th grade reading level it seems...that became problem with last year in school because they wouldn't give him credit for books read that were not in his reading level. He said his last assessment at his public school last year had his reading level "range" between 6.0 and 20.0. That seems like a wide range though. I don't know how to assess his reading myself.

As for grammar and writing...he knows just what he's been taught so far according to grade level. The Winston Grammar is totally new to him, however after the first introductory lesson, he doesn't need me to walk him through the steps and all. Its pretty simple to him. He said that in 5th grade he was writing 1-2 page essays.

As for math, they tested the students in 4th grade and put them in a math according to their level. He was in the "advanced math" in 5th grade. He said he was doing multiplying and dividing fractions, decimals, probability...

 

Thanks!

Well, if he doesn't need repetition, you need to drop MUS immediately. I wouldn't recommend Saxon either. It sounds like he might be ready for pre-alg. You could try giving him one of the online placement tests for math programs like Saxon or Horizons to see where his skills fall.

 

http://www.sonlight.com/placement-tests.html

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You should look at other programs. All the programs you've chosen are on the easier side of the spectrum.

 

Winston is a good program even at this age for kids who are advanced, but he should be able to whip through it quickly. I had my middle dd use it in 6th grade and she whipped through Winston Grammar Basic in the fall semester and Winston Word Works in the spring semester. We didn't use Winston after that.

 

LLATL is a very easy program. If you want to use it, I would probably go up 1-3 grade levels.

 

AAS is designed for kids who have difficulties with spelling. I wouldn't use it at all with a kid who's spelling well. My middle dd used Megawords, moving through two books each year starting in the spring of 5th grade (when I found the program). She's an Aspie and the program was ideal for the way she thinks. I used Spelling Power with my oldest. There's a diagnostic in the book that will place you at the proper level. I'm using Spelling Power with my youngest now also.

 

MUS is one of the easier math programs. You definitely need to use the placement tests to figure out where to start. I prefer Singapore Math, but it would be difficult to start with that program in 6th grade. I recommend checking out Lial's Basic College Mathematics (actually a pre-algebra program) or Kinetic Books Pre-algebra (which I'm trying out with my 7th grader right now). I do not recommend MUS or Teaching Textbooks or Saxon for kids who are good at math. My youngest is ready for prealgebra right now, but can't use a computer-based program (makes her eyes hurt) and needs a program that is uncluttered, black&white (preferably with NO color at all), and has plenty of white-space because of her vision issues. I have found only two programs that seem to fit her vision needs, MUS Prealgebra and PASS Prealgebra. I'm trying out PASS with her right now because it's free online (just print out the pages, which does have a cost associated, but I don't have to shell it out all at once).

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I've found that Michael Clay Thompson's language arts materials and Singapore math are excellent for gifted children.

 

:iagree: Honestly, I haven't had too much luck with any other boxed curriculum with my 4th grader. We've used a couple other things, but it requires some creativity (like story of the world).

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I recommend Singapore math and MEP, you can do only IP (Intensive Practice) SM skipping workbooks. MEP has a lot of challenging assignment so your son can do those. I would not recommend Saxon math for a gifted child unless you are skipping 2/3 of assignments.

 

You can also try AoPS books if your child is ready for algebra. Some people use Life of Fred books, but I haven't done it myself.

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My 6th grader is using:

 

Michael Clay Thompson Voyage Level

IEW U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons Volume 1 using mostly B level directions

Math U See Zeta

Math Olympiad Contest Problems for Elementary and Middle Schools

Story of the World Volume 3

Exploring Creation with Zoology 2

Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry 1

Real Science 4 Kids Physics 1

Rosetta Stone Spanish 1

The Fallacy Detective

Artprojectsforkids.org

The Draw Squad

Story of the Orchestra

Prentice Hall t

 

It's enough work to keep her busy and not too bored.

 

DS8 is very advanced in math. He is beginning Algebra now, and I'm here to say that MUS can work for a math-gifted student just fine. You may need to simply go through the material faster. There's no need to do every page when the student gets most of it. When my son is done with algebra, I plan to go back through it with Art of Problem Solving to go through it at a deeper level and slow him down.

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You should look at other programs. All the programs you've chosen are on the easier side of the spectrum.

 

 

 

I agree. In fact, for an 11yo, AAS, MUS, and Winston are programs I would use (and have used) with a child with LDs.

Edited by EKS
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MCP or Rod and Staff English and Singapore math would be good places to start. If he is a good speller, I am not even sure you need to continue with spelling at this stage...other than to correct it in his writing (your call there).

 

To challenge him, try more living history books, critical thinking books, adding in a foreign language, etc.

 

Best of luck!

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I second the recommendation of Singapore Math....I have found that it is very adaptable. I cannot recommend Saxon for a gifted child.

 

With my youngest, the accelerated learner, delving into physics and chemistry have helped satiate his thirst to forge ahead. He is gifted in math but adores these subjects and though we haven't done algebra with him yet, I can give him some of the math/chem work to do. He loves it! Even just working conversions in physical science made him happy.

 

Faith

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For my son (9yo/5th grade), I'm not doing any formal language art/literature programs. We are reading/discussing/writing about novels this year. He really doesn't need spelling/grammar/vocabulary as he's excellent and intuitive in those departments.

 

For math, we're actually doing three different programs. He's doing Aleks pre-algebra online (I'm not a huge fan, but we are with a charter school and they provide it free of charge and he enjoys it), Life of Fred (we'll probably do fractions, decimals, and at least the first pre-algebra book this year), and RightStart Math's geometric approach. He likes that they are all programs he can do pretty much independently.

 

For science, we're using Hakim's "Story of Science" and for history we're using her "History of US." He's also reading independently on topics of interest in these areas. We're also doing a bit of computer programming and Spanish.

 

I've never used any of the programs you're using, but I've heard that MUS is not usually a good fit for accelerated kids. I'm considering getting AAS for my younger two (k-er just starting to read and 2nd grader who is an excellent, way above grade level reader, but struggles with spelling) and looking at the sample words for the first couple of levels, I'd imagine that if you're starting at level 1 or 2, they are way below your ds' abilities unless spelling is a challenge for him.

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