What to use for my 6th/7th grader?

[Renee in NC]

My 12yo is a 7th grader, but when we put him in ps for the first time in January he went into the 6th grade. He has some learning disabilities - most likely dyslexia, but his actual test results were too "off" for *any* diagnosis. He now has an ADD-Inattentive diagnosis, but it may be his dyslexia that causes his symptoms rather than actual ADD (there is a lot of overlap there.)

 

He wants to be an engineer and is a mechanical genius. However, he struggles with anything language-based and is even struggling in math (though that was an area of strength when he was younger.) He prefers hands-on work when possible.

 

We are moving in a few weeks and he may homeschool again after that - we are still debating. School has been tough for him and the only thing he has learned in the past 6 weeks is that middle school kids are nuts!:lol: It has been a crash course into s*x, drugs, and something akin to "Lord of the Flies.":001_huh:;) There is a decent middle school where we are moving as well as a few charter schools - we'd like to keep our options open.

 

So, what to use for homeschooling? Classical is really, really not his thing. Too much writing, too much reading, and there isn't anything he hates much more than Latin.:tongue_smilie:

 

He is currently reading the Narnia series, which is end of 5th, beginning of 6th level - this is his "comfort" level. He can write a decent paragraph and piece together something of an essay, but it is usually fairly simplistic with a lot of grammar/spelling errors (ex: wrote "are" in place of "our" recently.)

 

In math, he is doing fairly well in 6th grade math (beginning pre-algebra) but only because they let him use a calculator. He struggles with computation, can never seem to get his division done, and still doesn't understand fractions, decimals, and percents.

 

He likes science, but really wants something hands on. For history/geography, I'd really like him to use something for U.S. History and Geography as he hasn't had this yet.

 

Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?

[amtmcm]

Rainbow Science (the labs are the focus of the curriculum)

LLATL - Green (low key grammar, lit, poetry & writing - should be done with a parent for discussion)

A Beka 8th Grade US History & Geography (straight forward text, not too long)

Math - ? Maybe "Key to...." for Fractions, Decimals & Percents to solidify these topics. Any good math program will cover these topics in 7th grade, so consider whatever fits his learning style and you're comfortable teaching.

 

If he is a highly kinesthetic learner, and YOU like doing hands on things too, you might consider Winston for Grammar and http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/ for US history.

 

If you'd like to combine history, lit and science, to increase his reading and history studies through his interest in science, Beautiful Feet History of Science is excellent.

Edited February 18, 2011 by amtmcm

[Renee in NC]

Thanks!

 

It's funny - most of your suggestions are things that I had tentatively picked as well. I picked LLATL Tan, though, because that seemed his reading level.

 

I thought of Teaching Textbooks for math. Looking at the placement tests it seemed he needed to go into 6, but when I looked at the sample lessons, 6 was too easy.

 

He's done Winston Grammar in the past, but he *could* re-do it again. We could use Megawords for spelling/vocab (he's done most of the first book and liked it.) What about writing? I do own Lightning Lit 7 already, so we could use that. It has writing in it, just not very systematic. We could use the next level of Writing Skills in addition - we did the A level a couple of years ago with good results, so maybe he could do Level 1.

 

I like the looks of Rainbow Science. That would probably be a good program - it is so expensive, though! Another thought I had was Apologia with the CD so he can listen to it - anyone used this before?

 

For history, Abeka is out (we are Catholic), but something similar would be good. The Catholic Textbook Project's US History book has a workbook now - I'll have to look at it some more. Maybe I should check out Seton, too.

 

If we do homeschool, I need him to be as independent as possible. He has two younger brothers with more severe LDs and I'll be adding a new Ker to the mix (so schooling 5.:001_huh:)

[amtmcm]

My artsy older DD like Teaching Textbooks. I think it works well for creative types. My more analytical younger DD does well with Bob Jones for math. The placement test should give you the best idea of what level to use. My younger DD used TT6 and we moved along steadily until we got to dividing a decimal by a decimal and we crashed and burned on that section. Then we switched to MUS, then Singapore, and finally settled on BJU which is going well. But TT has worked well for my older DD and she is halfway through TT Algebra 2.

 

For me, Rainbow Science was worth every penny because the labs got done. We don't do labs if they're not convenient.

 

How about Jump In for writing? It looks very independent, well organized and pretty fun.

[Renee in NC]

My artsy older DD like Teaching Textbooks. I think it works well for creative types. My more analytical younger DD does well with Bob Jones for math. The placement test should give you the best idea of what level to use. My younger DD used TT6 and we moved along steadily until we got to dividing a decimal by a decimal and we crashed and burned on that section. Then we switched to MUS, then Singapore, and finally settled on BJU which is going well. But TT has worked well for my older DD and she is halfway through TT Algebra 2.

 

For me, Rainbow Science was worth every penny because the labs got done. We don't do labs if they're not convenient.

 

How about Jump In for writing? It looks very independent, well organized and pretty fun.

 

Thank you! I had never looked at Jump In, but I will definitely put it on the maybe list after looking at the samples.

 

I'll keep that in mind about TT - I'll have him actually *take* the placement test and see where he ends up. I just hate to spend that much on math and then have hiim complete it in a couple of months.

[zookeeperof3]

We are Catholic and doing Trisms History Makers for my ADHD/dyslexic son. I really didn't think he would like it, but he loves it. I am spreading it out over 3 years ( ds is in 6th), but it's set up to do it in 1 or 2. I am using MOH 1 as a spine, but its really not necessary if you stick to 1 or 2 years with Trisms. I did buy An Overview of Catholic History to go with it.

 

We tried the Catholic Textbook Project book All Ye Lands, dh & I liked it, but ds didn't. It jumped around a bit too much for him. I do have two friends using the U.S. History one and they both like it a lot.

 

Good Luck with your decision! When you get to NC send me a pm, I'm not far from where you are moving to.

Kim

[suzziesnowflake]

Bumping!

[rafiki]

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[Guest]

TRISMS is research based so be ready for loads of library trips. Oak Meadow is something to look at for non classical and really not that expensive considering what you are getting. The 6th is ancient history and english combined. Loads of hands on , writing isn't too bad. You will need to modify the assignments, but that is true of any curriculum you buy.

 

My olders are not classical guys, either. I have one who wants to be an engineer and the other wants to be a theoretical physicist.

[rafiki]

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[Renee in NC]

TRISMS is research based so be ready for loads of library trips. Oak Meadow is something to look at for non classical and really not that expensive considering what you are getting. The 6th is ancient history and english combined. Loads of hands on , writing isn't too bad. You will need to modify the assignments, but that is true of any curriculum you buy.

 

My olders are not classical guys, either. I have one who wants to be an engineer and the other wants to be a theoretical physicist.

 

I guess I keep struggling with which way to focus - on his strengths or his weaknesses, KWIM? To be an engineer, he needs a LOT of math and science work. He has an intuitive understanding of math and science - some of the things he figures out just astounds me. However, he doesn't test well AT ALL, so it is hard to know the best way to remediate him so that he *can* do well on the SAT someday.

 

In math, he seems to understand the concepts just fine, but his computation is not good. When using a calculator, he does much, much better. He can use a calculator on the SAT. So, part of me wants to take him back to the basics to get his computation down, but the other part wants to let him move forward and work on the computation as we go.

 

He's got 4 years until the SAT/ACT. It's hard to know what to do! I feel like our time is trickling away quickly....

[rafiki]

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[Renee in NC]

Strengths and passions are what motivate people and make them interesting individuals.

 

My oldest ds is sounds quite similar. He can solve complex problems in his head, yet struggle at explaining or showing how he figured out the answer. He will look at problems, writed down the answer, then go back and try to show the work, trying to get the same answer. Often he makes silly mistakes that change everything, such as missing a step, transposing numbers, etc. Give him more complex work though, especially word problems, and he eats it up. I haven't introduced calculators at all yet. He's the same way with science, give him a text or something to memorize and he's baffled. Yet let him loose with an idea and supplies and he comes up with amazing projects. He has been drawing and explaining prototypes since he was 5.

 

I will share that K through half of 4th, I thought you work on weaknesses more and used traditional materials so they would be competetive with peers. That method wasn't working, more work on weaknesses and even side stepping with alternative methods wasn't changing the output and instead was draining the two of us. He has differences in how he thinks and process info. I've since decided to embrace the unique individual he is. I help him pursue his interests, talents, and passions, and help keep that flame ignited. We still work on weaknesses daily, but they aren't center stage.

 

Think about your own weaknesses, we all have them. If you were asked to spend most of your time on things that you weren't interested in, didn't enjoy, and struggled with, it would eventually suck the life out of you as well.

 

All children deserve "individualized educational plans".

 

That's a good point.

 

I've been rethinking things a little. I really want to do Barton with him and I have read that the student shouldn't do any other reading/writing until after Level 4 is finished. So, we could do Barton, math, and spend the rest of the time working on projects, reading aloud, listening to audio books, going on field trips, etc.

 

For math, I think I will just let him use a calculator and go where he gets the concepts. I think some drill is still good, though, so I will probably use computation drill in addition.

 

He has so much potential! He just needs some help along the way.

[hearts4homeschooling]

Another thought I had was Apologia with the CD so he can listen to it - anyone used this before?

 

 

We're using Apologia General Science. My son's comprehension of the Apologia text improved dramatically when we added the audio CD. He follows along in the book as it is read to him. We also began using the lapbook from Knowledge Box Central that coordinates with the Apologia book, and this hands-on activity also helped him understand it. My son leans toward the ADD side as well, and adding the CD and the lapbook improved his module test scores from 60s to 90s on the very next test.