If you only had one year left to homeschool, what would you do?

[Greta]

Things are rather uncertain right now, but it looks likely that 6th grade will be the last year that I homeschool my daughter, and then she'll be off to a private school if we stay here or a public school if we move. (Lots of things are uncertain right now!!!)

 

So, if you had one year left to prepare your child for a brick-and-mortar school, what would you focus on? What resources would you use? Specifically with regards to:

 

Grammar - I have this crazy idea that we should do the entire AG program in one year. That way, she would have that entire body of knowledge to call upon for her writing. Plus, I'm guessing that neither of the two schools she will end up in will teach rigorous grammar, so it would be nice to give her a firm foundation in this now. But is that just unrealistic, too ambitious, to attempt AG in one year?

 

Spelling - rather than just a word list per week kind of thing like we've been doing, maybe something that would teach her spelling rules and patterns, so that she can apply this knowledge when she encounters new words?

 

Latin - Would you continue with a grammar-based approach to Latin or just focus on vocabulary/roots instead? Neither of the schools she would be attending offer Latin, so does one more year of grammar and translations do her any good? Or should we switch our focus?

 

Math - I'm pretty happy with what we're using for math: CLE daily and Life of Fred for occasional fun. Any reason to consider changing?

 

I feel pretty confident about the rest of it. But for these areas, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Edited July 11, 2011 by GretaLynne
punctuation problem

[swellmomma]

For my own kids my focus would be grammar, composition, notetaking(outlining), and study skills if you have not worked on those before. I would otherwise keep working with what we were doing, like math for example. As far as Latin, I say keep working through it the way you would if you kept homeschooling her and plan to afterschool latin with her if/when she starts attending another school.

[hsingscrapper]

I honestly shudder at the thought of my boys (given their quirks) ever going back into a classroom.

 

That being said, this is what I would do. In theory, at least.

 

Find the standards of the state that your child will be in a classroom in and what grade level. Using that as your guide, I would make sure that your child is at least on par (or in a perfect world, surpassed) with those standards.

 

Does that help or is it too vague?

[Crimson Wife]

I would call the admissions offices of the private schools you are considering and ask them for advice.

 

I know with my kids, I'd have to really focus on getting them to do the quantity of writing expected these days. From my observation, the schools would rather see a mediocre 5 paragraph essay than a single well-written paragraph. :glare:

[Miss Marple]

For my kids, I would focus on a Great Books/Worldviews study. They would most likely not get a Great Books education nor a focus on belief systems. Since my kids would be encountering a plethora of beliefs when moving into a public school realm, I would want them to have the ability to think through an argument or a statement and discover the belief system that is being purported.

[Jay3fer]

we should do the entire AG program in one year. That way, she would have that entire body of knowledge to call upon for her writing. Plus, I'm guessing that neither of the two schools she will end up in will teach rigorous grammar, so it would be nice to give her a firm foundation in this now. But is that just unrealistic, too ambitious, to attempt AG in one year?

 

I would say don't try it.

 

If it's more time than is intended to be spent with the curriculum, she may end up hating it. Plus, sadly, you cannot cram in an entire classical education in an entire year. She will not have the knowledge to call upon, and she may just be relieved at the end of the year that the pressure is over. :sad:

 

However, given my own personal biases, if I only had a year left with my kid at home, I would spend it on two things: as much free time outdoors as possible, and as much cuddle-up-reading together (okay, sixth grade, maybe not cuddled, but reading aloud together) as possible.

 

She will get an approximation of everything else at school. They may not teach academics the way you would, but they do try to cover the basics. But I think those are two things you will both look back on fondly if you know how precious they are over the coming year.

[Lori D.]

My very-out-of-the-box-and-not-what-you-asked-about answer (:tongue_smilie:):

 

 

Use this next year to:

 

1. Develop strong family connections and routines that you will continue throughout the teen years.

 

(ideas: regular game nights; family read alouds; family movie night at home -- WITH discussing the movie afterwards; weekly habit of a "walk and talk" or going out to breakfast together, or having an afternoon tea time, or family fun night -- do fun and goofy things together; etc. BTW -- studies have shown that the BIGGEST factor in teens not rebelling is: families who sit down and eat dinner at home *together* most nights of the week -- presumably it gives everyone time to reconnect, share, and talk about both the trivial events of their days but to discuss BIG issues, too.)

 

Your DD will be transitioning to a very different type of school setting right at the time of her biggest changes -- emotional, physical, spiritual changes that happen during the early teen years. AND, she'll be doing so in the company of hundreds of other children who are also in the midst of those same changes. So, a strong and loving family connection will not only help you all weather those coming storms, but will smooth the transitiion, AND help your daughter feel grounded and not lost in (or attracted to!) all those wild teen choices she's about to be exposed to.

 

ETA: And, fitting it in under this heading -- YES! to everything Cynthia said about worldview and helping your student learn to start thinking through the consequences of worldviews and choices! Even if the private school is very much support of your own family's beliefs and values, you will be shocked at what your DD will be exposed to, thanks to her fellow middle school students. Developing her thinking skills, coupled with strong family connections will be a huge help in this area.

 

 

2. Enjoy exploring any interests, hobbies, subjects, books, etc. that most likely will not be taught or supported in a conventional school setting

 

This will be your last opportunity (as part of school) to enjoy bunny trails -- make the most of it! And be prepared -- especially once you hit high school (whether home schooling or conventional schooling), but also with middle school, it becomes *increasingly* difficult to pursue personal interests and develop hobbies. And, of course, when attending a convention school, you are very tied to their schedule, which usually means school all day, and several hours of home work once home, either in the late afternoon or evening. :(

 

 

Just some general thoughts on academics rather than specific curriculum suggestions: if you are really concerned about academics, how about checking out the World Book encyclopedia online's typical course of study for grade 6 and see if you've "missed" anything that you want to make sure is covered before switching to a school setting: Grade 6 = http://www.worldbook.com/typical_course_of_study_grade_6_curriculum_guide.html

 

Also, see if you can find out what kinds of materials the private school uses in grade 6, and see if you can match it (at least content-wise), so DD will have covered similar material and have a similar background going into 7th grade as the other students.

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

Edited July 11, 2011 by Lori D.
added info

[5LittleMonkeys]

My main focus would be math, grammar and writing.

 

I would place her into whatever level of Rod and Staff English that she could work comfortably but be challenged. For writing I would concentrate on reports\essays because that seems to be a focus for ps middle schools. I am really impressed so far with IEW TWSS and SWI B.

 

I might be inclined to do a science overview if she hasn't had consistent science up until now. Galore Park has science programs that touch on chemistry, biology and physical science all in one year. So You Really Want to Learn Science comes in Book One and Book Two. Book One seemed a bit simple to me but it wouldn't be if that was your dc's first formal exposure to science.

 

I would also do an overview of World history and American history with a larger focus on the American. For World History you could use the books or audio of SOTW and for American you could look at Notgrass' Middle School American History. I'm sure there are lots of other American one year overviews out there but this is the one we are using and I like it. Whatever you use I would make sure it includes or supplement with geography.

 

If the schools aren't going to offer Latin I don't think I would worry about continuing with it. I'd spend that time with a pretty rigorous vocab (maybe Sadlier-Oxford) and an effective spelling program (I'm still trying to find one so can't make a recommendation.)

 

I would also work on study skills. Taking notes from books and from lectures, outlining, learning how to study for tests and also managing and organizing her time. How to Be a Superstar Student is a video seminar geared toward highschoolers but I found a lot of the information helpful for my younger dc as well. It is really expensive though so maybe you could find it at your library.

 

Lastly, I would look at the state scope and sequence for 6th grade in whatever state or states you think you may end up in and try to get an idea from that as to what you need to make sure you cover.

[Sunshine State Sue]

I would say don't try it.

 

:iagree: Analytical Grammar was originally designed as a one year course for 8th graders. IMO, cramming it all into 6th grade is overly ambitious.

 

Sorry, I don't have an alternative.

[SonshineLearner]

I'll throw in my thoughts; my children did Latin while doing school, so if that's important to you, I would get it started well... now. I'd go through and see if everything's connecting with her for math. I'd think about what "course" I'd want her to go in school. If advanced is important, I'd think about what she needs. High reading score, and writing is what it is for English Block, for example. (for us) This basically is done the year before. I don't know what your worldview is. For us, we are Christian, so a worldview curriculum from say... Summit Ministries... would be essential. Just talking through how worldview is intertwined with everything you do... (secular or Christian... or whatever you hold as a "deity"...etc.) I would talk to both schools about what math curriculum they're using. I swear ours uses only worksheets. :( I would start asking around if there are teachers you want.. or don't... and why. See if there are any students to do things with this year... or at least before school starts. (if you decide to move) Start a timeline book with her, to finish through highschool or college as she studies, so you understand where she is in history. I really like SOTW for overview of history. My kids listen to that... and don't count it school :) Lots of fun... and at least a short vacation before school starts.. :)

[wapiti]

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[Sahamamama]

Things are rather uncertain right now, but it looks likely that 6th grade will be the last year that I homeschool my daughter, and then she'll be off to a private school if we stay here or a public school if we move. (Lots of things are uncertain right now!!!)

 

So, if you had one year left to prepare your child for a brick-and-mortar school, what would you focus on?

 

That's tough (and my girls are far from being 6th graders), but I would focus on our relationship most of all. If I only had one more year with a daughter at home, I would do my best to make it the sweetest, closest, most memorable year of all. I would take lots of photographs and have weekly poetry teas. ;) I would focus on one special, memorable project -- a garden, a quilt, a trip, something -- that we would work on & plan & do throughout the year, to commemorate our time together. I would repeatedly tell her (and myself), "When you go to school, you will be ready. You will be strong in many things. Today we make these memories, and tomorrow we will handle whatever life brings."

 

I would even do things that have nothing whatsoever to do with "academics," because this would be the year outside the box. After that, the box would close in on us, and the academics (and peers) will take over our time. And it might make you whirl, when you see how quickly the peers become paramount. You have a year to speak into her life... for more than grammar and math, KWIM?

 

What resources would you use? Specifically with regards to:

 

Grammar - I have this crazy idea that we should do the entire AG program in one year. That way, she would have that entire body of knowledge to call upon for her writing. Plus, I'm guessing that neither of the two schools she will end up in will teach rigorous grammar, so it would be nice to give her a firm foundation in this now. But is that just unrealistic, too ambitious, to attempt AG in one year?

 

Is AG something you could do after school or on school breaks? I'm not sure I would try to "cram" this in, especially if reviewing the concepts over a 2-3 year span helps to cement the learning.

 

Spelling - rather than just a word list per week kind of thing like we've been doing, maybe something that would teach her spelling rules and patterns, so that she can apply this knowledge when she encounters new words?

 

You could use either Spelling Plus (Susan C. Anthony) or Natural Speller (Kathryn Stout) to have your student add prefixes and suffixes, study abbreviations, contractions, commonly misspelled words, and so on, if you want to move beyond the list. You could also find a list of the 1,000 most commonly used words and be sure your daughter can spell all of them.

 

Latin - Would you continue with a grammar-based approach to Latin or just focus on vocabulary/roots instead? Neither of the schools she would be attending offer Latin, so does one more year of grammar and translations do her any good? Or should we switch our focus?

 

I would keep going with Latin, but that's just me. ;) Your situation might change, and you might be able to continue homeschooling. Would you regret having "dropped" Latin grammar-translation for an English grammar + Latin roots combo? If not, then go that route, but... if you do continue homeschooling, how will you go back and pick up where you left off, if you drop Latin now? Latin is so hard to reboot. :tongue_smilie:

 

Math - I'm pretty happy with what we're using for math: CLE daily and Life of Fred for occasional fun. Any reason to consider changing?

 

I feel pretty confident about the rest of it. But for these areas, I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

:grouphug: Wow, I cried when I read your post. Sniff, sniff. I just had the best morning with my three girls, and your post hit me with "real life." It changes, doesn't it? I hope and pray for all the best for you. Hope it works out, no matter what comes around the bend.

[Greta]

I want to thank you all for your help. I've read every reply, and intend to re-read every reply. You have given me so much good food for thought. Especially about making the most of this time with her. That's been on my mind a lot. I waffle between wanting to focus on getting her ready academically for what she'll encounter, and wanting to just ditch all the academics and have a year of FUN with my sweet girl while I still can! But the two are not mutually exclusive, so I'll have to manage our time so that we can do both. And I talked to hubby about this just this morning, and he was in complete agreement: I will either get a job where I would have the same schedule that she has (meaning summers off) or work from home (or my personal preference - not work at all :lol: ) so that I can still spend summers with her. I'm really glad that we will have that time together for the sake of our relationship, and possibly for some summer homeschooling as well.

 

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I should be getting in the results of her achievement tests (first time she's tested). So that should hopefully help me see if there are any obvious gaps that need to be filled. And I will definitely contact the school and find out what they use for 6th grade and how they think I could best prepare her for 7th . . . as soon as we know which school it will be. That decision (whether we move or stay here) should be made within six weeks, probably less, so that will still give me plenty of time to plan our 6th grade around their 7th grade program.

 

Thanks for the feedback regarding my idea of cramming AG into one year. It seems like such a great program, I would love to use it! But at the same time, I was thinking that would probably be too much for her. That was a good idea that wapiti mentioned about doing two seasons this year, and then revisiting next summer. I will have to think about that.

 

Also, thanks for the feedback regarding Latin. I'm still undecided but I will take some time to think about it.

 

:grouphug: Wow, I cried when I read your post. Sniff, sniff. I just had the best morning with my three girls, and your post hit me with "real life." It changes, doesn't it? I hope and pray for all the best for you. Hope it works out, no matter what comes around the bend.

 

And I cried when I read this part of your reply!

 

I would repeatedly tell her (and myself), "When you go to school, you will be ready. You will be strong in many things. Today we make these memories, and tomorrow we will handle whatever life brings."

 

I've been just on the verge of tears many times over the last couple of weeks, thinking about this. Well, that finally got the water works going! I had always thought I would have her "to myself" through 8th grade at least, and possibly through high school. But circumstances have changed, and I have to deal in the way that is best for her.

 

Oh, also, several people mentioned focusing on instilling our worldview and values, and that advice is appreciated. We are "newbie" Christians (hubby is not) but unfortunately neither of these schools are Christian. Of course, I will keep living out our faith with her, and that is the most important thing. Beyond that, I don't know what to do! :confused:

[Greta]

My very-out-of-the-box-and-not-what-you-asked-about answer (:tongue_smilie:):

 

But exactly what I needed to hear! :001_smile: Thank you. I especially loved these ideas...

 

 

(ideas: regular game nights; family read alouds; family movie night at home -- WITH discussing the movie afterwards; weekly habit of a "walk and talk" or going out to breakfast together, or having an afternoon tea time, or family fun night -- do fun and goofy things together; etc. BTW -- studies have shown that the BIGGEST factor in teens not rebelling is: families who sit down and eat dinner at home *together* most nights of the week -- presumably it gives everyone time to reconnect, share, and talk about both the trivial events of their days but to discuss BIG issues, too.)

[Greta]

Several of you mentioned focusing on study skills, note-taking, outlining, and writing. That is such good advice! I appreciate the resources that were mentioned, and if anyone has additional ones to share, I would love to hear it!

 

I've been (just for the last couple of months) using SWB's writing workshop ideas regarding outlining and writing. I really like it, but maybe I should pick up the pace a bit or use a formal curriculum instead???

[NorCalMom]

Bless your heart, Greta. Now I'm crying too. Like another poster already said, I would concentrate on your relationship with your daughter. I would definitely work in a mother-daughter Bible study and add in a study of christian worldview. Have you looked at the Apologia "Who is God?" series? Beyond that, I would focus on the math, grammar, writing & latin and not worry about anything else. (Although for me, it would be a latin root study b/c we seem to have an allergic reaction to full on Latin studies around here. ;)) If you're able to, take lots of fields trips, long walks, and just really enjoy each other this year. :grouphug:

[homeschool mom]

We were in the same situation a few years ago. My son transitioned to a private school. We had him take the school's placement test. After that, he was tutored by one of the school's teachers who was recommended by the principal; he needed remedial tutoring. We also joined a group, a weekly bible study, to meet other kids his age at the school. He was able to meet & make a few friends at his school ahead of time.

Basically, the academics we worked on with him were recommended by the new school. I had to toss all my ideas of homeschool curriculum, & focus on what he needed in the new school, just let him read.

[Lori D.]

Oh, also, several people mentioned focusing on instilling our worldview and values, and that advice is appreciated. We are "newbie" Christians (hubby is not) but unfortunately neither of these schools are Christian. Of course, I will keep living out our faith with her, and that is the most important thing. Beyond that, I don't know what to do! :confused:

 

 

A *wonderful* way to incorporate living out your faith plus special time together might be to do a special Bible study together each year! :) Kay Arthur has some really good adult studies you could do with DD when she's in high school (Lord Is It Warfare, for example). For now, even though it is QUITE hokey in tone (but solid in doctrine), you might want to try doing her How to Study The Bible for Kids and then the Lord Teach Me to Pray for Kids studies together.

 

Or, you might see if there is (or will be, if you move), a Bible Study Fellowship group near you -- some also have an evening study AND include a student's (gr. 1-12, by age groups) study of the same material! So you and DD could each work on your BSF study during the week and then discuss it before and/or after the weekly group study. BSF is *wonderful* for foundational study for "newbie" Christians -- AND for long-time Believers to dig in deeper into Scripture! :) They will be covering the book of Acts this coming year.

 

For right now, you and DD might enjoy going through The Young Peacemaker book, which might be excellent info for dealing with other students in school the following year. How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig is a great beginning Christian worldview book.

 

And, again, at some point in high school when DD is ready, Worldview Academy is a fantastic 1-week summer Christian leadership experience -- it is what really caused our DSs to take ownership of their faith, plus help them think thru the consequences of different worldviews.

 

Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Miss Marple]

How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig is a great beginning Christian worldview book.

 

 

I agree! In addition, depending on your daughter's reading ability and maturity, you might check out TheGreatBooks.com website for great book suggestions as well as reader guides. These guides are more "worldviewish" than something like SparkNotes and always conclude with a section on how the belief espoused in the book affects our lives today. In fact, this is something you could do throughout the rest of her education whether it be at home or public school. Some of the books she may be required to read in school are probably listed on that site and it would be a wonderful opportunity to show a side of the work that she won't necessarily get in school.

 

I wish you the best as you plan out this journey.

[Carol in Cal.]

I think that an assessment of what you're missing and what your daughter really enjoys is in order.

 

I'll give an example.

 

When dd was in 8th grade, I knew that it was her last year to homeschool. So I had her take Algebra 1 instead of advanced pre-algebra, because I wanted her to run through that with me--it's fairly abstract, and I wanted to walk her through it. It seemed like a good terminal program.

 

She was already a good writer, so I signed her up for the Expository Essay class with Bravewriter, just to give her some experience writing essays to someone else's specifications and for an outside grade. This class was fairly short, so it didn't replace writing for even a whole semester.

 

She entered the teen level in the local nature studies program. If she had been homeschooling longer, I might have waited another year before having her advance.

 

Instead of continuing with Rod and Staff, although we both liked it, I concentrated on getting a broader overview of applied grammar, using several other resources that talked about complex sentences and phrases more than RS did. I also finally let her take IEW, just for some more tools in her toolbelt.

 

We had put off Latin, and instead of getting all serious about it we just used Latin Christiana, because it was easy and I had it. Latin was not offered at her school, and I thought that this might help with either Spanish or French, which were the available languages.

 

Dd finished her confirmation training, and we celebrated her Confirmation with great joy.

 

I focussed on spending time talking with her over meals out, something that we tended not to do, so that we had a good habit in place when she started school. I thought that that would enable us to really concentrate, and pretty much it did.

 

We attended professional rather than kiddie plays together and talked about them.

 

These are not specific things that I would recommend to anyone else, but just examples of what worked out to be a pretty effective thought process.

[Greta]

Thank you so much for these additional replies and recommendations. I deeply appreciate everyone's kind and thoughtful comments. :grouphug: Thank you for mentioning all the Bible study and Christian worldview resources. I can't wait to look into these further! Also, Cynthia, your recommending the Great Books reader guides - those sound wonderful! I will be doing a lot of assessing, praying, and thinking over the next few weeks. And I really can't express how much I appreciate everyone's help in getting me started on that process.