I am having a serious case of anxiety re. dd13...please help.

[5LittleMonkeys]

I've been looking at high school credits, college requirements, ACT\SAT testing, reading things about dc needing to take AP classes in order to be more desirable to colleges...ugh...I'm starting to panic because what she is doing this year seems so easy for her. I worry that I may not be expecting enough out of her, but when I have given her work that I think might be more of a challenge she balks and complains. Her reasoning is that it doesn't seem fair to her that I try to give her harder work simply because she is able to complete her work accurately and quickly.

 

This is what she is doing this year (8th):

 

Latin - Latin Prep 1 She has decided that she wants to do 4 years of Spanish so this will be the last year she does Latin. She is doing well with it...has gotten a little hung up on neuter endings but otherwise is progressing at a steady pace.

 

Grammar - R&S 6 She is moving through this pretty quickly and will probably be able to move onto 7 before the end of the year. She doesn't do much of the written work from the text but reads the text and then does the corresponding worksheet. She scores 100 on all worksheets and tests.

 

Writing - IEW SWI-B I think starting this week I am going to start to accelerate her through this...it seems, at this level, to be way too easy for her. I probably could have started her off in SWI-C but couldn't afford two levels. She isn't writing essays yet but I'm positive she could be without much trouble. She has no problems with grammar, spelling, punctuation, or style. I know that she doesn't write nearly enough for her grade level. My goal was to have her writing essays by the end of the year but I really think she is capable of being there much sooner.

 

Literature - LLfLOTR Doing well with this. She is doing this independently except for the comp questions, which we do orally, and I'm helping her study the vocab. I'm wondering if I should turn some of the comp questions into written responses. (?)

 

Spelling and Vocab- She is a natural speller and she gets lots of vocab from Latin and Literature.

 

Math - We started Chalkdust Pre-Algebra this year but it was a little overwhelming to her. She had come out of MUS and I think the biggest problem wasn't the concepts themselves but the way they were presented...the format. I picked up MUS pre-algebra and she is flying through it. I think she will be done by the end of January. I plan to pick back up with the Chalkdust at that point and have her finish it through the rest of the year and our summer break. My cover school requires Algebra be taken in 9th so there was no rush to get to Alg. this year.

 

History - Notgrass America the Beautiful This is super easy for her. She really dislikes history though so I'm not really wanting to push anything harder on her.

 

Science - She was doing So You Really Want to Learn Science in an attempt to give her a good overview of all sciences before starting highschool, but she has been complaining that the way it is worded is confusing her. In the meantime, until I get something else or until I decided to continue with SYRWTLS, I have been letting her do the middle school Aha!Science. This, however, isn't challenging AT ALL (would be for a child who has never had any science exposure). She will be doing Apologia Physical, Biology, Chemistry and Physics at a tutorial during highschool. She is also doing an interest project on the genetics and breeding of horses but has yet to produce anything. I need to sit down and help her solidify a schedule for this and give her some guidelines as to the types of output she could do for this topic. As far as the SYRWTLS goes, I admit I haven't even had time to sit down and really read through it so it may just be a matter of me needing to have her read the chapter, watch any videos\documentaries that could accompany the topic and then she and I sitting down together to discuss the chapter and go over the questions at the end of each section. I'm tempted also to have her start taking notes as I know this will be required next year in her science class. I've talked to the professor that will be teaching the science classes at the tutorial and he said that having a huge knowledge base coming into his classes wasn't necessarily a benefit. He said even students with very little science knowledge coming in did just as well as those who had done a lot of science up to that point. So, I'm not overly worried about this subject except for the note-taking issue.

 

Logic - Nothing.:confused: She did Fallacy Detective last year and while she understood it she did not like the way the book was written and didn't want to move onto Thinking Toolbox. I'm considering just letting this slide until next year and then starting Traditional Logic I. She already is really good at critical thinking and is very logical in her thinking.

 

She doesn't do a lot of free reading as she is very, very picky about what she devotes her time to. Although I would love for her to read more, it isn't a hill I want to die on right now.

 

Okay, so if you made it this far, tell me that this all looks at least average for an 8th grader. I think what is freaking me out is that she doesn't really push herself at all even though I feel confident that she could handle a much more rigorous courseload. However, when I push a little she pushes back harder and then we come to a standstill.

 

She thinks she is challenged enough, but I don't have anything to compare to what she is doing other than what some of your dc are doing. I know we shouldn't compare, but I need some type of baseline to make sure I'm not shortchanging her. She has some pretty hefty plans for her future (vet) so I don't want to waste time next year shoring up things she should have cemented this year.

 

Advice? I'm looking for your honest opinions on whether or not what she is doing is good enough prep for starting highschool next year or if we really do need to step it up this year.

 

Thanks for indulging me.:tongue_smilie:

[Colleen in NS]

I've been looking at high school credits, college requirements, ACT\SAT testing, reading things about dc needing to take AP classes in order to be more desirable to colleges...ugh...I'm starting to panic because what she is doing this year seems so easy for her. I worry that I may not be expecting enough out of her, but when I have given her work that I think might be more of a challenge she balks and complains. Her reasoning is that it doesn't seem fair to her that I try to give her harder work simply because she is able to complete her work accurately and quickly.

 

Okay, so if you made it this far, tell me that this all looks at least average for an 8th grader. I think what is freaking me out is that she doesn't really push herself at all even though I feel confident that she could handle a much more rigorous courseload. However, when I push a little she pushes back harder and then we come to a standstill.

 

She thinks she is challenged enough, but I don't have anything to compare to what she is doing other than what some of your dc are doing. I know we shouldn't compare, but I need some type of baseline to make sure I'm not shortchanging her. She has some pretty hefty plans for her future (vet) so I don't want to waste time next year shoring up things she should have cemented this year.

 

Advice? I'm looking for your honest opinions on whether or not what she is doing is good enough prep for starting highschool next year or if we really do need to step it up this year.

 

I have no idea whether or not it's good enough prep for high school, but then again, I think that all depends on what you want for her high school years. Every kid progresses differently. If she wants to be a vet, could she look at some vet schools and see what they require for high school classes? Get her involved in finding out the facts.

 

I have a 13 year old boy, and I am finding that all sorts of things are "upside down" these days. I totally get the balking and complaining. I am thinking it's all just a part of this age, and I work daily to figure out how to deal with each thing that comes up. I figure if I remain calm and keep my sense of humour, the balking and complaining will let up sooner or later, once I pass out of the stupid-Mom phase, :lol:. Meanwhile, I keep some baseline progress going: math, grammar, writing, Latin, reading. And throw in history/science/literature reading/experimenting/discussing, on an irregular (currently - I am to make it regular again soon) basis. I've also semi-successfully kept at doing formal logic, so I can help him reason at his more reasonable moments. I also stock huge amounts of fruit and muffins for him to graze on all day long.

 

:grouphug:

[wareagle]

I am in the same boat as you are with my ds in the 8th grade. :grouphug: He will not push himself and I cannot tell if I should keep bumping him up. Any time I ask for some new level of work it is soooo much work to make sure it gets done correctly. ( At least your daughter has the long term goal of vet school to motivate her.)

 

I panic on occasion when I see friends getting their kids in to excellent 4 year colleges with lots of scholarship money. They really hustle around with their kids and do sooo many activities and outside calsses that we cannot afford that I worry we are short-changing our kids by keeping them home.

 

Your schedule does look very similar to mine in intensity. So I am all ears to see if someone who has "been there done that" has to say.

 

FWIW I was aiming for vet school all thru High school and college and you might want to bump up her math. Calculus and Physics is (or was 20 years ago) a requirement for admission to any vet school. I did not get past Trig in high school and trying to pick it up later was near impossible.

[Quad Shot Academy]

The only thing that jumps out at me as not being enough is Science, especially if she wants to be a vet. I don't think Physical Science looks good on any high school transcript, but especially for a vet. I think I would cover General Science and Physical Science this year or even Physical and Biology.

[5LittleMonkeys]

FWIW I was aiming for vet school all thru High school and college and you might want to bump up her math. Calculus and Physics is (or was 20 years ago) a requirement for admission to any vet school. I did not get past Trig in high school and trying to pick it up later was near impossible.

 

Her science path will have her taking Physics in 12th. Unfortunately because of our cover school's requirements of taking AlgebraI in highschool she will have to do some summer work in order to get to Calculus in 12th, but that is the plan.

 

Thanks for chiming in. I know what you mean about all the extra activities too. With 5 dc we just don't have the money for them to be involved in lots of activities. Dd was doing riding lessons but due to financial issues we had to put that on hold and don't know if we can pick it back up anytime soon. Dd is pretty reclusive too so it is really hard to get her interested in anything. She has an amazing musical ability (taught herself how to read music and plays compositions by ear), but she refuses to take piano lessons. Won't do 4H, Girl Scouts, got sick to her stomach the night I was going to take her to just check out the debate club and got downright pissy when I suggested she try out Civil Air Patrol. She won't do sports either. My hope is that once we get into highschool and she spends some time at the tutorial for science she will get out of her shell a bit and want to try some new things.

[8filltheheart]

I've been looking at high school credits, college requirements, ACT\SAT testing, reading things about dc needing to take AP classes in order to be more desirable to colleges...ugh...I'm starting to panic because what she is doing this year seems so easy for her. I worry that I may not be expecting enough out of her, but when I have given her work that I think might be more of a challenge she balks and complains. Her reasoning is that it doesn't seem fair to her that I try to give her harder work simply because she is able to complete her work accurately and quickly.

 

This is what she is doing this year (8th):

 

Latin - Latin Prep 1 She has decided that she wants to do 4 years of Spanish so this will be the last year she does Latin. She is doing well with it...has gotten a little hung up on neuter endings but otherwise is progressing at a steady pace.

 

Grammar - R&S 6 She is moving through this pretty quickly and will probably be able to move onto 7 before the end of the year. She doesn't do much of the written work from the text but reads the text and then does the corresponding worksheet. She scores 100 on all worksheets and tests.

 

Writing - IEW SWI-B I think starting this week I am going to start to accelerate her through this...it seems, at this level, to be way too easy for her. I probably could have started her off in SWI-C but couldn't afford two levels. She isn't writing essays yet but I'm positive she could be without much trouble. She has no problems with grammar, spelling, punctuation, or style. I know that she doesn't write nearly enough for her grade level. My goal was to have her writing essays by the end of the year but I really think she is capable of being there much sooner.

 

Literature - LLfLOTR Doing well with this. She is doing this independently except for the comp questions, which we do orally, and I'm helping her study the vocab. I'm wondering if I should turn some of the comp questions into written responses. (?)

 

Spelling and Vocab- She is a natural speller and she gets lots of vocab from Latin and Literature.

 

Math - We started Chalkdust Pre-Algebra this year but it was a little overwhelming to her. She had come out of MUS and I think the biggest problem wasn't the concepts themselves but the way they were presented...the format. I picked up MUS pre-algebra and she is flying through it. I think she will be done by the end of January. I plan to pick back up with the Chalkdust at that point and have her finish it through the rest of the year and our summer break. My cover school requires Algebra be taken in 9th so there was no rush to get to Alg. this year.

 

History - Notgrass America the Beautiful This is super easy for her. She really dislikes history though so I'm not really wanting to push anything harder on her.

 

Science - She was doing So You Really Want to Learn Science in an attempt to give her a good overview of all sciences before starting highschool, but she has been complaining that the way it is worded is confusing her. In the meantime, until I get something else or until I decided to continue with SYRWTLS, I have been letting her do the middle school Aha!Science. This, however, isn't challenging AT ALL (would be for a child who has never had any science exposure). She will be doing Apologia Physical, Biology, Chemistry and Physics at a tutorial during highschool. She is also doing an interest project on the genetics and breeding of horses but has yet to produce anything. I need to sit down and help her solidify a schedule for this and give her some guidelines as to the types of output she could do for this topic. As far as the SYRWTLS goes, I admit I haven't even had time to sit down and really read through it so it may just be a matter of me needing to have her read the chapter, watch any videos\documentaries that could accompany the topic and then she and I sitting down together to discuss the chapter and go over the questions at the end of each section. I'm tempted also to have her start taking notes as I know this will be required next year in her science class. I've talked to the professor that will be teaching the science classes at the tutorial and he said that having a huge knowledge base coming into his classes wasn't necessarily a benefit. He said even students with very little science knowledge coming in did just as well as those who had done a lot of science up to that point. So, I'm not overly worried about this subject except for the note-taking issue.

 

Logic - Nothing.:confused: She did Fallacy Detective last year and while she understood it she did not like the way the book was written and didn't want to move onto Thinking Toolbox. I'm considering just letting this slide until next year and then starting Traditional Logic I. She already is really good at critical thinking and is very logical in her thinking.

 

She doesn't do a lot of free reading as she is very, very picky about what she devotes her time to. Although I would love for her to read more, it isn't a hill I want to die on right now.

 

Okay, so if you made it this far, tell me that this all looks at least average for an 8th grader. I think what is freaking me out is that she doesn't really push herself at all even though I feel confident that she could handle a much more rigorous courseload. However, when I push a little she pushes back harder and then we come to a standstill.

 

She thinks she is challenged enough, but I don't have anything to compare to what she is doing other than what some of your dc are doing. I know we shouldn't compare, but I need some type of baseline to make sure I'm not shortchanging her. She has some pretty hefty plans for her future (vet) so I don't want to waste time next year shoring up things she should have cemented this year.

 

Advice? I'm looking for your honest opinions on whether or not what she is doing is good enough prep for starting highschool next year or if we really do need to step it up this year.

 

Thanks for indulging me.:tongue_smilie:

 

First, remember that there are all types of colleges for all types of students. Students don't have to have lots of APs and college level academics in high school to attend good colleges.......top tier highly competitive ones, yes, but they do not encompass all the good schools by any stretch.

 

Second, I really (can't emphasize that word enough) disliked SYRWTLScience. I found it surface oriented and extremely lacking in content. We love Latin Prep, but Science Prep :tongue_smilie: I would change her science. I would probably go ahead and switch her to Apologia Physical this yr. There is absolutely no need for her to take it through a tutorial. The book is written to the student and it is very easy to complete at home alone.

 

I think IEW-B is too easy for 8th grade. If she is a good writer, you could try Lively Art of Writing (it is really, really cheap) and work on her essay skills. Then you could assign essays from LLfLOTRs.

 

HTH

[mom&nana]

Sorry I don't have any advice. Just wanted you to know that you are not alone. I feel so inadequate and often feel that I'm not preparing my dd for highschool and college. I think we probably worry too much though. It will most likely all work out ok. I think you're line up looks good, but then I doubt myself and my decisions way too much. Just wanted to send some hugs your way.

:grouphug::grouphug: Hang in there. :)

[5LittleMonkeys]

First, remember that there are all types of colleges for all types of students. Students don't have to have lots of APs and college level academics in high school to attend good colleges.......top tier highly competitive ones, yes, but they do not encompass all the good schools by any stretch.

 

Second, I really (can't emphasize that word enough) disliked SYRWTLScience. I found it surface oriented and extremely lacking in content. We love Latin Prep, but Science Prep :tongue_smilie: I would change her science. I would probably go ahead and switch her to Apologia Physical this yr. There is absolutely no need for her to take it through a tutorial. The book is written to the student and it is very easy to complete at home alone.

 

I think IEW-B is too easy for 8th grade. If she is a good writer, you could try Lively Art of Writing (it is really, really cheap) and work on her essay skills. Then you could assign essays from LLfLOTRs.

 

HTH

 

Thank you 8FilltheHeart! Practical and to the point. I'm going to start researching, in earnest, all of our possible options for colleges so that I can get a better idea of possible paths we can take.

 

I had considered doing the Physical Science this year but then found the tutorial and got excited about letting her participate there. I'll take your word for it regarding being able to do this program at home...I'm not confident in teaching upper level science. Luckily, a very good friend of mine taught Apologia Physical at this tutorial last year. I'll definitely be picking her brain!

 

I have Lively Art of Writing in my cart at Amazon. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting her up to speed on essay writing.

 

Okay, I'm feeling better. The two subjects that I definitely felt were lacking were science and writing. These changes will be good. Anymore advice from others is appreciated.

 

Off to wrangle some money out of our budget for Apologia Physical.

[5LittleMonkeys]

:grouphug::grouphug: Hang in there. :)

 

Thank you! Those help tremendously too!

[5LittleMonkeys]

Just checked out Apologia. I didn't realize that they suggested Physical Science for 8th. Also, we will be fine on the maths. Yah!

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Another thought, if you did want to stick with your plan for Apologia Physical in 9th then I would do Apologia General this year. Between the two sciences you have a good overview of science.

[Hedgehog]

Another thought, if you did want to stick with your plan for Apologia Physical in 9th then I would do Apologia General this year. Between the two sciences you have a good overview of science.

 

:iagree:

[Tullia]

 

....Writing - IEW SWI-B I think starting this week I am going to start to accelerate her through this...it seems, at this level, to be way too easy for her. I probably could have started her off in SWI-C but couldn't afford two levels. She isn't writing essays yet but I'm positive she could be without much trouble. She has no problems with grammar, spelling, punctuation, or style. I know that she doesn't write nearly enough for her grade level. My goal was to have her writing essays by the end of the year but I really think she is capable of being there much sooner.....

 

 

....Logic - Nothing.:confused: She did Fallacy Detective last year and while she understood it she did not like the way the book was written and didn't want to move onto Thinking Toolbox. I'm considering just letting this slide until next year and then starting Traditional Logic I. She already is really good at critical thinking and is very logical in her thinking.....

 

 

 

Since you're already familiar with IEW, you might want to look into this new IEW title combining logic and composition that jibaker 103 posted about in a logic thread on the HS board:

 

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/lbw

 

...not that I'd try to entice anyone into buying more curriculum or anything like that :D. Lively Art of Writing would be a good choice too.

 

The only thing I'd add to the discussion is that you might want to assess where her study and time management skills are today and think about where they'll need to be for a beginning high school student and make gradual adjustments as needed. When my son first started taking science tests in 7th-8th grade, he had a bit of trouble even though he was studying. Having him write his own study guide before a test was an eye-opening experience.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Since you're already familiar with IEW, you might want to look into this new IEW title combining logic and composition that jibaker 103 posted about in a logic thread on the HS board:

 

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/lbw

 

...not that I'd try to entice anyone into buying more curriculum or anything like that :D. Lively Art of Writing would be a good choice too.

 

The only thing I'd add to the discussion is that you might want to assess where her study and time management skills are today and think about where they'll need to be for a beginning high school student and make gradual adjustments as needed. When my son first started taking science tests in 7th-8th grade, he had a bit of trouble even though he was studying. Having him write his own study guide before a test was an eye-opening experience.

 

Thanks for the link, I will check that out. Adjusting study time is something I've been having to talk to her about already. We had some trouble with Latin Prep in the beginning because it doesn't tell the student to schedule study\memorization time. She assumed that the text would tell her exactly what to do. I'm trying to get her in the habit of spending some time each day reviewing in all of her subjects and we are going to be working on more diligently on note taking and study skills.

[FlockOfSillies]

Off to wrangle some money out of our budget for Apologia Physical.

 

See if you can find it used somewhere. My dd is taking it at a cottage school, and we got a used copy there for $20.

[mazakaal]

I agree with the others to have your dd do Apologia Physical Science this year.

 

One other thing I'll throw out there because you mentioned her weakness in study skills.... I had my ds do Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox last year and was going to have him do Traditional Logic I this year. After I received it, I thought that it might be a bit too much on his plate with everything else (he too is a reluctant student) so I decided to hold off with it until next year. Instead I'm going to use the time that would have gone to logic for building study skills. I got the book Learning to Learn and will have him complete that first. I also plan to get Study Skills from Galore Park and How to be a Superstar Student dvds from The Teaching Company.

 

My oldest is in ps and actually has a dedicated class for learning study skills and preparation for work. I figure there's nothing wrong with working it into our homeschool schedule as well.

[swimmermom3]

Thank you 8FilltheHeart! Practical and to the point. I'm going to start researching, in earnest, all of our possible options for colleges so that I can get a better idea of possible paths we can take.

 

I had considered doing the Physical Science this year but then found the tutorial and got excited about letting her participate there. I'll take your word for it regarding being able to do this program at home...I'm not confident in teaching upper level science. Luckily, a very good friend of mine taught Apologia Physical at this tutorial last year. I'll definitely be picking her brain!

 

I have Lively Art of Writing in my cart at Amazon. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting her up to speed on essay writing.

 

Okay, I'm feeling better. The two subjects that I definitely felt were lacking were science and writing. These changes will be good. Anymore advice from others is appreciated.

 

Off to wrangle some money out of our budget for Apologia Physical.

 

Aimee, I taught both Apologia's General and Physical Science classes my first and second years of home schooling. If you get a schedule (Donna Young or Sonlight) and get the lab materials ahead of time, it's very easy to teach. I found the reading manageable for myself which allowed me to hold discussions and to understand what we were trying to do. You can do this.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Aimee, I taught both Apologia's General and Physical Science classes my first and second years of home schooling. If you get a schedule (Donna Young or Sonlight) and get the lab materials ahead of time, it's very easy to teach. I found the reading manageable for myself which allowed me to hold discussions and to understand what we were trying to do. You can do this.

 

Thank you for the encouragement!! I found a schedule that someone here posted just a while ago. Actually she posted it back in March but someone resurrected it just recently. I have it bookmarked but can't remember who it was. Thank goodness for the generosity of others!

[wareagle]

FWIW I had one more thought about your daughter. It sounds like she wants to be a horse vet by her interest in riding lessons and horse genetics...and you also said she was still in her shell. I know money is tight, but perhaps the riding lessons should be a higher priority? I was very shy and unsure where I fit in school (what most would call a late bloomer) during high school. I rode at a barn during all those teen years. The time spent there was a life saver during those turbulent times. I can't tell you what a wonderful outlet horses are for a young girl's desire to nurture. Even though I didn't end up making it to vet school...I look back on that time at the barn as some of the best moments in my young life. I met friends, grew in confidence, strength and gentleness.

 

Maybe you could work something out with the barn..she could work around the barn to help pay for lessons. I used to feed on weekends, clean stalls, turn out horses, hold horses for the vet and farrier...anything I could ! It was all wonderful expereince. The expereince around the horses in invaluable for your daughter to know that this is really what she wants to do.

[5LittleMonkeys]

FWIW I had one more thought about your daughter. It sounds like she wants to be a horse vet by her interest in riding lessons and horse genetics...and you also said she was still in her shell. I know money is tight, but perhaps the riding lessons should be a higher priority? I was very shy and unsure where I fit in school (what most would call a late bloomer) during high school. I rode at a barn during all those teen years. The time spent there was a life saver during those turbulent times. I can't tell you what a wonderful outlet horses are for a young girl's desire to nurture. Even though I didn't end up making it to vet school...I look back on that time at the barn as some of the best moments in my young life. I met friends, grew in confidence, strength and gentleness.

 

Maybe you could work something out with the barn..she could work around the barn to help pay for lessons. I used to feed on weekends, clean stalls, turn out horses, hold horses for the vet and farrier...anything I could ! It was all wonderful expereince. The expereince around the horses in invaluable for your daughter to know that this is really what she wants to do.

 

She was helping out at the barn quite a bit when she was riding, but unfortunately they wouldn't exchange that help for lessons. We can't put both older girls back in right now but I'm trying to work something out that may allow us to start this dd back up in the next month or so. I'm all to aware of the importance of her having this in her life. It broke my heart and hers too, when we had to have her stop. Praying that we can work it out soon.