If you knew your dc were going back to ps next year, how would you prepare them?

[RainbowSprinkles]

This might be a possibility for us next year, so I need to give this some thought.

 

My dd can narrate well, write a decent paragraph, she is an avid reader and a natural speller. She is doing pretty well in math. Has add/sub facts down, most of times facts, needs work on division facts. She is great with word problems.

 

My ds is making great progress in becoming a more fluent reader. I should be able to get him a beginning 2nd grade level by the end of this year.

He's doing ok in math, needs a lot of explanation and different ways to show how it can be done. He is awesome at memorization.

 

So if these were your dc, what would you do to prepare them for 2nd and 5th grade public school?

[Crimson Wife]

If you aren't already familiar with your state's standards, that would be the place I would start. I would want to make sure that my student has mastered all the language arts & math ones up through his/her current grade.

 

My local PS has its students writing a 5 paragraph essay in 3rd. I personally disagree with their valuing quantity over quality, but if I had to enroll DD in that school for 5th, I'd have to get her output up.

[matilda]

My local PS has its students writing a 5 paragraph essay in 3rd. I personally disagree with their valuing quantity over quality, but if I had to enroll DD in that school for 5th, I'd have to get her output up.

 

I just pulled some of my dc out of school and I have really noticed a difference in the output expectations for writing between ps and homeschool. At the end of ps 4th, my dd was expected to write a multiple page research paper.

 

If you are doing FFL4, you will probably be way ahead in grammar, so focus on writing and math.

[UmMusa]

Thank you for this. My oldest will be in public school next year, most likely. I agree that grammar and math are probably excellent, but writing quantity needs to be upped. However, since we are in 5th grade this year he's learning about outlining and has summaries down pretty good, so I do think he could manage writing more while keeping the quality.

[RainbowSprinkles]

If you aren't already familiar with your state's standards, that would be the place I would start. I would want to make sure that my student has mastered all the language arts & math ones up through his/her current grade.

 

My local PS has its students writing a 5 paragraph essay in 3rd. I personally disagree with their valuing quantity over quality, but if I had to enroll DD in that school for 5th, I'd have to get her output up.

 

Thanks! I will look into them today.

[RainbowSprinkles]

So how should I up dd's writing output? Should I continue Writing Tales 1 and add something to it? Or should I use something else altogether?

 

I do plan on doing some after-schooling if the do go to ps, mainly in math and writing. So knowing this, how important is getting her up to ps writing standards?

[Princess Peach]

We are in the same boat, as we'll be putting our 3 in ps next year. I am focusing extra on reading/writing/math. I am also planning to get some Spectrum books starting in January. They are correlated to state and national standards. I figure that will give me some idea of any gaps they may have.

 

That said, kids are pretty resilient. We have been working diligently for the years they have been homeschooled and I'm sure you have, too. They will be fine. Try not to stress too much (I've been telling myself this). :001_smile:

[mytwomonkeys]

if my children were going to PS, my main focus would be composition. this would be especially necessary for my son.

 

yesterday, we went to a fall festival party as guests in a second grade classroom. it was a blast! (we are not considering PS though, my friend is the teacher there). when my son first arrived though, the kids were writing their plans for thanksgiving. they wrote quickly & effortlessly. also, their sentence structure & spelling were excellent; they did not rely on "creative spelling" at all. my son asked if we could just take it home and work on it later. i wasn't surprised by any means that he is behind in writing, but if he had to attend PS, it would be a gross disadvantage at this point for him, and i would need to get him up to par quickly. otherwise, it would be very unfair to my little guy.

 

so for our area, composition and writing would be the main thing. having said that though, since we do homeschool, i know he will catch up and most likely surpass his peers over time. my daughter couldn't write well in grade 2 either, and she is coming along beautifully.

[Farrar]

In the past when I've talked about this with people (not going to happen for us, but sometimes it comes up) it feels like there are two basic ways to look at it. First, you can try to catch them up to all the things they'll need or would be doing in school. Or, you can say to yourself, this is my last chance (for awhile) to teach them the things I think are important that they won't get in school and spend your time laying that foundation you want, assuming that school teachers will be better at catching them up to schoolish expectations anyway. Or you can try to do a little of both.

[boscopup]

For the younger child, I would probably start some journaling and increase the amount of copywork. At my son's school, the first graders wrote paragraphs by the end of the year, and the second graders do research reports (not sure on length... May be a paragraph or two).

 

I agree that some things can be taught when the kids get in class, but I wouldn't want to throw a pencil-phobic child into that quantity of writing without some training first, just like I wouldn't send my child to run a 5K when he normally only runs a lap or two around the back yard. So get him copying paragraphs and doing some original sentences, and then he'll physically be in good shape.

[Parker Martin]

Boxing lessons.

 

;)

 

I'd probably just have oldest watch a couple episodes of whatever the popular cartoons are now a week before the start of school so that he'd know what the other kids were talking about.

[Beth in SW WA]

I suggest a public school'ish writing program like WWW. Here is a sample of dd8's paragraph from Lesson 19 in WWW3. It teaches topic sentence, supporting sentences, ending sentence/clincher. I chose WWW because our public school neighbors showed me their writing samples from grades 2/3. They write A LOT at school these days. No, I wasn't impressed with the quality but they do have stamina. They write from experiences mainly. My plan is always to have my dds doing at or above public school levels in case we ever needed our dds to go back to school for any unforeseen reason.

 

What Is Blood Made Of?

 

Blood, which runs through the veins of humans and animals, contains four magnificent parts called red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma. Red blood cells quickly rush oxygen throughout the whole body. White blood cells furiously fight and eat dreadful bacteria which enters the body when a person gets germs. Platelets plug up all the cuts even though they are the tiniest parts in blood. Plasma keeps blood flowing and carries nutrients throughout the body. Blood runs freely everywhere and in it four, spectacular, hard-working machines help the blood keep people or animals alive. Without blood, we turn white then die.

 

Dds both do WWE but that isn't the level of output that my neighbor kids do. I am hoping to get dd8/3rd writing multiple paragraphs by the end of this year w/ a combo of WWW4 and IEW SWI A. We do written narrations also from history/science & WWE3. Dd8 is obsessed with writing in her journal nightly for at least 20 minutes. Dd7, not so much. :)

 

WWW4 has a heavy emphasis on creative/story writing which is big in public schools. I'm not a huge fan of creative writing so we don't spend a lot of time on 'perfecting' her stories. I am mainly focused on paragraph writing and increasing output.

 

HTH!

Edited November 18, 2011 by Beth in SW WA
added link

[RootAnn]

So how should I up dd's writing output? Should I continue Writing Tales 1 and add something to it? Or should I use something else altogether?

 

So knowing this, how important is getting her up to ps writing standards?

 

How is your dd doing in WT1? If things are going well, you could try to go "double pace" (finishing two lessons in one week) to finish early. Spend the remaining time (rest of the school year) working on creative writing & sentence output.

 

If she struggles on the writing "days," I'd go ahead & add in a journal for free-writing and some additional writing assignments (writing her own narrations for history/science, writing a small summary (4-5 sentences answering one of SWB's literary analysis questions) once per week of a book she's read or been assigned to read.

 

The focus in PS is on quantity of writing, with the thought that the more kids practice, the better. So, while you may not have to teach her how to write a five paragraph essay before next year, you do need to get her to be able to write copious amounts everyday.

 

Build up her stamina. Have her write plenty of different types of things (creative writing, retelling stories, "book reports" (or SWB's literary analysis paragraphs). Start with 4-5 sentences & build up to 3-4 paragraphs (for each assignment) by March-April. Keep her writing through the summer.

 

Make sure she can actually physically write for that long before her hand is fatigued.

 

... On a side note, make sure your kids' bladders are strong by next fall. :tongue_smilie:

[Princess Peach]

I suggest a public school'ish writing program like WWW. Here is a sample of dd8's paragraph from Lesson 19 in WWW3. It teaches topic sentence, supporting sentences, ending sentence/clincher. I chose WWW because our public school neighbors showed me their writing samples from grades 2/3. They write A LOT at school these days. No, I wasn't impressed with the quality but they do have stamina. They write from experiences mainly. My plan is always to have my dds doing at or above public school levels in case we ever needed our dds to go back to school for any unforeseen reason.

 

What Is Blood Made Of?

 

Blood, which runs through the veins of humans and animals, contains four magnificent parts called red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma. Red blood cells quickly rush oxygen throughout the whole body. White blood cells furiously fight and eat dreadful bacteria which enters the body when a person gets germs. Platelets plug up all the cuts even though they are the tiniest parts in blood. Plasma keeps blood flowing and carries nutrients throughout the body. Blood runs freely everywhere and in it four, spectacular, hard-working machines help the blood keep people or animals alive. Without blood, we turn white then die.

 

Dds both do WWE but that isn't the level of output that my neighbor kids do. I am hoping to get dd8/3rd writing multiple paragraphs by the end of this year w/ a combo of WWW4 and IEW SWI A. We do written narrations also from history/science & WWE3. Dd8 is obsessed with writing in her journal nightly for at least 20 minutes. Dd7, not so much. :)

 

WWW4 has a heavy emphasis on creative/story writing which is big in public schools. I'm not a huge fan of creative writing so we don't spend a lot of time on 'perfecting' her stories. I am mainly focused on paragraph writing and increasing output.

 

HTH!

 

What is WWW?

[Beth in SW WA]

What is WWW?

 

Winning With Writing 3 :)

 

I would also like to add that WWW teaches elements of "6-Trait" writing which is also prevalent in public school writing. Today, dd8 is doing a writing assignment on audience & voice.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Beth in SW WA

[MinivanMom]

I agree with the other posters that the most important thing is being able to write . . . a lot. I second the suggestions to do a daily journal and lots of additional writing (reports, stories, personal narratives, etc).

 

I would just add that in most areas we've lived, they aren't just writing single draft papers or doing daily journals. They actually teach the writing process. They prewrite (webs for the early grades, outlines for upper elementary), write a first draft, then revise, and edit. If your kids haven't made a web before or haven't gone through multiple drafts then that might be something to work on.

 

Enjoy your time if this might be the last year with them at home. Don't spend so much time prepping for public school that you miss the opportunity to bake cookies together on a chilly morning or to head to the zoo on a sunny day. Remember to do the things that are fun and the things that you value.

[Sevilla]

I would focus most on teaching them classroom norms/boundaries/expectations. There are a lot of subtle differences between a homeschool environment and public school environment that can throw kids for a loop if they're not already familiar with them. A few that I have experienced from transitioning HS students...(many of these examples are from my own elementary school mistakes post-homeschooling, as well as my experiences as a teacher).

 

1. Didn't know how to do test formats (i.e., would leave matching portions blank if they didn't know them - they didn't know they should guess at the answers to get some right)

 

2. Pacing their work with the rest of the class - taking way too long to finish and holding everyong else up (i.e., the whole class finished a test in 20 minues and they're still working at the 40 minute mark), or else finishing very quickly and then being disruptive/loud b/c they're bored and ready to move on. Homeschooling is an advantage in both those situations, but a disadvantage if they haven't adapted to the 'move in a group' format that is important for classroom management as a teacher.

 

3. Blurting out their thoughts before raising their hand and waiting to be called on, and trying to have a debate/monologue with the teacher. (I.e., making comments and verbal feedback on each direction and instruction - this is appropriate 1-1 such as in a tutoring situation, small group, or homeschooling. It is not appropriate in a 25 person classroom and is really annoying after awhile).

 

4. Getting up to do things without asking permission. I.e., needing a drink so leaving the room to do so without getting permission, etc... Your freedom in a large group classroom is very different so that needs to be kept in mind.

 

5. How to make new friends (some kids do this easily, some struggle with this, so it's always good to go over how to break into a new group with tips like "Look for the friendly face and approach them with a smile" "Know how to make conversation" etc...) Also cover how to handle teasing/bullying to reduce your target.

 

6. If possible, meet up with some people from their class the summer before they start so they can start getting to know people and have an 'in' with the group.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Sevilla

[Ellie]

English mechanics--capitalization and punctuation; proper form (e.g., indenting paragraphs :D, greetings and whatnot on personal and business letters, correct dates --Sept. 13, not Sept. 13th) spelling; penmanship. Those are the things that so many public schools tend to overlook, but which can affect a child's actual grades on assignments (or which *should* affect their grades!), and which should be taught anyway, for heaven's sake but so often are not.

 

Basic arithmetic skills--addition, subtraction, multiplication facts. Yes, just drill them.

 

And things like staying in their seats unless and until the teacher says they can get up, raising their hands or otherwise waiting/asking permission to speak...basic classroom behavior.

[Mrs Twain]

I agree with what many have said about the writing.

 

I also agree with the comments about getting the children ready for a school setting, i.e. raising their hands if they want to answer or ask a question, etc.

 

**Have your kids write their names and the date on every paper starting now to get into the habit. A big beef teachers have with homeschooled kids is that they never write their names on their papers.

 

I would get them used to taking tests, including giving them a standardized test such as the Iowa or Stanford Acheivement Test this year. Make the situation seem serious like a real test situation at school (quiet, serious, no talking, etc.).

 

I would definitely try to get my kids up to speed on all of your county's or state's standards of learning, rather than going the other route (of teaching them everything you want to cram in and relying on the teacher to catch them up to the standards). The reason I say this is because if they aren't up to the level of the standards, the teachers may classify them as "behind." That may mean they have to repeat a grade or get put into the group with kids who are academically delayed. Once your child is classified as behind, it may be difficult to convince the teachers that they should be put in a higher group.

 

All that said, I think that most homeschooled kids I know are far beyond the public schools where we live. I know of a mom who had to put her kids back in school this year. She was very worried that they would be behind, but she happily discovered that they are much ahead of their peers academically because of homeschooling.

[coffeefreak]

So how should I up dd's writing output? Should I continue Writing Tales 1 and add something to it? Or should I use something else altogether?

 

I do plan on doing some after-schooling if the do go to ps, mainly in math and writing. So knowing this, how important is getting her up to ps writing standards?

 

You've gotten a lot of great suggestions, but I wanted to suggest you maybe go to a traditional school curriculum for the rest of the year. You can even contact the local school they'll be going to and find out what they use for textbooks. They might have some you can borrow. Otherwise, I would switch to something like A Beka or Rod and Staff for your core subjects. A friend of mine has always used A Beka because she has never known from year to year whether she'll be able to homeschool or not. When she has had to put her child in the PS for the year, she's had no problems. One year, she enrolled mid-year with no hiccups.

 

:grouphug: I'm sure this is difficult even if you know it's what's best for your child. I hope the suggestions help.

Blessings!

Dorinda

[RainbowSprinkles]

I'd probably have them do a daily writing journal (schools are big on writing journals) and maybe some book reports (schools seem to like those too).

 

Otherwise, it sounds like your kids will be fine. I always think to myself that even though my son doesn't do long writing assignments, the writing he does is very good. I'm pretty sure he can produce writing to the level they would be expecting (not very good..) if he really had to.

 

Thank you! Any ideas on how to come up with topics for the daily journal? My dd would actually love this.

[RainbowSprinkles]

For the younger child, I would probably start some journaling and increase the amount of copywork. At my son's school, the first graders wrote paragraphs by the end of the year, and the second graders do research reports (not sure on length... May be a paragraph or two).

 

My ds does handwriting (getty dubai, one page per day) and some simple copywork. I write down his oral narrations for him. I haven't started spelling yet, since I want to concentrate on getting him to read more fluently. Would you suggest adding some spelling?

 

Boxing lessons.

 

;)

 

I'd probably just have oldest watch a couple episodes of whatever the popular cartoons are now a week before the start of school so that he'd know what the other kids were talking about.

 

:lol: funny, but probably true.

[RainbowSprinkles]

I suggest a public school'ish writing program like WWW. Here is a sample of dd8's paragraph from Lesson 19 in WWW3. It teaches topic sentence, supporting sentences, ending sentence/clincher. I chose WWW because our public school neighbors showed me their writing samples from grades 2/3. They write A LOT at school these days. No, I wasn't impressed with the quality but they do have stamina. They write from experiences mainly. My plan is always to have my dds doing at or above public school levels in case we ever needed our dds to go back to school for any unforeseen reason.

 

What Is Blood Made Of?

 

Blood, which runs through the veins of humans and animals, contains four magnificent parts called red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma. Red blood cells quickly rush oxygen throughout the whole body. White blood cells furiously fight and eat dreadful bacteria which enters the body when a person gets germs. Platelets plug up all the cuts even though they are the tiniest parts in blood. Plasma keeps blood flowing and carries nutrients throughout the body. Blood runs freely everywhere and in it four, spectacular, hard-working machines help the blood keep people or animals alive. Without blood, we turn white then die.

 

Dds both do WWE but that isn't the level of output that my neighbor kids do. I am hoping to get dd8/3rd writing multiple paragraphs by the end of this year w/ a combo of WWW4 and IEW SWI A. We do written narrations also from history/science & WWE3. Dd8 is obsessed with writing in her journal nightly for at least 20 minutes. Dd7, not so much. :)

 

WWW4 has a heavy emphasis on creative/story writing which is big in public schools. I'm not a huge fan of creative writing so we don't spend a lot of time on 'perfecting' her stories. I am mainly focused on paragraph writing and increasing output.

 

HTH!

 

Thank you for this suggestion. It looks helpful.

[RainbowSprinkles]

How is your dd doing in WT1? If things are going well, you could try to go "double pace" (finishing two lessons in one week) to finish early. Spend the remaining time (rest of the school year) working on creative writing & sentence output.

 

If she struggles on the writing "days," I'd go ahead & add in a journal for free-writing and some additional writing assignments (writing her own narrations for history/science, writing a small summary (4-5 sentences answering one of SWB's literary analysis questions) once per week of a book she's read or been assigned to read.

 

The focus in PS is on quantity of writing, with the thought that the more kids practice, the better. So, while you may not have to teach her how to write a five paragraph essay before next year, you do need to get her to be able to write copious amounts everyday.

 

Build up her stamina. Have her write plenty of different types of things (creative writing, retelling stories, "book reports" (or SWB's literary analysis paragraphs). Start with 4-5 sentences & build up to 3-4 paragraphs (for each assignment) by March-April. Keep her writing through the summer.

 

Make sure she can actually physically write for that long before her hand is fatigued.

 

... On a side note, make sure your kids' bladders are strong by next fall. :tongue_smilie:

 

She's doing great with WT1. Sometimes I think it's too easy. Someone suggested WWW. It looks good and I think I will go ahead and add it.

[RainbowSprinkles]

I would focus most on teaching them classroom norms/boundaries/expectations. There are a lot of subtle differences between a homeschool environment and public school environment that can throw kids for a loop if they're not already familiar with them. A few that I have experienced from transitioning HS students...(many of these examples are from my own elementary school mistakes post-homeschooling, as well as my experiences as a teacher).

 

1. Didn't know how to do test formats (i.e., would leave matching portions blank if they didn't know them - they didn't know they should guess at the answers to get some right)

 

2. Pacing their work with the rest of the class - taking way too long to finish and holding everyong else up (i.e., the whole class finished a test in 20 minues and they're still working at the 40 minute mark), or else finishing very quickly and then being disruptive/loud b/c they're bored and ready to move on. Homeschooling is an advantage in both those situations, but a disadvantage if they haven't adapted to the 'move in a group' format that is important for classroom management as a teacher.

 

3. Blurting out their thoughts before raising their hand and waiting to be called on, and trying to have a debate/monologue with the teacher. (I.e., making comments and verbal feedback on each direction and instruction - this is appropriate 1-1 such as in a tutoring situation, small group, or homeschooling. It is not appropriate in a 25 person classroom and is really annoying after awhile).

 

4. Getting up to do things without asking permission. I.e., needing a drink so leaving the room to do so without getting permission, etc... Your freedom in a large group classroom is very different so that needs to be kept in mind.

 

5. How to make new friends (some kids do this easily, some struggle with this, so it's always good to go over how to break into a new group with tips like "Look for the friendly face and approach them with a smile" "Know how to make conversation" etc...) Also cover how to handle teasing/bullying to reduce your target.

 

6. If possible, meet up with some people from their class the summer before they start so they can start getting to know people and have an 'in' with the group.

 

Good points, thanks!

[happycc]

My older kids were so angry at me for making them so so so "stupid". They didn;t know what the derogative word for a gay person was and was called stupid and teased for not knowing ANYTHING that wasn;t on the standards.

 

Just prepare them for mean kids and mean teachers and principals and also mean parents.

 

Tell them to NOT say please and thank you. Teach them to cut. Teach them how to fend for themselves.

 

Give them a cell phone so they can run to the bathroom and call you to come pick them up because someone was really cruel to them and they are sobbing and wanting to die.

 

Don;t call your teacher mom.

 

Be prepared for your child to be ahead of the kids in school.

Edited November 19, 2011 by happycc