AnointedHsMom Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Ok ladies and gentlemen. Go easy on me. I'm already feeling like a failure with my older son and I'm just trying to correct some things before it's too late for him. He's 12 year old and had a horrible time learning to read. He hated doing anything "schoolish" from the very beginning. He reads fine now but sheesh the early years were so hard and I made tons of mistakes with him. I let so many things slide with him and now we are playing the catch up game in the simple 3 R's area. I feel strongly that I need to go to nothing but the basics with him but I am having a very very hard time feeling like I can let history and science go while I do this. I just feel like the basics gets dropped first if I have too much on my plate since I'm also trying to not make the same mistakes with the 5 year old. He's going to struggle all through highschool if I don't do what needs to be done. Of course we've done history and science but I'm not feeling like it was ever as focused as I would have liked. It feels to me like we haven't done any real history or science even though we have. Clear as mud? Please tell me it's ok if he doesn't really do any real history or science before high school? I know we could probably continue to read some living books a few days a week. Will that be enough? Tell me to take a :chillpill: please. I'm scared to death I'm cheating him by stopping history or science beyond reading yet I know I'm severely cheating him by not focusing on the basics with him. Hows that for manic depressive?? P.S. I'm struggling with some things today if you can't tell :001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Ok ladies and gentlemen. Go easy on me. I'm already feeling like a failure with my older son and I'm just trying to correct some things before it's too late for him. He's 12 year old and had a horrible time learning to read. He hated doing anything "schoolish" from the very beginning. He reads fine now but sheesh the early years were so hard and I made tons of mistakes with him. I let so many things slide with him and now we are playing the catch up game in the simple 3 R's area. I feel strongly that I need to go to nothing but the basics with him but I am having a very very hard time feeling like I can let history and science go while I do this. I just feel like the basics gets dropped first if I have too much on my plate since I'm also trying to not make the same mistakes with the 5 year old. He's going to struggle all through highschool if I don't do what needs to be done. Of course we've done history and science but I'm not feeling like it was ever as focused as I would have liked. It feels to me like we haven't done any real history or science even though we have. Clear as mud? Please tell me it's ok if he doesn't really do any real history or science before high school? I know we could probably continue to read some living books a few days a week. Will that be enough? Tell me to take a :chillpill: please. I'm scared to death I'm cheating him by stopping history or science beyond reading yet I know I'm severely cheating him by not focusing on the basics with him. Hows that for manic depressive?? P.S. I'm struggling with some things today if you can't tell :001_unsure: Please take a :chillpill: Actually, I think you need to take 2 :chillpill::chillpill:. Get him caught up with reading, writing, and arithmetic from now until High School. Then, teach him science and history. It more counts in High School anyway. You can do it! Don't give up! Blessings in your homechooling journey! Sincerely, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Mine is 14 and in the same boat, so don't feel bad. The basics are the most important anyway. Look at where you'd like him to be when he graduates, then prioritize the list and work on it step by step. I would, however, continue to have him read history or science books and get those in that way. Even something simple like SotW would be wonderful (alot of good info in there). Good luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 For my struggling reader, I used reading comprehension selections (from Remedia Publications) that covered science and history topics. ;) But yes, once the child can do the basics, the others will come. Focus on what is most important and then move forward. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I would say focus on the 3R's but do some "carschooling" by listening to SOTW audio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlylocks Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 :grouphug: -- we're in the same boat. (You might have seen my post from last week regarding my son's composition...) You've received some excellent advice from previous posters. Keep your chin up and it will fall into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I think it's fine to focus on the 3 R's. But why not have him read and write about history and science topics? Let him KNOW that you are not going to grade or test him on history or science knowledge. Just use those pieces for his writing and reading selections some of the time. For example, if you were to use IEW, they even suggest using one of the common spine encyclopedias (you pick; DK, Kingfisher, or Usborne) to find a paragraph for them to summarize for some of the earliest "get started" type of lessons in writing; those encyclopedias could be history or science. You could read fiction or non-fiction on those topics and still learn something, as much fiction is based in at least some fact; the best writers do quite a lot of research (my son's ancients kick started after he read Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, after which he wanted to go to the library and learn EVERYTHING about Greece, Rome, and their mythology and warfare). Jeanne Bendick has some nice books out for reading and summarizing for somebody who is just getting started but is a little older and doesn't want to be treated like a baby. Good luck. I think you're smart to focus on the fundamentals first-- you have to build a strong foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We are in a very similar boat ; ) For my DD it was handwriting that kept her back. What I did was sit down with TWTM and plotted out what she should be doing at the theoretical grade level. Then I looked at where she was actually at. So them what I do is I make the three subjects she is *really* behind in "non-negotiable" meaning they have to be done every week day no matter what. The rest is all if she wants to do it during the given time. Were I in your shoes I would combine the kids for history and listen to the audio version of SOTW. The most it takes is twenty minutes to listen to. My DD needed visuals to go with it so we also read the corresponding pages in the Kingfisher World History Encyclopedia. You could also combine science. I follow the subject suggestions from TWTM but use the Janice VanCleave "For Every Kid" series. THe experiments take all of five minutes most of the time. No matter what YOU are your DS's mother and YOU know what is best. Follow your heart and know you are doing a great job : D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'd encourage you to add in some scientific and historical documentaries and discuss them. Can be a great family activity as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooooom Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 have him watch nature/science videos several times a week and I'll bet the history channel has lots of programming as well. Don't call it school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My ds was a delayed reader, still doesn't enjoy reading. I would look for things that are his level and encourage 30 minutes per day in either/or. I would get audio books if necessary, but I'm not sure I'd drop history or science completely. What specifically are you finding it hard to do? Get him to read about the topics? Further study with the topic? I had to modify a lot for ds, I read aloud to him in the subject until 6th grade with science, 7th grade with history. I would find some similarly formatted books to use. SOTW would be perfect, you do the audio. Science, you could do the Exploring the World of.... book series (christian based) by John Hudson Tiner. They are more interesting that a middle school text, they are broken down by similar sized chapters with tests at the end. I had ds read the biology book on his own and we did the tests orally, that way I knew he understood the chapter. I think focusing on the 3Rs for a period of time is acceptable, I wouldn't do it solely for the next 2 1/2 years. If those areas are hard for him, then school becomes only about what is difficult, which could lead to more hard feelings about school. Are there areas of history or science that he is interested in studying? I would lean toward accommodating preference here and require minimal output while you work on the other skills. :grouphug: It's difficult to see our kids struggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Just to add another hug.:grouphug: A 12 year old is not a high schooler. Last year (7th) we had an awful year due to a lot of chaotic life situations. We really only got in about 2/3rds of a year. Over the summer I planned to do some school, but again that got set aside due to life. I was amazed at ds at the beginning of the year. His reading level had increased, his interest level had increased, he ability to focus increased. We're still working on it, but the growth happened due to his maturity, not because we worked diligently toward it. There are some wonderful ladies on the high school that remind us on occasion that a freshman is not a senior. There is four years of growth in there. Same thing at the middle school level. What a 6th grader finds difficult may be easy as an 8th grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Work on the 3 Rs, and once or twice a week watch a documentary together on Netflix, or from the library. Make part of his reading historical fiction. Get a subscription to a science magazine. Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Oh, and my library has great science DVDs. They even have a bunch of the old Mr. Wizard one! Often our science consists of "Watch a science documentary of your choosing." I was worried that wasn't enough, but he did really well on the science section of the ITBS, so I guess it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Just to add another hug.:grouphug: A 12 year old is not a high schooler. Last year (7th) we had an awful year due to a lot of chaotic life situations. We really only got in about 2/3rds of a year. Over the summer I planned to do some school, but again that got set aside due to life. I was amazed at ds at the beginning of the year. His reading level had increased, his interest level had increased, he ability to focus increased. We're still working on it, but the growth happened due to his maturity, not because we worked diligently toward it. There are some wonderful ladies on the high school that remind us on occasion that a freshman is not a senior. There is four years of growth in there. Same thing at the middle school level. What a 6th grader finds difficult may be easy as an 8th grader. Yes. It feels really urgent when your children are 12 and tall enough to look you in the eye, but you still have time. I agree with everyone else: Do what you need to do concerning the 3R's, but find some way to get beneficial exposure to history and science that doesn't stress you both out. Videos, field trips, and a few read-alouds, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibaker103 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 For my nephew 12 and in 7th grade we spend the majority of the day doing All About Spelling Level 2, Winston Grammar Basic, Writing with Skill, and Math U See Delta. Right now any extra time found is used completing Beautiful Feet Intermediate Medieval Guide (reading, project, documentary, or movie). However, I plan to also incorporate study skills, reading comprehension, I read aloud to him, and critical thinking. Therefore, history will be even shorter and we have not gotten to science at all since starting this. Once I started down this path I quickly realized I can't fit everything in and will have to let go of some subjects. I know that I am doing the right thing because last summer he tested at a 3rd grade reading level and he could not do basic math. I just tested him a week ago and he is reading at a 5th grade level and he was able to get through MUS Beta in about 3 weeks. I have faith that once he has mastered all of his deficiencies he will makeup for lost time by accelerating his learning until he needs to go at a normal pace again. Don't worry you are absolutely doing the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I'd encourage you to add in some scientific and historical documentaries and discuss them. Can be a great family activity as well. :iagree: I don't know if you have Netflix instant downloads. We watched documentaries by Ken Burns about Jefferson and the Civil War in the evenings. They were great. If your child likes WWII info, there's an excellent series called Battle 360 that follows the USS Enterprise. DS loves that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I think it's fine to focus on the 3 R's. But why not have him read and write about history and science topics? Let him KNOW that you are not going to grade or test him on history or science knowledge. Just use those pieces for his writing and reading selections some of the time. :iagree: If he does this, he will probably absorb a lot more history and science than you might think. Perhaps give him a "reading hour" (or two) after lunch, and let him at a stack of good books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 :iagree::iagree: to everything. Netflix and library science and history DVDs are great. SOTW on audio is, too. Science is cooler watched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Mythbusters is on Netflix. Watch that and you all get some physics, chemistry, and a little biology. They do some forensic science as well. Lots of explosions! There are even a few you could do at home: a mini newspaper and ice boat, mentos in soda....most of them are watch only though :) SOTW would be good reading practice and would cover history. There are lots of household experiment books to pick from. Just do one or two a week for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 As much as I'd like to give you a pass, the reality is the content subjects are the way you LEARN the skills necessary for high school. There's a lot of *flexibility* in how you do that, but he needs to be doing it. What I hear is you're overwhelmed. What you need to do is a reality check and outsource some stuff. You also need to get him evaluated if you haven't done that already. Whatever gave him so many problems to this point is still there and may need accommodation in high school and college. *Now* is the perfect time to start that paper trail. If you wait till the end, colleges kind of look at you funny. Figure out what is going on now. Get your 5 yo evaluated while you're at it. If there's nothing there, cool, you just get some helpful info on his learning style, strengths, and IQ. But if there is something, you've found it and can start working on it. I'm all for focusing on the basics, but if you *skip* the content in these years, you're skipping your chance to work on those basics. For instance, say textbooks aren't reality are too boring, are too stressful. Make it easier! Give him a reading form for each week where he has to put in 2 history books and 2 science books he read. Sound to hard? Make it 1. So every week he goes to the library, looks in the juvenile non-fiction section and finds a quality science book and a quality history book. He reads them, boom done. No trouble to you, but history and science got done. If you want to kick it up a notch, have him write something about each book. Start the year at one sentence and work up to a decent little narration or paragraph or coherent whatever (5-7 sentences) by the end. Don't make it hard. Doing this you're working on his non-fiction reading skills (very important for high school!) and basic writing. Those are the basics. Are you doing the BJU reading 6? I wouldn't go past that. Through gr 6 it's focused on skills. After that it really shifts. It's fine, I have it and like it somewhat, blah blah. I'm just saying for a remedial student I don't see where that's worth the effort. Typing is extremely worth the effort btw, and it's something he can do independently. I have my dd doing the Dvorak keyboard layout using the Mavis Beacon software. Dvorak eliminates midline crosses and is much more efficient, something essential if your kids, well let's just leave it at that. You know if it's your kid. The more my dd worked on regular typing, the worse she got. She went from average but slow (5 wpm in the early years) to PECKING! Dvorak has been a huge change for us. It's a simple toggle in the preferences on your computer. Set him up his own account, complete with email, but put it to that keyboard layout. That made my dd EXTREMELY motivated to learn to type, hehe. She is now 35 wpm! Can you imagine!! It's just incredible considering a few months before Christmas, when we started, she was at 14 wpm. Typing is a skill that takes time to develop and that makes everything easier later. Takes no effort from you to get done either. I like the VP online, self-paced history. I think videos are fine. Think easy. Done is better than not done. Is there a subject he LOVES? My dd hates school to (to be blunt), but she loves history. With a subject they love, don't cut it and don't necessarily connect skills to it, especially with a struggler. Whatever they love, just do and let be their way. Your list of things you want to do probably sounds insurmountable. A year can make a huge difference. You'll get there. If you haven't done formal testing though (neuropsych eval, whatever), I'd definitely consider it. It might give you information that would help you be more effective in what you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I don't think you should skip science and history. At the age he's at, he needs some background in those subjects before he starts high school. Instead of dumping them, use them as the basis for the basics. Have him work on reading by reading science and history. Have him work on writing by writing about science and history. Have him work on grammar by diagramming science and history sentences. The other thing to think about is that if you cut the content subjects and just work on the skill subjects, your son might have an unrealistic idea about how much work is expected of him, and high school could end up being a huge shock and a battle as the expectations are suddenly ramped up. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I agree with Elizabeth! I would not skip Science and History. As Elizabeth pointed out, a lot of 'basics' can be covered while learning Science and History. For us, though, it would kill all enjoyment for us. Even to me, only doing English and Math sounds extremely dreary. My kids would have a more difficult time learning this way. That said, Science and History do not have to be difficult at all. Here is how we do Science: We do some experiments from a science kit. Currently we are working through the chem 2000 kit. Once a week I have the kids write up a lab report similar to what is in the WTM answering these questions: What did we use? What did we do? What happened? What did we learn. We read one or two chapters in 'The World of Chemistry' together. Usually we find things to research in both the science kit as well as the book. For example, yesterday we looked up Asphalt Lake in Trinidad and Oil Platforms on-line. The chapter we were reading was about carbon compounds. The day before we found the lecture 'The Natural History of a Candle' by Michael Faraday because the experiments we did were related to candles. All of this we do as we floating along. We do usually spend about an hour on Science. This is the stuff we want to learn. Aside from that this stuff has us practice research which is important. It also opens up the world. Anyway, in short, I would not drop Science and History completely at this age. Warmly, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I agree with Elizabeth! I would not skip Science and History. As Elizabeth pointed out, a lot of 'basics' can be covered while learning Science and History. For us, though, it would kill all enjoyment for us. Even to me, only doing English and Math sounds extremely dreary. My kids would have a more difficult time learning this way. That said, Science and History do not have to be difficult at all. Here is how we do Science: We do some experiments from a science kit. Currently we are working through the chem 2000 kit. Once a week I have the kids write up a lab report similar to what is in the WTM answering these questions: What did we use? What did we do? What happened? What did we learn. We read one or two chapters in 'The World of Chemistry' together. Usually we find things to research in both the science kit as well as the book. For example, yesterday we looked up Asphalt Lake in Trinidad and Oil Platforms on-line. The chapter we were reading was about carbon compounds. The day before we found the lecture 'The Natural History of a Candle' by Michael Faraday because the experiments we did were related to candles. All of this we do as we floating along. We do usually spend about an hour on Science. This is the stuff we want to learn. Aside from that this stuff has us practice research which is important. It also opens up the world. Anyway, in short, I would not drop Science and History completely at this age. Warmly, This is very much how we are tackling science for upper elementary. We are using a very old biology text and reading through it slowly. It has wonderful discussion questions, ideas for projects and experiments, vocabulary, and so forth. Since it is a dated text, I realize that many discoveries have been made since the printing of the book. This serves to help us see the expansion of scientific ideas since that decade, and is very helpful in that way, as opposed to reading a text printed in the last year or so which describes everything as up-to-date. We are also starting a *science journal* in which we will clip articles from the newspapers or magazines which describe new discoveries in the field of science. We will use this to see how the scientific method works in modern discoveries. For history, we have two streams going on at once: an ancient history using Builders of the Old World, and a US history using Rainbow Book of American History and The Heritage of America (Commanger) for first-hand accounts of historical events. (We are reading through these two books slowly.) We include notebooking and timeline work with those readings. Audiobooks of Story of the World and one for US history would serve the same purpose. There are several which can be accessed free at librivox.org. Having said all of that, I agree wholeheartedly with the advice you've been given. I will add that this is the time to move the child toward taking an active role in his studies, rather than a more passive role. To accomplish this in our homeschool, I have two book baskets, one with history titles and the other with science titles. My little guy is required to choose one from each basket to read along with a lit title. That way he is constantly doing independent reading of history and science, making some discoveries of his own along the way. A thrift store or the library will serve you well to fill a book basket with these kinds of books. 8Fill has mentioned before of the American Heritage Junior Library series, as well as the Landmark and Signature book series. I also like the We Were There series. Any of these should be available at your local library, and will surely light a spark in interest in history. For science independent readings, there are many living science books suggestions on this board. He could draw some illustrations and start out writing a few sentences about his readings, hopefully soon expanding that to a paragraph or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Ok ladies and gentlemen. Go easy on me. I'm already feeling like a failure with my older son and I'm just trying to correct some things before it's too late for him. He's 12 year old and had a horrible time learning to read. He hated doing anything "schoolish" from the very beginning. He reads fine now but sheesh the early years were so hard and I made tons of mistakes with him. I let so many things slide with him and now we are playing the catch up game in the simple 3 R's area. I feel strongly that I need to go to nothing but the basics with him but I am having a very very hard time feeling like I can let history and science go while I do this. I just feel like the basics gets dropped first if I have too much on my plate since I'm also trying to not make the same mistakes with the 5 year old. He's going to struggle all through highschool if I don't do what needs to be done. Of course we've done history and science but I'm not feeling like it was ever as focused as I would have liked. It feels to me like we haven't done any real history or science even though we have. Clear as mud? Please tell me it's ok if he doesn't really do any real history or science before high school? I know we could probably continue to read some living books a few days a week. Will that be enough? Tell me to take a :chillpill: please. I'm scared to death I'm cheating him by stopping history or science beyond reading yet I know I'm severely cheating him by not focusing on the basics with him. Hows that for manic depressive?? P.S. I'm struggling with some things today if you can't tell :001_unsure: Does he like anything about history or science? What I mean isn't does he like to sit down with a textbook and answer questions. I mean, does he like learning about Roman seige engines or castle designs or the American frontier or World War Two military units? Does he have an interest in insects or snakes or stars or how machines work or volcanoes? Because some of my best sucess with a struggling reader has been to tap into something he enjoyed learning about and just dig in. Plain reading lessons were pretty boring for my youngest, but reading about Romans or volcanoes or American colonies was interesting and fun. I haven't made him sit and fill out outlines or worksheets. We do mark up an occasional map. And he makes "trading cards" for historical figures with info about them on the back and dates, picture and "attack" on the front. (For example, Cromwell had a +20 attack against loyalists and as a military genius had -20 to all attacks against him.) In other words, maybe you could turn things upside down. Instead of feeling like you need to pile your plate higher with History and Science, let historical and scientific fields of interest be the carrot for improved reading and writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnointedHsMom Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thank you all for your encouragement and opinions, even when they disagreed with my thoughts. I feel like my question shouldn't have been about dropping history and science completely. Just dropping a scheduled curriculum is really what I was going for. As you can see we are using HOD for science and history and there is not a thing wrong with it. I am just finding it hard to get it all done. I'm not 100% sure on the path we are going to take right now but I'm leaning hard towards still using the books that HOD schedules and just read through those on our own schedule. My son likes the astronomy book he's using so we decided to just work through that book on our own schedule using the lab kits that can go with it. So in no way do I plan to drop it completely. I just plan to come at it differently than we have before. When I think about having 6 focused months to work on basics and not have to worry about checking off the next lesson in history and science I feel so much relief. And I know if I could do that with my son he would make leaps and bounds. I simply haven't given the time to him on the basics as I should have. He's been a hard one and teaching him has been trying to say the least. I failed him by letting it get to me and skipping the "hard" work (it's not really hard for him...he just doesn't want to do it in reality). I'm striving to change the attitude about school in this house. I'm looking hard at how I'm approaching every subject for each of my boys. My dream of what our homeschool would look like doesn't come close to the reality of what it has been. I've been the first and foremost person to make that happen. So we will in no way be dropping history and science. I'm just going to drop my minimum weekly requirements for them while we are focusing on the basics and as he progresses I'll slowly add more back in to our week. And I'm going to approach them differently. I'm striving to teach the child not the curriculum. ;) Thoughts and opinions are still welcomed :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) Does he like anything about history or science? What I mean isn't does he like to sit down with a textbook and answer questions. I mean, does he like learning about Roman seige engines or castle designs or the American frontier or World War Two military units? Does he have an interest in insects or snakes or stars or how machines work or volcanoes? Because some of my best sucess with a struggling reader has been to tap into something he enjoyed learning about and just dig in. Plain reading lessons were pretty boring for my youngest, but reading about Romans or volcanoes or American colonies was interesting and fun. I haven't made him sit and fill out outlines or worksheets. We do mark up an occasional map. And he makes "trading cards" for historical figures with info about them on the back and dates, picture and "attack" on the front. (For example, Cromwell had a +20 attack against loyalists and as a military genius had -20 to all attacks against him.) In other words, maybe you could turn things upside down. Instead of feeling like you need to pile your plate higher with History and Science, let historical and scientific fields of interest be the carrot for improved reading and writing. This much better describes what I tried to say in my post, but I did a much poorer job of it. I would like to add that the trading card idea is brilliant, and my have to borrow that one, if you don't mind. :) I do try to add some books into our basket which are directly aimed at known interests. Others are there to (hopefully) inspire interest in other topics or people. One book that we have enjoyed here to sort of *get the ball rolling*, is The Time Travelers' Handbook. Each chapter introduces little glimpses into various events in history. I will add one more title that may inspire your ds. The book, The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone by Robin Lee Graham (Golden Book, Western Publishing) is a wonderful narrative of a 16 y/o boy's trip sailing around the world. You could print a giant map of the world at owl and mouse site, then let him draw out the route that Robin sailed in his journey. Lots of topics for further discussion and research if he's interested, too--navigation, ocean life, sailing, cultures around the world, keeping a logbook, independent living, etc. Edited February 23, 2012 by Poke Salad Annie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 ...Just dropping a scheduled curriculum is really what I was going for. ...I'm leaning hard towards still using the books that HOD schedules and just read through those on our own schedule. My son likes the astronomy book he's using so we decided to just work through that book on our own schedule using the lab kits that can go with it. ... When I think about having 6 focused months to work on basics and not have to worry about checking off the next lesson in history and science I feel so much relief. And I know if I could do that with my son he would make leaps and bounds. ...I'm just going to drop my minimum weekly requirements for them while we are focusing on the basics and as he progresses I'll slowly add more back in to our week. I think you are a very smart mother. You have obviously thought this all through, and you obviously have a good handle on responsibility for the past and present, and plans for the future, and WHY. You also obviously know your kids very well. I give you permission to carry out your plan. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) Well I'll say this again. When I mom comes on the boards and says over and over how hard her child is to teach, there's usually a reason. I would get him evaluated. Yes by a developmental optometrist (just a regular exam plus screening for things, don't go to a regular optometrist, will cost you $60-100) and a neuropsych eval to look for learning and other problems. There's a lot of information that would give you to be more effective in what you're doing and there might be some things going on you'd catch that you could work on now. Edited February 23, 2012 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 He's 12 year old and had a horrible time learning to read. He hated doing anything "schoolish" from the very beginning. He reads fine now but sheesh the early years were so hard and I made tons of mistakes with him. I let so many things slide with him and now we are playing the catch up game in the simple 3 R's area. When I think about having 6 focused months to work on basics...I know if I could do that with my son he would make leaps and bounds. I simply haven't given the time to him on the basics as I should have. He's been a hard one and teaching him has been trying to say the least. I failed him by letting it get to me and skipping the "hard" work (it's not really hard for him...he just doesn't want to do it in reality). I'm striving to change the attitude about school in this house. I'm looking hard at how I'm approaching every subject for each of my boys. My dream of what our homeschool would look like doesn't come close to the reality of what it has been. I've been the first and foremost person to make that happen. When I mom comes on the boards and says over and over how hard her child is to teach, there's usually a reason. I am not reading the same thing from her posts at all. I don't see her complaining "over and over how hard her child is to teach." I'm reading of a Mom who is telling us that she had shortcomings in teaching her son (who is now doing fine with reading, and for whom she says the work is NOT hard), and is now working VERY hard to make that all up. It's not easy to get on a forum and confess all that - thus her request for us to go easy on her. She doesn't tell us why he "had a horrible time learning to read. He hated doing anything 'schoolish' from the very beginning. ...the early years were so hard..." nor does she need to tell us - but it doesn't always have to do with learning difficulties - there could have been difficult life circumstances - we can't always assume it's learning problems that need professional intervention. The point is she has looked backwards, and is now making specific plans to improve her son's education. I think her plan to laser in on the basic skills and include content reading fits with what she has told us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Yes, drop the schedule, keep the books. How 'bout focusing on skills four days a week and doing content subjects for one? Put him in charge of his content day; "unschool" it and lose the guilt. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 My DD is reluctant to reading and writing and needs more skill work. She loves to read Mr Q's science since it is written to the student. I let it go with her just reading that and doing some nature study. Once in a while I find an activity to do with subject or a movie to throw in there. I do drag her butt through TOG and will either continue or jump to Oak Meadow for a break through 8th grade. She needs gentle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 She doesn't tell us why he "had a horrible time learning to read. He hated doing anything 'schoolish' from the very beginning. ...the early years were so hard..." That's why she needs to make sure she has found out. It has nothing to do with confessions or anything else. There is one train of thought to just go with the flow, it all works out, blah blah, and there's a POINT where that's ok. And there's a point where you realize this has been going on a while, the child is getting older, and it's time to get some answers. Sometimes a gentle nudge to realize you're at that point is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 And there's a point where you realize this has been going on a while, the child is getting older, and it's time to get some answers. I'm not seeing this in her posts. With all the bolding I did in quoting her posts, I see a boy who is *past* many of the difficulties of his younger years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) I'm not seeing this in her posts. With all the bolding I did in quoting her posts, I see a boy who is *past* many of the difficulties of his younger years. That's great, no problem, different perspectives. I've btdt, and I can see. ;) The worst that happens is she does the neuropsych eval, checks eyes, etc. and finds out nothing is wrong, learns his IQ, learns his strengths and weaknesses. Odds are she'd find out a lot more. There's no benefit to not testing and there's great benefit to doing it. This is an old rant. There are always going to be people who say it's late blooming, don't worry about it, blah blah, and there are going to be those who finally did the testing and wished they had done it sooner. I say there's nothing to be afraid of. Get testing and make sure nothing is going on. Edited February 24, 2012 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegP Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I agree with O Elizabeth. Get him tested now before he is in high school and struggling to keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Dropping the schedule is a wonderful idea. We have always done Science and History on our on timeline; not someone else's. For that you definitively have my permission. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm not seeing this in her posts. With all the bolding I did in quoting her posts, I see a boy who is *past* many of the difficulties of his younger years. This child needs to be tested. LDs never go away. In spite of the fact that a child learns to read, write, whatever,..the underlying mechanisms that caused the difficulties exist and will manifest themselves in other ways. If her child has a learning disability, and she expects a university or even public school to provide accommodations like extra test taking time, tutors, class substitutions, calculator use (if necessary), audio books (can't use Learning Ally without a diagnosis), and/or lecture notes, she must get a neuro report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnointedHsMom Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Again I want to say that I appreciate EVERYONE'S opinions that have posted here. I've given thought to trying to explain in more details but I simply don't have time to lay out his 12 years and list all that I know now in hindsight. I will say that I think there are multiple factors in why he was late learning to read. Ultimately I don't worry about any of those factors now because he has been reading fine for quite a while now. He has good comprehension. His only real issues with reading right now are fluency and automaticity because I didn't have him read aloud enough or require him to read enough in the past. Both things on the "basics" agenda for the next several months. At this point he doesn't struggle with anything. He's just behind because of the reasons I've stated in previous posts. As soon as he was reading I should have stopped and done this. Nevertheless, I'm doing it now before it is genuinely too late for me to. I had a moment of weakness a few days ago where I feared I was going to scar him for life. My head knew this wasn't true but a mothers heart panics sometimes. I needed to hear that I wasn't going to scar him for life. I appreciate everyone's responses. It helped me look at history and science with a different perspective. Every response has made me think and I am grateful for that. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 ...and list all that I know now in hindsight. I will say that I think there are multiple factors in why he was late learning to read. Ultimately I don't worry about any of those factors now because he has been reading fine for quite a while now. He has good comprehension. His only real issues with reading right now are fluency and automaticity because I didn't have him read aloud enough or require him to read enough in the past. Both things on the "basics" agenda for the next several months. At this point he doesn't struggle with anything. He's just behind because of the reasons I've stated in previous posts. As soon as he was reading I should have stopped and done this. Nevertheless, I'm doing it now before it is genuinely too late for me to. I had a moment of weakness a few days ago where I feared I was going to scar him for life. My head knew this wasn't true but a mothers heart panics sometimes. I needed to hear that I wasn't going to scar him for life. Sounds to me like things are on the upswing for your son. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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