Ok, so THAT was a waste of time ...

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[chiguirre]

Bummer. But, you're not alone. All of those people on Jay Walking must have studied history at some point too. It just fell out of their brains along the way.

 

This is why I switched to unschooling history, science and geography. When my kids are interested in something, they do a better job of remembering it. When they don't ask for anything in particular, we listen to audiobooks in the car and I hope some of it sinks in and stays stuck.

[jewellsmommy]

I am doing a quick drive-by review of Early American History with my dyslexic ds to prepare him to begin the VP 1815-Present class in a couple of weeks.

 

We did Early American year before last using TOG as a spine. We read tons of living books. We watched every episode of Liberty's Kids. We made two complete lap books using Evan Moore History Pockets. We listened to Your Story Hour productions. We made the BF Early American Timeline from Lief Ericson to Abraham Lincoln.

 

He remembers none of it. Nada. Nothing. He just looks at me with a sort of puzzled expression, though he has managed to pick up some facts about George Washington along the way. :willy_nilly:

 

I am stunned that I spent so much time and effort on something that ended up having no value or staying power. I mean, that timeline was on the wall next to his bed for a flipping year and he doesn't even remember the pictures. Huge sigh. :svengo:

 

Vent over. Back to work. :rant:

 

 

 

Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. That is frustrating. :grouphug: I do not think you're alone in this though!

[Mavy]

I was struggling with what to do this year with history. I want to use Sonlight, but was worried it is not rigorous enough. My husband put it into perspective for me when he said ,"Uh, who remembers what they studied for history in first grade." Good point. I decided I am going to do whatever sounds good to me and is fun for the kids. Sonlight is is for this year!

 

What age do they start retaining it? I honestly remember nothing from my schooling, but hoping in homeschooling there is better success.

[AHASRADA]

My dd is dyslexic. I totally get it. Even though I know she can't help it, it is a frustration on a daily basis. We've only done this weekly for a couple of years..and you're asking me how to do it, again!!??

 

:grouphug:

[Davysmom]

Isn't that frustrating??!!

 

I was so shocked with my first when she forgot all the stuff we did.

I discovered that for my kids they only seem to remember those things that go along with things them memorized. All the other stuff no matter how fun or how many books we read, it's gone! But if it goes along with a piece of memory work it stays.

[2boysmom]

I've found my 13 year old dyslexic actually remembers historical/visual documentaries on The History Channel better than textbooks/reading alouds, etc. I've been what you've been through several times in our journey, spent lots of time, money and energy and for what? I highly recommend doing something visual. I can't believe all the things my son recalls after watching a well-done documentary. Save yourself some money and time. There is no shame in doing something different if it fits your child's learning style. esp. for dyslexics.

[PeterPan]

Well see how 1815 to modern goes. If it goes well, he could go back and do Explorers to 1815. It may stick a bit better because they spiral and keep drilling the things they consider important. (memory work is their thing) And the VP lessons will engage multiple modalities.

 

Beyond that though, I agree that some stuff just doesn't stick. They're left with the memory of the fun or the time together or the skills you worked on, but the actual content is in one eyeball and out the other. Shrug it off and move on. :)

[suzziesnowflake]

Yeah, unless he sees it on Brain Pop, Discovery, or History isn't going to remember much either and that is only if it is of interest to him. The only thing he remembers is the stuff he WANTS to remember...he can answer any question you have about Plymouth muscle cars but can't remember anything else...I finally got him to spell "like" right (he spelled it lick) because I told he you don't want to get that word wrong when writing a letter to a girl-she wouldn't like a letter that said "I really lick you":lol: All I can do is :grouphug: I feel your pain!

[Tiramisu]

Well see how 1815 to modern goes. If it goes well, he could go back and do Explorers to 1815. It may stick a bit better because they spiral and keep drilling the things they consider important. (memory work is their thing) And the VP lessons will engage multiple modalities.

 

Beyond that though, I agree that some stuff just doesn't stick. They're left with the memory of the fun or the time together or the skills you worked on, but the actual content is in one eyeball and out the other. Shrug it off and move on. :)

 

:iagree:

 

"The memory of the fun or the time together" is worth more in the short term and long term than any ol' history. It will set the best foundation learning in the future. Take away the "fun and the time together" and you'll be left with diddly-squat now and later. ;)

 

(Of course, we're not always having that much fun around here, except when grandma sings and dances for us.)

[PeterPan]

Yeah but MY kid has a grandma who will do jello jiggler races. :D

 

(no, that has nothing to do with homeschooling :lol: )

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Tiramisu]

Thanks for the hugs. I needed to spill to some folks who would understand.

 

One of the reasons I was taken aback (not angry, not sad) was that I thought I had done all those things you are supposed to do to make the subject memorable. You know, mixing it up with the visual vs audio vs kinesthetic activities. Ah well.

 

DS had a lot of success with the VP self-paced online NTGR class last year, so I have high hopes for the new class as well. I am planning to go to either Calvert or BJU for jr high, and both of those do a full year American History survey in 8th. So ds will definitely get the Early American information again before high school.

 

It is just a lot of time and stress that I could have avoided, kwim? And all those readers and projects added up -- cha ching!

 

We have the Story Of US dvd set that History Channel was giving away to educators a couple of years ago, so maybe I'll let ds watch the first couple of episodes of that and call it good :D I just can't get too worked up about History right now -- I've got to get this kid spelling ...

 

:seeya: :auto:

 

You've done an awesome job, and everything you've put into it has not been wasted. You just may not see the results immediately. :grouphug:

[EKS]

Sometimes my dyslexic son doesn't seem to remember things because what I think should be triggers for his memory aren't actually *his* triggers.

 

I bet there is more in his brain than there seems to be.

[TippyCanoe]

.

[PeterPan]

Sometimes my dyslexic son doesn't seem to remember things because what I think should be triggers for his memory aren't actually *his* triggers.

 

I bet there is more in his brain than there seems to be.

 

Yup, that's pretty much where it is for us. If I just teach stuff using materials we do together (books, etc. etc.), what sticks is the stuff that clicked with her brain or made her do mental rabbit trails. Might have NOTHING to do with what I would have picked for retention. If they don't get time to rabbit trail (self-driven exploration to make connections), then they don't even get that benefit. If they rabbit trail and retain bizarre things that weren't what you needed, you're still frustrated. Enter VP with it's heavy emphasis on drilling things that it considers foundational. You still get the narrative, etc. etc. but if it's worth memorizing, they drill it (in an engaging way, of course!). So now with VP my kid has the best of both worlds, that drill (which I initially blew off when I started using the materials myself) and the rabbit trails of self-driven reading for what SHE finds interesting and memorable. Not one or the other.

 

I have BJU, love it for a person like me, and I don't know if it will ever be salvageable for a learner like my dd. Earlier in the year she was saying she wants to use the BJU10 World History for fall. She did part of the BJU7 with dvds and LOVED it. The high school lectures on dvd are abominable for someone like her, so that's hopeless, ugh. Anyways, I'm going to be talking with her about it in the next couple weeks as we finalize our fall plans.

 

Shari, the MOH sequence might serve you well after VP is done. You could do 1-3 and kick that up to oblivion, no problem. It has built in review/drill that would keep the process going. You'd get that balance of spiraling review for the things that are really important and rabbit trail research for the things he finds interesting. And of course VP is working on a self-paced Omnibus. They're not saying when that will be ready. 1 or 2 years?

[parkah6]

Thanks for your willingess to share your struggles. For four years I knew my dd had some difficulty, as she could not spell, though she could read well, could not memorize math facts -- got them right one day, but forgot them the next -- and her handwriting was atrocious. I often couldn't read what she had written. She is 13 now, and we are starting to see improvements in some areas. She also tends to remember more when it comes in video or audio format, or it is something she really enjoys.