Looking for 7th grade advice for a "Lost in Space" Child

[CaneKev]

I am a homeschool Dad that has been fortunate enough to stay very involved with my children as they homeschool, and this year I am noticing a significant lull in interest. My high schoolers were nice enough to inform me that they are more interested in textbook style curriculum, however my 6th grader has given me the impression that he has no interest in anything. This is my "lost in space" child that can take 2 - 3 hours to complete a math lesson as he stares out the window, at the floor, at anything other than his work. The other daily subjects are even more of a challenge. This is not a can't sit still child, but more of a can't concentrate child. Other than Science and Math (Apologia and Saxon) I am thinking that it is time to throw out everything and start new next year. I am looking for suggestions from everyone on what might be a good fit for a child that can easily sit through a 45 minute lecture on Baseball or watch a two hour documentary on penguins, but can't stay focused on reading a book or studying vocabulary words. I am open to anything, as long as I can keep my science and math.

 

Thanks to everyone in advance for suggestions.

[birchbark]

Do you think he is more of an audio learner, as opposed to a visual one?

[CaneKev]

Do you think he is more of an audio learner, as opposed to a visual one?

 

 

That is a good question - I believe that he is. He has listened to audio books, but can't seem to get through a physical book, and has enjoyed audio lectures while not moving through text books quickly. Basically, he is at a stage where he would rather be building legos, playing outside, or bathing in hot oil - anything to avoid school work. This is also the child that if told "You will sit there until you are done." will sit for hours.

 

When Trail Guide for Learning was released I tried to convince my wife that Unit Studies might be good for him, but she did not like the price. I am just hoping to find something that he will jump on. As an experiment, I am going to try allowing him to finish this year's World History (which he is woefully behind in) by listening to the High School World History from the Teaching Company.

 

We have had his pediatrician give an opinion, and she does not feel that he needs medication. If I had to really sum up his personality, it would be Tom Sawyer.

[birchbark]

Andrew Pudewa from IEW has a lecture called Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day. I've seen it frequently recommended, though I haven't heard it myself! (Although Andrew is going to be at our conference this weekend and I can finally hear it in person!)

 

You could also ask for recommendations on audio resources on the forums here.

[EmilyK]

This sounds a lot like my 10 year old who is currently homeschooling. I have him working directly with a beloved tutor on writing and then we are doing tons Of audiobooks and documentaries. He has an incredible retention for those things, and yet can dawdle over a worksheet forever. Right now we are absorbed in the Hakim history audio from audible, watching documentaries on the presidents and liberty' kids for fun, he is writing and illustrating a book on the presidents, etc. I'm having fun with him too.

[EmilyK]

I meant to add that my son is doing a lot of vision therapy and while we do that we are decreasing some of the pressure for him to read extensively. Especially since we now realize how physically hard it has been for him. But he absorbs a ton through audio.

[lauracolumbus]

My dd who is in 7th grade started to become like this at the end of 6th grade. She was very diligent before. Part of me thinks it's only natural. Would I want to sit at a desk all day working when I know my Legos are in the other room? I would try to make learning as engaging as possible with lots of hands on opportunities as well as dvds, audiobooks etc. We start our day with an educational dvd and that helps us transition into our work day. BTW, Apologia and Saxon are two of the most difficult texts to plod through. And Saxon ends up taking a very long time as the level goes up.

 

I also read somewhere that Maria Montessori didn't think kids should be in school during the junior high years b/c of their hormones. She thought it was better that they spend that time burning energy working on the farm.

 

Laura

[Alira]

Is there a specific reason that you want to stick with Saxon? I know the lessons would be too long and repetitive for my "space cadet". Switching to something less time-consuming for math might make his days a little more manageable overall.

 

Is there a certain time of day that he seems to be able to get the most done? With my 11yo, who can only sit at a table and focus on schoolwork for a couple hours, we have to prioritize. Math, writing, grammar and sometimes Latin get polished off in his focus window. Everything else is done in small chunks throughout the day, or through videos, activities, experiments, etc. Online lectures, Teaching Company and Intellego have been great, and I'm looking at Ellen McHenry's science programs for next year.

[CaneKev]

I also read somewhere that Maria Montessori didn't think kids should be in school during the junior high years b/c of their hormones. She thought it was better that they spend that time burning energy working on the farm.

 

Laura

That is great - we are moving onto 5 acres next month.

 

Actually, he seeems to be getting his math done in a reasonable amount of time now. I have introduced him to Khan Academy, so I think that helps. I am liking the advice that I am getting - I happen to have a great library system, so I can get to a lot of videos and audio lectures/books. I will look to integrate more of that going forward. Has anyone had a positive experience with unit study type programs for Tom Sawyers? If so, what programs?

[Alte Veste Academy]

Andrew Pudewa from IEW has a lecture called Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day. I've seen it frequently recommended, though I haven't heard it myself! (Although Andrew is going to be at our conference this weekend and I can finally hear it in person!)

 

You could also ask for recommendations on audio resources on the forums here.

 

This talk is free at Circe. http://www.circeinstitute.org/audio Rocked my world when justamouse posted this link last year. Pudewa knows boys! IEW has been great for aligning writing with interests.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

My youngest son is exactly like your son. Stares into space. Takes hours to do math (not because it is hard, just cannot stay focused from one problem to the next). No medical problems or diet problems, just a boy who is lost in his own world and will come out every now and then to do a math problem, then pop back to his happy place. Wants to read and build Lego's, work on his model weapons (he makes replicas of guns and other things), and fence.

 

Here are the things I have done that have shown significant changes in how my son finishes his work, maybe you can get some ideas to use.Sometimes I had to think outside the box.

I know you said you want to keep saxon math but I wanted to keep BJU math and did for years while son spent hours on math. Last year I finally caved and switched to Teaching Textbooks and Math is done quickly and with no constant, "Did you finish Math yet?" from me. He stays focused and gets it done.

 

Another switch that has been for the better was dropping textbooks for history and switching to Mystery of History, it is more of a research based curriculum. You read a page or two about the history subject, then go online and research something MOH suggest, usually related to the topic you read about. I don't know what other curriculum is out there like this but It was definitely a very positive approach to studying history for my ds. We added in documentaries and books associated with the time period that I wanted him to read (most of which you can get in audio format.

What if you try a different approach to English subjects....One year Adventure Novel, Movies as Literature, Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings...are not the typical grammar/writing curriculum you find with English. My son is going into 11th and I feel he has had all the English he actual needs for now so he is applying what he knows: working on writing a book, blogging, letter writing to statesmen, technical writing for science, and other things. All these require grammar and writing skills. On his book he will be applying literary techniques he learned about. We dropped the curriculum. Sometimes it is okay to drop the actual curriculum and start applying what they know. Does your son like to write in any form or fashion...it could be anything from keeping a blog to writing comics. Take what he likes and let him run with it. Or drop formal English for the year and use his writings in the other subjects as teaching moments...."Oh, you did not put a comma here in this sentence, a comma goes here because...", "Hmmm, you have good content in this paragraph on the Washington but maybe the order needs some work or clarify this sentence with a little more info.." Work on vocabulary in fun ways, crossword puzzles, word finds (the ones that have lists of certain subject matter) and keep a notebook of all the words he does not know that he comes across and look them up (you can use this list as spelling list or for writing original sentences), get a word a day calendar and everyone tries to use the word in regular conversation through out the day (this was a fun year we had with this one).

 

Does he like nature, have him keep a nature journal or photo journal.

 

Science, my son loved it as a child but then once it got textbooky he hates it. We have tried BJU, Apologia (he likes this one, but it still is a textbooky type science). This coming year he will use ACE Paces for Chemistry and read about chemists (watch lots of documentaries too). For a 7th grader I would make a compromise, do the Apologia book but also offer him hands on equipment to study science at his leisure...a microscope and field scope, telescope, and chemistry set are things that can inspire a love of science when there is no school work associated with them. He just has to keep a science notebook of what he does and sees. This takes the science out of the books and makes it more fun without it being a lesson.

 

Sigh, when all else fails I have resorted to using a timer. One that he can see so he can regulate his time. He has x number of minutes to work on history and then it gets put away for his own time later if it is not completed. Seeing the actual time helped. It was not a perfect fix but it did help him see the wasted time and he started getting better, less left over because it was cutting into his after school time. He also saw how fast he could work when trying to beat the clock, liked the extra time in the day once all the work was completed too.

 

Have you looked into Charlotte Mason? Maybe this is a method he might like.

 

Good luck. it is hard when you have a day dreamer. I am still trying to find the perfect way to get my dreamer motivated to focus. What I mentioned above helped. I did find one big key to getting him to work faster was to find his strengths and gear his work to that. Sometimes it was how can I make this work in academia and then think way outside the box. Another idea, ask him. I incorporated my ds in trying to figure out what will motivate him.

[CaneKev]

My youngest son is exactly like your son. Stares into space. Takes hours to do math ...

 

Thank you so much. I knew that I would get some good ideas here. I wonder sometimes if he is simply looking for a little bit more mature reading. He has similar interests to his older brother and seem to be less inclined to want to read/watch/listen to things that are more geared towards his own age.

 

We are also looking to implement a daily planner rather than the quarterly subject ones - I think that he needs to have his day laid out on one page instead of multiple locations.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Thank you so much. I knew that I would get some good ideas here. I wonder sometimes if he is simply looking for a little bit more mature reading. He has similar interests to his older brother and seem to be less inclined to want to read/watch/listen to things that are more geared towards his own age.

 

We are also looking to implement a daily planner rather than the quarterly subject ones - I think that he needs to have his day laid out on one page instead of multiple locations.

Good idea. My space child gets a daily schedule.

 

What kind of more mature reading? By 7th grade I allow free reading with the exception of books with adult s*x themes and heavy occult topics. They are ready to explore but at age or even below is too censored or written down to the child which makes the content boring even for subjects they are interested in. I would try it...if it is too mature he will either ask questions or try and seek answers himself, or drop it all together (and then you know it was not time).

 

You mentioned Unit Studies. I don't know of any specific curriculum like this but it is a good idea. Let him choose a topic and together make out a course of study for it...start out with just a few weeks dedicated to it. Require writing of some sort, even if it is a journal of what is being studied. He might explore topics you did not know he was interested in. For me the act of learning even if it is something not traditionally in a textbook is still learning.

[Lily_Grace]

Has anyone had a positive experience with unit study type programs for Tom Sawyers? If so, what programs?

 

 

We have, but each one we've tried has had its own strengths. My son loved the Intellego units. I could buy them one at a time and they incorporated every learning style:

Visual and Auditory, with video links to watch and articles to read.

Hands on, with projects scattered in as well as a few online games/projects.

Along with a smaller chunk of written work to complete the lesson each day.

 

We both liked Moving Beyond The Page, with the ability to customize the daily work to him. Each worksheet had two levels and there were plenty of hands on projects and open-ended creativity. Cons - expensive, and I had to copy a lot. We ended up rewriting the comprehension questions and had him practice his typing rather than copying that page, too.

 

And now we're doing Learning Adventures, which comes in a full year, 10 unit chronological study. It's fun, there are enough crafts and making sure there is parent interaction but it's a little light on history and science, preferring lectures and letting the kid read books on the topic for quite a bit. We beef it up some to match it up to a 14yo's needs because it sits around a 6th grade level. On the upside, no printing/copying for me to do each day!

 

6th and 7th grade were space cadet years here. The more I stayed on top of him and gave him the attention of a 3yo, the better he did. The more I expected him to do something by himself, the worse. 8th has been so much better - still working on a few issues, but nowhere near as bad as the previous two years!

[CaneKev]

What kind of more mature reading?

 

Sorry, I was not referring to Fifty Shades trilogy. I meant older, more challenging reading. Not necessarily heavy on the vocabulary side, but a little more serious story line.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Sorry, I was not referring to Fifty Shades trilogy. I meant older, more challenging reading. Not necessarily heavy on the vocabulary side, but a little more serious story line.

 

:laugh:

Never even crossed my mind. But older books with mature themes could mean there are adult situations in them that are of the s*x nature even amid war and other serious story themes. (I found out the hard way when I gave, what I thought was considered a new classic to my oldest son, and found out there was a lengthy, descriptive scene in it :huh: )