lovinmomma Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I'm exploring the possibility of bringing dd home earlier than I thought to homeschool. Very beginning stages of thinking through this. I'm not sure if it's even possible, but I want to see if it is. I don't feel like she's picking up much at school right now academically, so I honestly feel like **something** is better than nothing. I thought about doing K12 even though it isn't my style simply because a) it's free and finances are beyond tight b) It would be easy to pick up and start. However, when I thought about how many hours per day K12 takes from what I hear... I know I can cover a lot more in 3-4 hours with my own pieced together plan. I work nights. I have 4 children. So, what is the absolute bare minimum that would have to be covered with her to consider it successful (apart from unschooling)? History and Science- I was thinking I could allow dd to be more interest led in these subjects for the year. Library. Read every day. Possibly write/narrate/notebook what she read about. Most of this could be pretty independent aside from library trips. Maybe listen to SOTW here and there (although she couldn't stand it when she was younger- maybe it will go over better this time)? Language Arts- I need to go back and do some major remedial work in spelling with dd. I'm hoping to get dd in for a possible dyslexia diagnosis, so I'm thinking spelling and math (also a weak point) will be where I need to spend the bulk of my "teaching" time with dd. So, possibly SWR or AAS. I own SWR, so that would be an advantage. I'm not sure what grade FLL is for ? but maybe FLL and have writing just be entertwined with science and history? Math- The other "weak point". I need to go back and fill in gaps and build a solid foundation with dd. DD may possibly have dyslexia, but I don't know yet. She seems to need a more sprial approach. I'm wondering if maybe Saxon or MUS would be good for her with her struggles although I own MM. Ummm.... that's all I got. :) Ideas? Thoughts? What is the bare minimum if you're just trying to get your child **home**? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomandlorih Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 You might look at Studies Weekly for the History and Science. I found them last year when I was looking for a state history for my dd for this year's 4th grade. Not rigorous.. lol but your dd can read them herself and you can check a box. Usually less than $10 for the year (including shipping). And I did assign library books, etc for each weeks topic.. and took an extra week here and there to have dd research something a little farther if sje wanted to. https://www.studiesweekly.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I would not go so far as to say unschooled, but I would work immediately on life skills not academics. It sounds like your life season is a bit crowded right now. I would have her learn to keep either a schedule or a well written record of her studies. Learn to make her own lunches/snacks and keep her study space picked up at most times. Lastly, being able to do a solid hour of diligent independent reading from a school book (as opposed to a chosen independent read). These sorts of "self tending" characteristics mean that you can focus on helping her with academics during your busy time not worrying about distractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperstone Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 For the bare minimal, apart from Bible reading, it would be- LA- CLE or EIW Maths- CLE (highly recommended) History- SOTW Audio Science- dvds, and reading, own self led experiments Music- listening to classics Literature- audio books, read-a-louds Art and Craft- self led drawing, painting, card making, beading etc... Physical Education- any sport or activity that's physical. For us its cycling at the local road cycling club. That's what I'm comfortable with for my dc anyway. :-D I know a lady that all she concentrated on was LA and Maths until high school, and all her five children went on and had successful jobs and careers. So even just solid Maths and LA is good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 My youngest had issues with learning at this age. So I went to the bare minimum. We did math every day, sometimes it was just drill work for the four operations. If she was in a teachable mood we would try new things. I had her read something every day even if it was a comic book but she was required to read (it did help that she likes anime and was only allowed to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles this greatly helped her reading speed). She liked learning about animals so we worked our way through animals studies. For history, I'd just have her watch this or that documentary. For you, I'd probably just focus on the language arts and math. If you have a good library, you can find all sorts of things there that you can use for science and history. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Check out easypeasy http://allinonehomeschool.com/ This is really pretty good. You could let dd do this fairly independently, allowing you time to target her weak areas. Spelling: SWR is a very fussy program, but you do own it. Are you comfy tweaking? I've found with my dyslexic that he needs the spelling to get into sentence dictations, and things have to spiral review pretty tightly in order for anything to stick. I like Apples & Pears spelling, but it's a bit pricey. BUT - it's completely laid out, open and go, and it's the perfect mix of copywork/dictation/analyzing/visualization. Math: If you own the MM pdf, you can spiral it on your own. Assign 1/2 the problems on a page, and alternate topics, mixing computations in with other topics every day. (Ex. 1/2 page of multiplication, 1/2 page of geometry, and 1/2 page of fractions) OR, ....if you suspect dyslexia, she might have issues with filling out the worksheets moreso than the actual math. You can get a feel for that by doing a chunk of her math orally for a while and seeing if there is a discrepancy there. fwiw - I love Khan Academy, and that's what Easy Peasy uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticmomma Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 What state are you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 What is the bare minimum if you're just trying to get your child **home**? Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we've had a few times where we were in homeschool emergency mode and our bare minimum is: 1. Math 2. Writing - copy work/written narration/dictation (for that age group) 3. Independent reading We always beef things up as the situation gets better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 History and science - Reading every day from a variety of books sounds good to me. If reading is a struggle you might look at something like Aha! Science instead ($15/year). English - AAS is pricey. If secular is not a requirement, look at Rod and Staff's spelling, and back up a grade or two. The word lists are deceivingly easy; the meat of the program is in the daily exercises. FLL 4 (highest level) is completely mom dependent. She can't do any of it on her own. Rod and Staff's English can be independent or mom led if needed, and includes some writing lessons too. Math - MM and MUS are not spiral. If you already own MM I'd try to make it work anyway. If you really want to try a spiral, Horizons is a good option. Use the placement test though. To answer the question, bare minimum for that age in my house would be math, writing, spelling if needed, and reading something for literature, science, and history daily. I'd talk about grammar in their writing, and hope to get a language in there too. I have no experience with dyslexia however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyrical Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 My son was diagnosed with dyslexia between 4th and 5th grades. I became interested in dyslexia and did graduate level work with Susan Barton, who created the Barton system. I'd say definitely find a language arts program designed for those with dyslexia if you suspect it. It won't hurt; those programs will help any student, not just those with dyslexia. Good ones implementable by the home teacher will be AAS, Spaulding, Barton. For math, the major problem for dyslexics at that age is memorization ... they have a problem memorizing random info, so math facts and multi-step operations. This is very individual. Many dyslexic students may go on to memorize these things, many never do so, and getting hung up on forcing the kid to do so may just frustrate everyone. The standard accommodation is that a dyslexic student is allowed to use a calculator if they wish. Many dyslexic students go on to be better at advanced math than elementary math, due to their advanced spatial reasoning and visualization abilities. Unfortunately, this was not true for my son, who never really successfully got past Algebra 2 despite his advanced IQ. I know Susan Barton recommends Touch Math and Times Tales for math for dyslexic students, but I haven't tried them myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 For the bare minimum, I would focus on math, language arts, science, and history. I think Saxon math would be a good choice for math because once your DD gets the rhythm of Saxon, she can mostly work independently. I think your reading plan for science and history is fine; you can get a few science kits that interest her on Amazon and they have about 8-12 experiments each, and supplement with DVDs from the library on various topics. I've got no suggestions for LA because what worked for us is rather teacher/mom-intensive and pricey, but I would choose quality literature from the library if I were in your shoes and free online discussion guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I agree with everyone else that the bare minimum is reading something, writing some, and working on math skills. And that's fine for anyone to do for awhile, IMO, and sometimes it's necessary and helps you ease in or get through a tough time or tide you over or take a break without losing ground. But... I just want to throw out there that sometimes when families try to do that bare minimum, I think it doesn't go so great because you're usually not doing anything fun. School is not much, but all that it is is hard work. Sometimes content and projects and field trips and science experiments and so forth are the glue that keeps school working. So when you set up your year, just think about what's going to be appealing and fun too. It doesn't have to be a lot, but just take that into consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 You might look at Studies Weekly for the History and Science. I found them last year when I was looking for a state history for my dd for this year's 4th grade. Not rigorous.. lol but your dd can read them herself and you can check a box. Usually less than $10 for the year (including shipping). And I did assign library books, etc for each weeks topic.. and took an extra week here and there to have dd research something a little farther if sje wanted to. https://www.studiesweekly.com/ What a great idea! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 I would not go so far as to say unschooled, but I would work immediately on life skills not academics. It sounds like your life season is a bit crowded right now. I would have her learn to keep either a schedule or a well written record of her studies. Learn to make her own lunches/snacks and keep her study space picked up at most times. Lastly, being able to do a solid hour of diligent independent reading from a school book (as opposed to a chosen independent read). These sorts of "self tending" characteristics mean that you can focus on helping her with academics during your busy time not worrying about distractions. None of these are an issue, but thank you for the reminder to focus more on character. I'm thinking I should come up with a list. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 I know a lady that all she concentrated on was LA and Maths until high school, and all her five children went on and had successful jobs and careers. So even just solid Maths and LA is good enough. Glad to hear that! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 My youngest had issues with learning at this age. So I went to the bare minimum. We did math every day, sometimes it was just drill work for the four operations. If she was in a teachable mood we would try new things. I had her read something every day even if it was a comic book but she was required to read (it did help that she likes anime and was only allowed to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles this greatly helped her reading speed). She liked learning about animals so we worked our way through animals studies. For history, I'd just have her watch this or that documentary. For you, I'd probably just focus on the language arts and math. If you have a good library, you can find all sorts of things there that you can use for science and history. Good luck. Ooohhh... good ideas! I didn't even think about documentaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Check out easypeasy http://allinonehomeschool.com/ This is really pretty good. You could let dd do this fairly independently, allowing you time to target her weak areas. Spelling: SWR is a very fussy program, but you do own it. Are you comfy tweaking? I've found with my dyslexic that he needs the spelling to get into sentence dictations, and things have to spiral review pretty tightly in order for anything to stick. I like Apples & Pears spelling, but it's a bit pricey. BUT - it's completely laid out, open and go, and it's the perfect mix of copywork/dictation/analyzing/visualization. Math: If you own the MM pdf, you can spiral it on your own. Assign 1/2 the problems on a page, and alternate topics, mixing computations in with other topics every day. (Ex. 1/2 page of multiplication, 1/2 page of geometry, and 1/2 page of fractions) OR, ....if you suspect dyslexia, she might have issues with filling out the worksheets moreso than the actual math. You can get a feel for that by doing a chunk of her math orally for a while and seeing if there is a discrepancy there. fwiw - I love Khan Academy, and that's what Easy Peasy uses. Have you ever used allinone? Any reviews? Good thoughts on spiraling mm! I think that's what I will do. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we've had a few times where we were in homeschool emergency mode and our bare minimum is: 1. Math 2. Writing - copy work/written narration/dictation (for that age group) 3. Independent reading We always beef things up as the situation gets better. Yes, thank you. It sounds like it can be done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 History and science - Reading every day from a variety of books sounds good to me. If reading is a struggle you might look at something like Aha! Science instead ($15/year). English - AAS is pricey. If secular is not a requirement, look at Rod and Staff's spelling, and back up a grade or two. The word lists are deceivingly easy; the meat of the program is in the daily exercises. FLL 4 (highest level) is completely mom dependent. She can't do any of it on her own. Rod and Staff's English can be independent or mom led if needed, and includes some writing lessons too. Math - MM and MUS are not spiral. If you already own MM I'd try to make it work anyway. If you really want to try a spiral, Horizons is a good option. Use the placement test though. To answer the question, bare minimum for that age in my house would be math, writing, spelling if needed, and reading something for literature, science, and history daily. I'd talk about grammar in their writing, and hope to get a language in there too. I have no experience with dyslexia however. I've heard a lot of recommendations for R&S so I'll have to take a look at it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 My son was diagnosed with dyslexia between 4th and 5th grades. I became interested in dyslexia and did graduate level work with Susan Barton, who created the Barton system. I'd say definitely find a language arts program designed for those with dyslexia if you suspect it. It won't hurt; those programs will help any student, not just those with dyslexia. Good ones implementable by the home teacher will be AAS, Spaulding, Barton. For math, the major problem for dyslexics at that age is memorization ... they have a problem memorizing random info, so math facts and multi-step operations. This is very individual. Many dyslexic students may go on to memorize these things, many never do so, and getting hung up on forcing the kid to do so may just frustrate everyone. The standard accommodation is that a dyslexic student is allowed to use a calculator if they wish. Many dyslexic students go on to be better at advanced math than elementary math, due to their advanced spatial reasoning and visualization abilities. Unfortunately, this was not true for my son, who never really successfully got past Algebra 2 despite his advanced IQ. I know Susan Barton recommends Touch Math and Times Tales for math for dyslexic students, but I haven't tried them myself. Thank you so much for this post. I appreciate your advice. Would SWR not fall under the same category as Spalding or AAS? Would they work for both types of dyslexia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 If she is dyslexic, she may need more explicit writing instruction than just "write from history/science/etc". I know my daughter certainly does. I generally recommend IEW SWI, but if finances are tight, you may look at Classical Academic Press' new line of writing programs. We use Apples and Pears for spelling; I'm not familiar with AAS or SWR. I agree with a spiral math, but we hated Saxon. We much preferred CLE (and it's cheap!). Is she a visual learner or an auditory learner? My VSL dyslexic kiddo didn't do well at all with FLL (which I really think is best for an auditory learner, imo). A spiral or highly visual program would be best for a visual learner - MCT would be great, but if it's not possible, maybe something like Winston, or Hake. I think it's a fine idea to allow history and science to be interest led this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 For the bare minimum, I would focus on math, language arts, science, and history. I think Saxon math would be a good choice for math because once your DD gets the rhythm of Saxon, she can mostly work independently. I think your reading plan for science and history is fine; you can get a few science kits that interest her on Amazon and they have about 8-12 experiments each, and supplement with DVDs from the library on various topics. I've got no suggestions for LA because what worked for us is rather teacher/mom-intensive and pricey, but I would choose quality literature from the library if I were in your shoes and free online discussion guides.Saxon can be done independently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I'd start right away with de-schooling, letting her unwind a bit and not feel pressured. We school year round and our schedule is very flexible and laid back. I agree with the person that said CLE for math. It is a solid math program with lots of review. My daughter loves it. Instead of history in books you can do the videos and CD's in the car. We have listened to all the Story of the World CD's without doing the formal book work. There are lots of CD's on tons of subjects that are read by Jim Weiss, the same story teller from the SOTW CD's. My daughter loves to find things laying around to read. If I put a Studies Weekly on the coffee table, she will pick it up out of curiosity and start reading it. Before I know it she had read the entire thing. Daily Grams is a one page daily brush up on grammar. It takes less than 10 mins to do a page. Easy Grammar takes a bit longer but is also a good choice. We did both last year for 3rd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 I'd start right away with de-schooling, letting her unwind a bit and not feel pressured. We school year round and our schedule is very flexible and laid back. I agree with the person that said CLE for math. It is a solid math program with lots of review. My daughter loves it. Instead of history in books you can do the videos and CD's in the car. We have listened to all the Story of the World CD's without doing the formal book work. There are lots of CD's on tons of subjects that are read by Jim Weiss, the same story teller from the SOTW CD's. My daughter loves to find things laying around to read. If I put a Studies Weekly on the coffee table, she will pick it up out of curiosity and start reading it. Before I know it she had read the entire thing. Daily Grams is a one page daily brush up on grammar. It takes less than 10 mins to do a page. Easy Grammar takes a bit longer but is also a good choice. We did both last year for 3rd grade. Daily grams sounds like a great idea. I'll check that out. I had read years ago about someone that teaches grammar through writing. They used color coded pens or pencils. I sure wish I could find that webpage again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 One of our friends has been our Netflix (DVD in our case) account so that we can get a lot of documentaries, which is especially helpful with dyslexia. There are even some math DVDs that they have, as well as history, science, and literature that has been turned into movies. Our library has some things like that too. If you think she is dyslexic she may need things that fit dyslexia. I would not tend to go for AAS. MM tends to have crowded pages and be hard with dyslexia IME. MUS is easier in that regard, but it is not spiral at all. Before investing in anything, try your library and see if they have any math books you can try out or interlibrary loan. Also you might want to give Khan Academy a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 You might also want to post this on Learning Challenges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 please don't do k12. They do not addapt of slow down if your child is struggling at all. You are expected to do more than what they do in PS. If she's struggling and you do something on your own you can take her back to whatever grade needed. I moved my son down a year in math this year to make sure it was solid, I don't regreat it at all!! It's just a number, no point in being in algebra and being lost because you were pushed ahead in 2nd grade... Ambleside online has a great reading list, go to the library for the books. Orally go over them chapter by chapter. I would add in writing and grammar for sure at that age. Make your history revolved around what you are reading Science pick a few topics and go to the libarary. They also have experiment books usually, pick them out and go over the scientific method orally each time. My son has dyslexia and we do a lot of thing orally. If the writing is too much, have her go over copywork. Have her dictate to you and you write it for her to copy down, or buy a typing program. But I would at least make sure you save up to buy a math program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 My bare minimum is some kind of math, phonics if the child isn't yet reading fluently or spelling/writing if the child already reads fluently, and a ton of read alouds plus access to resources for child-directed learning. Then add more things as circumstances permit. But it would be a good idea to check your state-specific guidelines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 For inexpensive, spiral math I'd do CLE, for sure. You can always buy the light units as you go, at $3 each. For history and science, does your library have documentaries in the kids section? Mine had a lot of "eyewitness" ones that were great, and really sparked some interest in my kid. Add that to the books, and I think you are fine. For spelling/english/etc...again cheap might be CLE, but I don't know how well it would work with a dyslexic child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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