starting in 4th grade • advice • need help!!!

[nicholecherry]

Hello, I'm sure this has been asked a million times and I am looking through forums to find answers and listening to WTM audiobook to attempt to get answers without bugging you all BUT•••••I'm not having luck and getting anxious.

 

So this is my first year homeschooling my 4th grade 9 year old boy....I have been VERY lax thus far however, I believe we need a little more structure.... I am wondering how to begin the initial grades 1-4 and try to "catch up" as it seems as if 5th grade is a new "section/stage".... where do I start??? This is what we do so far ••

Math • Teaching Textbooks 4

History • The Mystery of History volume 1

Science • Apologia - Astronomy

English • Shurley English ~ not a fan

Reading • whatever I can get him to read

*** He hates reading and writing

 

So far he is not REALLY enthused about anything we are doing....His only "passion" is sports (hockey) only does the bare necessities for school work....

 

I am getting so frustrated :•(

[Farrar]

Looking at that line up, I wouldn't say you've been super lax. You've been covering all your subjects, even content subjects. Many of us also do something light for logic - usually just a workbook and TT is a pretty light math program, at least if you're using it on grade level. But otherwise it looks pretty structured.

 

Is it possible he needs more challenge? Or is he in over his head with your choices and it's harder than you realize? Did you take some time to deschool or just jump right in?

 

You say he hates reading and writing, but how is his reading and writing? What's he reading? What's his writing like? 

 

To me, content subjects should be the fun part of school - it's often the stuff that keeps things moving and enjoyable. I guess if Apologia and MOH aren't working for him, I would think about other possibilities, maybe seeing what he wants to study, at least for a first year. It's all very well to embark on doing a history cycle - and ancient history is really fun usually, both for little kids and for middle schoolers - but if he's not digging it, then don't be married to it just because it was in WTM. I think it's more important to see the benefits of homeschooling - one of which is tailoring an education to your child - than to get stuck on one method. And that's true across the board.

 

In general, I would look for ways to add fun extras... maybe some programming time if he's into computers, maybe something like Minecraft Homeschool if he's into Minecraft, maybe some fun logic or math games, maybe a field trip day or a documentary day...

[desertflower]

I agree with pp. Perhaps a more kinesthetic curriculum? Rightstart math? Have him look at it and see if that would be more appealing for him?

 

For english, how about Mct? I haven't used it yet, but I think it has a storyline tl it.

[nicholecherry]

Thank you so much for your responses!!!

So since he is in the 4th grade and we haven't been doing the "classical" approach to schooling, where should I start? Like, we should be finishing up the Grammar stage this year right,??? Math with the basic math facts. History with Ancient times (how do I get through all that in 1 year) ...and so on

Do I try t ok complete everything in the year or extend it a little......logic stage should start at 5th grade right????

[kiwik]

Don't get too hung up on stages. They are only approximate like every other milestone.

[nicholecherry]

I will check out your day...that will help me..... I am waiting for the library copy to become avail, but it's taking too long so I'm going to by one right now :) and maybe some phonics workbooks....

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree with others, maybe a detox period and some fun, hands-on learning experiences, with lots of discussion and interest led topics for a bit might help.  Maybe take his hockey passion and spin off some writing/reading/history/math even possibly science from that topic.  Maybe have him dictate his writing assignments for a bit, then you and he together go through and polish them.  Model good writing habits for him with your own writing perhaps.

 

Also, as someone else mentioned, if he hates reading and writing is it possible he has an un-diagnosed learning challenge?  Could he be a stealth dyslexic?  When he reads out loud is he fluent?  How well does he decode?  Is spelling hard for him?  When he writes, is the physical act itself draining?

 

Just in case there is the possibility of a learning challenge, you might consider reading The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide to see if anything in there sounds familiar.  There could be a whole host of things that are tripping him up that could be addressed if you knew where to look.

 

FWIW, both of my kids are dyslexic but one made it to 5th grade without a diagnosis and the other to 2nd.  They were good students, but they were working 10 times harder to go half as far as their peers so every day was a struggle.  I ended up having to reteach a lot of the material at home so they could keep up.  We didn't understand why.  It made learning a huge ugly chore that my DD especially hated....until we got the diagnosis and after some trial and error found a MUCH better way to teach her.  She likes reading AND writing now.

 

Besides the book I recommended, you might look here, too, for some free info just to see if it seems similar to what you are seeing:

http://www.bartonreading.com/dys.html

 

If you have questions regarding reading and writing struggles in particular you might post on the Learning Challenges board.  Lots of parents over there with kids that hate reading/writing or struggle in those areas or both.

 

Good luck and best wishes!  :)

[Farrar]

Thank you so much for your responses!!!

So since he is in the 4th grade and we haven't been doing the "classical" approach to schooling, where should I start? Like, we should be finishing up the Grammar stage this year right,??? Math with the basic math facts. History with Ancient times (how do I get through all that in 1 year) ...and so on

Do I try t ok complete everything in the year or extend it a little......logic stage should start at 5th grade right????

 

Agreed with others not to get too hung up on the stages. And while reading WTM should really help you start on a classical path, it's also a book full of details - curricula, books, time tables, etc. Try to breeze through that stuff and take the big picture away on your first pass. Classical can mean a lot of things (and has often been argued on this board what exactly it is!) but it's not something you need to get absolutely right at every moment. Nothing in homeschooling is. Give yourself some time.

 

Please try to deschool a little. Deschooling doesn't mean doing nothing (though it can - it's good to take some time) but it does mean not trying to dive in with tons of curricula. Try to go on field trips and try science kits and watch documentaries and do poetry teas. I like the idea of trying to use his hockey interests. Maybe he'd like to read the sports pages or try his hand at sports writing.

[ErinE]

I will check out your day...that will help me..... I am waiting for the library copy to become avail, but it's taking too long so I'm going to by one right now :) and maybe some phonics workbooks....

I also highly recommend documentaries for science. The year I started homeschooling, science was whatever national geographic, BBC, or PBS documentaries I could find in the library's system. I may have even used Dirty Jobs and MythBusters. No curriculum, no spine, no textbooks. I borrowed library books, but primarily used DVDs. The woman who tested my children that year said they had great scientific knowledge. She asked what program I used, and I had to confess my secret.

 

Ds12 has a science textbook now, but he still watches and learns from the documentaries.

[Storygirl]

In addition to what others have said, I'd just add that you shouldn't feel like you have to fall in line with what anyone else says you should do for school. That's the beauty of homeschooling. Do what is right for your child at this time, and it will all be okay. You'll figure out what works and what you need to change in the future. There is no magical formula that works for everyone. So gather wisdom from TWTM and other sources, including this board, and then forge your own way.

 

My own journey through homeschooling has led me a bit away from a classical approach, because it is not the way that my children learn the best. DD12, for example, is seventh grade, but is still not developmentally at the logic stage. She is a black-and-white thinker who has less ability to use reason or logic to dig deeper. She is a grammar stage whiz and can memorize anything in a flash, but she then has trouble applying what she knows when asked to really think about something. Sure, it can be frustrating that she isn't where I want her to be, but really, it's okay. She is where she is supposed to be academically. And I have similar things I could say about each of my other children. Classical homeschooling may be right for your son, or you might find that he thrives with a different approach. Just search for what works for him.

[MamaTX5]

I have a 4th grader, 9 year old boy, and I feel like I have just now learned how he learns. He is a list checker and likes to know what is going on next so he can get it done. He does not really like reading or writing either. I still love Classical education, but for him we do a mixture of Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Unit Studies. We are doing MOH, but I read his reading each day, he narrates to me (WWE style) for the Memory Cards, we have one Activity Day a week, and the final Quiz day. I choose Read Alouds based on what we are studying in history, but his reading time is spent on whatever he is interested in. I am also open that if we are studying something in history he is interested in, then we can go off on 'rabbit trails' learning more on that subject. I am not hung up on having to finish the first book in one year. We will go through it again in 8th or 9th grade. I also let him choose what he wants to do for Science. He is taking a co-op Physics class, but also wants to learn more about animals, so we are adding on Biology too. For English, we are doing a mixture of BJU, CAP Fables, and R&S 4. He surprises me with what he accomplishes sometimes. I thought he was way behind on his writing, but today he was asked to come up with 4 ideas for a personal narrative. Instead, he wrote his own! We will continue to revise/refine it, but it was the first time he wrote more than a sentence! I am finally realizing that an involved/interested student is more important and will learn more than me making sure we have the perfect curriculum or meet all of someone else's ideals.

[idnib]

Don't try to go whole hog and change everything. Pick one topic that's not going well and ask for specific recommendations on the board for that topic. Explain what's not working well. If you want a classical education, note that when you ask for curricula recommendations.

 

Focus on reading writing, and arithmetic. Don't worry about content subjects such as history or science and set them aside until you have found the right programs for the basics. Get some ideas, research curricula, and start something new on only that one topic. After 3-4 weeks, change the next subject to something that works better for you.

 

And as others have said, just start where you are. Don't try to make up years of missed history in order or whatever. Or science. For math it is important to go in order.

 

[nicholecherry]

These answers are all so helpful. Thank you all so much for taking the time to help me!!! I appreciate each and every one of you!!!

[KSinNS]

I agree with everybody else, but it might be worth, while you are thinking, looking at the BraveWriter materials for your son for Language Arts. It takes a while to implement, but you can do it slowly, over time. Her materials are easy to adjust to wherever he is. 

[nicholecherry]

ðŸ‘

[BusyMom5]

I have a 4th grader I just pulled from PS.  We are starting in Ancients this year, and will continue the cycle thru, but put in as much or as little as she can handle.  I do think SOTW 1 would be enough, but you can add History Pockets for grade 4-6 if you want a little more, and there are lots of book lists if you want to add in some extra books.  I am actually using History Odyssey Level 2, b/c I have a 6th grader, too.  I think history is going great, and I am not worried about getting all the way thru all the levels, just one level per year.  For LA, I got FLL/WWE 3.  My kids have not ever had dictation, and I felt like the 4th book would just be entirely too much.  Since we sent them to PS, some of the things lower elementary kids learn, like narration, dictation and summaries, are all skills that my kids don't have down as well as the curriculum seems to expect.  I have to repeat the dictation exercises LOTS Of times, and we are going thru them slowly.  I can see improvement!  I wonder what it would be like if they had started w/ FLL1 and worked their way thru.  We are also using CAP b/c I like the writing style and it's fun.  It has dictation, too, and we always use the easier one, even w/ a 6th grader.  The same can be said of the math, we are working on getting all of our facts down, using Saxon math.  My goal for the year is for her to be fluent in all operations, without counting or stopping to think.  It's a lofty goal ;)  Since we have just pulled our kids from PS, we just have to meet them where they are, and work on improvement. 

[ElizabethB]

I would assess his reading grade level and reading skills, it makes everything else easier if you can read well.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html

 

If he is not reading at least at 5th grade level, I would work through either the things on my how to tutor page or my well taught phonics page, it depends on how he was taught to read and his scores on the MWIA a which page would be a better fit.