Amy_Fitz Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I have agreed to add my niece into our homeschool starting tomorrow, any advice to make the transition go smoothly? She is 12 and supposed to be in 7th but is very behind in math and somewhat behind in english and reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I'd start with just English, maths and PE, and let her join in/listen in to other things, or choose her own books to read. Tell her that you want to start slowly so that she gets used to home education, but that there will be more work over time. Take this time to see where any problems are with the basics. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I would let her have the morning to explore books and such, and then in the afternoon sit down together and create a list of expectations, a basic schedule outline, and show her how to keep track of her work (either using a daily planner book or something online like Skedtrack). That was the age where I gave my son a daily planning sheet, he chose the order and start times of each of his subjects, and I'd check them off. I would start in earnest on the second day, once everything is hashed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I'd start with just English, maths and PE, and let her join in/listen in to other things, or choose her own books to read. Tell her that you want to start slowly so that she gets used to home education, but that there will be more work over time. Take this time to see where any problems are with the basics. Agree with this 100%. Since you seem to be using MM with your other kids, I'd give her the placement test and look for holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy_Fitz Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 She placed in the same exact range mathmatically as my 8 year old, THANKFULLY I bought the entire MM Light Blue Series on CD so the plan is to give all the 3rd and 4th grade unit tests over the next week or two to see exactly where she is lacking. She claims to hate reading but I'm going to try her on some quality literature I enjoyed about that age and see where we can get her. We're starting with Bridge to Terabithia and The Giver. Free Reading wise I have a big basket of books for Willow already and am adding several books right about my nieces reading level. Grammar wise I have her starting Daily Language Review at a 6th grade level, trying to keep it short and not push too hard. She expressed an interest in French so I ordered French for Children for her. Grade wise we are keeping everything in the 6th grade range so she doesn't feel too far behind, mental health is a concern right now. Science we have a review book for just to keep her up until it all settles down, and History she'll be tagging along with Willow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 No suggestions here since I have never homeschooled any kids besides my own. Just wanted to wish you the best during this transition, hope it goes smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 She placed in the same exact range mathmatically as my 8 year old, THANKFULLY I bought the entire MM Light Blue Series on CD so the plan is to give all the 3rd and 4th grade unit tests over the next week or two to see exactly where she is lacking. She claims to hate reading but I'm going to try her on some quality literature I enjoyed about that age and see where we can get her. We're starting with Bridge to Terabithia and The Giver. Free Reading wise I have a big basket of books for Willow already and am adding several books right about my nieces reading level. Grammar wise I have her starting Daily Language Review at a 6th grade level, trying to keep it short and not push too hard. She expressed an interest in French so I ordered French for Children for her. Grade wise we are keeping everything in the 6th grade range so she doesn't feel too far behind, mental health is a concern right now. Science we have a review book for just to keep her up until it all settles down, and History she'll be tagging along with Willow. Good book choices - short but quality and with themes that are best for middle schoolers, even if the book is more 4th-5th reading level. Other books like that might include A Wrinkle in Time, Number the Stars, Inside Out and Back Again, A Year Down Yonder... But I would also be careful about giving too much assigned reading to a student who needs to find a love of books. Choosing your own books is the best way to do that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 She placed in the same exact range mathmatically as my 8 year old, THANKFULLY I bought the entire MM Light Blue Series on CD so the plan is to give all the 3rd and 4th grade unit tests over the next week or two to see exactly where she is lacking. Would it be possible for her to use another series (would the parents help with the cost) so that she is not doing the same books as your 8yo? That might be hard for an older child to take. If she were doing a different series then at least there wouldn't be direct comparison. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy_Fitz Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Good book choices - short but quality and with themes that are best for middle schoolers, even if the book is more 4th-5th reading level. Other books like that might include A Wrinkle in Time, Number the Stars, Inside Out and Back Again, A Year Down Yonder... But I would also be careful about giving too much assigned reading to a student who needs to find a love of books. Choosing your own books is the best way to do that. A Wrinkle in Time and Number the Stars are both on the list, we're going with MBTP units for most of her literature. I'm keeping her at one chapter of assigned reading each day and an hour where she can read anything. Right now we are breaking the hour into 3- 20 min chunks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy_Fitz Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 Would it be possible for her to use another series (would the parents help with the cost) so that she is not doing the same books as your 8yo? That might be hard for an older child to take. If she were doing a different series then at least there wouldn't be direct comparison. She is living with her great-grandparents right now, her family has recently gone through a large shake up so its a complicated situation. I don't think she realizes she is about the same level as Willow, and in the past two days with some review its looking like shes closer to a 5th grade level in math so that helps. She is doing well so far and is trying really hard so I think it will all go well. We are only 2 days in though so of course things could change. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 You can always bind the pages using a different colour cover. I don't print title ages etc and the footnote with the level is quite pale on mine or you may be able to not print it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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