someone's gonna slam me for this but should I take a break with oldest to catch middle child up?

[lacell]

My oldest child is a boy and has ADHD. He has only now become ready for sit down type of work. He's almost 7. He writes cursive letters and his numbers well. My almost 5 yr old girl seems to be able as well, though her attention span for traditional work seems about 20 min shorter. We take frequent mini-trampoline breaks. I really like combining them for content. I feel like we could combine for more skills as well if I caught her up. She has the readiness (phonemic awareness, etc.) he didn't have at his age but I haven't spent much time teaching her how to write her letters or numbers, so I'm transcribing a lot for her and having her trace just some of my writing. She does know most of her letter sounds and blends easily. I guess I'm just wondering how much of a disservice I would be doing my son to take some of his tutor time on reading to help her with the writing and catch her up to his reading level (CVC words, simple silent E words, some consonant digraph words). Then we could do more group reading and spelling dictation lessons. He does seem to like doing the easier work with her because it makes him feel like the big brother who knows more :) But I worry that she will feel stupid by comparing himself to her. Has anyone done this? Do you regret it?

[prairiewindmomma]

Even if you caught her up, how could you ensure they are going to stay on the same level?

 

I would keep working with them individually.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I have three kids, each about a year and a half apart. Until recently, we did all content together and skill work at each child's level. She does not need to be caught up to him (ever) to cover the same content. You just assign work appropriate to each child. So now you might ask your 7yo to give you a narration and your 5yo could do a coloring page. Later he could write a paragraph and she could give you an oral narration.

 

How long are your days? Why would you need to stop work with him to do more work with her? The longer you do this, the more kids you add, the longer your day as teacher is going to get. I would work with each child on an individual level, just in shifts.

 

ETA: I missed the "almost." So she is 4? No, I would definitely not try to get her caught up to him at this point. She may get there in time, but she is very young for that kind of hard push and first grade expectations.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Alte Veste Academy

[lacell]

Meant to post on main board. Sorry. Will repost there. Thx for your help here though!

[lacell]

They are both doing cLe math 1. What really constitutes content? It seems like the early cLe lessons are outlay content- like memorization

[sbgrace]

I wouldn't. My kids are twins, and I've always done math, phonics/LA, and similar subjects one on one.

You really shouldn't be spending a lot of time at his age, and even less at hers.

 

You may find that switching between them is really nice for their short attention spans-you can spend whatever time he can handle without wandering off literally or mentally, then work with her while he gets a trampoline break. Then switch again.

 

If you do combine them, you have two risks. First, you may find your are holding back one or the other to keep them together. Second, she may pass him up and that's not going to feel great to him.

Edited January 27, 2016 by sbgrace

[Alte Veste Academy]

They are both doing cLe math 1. What really constitutes content? It seems like the early cLe lessons are outlay content- like memorization

 

Well, there is content in every subject, but ultimately math, reading, and writing are skill based. In the early years, content subjects like history, science, current events, etc. can be done so that each child listens to read-alouds and audio books together and reads supplementally at an individual level. 

 

One of the best things about homeschooling is teaching each child at his/her own level. Maybe they will always stay parallel, but then again you haven't hit long division or fraction conversion yet. You never know. :lol:

Edited January 27, 2016 by Alte Veste Academy