Wanna play? Design a curriculum for my 8th grader

[kwickles]

So here's some history. She's not self motivated. She's a raging introvert who requires a lot of "downtime" consisting of watching Netflix, listening to audio books, playing with her cats or dog. Her great (and fairly new) love is horse riding. She rides three times a week and volunteers at the barn every time she has the chance. She is a farm girl at heart. She adores nature.

 

Her education history is this:

Homeschooled from K-3rd

Awesome public school experience for 4th grade

Homeschool 5th grade

Public school 6th & 7th grades with lots of accommodations for her anxiety and sensory issues

 

She is quite smart but very easily overwhelmed. She made A's and B's in school but the amount of crazy input from other kids and teachers was literally destroying her mental health and she had to be treated at the hospital for how anxious school was making her. So I suspect we are going to be homeschooling for the duration now. I want her to get a well rounded education without drowning her. Her spelling is abysmal and she has a hard time writing much more than a half a page because she gets so overwhelmed. She does love Latin though but I have no idea where to put her or what to use. She did Latin in 5th grade at home and then was taking Latin 1 for high school credit this year and loving it. She's learned more about grammar from Latin than anything else. So I want to do Latin for her somehow. She also adores science.

 

Reading is hard for her but she will read anything if she can listen to the audiobook while she reads along with it. Which could be a problem in the long run. She doesn't have language issues - she's been tested several times. Rather I think it's her sensory input struggles.

 

I'm not sure this girl is college bound and I'm okay with that. She's just not that motivated. I suspect she will end up training horses or small scale farming. But I want her to have the option.

 

So well trained mind as is at the 8th grade level is too intense and I have no idea what to do with her. All I've got so far is a leaning toward Saxon math that I'll use the pretest to place her with.

 

Anyone wanna have a go at designing a curriculum for my amazing, doesn't-fit-the-mold girl? Cause I'm kind of overwhelmed and lost.

 

Thanks for any help anyone has for me!

[OneStepAtATime]

I have some ideas but on my phone so will wait till I have my laptop.

 

Wanted to ask though what evals and through whom? Cause it sounds like more than sensory issues to me. And possibly you are dealing with 2e meaning a twice exceptional child. Bright with learning challenges.

[kwickles]

YAY for ideas! She's had so many. OT evals - three of them - all showing sensory processing disorder. She struggles with overstimulation of any kind be it hot, cold, loud, whatever. She's also been evaluated by counselor/psychiatry - she has an anxiety disorder which isn't surprising since it runs in my family. The theories are that the sensory and anxiety kind of feed off each other. She's also had several speech and language evals to check her for issues comprehending, processing, and expressing. When the evaluator/therapist is calm and low key they find nothing wrong but say she's gifted in language etc. With evaluators who aren't so focused on making her comfortable she still tests that there is nothing wrong but the quality of what she is doing is way lower.

[OneStepAtATime]

Any evaluations through a neuropsychologist?

[kwickles]

Yes. In 6th grade when she really started struggling. Nothing. I've thought about finding another one. But all the professionals seem in agreement about what's going on.

[RootAnn]

What did the school use for Latin 1?

[kwickles]

What did the school use for Latin 1?

 

I have no idea. I tried to find out and was told it was a collection of worksheets. Not super helpful

[Another Lynn]

Any real hits or misses curriculum-wise from homeschooling her in 5th grade?  

[Ellie]

Spalding, to address her spelling issues; it may help with her writing and reading, as well. IOW, Spalding would be your whole English/literacy course in one fell swoop.

 

Perhaps you could read aloud to her from Story of the World for history. Or she could listen to the audio, and you could read good books for literature.

 

Saxon for math.

[RootAnn]

How about Apples & Pears for spelling. (Placement tests) - I'm assuming here that you've used something more O-Gish in the early years and that didn't work. If I'm wrong, Spalding might be a better option.

 

I really want to suggest Treasured Conversations for writing, but as written, it is way too young for an 8th grader. You want something to help her work on her writing stamina (copywork?) and composing good paragraphs, assuming that's where she is in her writing journey.

 

I'd keep her listening to audio books - adding in the books you want to cover & discuss along with letting her pick ones she wants to listen to. 1:1 ratio or 1 of yours to 2 of hers, depending on how long they are.

 

What did you use for Latin in 5th?

 

Does she like the hands-on aspect of science or a certain type of science?

[OneStepAtATime]

How well does she read out loud?  Does she skip the little words?  Have trouble with fluency/decoding?

[2_girls_mommy]

She sounds similar to my dyslexic 8th grader. We stick to a modified WTM for her. We haven't started logic. We may do it as a semester elective at some point. But we may not. 

 

We stick to the WTM history rotations. We like Rod and STaff for English and Math. I just modify them. She does the R&S at lower than grade levels. We don't do English every day, as latin gives a lot of grammar. We don't do all of the writing for WTM history. She does an outline about once a month instead of weekly to keep up the skill. But she also does the writing exercises from R&S and does a paper of some sort a month for history. We do science with a co-op, so she does textbook work there and reading, but it is a class that is using a 6th and 7th grade textbook. The lower levels are good for her reading levels. 

 

History is a lot of art and read alouds. Her literature is a lot of read alouds, projects, and discussions. It takes her a long time to finish a novel. So she gets maybe one a semester done on top of the bits of reading i require daily. (with her Thinking Tree journal mornings, she will be assigned to read 15 minutes at a time from 4 different books. I will assign 15 minutes from an additional novel or poetry book or whatever I want, 15 minutes from a supplementary science book, 15 minutes from the Children's Bible, and then do 15 minutes from a supplementary read aloud. So she does a lot of reading in small bits, which works better for her than long times at one novel. I make her practice reading aloud several times a week, even if just from the English textbook or Bible during family time. She needs the practice and doesn't like it. 

 

for yours, I would probably do First Form Latin and go forward. There are also the Memoria Press guides for Henle I that you could go with, but the Form series is still better done. 

 

[Lori D.]

As you work on ironing out the Reading/LA concerns, perhaps go with gentler materials for Literature, History, and Science? And go for a high interest topic to reduce stress?

You mentioned horse training as a possible future career for DD. How about the Beautiful Feet History of the Horse unit for your Literature, and the Winter Promise Equine Science for your Science?

BEST of luck in finding what works best for DD! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Lori D.

[OrganicJen]

I would look at Build Your Library.  I find that it is really easy to make either less or more demanding very easily depending on what one needs.  There is plenty of reading that she could do with audiobooks if she wanted.  Plus, you mentioned she loves science and the 8th level of BYL is the history of science.  

Edited December 27, 2017 by OrganicJen

[2_girls_mommy]

We love the Thinking Tree Journals. There is a All About Horses Homeschooling Journal that they have where you all could record your studies from library books and online videos that my dd would love if we were doing a year of horses. 

[homemommy83]

I really think Lori Ds advice is spot on for elective studies.  Below is what I would do for LA and Math.

 

Mathematics:

If money is easier than time or you are not strong in math- Teaching Textbooks (test to find proper placement)

If time is easier than money, and you understand math well- find any program text that fits her learning style

spiral/incremental-SAXON or Mastery- BJU or AOPS for whatever level she test in.

 

Language Arts:

I like TGatB for spelling (it teaches rules, patterns, and has a focus list of the most common words in the English Language).  I also love Rod and Staff Spelling for word building/ Vocabulary in the older grades.

 

 

 

The Good and the Beautiful encompasses Spelling, English, Writing, Vocabulary, Reading, Poetry, Geography, and Art Appreciation into a single very affordable program.  I think the heavier focus at the level 6/7 is Grammar/ Writing.  I feel it teaches writing essays in a very gentle way, and has helped my son begin writing them well.  It is gentle enough that you could pick a strand of LA that she needs more practice on, and work on it in addition to this program.

 

Hope that you have a great new year,

 

Brenda

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2017 by homemommy83

[kwickles]

Any real hits or misses curriculum-wise from homeschooling her in 5th grade?  

 

Good question. She loved Memoria Press Latin. Also Memoria Press Science. She despised copywork.

[kwickles]

How about Apples & Pears for spelling. (Placement tests) - I'm assuming here that you've used something more O-Gish in the early years and that didn't work. If I'm wrong, Spalding might be a better option.

 

I really want to suggest Treasured Conversations for writing, but as written, it is way too young for an 8th grader. You want something to help her work on her writing stamina (copywork?) and composing good paragraphs, assuming that's where she is in her writing journey.

 

I'd keep her listening to audio books - adding in the books you want to cover & discuss along with letting her pick ones she wants to listen to. 1:1 ratio or 1 of yours to 2 of hers, depending on how long they are.

 

What did you use for Latin in 5th?

 

Does she like the hands-on aspect of science or a certain type of science?

 

We used Memoria Press Latin in 5th. And she loves all science hands on or not. In her early years we used AAS for spelling. She was so resistant in 5th grade that I tried a "pick 10 words" approach and it failed miserably.

[kwickles]

How well does she read out loud?  Does she skip the little words?  Have trouble with fluency/decoding?

 

Nope. All of that is fine. It's just amount/volume that intimidates her.

[kwickles]

As you work on ironing out the Reading/LA concerns, perhaps go with gentler materials for Literature, History, and Science? And go for a high interest topic to reduce stress?

 

You mentioned horse training as a possible future career for DD. How about the Beautiful Feet History of the Horse unit for your Literature, and the Winter Promise Equine Science for your Science?

 

BEST of luck in finding what works best for DD! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

I LOVE the equine science idea. Perhaps I could use some kind of study of the Lord of the Rings books to help with LA. She adores those. In fact right now she's busy teaching herself (with laminated flashcards no less) how to speak Elvish. Anyone know of any good book studies on LotR that might help with some of our LA issues?

[Lori D.]

On 12/27/2017 at 8:30 PM, kwickles said:

I LOVE the equine science idea. Perhaps I could use some kind of study of the Lord of the Rings books to help with LA. She adores those. In fact right now she's busy teaching herself (with laminated flashcards no less) how to speak Elvish. Anyone know of any good book studies on LotR that might help with some of our LA issues?

 

Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings is a very gentle introduction to literary analysis/formal literature study on the trilogy. It is a year-long study geared for grades 7-12, with 12 additional units of terrific material on related literature topics. We skipped the fill-in-the-blank comprehension questions and vocabulary worksheets, and enjoyed the "meat" of the program -- the chapter notes with literary analysis info and background info, and the 12 units.

table of contents
samples
teaching resources
student resources

Audiobooks:
The only UNABRIDGED version I'm seeing is read by Rob Inglis:  Fellowship of the Ring; Two Towers; Return of the King. For doing a literature study, you will want to AVOID the dramatized versions (which are all abridged -- in other words, incomplete/shortened versions).

Tons of go-along ideas in this past thread:
"xpost: Any serious Tolkien fans: a question...."

Hands-on ideas:
- be inspired by Tolkien's own artwork: Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator (by Hammond)
- try Tolkien calligraphy: Tengwar Calligraphy
- create your own map (or atlas with a series of maps) and/or timeline (see Middle Earth maps at Encyclopedia of Arda; 3 Ri.ngs; Lord of the Rings Project; Timeline of the One Ring)
- walk and talk about LotR with the Walk to Rivendell Challenge
- create your own miniature hobbit hole -- Instructables how-to
- see how Medieval illustrated manuscripts were made 
- make foods from Middle Earth Recipes

FREE lit. guides (discussion questions) from Houghton-Mifflin:
- The Hobbit Educator's Guide; lesson plans
- Fellowship of the Ring - discussion prompts
- The Two Towers - discussion prompts
- Return of the King - discussion prompts

FREE audio lectures about Lord of the Rings from Mythgard:
- Fellowship of the Ring (6 lectures; each approx. 90 minutes long)
- The Two Towers (10 lectures; each approx. 90 minutes long)
- The Return of the King (9 lectures; each approx. 90 minutes long)

Edited June 24, 2019 by Lori D.

[kwickles]

Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings is a very gentle introduction to literary analysis/formal literature study on the trilogy. It is a year-long study geared for grades 7-12, with 12 additional units of terrific material on related literature topics. We skipped the fill-in-the-blank comprehension questions and vocabulary worksheets, and enjoyed the "meat" of the program -- the chapter notes with literary analysis info and background info, and the 12 units.

table of contents

samples

teaching resources

student resources

 

Audiobooks:

The only UNABRIDGED version I'm seeing is read by Rob Inglis:  Fellowship of the Ring; Two Towers; Return of the King. For doing a literature study, you will want to AVOID the dramatized versions (which are all abridged -- in other words, incomplete/shortened versions).

 

Tons of go-along ideas in this past thread:

"xpost: Any serious Tolkien fans: a question...."

 

Hands-on ideas:

- be inspired by Tolkien's own artwork: Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator (by Hammond)

- try Tolkien calligraphy: Tengwar Calligraphy

- create your own map (or atlas with a series of maps) and/or timeline (see Middle Earth maps at Encyclopedia of Arda; 3 Ri.ngs; Lord of the Rings Project; Timeline of the One Ring)

- walk and talk about LotR with the Walk to Rivendell Challenge

- create your own miniature hobbit hole -- Instructables how-to

- see how Medieval illustrated manuscripts were made 

- make foods from Middle Earth Recipes

 

Free guides from Houghton-Mifflin:

- The Hobbit Educator's Guide; lesson plans

- Fellowship of the Ring - discussion prompts

- The Two Towers - discussion prompts

- Return of the King - discussion prompts

 

Wow. That is all I have to say. Wow. Thank you! I'll check this stuff out!

[2_girls_mommy]

I love the Memoria Press sciences. We read the Exploring the World of Series each year as a read aloud or as supplementary reading to their co-op classes. I would stick with those. 

[OneStepAtATime]

I was going to come back and post but I think everyone has it covered.  LOL.

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I'd look at some of the 4-h curriculum for science this year before she has to do the formal high school science rotation. They have some equine and farming resources there.

If she really likes Latin, you might consider a Latin based vocab program such as Caesar's English or vocab from classical roots and look at the spelling patterns in the vocabulary words.

For writing, does it help to have her type her papers? My son gets overwhelmed with physical writing but enjoys typing. Maybe take a creative writing course this year that she would enjoy and find less anxiety ridden.

I'd do something literature based for history where she can use some audio cds.

Edited January 1, 2018 by AdventuresinHomeschooling