If a 10 year old has long COVID problems affecting math and reading comprehension

[crazyforlatin]

What math and more importantly reading comprehension programs would be good to use with him? Dd is a rising senior and was asked to tutor our friend’s son who apparently didn’t like his previous tutors. He will need to take the SSAT in a couple of years. At his private school the teachers use Saxon math, a year ahead of grade level. Maybe Dd will need to continue with Saxon. The parents want him to learn Latin as well. We used Henle and then eventually switched over to Lukeion using Wheelock, both of which are not appropriate for this kid. What are some fun Latin programs out there for middle school kids?
 

How would even go about figuring what he needs for reading comprehension? He gets high marks in school, low 90s, but he has no confidence due to Covid memory issues and seems to have reading comprehension issues according to the father.

[HomeAgain]

So, I would switch the kid to Math U See.  DS struggled with short term memory after Covid and he really needed something in bites.  He was already using MUS this year but we had to still adjust and break things up to where he was doing physical math only for a while (and none before that)

If not MUS, and your dd wants to continue the Saxon sequence, then I'd run with Education Unboxed coupled with Middle School Math With Pizzazz for practice.

Middle school Latin, we like Cambridge.  It starts out with picture stories in each unit, and gives all the vocabulary necessary.  DS really enjoyed it before we switched to Ecce Romani.  I do not know if it has a workbook, but there are exercises in the textbook that can be worked out.

[crazyforlatin]

2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

So, I would switch the kid to Math U See.  DS struggled with short term memory after Covid and he really needed something in bites.  He was already using MUS this year but we had to still adjust and break things up to where he was doing physical math only for a while (and none before that)

If not MUS, and your dd wants to continue the Saxon sequence, then I'd run with Education Unboxed coupled with Middle School Math With Pizzazz for practice.

Middle school Latin, we like Cambridge.  It starts out with picture stories in each unit, and gives all the vocabulary necessary.  DS really enjoyed it before we switched to Ecce Romani.  I do not know if it has a workbook, but there are exercises in the textbook that can be worked out.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Bite size lessons are exactly what this kid needs. I’ll let Dd know so that she can go over the books with the parents. I hope your son is improving with time. 

[HomeAgain]

2 minutes ago, crazyforlatin said:

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Bite size lessons are exactly what this kid needs. I’ll let Dd know so that she can go over the books with the parents. I hope your son is improving with time. 

Thanks.  He did get better, but it was months that affected his mental health and how his brain worked.  He spiraled down for a bit before coming back up again.  We ended up putting away all school books for a while, focusing on getting enough sunshine and pushing the physical activity that he could handle.  His body had bounced back faster than his brain but even if it hadn't we just would have spent time outside to help with the mental side.  Charlotte Mason had something right when she pushed nature study as a way to build up the academics. Noticing detail, appreciating the complexity, seeing the relationships......they're all done in such a low key way.

DS managed to complete his school year, only a month later than he should have, and other than a few lingering things has made a full recovery.  We just adapted to visual/tactile math until he was ready to write it out again when he came back to academic work.

[lulalu]

It will depend on a lot of things. Will visual memory tricks work? There are a lot of math programs and supplements thst are visually based. 

For Latin, Getting Started with Latin would be easy to start with. It breaks everything down well. Learning one word or concept a lesson. Make some flash cards to help the vocabulary stick. But Latin might be very frustrating for someone struggling with memory. It could be held off for a few years too. 

To figure out reading. Do some read alouds and have child narrate. That will tell you a lot. Then have the child read aloud then narrate. Then have child read silently and narrate. That should give you a clear idea if there is a weakness in understanding, or reading, or if the child needs to hear themselves reading. 

[crazyforlatin]

7 hours ago, lulalu said:

It will depend on a lot of things. Will visual memory tricks work? There are a lot of math programs and supplements thst are visually based. 

For Latin, Getting Started with Latin would be easy to start with. It breaks everything down well. Learning one word or concept a lesson. Make some flash cards to help the vocabulary stick. But Latin might be very frustrating for someone struggling with memory. It could be held off for a few years too. 

To figure out reading. Do some read alouds and have child narrate. That will tell you a lot. Then have the child read aloud then narrate. Then have child read silently and narrate. That should give you a clear idea if there is a weakness in understanding, or reading, or if the child needs to hear themselves reading. 

It’s been years since we used GSWL that I forgot about it. Reading aloud and narrating is an excellent idea. 

[ElizabethB]

I would screen out reading basics with my nonsense word test and the MWIA and my 40L reading grade level test, linked at the bottom of my syllables page:

http://thephonicspage.org/On Reading/syllablesspellsu.html

If it's just comprehension due to focus, I would do a few sentences at a time and summarize orally, work up to a paragraph at a time. One of my dyslexic student's father read so slow he had to take notes while reading to keep track of the flow of things (he had gotten a good phonics background, unlike the son, so he read fine, just slow.) His son, once remediated, read almost as slow as dad but at least accurately--not accurate when I started with him after balanced literacy in school. He had a really good memory and did not need to take notes while reading. He even started to read for fun afterward!! He was above grade level in math before remediating and found math even easier afterwards. So, taking notes might help, try written notes and oral summarizing and see what helps.

Also, losing focus on small connecting words due to brain fog could be a problem. They can be glossed over but change the meaning of the sentence. Focus on connecting words and see if that helps. (Not all at once, try different things at different times and see what helps.)

[ktgrok]

Ugh, I wish the poor kid could just take a break rather than do MORE school work. His brain needs to rest. When my son had learning difficulties due to brain inflammation post strep (PANDAS) his neuropsychiatrist was VERY clear that we needed to limit stress as much as possible, and that included pushing school work when he was struggling. More rest, sunshine, hydration, and mind/body connection stuff like yoga and/or martial arts. 

Taking a kid with brain issues and telling them to start learning a foreign language when they are already struggling to comprehend their native language? Sounds like a recipe for stress and frustration. 

Sorry I know this isn't your call but yikes. It makes me sad. He's 10. Let the poor kid heal, he has another 8 yrs to learn what he needs to know. 

[crazyforlatin]

Taking a break might not be possible as the father seems to have some ambition of private high school that is well-known and a feeder to Ivys. I could let Dd know to see if she can broach this with the father. But if homeschooled then having a simplier academic life would be possible. There are tests at school and the upcoming SSAT for private schools to consider. 

[crazyforlatin]

On 7/23/2022 at 6:52 PM, ElizabethB said:

I would screen out reading basics with my nonsense word test and the MWIA and my 40L reading grade level test, linked at the bottom of my syllables page:

http://thephonicspage.org/On Reading/syllablesspellsu.html

If it's just comprehension due to focus, I would do a few sentences at a time and summarize orally, work up to a paragraph at a time. One of my dyslexic student's father read so slow he had to take notes while reading to keep track of the flow of things (he had gotten a good phonics background, unlike the son, so he read fine, just slow.) His son, once remediated, read almost as slow as dad but at least accurately--not accurate when I started with him after balanced literacy in school. He had a really good memory and did not need to take notes while reading. He even started to read for fun afterward!! He was above grade level in math before remediating and found math even easier afterwards. So, taking notes might help, try written notes and oral summarizing and see what helps.

Also, losing focus on small connecting words due to brain fog could be a problem. They can be glossed over but change the meaning of the sentence. Focus on connecting words and see if that helps. (Not all at once, try different things at different times and see what helps.)

It’s been awhile since I’ve asked Dd to narrate that I’m beginning to remember the things we did so long ago. Narration is definitely more fun for a kid.

[ktgrok]

17 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

Taking a break might not be possible as the father seems to have some ambition of private high school that is well-known and a feeder to Ivys. I could let Dd know to see if she can broach this with the father. But if homeschooled then having a simplier academic life would be possible. There are tests at school and the upcoming SSAT for private schools to consider. 

but he's 10. He has years before he goes to high school, let alone college. 

 

[crazyforlatin]

15 hours ago, ktgrok said:

but he's 10. He has years before he goes to high school, let alone college. 

 

I agree, and in our area, SSAT prep starts in 6th grade. I didn’t know this until Dd met a friend who told her she had been in private tutoring since 6th grade for the SSAT, but these are fairly high income earners.

[bookbard]

Can I give you a suggestion for Latin that we're doing, @crazyforlatin ?  Telling Tales in Latin by Lorna Robinson. I do it with my 9 & 11 year old and it's super gentle. Mostly me reading aloud bits and doing a bit of translation together. If you do get it, download the free teacher's guide, as there are a few typos/mistakes, a couple significant. The teacher's guide has some good ideas generally and a few activities (but I don't bother with them). I would do maybe 10m max on a Latin 'lesson' and yet my kids can translate each section pretty well.