mazakaal Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've struggled with him forever, all our 8 years of homeschooling. He's extremely bright, but very resistant to any work that doesn't interest him, which is pretty much all schoolwork. There are constant power struggles. I've tried giving him more responsiblity by having him use curriculum on the computer. He wasn't learning anything. I've tried having him be responsible to dh. Dh just didn't keep on top of him. So I'm now having to accept that this is not a college-bound kid. Most likely he will have a career in the surfing industry. He wants to be a professional surfer and is training, but I'm more realistic. He will most likely work in a surf shop or work for a surf company, maybe as a sales rep. He's very people oriented. Soooo.... what should I use to give a good basic education? Right now he's using TT math MOH history Apologia science SOS Bible SOS language arts LP Latin random reading and writing assignments He's doing well with TT, so I'll stick with that. MOH is all right. He's just getting through it. I could move on to MOH 3 or ???? He really struggles with Apologia. I'm open to suggestions. I'm not happy with SOS, so I'm thinking of switching to CLE for Bible and language arts. We'll continue working slowly through LP. writing is his weakest subject - I'm thinking of pulling Jump In off the shelf again I'm thinking of CLE reading. Any suggestions? Be gentle. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 My oldest has been somewhat like this. He is very bright, but it is very difficult to get him to do work that doesn't interest him. During 7th/8th grade, I also thought he might end up not going to college. He was interested in mechanics, construction, professional wrestling, and other jobs that did not require college. He also got very behind in math. However, he is now a high school junior, and has just this year decided that he DOES want to go to college after all, and that he wants to be a lawyer. Fortunately, I had decided that if homeschool was all the education he was going to get, it had better be a good education. He is behind in writing (hasn't done a real research paper yet, and in fact has mostly done short one page written narrations) and in math (is doing Algebra 1 this year. However, now that he wants to go to college, he is willing to put in the work it will require to catch him up in math (doing both Geometry and Algebra 2 next year), and in writing--though I haven't figured out exactly how to work with him there. He does have a gift for written expression, so it's mainly the planning, research, and organization I need to work with him on. So, since your son is still pretty young, I wouldn't be too sure that he really won't go to college. Focus on courses that will be helpful whether he goes to college or not, but be sure to include the classes needed for college entrance, just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Language Arts CLE LA will include composition. The lessons are based on a separate book titled On Teaching Writing. So, with CLE LA and Reading he will have all of his LA covered. Math TT Foreign Language LC Latin I've struggled with him forever, all our 8 years of homeschooling. He's extremely bright, but very resistant to any work that doesn't interest him, which is pretty much all schoolwork. I could have written this about my middle ds. I have a suggestion that will cover History, Science, and Bible. WinterPromise S&S. The first semester should be of particular interest to a surfer! My middle ds is using it this year. This is our 7th year at home and it has been his best. Pop over to the WP forum and you can read many posts about our year. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 I have a suggestion that will cover History, Science, and Bible. WinterPromise S&S. The first semester should be of particular interest to a surfer! My middle ds is using it this year. This is our 7th year at home and it has been his best. Pop over to the WP forum and you can read many posts about our year. This looks very interesting. Do you think I would need the older student supplement? And is it available used? Or does WP have rules about not re-selling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 This is really encouraging. There may be hope for him yet to take an interest in schoolwork and apply himself. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 This looks very interesting. Do you think I would need the older student supplement? And is it available used? Or does WP have rules about not re-selling? WP does ask that you not resell their guides. I bought the WP exclusives including the Older Learners Guide from WP. I bought everything else from Amazon. I would say that the OLG is unnecessary for your ds. The OLG schedules an additional history title. Since history is a survey course and your ds isn't a history buff, I would just leave it as is. The OLG also schedule additional composition suggestions each week, but if you are doing CLE those wouldn't be used. It also suggests some more advanced readers, but if your ds is using CLE reading would those suggestions be used? The OLG schedules additional 3-week projects and if your ds will actually do them would the OLG be worth the cost for 12 project that are briefly described in a paragraph? Additional science is not scheduled in the OLG. That is something you will need to decide on your own. I personally wouldn't bother, but if you think that you might be missing something it might be worth the peace of mind. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks, Mandy. You've been a really big help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Dd going into 8th is like this, too. What do you call this? I was thinking of having her tested by a neurodevelopmental doctor after reading The Myth of Laziness. I think something isn't "clicking." I'm glad your son is motivated to become a lawyer and start working harder. We've considered putting dd in school, hoping she would get something more done for other teachers. But I'm afraid she would be very overwhelmed and become depressed or just discouraged. I sure wish I knew why some smart and able kids are just on the slow path in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 I wish I knew what to call it. I too have wondered if there's something 'wrong'. He's just incapable of paying attention or remembering some things (school related things), but he can remember every statistic about every surfer. I've wondered about bringing him to someone, but who? Someone suggested an educational psychologist, but where does one find one of those? I don't know. If you figure out your dd, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 He really struggles with Apologia. I'm open to suggestions. Rainbow Science is another option. It's good for kids who learn best by doing. You never skip over the experiments. The only 2 drawbacks are (1) it's pricey and (2) you do need to be involved enough to make sure your kid gets the main points, since there is so little repetition in the reading. I do this by just going thru the teaching points in the teacher's guide and by using the new online quizzes. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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