New and looking into curriculums

[gethane]

Hello, I'm new here at Mothering.com and have recently begun thinking about homeschooling my 12 year old next year since I'm home with a baby now instead of working.

My son scores very well on all standardized tests (90-95+) but pretty much has flunked 4-7th grades. Why? He won't do homework, and if he does do it, he won't turn it in. He still scores A's and B's on his tests at school, but homework counts for so much of the grade, he still ends up with D's and F's. Currently, he is receiving tutoring at a Sylvan center (courtesy of Grandma) to help him catch up on math, since he's just barely at grade level. Math rather requires homework to "get it" it seems. He tests out as 10-11 grade on reading, social studies, etc.

Anyway, I figure I can't do any worse, since he's flunking everything anyway.

Although I see many of you here unschool, i think i'd feel more comfortable with some sort of set curriculum. I've been looking for a non-religous/christian curriculum but not finding anything. Does anyone have suggestions? We're not a religious family, and I'd feel hypocritical teaching it amongst reading, math, etc.

(I'll be leaving my 9 and 11 year old daughters in public school as they do very well there. It "clicks" with them.)

[rsps]

you might want to look into just getting a math curriculm, since that seems to be his week spot. If he's already testing at such a high level in other subjects then you could consider his "formal" training done in those areas and let him follow his interests. For example you could pick a math curriculm (sonlight's website has good info on the pro's and cons of several of the major ones -- and even tho they are a christian curriculm the math programs aren't religously based)

Then let him pick topics to pursue in the other areas, so for "english" he could read Harry Potter -- maybe give you a report on the differences of the movie to the book and for "science" he could stay up late and study the stars for astronomy -- or whatever his interests are.

I'm just worried that if you pick a packaged curriculm for all the subjects he'll balk at the work the same way he's balking at the homework now.

Maybe you can find some homeschoolers in your area to meet with before you pull him out of school even. They might have ideas that would specifically meet your states requirements.

good luck

[marilynmama]

First of all GO CORNHUSKERS!!! I am from NE, was born in Lincon but also spent a lot of time in Broken Bow on a farm. I'm in Oklahoma now.

I would suggest getting a cataloge from Rainbow Resources, you can get it online for free and see what all is out there.

Also look at http://homeschoolreviews.com/

http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php m (Rainbow resources)

www.sonlight.com (excellent company and literature based, get a cataloge from them too...I use it for there book selection)

Good luck! It can be hard but try not to get overwhelmed, think about your goals with homeschooling, your lifestyle, etc

Some of the popular math curriculims are Singapore, Saxon, Math-U-See

I would have to agree with the above poster, I would just maybe start off with a math or keep him at Sylvan if he is doing well there. Let him have some time to "deschool" for awhile, I think that is soooo important for kids coming out of the school system. My mom took me out of school when I was 14 and at first we did nothing at all, I really needed that.

Take it easy, he is ovioulsy SMART!! What are his interests?

Marilyn

[anythingelse]

some ideas
Videotext algebra
Jacobs geometry
The Quarter Mile cd-rom to drill math facts

Wordly Wise from EPS

The Standard Deviant series of videos for middle-high school

Above and Beyond FIve in a Row for lit.

we have had good luck with scott foresman products for things like economics, geography we like critical thinking press


I would consider starting with a very relaxed unit study on some topic he finds utterly fascinating that you want to learn about also and build from that as you go along, using materials like the ones above to fill in the day if you feel it is needed. I also agree with keeping him at sylvan for a while longer if it is helping him.



and at that age I think I would concentrate this summer on finding a hs group with boys his age so that he will already have hs friends before school starts, then if you find a boy his age he enjoys doing things with, maybe you can set up his science experiments and books to read to coordinate with his friends.

[gethane]

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions. Those ideas should at least get me going in the right direction .

I didn't mention this before, but he "claims" he forgets his homework and he does have many ADHD symptoms. We even did a test run of Adderall but I'm not sure I saw any improvement. He is a bright kid, and overall pretty likable, but he's been pretty much grounded for three years now, and its time for me to make some major changes. I've tried working with the school (Don't they feel silly sending home a progress report with f's and then a letter for gifted students based on testing scores in the same 2 weeks?) but they aren't willing to help those that don't fit in to what they learned in college.

I kicked his father out and went to work in the summer before 2nd grade, and that's when we started seeing some problems. Unfortunately, being a working mom (after being SAHM for 7 years) and a single mother, I didn't have much time to work with him . I just assumed he was being "lazy" and really only recently have considered maybe its not him.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions! I'll definitely look them all up!

[lilyka]

How far back do you need to go? If you realy need to back track you may want to look into miquon. It will give him a good foundation, doesn't harp on drill work, is very hands on and sets up a great foundaiton for the higher maths without a lot of work. And it is cheap, so you could buy al the workbooks and start where he needs help and skip around as needed. It is geared for 1-4th graders but will cover up to where mnost kids are by7th grade (8th or 9th for some) After that many people go on to the "key to . . . " series and it takles each subject individually (key to algebra, key to geometry etc. . . .). Singapore may also be a good choice.

I would recommend against a boxed cirriculum. He is old enough. let him plough through the catalogs and see what he is intrested in. Try to match where he is though in each subject.

[Marsupialmom]

One advantage about homeschooling you do have to do homework to see if your child is “getting” it. Sometimes they do not seem like they are “getting” it because they are bored with it. Watch him do 10 problems verses 40 and see if that boredom is the problem. You can also see if he understands the basic concepts or if he is missing a skill.

Also he might not be getting math because he lacks manipulatives. Many kids need something physical to “get it”. You can have all your math facts down pat and not “get it”. Has he had opportunity to use manipulative at his own pace?

If he is testing gifted don’t be surprise if boredom is part of the problem.

I would recommend The Well Trained Mind for a general outline and review of products (check out their web sites). Don’t follow it exactly make it your own; even the authors say that!! You can use it as a general book list/guide for the next four years.

I would also read
RIGHT-BRAINED CHILDREN IN A LEFT-BRAINED WORLD: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR ADD CHILD by Jeffrey Freed Especially read and try the ideas in the math section.

Defiantly give him a break and let him “deschool” for a while!!!!!!

One of the greatest motivator we have in this house is that my son knows if he does his work right the first time he has the rest of the day to do what ever.

[Queen Gwen]

Originally posted by Marsupialmom

I would also read
RIGHT-BRAINED CHILDREN IN A LEFT-BRAINED WORLD: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR ADD CHILD by Jeffrey Freed Especially read and try the ideas in the math section.

This really is a worthwhile book. I know it may seem overwhelming at this point to try to slog through a library book, but this one gives insight into kids who just don't fit into the standard mold.

Also, I'd do a google search on words like gifted, homeschooling, etc. You may find some discussions going on with other parents in pretty much the same situation you are in.

[vegimom]

I like Math-u-see. It is a manipulative based program great for right brained/visual leaners. It is also fairly easy to teach.