Help me decide what approach/curriculum for dd

[luvmytwo]

This is our second year homeschooling and I have hit a wall with my 10yo dd. We use My Father's World and we all love it (I also hs a 7yo and 4yo), it is really hands on, has activites etc.

My problem with dd is that she does not want to do her spelling, math, language etc. This is what I use:
Math-rod and staff textbooks
language-book recommended by MFW
spelling-rod and staff spelling workbook

I know I need to find a different approach with her. My 7yo. I do not have these issues with, he just does his work even if he gets frustrated, I help him and we get it done.

I have posted before about my dd. She is very strong willled, if she refuses to do something, she won't do it. She says it is too hard; but does not even try, she just sits there. I do not know any veteran homeschoolers that I can bounce my issues off of. I am really frustrated and dh has suggested we just put her back in school (3rd grade was when we pullled her out to homeschool). I am just afraid of her getting really behind; and next year is 6th grade!
I have asked her about going back to school and she says she wants to homeschool. I don't know what to do, put her back in, try to find another curriculum? I feel like our relationship has been affected because each day is just a battle about schoolwork. I am not the unschooling type, I am not that confident, I feel like we need to get something done each day.

Any thoughts/wisdom?!

Karen

mommy to Allison 10, Aaron 7, and Ethan 4!

[OTMomma]

If it were me- I'd take a break from the problem subjects and focus on what is going right for a little while. Think about what does work, and why that seems to work. Do you just need a new spelling program? Or do you need a whole different approach?

ETA- I just reread you post, is anything going well? History, science, art....?

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by OTMomma

If it were me- I'd take a break from the problem subjects and focus on what is going right for a little while. Think about what does work, and why that seems to work. Do you just need a new spelling program? Or do you need a whole different approach?

ETA- I just reread you post, is anything going well? History, science, art....?

Great idea! And you said you all love the program, but it really seems as she doesn't, or at least not where those specific subjects you mentioned are concerned. I'd try to find out more about what she doesn't like and try to see if you can find things that will be a better fit for her. The FUN-Books catalog consists of materials the owner family has chosen "to help you in your efforts to produce life-long learners." The comments she makes about things being "too hard" make me wonder if there's some real incompatibility with those materials, such as possibly even an undiagnosed learning difficulty that doesn't work well with them (a vision problem or vision skill deficiency, dyslexia, or whatever...).

I'll be away for a week, so won't be able to participate in the conversation, but I wish you well . And, for whatever it's worth, I think it will all eventually turn out fine. She has lots of time ahead before she needs to be ready for pre-college studies of any kind. - Lillian

[elizawill]

at age 10, i'd let your dd choose her own curricula. my dd is 8 & she picked out a lot of the curriculum we currently use. if we hit a wall, we discuss alterations or change things. would this work?

[luvmytwo]

We did mostly workbooks last year and some on the computer (math and spelling) She doesn't care much for workbooks, she does like going on the computer to do some of her work. There does come a point where she needs to work on her writing; and figuring out math equations cannot all be done on the computer.

Can you give suggestions on math/spelling/language curriculum? I wouldn't know what else to use.
MFW is full of geography and bible, which we like. Not too much history except in stories.

We are on a break now and just taking it easy. I just feel lost on the next step.

[MamaMonica]

If she likes going on the computer, she might like K-12. You can check out the K-12 thread in this forum and ask about specific subjects. Many people use it through a virtual academy. We just buy a few subjects to use on a month by month contract.

My ten year can do a lot of it independently. We have only done history, science and Spanish, so I can't speak for the other subjects.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by luvmytwo

We did mostly workbooks last year and some on the computer (math and spelling) She doesn't care much for workbooks, she does like going on the computer to do some of her work. There does come a point where she needs to work on her writing; and figuring out math equations cannot all be done on the computer.

Can you give suggestions on math/spelling/language curriculum?....

I'd suggest taking a look at FUN-Books' math page and finding something that could make math fun for her. At her age, there's no reason to feel pressured to follow a structured program, but it would be great for her to be able to see the fun side of it. There's a lot more to math than figuring out equations - and if she has exposure to more of the interesting aspects, she'll be a lot better off in the long run. I wouldn't worry too much about writing or spelling at this point either - lots of children get that covered quite well in later years when they have things they really want to write about and/or to someone - especially if they're exposed along the way to lots of wonderful literature that they enjoy! Here's a nice piece Miranda wrote about writing - it really lines up with my own experience with my son, and it certainly seems to line up with the way some of his friends took off in their writing.

It's lovely that you're taking a nice break - this is such a great time of year for it! Lillian

[OTMomma]

I understand feeling overwhelmed- I've gotten that way a number of times the last year trying to figure out the best way to homeschool for me and my dd.

Writing has been a big concern here too. My dd struggles with it- so for a while I was giving her one writing assignment a day- I varied it a lot. Some days she had to write a few sentences about the book she just read, or I'd give her the start of a story for her to finish, or ask her to write a poem about the season or it might relate to another subject we are covering. I could then use that to talk about spelling, grammar and punctuation if anything needed correcting. I think learning to write is something that comes with practice, and you don't necessarily need a full language arts program to do that.

There are literally TONS of math programs to choose from. I would suggest before you chose a new one, trying to figure out what your dd knows or doesn't and what her learning style is- does she want a program that moves fast or slow? Does she like manipulatives or not? Get the Rainbow Resource catalog to read the descriptions of their math programs (they sell many).

Don't let it make you crazy. You will figure out what works for all of you, and its OK to change things up.

Peace,

[AngelBee]

[MamaMonica]

Originally Posted by OTMomma

There are literally TONS of math programs to choose from. I would suggest before you chose a new one, trying to figure out what your dd knows or doesn't and what her learning style is- does she want a program that moves fast or slow? Does she like manipulatives or not? Get the Rainbow Resource catalog to read the descriptions of their math programs (they sell many).

Don't let it make you crazy. You will figure out what works for all of you, and its OK to change things up.

Peace,

Great advice. Don't let it drive you crazy. Most of us have been through many math programs to find one that works. Hang in there.

[elizawill]

sequential spelling has a dvd program... you can just upload it to your computer. perhaps that would work for her? you can try the first 8 lessons for free to see what she thinks:

http://www.avko.org/videos/ss_dvd_demo.html

or you could use your own words and use www.spellingcity.com (that's free).

for math, i know aleks is computer based, as is time 4 learning. T4L has a free trial (although it would be pricey to utilize for only math at $20 a month - but perhaps your dd would like the other subjects as well??). here's a link for aleks: http://www.aleks.com/homeschool this webiste is also online math: http://www.ixl.com/

for language arts, there was a fun curriculum mentioned a few months back. lilygrace uses it, but i can't remember the name of it?? perhaps you could pm her or she'll see this post.

hth.

ETA - "games for writing" by peggy kaye is a lot of fun and excellent!!

[Momma Aimee]

does she have specfic complaints / issues .. is it that she just doesn't like work books or _____. (I remember HATING hands on activities, just let me read my book and I am happy , i don't need to role play it just as much as some kids hate work books ... i dreaded doing math facts out loud ...)

or is she staying the material is too hard -- without caring how it is covered?

and also -- is it really the school work -- or is she useig school as a battle ground and it is really just her pushing you and testing limits?

is this really something you need to change in the school work -- or does she need to buckle down and do her work?

HUGS momma -- it does not sound like a fun place to be.