How can she catch up??? - Page 2

[DharmaDisciple]

I am committed to homeschooling and my dh respects my opinion on this. But I feel under pressure to perform. And I know we are not doing enough, but I have little time to plan.

If I were to get her evaluated I know they would say she is behind. Her writing looks like a 4 yr olds and her spelling is awful (but getting better). She would fail on the math they set for a 5 yr old. I know this as I have the books here that they use in schools that she can't do.

I have HWT. Her struggle with it is because she is new to writing- but that is why I bought it, we try to do 2-4 pages a day, and it is slowly working.

It was an open day at the school and I did tell him of course they display the best ones, the best writing, the best art. 2 of my friends children go there. One is in the advanced class, one is in the 'gifted and talented' class and I think this is what he would want for her.

Re curriculum's- I have got the Sonlight readers package (grade 2) that she loves. But do the core curriculum's have hands on type things? The other options are Oak Meadow (is it academic enough?) or the UK teacher guides?

I am going to look at the Core Knowledge ones now.

Thanks xxxx

[phroggies]

Originally Posted by DharmaDisciple

I have asked dh what he expects and I think it was something along the lines of : to be challenged and stretched to her full potential, to learn something new every day and be exposed to new and exciting things each day along with going out to places.

Standard disclaimer: not homeschooling yet. One thought, however: what about some kind of unit studies? That might be a way of organizing all the different threads of learning that you, she and he want, but more to the point, it could be somewhat outcome oriented--i.e., she could produce a "project" that could show off what she'd learned to DH (and whomever else). It might give her (and you) a context for displaying all of her best skills at once, applied to something concrete.

Just a thought.

[elizawill]

i didn't realize you were in england. therefore the CK scope & sequence and lessons would need to be adjusted to your country. i would assume children in the UK have a different s&s regarding geography and history, etc. (as in the US - we learn about our own country first, etc.) ...and even music for that matter (the BCP 2nd grade september covers US patriotic songs - so you would need to supplement those to reflect your country, etc). anyway, i tried to search for a scope and sequence from england for you but came up with zip. nada.

i think you can honor your child's learning style completely by keeping the subjects hands-on, engaging for her, and really fun .....while also taking your dh's concerns into consideration .....and find something that you are comfortable with and enjoy too! . i can sense that this is stressful for you, and i'm so sorry for that. hugs to you.

my only real 2 cents worth of advice is to try and use free resources as you explore new options and styles for your dd. there are really SO many excellent resources to choose from that are free. imo - if you purchase oak meadow or another expensive boxed curriculum, you may feel even more pressured to make your dd produce academically and to complete everything included. plus, what a disappointment it will be if it is a bad fit for your dd. i know for me personally....if i spend a lot of money on something, i tend to have a greater expectation of it to be "used".

big hugs mama.

[lilyka]

I would have never guessed we were talking about a 7 year old!!

today my seven year old will:

read one bob book today (granted she is a little behind in reading)
skip book math because we only do it four times a week (she is a full year ahead here and still only doing addition and subtraction and the very beginnings of multiplication)
a few pages in her phonics primer
Some copy work, which I think will be "In the name of the father Son and Holy Spirit."
She did a little math and reading work on the computer (it wasn't scheduled for today)
and work on her Greek for about 15 min.
Read a little church history together
read a little world history together (because we skipped it yesterday)

keep in mind we are talking about a first grader (maybe a second grader?). where I live most kids are not reading more than basic 3 and 4 letter words when they go into first grade and doing very little math.

** two to four pages a day of handwriting!! My 11 year old would freak out about that.- careful about pushing too hard with writing. we keep writing lessons short and sweet. 2-4 pages would be enough to make my 7 year old want to gouge her eyes out and never write again. And it certainly wouldn't be her best work. I would shoot for quality of quantity. Assign one page and if it isn't done nice mlet her re-do it until it is. if she does it nice the first time she is off the hook. talk about motivation to take your time and do it nice.

[tallanvor]

Well, if you know she is behind on somethings, then get a copy of the standards and start working them in. She is certainly not behind 7 yr old Americans. Of course, I realize that American isn't known for their high quality public school education, but still.

And as for your husband wanting your daughter to be able to be in the advanced or gifted/talented class at a school, well, whether she's behind or not, a lot of kids can't handle those classes. Doesn't mean they are stupid or can't learn, but there is a often a big difference between gifted/talented and advanced and a average kid. Some people think that having a child who is gifted/talented makes it all easy and think that child just soaks things right up, but that is not true. Gifted children have their own sets of stuggles just like average children do. I don't know how to advise you to do it, but somehow you're hubby needs to see that your LO will do what she's ready for when she's ready. If you push too hard, she'll fight and then she won't learn.

Crystal

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by DharmaDisciple

And I know we are not doing enough, but I have little time to plan.

Although I think everyone here feels you're doing more than enough .

The only suggestions about changing it have been in the direction of letting up on the traditional academic lessons pressure and concentrating more on the joyful aspects - which is what you're wanting. The word "behind" just doesn't apply to a child being homeschooled - at any given time she'll always know more than her schooled peers about some things and less about others. They'll all come out with about the same general body of understanding and knowledge - depending, of course, on whether they've been so burned out in school that they lost their lust of learning somewhere along the line and just went through the motions much of the time.

My son has had friends in school who had to jump through all the standard hoops and spend a lot of time in homework - but they're not at all better educated or more interested in learning than he is. When he started into community college classes, he mentioned that he was one of only about two students in his first class who were actually there to learn what was being offered, whereas most were there just to get in their credits. He had a feeling the other one like him had also been homeschooled - not just because of the fact that they both wanted to learn about the subject but also just something about the way he carried himself, like responding to and asking questions and just generally relating to the instructor as a real person who was there to share knowledge with them rather than just being a "teacher." It was clear to him that the others were just burned out - learning had clearly come to mean to them the completion of assignments rather than the pursuit of knowledge. He hadn't had even had assignments as he was growing up - learning was just something that was a perfectly natural pleasure.

That kind of attitude shows up in college and the work place. This is something that's so obvious to him and his friends who grew up like him. The school systems have created workable timetables and systematic ways of presenting different "subjects" to groups of same age children as they grow up together - but there's nothing particularly sacred about the timetable and methods they've come up with.

A fascinating read that's helped a lot of homeschoolers I know start to think a differently about education: The Book of Learning and Forgetting, by Frank Smith. Smith is a researcher who contrasts the "official theory" that learning is work with a view that learning is a social process that can occur naturally and continually through collaborative activities.

And here's an interesting interview with Alvin Toffler, author of the phenomenally popular book (1984), Future Shock:
Future School: Reshaping Learning from the Ground Up. It's about school reform, but the same ideas can be applied to homeschools.

Lillian

[jillc512]

I better note also that I'm not officially homeschooling yet .

I've heard good things about the book Better Late than Early: http://www.amazon.com/Better-Late-Th...2560066&sr=8-1 (if anyone's read it, feel free to chime in).

It talks about research supporting the idea that school/book learning can't happen effectively until children are developmentally ready for it, which for many kids isn't until age 8 or even 10. And, that children who are "behind" at age 6 or 7 easily catch up once they ARE ready.

A large homeschooling family I know did no pre-math with the first children and structured pre-math with later children. Early on, the parents did see a difference in their math abilities (those who had done pre-math did better when they hit "school" age). However, by high school age there was no difference, which for me is a good reminder that this is a marathon we're running, not a sprint. (And, as a runner friend is fond of saying, you want to "go fast last". )

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by jillc512

I've heard good things about the book Better Late than Early: http://www.amazon.com/Better-Late-Th...2560066&sr=8-1 (if anyone's read it, feel free to chime in).

I was going to mention that one too, but forgot about it - glad you brought it up. Here's a nice article about it and the other one, School Can Wait:

- Lillian

[WuWei]

Ask your husband to watch this short video: http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/
(It is free.)

I found it poignant and insightful.

Click on the purple link and the purple rectangle.


Pat

[lilyka]

I also wanted to add that if you want an academically rigourous program that still focuses no nature and beauty etc i would look into Charlotte Mason. www.amblesideonline.com is a great resource. It was way too much (academically) for us but it really covers a lot and it is all planned out to a degree. youstill have to figure out how you want to structure your week but what to de each week is all laid out. I can't imagine any kid being behind with this program. it starts out with world history from a British perspective, then switches to American History but I am sure they could offer some suggestions for sticking with the history of your country.

its free. you may want to check it out.

[kathymuggle]

She isn't behind Canadians academically either

Remember - even if books and such say children at XYZ age should be doing something, it does not mean they are. Sometime the Ministry of Educations goals are a little out of touch with reality.

Ex - Children in my province are supposed to be able to speak French in sentences by Grade 6. Hah!! Most cannot remember their colours.

On a personal note (may work for you, or may not) I had my daughter assessed at age 7 for a variety of things. She did an academic achievement test - and this told me what grade levle she was working at. I found it reassuring to know she was at least at par.

I think testing done by a qualified individual can give you a good picture of her grade level, strenths and weaknesses. It will let you know if you really do need to tweak things, or if you are doing fine.

[Needle in the Hay]

I have a feeling you won't find this terribly helpful but I don't think it's good at all that your DH is coming home in the evening wanting to know what's been done each day. That's putting way too much pressure on you and putting you in a sort of employee/boss or child/parent situation. I mean you were feeling worried about putting a dvd on. That can't be good for anyone. Maybe as you sort this all out with your DH that's something that can also be addressed. I understand he's concerned but you are doing a fine job. His input can be welcome but that's not the same as constantly checking up on you.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by Needle in the Hay

I have a feeling you won't find this terribly helpful but I don't think it's good at all that your DH is coming home in the evening wanting to know what's been done each day. That's putting way too much pressure on you and putting you in a sort of employee/boss or child/parent situation. I mean you were feeling worried about putting a dvd on. That can't be good for anyone. Maybe as you sort this all out with your DH that's something that can also be addressed. I understand he's concerned but you are doing a fine job. His input can be welcome but that's not the same as constantly checking up on you.

I'm so glad you brought that up - I think most of us were looking right past that and addressing things that are not quite as central. It must be nerve-wracking to try to function comfortably under this kind of scrutiny, and it's just not going to work over a long period of time. - Lillian