Need direction for homeschooling please...

Hi :-)
I was a middle & high school LD teacher in another lifetime… I can see why a parent would find homeschooling a better option :(

What are her strenghts and interests? What kind of “Study habits” does she have? Is she a kiddo who wants to succeed in school kinds of things, and sometimes almost does, or one who would be happier doing *anything* else but school things?

http://www.resourceroom.net/homeschool/index.asp has some links you might find useful (especially the first one)…. be glad to share ideas, etc.

I work as a private tutor. Please feel free to ask me specific questions on “how-to”.

In general, the rule is Keep It Simple.
Start off with one thing at a time.
For example, we’ll have reading first hour. OK, pick a book she would like to read and read it aloud together, each taking a page at a time. As she is doing this you will probably be flabbergasted by the errors she makes in reading. OK, make a note to yourself quietly of what *kinds* of things she needs to work on — long vowels? multisyllables? and store those up for language lessons later.
Then we’ll have writing. Have her write a daily composition in a notebook. Then see what she needs to work on. Does she need to go back to the beginning and learn letter forms for handwriting? Can she spell at least basic vocabulary? Does she at least try phonetically and track left to right with longer words? Does she use sentences? Does she express herself fluently?
Then we’ll have math. If you don’t have a math program yet, go to your local bookstore and get a commercial workbook (I’m using something called MathSmart right now, and it is a good resource for oodles of practice). Get her present grade level, 6, and if she has been battling with math, get 4 and 5 as well. Look for a summary test at the end of each unit and have her try it, starting with the easiest ones first. As long as she is getting 90% right, OK she has mastered that topic and you don’t need to do that unit. When she starts to make mistakes, you have found a topic to work on.
Then we’ll have science and social studies. Get some interesting books to read from the bookstrore and library, and actually *do* the activities they suggest and show you, those activities that almost always get skipped because “we don’t have time”. Well, you’re homeschooling to make that time! Look things up on maps and globes, draw maps, make timelines, mix vinegar and baking soda, and so on. See how well your daughter can read and follow directions.

Starting slowly and simply like this, you can get a grip on what she knows and doesn’t know and how she works and what she needs, and then you can ask the specific questions of where to go from here. By starting off simply and without a huge investment of money or buying into a program, you leave yourself the option of choosing what is suitable according to her needs.

I think one thing that helps is figuring out where the learning problems might be coming from. My son had vision problems that didn’t show up on regular eye exam. So we did vision therapy first. If you can first rule out any vision problems I think Audiblox would be a good start. We used it for a year with excellent results.

If you would say what reading level, and math level she is at I could recommend some other things to add.

Cindy.

http://www.audiblox2000.com/

Thank you all so much!
I am so thankful for your suggestions. She is eager to learn, she is not too severe with the ADHD thing, and is definitly more successful one on one(in a classroom setting she is LOST!). This is why I chose to bring her home. It think we can do it.
This was her 2nd year in 6th grade(changed school districts and just held her back a year). She has been below grade level in language arts/reading, and is getting D’s in Math, Science, and Social Studies. Dad and I are thinking they are just “skimming her by” in the grade level subjects.
So it would be good for me to do what Sue said and just see where she is at for myself first.
I saw something in Boarders book store called Learn At Home, by American Educations Publishing…are any of you familiar with that? It looked very simple, and easy to use.
She needs routine, and simplicity. If it gets too involved, she gets lost quick(and so do I!).
Great advice to DO the projects- thanks for that tip! She will love that stuff!
She is a great problem solver, if that gives you any indication.
Thanks for the advice. I came on here tonight, and saw your replies, and just teared up! Thanks so much! I will check out the links you all shared.
Hugs!
Stacy

I wouldn’t do a “popular press” version of homeschooling because they’re written for a typical child and you don’t have one of them. Most of them rely a *lot* on read-the-passage-and-answer-the-questions… which is exactly the opposite of what somebody who loves to *know* but isn’t strong in language arts should be doing.
I would spend a few more hours preparation homework and lay out my own priorities and structure for the long run. It would be well worth the time at the beginning, especially if you can plan it out with your daughter. When she has some “ownership” of the learning, she’ll be more likely to hold her interest and motivation.
On the other hand — there is a huge advantage (at least for most folks with ADHD tendencies that I know) to having a task ASsigned From Above — when she starts wanting to postpone or distract or do somethign easier… no, sorry, this is what we have to do and you can be the sympathetic mom… but this is what we have to do.
You could get the best of both worlds if you figure out your plan ahead of time and say “I’m sorry, this is what we decided to do, and we are going to *stick* with it.”
Does your state have its “learnign objectives” online, by any chance? Many states do — and you can look at them and figure out how she can learn more & better than she would in the schools. (I would be glad to help you turn some of those weirdly-worded objectives into lesson plans.)
The other angle that the homeschool books don’t touch is the skills remediation. You don’t want to let the challenging areas slow her down in her strong areas, but you do want to build them. (I’d be glad to help you out in that department too… hmmm…. p’raps we could scare up half a dozen moms of middle schoolers and make our *own* school over the summer…)

:P Stacy,

I’ve been homeschooling my son for 4 yrs. He’s in 6th grade too. The first thing I would do is find out what her learning problems are. Has the school done any testing? If not maybe you should take her to a neuropsychologist to see where her problems lie. We have been through literally yrs of testing and finally I took him this yr. to a neuro and got the answers I needed. She gave me explicit areas to work on and recommendations.

The best advice I’ve gotten is TEACH TO THE GIFTS not the disability!!We do all subjects but we really concentrate on those things Michael is good at. He loves Science and Math so those are the things we spend a lot of time on. We also are involved in activites outside the home:Destination Imagination, Robotics, Puppets etc. This helps him with his social skills and gives him an opportunity to compete in an academic environment.

The book you were talking about did not look very good to me. It is too much of a busy work type thing. It is boring and I know my son would hate it. Let your daughter help you find interesting books that she will WANT to read. We have mandatory reading every night. Before he was reading very well we had mandatory reading aloud. We would take turns reading something Michael had picked out at the library.

To be specific, we use these books on a daily basis: Glencoe Algebra 1, Shurley English Level 6, Bob Jones Science grade 8, Reading- anything he wants that is appropriate,Highlights Top Secret Adventures( this is a fun way to learn geography and history), Handwriting Withhout Tears-cursive, AVKO Spelling and English From the Roots Up for Greek and Latin.

Hope this helps. E mail me if you have any questions or just need a support buddy.. Good Luck, Jan

If she is reading on a beginning 4th grade level or better and needs reading remediation, the Rewards program from Sopris West is excellent and easy for a homeschooling parent to do. Website is http://www.rewardsreading.com/

I second the recommendation of Audiblox, especially since it works on developing attention skills (among others). Website is http://www.audiblox2000.com

Moving With Math is an excellent program for those needing to catch up, because you can combine two years into one. Each level covers two grades, and you get both two-year and one-year lesson plans. Website is http://www.movingwithmath.com

Rainbow Science is a wonderful program for 6th/7th/8th grades if you don’t mind the Christian bent of the author. It is a two-year program and comes complete with all equipment needed for the weekly experiments. Website is http://www.beginningspublishing.com/ .

Analytical Grammar is a great grammar approach. Website is http://www.analyticalgrammar.com

WriteShop is an excellent writing program that is especially suitable for 7th and 8th grades. Website is http://writeshop.homestead.com/

I recommend staying away from “canned” curriculums. Instead, visit the homeschooling boards at http://www.vegsource.com and http://www.welltrainedmind.com to get recommendations and parent reviews of specific programs before you buy.

Also, go to http://www.rainbowresource.com and email or call them for a copy of their printed catalog (which is about two inches thick and packed with homeschooling curricula). Just be aware that all of their write-ups are oriented to the positive, so you should not base curriculum choices solely on their descriptions. Parents who have used the programs are the best reviewers!

Nancy

Okay…
Thank you for all your links, and suggestions. I really appreciate them so much.
I am so overwhelmed as I see this isn’t as simple as I had hoped. I see your point about not going with a canned curriculum for her. I also see the importance of focusing on her strengths, and not her weakness. That leads me to another question…
With these children with LD, what is the goal? Our goal is to get her to her GED. So if this is the case, wouldn’t she need to focus on the stuff she doesn’t do well with, in order to pass the test in the end?
To answer one of your questions, she excels in reading- although she is really bad with writing and spelling. She is in 6th grade for a 2nd time, and she reads at an 8th grade level. Her writing, and spelling aren’t up to snuff- but I am suprised by what I have seen just working with her one on one. I am starting to wonder if it was just the style of teaching that was causing her problems. Or just her ADHD making learning difficult. Is it possible for them to outgrow a once labled LD subject? What I am seeing at home, is better then I had seen coming home as scores from public school.
She proclaims to love math, and sceince(her grades from school did not reflect this). She always has a book in her hand, she loves to read. Her sore subjects are writing, and spelling really- to put it in a nutshell.
I am in Arizona, so the restrictions are nil for homeschooling. I keep hearing from friends that she should do a correspondence, to get the school credit, but they don’t have a child with LD.
I am still trying to figure this out, I really appreciate your advice. The time you have spent sending links etc, is just priceless to me.
Here is my email incase you just rather contact me personally.
I will check out those links, thanks so much!
Thanks again,
[email protected]

Well, consider that many folks advocate for time to “deschool” — which wouldn’t work for me ‘cause it would suddenly be five years later, but some “down time” while you figure things out isn’t a horrible idea, unless it takes over. (Perhaps set a deadline… and then there are your local regulatoins — what do they require of you?)
I would make one or two important priorities. It does sound like she has lots of strengths and a few specific weaknesses — but I’ve learned the hard way that occasionally I’ll get a true “dystaught” student who just needs to learn how to spell & write, but usually I’ve regretted shortcuts. I learned to teach as if there were an LD even if I couldn’t see it, until I got to know the kiddo. (HOWEVER — I was teaching in a private school for kids with LDs — you didn’t get into the school if you just had bad writing).
Here’s what I’d do — but of course, advice is worth every penny you pay for it, so take what connects and ignore the rest :-)
I think I’d figure out three or four things to make into a daily routine - structured writing practice, spelling, math, and reading for starters (hey, one of ‘em should be something she’s strong at :-)). Make the math *easy* to start with — what you want to do is build success and unearth the holes & the gaps (and make it clear to her that if she’s missed a skill along the way, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with *her* — you just need to fill in those gaps now that she’s old enough to learn independently). Then — idle hands are the devil’s playground, and all that — do make sure she’s not a couch potato or video zombie, but she can cultivate genuine interests & skills that schools just don’t cover. Anything under the sun :)
Your huge advantage is that you don’t have to follow anybody else’s curriculum, so — when in doubt, start below the lowest point possible and work up. This is VERY important. It also SAVES time (and TONS OF FRUSTRATION) in the long run.
So grab a copy of Rudginsky & Haskell’s How To Teach Spelling (http://www.rlac.com) and start with unit one… and don’t worry about doing a unit in a week unless it’s totally review and she could just spell all the words (which has *never* happened to me except for a few natural spellers) and the sentence dications from the get - go… I’d still spend that week reviewing the rule & concept. (How to Teach Spelling is a really good comprehensive spelling program that goes from regular, short vowel sounds through our good friend silent E, and then through all and sundry phonetic patterns including -sion vs. -tion.) You want spelling to be *mastered* and you know better than the silly teachers who think it’s important To Cover The Book In A Year (this book wasn’t designed that way.
Is her writing really, really basic? Hey, even if not… this is a bit pricey (teacher prices, sigh…) but Charlotte Morgan’s “When They Can’t WRite” is a totally structured, all the plannign done for you — but still interesting and individual — course in writing from the ground up. I’m recommending it for our college students with big ol’ writing deficits, here. Starts with two word sentences… builds from there. This would be a case where you can go a lot faster in some sections if she’s “got” that.
Math… not sure where I’d get the materials for that. I rather detest most ‘remedial’ math stuff — somehow it manages to make the basics much more confusing than higher math. Maybe just swinging back and learning the addition, subtraction, multiplication & division facts to honest-to-goodness mastery would be a good start, and work on number sense if she doesn’t have that. (Oh, I suppose I should put in a plug for my Tools for THe Times Tables — http://www.resourceroom.net and click on “Math” — the workbook you can get cheaply via the INternet so you print it out at your end.)
Then you could explore state curricula together — and work on ways to prove she has the knowledge that don’t demand more writing skills than she has. The good reading skills are ahuge plus here — and why I have to say a canned curriculum isn’t necessarily as bad, then, since most of them are very dependent on reading.
Heavens, I have written a tome :) Again, it’s not the Gospel according to Sue — it’s just some ideas… don’t be scared :-)

Stacy, Here in Al my son will graduate at the home school umbrella that we are members of. It is just like a private school and is accredited. Why would she have to get a GED? Jan