This is not our first time around on homeschooling. We did it for over a year in the 4th-5th grade. At the point I pulled Rye out of 4th grade, he was falling behind academically and was extremely frustrated by the school environment. Which, for us, meant nearly daily meltdowns at home. I pulled him out and he did well. When I put Rye back into public school with 3 months left to go in the 5th grade (he was ready to try it again for a while), he was able to pass the end-of-year tests at school with higher scores than many of the kids that had been there all year and years prior. And he has significant learning disabilities.
How is this possible?
Because kids like Rye often learn much better in a one-on-one setting. Rye is dyslexic, has an auditory processing disorder (meaning he often processes what he hears incorrectly), significant short term memory deficits, and an extremely short attention span. He doesn’t have much time in the day where he will actually learn and absorb book learning. So, how do we work with this?
I have found our best bet is to use workbooks and for no more than 2 hours a day. Normal text books aren’t great for us as he really needs for everything to be hands on. He learns by doing. So I do teach him informally how to perform a task and then he does it. And I generally have to sit with him the entire time he works and work with him every step of the way. It is not easy. And it takes a ton of patience. But it is worth it. It works. And this is why he was going backward in public school. He could not possibly get this much help and attention there and it was starting to show. In less than one year back in public school he was going completely backwards academically. So, here we are again.
So, what exactly do we use?
Well, we use workbooks for core skills and we use books, hands-on experience and field trips for all electives. Although we learn a lot in the elective world, we do not have a set structure for electives. We only use sit down, structured learning for core skills – reading, writing, grammar and math.
Specifically, this is what we are using right now.
http://teachersfriendcatalog.com/daily_chores_friendly_chart-p-58979.html
I use this chore chart (I know, it’s a bit corny for use with a 12/13 year old but whatever. It’s huge/poster size and it’s clear and it works). He has his basic skills work on there – reading, writing/grammar/math – and then his other chores for the week. He checks them off as either done or undone and his allowance and freedoms are based on these checks. If he does not do his book work for the day, he has no friends over or freedoms that day. And honestly, I am not a fan of chore charts as by nature I am not an organized or micro-manager type person but he wanted one because it makes it clear and concrete to him what is expected of him. So, he got one.
For math, we use the Grade 6 End-Of-Grade Coach workbook from the public school he went to and some supplemental workbooks that vary by what is helpful and well laid out (meaning easy to read for him and not too much on a page). These include Singapore workbooks, hand made worksheets by me and a McGraw Hill one that I can’t find a picture of.
For reading comprehension we use:
I like these Harcourt workbooks because they aren’t overly complex and they don’t have too much on a page which is great for dyslexic kids. They also cover all parts of reading comprehension – facts, sequence, contect, main idea, conclusion, and inference.
The writing ones are good as well but we use them more loosely. And we go down a grade level as we are quite behind in writing skills:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Writing-Skills/Flash-Kids-Editors/e/9781411404823
And this is the grammar book we use right now:
http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_69639_-1_10001_10002
Again, we go down a grade. I like these grammar books becasue they are well laid out, don’t have too much on a page, and have a clear lesson on each page.
And, that’s it for the core subjects. As for the elective work, I’ll write more on as we go.
