Hi ladies. Well, I started our first day on the 30th of August and except for that first day, I really feel like I'm doing poorly at this. So again I'm asking for help! It's either me, or the books, or what the kids haven't learned. Or all of that! I bought used A Beka books for the 3rd, 5th and 6th grades and it seems that it's stuff my kids haven't been introduced to yet. I knew Robeson county was really slack, as I subbed, but I honestly thought since the kids grades were good and they didn't seem to have problems, they were OK. Boy was I wrong! I feel guilty not realizing they were behind. I mean aren't you supposed to be able to multiply 3 digits by 2 digits in the 4th grade? When I gave those type of problems to my 5th grader he did really bad. And they do NOT know their tables. Addition,multiplication etc. Not even the 6th grader. I can't believe that I didn't see this. And being a 54 year old grandmother is NO excuse. I'm the one raising them and I should have seen more than I did. However, I need to figure out what to do now. The 6th grader can't do sentence diagrams. A Beka seems like it goes straight from one thing to the next and quite frankly, without much instuction and way too fast for me. 3 pages of one thing and then right to another. And this to be done in several days. There is NO way they can go the suggested speed. Is there anyone living in NC that can tell me where they should actually be academically or where I can find out? The school system in Robeson county is so corrupt and the principal from their old school is NOT the type of person to give me any help since I took my kids out of public school or before I took them out for that matter. I wish I didn't get A Beka. I feel less and less that it was the right choice, for me anyway. I feel like I need to do only basic math and english with learning verbs, nouns etc as the main thing. Reading of course and just a sprinkle of SS and Science, for now. But then I'm scared they will be even further behind. I thought I was nervous before starting, but now I feel like I'm not doing well for my oldest 2. The 3rd grader seems ready for what her books have. She has to be shown what to do of course, but it's like she's ready. But then she had a really great teacher for 2nd grade. Like the ones I used to have up home so many moons ago. You know, the ones who taught because they really loved it AND children. But with my 2 oldest I feel like I need to figure out something else. I keep thinking how they may not be able to pass the tests I have to give in April. I will NOT put them back in ps. I felt sick to my stomach every time I thought of sending my granddaughter to middle school. There are so many of you young moms and a little bit older ones too that seem to have it all together and I feel like someone can give me some advice here. I sure need it. I feel like I am totally lost. Sorry this is so long and probably not making much sense. It's late and I should be in bed and we did only math ALL day for the 5th and 6th graders. I finally let them use a calculater but they had to do the problems step by step and show work. They HAVE to learn those tables. My goodness, I know I'm older than most of, if not all, of you, but I seem to remember learning those in 2nd and 3rd grade. Also writing. Do they not teach writing any more??? Please, any help will be welcome. By the way, I read the thread about Jen's blessing, and as usual, I never cease to be amazed at how God blesses His children. You all sound so special and I'm SO glad I found this place and you ladies. I just wish a few, if not all you, were my neighbors BIG Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice and for those that wrote me my first time, thank you for that help. I think I thanked you (hopefully I did) but I could have had a "senior moment"!! (((HUGS)))&God bless, Bonnie
I don't have much experience at all. But I know that I was in school not that long ago and my advice is that you make sure their foundations are strong. I struggled in high school before putting myself into homeschool with math like algebra and geometry (especially geo) and I feel that was because to many teachers they just want you to get the general overview of things. I was able to understand better when I had one-on-one teaching but I still struggled quite a bit. My husband is studying to become an elementary teacher and he teaches me what he learns in math class and I am shocked that my teachers for many grades (not all) did a horrible job in teaching me the basics that I really needed to grasp higher levels of math.
Bonnie, I am new to all of this too and I am almost 52! I am an adoptive mother as well as a birth mother. My older kids are married and the four at home are 16,16,(both almost 17) 13, and 8. The youngest two are being homeschooled and they are both girls. We knew the eighth grader had problems in school but with help during the day we thought she was doing okay. It was the social part that was our problem. Just plain old mean stuff. My youngest was born with a cleft lip and has had plastic surgery but still had kids say things about it. My 13 year old is a follower and is easily led into things she shouldn't do. Nothing bad happened but we could see it coming if we left things the way they were. I started homeschooling here when public school started 8 days ago. I too am shocked at how little they know and kept trying to figure out why I never noticed before. I think they had been learning just enough to do their work for the day and the homework and then the teacher moved on so fast they never "got" it. They never really mastered math facts. Eighth grader can't say all the times tables. Now we have to start over and you may need to also. I don't worry about mine getting farther behind right now because if they don't learn the basics they won't be able to go very far counting on their fingers, so we have pretty much started over with math. It is going pretty fast so far because I don't stress them over it. I don't grade their work like at school. I put a star beside any problems they miss and they correct them. No big red x's or anything to make them feel bad. I think they have been made to feel bad for long enough. I was shocked when my older one told me that a teacher explained something to her, after she had said she didn't understand what he had just said to the class, and then he said loudly, "now do you get it Crystal?" Yeah that makes sense. Point out to the rest of the class that a kid has a weakness! But that is behind us now and I don't plan on ever going back. We don't spend a whole day on any one subject because they would hate that and I want this to be fun and an adventure for us all. We go to the library once a week and they read, pick out books, look out the window at the waterfall and play computer games. We go out to lunch once a week with our youth leader from church who just happens to be my older sister. We are visiting a homeschool support group next week and we have trips planned that we all are looking forward to. I don't know if any of this helps but just know you are not alone in this. I will be praying for you. Beth
Bonnie, You do what you need to do for your kids. ps "rules" are arbitrary anyway. One good thing about hsing is that you can work at the level of the kids, not just push'em on through! Who cares if your 8th grader is doing 2nd or 3rd grade stuff? If they didn't get it then, then work on it now! I always tell my kids that they are levels, not grades. "This is level 3 multiplication, let's work on that, and when you get that, you'll be able to move to level 4, which you'll understand better now...." Then they haven't felt bad as they would have in school. I tell them it's great that we're able to work on the level they're at so they get it, so they can move on and be confident adults. They won't have the teasing, they will just have the encouragement and love from you! Trust me, it may SEEM like they're behind for awhile, but they're really not. They're working at the level they need. And with the one-on-one attention, they'll be moving along faster than they would in school! Take as much time as you need to concentrate on what they need! I think you're wise to just back off from the A Beka work that is a stress to them and to you. Do speed drills in the basics. Find sites that have worksheets you can use for speed drills, and have them take it (timed) the first time. After that, keep timing it, and have them try to beat their own score. They're not competing with anyone else except themselves that way, and they feel good when they can better their score. I've been doing that with my dd, who is still counting things out on her fingers (she's in 5th grade). She did one timed test in 6 minutes the first time. Yesterday she did that same test in 2:37! It's great, cuz with doing it over and over, they really start getting it. Have you heard of Wrap-Ups? They have them at Teacher/Education stores. They are very helpful also, and make the learning more fun. My oldest ds struggled with multiplication and some division for awhile. I got the WrapUps, and it helped him tget through that time and learn the facts. My 2nd ds just whizzed right through learning the facts. Now dd is needing some help. She basically knows them, but is VERY slow at them. We pretty much put her regular math on hold for now, until she learns/memorizes her multiplication tables better! It's not worth pushing them to move on without knowing these facts! Remember, don't get discouraged! It's a great thing you're doing, raising your grandchildren, and being so aware of their needs that you brought them home to homeschool! Just that alone is a confidence booster for them, and with some work they will soon far outshine the ps kids! Allow yourself and them to step back, relax a little and move at a slower pace until you and they are ready to move on! I will pray for you also, I KNOW you will do a great job!
Hey, Bonnie, I hate to break it to you but guess what?!! We are human!! I say this because I too am doing the "how did I miss it" game with my own head right now. I pulled my then 15 yr old dd out of high school last year at this time. There is almost 2,000 students at this school and I was totally blown away by how much she did not know or was allowed to get away with. I would assign her a journal topic that had to be a page long and I would get back a page of absolute fluff. If I read it in a hurry, I doubt I would have even noticed. Her reply was "I got away with it with my teachers". Not this one!! Looking back I should have pulled my 6th grader out of ps last year. Serveral parents did and I even "threatened" the principal with doing the same if the teacher didn't straighten up. There was alot of favortism and actually bullying on her part going on. The first week of school she made herself sick everday and I decided to just go ahead and hs. My sis has a son 2 yrs ahead of her and always sends me her things at the end of the year so we at least could get started. As far as standards, I don't know if this is something other state do, but I found a cd-rom at the library titled something like Paren't guide to SC requirements. It was put out by th SC Education Oversight Committee and was extremely helpfuly. It breaks down by grade and includes what areas they should study, web-sites and even reading list requirements. I would check and see if your state has something along those lines. Meanwhile, just remember that you are human and at least we are trying to do the best at this point. We can't go back but at least we can move forward!
"Meanwhile, just remember that you are human and at least we are trying to do the best at this point. We can't go back but at least we can move forward!" Jennifer, I LIKE that statement! It's so true! And I know God will bless our efforts!
I struggle with being "too" concerned with what my kids should learn and when. I am doing better with it though. I am learning more and more that my kids are not actually in a particular "grade". My dd 9, for instance, is in 3rd grade math, 5th grade spelling, 4th grade language arts, etc. I just take a subject and start at the point she is comfortable and move on from there. I do still worry that we need to "catch up", but I am doing much better with that. You gals here have helped alot with that! (Thanks!) Anyway, Bonnie, everyone is different and learns at different levels. There is nothing wrong with that. I say be thankful you have them home now and and just back up and start where they are comfortable. It is a shame that our government school systems fail our kids but thank God we have the choice to homeschool!!
Hi, Bonnie!!! Now that you are taking on the roll of teacher, the children will learn a lot faster than in ps. Everything will be alright. I agree that you should pull away from A Beka for now and use worksheets off the internet or even write the problems for them on a piece of paper and have them answer them. As it is, A Beka is considered a bit advanced in reading, math and spelling. We use A Beka and what I have learned to do is stop in an area that is new to Ems (if she does not understand the work) and then have her work on the same type of problems or do worksheets until she understands them enough to move on. Do you have the teacher's guides to the curriculum because on each days lesson they have many questions, oral and written, that you can have the children do to reinforce what they are learning. They also have games they can play to help them memorize the problems and tips and ideas as how to teach the children. We do not always need this but sometimes I go to the guide because it gives ideas as how to explain something if I am having trouble explaining it. Remember, you are not obligated to stick to one type of curriculum or even use a curriculum. You can buy cheap activity books at Wal-Mart for about $10.00. You can purchase a cheap math game for the computer as well. As long as they are advancing in their studies, you will be alright.
You guys are definitely a boost to me and my confidence. I am SO thankful to God for letting my daughter find this site and allowing me to find you ladies. This is the best place in the world for homeschoolers for sure! I can't thank you all enough for all the encouragement and input and just plain kindness. It's just so amazing to me. I truely thank God for each and everyone of you. To know that I'm not the only one with some of these feelings makes it easier for me to realize we'll be OK and we can do this ! I can't thank you enough. All of you gave such great advice and are some of the most generous people I've "met" in a really long time. I am printing every response so I can read them when I need a boost ;-) The enemy had me thinking I was messing up but I now realize he just wanted me to doubt what I believe God led me to do. Praise God he loses again! I really feel a hundred percent better and I know the kids will bless their hearts. I'm sure i was like a crazy woman these last few days. Again ladies, thank you and God bless each and everyone of you for sharing experiences and ideas etc. You have really made our day! (((HUGS)))&God bless, Bonnie
Hi, Bonnie! The other ladies have given you great advice, I just wanted to say try not to worry too much! Take it slow and adjust to being at home. Take time to get those basics down and then worry about the harder things. The ladies here are always full of great advice when you need it!
it sounds like you are doing a great job! youve made the most important first step and that is simply to take that first step. i struggled in the beginning with feeling like i needed to know so much and prepare so much and keep the kids at certin levels and grades... but ive relaxed alot and thats made it eaiser for ALL of us. for starters ive learned that its ok to not know.. im never ever going to know the answer to every question my kids have, my job is to teach them how to find the answers (isnt that what we want them to be able to do as adults, solve their own problems!) also we dont ever talk about "grades" there is no pass or fail, we have "still working on it" and "mastered" dont worry about grade levels either, someone mentioned earlier about working at subject levels, rather than subject grades... that is so right, i dont want my kids in ps because i want them to have an individual education, so why should i try to stuff them into the mold at home. right now my kids are all over the place accidemicly see: math level DS9 - 3/4 DD7 -3 DS5- 1 DS4- 0 reading 5 2 1 0 science 7 (!) 4 2 1 spelling 3 2 0 0 according to that DS9 would be anywhere between 3ed and 7th grade...thats a big gap, but it works for him, and thats whats so cool about homeschooling, we can do what works for our kids, not what works for most of a group of 24 kids. ever read the book "dont sweat the small stuff"? you should!!! good luck to you and your grandchildren, they are so lucky to have someone who cares so much about them and their education hang in there -connie
Bonnie, Hi, You have taken the first step to realize your children need YOUR help. Don't worry about the standardized test in April, they will do just fine. My recommedation is for you to drop the Abeka program for just a little while. I recommend Easy Grammar, Spelling Power and Writing Strands for your Language Arts. Math you could use Spectrum Math. I don't really have alot of suggestions for Math. Maybe someone else has some. Sorry!!! As for Social Studies, Science, and Reading use the Library. Find out the kid's interests and start from there. They will be all right and you will too!!!! Let me know how you are doing!!!!!!
Bonnie, Believe it or not my 6th grader cannot do cursive writing. This is something I want to work on this year. For Social Studies/History we are using a book called America's History Land of Liberty put out by Harcourt Achieve. It is designed for grades 6-12 but it is written at a 4th to 5th grade reading level but also has assignments that are meant to be challenging for the more advanced student. I am using it for both of my girls 6th and 11th grade and they are both enjoying it. It is a hand me down from my sis and she was laughing that she enjoyed it also. Both of my girls have told me how much they are enjoying that subject this year. For math we have found the Alpha Omega works for them in that it breaks it down in a way that they "get it". This technique doesn't work for all but I'm lucky it does for both of them. I also use a book called Reading Bridge for enhancement in Language Arts for my 6th grader and she really enjoys that. They read and then do the excercise that goes with it. Daily Grams are also good. Jennifer
(((hugs))) you have gotten lots of great advice already. These ladies are great! I agree with the above. i would not go any further until the basics are mastered. Then you can use your cur. or sell it and get one that is closer to what your family needs.
