homeschool newbie, help with 6th grade.

[melcoop]

Hi everyone!!!

I am a mom to 4 great kids. I have DS-6 (1st gr.), twin DD- almost 8 (3rd) and my oldest DS 11 (6th).

I am homeschooling because my husband is a U.S. Marine and it getting out. While he trains for his new job, we will be staying with my MIL in MO for 6 mos. I don't want to put them in school for a couple of months. Plus the school in the area are far from ideal.They were in a wonderful project-based, accelerated Charter school in CA. This is how they learn best. So with that in mind, and being that this is a sort of trial for short term,

I plan to use Time4Learning for all four of them as a core curriculum. I plan to use Lesson Pathways to supplement and give me some projects to do. Unfortunately, Lesson Pathways only goes to 5th. I am a bit overwhelmed with trying to find something for my DS. He is strong in Math, but I feel like we
really need to work on Writing. Any suggestions, thoughts experiences?

Also, I think I have decided on Draw.Write. Now for handwriting over the summer. I want to do cursive with my 3rd graders and my oldest. My oldest was introduced to cursive in 3rd grade but never more. So, I want to make sure he learns to, because its a good skill to have and I think it will benefit him in writing other's cursive. Any opinions on a program for that?? and should I start him with my twins since he is technically learning too?

THanks so much,

Melanie

[2littleboys]

I'd put them all on the same level for cursive, yes. The only modification I'd make, if anything, is to change the line width (it gets more narrow as a child gets older).

I like Abeka and Pentime for very traditional-looking cursive, but some people prefer Handwriting w/o Tears. I like HWT for print, but I think their cursive is too box-like. I prefer the old, loopy style that I was taught as a kid. If you want something free, there are several cursive printable sites. This is a great one: http://www.zaner-bloser.com/media/zb...ler/index.html

I like Writing Strands for writing. It isn't grade-based, but ability-based, and it's appropriate for preschool through college. He would likely need book 2.

Math... does he prefer book based or computer based? Does he pick up concepts quickly, or does he require a lot of practice problems? Does he already have a firm grasp of the basics (+ - x / facts, long division, time, money, measurement, fractions, etc.)?

Are you looking for any other subjects?

Do you know, ultimately, which state you'll live in? Will they do public or private school after this? If you know when & where you're going, you can look at the standards for that school/state to see which skills will be expected. You can focus your attention on that. If you plan to continue homeschooling, you can focus on whatever they need individually as far as level and teaching style are concerned.

[melcoop]

Thankyou so much!!! We will ultimately be living in Colorado. The plan is they will go back to school when we get there. Preferably a Charter school similar to what they had, but don't know if that is possible. The Public schools in the area seem to be really good. But I am open to continue homeschool if it works for us. I am kinda going to see how it goes.
I tried to see what the standard is, I haven't been able to find something in a "mom" friendly form, lol. I do know they have CSAP, so I was hoping to find what exactly material it covers.

I am looking for all, I just don't know how quickly he will go thru Time4Learning. I plan to do the trial once we get to my inlaws. I just don't want them to be behind, I have such respect and admiration for the HS veterans. I am just overwhelmed wondering what is the best approach.

My son has always grasp math fast, but now that we are going into fractions, decimals and percentages its taking a bit more work, but still he doesn't struggle.

[2littleboys]

If he seems to grasp math concepts quickly, you might want to look into "Life of Fred". It's a story-based math about a 5 year old named "Fred" who is a professor at "Kittens University." It's interesting, hilarious, and a great way for students to learn more than just math (at their own pace). It's not like a traditional textbook. You can read all about the series here: http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html

If you think he'd rather have a computer-based math program, look into Teaching Textbooks. It's more expensive than Fred, but it's a very popular choice. Just have him take the pretest to figure out which level to buy. (Everyone has their own idea about what a ____ grader should know, and many feel that the earlier TT's are behind state standards. They catch up in the later grades, though. As with anything, ignore the grade level printed on the cover, and just get what works best for the student.)

Let me look around to see if I can find a mom-friendly standards version for CO.

I'll also come back with some free resources you can look at for other subjects.

[2littleboys]

Free sites:

• http://www.glencoe.com/sites/alabama...te_res_al.html (click on "all subjects" at the left)
• http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=9506 (a ton of stuff to browse through... some related, and some you won't need)
• http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghbgrd6.html (6th grade language arts)
• http://www.ck12.org/flexbook/ (free textbooks)
• http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/ (free, classic literature, read aloud while the student follows along, sorted by grade, title, author, etc.)
• http://www.zaner-bloser.com/media/zb...ice-pages.html (spelling)
• http://www.spellingcity.com/ (spelling)
• http://wordlywise3000.com/ (vocabulary... click "students")
• http://msnucleus.org/membership/guide/storybooks.html (science videos)
• http://www.homeschoolcreations.com/Geography.html (geography printables)
• http://www.worldatlas.com/cntycont.htm (geography by country)

I'll look at the CO stuff later. Hubby just called... on his way home from work.

[2littleboys]

Looks like CO has adopted the CCSS's. Here are the links (click 6th grade in the pdf tables of contents to skip down in them):

States that have adopted it: http://www.corestandards.org/in-the-states
Language Arts Standards pdf: http://www.corestandards.org/assets/...0Standards.pdf
Mathematics Standards pdf:http://www.corestandards.org/assets/...0Standards.pdf

[melcoop]

2LittleBoys,

THANK YOU so much. I really appreciate all the information. You are fabulous. Thanks again!!!!

[2littleboys]

Glad I could help.