Best place to start with afterschooling

[Aoife]

I have two DSDs that go to a PS. We plan on HSing our boys but would like to give the girls a better foundation too as their PS is sub-par at best. Being we only have 50/50 custody so they are only here every other week what are some good places to start. Should we stick to only the major subjects like math and LA and maybe some critical thinking skills?

The older one will be going into grade 7 and has that sort of lazy attitude and struggles with grammar and LA in general.

The younger one will be going into 3rd grade and struggles with LA, particularly grammar. She seems gifted in math conceptually but has a strong reliance on counting.

any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated!

[delaney]

:lurk5:

[Aoife]

oo I forgot to add. would it be counter intuitive to do some latin with them both since they are required to learn a FL in PS and latin is not one of the choices. Or would it be fine since it is close to english?

[Sara R]

What is the public school curriculum like? Any new-new math going on? How are their reading skills? Writing? What are your/their ultimate goals, and where do you think the public school will fall short in getting them there?

[Aoife]

What is the public school curriculum like? Any new-new math going on? How are their reading skills? Writing? What are your/their ultimate goals, and where do you think the public school will fall short in getting them there?


It is a west Virginia PS that is sub par for the state even so nationally really bad school. I haven't really gotten to look at the curriculum per say as much as DH has. DSD8 has a very strong reliance of counting on her fingers and cannot do math another way. Sh runs into a bunch of trouble trying to do tens as she really does not have a concept of place value. For instance if you give her a problem that says: you have 30 and 19 how many tens and ones she has a really hard time and will answer it like 3 tens and 19 ones or be somewhere completely different all together.

Reading wise it is like pulling teeth to get them to read anything because they view it so negatively. DSD12 reads at about a grade below her level and has no concept of creative writing period. When she has to write an essay or report it is 99.9% plagiarized off the internet or from books. Her school really does not at all put any emphasis on the proper way to write or how to come up with an idea.

DSD8 has horrible atrocious grammar. She says and writes words like gots and such. She does very poorly on spelling and is reading at maybe a first grade level. She had a very hard time learning to read and didn't really learn until she was 7 1/2 - 8. Things are starting to click a bit more for her but I can still see that she is struggling and she often makes negatives comments about herself like "I'm dumb" or " I can't do spelling"

Both girls have about 0 motivation of ambition. DSD12 is worse in that department and has become quite lazy in general :P DH asked me if I could do some research and see how we can help them to have a better educational foundation and to see if we can impart any of the skills and ambition to excel into them. I figured this would be the board to come to to ask questions and seek help.

TIA!

[Mabelen]

I don't have a lot of advice in terms of particular curriculum and such, but I would stick to the basics, I would definitely not add Latin at this point or else they might feel overwhelmed. I would also seek some input from them to come up with a plan to help them make school easier. I think it is important, especially for the 12 yo to feel that she is listened to, although the working diligently part sould be non negotiable.

If I were in your shoes I think I would start by supporting them with their homework at first and pick one or two other basic aspects to start working on. Once you are started and things are going well you can add more. Other than that, you might also want to add a family read aloud time when they are with you guys? They could be doing some coloring, simple crafts or having a snack while they listen to the stories if they are not used to it.

I hope other experienced moms can give you more input. All the best.

[Sara R]

I agree that you should stick to the basics. Also, look at the time you have available and see what you can fit in there. Especially focus on what time you have before school. In my experience, if my kids have to do it after school, it just doesn't get done. Also, try to teach what you can in a fun way.

Math: Have you checked into Kumon? If it's in the budget, and if the girls' mother is agreeable, I think that would be a good fit. That way you wouldn't be the meanie making them do extra work; an outside company would be in charge of assigning the practice. It would also help them to work during the weeks they aren't with you. Kumon gets great results, and it gives kids enough practice that the mechanics of math seems easy to them.

Do check into what curriculum they are using at the public school. If it's a new-new math curriculum, you might need to become more proactive in introducing math concepts before the weird new math curriculum teaches it the wrong way. Here's an essay you might like: One Step Ahead of the Train Wreck (http://www.ednews.org/articles/one-step-ahead-of-the-train-wreck.html)

Oral grammar: audiobooks! In our speech, we imitate what we listen to. If your girls listen to audiobooks, they will hear more examples of proper grammar, and they can draw from that experience when they speak and write. Plus audiobooks are a lot of fun. You can get them an inexpensive mp3 player (Sansa Clip for around $30) and load it with an exciting audiobook from the library, or a free one from librivox. This also can expose them to good literature. You can also listen to audiobooks in the car.

Writing for the 12-year-old: Have you read Susan Wise Bauer's articles on narration and dictation? If you want something formal to do with her, start out with narration and dictation, or SWB's curriculum Writing with Ease (the hardbound book). If you just want to help her with her school assignments, read Writing with Ease and use those techniques to help her write her sentences (and help her understand why assigning essays to 12-year-olds is a futile exercise).

[ElizabethB]

For their reading, they could watch my free phonics lessons and/or you could work them through the program on my how to tutor page (http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html). It should help a bit with spelling, too.

It doesn't take much time to get them up to or above grade level for most students, I taught 2 groups of students in Arkansas using these methods and they gained over one grade level on average after only two months of lessons twice a week for 90 minutes.

[MBM]

Excellent advice above.

It is a west Virginia PS that is sub par for the state even so nationally really bad school. I haven't really gotten to look at the curriculum per say as much as DH has. DSD8 has a very strong reliance of counting on her fingers and cannot do math another way. Sh runs into a bunch of trouble trying to do tens as she really does not have a concept of place value. For instance if you give her a problem that says: you have 30 and 19 how many tens and ones she has a really hard time and will answer it like 3 tens and 19 ones or be somewhere completely different all together.

I second Kumon if you can do it. Now is the time to crack down on her math. I think it's better to do smaller lessons (15 to 20") more frequently than longer lessons. Also, small lessons (2 to 5") before school if possible.

Reading wise it is like pulling teeth to get them to read anything because they view it so negatively.

My youngest was a reluctant reader until I instituted a 30-minute daily family reading time in the living room. Since your children are still young, you could sit with each child by your side while you read a book together. Select good titles and fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Once their reading improves, have them pick a book from selections you've made and read quietly together in the living room. This has worked wonders for my youngest.

DSD8 has horrible atrocious grammar. She says and writes words like gots and such.

We use Rod and Staff. I am able to do most lessons orally with my son. We keep them short. However, if writing things out helps your child, have her do that. Keep it up during summer, too. It's amazing how much you can cover in short lessons.

Things are starting to click a bit more for her but I can still see that she is struggling and she often makes negatives comments about herself like "I'm dumb" or " I can't do spelling"

Oh, no! Emphasize that after you find the right tools to help her learn and by working diligently with you, she can improve. It breaks my heart when I hear kids say they're dumb. It's just not true.

Both girls have about 0 motivation of ambition. DSD12 is worse in that department and has become quite lazy in general :P DH asked me if I could do some research and see how we can help them to have a better educational foundation and to see if we can impart any of the skills and ambition to excel into them. I figured this would be the board to come to to ask questions and seek help.

The good news is that you can do this. The bad news is that the responsibility is largely up to you. LOL. Try to keep lessons short and potent, often, and on a do-able schedule of some sort. It will pay off!

Good luck!

[Sara R]

[COLOR="Green"]Oh, no! Emphasize that after you find the right tools to help her learn and by working diligently with you, she can improve. It breaks my heart when I hear kids say they're dumb. It's just not true.
[/QUOTE]

What you might do here is emphasize that they're not dumb, but that the school isn't giving them something that they need (explicit instruction, sufficient practice). And then give them what they need. This is a fine line to walk because you want them to have respect for the school and teachers. But you don't want them internalizing the effects of a bad teaching methods either.

[ElizabethB]

[COLOR="Green"]Oh, no! Emphasize that after you find the right tools to help her learn and by working diligently with you, she can improve. It breaks my heart when I hear kids say they're dumb. It's just not true.


What you might do here is emphasize that they're not dumb, but that the school isn't giving them something that they need (explicit instruction, sufficient practice). And then give them what they need. This is a fine line to walk because you want them to have respect for the school and teachers. But you don't want them internalizing the effects of a bad teaching methods either.[/QUOTE]
:iagree:

The first line on my page about working with a remedial reader is "A remedial student needs to be continually reassured that they are not stupid, they were taught to read with a stupid method."

I always blame the method, explaining that teachers are not to blame, they were not given the information they needed to understand the research about what really works and practical ways to best teach because of the nature of our education schools and their isolation from research and their isolation from regular colleges.

Only one of my remedial students didn't need to have this repeated to him, and he was brilliant and improved 3 grade levels in 6 hours. The rest need this statement repeated to them often. On the plus side, it's wonderful when they stop needing this mantra, they grow so much in confidence that it spills over into all areas of their lives and they become much happier and optimistic, you can really have a positive impact on their lives.

[samba2nite]

I second Kumon it has worked wonders for my four yahoos. The math program has served as the foundation for my kids math and it is amazing what it has done for their school math. We also do their reading program which is great up through level F.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.