Placement Help for Adopted Son from China

[AnitaH]

Hi friends! I have several questions that might be harder to answer because it's for our son, Kaleb, whom we adopted from China last year at 6 yrs of age. He had no English language whatsoever, so we were teaching all the typical pre-K and Kdg type subjects along with English. Truly by God's grace, he is up to and ready to start 1st grade material at age 7 yrs!! He is beginning to read and doing simple math (addition/subtraction).

Our daughter, Kaylin, also age 7 yrs was adopted from China as a baby. So, her first language was English. She is headed into 2nd grade, but reading at a 4th grade level.

So...here's my questions about placement. Kaylin places easily into Beyond as she has not yet had the narration/copywork experience which I know is an important skill to grasp before moving too far up into the guides. I can supplement her reading easily.

Do you think I can also keep Kaleb in Beyond with her, but just keep the LA/Math/handwriting at his level while continuing to introduce LOTS of vocabulary/ELL/ESL type information for him? Any specific suggestions for English language learners?? I'm just a bit concerned here as I know lots of the reading that we do is without pictures. Yet, he needs pictures because he is still learning all those words/concepts that our bio kids just pick up on without us even realizing it.

Last year was such a stressful year (Kaleb's adoption, moving twice, first year homeschooling) that I really need an easier year for everyone! But I want to make sure that both children are receiving the level of teaching they need.

Thanks for your help...and I'd love to hear from Carrie or Julie, too!!

[countrymom]

I would really lean towards doing Little Hearts with him. There is so much for him in terms of adjustment, and even though he has come so far, I just think there is going to be so much beyond him yet. I am thinking of the phrases in the poetry, the older language in the history, the comprehension needed for the narration, and so on. Little Hearts would give him a year to grow in so many ways. You could always do math and writing at whatever level he is at and continue with phonics, which Little Hearts has them doing anyway. It would put you back to back with the guides, but I think it would be the best choice for your son. We have adopted two as well, and even though they came home at 1 yr, I have heard from other parents of older adoptions that even though their children started speaking English and in many ways seemed to be adjusting to the language change so easily, there were huge gaps in their language abilities.

[my3sons]

Congrats on making some truly wonderful gains with your kiddos, and also welcome to the HOD Board, Anita! You could do LHFHG with ds and Beyond with dd, using DITHOR for dd's reading. Countrymom makes some great points about this placement! Or, since ds is making such good gains, you could do Beyond half-speed for awhile, to give him time to grow into it. Would ds just thrive with his own thing? If so, I'd do LHFHG with him and enjoy it! Or, do you really long to combine the two of them? If so, I'd do Beyond half-speed and make sure to take your sweet time so ds is not rushed into it. What do you think?

In Christ,
Julie

[AnitaH]

Thank you both so much for your input and welcome! Ds has really made tremendous gains in such a short amount of time, and I am so thankful! But yes, I agree. I'm a bit concerned about his ability to really handle any of Beyond yet due his his language acquisition. I believe one of the things I've read is that it takes a good 7 years for an older child to thoroughly gain their English skills in every area. Though I'd love to put them both in the same guide for convenience sake, I'm wondering if I would constantly be "tweaking" what he's doing that it would just be easier to follow the LHFHG guide and not continually "re-thinking" it all. That in itself is time consuming. Plus, I do get the benefit of working with a guide ahead of him each year (at least for now) which will help me when I'm at the point of using it with him...maybe knowing where to help/tweak, etc.

I do have another question about Math that maybe you can also give me your feedback. I understand that Singapore is such a wonderful program (and how could it not be coming from Asia??!! )...BUT I also understand it being very "wordy". Once again, I'm not sure that I should start it with our son since he is so far from being able to understand it from an English-speaking point of view that I'm going to be doing LOTS of hand-holding for something that he might normally be able to sit down and do. I'm reviewing several other curriculum to see if I can get a feel for their process of teaching, but wondered if you had suggestions?

I so appreciate your responses and help!

[blessedmomof4]

I believe that Singapore math is not intended to be something they can just sit down and do alone, certainly not at the Kindergarten/first grade level. You will be doing hands on activities with your children from the LHFHG or Beyond Guide, then sitting alongside your children as they work on their workbook page. You can help them read anything they are not able to read on their own yet. By the time your son gets to level 3A where he would be using the textbook as well as the workbook, he will have gained more English, but you would still be working alongside him even then. I think it would be a great program for both your kiddos

[my3sons]

It sounds like you are on your way to a great placement for each of your dc! We have used Singapore math with each of our dc, and our oldest has now worked all the way from Earlybird Kindergarten through 6A. I don't find it wordy, but rather think of it as a "cut to the chase" kind of program. There are no wasted words in Singapore, but rather, each word bubble, phrase, and note has purpose. There are not too many "helps" on a page, but rather just a few that lead dc toward better mental math methods. HOD's hands-on math activities at for EB Kindergarten through 2A/2B are a blast to teach! They are short, fun, and the kiddos look forward to them. I think you'd be so pleased with them. Here are a few links that may be helpful as you research Singapore Math as well...

Singapore Math (why Carrie picked it and my top reasons for using it)
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4271&p=31537#p31537
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=112

HTH as you ponder which math to choose for your dc!
In Christ,
Julie