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Hi Ladies,
Just a little background. We decided very early on that our ds would not do well in a classroom. So we decided to homeschool him and are now homeschooling our 3 youngest (18 yo, almost 10 yo and 6 yo). We feel that we were correct in our decision. Even though he struggles at home, we feel he would have struggled even more in school. The doctor has said that he has ADD and I am suspecting he may have other issues going on. We spoke with the school district about having him assessed for a learning disability, but they said that although he is slightly behind in reading and way behind in spelling his Iowa Basic scores would not dictate the assessment. I still sense something, but unless we are able to spend the money on our own to have him assessed.... We like others are struggling with finances and the economy so we feel we must wait. With whatever he is dealing with, I (and his doctor) attribute how far he has achieved to homeschooling and specifically HOD. It has been a wonderful fit!! It just takes us a lot longer to get through a guide (1 1/2 years - 2 years). I have been advised and heard so many talks about how homeschooling allows you to go at the speed of the child. It has and it has been good!! He is learning. Just a little slower than others.

BUT, as we finish up Bigger and begin Preparing in Jan when he turns 10, I'm looking ahead and if we were able to complete a guide a year (which we have not been able to so far), we will be short a guide. My question then becomes do I at some point skip a guide so he does all the high school ones? Do I just continue on in order and not do the last one? Or do I have him do an extra year of school so that he completes ALL the course work?

My son is slower, but definitely is smart. I honestly believe something is getting in his way of learning. I do not want to short-change his education. I want to continue to go at his speed so that he continues to enjoy and wants to learn, but looking forward what do I do??

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Laurie

My advice would be to just keep going at a pace that he is successful at and not to worry about whether you finish the guides or not. Since MTMM is written with extensions up to high school age it is easy to make a few adjustments and count that as high school. I wouldn't skip a guide, at least not any in the current progression as they really build on each other. My ds did Preparing at 10 and his 13 now doing Rev to Rev. He has mild CP that gets in the way sometimes of his learning, but he also is very smart. For us I am still not sure what we are going to do. He has a late May birthday so he really could be considered only a 7th grader this year and that tends to be which way I lean and at this point he is fine with it. He just doesn't seem ready for high school level work next year. Not because of HOD, but just because of his struggles. I am going to keep good records next year and grades so if we get down the road a year or two and I realize that he will be ready to graduate just as he turns 18 then I can do that, if not he will continue another year.

I was just wondering the other day... what if all these strange ingredients in our modern foods are contributing greatly to things like ADD? It is hard to get around GMO in our food. Even when you're trying to eat healthy turns out a lot of our produce is GMO. It is my suspicion that this must have a negative effect on the brain. I won't go into a rant here, but it might be eye opening and explain some things. Type a google search with your son's symptoms and GMO.

Another thing, more easily avoided would be high fructose corn syrup (which I read has variable levels of mercury in it- and that would most definitely harm the brain! If I remember correctly kelp tablets will help to remove mercury, I think that is right. I looked into this stuff years ago and am going off memory).

And then there is MSG which is in so many foods. Monosodium glutamate. This is horrible! Terrible stuff. If you see it in the foods you guys are eating it might help to quit eating those products.

Soda could also totally make his attention span worse.

Your son may just be more sensitive than the rest of your family.

I hope this isn't offensive. I hesitate to write about diet because it is a touchy subject for most and yet... I must because I really feel that a lot of the behavior problems are either caused or heightened atleast, by what we eat.

Raindrops, I don't get offended talking about diet. We have tried everything you listed and more. We have seen limited improvement, but improvement none the less. Thus, I don't disregard diet suggestions, but I think we have seen the most benefit that we will get from changing his diet. So thank you!!

Lynn, Thanks for the advice. I don't think I would look at skipping a guide right now, for I really see him placing firmly in Preparing. I'm just trying to figure out what the future will look like so he will have high school covered. This is probably weighing on my mind now as I'm finalizing the last semester of my 12th grader's transcript. Making sure she has everything completed. If he doesn't complete the last guide, would I need to add something to complete out Amer Gov't or something else??

Laurie

I am pretty sure Carrie had said that Government will be covered in the next to last guide that deals with earlier American History because that is where it makes sense. If you want to do a full economics course other than what is covered in MTMM you could either add to the Econ. that is already scheduled in that guide or you could do something else like Dave Ramsey's course or something. I also have a 12th grader, so I do understand why that would be on your mind.

I just wanted to say that "I feel your pain".

My 9 year old son also has some underlying learning issues. I worry about his future as well. But I just take it one day and one guide at a time, modifying when needed.

God has created our children FOR A PURPOSE, and I cling to that. Enjoy your son, and pray for wisdom every day.

I agree with what the previous posters have shared and also wanted to add that you really shouldn't look that far down the road. I have an 11 yo ds who also has struggles with reading and especially spelling who is currently in Preparing and thriving. I have seen great improvement in him this year, not necessarily in spelling, but in so many other areas. The Lord has led me to find different things that have been helpful to him: discovering how negatively artificial colors in food affect him, learning exercises from Brain Gym/Dianne Craft, doing a remedial language arts program that finally clicks for him, adding in some natural supplements that help him concentrate and deal better with anxiety over failure, new things, etc. He is a different boy than when we started school this year, and our school days look much different than they have in the past. Praise the Lord!

What I am trying to say is just because he is moving slowly through the guides now, doesn't mean that he always will. He may, but maybe not. As a previous poster said, we've got to take one day at a time. I wish I could see how it's all going to fit together my ds, but I have to trust that God will continue to guide me day by day to what will best help my son become all that God has intended for Him to be.

HTH,

RuthAnn

Hi Laurie,

I'm wondering if the guides going to 4 days a week starting in Preparing will help any? You will have an extra day each week and at some point might be able to use that to keep making forward progress in the guides and work toward "catching up"? Just a thought..

HTH,
Kathy

I think there is the misconception that a child can't graduate until they finish certain courses. Pennsyvania has some of the toughest homeschool laws and I have graduated 3 dc who did not do certain courses in high school. My 2nd dd had spina bifida and really struggled with Math. She only made it to Pre-Algebra. She earned a general diploma. What they need to finish will be dependent on whether you want your child to graduate with a college-prep diploma. Some colleges require certain courses to be done before entrance, some don't. Because there are different areas of interest for a student to pursue, there are different types of diplomas that can be issued. They include college-prep, general, business, and vocational. When your child gets to high school, if you know he will not be able to achieve in some of the higher level courses, you can cover the core subjects as you see fit, according to your child's interests, talent, and learning ability.

My youngest who will be 10 in May will not finish Bigger until sometime next school year. We are doing basically 3-4 days a week after starting half-speed. I don't expect that she will finish all the guides. She had CP and some vision problems that have affected her learning. HOD has allowed us to take things at a pace that is helping to generate learning with minimal frustrations. No one knows what the future holds, but if I had to give a summary of what I anticipate for the future, I would say that I am going to let Angie just keep going in the guides at the pace I feel is good for her. When she gets to high school, she will just keep going through the guides. If she can handle extensions I will give them. If not, that's okay. If she has a certain area of interest that she wants to pursue, I will make sure she is given that opportunity. There is more than one way to fulfill requirements for graduation. We have different homeschool associations that offer diplomas. You can check and see what your state requires or research what type of homeschool diplomas are offered in your state. But, really it is not something you need to worry about right now. Just keep going with what is working and continue to enjoy HOD.