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Hello. We are thinking about coming back to HOD and need help with placement. We did Bigger back in 3rd grade. He will be entering 6th grade next school year (12 years old). He likes assignments that are short and to the point! Kind of a "get it done" kid. He is very hands on, and he loves to take things apart and rebuild them! Very active!

We are currently doing IEW through a co op. The age range of the class is 3rd-5th. They focused on outlining and summarizing paragraphs. He also has done several three paragraph stories using the IEW method with Aesops Fables. I guess he came out of that learning how to outline and summarize a paragraph. The focus was adding strong verbs, quality adjectives, who/which clause, and the because clause. He did great in the class, but is not in love with writing!

We also did some writing at home: 5 paragraph personal narrative/4 paragraph compare contrast essay (BJU english 5). We only did a paragraph a day and took our time writing it. We are still working our way through BJU 5. Probably not going to finish it this school year (only on lesson 80). We have done grammar every year: 3rd grade Rod and Staff grammar/4th grade Easy Grammar. He is a a good reader, but does not enjoy reading at all. He reads very fast. Just wants to get it over with and run outside to play! I do have him narrate to me, and he does comprehend what he is reading.
He does not enjoy the writing process, but he does do a pretty good job. I do have to sit with him and help him think through the writing process. It does not come naturally to him.

So my question is do I place him in CTC or RTR? He does have ADHD, but not "classic" ADHD. He does not have any learning disabilities. He does have a low frustration level. I am also considering Rod and Staff 5. I don't know if I should go full speed or half speed. Any thoughts?

Blessings,

Renee

From what you have shared, I think he could place in RTR. When you get the chance, take a look at the history readings and science readings. Can he do them well independently? Also, take a peek at the first week of plans. Can he follow the directions for the "I" independent boxes independently, or will you need to step in a lot to help? Here are a few pics I snapped to help...

Mystery of History text...


Famous Men of Middle Ages text...


Science text...


First week of RTR's plans...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/rtr-we ... glance.pdf

I'd really contemplate if ds can comprehend the reading independently, and if ds can handle the writing assigned. Last, I'd ponder if ds can pick up the guide and use it as a student planner to follow multi-step directions well (i.e. for the history project, for experiments, etc.). These are indicators of proper placement. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you for the pictures. I do believe he can handle the reading.
I always go over his assignments and find things that he missed in the directions. It is part of his personality! He is fast at everything he does, which leads to careless mistakes. Not sure if that will ever change! I do think he can handle the history and science boxes independently. His reading is fine. He is currently reading Abeka 5 readers with ease. I know I will always have to go back and recheck his work.

Thank you again for your help. I appreciate it very much.

Renee

Glad to be of any help, renee! Like you mentioned, I find I still need to be diligent about checking my dc's work and helping them take care in it too. That's probably going to be a 'forever' as homeschool moms for us, but then I figure that is one way I show I care about what he is doing and help him along the way. I remember I had a high school teacher that never corrected his students' work and gave pretty much everyone A's for just turning it in. Throughout that year with him as my teacher, the work I turned in to him became less and less quality work. I actually routinely saw him just throw a pile of uncorrected papers in the garbage after marking they'd been turned in without correcting anything. Very disheartening! Anyway, I figure correcting my sons' work routinely and making sure they properly follow the directions is one way to say "I love you!" (though they may not always see it that way. ) So, just know you are not alone in being the somewhat stalwart 'checker-upper'!

In Christ,
Julie