preparing a good fit for my 4th grader

[LivinNandByHim]

Seeing a lot of 10 - 12 yr. old in preparing. my son is 9, completing 3rd grade. This year he went to what is considered to be the "best school in town". the upper class side of town. I was pleased with the school as far as public school. They used saxon math. He is a good reader, but his writing and spelling are poor. My beloved boy is smart, but he has a short attention span and typically his mind is in one place while his body is in another. His teacher suggested that he is just a little immature for his age and that this is typical at his age level. She went on to say that between 3rd and 4th grades, she has seen a lot of kids "level up / mature up" and be totally different by the end of 4th grade. I also wander if he has a touch of attention deficit (without the hyperactivity - he is a typical boy in this regard). (I know this is getting long, sorry.)

After reading through the catalog, I fell in love with the materials in preparing. "I" think that the topics would be a good fit for us, even if we start slow / low with R&S. I kind of liked all the practice with saxon, but.... I don't have a lot of time to spend on presentation. I work 2-3 nights a week as a nurse. My son is definitely a Wiggly - do and learn - student. He loves audio books, also. We had a bad exerience during 2nd grade with ACE. He was bored with the workbooks, and I felt it lacked academically. (He loves doing experiments and stuff). lol Also I think the Lord had to work on mom this past year while my kids went to school. (Also have 5 yo dd, hoping to start LHFHG). I want to have a GREAT year. My son is interested in what he saw in the catalog for preparing, but I don't want to jump in over our heads. I guess ultimately the point of my rambling is :I want my kids and I to have an enjoyable, Christ centered, bonding together education this year. Any ideas to help me decide if I may be starting at the wrong level.???? Ps... final 6 week grade 100 in science (his absolute favorite!!) 100 in social studies. 49 in spelling. 90 in reading and LA. Also, suggestions placing him in DITHR...LivinNandByHim /Thank you to all .

Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:49 pm

[ncmomof5]

Have you looked at the placement guide to see where your son falls on that? That's a good place to start.

I have an 8 year old ds who sounds a lot like your 9 yo ds. I think that HOD has a lot to offer our wiggly little boys that other more wookbooky, textbooky programs don't. I did Abeka video school for my 8 yo ds when he was in kindergarten, and he did not like it. He wanted to talk to the teacher, and have him talk back to her. He didn't like just sitting there listening to her talk. I have learned a lot since then about how to homeschool without making my home a school, and it has helped all of my children a great deal (as well as me ).

As far as R&S goes, you want to make sure that you place him properly there, because R&S for grade 2 gives them a very gentle, thorough foundation in grammar and R&S for Grade 3 expects that your child has that.

I think you and your son will like HOD, but placement is important, so check the placement guide (if you haven't already) and if he falls into Preparing, I would go with that and maybe just start out slow.

Hope that helps a little. Keep praying and searching for the Lord's will in all things. He will show you what to do.

[Sue G in PA]

My 3rd grader sounds a lot like yours. My ds9 has been homeschooled since birth but has not been ready to "formal" academics yet. He learned to read on his own and I've managed to get him through level 2A of Singapore in Math (with much kicking and screaming and many tears from us both ). We have not covered "formal" grammar and as for spelling...well...let's just say he is improving slowly but surely! We are using Phonics Road and really gaining some ground. All that being said...we are doing Preparing next year and I, like you, am a bit nervous. He will do Preparing with his 2 older brothers (ds10 and ds12...5th and 7th graders). My ds9 does not like to write...not copywork, not dictation or creative writing. We do a lot orally. I've also placed him in R&S Eng. 3 but wonder if 2 would have been a better fit. I have seen many changes in my son's attitude about school this year. While it still isn't his favorite thing to do, he will do it. He is maturing in that area and I am hopeful that next year will be "his year". I would have put him in Bigger if I wasn't already doing Preparing and LHFHG with my dd5 and ds7. 3 guides just seemed overwhelming to me. Anyway, good luck to you. I am really excited about Preparing.

[Kathleen]

I had a wonderful year with my 9 yo boy who was a 4th grader this past year. He just turned 10 at the end of our year. We used Preparing, and it was our 2nd year with HOD. I'd say look at the placement chart and see if that's where he seems to fit. I LOVE the way HOD has me interacting with my son, and he loves the variety in our learning (well..all but the writing, he tolerates that ). But he really enjoys the listening, reading, activities, experiments! And the focus on Christ has us here for the long haul! We are blessed with HOD!!

Kathleen