[ High School and Self-Education Board ]
Posted by Lori D. on 20:01 Apr 17
In Reply to: My suggestions..... posted by Claire
... my 13yo son (7th gr.) is mildly dyslexic. Math-U-See has been a great math program for him. It's very visual, as I have him watch the short videos for each lesson, and it's also very hands-on, as it teaches the concepts with manipulatives.
We find that adding historical fiction, and movies to go along with our science/history/literature/geography studies are very helpful in "fleshing out" the facts, and making the details "stick".
Paula's Archives have great literature and movie supplement ideas for science and history: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/
Also, Netflix is a great way to view a lot of movies and documentaries -- for a monthly fee, they send you the DVDs from the list you make on their website, with no late fees: http://www.netflix.com/
Also, some of your school subjects can do "double duty" and help your students practice the various language arts skills while also learning information in a different field. For example, I have my boys writing in the various school subjects -- so reading about and doing experiments counts towards science -- and writing up that experiment, or writing a short paper on that science subject counts towards science AND writing! And then correcting and revising the writing helps practice the grammar and spelling. And typing up the final paper counts towards learning/practicing typing...
I agree with Claire: stick to working on those basics to get a solid foundation in math, reading, writing, spelling and grammar, and then you can enjoy reading aloud and readers to give you background in history and science.
Make a list of skills you'd like your children to have, and then make a game plan of how to tackle each skill. Then, slowly, one at a time, accomplish those goals.
Re-evaluating things now is a GOOD idea! So give yourself a pat on the back! :) This gives you time to research and plan what is the best way to go about schooling, and to also start looking into what curriculum/programs will fit best with your plan and for your children. BEST of luck! Warm regards, Lori D.