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Question: I am considering home schooling in the fall because I want to provide a better environment of learning. Although my son seems to be very bright, he has struggled this past year while in first grade with reading and writing, which is causing him to avoid homework at all costs. Homework is frustrating because of the length of time it takes to complete and his own level of frustration. I would like to "try" homeschooling over the summer to see how he progresses. Although he will technically be ready for grade 2, I feel I need to review quite a bit for him to succeed next fall. Can you recommend what would be the best direction for me to take? I don't feel ready to purchase an entire curriculum at this point, but I would like to get a taste as to what homeschooling would be like. Also, I don't know whether I should review a 1st grade curriculum or start at 2nd grade level. Thank you very much for your help with this matter.
Answer:

Dear Mom,

Wanting to provide a better environment for learning is an excellent reason to try home schooling. Since you mention that you would like to begin this summer, my recommendation is that you give your son at least two full weeks of vacation. Please do not try to jump into home schooling immediately. If he's been frustrated with school, he needs time to unwind and two weeks is the minimum. That doesn't mean he will be idle, but give him a chance to do some activities he enjoys doing and that he has some control over. Play board games, cook together, go swimming or fishing, visit friends and relatives. You can read to him a half hour every day, especially if he gets the opportunity to choose what you read to him within reason. If you've read fifty-one books straight on motorcycles, then it's your turn to pick the fifty-second book on a different topic.

You mention that you would like to review quite a bit. It may be true that he needs review, but I would be concerned about doing a lot of review. Doing quite a bit of review is going to be too much like school (which has already proven to be frustrating for him) and not enough like home schooling. To try home schooling, begin with one or two subjects and limit your time to about thirty minutes for each subject four days a week. This may not seem like much, but home schooling can be intense. Take your son to the library or a bookstore and let him choose books to read and then choose a book that you can read together that will challenge him. Be sure to play word games with him as well. These can be oral games that you play in the car or at lunchtime, such as "What three- and four-letter words begin with b and end with g? Or what words rhyme with "please"? Or they can be games played with letter tiles and paper and pencil word search games. Many home schoolers tend to use a lot of games as opposed to textbooks and worksheets in the primary grades for all subjects.

You mention that writing is challenging. I am not sure if you are referring to handwriting skills or to writing content. If handwriting is difficult for your son, then work on keyboarding skills during the summer. You can find software programs that teach keyboarding skills to children. He will need to learn to use a computer, and learning to use the keyboard will develop his fine motor skills. Do other activities that work on fine motor skills, such as drawing, building with construction sets, playing with clay and sand, and cutting and pasting. The muscles necessary for handwriting often are not fully developed until beyond first grade.

If you are referring to writing content as in being able to create sentences and stories, then use the summer to play word games and to tell stories. Develop vocabulary through word games. Funbrain.com offers free online word games. You can find Dinner Games for ages 5 to 12 at mindwareonline.com. This package of games involves lots of conversation based upon critical thinking and observation. Tell each other stories about things that have happened and about imaginary things. Make up your own riddles with descriptive clues. These basic verbal skills are necessary to improve the content of a child's writing.

Doing these kinds of summer activities with your son will give you an idea of what home schooling is like. If you try to turn the experience into school at home, your son will probably remain frustrated. Home schooling should be more relaxed and informal than a classroom. Since you mention that your son is bright, I would begin with the second grade curriculum after the summer if you decide to continue home schooling.

Enjoy the summertime with your son,

Sandra Garant

 

 

 

   
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