Christianity Oasis Forum

[Dora]

He is in 3rd grade and failing many classes.
So my sister is talking of home schooling.

He's an active boy, with PKU. So if he doesn't eat right he can have adhd type symptoms. Plus he kinda runs his momma around. We don't have good foundation for discipline in our family. So something he's going to do with out needing forced, something that doesn't take a ton of prep work, she's got a baby, and something affordable. Oh he's going to be a preacher when he grows up so the christian curriculum would be great.

Any thoughts on where she should begin?

She wants to get internet hooked up but as of yet that's not happened.
I thought the internet schooling was rather expensive. Like over a thousand. Am I wrong?

For a beginner is there a better way to begin?

Any and all ideas that I could tell her about would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Lionhearted]

hi piners, let me address your questions first. yes, online is pricey, not thousands per year though. Alpha & Omega have an excellent computer study called "switched on school house" ; having said that, i've not used their cirr. for some time, like about 12 years.

hmmm ... well, i'll be direct ... in order for homeschooling to be beneficial in your nephew's life ... the discipline is going to be an issue.

altho, home education allows for much shorter periods of "seat" time for active boys, there is still a certain amount of structure that is required. if he is kinda runnin his momma around (outside of school) then there is no reason to suggest that their schooling time would be any different.

this will be a problem for a couple of reasons. first and foremost it will destroy the mother son bond by adding excessive stress to their relationship; and second, depending on what state she lives in, there will be pressure from the boards to produce her cirr. and results (grades).

her first move needs to be to join the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (just type that into your google browser and it pops up) ... they are an awesome christian organization and very knowledgeable, their rates are very reasonable, around 125.00 per year per student.

your nephew is probably failing because he's bored at school and because he is so active, he doesn't fit their mold of a lecture style learner, as few boys do ... they can do all the studies they want ... , a boy is still a boy. i understand that can be a very general and sweeping statment; however, my opinion comes not from stats but from moms speaking about their sons ... generally, most home schooling moms will tell you that their boys are the same way ... active and not interested in seat work, especially LANGUAGE ARTS .

my best advice for her is to begin small ... baby steps. and don't be overwhelmed.

i use lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of books (library) whatever he's interested in. living books are real ... versus lots of textbook style books.

how about if i share what we do and then you can take what you like if you see something that might be beneficial to your sis.

lots of food and snacks ... full kids learn and concentrate better, my kids eat about every 2 hours

our "gym" class is first thing in the morning. its usually a walk or a bike ride or skipping or kicking a ball around ... for boys a mini tramp works great. i've found that "running" your kids energy level down, BEFORE you start any type of instruction is very beneficial; it releases pent up energy plus increases blood flow to the brain.

i get my books at scholar's choice, costco or walmart or chapters. i've tried a variety of christian cirr. from the most advanced and top of the line (Abekabook and or Bob Jones University Press) textbook style to the more elemental learning (Paces) workbook style; unless your kid is school-eee hungry type of learner ( i was blesst with 1 out of 3 ... the other 2 are reluctant learners ) ... the higher end cirr. are really nice to have, but a bit of a waste of money. and let me qualify my "waste of money" statement; joshua was my first reluctant learner; lets say i spent 600 dollars on an Abeka cirr. it was a waste because he didn't really enjoy or appreciate all the bells and whistles; it would have been better to spend 250 on a Paces Pak and use the remainder for outings (ya know "field trips") zoo, community pool, homeschooling outings etc. but if your kid is a lil "doogie howser" ... then by all means find the extra cash and get the Abeka cirr.

geeeez pine, i'm sorry, i'm writing you a book ... sowwwrrry.

we go cheap, cheap, cheap ... up to about grade 7 or 8 depending on how advanced the child is. my one daughter is in gr 3 and she's using two workbooks from Chapters: 1) BrainQuest Workbook-$16.50 and 2) The Complete Active Minds-$10.00. both of these workbooks are complete in that they both encompass the cores: reading, writing and arithmetic.

she does 4 pages out of each workbook, at her discretion. the demand that i make on her is that she dates each page and keeps a record of the page number and date in the front of the book (i put a postit in the front cover at the beginning of each week, plus this makes it easier for me to find the pages that she's completed)

she's reading a library book, and everytime she finishes a chapter she has to design 4 questions out of that chapter, and keeps a running list of words that she doesn't understand.

we have school from 9-12 ... even if they finish early, they must play or read quietly in their rooms. after lunch the rest of the day and evening are their own.

i hope that gives you some ideas to share with your sis; i'm sure you are praying for her pine ... make sure you keep it up, it can very daunting in the beginning years.

your a great sis for checking this out for her