Hi, I'm new to this forum, and I wanted to ask for some advice for my daughter.
She is 8 yo, and we are on Week 32 of the MP Second Grade curriculum. At age 4 she was diagnosed with a severe speech delay (2yo 10 month level of receptive and expressive), but we knew she was behind at age 3. So I have worked hard to "catch her up" over the years, along with her seeing a speech therapist for a period of time (insurance issues and the public school system left a lot to be desired) and also a behavioral therapist (she was diagnosed with ADHD as well) for a year and a half. She had completed Level 4 of Hooked on Phonics before Kindergarten, and she also had very good handwriting. I pulled her out of Kindergarten mid-way through the year because of her behavior and then her grades were beginning to drop. So at that point, I ordered MP's Kindergarten curriculum, and we've been homeschooling since.
There have been a lot of challenges over the past two years, but also a lot of growth. She really enjoyed 2nd grade this year and has done well grade-wise, but she still has a hard time with comprehension - understanding what is written/said - and also in her ability to put her words together to form an answer. So for instance, to get through the read alouds (I've done this since 1st grade after the torture of trying to push through it anyway), I read the book on Monday, I then read the book and cover vocabulary on Tuesday, and then I read the book and go over the comprehension questions on Wednesday just so that she will have heard it several times and feel a bit more confident in giving an answer. But even after that, she struggles at times. I help her form sentences and write them on the board as we work through the Literature Guides as well. Overall, she has an incredible memory that she really relies on A LOT, so recitation isn't a problem, Prima Latina wasn't an issue, Spelling isn't a problem, Math isn't an issue unless she's not really paying attention to her work, and she absolutely LOVES to read and does it well. But her ability to understand things that she's reading or draw connections from the material is really poor. Even Math has posed an occasional struggle because she freaks out the moment something different/new is put in there. For instance, she was adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers perfectly, and had a problem (30-10=). She completely panicked because of the zeros in the ones place. It took a long time to calm her down and remind her that she already knows the answer, she just has to apply it to this problem.
So getting to my question(s), I ordered the MP 3 curriculum in February. After several weeks I searched through the boxes to find the curriculum manual, and my mouth dropped. I know there is no way I could get her through a whole day of that curriculum. It may be the ADHD, but she already gets antsy when she feels like things are taking too long, and she gets fatigued when it's too mentally taxing as well. But I also have a 4yo daughter that I would like to not neglect and start working with her on some things too (I bought the Jr.K curriculum for her). She loves school and learning, and I want her to continue to love it. I just know she can't handle it. So I have looked through this forum (up to page 29...lol) to see what others have advised, and I completed the Level 4 and Level 5/6 Readiness Assessment. She scored:
Level 4
Reading - 87%
Writing - 100&
Math - 100%
Language - 100%
Social - 90%
Level 5/6
Reading - 83%
Writing - 100%
Math 89%
Language - 90%
Social 81%
I know the levels are customizable, and I am so grateful for that. My husband thinks that her Reading score is close enough to just move her to 5/6. I am using the Myself and Others Curriculum with my youngest, and although I'm starting on the first level with that, I was going to make my oldest do that too starting this summer. I would like your advice though about whether 5/6 is just best or not. She's read the Literature books already, so I don't think she would like to repeat it again. I would just like to make sure we can strengthen her comprehension skills and use of language skills. Also, for the Science, what do you suggest? Go back and do the Mammals stuff or do the 5/6 option of the Rod and Staff Science book? And for the Writing, should I really move her up to 7/8 just because she scored 100%??? But because I was already nervous about her ability to handle 3rd grade writing, I purchased IEW Bible Heroes curriculum (plus the 12 hours seminar...I was trying to be thorough on my side of things), and she's working on that now. I planned to let her continue that through the summer. But now I'm confused on what to do with that subject.
So I would love to hear your insight, advice, suggestions, etc. Thank you!
She is 8 yo, and we are on Week 32 of the MP Second Grade curriculum. At age 4 she was diagnosed with a severe speech delay (2yo 10 month level of receptive and expressive), but we knew she was behind at age 3. So I have worked hard to "catch her up" over the years, along with her seeing a speech therapist for a period of time (insurance issues and the public school system left a lot to be desired) and also a behavioral therapist (she was diagnosed with ADHD as well) for a year and a half. She had completed Level 4 of Hooked on Phonics before Kindergarten, and she also had very good handwriting. I pulled her out of Kindergarten mid-way through the year because of her behavior and then her grades were beginning to drop. So at that point, I ordered MP's Kindergarten curriculum, and we've been homeschooling since.
There have been a lot of challenges over the past two years, but also a lot of growth. She really enjoyed 2nd grade this year and has done well grade-wise, but she still has a hard time with comprehension - understanding what is written/said - and also in her ability to put her words together to form an answer. So for instance, to get through the read alouds (I've done this since 1st grade after the torture of trying to push through it anyway), I read the book on Monday, I then read the book and cover vocabulary on Tuesday, and then I read the book and go over the comprehension questions on Wednesday just so that she will have heard it several times and feel a bit more confident in giving an answer. But even after that, she struggles at times. I help her form sentences and write them on the board as we work through the Literature Guides as well. Overall, she has an incredible memory that she really relies on A LOT, so recitation isn't a problem, Prima Latina wasn't an issue, Spelling isn't a problem, Math isn't an issue unless she's not really paying attention to her work, and she absolutely LOVES to read and does it well. But her ability to understand things that she's reading or draw connections from the material is really poor. Even Math has posed an occasional struggle because she freaks out the moment something different/new is put in there. For instance, she was adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers perfectly, and had a problem (30-10=). She completely panicked because of the zeros in the ones place. It took a long time to calm her down and remind her that she already knows the answer, she just has to apply it to this problem.
So getting to my question(s), I ordered the MP 3 curriculum in February. After several weeks I searched through the boxes to find the curriculum manual, and my mouth dropped. I know there is no way I could get her through a whole day of that curriculum. It may be the ADHD, but she already gets antsy when she feels like things are taking too long, and she gets fatigued when it's too mentally taxing as well. But I also have a 4yo daughter that I would like to not neglect and start working with her on some things too (I bought the Jr.K curriculum for her). She loves school and learning, and I want her to continue to love it. I just know she can't handle it. So I have looked through this forum (up to page 29...lol) to see what others have advised, and I completed the Level 4 and Level 5/6 Readiness Assessment. She scored:
Level 4
Reading - 87%
Writing - 100&
Math - 100%
Language - 100%
Social - 90%
Level 5/6
Reading - 83%
Writing - 100%
Math 89%
Language - 90%
Social 81%
I know the levels are customizable, and I am so grateful for that. My husband thinks that her Reading score is close enough to just move her to 5/6. I am using the Myself and Others Curriculum with my youngest, and although I'm starting on the first level with that, I was going to make my oldest do that too starting this summer. I would like your advice though about whether 5/6 is just best or not. She's read the Literature books already, so I don't think she would like to repeat it again. I would just like to make sure we can strengthen her comprehension skills and use of language skills. Also, for the Science, what do you suggest? Go back and do the Mammals stuff or do the 5/6 option of the Rod and Staff Science book? And for the Writing, should I really move her up to 7/8 just because she scored 100%??? But because I was already nervous about her ability to handle 3rd grade writing, I purchased IEW Bible Heroes curriculum (plus the 12 hours seminar...I was trying to be thorough on my side of things), and she's working on that now. I planned to let her continue that through the summer. But now I'm confused on what to do with that subject.
So I would love to hear your insight, advice, suggestions, etc. Thank you!
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