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Leah says

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STRUGGLING IN SCHOOL
Thank you for you suggestions and encouragement!

Our 15 year old is wanting to homeschool. He’s been struggling the past few years with most subjects, especially math. I’m not sure where to start with him. Any suggestions? Also, I’ve noticed there’s not a set curriculum for 9th graders on your love to learn site. It sounds like you have been able to prepare your children so well, that by 15-16 years old they’re ready for college classes! Amazing! Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for my son. Where do I begin? I feel like he needs extra help in almost all subjects.

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- Diane Hopkins says
  
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  STRUGGLING IN SCHOOL
  You are starting with a great advantage…your son wants to homeschool! If a child has a happy attitude towards being homeschooled, you are off to a great start!
  
  Every person is so very different. And a child does not always grow up to have the same traits. I had one very sloppy little gal who grew up into a “neat freak”. So, there is every variety! I have not been able to prepare all my children for college classes early. Some have been more interested and diligent in their schoolwork than others.
  
  Now, to homeschooling your son. This is going to be very fun! A 15 year old can discuss things with you, motivate himself to do his work and get deeply involved in projects. I think you two will have a great time. Start with the basics: math, writing, reading. I would do an assessment test and find out just what level he is at. Both Saxon and Singapore Math have free placement tests online that you can use to find out his level. Singapore goes just to 8th grade level. If he enjoys doing online classes, there is a math program that I recommend: Math Whizz. It is on the pricey side but they have a free trial you can try, and my kids loved it and it freed me from doing math. It only goes through 8th grade, so if your son is up to level in math, Saxon would probably be your best bet, along with a DIVE CD .
  
  For writing, I would just start with a daily school journal—write a page daily on whatever topic he wants. Getting him writing every day is the jumping off point so he can get used to putting his thoughts into words, and it helps you see what type of help he needs…punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc. You can teach his what is needed and watch his writing improve little by little. Then he will eventually be ready to tackle writing about what he reads or researches, in the form of a longer report.
  
  Reading: pick the most interesting adventure books you can find so he will be motivated! Some ideas right off the top of my head: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Sign of the Beaver, The Golden Goblet, Crispin by Avi, Night Journey, God’s Smuggler (Christian), and many more. These are younger books, but the point is to read, not to challenge him right at first. If he is reluctant, read it aloud and discuss it with him. If he enjoys reading, pick a book at or below his level, so it is enjoyable for him. He can write a narrative of what he has read, as a writing topic.
  
  As this becomes a daily pattern, you can add in Apologia Science and History, keyboarding (I recommend Typing Tutor Deluxe…great program!), and other subjects.
  
  The most important thing is to give him time, and materials, to follow his interests!
  
  Best success!
  
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DAWN Taylor says

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I am thinking of offering homeschooling to children in our area and I would help them through the coujrses. Do you have any recommendations for me? My son went to pubic school and I realize how bad the schools are. Have you heard of anyone ever doing this for someone elses child? I would like them to pick the curriculum and then I could take the time to be with the children and help them through it.

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Cathy Vander Vorst says

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I have used your Happy Phonics with all my kids (8 so far) for many years, with great success. They have taken off in their reading, and absolutely love to read… all except my 11 year old boy. He is still struggling to read (is reading at about a 1st or 2nd grade level). Although we review and review the phonics flashcards (a lot more than I ever did with my other children), he still struggles to decode words. My guess, from the little bit of research I’ve done, is that he is mildly dyslexic as he still turns letters around. He is good with math, but does struggle in spelling/writing. Do you have any experience working through this issue? Is there something else I could be using that would help my son speed up his reading so that it becomes fun and not a chore?

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- Diane Hopkins says
  
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  Hi Cathy,
  
  Congrats on your great success teaching your children to read! It’s so fun…isn’t it?…to see them take off reading!
  
  With your son that is still struggling with reading, here’s a few ideas:
  
  *try making (or buying) flashcards with tactile letters. You can just use glue to trace the letter and then sprinkle sand on the glue. Then when you do flashcards with him, have him use his finger to trace the letter while he recites, F says “eff”, for example. It is more important that he knows the sound the letter makes than the name of the letter, so emphasize that. (He’ll also learn the letter names eventually if he struggles with that.)
  
  *instead of doing flashcards, play the Happy Phonics games with him. Motivation is a big plus when it comes to learning. If he wants to beat you, he’ll automatically pay more attention, work harder.
  
  *Have you used Explode the Code? The practice is those books is fun and valuable. I especially like the page where the child has to select the objects that match the clue read by the teacher. For example, “Use a blue crayon to circle something you build to keep animals in that start with the letter sound “eff”. The child finds the picture of a fence and circles it. See the books (Primers A, B, C) that teach the phonic sounds here:
  http://www.lovetolearn.net/Complete-Explode-the-Code-Primer-Set-A-B-&-C
  
  *Try having him watch videos that show the letter being formed while the sound is spoken…there are a lot of these on the market for kids.
  
  Basically, your son needs repeated practice until his brain can make that connection…dyslexia may be slowing it down. Practice in seeing the letter formatted correctly and hearing the phonic sounds over and over and over again will do it. Touching and feeling, and hearing…using every sense….will help too.
  
  Best success!
  Diane
  
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Cathy Vander Vorst says

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Thanks, Diane. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly. I am excited to try these ideas.

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- Diane Hopkins says
  
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  Keep me posted on if anything helps!
  ; 0 )
  Diane
  
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Sophia says

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My son just turned eight and has very bad spelling and punctuation. Additionally, he has not only spelled words backwards but has also written every letter in a word (“flower”) as if it were reflected in a mirror. He has started writing daily journal entries and normally forms letters correctly, but at least two thirds of even the most basic words (e.g. “they,” “so,” etc.) are misspelled, and he still misses some on his weekly spelling test. At the same time, he loves writing (journaling is his favorite activity in the school day) and excitedly writes, long, detailed, wonderfully worded, front-and-back adventure stories. Although letting him do that is what is giving him such a thrill in writing, it makes his later need to proofread and edit his work overwhelming. I’m not sure the best way to move forward. Insist on him writing much shorter entries, focusing more on writing things correctly the first time, and then have his proofreading and editing be more manageable (at the risk of his losing his current confidence and joy in writing)? Or, maybe let him write as quickly and freely as he wants but focusing on just the front page when it comes to later proofreading and editing (at the risk of his practicing and seeing uncorrected spelling too often…as well as a later “published” journal that will include a lot of spelling errors!)? Thank you for any help you can offer!

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- Diane Hopkins says
  
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  Thank you for your question, Sophia. Believe it or not, this is quite common. My feelings are not to squelch such lovely creativity! Let him write and enjoy it to the max!
  
  When it comes to correcting spelling, I would read through his latest journal entries and find the most common words that are being consistently being misspelled. You can go online and search for the “most common words in English” and check if he is misspelling any of those. Then put about 10 of those words on a spelling list, and have him practice writing those. (No need to mention that you found those misspelled words in his writing!) Little by little, he will learn to spell! I try to come up with some fun clues whenever possible….for example, when teaching to spell the somewhat confusing word “friend”, I point out that a real friend is a friend to the “end”…the last 3 letters of the word. Anything you can do to make it easier to remember the spelling will help!
  
  As for editing his own work, here’s what has worked for me. I take a light, easily erased pencil and write a small number at the beginning of each line of the journal entry or story. The number represents the number of errors on that line. So, for example, if your son wrote this on one line: “All the peeple ran to the beech to play in the oshun.” I would write a tiny 3 at the beginning of the line and challenge my child to find the 3 errors (people, beach, ocean), making it into a sort of a game. You may find him saying, “Oh, I wondered how to spell that!”. Then you write the correct spelling on a separate page, having him copy writing the words after your writing. You can make a simple book for him to write these words in, with one letter of the alphabet at the top of each page, and have him write the correct spelled word on the page the corresponds to the word’s beginning letter. Eventually your child will have his own custom made dictionary of words he uses in his writing. He can easily flip to the alphabet section containing the word he needs, for example to the O page to see how “ocean” is written. In this way, he will be able to learn to correct his own spelling.
  
  One caution here….start small and gradually increase the editing. So the first time you help your child correct his work, start with just one line, making it into more of a fun game than a “you-made-a-mistake” experience. The next day increase to 2 lines. After a week, try 3 lines. So slowly, so he doesn’t get overwhelmed. Overlook all the other mistakes in the story or journal entry. He will learn gradually. You do not want to extinguish the joy of writing!
  
  Best success!
  
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Monique Baysinger says

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Hi Diane! I’ve LOVED your advice, your products, and your family updates for 20+ years! After homeschooling all five of my wonderful children, I am now entering the season of life of looking forward to helping my own children to homeschool THEIR children! Happy Phonics is still ready and waiting for the 2nd generation of learners!! :- ) I thank you with all of my heart for your amazing life and sharing it with us! I could not have homeschooled without you!!! With much love and thankfulness — Monique Baysinger

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