Homeschooling Success!

[mrs.b]

Thanks to rebel, cook, and others! My little bug just finished his first official semester (1st and 2nd quarter) of homeschooling, and is kicking tail! He has As in Math and History, and Bs in Grammar, Vocab/Spelling, Reading, and Science. Those are earned, not given; we present the info until he can tell us why something is the way it is and teach it back, be it multiplication and the relationship with division, or defining parts of speech and their purpose in a sentence, then he's graded on it either via test or the clarity and accuracy of his descriptions. Little man has decided he's going to be an Astronomer after his daddy and he spent far more time than originally planned going over the space section of his Earth & Space science, so to foster that, his grandparents are getting him an Orion Dobsonian XT8 telescope for Christmas so he can start stargazing from the back yard and a local stargazer club.

Fourth grade is halfway done! While he started it off testing (we did a Stafford standardized test at the start of the year to benchmark) at the 2nd grade level on most material, we know for certain he's made up quite a bit of ground. The whole reason we pulled him originally was due to more social issues - he's special needs and was being bullied and not getting the teaching time he needed - and his confidence has blossomed! He's still a sweet-natured boy, but instead of going silent when he meets new peers, he's slowly learning it's okay to be himself.

Best change we ever made! Thanks to those that gave us the nudge to make that change!

[cookderosa]

I'm so proud of you! WAY TO GO!!! It's a lot of work when done right; which clearly you both are! All the best

[mrs.b]

I'm sure we'll stumble here and there as we keep going, but at least as of the moment, it's nothing but positive. And after seeing the ROI with his overwhelming success, we're in it for the long haul, no matter what.

We did grammar in our pajamas yesterday, and were giggling about how much nicer our "desk" (curled up on the sofa with laptop, notebook, pens, and our favorite blanket) is as compared to the hard, too-small desks he got at public school. Next year, he asked if he can learn Spanish so we're researching language programs for kiddos.

Any idea how Rosetta is for children? Neither his dad nor I speak Spanish, so we'll be learning as he does.

[Hometeacher628]

Can't speak for Spanish, but we are doing Arabic with our high schooler. Lots of verbal repetition. Also like that you see the native written word on the screen during questions. For Arabic, there are lots of nuances in the writing that happen when you connect letters, (think English printing compared to cursive). Problem is that you miss teachable moments if you don't have an an accomplished tutor/teacher. She has progresses to Arabic mid level 2. That probably wouldn't be an issue in a language written in something recognizable! You don't get lectures, you use the language. You learn by repetition as an infant learns a language. Building on the words, eventually sentences. A simple mid level 1 question might be: the girl is driving the red car. You have to click the girl driving the red car picture. Vocab is most important, as it is what really gives you insight to pick the correct picture. Eventually questions are asked in different tenses with similar pictures, so you have to listen carefully to pick the correct picture. We will eventually be doing RS Spanish with my younger one, but are currently doing another program. We will switch over after completion. Good Luck!

[Lindagerr]

Your little guy is very lucky to have parents like you who are able and willing to go the extra mile to help him reach his goals. GREAT JOB!!!

As for the Spanish I have heard great things about the pimsleur language learning method. I was given a copy lately and hope to work on it during my 14 hour drive to SC for Christmas. I will let you know how it goes.

[cookderosa]

If I had the cash THIS Online Spanish courses | Homeschool Spanish Academy is how my kids would learn Spanish. Since I don't, they use Rosetta Stone hand-me-downs.

[sanantone]

It depends on if you want your kid to just speak Spanish or actually learn grammar and how to construct sentences. Programs like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone are probably enough to make your kid semi-proficient in speaking Spanish, but he won't understand the structure of the language. I read a review by a guy who claims he has never come across someone who has completed all of the Rosetta Stone levels and can hold a conversation in that language. It's a pretty bold claim. The DoD stopped using it for a reason, but these were adults who were using it. Rosetta Stone claims that adults can learn languages like children, but they can't. Rosetta Stone might work fine for your son since he's young.

[mrs.b]

What about Visual Link Spanish? I stumbled across it last night, and it looks like a cross between Rosetta that aims for spoken fluency and more classroom-based models with texts that promote grammatical structure. I could not find a lot on it, though. The cost is fair, and the three levels would probably last six years given the amount of lesson assignments they had (I'd probably split each tier over two years and seed in some cultural studies to fill in a full course). Hubby and I would take it alonside him (can set up multiple "students") so we could encourage usage in everyday environment for retention. Half a course over six years would get him to 10th grade if we stick with it, leaving 11th and 12th grade for him to choose if he wanted to do a more advanced course in the language, change to a different language, or drop languages in favor of something else interesting to him.

Can't find a ton on it, though, to see if it meets what we'd want.

[cookderosa]

It depends on if you want your kid to just speak Spanish or actually learn grammar and how to construct sentences. Programs like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone are probably enough to make your kid semi-proficient in speaking Spanish, but he won't understand the structure of the language. I read a review by a guy who claims he has never come across someone who has completed all of the Rosetta Stone levels and can hold a conversation in that language. It's a pretty bold claim. The DoD stopped using it for a reason, but these were adults who were using it. Rosetta Stone claims that adults can learn languages like children, but they can't. Rosetta Stone might work fine for your son since he's young.

LOL oh come on. "A Guy" has interviewed every student who has completed all 4 levels of every language offered through Rosetta? Furthermore HE is fluent in every language too (how else can he judge their fluency?) I'm not saying Rosetta is a homerun, but that can't seriously be considered a credible counter-point?

[rebel100]

Congrats on the homeschooling success...I'm proud of his parents and happy for him! Way to go!