We started homeschooling two weeks ago (long back story - plus where we live school is in session till July 18th) We are starting with basics Math, Reading, Spelling and handwriting.
She was in first grade but had fallen behind in Math - so I thought - she has been flying through Math U See Alpha usually we spend no more than two days on a lesson, a few has only been on day. She does the lesson and systematic review worksheets. Should we just continue at this pace to make sure there are no gaps? I could break it up into smaller lessons and spread out the lessons - right now she spends 30-40 mins on math depending on if she watched the video. Should we consider skipping to beta?
I would also appreciate any feedback regarding her reading. We are doing AAR2 because she hasn’t been taught the phonics rules. The problem is she reads at a 3/4 grade level according to some testing we did mid-year. She can easily read all the words presented to her but she is learning the phonics rules. But again she can - because of her actual reading leave she works through the activities pretty quickly.
This summer my plan is to work on basics and get her in a rhythm of working with me. We live outside the US so if I am going to get new curriculum I need to get it when we go this summer. So I feel some pressure of purchasing some good fits.
Did you happen to use the MUS or AAR placement tests when you decided where to start? If that’s where she placed, I’d just keep going at her pace. Doing something on the easier side can build up a stronger foundation and give her confidence and fluency in her math facts and in her reading. And, it may be easy because the programs are working for her–presenting concepts in a way that’s easy for her to understand and to build on what she knows.
On the other hand, if she’s bored or if you didn’t use the placement tests, I would double-check those to make sure she doesn’t need to move up a level. HTH some, and I hope you have a great summer!
Thank you for the suggestions. I used the placement test for both. For MUS she struggled with basic math facts at first, so it was probably the right level. I just worry because now she is moving so fast.
AAR - we did the test, but the problem is she doesn’t know all the phonics rules - she barely passed the level 1 test, but I put her in level 2 because I knew level 1 would be way to easy. The problem is she can read at a high level without knowing all the phonics rules. Right now she doesn’t seem to have joy in reading even though I let her read whatever books she wants. I worry that AAR is boring because she can read it but again she doesn’t know why she can read it. I don’t know if a different curriculum will make a difference because we will likely run into the same problem.
We started homeschool when my middle was in 1st Grade. I wanted to make sure there were no gaps and she learned the MUS way so I borrowed the MUS Alpha DVD from a friend and went on the parent website and printed out the extra practice worksheets you can generate. I had her watch a video or 2 a day and do the corresponding worksheet. I think we had one unit I ended up doing some extra teaching and having her do another worksheet. She went through at her own pace and because she loved MUS she finished in 2-3 weeks and we started Beta.
We tested and started at AAR2. She really enjoyed it and it was helpful for learning the rules the AAR way, level 3 does more advanced skills and it is pretty important to learn the basic methods and rules. She can read more challenging stuff in her free reading time.
Late reply, so you’ve probably already made your decision, but since it was such a similar situation I thought I’d share what worked for us.
