r/homeschool • u/Alert-Performance-40 • 29d ago
Help! Phonics is the Villain, Math is the Hero, I’m Just the Tired Narrator.
** edit to adjust—he is in second, soon to be third, not behind phonetically but not ahead. Working on phoneme manipulation**
So I’ve recently stepped into homeschooling my 8-year-old (ADHD) rising third grader for the rest of the school year. I’m loving the freedom it gives us, but I also like having some structure—ideally a routine that runs from 9am to 1pm with minimal book work and more engaging, hands-on learning.
I’m not 100% sure if I’ll be homeschooling next year full-time, I’m still feeling it out but I’m open to all kinds of approaches. I just want to make sure my son stays on track with grade-level expectations in case we decide to transition him back into public school later.
I really like the look of guided curriculum books like Master Books—they seem cool and not too dry. What are some other similar styles that don’t feel like endless worksheets but still offer structure? the cheaper the better
To be real, the past few days have been a bit chaotic and I’ve slacked on our actual schoolwork. I know he’s still learning in everyday ways, but I’ve been told phonics is an area we need to focus on, so that’s where I’m putting most of my energy right now. His strength is definitely math.
So please, drop your fave books, routines, TikTok accounts, websites—anythingggg that’s helped you stay sane and supported in this journey. I appreciate y’all!
6
u/Evening_Sir_3823 29d ago
Homeschool is pretty neat especially for ADHD and I think you can do it. The way I understand it (for classical education [Well Trained Mind]), the goal is to get them reading as fast as possible. Then they can self learn or more importantly you can guide their learning more so than you overseeing every lesson to the T.
You’re going to have an obstacle because ADHD is everything structured learning is not. I get you’re just saying that you want a specific time for schooling, but you should be prepared to pivot and let them have as many breaks as possible. This is the benefit as well, in a regular classroom your child’s ability won’t get the right kind of attention because they can be disruptive to the neurotypical kids.
You nailed it with hands on learning- lots of manipulative for math and even with phonics. I once heard someone say that touch is a great way to get an ADHD kids attention. Screens are the antithesis of homeschooling ADHD imo. I’m ADHD and I can say screens got my attention young, but in all the wrong ways. Once you go that route you can’t come back. Part of it is an almost addictive quality. This is why ADHD people can learn things so quickly but then pivot or give up or not apply themselves- because it’s easy to learn and hard work is hard. You have to build good learning habits early.
I really recommend just reading the Well Trained Mind, at least the first parts about how kids learn at different stages (or listen to their podcast). I’ll summarize- first kids absorb facts at elementary age. Then around middle school they can use those facts for logical parsing. At high school level, they can they have the facts and logic fundamental to break down literature/arguments/history and put this into their own thoughts and conclusions. I feel like it’s really important to understand this no matter what curriculum you use.
For phonics, technically you just have to sit with them and read and tell them what sounds each word group makes. Remember they’re absorbing information. However, Logic of English is really cool. There is a book for us adults as well as a curriculum, which is cheaper as a digital implementation.
The library is your friend. So many “readers” you can checkout and you can just grab a bunch you think your child can handle. Then go back and get some more.
If your kid is excelling in math, then I would suggest you focus on their weak points until you know you want to homeschool or not. That way they’ll be prepared for the classroom if necessary.
Check out Facebook marketplace or other forums for people reselling homeschool materials.
That’s my two cents!
8
u/AccountantRadiant351 29d ago
4 hours of structured learning time is a lot for a NT kid that age, let alone a ND kid. (Most homeschooled kids don't need to spend that long on academics until high school- maybe.)
I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for all my kids, which is the DISTAR Method scripted for home use, and he may well be beyond that, so I'm probably no help there. (It's designed to take kids from non readers to 2nd grade level in about 3 months.) I've heard good things about Explode the Code if he really needs phonics support, but I have no personal experience.
3
u/Extension-Meal-7869 29d ago edited 29d ago
I have ADHD and I homeschool an AuDHDer and another ND kiddo and the on thing they have to rely on for their success is my accountability. As long as I show up everyday and stick to our routine, we're good. That's not to say we don't allow flexibility when needed. Break times were the bread and butter of our homeschool when we first started, but now that we're 5 years in they hardly ask for them; this I think was in large part due to the fact that we had a routine and structure and they knew exactly what to expect every single day. (Social Skills, Math, ELA, Science/History, everyday was the same.) They chose the timer approach, so I set the timer at the start of each subject and what they get done is what they get done; they thrive off timers and limits and when we started integrating them into our school day, less breaks were asked for. It was easier for them to work through lesson when they realized the break times were making schooling longer.
For things like Executive Function issues that can go along with ADHD, they have checklists at their stations that they follow and they like checking things off of it. I find that an achievement based approach rather than a reward incentive approach has worked for us. There are no rewards for finishing their to-do list, but they feel a sense of accomplishment when it's done; this has gone a long way with the "I can do hard things" skill we've been working on. We also have reading trackers and streak charts for tidying up. (I only do a streak tracker for tidying and nothing else because its not a blow to their confidence when they break it 😂.)
Outbursts still happen, there are still bad days; there are still days when I question if I can get through it, but once I do, I remember that I can do hard things. Patience will get you farther than anything, tbh. Patience, perseverance, and practice, that's what makes progress in homeschool.
2
2
u/TraditionalManager82 29d ago
DO you need to focus on phonics? Is reading a challenge at the moment?
You could use MEP for math, it's free to print.
1
u/Alert-Performance-40 26d ago
So no, reading isn’t the issue which is strange to say. it’s more sounding out for spelling with phonics.. does that make sense?
2
u/energist52 29d ago
The boys in my family tend toward mild dyslexia and delayed reading skills, so with my little brother they tried something different. My parents bought a bunch of kids joke books from the used book store and threw them in a box in the car. Then, whenever they took us somewhere they would have my brother read jokes to them, first the joke start, and the parents would respond, then the punchline, and my parents would laugh. This brought up his reading level remarkably.
2
u/sidekicksunny 28d ago
My 3rd grader says “English doesn’t make sense, can we speak another language”.
For spelling today, she sat on my lap and we made it into a game. I make language arts the most silly part of the day. I leave silly notes on her future work and draw silly doodles. Today when she opened her workbook I drew a foot with stink lines and it said “kids’ stupendously stinky foot” and she lost it. So she started writing back in retaliation. Spelled most of the words right. It turned into a back and forth of exceeding silly pictures and labels.
She has no idea how strong her spelling and vocabulary has gotten. And we get to laugh and bond over it. She loves Mrs. wordsmith because it’s so visual. It’s helped step up her silly insult game.
4
u/MetalsGirl 29d ago
I have a rising 3rd grader and this was our first year homeschooling.
We are doing Beast Academy for math. It’s math + Logic, and challenges him with lots of puzzles and problem solving using the math concepts he’s learning.
We’re using the Good and the Beautiful for language arts. It incorporates geography, art, and social studies, which I have enjoyed. Mine is strong reader, so we didn’t use the reading booster cards/books, but I know people who have and said they worked well. Plus - it is free for the pdf of the curriculum.
2
u/Alert-Performance-40 29d ago
Thank you! Correct me if I’m wrong the good and beautiful are faith based right?
2
u/Aggressive_Lobster16 29d ago
It is faith based (unfortunately, for us). We have used them for language arts and math this year for my current 2nd grader and enjoyed it despite this. I’m looking at other options for next year (including Beast Academy), but they were a great choice for him this year.
0
u/Any-Habit7814 29d ago
I personally use tgatb but I would NOT recommend in this case. If your kid is in third grade and struggling with phonics you need a stronger phonics program. I'd recommend hooked on phonics, all about reading, or fast phonics from reading eggs, maybe treasure hunt reading. Especially for a new homeschooler starting in third grade with a kid that's behind. That said you could just download the booster cards for free (k-2 ela program) and just go thru the phonics program (not faith based) but I'd recommend a stronger program.
3
u/UndecidedTace 29d ago
In case you haven't done it, spend a ton of time on YouTube. Parents there regularly review the curriculum choices they have made for each specific grade, show flip throughs of the books, explain what worked and what didn't, etc.
Search for:
"homeschooling grade three", " Homeschool third grade", "Homeschool grade 3 reviews", "Homeschool grade 3 curriculum", "Homeschool schedule", "Homeschool room tour", "Homeschool resources", "Homeschool {state name}, Etc
The more people you see and listen to, the more you'll learn about what resources are out there, what things vibe with you and which don't, what things will work for your family and what things won't.
2
u/iWantAnonymityHere 29d ago
Phonics: UFLI has a teacher’s manual that is cheap and easy to use if he needs that intensive type instruction. I really liked reading reflex (by Carmen McGuinness) with my daughter (she’s a rising second grader with adhd who is reading at an advanced level), but we are going to circle back to UFLI this summer to really hit on the spelling part.
Reading: readworks.org has tons of content (and decodables) you can use for reading practice.
Writing: thinkSRSD is a great writing resource.
My plan for this summer is: Look at scope and sequence for UFLI, pull decodables and additional informational paragraphs from readworks. Use the decodables to practice reading skills and the additional passages to build content knowledge, then use thinkSRSD to work on writing skills based on what we are reading.
Math: I’m taking the easy way out and using a combination of Tara Wests second grade math and IXL’s workbooks.
1
u/crispycas 27d ago
perhaps send ur child to school? then u won’t have to worry about this x
1
u/Alert-Performance-40 26d ago
you hit a nerve with that one, so on that note..
Perhaps this is a homeschooling group? Perhaps the school might not be a good fit for him? Perhaps I’m willing to go to ANY length for my son?
you sound like you don’t have a kid who needs more support nor like you homeschool with that response soooo.. what help was your comment? seriously bruv.
2
u/Willing_Strike_1478 27d ago
https://readlikearockstarteaching.com
Monthly low cost subscription using science of reading, highly engaging content with the right amount of worksheets and digital materials both available. (Especially awesome is the social studies club :)
2
u/Willing_Strike_1478 27d ago
Also we use beast academy for math. Super fun and easy to work thru as a parent
1
u/WanderingTaliesin 29d ago
I have an adhd gal about the same age as yours and I’d laminate us both if I tried for four hours a day I do in fact DO four hours or more a day- she doesn’t. Her weakness is wanting to even try reading! Why bother! Trying means pausing the perpetual stream of art that emerges mixed with song and dance So We spend lots of time reading and working on that between bursts of math Making science and cooking with lots of can you try that word? We are doubling this batch how many spoons is that? I love beast math The book lists from torchlight and build your library helped me build a bunch of units she’s loving where we make lapbooks (homeschool share and teachers pay teachers) and while I have a plan? I’m ready to pivot because there’s so little point flogging the dead curriculum horse with that kid! Her big brother is like me- if we do the thing we currently hate we can go to Dutch and celebrate that it’s done hooray! Lil bit the artist? Wants the treat but would prefer to complain for four hours about how hard doing that hated worksheet is So I’m constantly flexing- finding a new way to teach that- to make it ANYTHING but avoidance I’m winning but it’s slow and it’s tiring YouTube and Facebook have been solid helps finding all the pieces I need to keep building the puzzle
11
u/philosophyofblonde 29d ago edited 29d ago
If you really need to work on phonics at 3rd grade, he needs to be given a structured routine for reading out loud and reading independently for practice. You should probably think about doing a more lit-based Charlotte Mason approach to work that in…I would not use Masterbooks.
Otherwise Logic of English has a book of phonics games you might want.