so that he is ready for high school????

He is lacking in all areas......grammar, writing, math, comprehension!!!! I don't know where to start. I've done away with TT for the year. He wasn't getting it. Grades were dropping until he was failing daily lessons. I've been using some Spectrum math books just to see if I can figure out exactly what he needs help in.

It's not like I haven't done school with him. He has repeatedly been exposed to all the basic concepts that a 7th grader should know, but when given a test or a quiz, etc. It shows that he does not know these things.

He is hyper and easily distracted. He would rather be outside than doing school any day. I have already come to the conclusion that he won't go to college. He will take over the family construction business one day, more than likely. However, I would like for him to have education in basic language arts and math skills.

Any advice???? What curriculum to use?

If it were only his testing I would say find another way to test his knowledge. Failing daily lessons is another thing. Perhaps you haven't hit on the best learning style for him?

My Mom was a professional teacher. Her view was that you should go back to the beginning and do mastery & speed. For instance, start with your addition flash cards, and do the ones till he can do them as fast as you can put them down - with no mistakes. Then add the twos, etc.

Likewise, start with something like "Blend Phonics" and make sure he has mastered basic sounding out of words. http://www.donpotter.net/education_page ... onics.html (the website is a favorite of Briva - I found it through her)

Also, reading "Why Johnny Can't Read" might give you a lot of help with diagnosing his Language Arts problems.

I'm guessing you'll find lots of holes in these areas.

A student who is failing in 8th grade has not mastered the basics - for whatever reason - and pressing ahead with 8th grade work when he doesn't get it will cause nothing but frustration.

Even if ALL he ever masters (book wise) is basic reading & basic math, he'll still be way better off this way than trying to work unsuccessfully on 8th grade stuff.

And, if he can do construction successfully & honorably as an adult, that's a great success!

If he is truly interested in construction, then perhaps you can make your exercises construction related (math problems related to board feet, or something like that)

This isn't MY advice, mind you - it's just what I remember from my Mother - whose advice I greatly respect.

_________________
http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

My oldest dd struggled 6-7th grade. She was just barely at grade level with math. She took the P.A.S.S. test (untimed, administered at home) through http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com they gave me some advice to challenge her. Think outside the box. You said he would take over the family business...then let him get some hands on experience, top to bottom, what it takes to make it work (think of it like, take your son to work day). You may find he has a natural knack for some aspect of it, then he can focus his studies on excelling in that area. I brought up my dd's math scores with focus on fractions, decimals and percents with those Key Curriculum Press' workbooks.

I always favored a literature based curriculum and her language and reading skills were always strong. It wasnt until I started Matin Latin (when she was in 7th grade) that her grammar skills improved. That program is meant for 3rd grade, but it reviewed English grammar for her at the same time learning Latin. So its a two-for one bonus, lol.

_________________
"...with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

I am starting to think that the problem is reading comprehension. He can read and he reads pretty well, but he doesn't remember much from what he has read.........OR he only remembers what interests him. Comprehension problems create problems in math and all subjects........because he has trouble understand instructions. I have always found that if I quiz him orally he does much better. He can miss 7 out of 10 questions on a quiz on paper. If I do it aloud with him, he can do much better.

Having him do written outlines of all he reads will help massively with comprehension & attention. That was another of my Mom's pet methods that she saw near-miraculous improvement with.

Outlining engages more learning styles & improves attention a lot.

_________________
http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

This sounds like my ds who is 17. Getting him to do schoolwork has always been a struggle and he is now working on catching up because he has decided he wants to get a car, get a job, and graduate. I'm loving seeing the motivation!

My recommendation for your son is to make sure he gets more exercise. This will calm here down. Let him go to work with dad and help out where he can for a couple days a week. This will help him learn the business and motivate him towards growing up and working. However, this should be a reward for getting some things done at home. (I would drop my expectations a bit - as I think you already have - about how much he needs to do.) Next, I would have him listen to lots of good literature on CD/i-Pod. This will give him the vocabulary he needs and help his comprehension.

Finally, I'd see if he has a focusing issue with his eyes. This is a big factor in people who have low comprehension and are hyper. Take a look here for more info.
http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/curr ... vision.php

_________________
******
"Like" us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/HomeschoolChristiancom

this sounds like my older daughters I just been giving them quizes after they read.

Depending on your doctrine, denomination, you might find ACE curriculum helpful. They test your child to find "holes" and make him just re-do that part. Then, they put him where he should be in each subject (for instance, a student might be in 7th grade, but working on 5th grade math and 9th grade English, depending on their actual level, not their age).

The work is divided into "paces" (workbooks of about 40 pages each) and there are questions to answer throughout, and a test at the end. The student MUST pass the test with a high score (something like 85%) to go on. If they don't pass, they re-do that pace.

I used this curriculum in school and liked it a lot.

_________________
http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

We used all kinds of curriculum.
I would use the flash cards, simple math books,
what I did with DD was once she mastered adding, we went to subtraction, then multiplying and division and fractions . The end of each year I would get a workbook on it and give it to her for her test. she had to get 80 percent.
Writing: have him keep a journal. Tell him you will be checking his paragraphs , punctuation, spelling.
If he is better in one subject than another spend more time on the ones he is not so good at.
Literature, let him pick out books he wants to read. Give oral reports and written ones.
History:Story of the world and what simple books you can find on American history.
Maybe one semester do all math and english, the next history and science.

_________________
<a href="http://lilyslim.com/"><img src="http://swtc.lilyslim.com/G2dWbbw.png" width="400" height="120" border="0" alt="LilySlim Weight charts" /></a>