Study Skills Crash Course

The Kid is taking an online class this year. No surprise there, she likes her online classes. But for the first time, this is not a aimed-at-gifted-kids, high-input-low-output class. This is a bona fide high school class, populated with actual high schoolers.

It did not take me long to realize that she was going to need a study skills crash course. I think it happened when she took a quiz, got a D, immediately took the quiz again (being allowed two chances at it), got a nearly identical score, then shrugged. She hadn't even thought about studying, looking anything up (it was open book), or even realized what letter grade a 64% was. This is also the first class she has ever taken that issues grades at all, so it's a completely foreign concept to her.

The hardest part for me? I never learned any study skills myself. I just absorbed what I was supposed to do in order to get good grades by having grown up going to traditional schools. But then it occurred to me that might be all she needs - someone to explain to her the basics of getting by. We talked about the things that seemed so basic to me that I forgot that anyone might need them taught:

- Use the provided formula sheets.
- Look at the answers to the quiz when the first attempt is graded - the answers were all right there for her!
- Don't just read the homework problems and answer them in her head. Actually write the answers down. Then actually check them with the answer key. Then actually look over the ones missed.
- If you don't understand, don't say "I don't understand" and move on. Write to the teacher. Tell her what you're thinking and ask where you're going wrong.

I find it amazing that The Kid doesn't need my help with Physics, but the things above still need specifically taught. Just as well, because I'm even more hopeless with Physics than with study skills.

The Perils of Not Pre-Reading

It's been a few years since I even attempted to pre-read what The Kid was reading. There's just not enough time in the day. Plus, quite frankly, she reads faster than I do. Out trouble isn't with her own chosen reading, though. For that, she mostly gravitates towards books written for her age or a couple years above. (Finally!) Some of it has the usual kids-being-mean and kids-making0bad-decisions, but it's all age appropriate for a tween.

No. It's what I choose for read alouds. Or, rather, listen alouds, since I much prefer to use audiobooks over reading aloud myself. We've always pulled from a diverse, varied selection of books. And most of them are truly excellent. But I should probably go back to paying attention so that we don't get too many more chapters about incest and violence. Somehow, I wasn't expecting that to come up so much in a book about scientific ethics.

But, I'm not going to kid myself. There's no way I'm going to pre-read all our read alouds. It's just one of the perils of reading widely.

And, despite being caught off guard by the incest and violence, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an amazing book.

Asychrony

In the past couple of weeks, I've been hit over the head multiple times by The Kid's asynchrony.

For a year or two now, I've said her academic level is "um, I don't know, upper elementary? Maybe middle school-ish?" Super-specific, right? Part of the problem is that input and output are vastly different levels. Her ability to understand written or verbal information is awesome, and she has fun with college-level materials. However, her writing is somewhere in the elementary levels. What level does that make her, anyway? What level do you call a kid when listening to college lectures is fun, discussing them is not particularly challenging, but a written response would be miserable?

What grade IS she in, anyway?

We started The Kid in "kindergarten" around her 4th birthday. It made total sense: many of her friends were starting Kindy that school year, she was already working at levels higher than that in most things, and she was quite adamant that she was supposed to be starting, too. Since then, we've promoted her one grade level on each birthday. Therefore, her birthday this Sunday marks the end of second grade and beginning of third.

But...

We're moving to California this summer. Land of public charter schools. With enrichment classes that she can take with other kids! She is so excited about this idea. At this point, she has no desire to go to "regular school", but seeing the same group of kids every week for art or music or a book club or whatever it is that gets offered, while being able to continue homeschooling? Absolutely!

By public school cutoffs, she would just be starting second grade this fall. Neither "second grade" nor "third grade" nor any other grade describes where she's at academically. Her physical writing ability is low, her math ability is high, and her language ability is very high. Socially, she's a bit all over the place as well.

So, for now, she's 7. Or, she will be tomorrow, anyway! We'll enroll her as a second grader this fall. On the blog, I think I'll just start referring to her age.

Interesting Asynchronicity

I just posted about our new scheduling. So what does The Kid choose for one of her first subjects?

Chemistry.

I was thinking mixing things together to see what happens. She wanted to learn about the Periodic Table. She wanted to learn about atoms and molecules. She wanted to learn about electrons.

Really, kid? You're five years old.

The Kid writes very little, has about third grade math skills, and generally wants high input and low output. She can read at a high school level but prefers mid-to-late elementary text with lots of pictures, enjoys verbal instruction at about a late elementary/early junior high level, and will happily watch documentaries of YouTube information at adult level. Balancing this is weird. It's not like I can add up all the different grade levels, find the average, and pick material for that level.

The Internet came to my rescue and I found that other parents had already been there and done that with interested young kids. I actually was able to put together a chemistry unit that we both loved, was appropriate for her level, and kept us learning and busy.