It's finally here! Last Friday when the UPS truck pulled up to the driveway, I couldn't wait to rip into my box. Of course, it would come on a weekend with absolutely NO free time. So, I took a quick peek and put it aside. Yesterday I managed to pull enough time together to really start checking it out. Most people probably don't get all that excited about textbooks but I LOVE them. I buy them at yard sales, I take them free when the library doesn't know what to do with them, I even buy them online!
Looking through the material I realized a few things. First of all, I have a lot of questions I need to ask before I'll know exactly what I'm doing. Luckily, I have a friend who is already familiar with PA Cyber. I made a phone date with her for tomorrow to pepper her with all of my doubts and fears.
I also realized that the Spelling words are way below my son's level. He reads around a fifth or sixth grade level right now, so third grade spelling isn't going to cut it. My current plan is to give him the pretest on Mondays. If he knows them, we will use the reading words (much more appropriate level) as his spelling words. Since these words are already involved in the lesson plan, I won't have to do much beyond that to teach them. Of course there's always the old, "Use these words in a sentence" method.
I have also found that the math may not be as far off for him as I thought. Part of this may come from the fact that our former school seemed to be a little behind the state standards. It may also just be the change from Saxon to Calvert. My plan for math currently looks like I will be giving him the Chapter tests as a pretest and then covering what he doesn't know. It's so hard for me to be sure where he really is in math. Last year he spent a lot of time using Pearson's Digital Learning at school. This program allowed him to move ahead in math, but didn't give any instruction. He moved ahead to a level the program considered to be end of 3rd grade, but I don't know what kind of gaps he has in that material. It will take us a little while to figure out where he really is. The good thing is, I was told he may move ahead at his own pace and when we complete the 3rd grade material in math, they will send us the 4th grade material. I think we should be able to finish it by Christmas. But even if he doesn't, that's okay. We will move at a pace that allows him to learn appropriately for his ability.
Have I mentioned how much I love this plan!
On another note, I had a conversation with a mom who is considering cyber for her child. I realized I am not having my usual school- is- starting dread that accompanies the end of summer. I would start worrying about all the conversations I would be having with school personnel that would go no where. I would know that my child was heading into an environment that did not allow for his special needs to be met. It was great to realize this load had been lifted. Thanks to the parents who convinced me I was capable of taking matters into my own hands. I wouldn't have done it without the knowledge you have passed on to me.
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