Switching to Abeka

We are considering switching to Abeka. My son is 14, in 8th grade and my daughter is 12, and in the 6th grade. They had been in public school up until late 2009. I have been using ACE curriculum and found through their diagnostic testing, both my kids had learning gaps in math and English.

My question is, is there a way for a smooth transition to Abeka especially for my son, as his gap is much larger than my daughter's, and he is already supposed to be in 9th grade now, but I held him back a year for the sake of academic purposes. I think they are getting rather bored with A.C.E, my son is too mature mentally for the cartoons, etc in the PACES. I was thinking of getting 7th grade summer program for math only for him and then having him do 8th grade in everything come the fall of the year. But my problem is he will be 15 in April and I know that Abeka has age limits on the grade levels.

I would really rather him not do 8th grade again in stuff he doesn't need to. His only downfall is math. What would you suggest?

Jami's Reply to Switching to Abeka:

There are a couple of things I might do if I was you. I understand your concern to keep your son on track to move into 9th grade. I totally agree with him either getting a math tutor and/or working on math through the summer. He may not like the idea, but we all know that he could find at least one hour a day to work on math.

You might also consider contacting a representative or staff member at Abeka. They may be familiar with PACE and be able to suggest something as you transition to Abeka. Please know that the Abeka curriculum takes a few weeks to review the previous year, giving your son more time to catch up and get acclimated to the Abeka program. Here is their contact number: 1-800-874-3592.

Hope that points you in the right direction. Blessings.