We adopted siblings that were 6 and 7 1/2 when they came home. I spent the first three months homeschooling them. The biggest issue was they weren't use to sitting for any length of time at the table working. Even if the work wasn't hard for them they thought is was sooo long to sit and work. I would even have them color and do stickers just to get use to working for a length of time. After three months the 6 year old went into kindergarten three days a week and I continued to homeschool the 7 1/2 year old who now was 8. She would go to school, a small private school, in the afternoon. I would say for the next 6 months they were basically getting English and social skills and not absorbing much of the learning. This year they are both enrolled in school full time, grades 3rd and 1st and are doing really well. They are both fairly bright kids so learning is relatively easy for them. We are adopting their 12 year old sister and I am planning on homeschooling her for quite a while as it will take longer for her to catch up. They will pick up stuff so fast but there is so much they don't know, time, days of the week, George Washinton etc. I figure by the time they graduate from high school they will know most of it.
If you have any additional questions just ask. It is a wonderful experience to adopt older children!!
Michele.