Help me figure out this year's after schooling - especially carschooling/audio books

[eloquacious]

My son is entering first grade in a classical charter here in Arizona. Last year he was in half-day kindergarten, so I didn't feel all that guilty doing half an hour or so per day of after schooling because he still had loads of time with his brother or just to relax. This year, things are a little tighter time-wise because school doesn't get out until 2:30, and we have to do vision therapy three times a week (20 minute drive each way, 30 minutes there) and will probably go to swimming class once a week. So we will have at least 120 minutes of audiobook listening time each week, presumably more if we also listen on the way home from school. (We would do so without question, but we are carpooling with my nephew and I suspect we might not be able to use that time.)

 

So: I have the book Books to Build On which is a grade-by-grade companion to the Core Knowledge curriculum (which our school uses) that I will use to help me select read alouds. I will order the Story of the World Audio Book, which covers ancient history. The school will also discuss early American history (Revolutionary War, etc.) Is there an audio book that you can recommend to cover that? 

 

I bought the boys the Liberty's Kids DVD set because we were visiting my parents in Philadelphia this summer, and took a day trip to Philadelphia as well as one to Washington, D.C. I expect we will watch those again this year, as well.

 

I am considering the Dover kits for Ancient Egypt and early colonial times to make some fun after schooling. (DS could listen to me read stuff and color along.)

 

We have Miquon and Math Mammoth, (all grades) Cuisenaire Rods/Base Ten Blocks for Math, as well as Modern Curriculum Press for extra Writing/Spelling/Grammar practice. I will fit those in as we can, but I do want to keep things fun.

 

I have let our Dreambox subscription lapse, but we will revisit that over Christmas break. For now we have tons of other math apps that do the job just as well which we already own. I admit the fact that Dreambox now has an iPad app is really tempting, though.

 

So any fun Science/History recommendations? Especially ones that we could do as one-offs. Has anyone tried the Magic School Bus Science kits?

 

Thanks!

 

JoAnne

[eloquacious]

I should note: I just bought all ten available How to Train Your Dragon audio books on audible because seven of them were on sale and we had two credits. They are narrated by David Tennant, which is what sold me... but the boys will mostly listen to those in their room. Still, that's many many hours of audio books we already have. ;)  I admit that I am using audio books to supplement read alouds. We used to read aloud SO MUCH but with my seven month-old taking up so much of my energy, I have slacked in that department. Hopefully soon we will pick up again, if for no other reason than that the school requires 30 minutes of parent read alouds as homework each night. ;)

[SKL]

When my kids were in 1st, we didn't have time to do science / history extras, so I don't have much advice there.  You already have Liberty's Kids, which is excellent, and my kids also liked the Magic Schoolbus DVDs.  When we had a chance, we also went to the natural history museum on the night they stayed open late.

 

For my average kid in 1st grade, I went on the school's website, which had links to tools to review the information they were studying at school.  This provided only an overview, however, and we only got one night with the textbook to study for each test.  So after that experience, I decided to go on eBay and buy a copy of the texts they use in school, so we can go over the information in a leisurely manner at home.  Of course this would not be necessary if she learned and retained everything in school, but she did not. 

 

Also for science / social studies, there are workbooks that focus on reading comprehension in the content areas, and these have worked well for my average kid.  I also had her read Rookie Read-About type books on the subjects they were working on in school.

 

For my advanced kid, biographies have always been a big hit, and they tend to provide information on history and geography as well as other content areas, depending on who the subject is.

 

We've never really done audiobooks, so I don't have much advice there.  When my kids were that age, my sister read them a variety of books such as The Hobbit, Beverly Cleary's Ribsy, Little House books, etc.  When I read aloud, it was usually something with an academic aspect, such as the Sir Cumference storybooks etc.  Or for my average reader, I'd re-read a book she'd read in order to help her understand the story better.

[merylvdm]

On the Science side, my daughter loved the Fetch programs - I know they are online somewhere - not sure if you can get them any other way. They pose a challenge to teams of kids who learn science as they compete against each other to solve them.

 

The science toy she played most with was her Snap Circuits kit. She got it when she was older but I know there are junior sets.

 

I know you didn't ask for Geography - but there are all the Carmen Sandiege DVDs that you can get real cheap on Amazon (last time I looked I think they were $5). 

[Uff Da!]

Mary Pope Osborne's "Tales from the Odyssey" is excellent if you want something else to listen to.  Also, Great Hall Productions has a curriculum guide for their audio (many of these are available here through the library)  http://www.greathall.com/curriculum.html     

 

We've enjoyed all our Magic School Bus science kits.

[Guest klatt]

Nice sharing