babies

[OZARKIAN]

what are some great baby programs - for under 4 yo who can read and comprehend very well.

[Gil]

What do you want to teach? For me, the most important thing was that my boys reading skills were 100% rock solid. For me it was non-negotiable, that before they start school they be able to read with expression and comprehension on a 5th grade level. So for us, the goal was that they be reading on a 5th grade level by the time that they started school. So we kept reading, reading, reading everything and anything, it didn't matter. I just needed to get their decoding fluent, grow their vocabulary and build their reading stamina.

 

The boys are in 1st and 2nd grade at their public school, they can read on an 8th or 9th grade level, their leisure chapter books are on a 6th-8th grade level. But still they love to read picture-books and stories most of all. I started them reading as toddlers and even though they can pick and read larger, heftier chapter books, they still demolish picture books. We also did an intensive study of arithmetic which put them much further ahead than most of their age-peers in math also.

 

I don't think I ever explicitly taught PreK and Kindergarten "content" such as colors, shapes, alphabets, seasons, etc. We just kept reading and discussing as much as possible. I put simple little posters on their walls about things and we referenced them from time to time but basically we eased our way directly into 1st grade material.

 

For a young child that is reading and comprehending "very well", I'd start in on content subjects via reading. Just get kids non-fiction and keep reading until you have a good idea of what it is that you want to teach and how. Me? I'm type A, I plan everything out to the best of my ability but that also causes me a lot of undue stress sometimes but not having some sort of roadmap is even more painful.

 

We've come to a crossroads--I'm in school FT, working FT and PT jobs. The boys are in PS. We aren't Homeschooling at this moment, so I haven't had time to formulate a real plan yet, but I think that we're going to pick up in January with doing science and history via reading and the occasional project while working on our writing skills. If I can get their writing skills to be consistent, then we'll be able to do more output based science and history, but in the meantime, just keep reading.

 

With accelerated kids, you will find that there is a very real "gap" stage that you will visit every few years. "The gap" is the (often sizable) discrepancy between input ability and output ability. You'll find yourself with a 6.5 yo who can understanding Algebraic equations and graphing, but can't physically handle all of the precise drawing and writing involved, or who can't emotionally deal with "doing it wrong!" because they'll be frustrated because they know the correct graph/coordinates but can't seem to get them right. (Ask me how I know?).

 

My advice. Get some K-6 Science/Social Studies textbooks to use as a reference if you aren't comfortable "winging it" and then go to the library and get books that mesh with the topic/unit. Lots and lots and lots of extra books. Read them.

 

[EndOfOrdinary]

There are very few programs for babies that involve reading and comprehending well, since very few babies are in this place.  We just jumped into the actual content but did not use any program at all.  Kids under 4 aren't really all that suited to seat work.  Most elementary curricula for younger students are forced to expect that the child is not reading well since most kids aren't in the early grades.

 

It is a bit of a void in curriculum because developmentally kids are not ready for any kind of program or curriculum, yet academically their skill sets are strong.

 

Play with your kid.  Show them nouns, verbs, adjectives.  Bake with them.  Add and subtract with them using fun bits of manipulatives like their toy cars or bath toys.  Just enjoy learning anything and everything. 

 

At 4 my son was fluently reading and comprehending. We were actively doing Spanish, parts of speech, adding and subtracting large numbers with manipulatives (hundreds), multiplying and dividing with smaller numbers with manipulatives (under ten), and started read aloud classics to talk about neat words while enjoying the story.  These were activities that were engaged by him for the most part.  He asked to learn Spanish, but didn't understand some of the words in the library movies and books so we started extremely basic grammar.  He wanted to add "big numbers" so we started on base ten manipulatives.  He "discovered" multiplying and dividing playing with the base ten manipulatives.  Classics were from me.  He had no knowledge of the stories so he could not ask for them, though he did ask about the words he didn't know and we would have fun discussions about them. More than anything, don't push, just let them ask and learn freely.

[Jackie]

I started with some kindergarten materials when my daughter was 3, slowing them down or speeding them up as suited DD. RightStart Math works well for us because it teaches using manipulatives and games and didn't require writing (what little writing there was is easy to skip in the first level). Since DD could read well, I just had her read aloud; lists for that are in my signature. We did the Magic School Bus kits that you can order off Amazon. We started on Spanish.

 

There are also lots of games. Rush Hour, Migty Mind, Kanoodle, No Stress Chess, Qwirkle, Uno, Gobblet Gobblers, Rat A Tat Cat.

[Korrale]

I highly recommend checking out the forums at brillkids. There are lots of parents give advice on how to adjust programs for little ones.

[Sarah0000]

I use programs that are not at all scripted so I can take the content and give it to DS through play and discussion. I use the Right Start Activities for the Al Abacus manual (not the lettered lesson plans), C rods with education unboxed, LOE phonograms cards and game book, Kumon books, and lots of other random activities and some printables from the web for the three Rs. Other subjects I have various books that I pull information from but, with the exception of My First Piano Adventures, are not designed to expect any kind of output from the child.