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Don't razz me too badly. Best curriculum option for a barely 3 year old. X-Post


AimeeM
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I swear I wouldn't consider it if I didn't think it was in his best interest.

Between DS2's therapists and myself, we feel like the structure of doing *something* formal/structured during the day would tame him a bit (read: make him less likely to kill himself, or give me a heart attack) AND that it would help with his speech to learn to read, since he's so obsessed with letters and attempting to blend.

The only way he remains calm is to have something to do in front of him... namely, he loves writing (trying to) and drawing.

He has textbook perfect grip, and can form several letters pretty well.

 

I'd love something with read alouds that I could combine with his older brother (DS5, who will be 6 by fall). I would love something with enough busy work to keep him happy with a pencil for a while, but something that would stimulate him intellectually too (so, not JUST busy work) - if he gets bored, he gets hyper; when he gets hyper, he does dangerous things like climb things he shouldn't, run across high surfaces, or play trampoline on non-trampoline surfaces ;)

 

He knows his letters, letter sounds; can recognize numbers through 20, count to 20 (or beyond; I haven't asked), and definitely understands one-to-one correspondence; he can count by 1's, 2's, and 10's. He can manipulate rods pretty well and ADORES his abacus.

 

He doesn't talk much, though, so anything I use can't necessarily rely on him communicating back verbally. There is some suspicion that he may already know how to read, but we aren't sure. He loves books, but he only says one syllable words, or one syllable of multiple-syllable words/word attempts. The only phrases he says are "luh yuh" (love you) and "guh mor, dah-dy" (good morning, daddy). Oh, and he recently became fond of puckering his face in a fake cry and coming for a hug, saying "I cry" (minus the "r" sound, lol).

The only things he says consistently are his letters and definitely his numbers. He can spend huge amounts of time counting items... or just turning in circles pointing at invisible numbers counting them - backwards, forwards, random patterns. Whatever.

 

I have a couple of thoughts.

 

1: Memoria Press' JrK program... modified for no real recitation, heavy on the mom-helped crafts, supplemented with Phonics Pathways and c-rod fun with Big Brother (who uses Miquon) - he already likes sitting in on brother's phonics and math lessons, but I use Dancing Bears with DS5 and it's far too writing intensive for DS2.

 

2: Memoria Press' Special Needs program. The three - four year old program, especially, looks like it is heavy on the language acquisition, vocabulary building in creative ways, and specifically targets speech delay issues. I would have to supplement pretty heavily, though, to give him any sort of challenge. If he bores of me, he will just go find a wall to color on, or something equally "not good". The SN program also seems to focus quite a bit on fine motor skills, and while he has no fine motor skill issues, his OT describes him as a "serious sensory seeker", so the fine motor activities would give him a sensory outlet.

 

3: A hodge-podge of materials. I have Phonics Pathways on hand, and I could buy the 7 book Rod and Staff preschool series, which would keep him busy for a while, lol. I don't really want to do this, though - if it's written out in front of me, it will get done; if it isn't, it won't.

 

 

Please, please, please - none of the "he's too young" advice. I would generally agree with you, but this is something I (and his therapists) have thought hard about. If it gives him the intellectual stimulation he needs, and an outlet to keep him away from doing dangerous things... well, it's nothing but good in my book.

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Actually, those R&S workbooks are perfect for what you're looking for. You might want the Learning through Sounds books from Pathway Readers too. Miquon math workbooks could also be a good choice. If it makes you feel better, make a spreadsheet with all the pages listed and let him color them in when he's done. This was incredibly motivating for my kids when they were little.

 

You might also try the FIAR approach. That worked really well for Geezle when he wasn't very verbal. He learned lots of words and enjoyed hearing the stories repeated.

 

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/

 

This website has FIAR style activities for a wide range of picture books for free.

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Ah Aimee,

I doubt very much you will get anybody over here insisting that he is too young, but I totally understand that sensitivity. I cringe every time I read that response simply because I know how it made/makes me feel. There are just some kids who do much better with a bit of a structured program at very young ages. Alex did/does so much better with a schedule and a program...sometimes I wish it were different, but you go with what works.

 

Whatever you decide curriculum wise, have you considered ASL? The Signing Time videos are themed, so teach as well, but in addition to the sign language show the written word along with the action/vocabulary for language acquisition. And ASL is the reason we knew that Alex could read long before she was really verbal. She would sign to us to read. It also really helped with frustration.

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Also, this is going to sound like child abuse but I promise it's not. John's a spaz. He's 4. He does my workout videos with me. He does jumping jacks, lifts weights, can do an insane amount of push ups. It really keeps him calm and keeps our days running smoothly. Just a suggestion.

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Ds5 actually did WWE1 with his older brother at that age but it requires more verbal ability. I second ASL (or local equivalent) it will use his brain and his body as well as making communication easier. They are close together so he could pretty much just tag along plus have a couple of phonics workbooks if he can identify sounds. Plus a walk or a trip to the park and you have quite a nice structure.

 

Easy Peasy home school has a preschool programme.

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My son tore through workbooks at that age--math, writing and reading practice, mazes (so many mazes), maps...not busywork at all and very fun (and necessary) for him. I think I used books that were generally geared toward K +. We used MEP for awhile around that age too, but he didn't like all the weird drawings so we switched to MM. I'd just print off random pages and let him at it. I used a lot of worksheets from superteacher dot com and other free sites.

 

He took a ton of outside classes at our parks and rec. He had a class or two nearly every day, once a week he took 4 in a row. He just couldn't get enough mental stimulation. Our local parks offered preschool classes as well, and of course we went to library story time. We spent hours and hours at the library, where he exhausted every book in the middle school section on trains, cars and skyscrapers.

 

Like another poster assured you, you won't get nasty looks from us for needing real educational stuff for your little one! I wish I'd had this resource when DS was that age. It was a very lonely time for me.

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There are a few kumon books that I like. First tracing, or tracing if he's advanced. Also like easy maze or simple mazes for that age. Since he likes to write possibly the one titled are you ready for kindergarten (pencil workbook ). This has him tracing his letters.

 

I also like five in a row.

 

ASL sounds like a great suggestion.

 

I can't remember what you said about math...I'm about to start right start math games with my 4 1/2.. not as advanced as others around here, but I was afraid of getting flaked as well. Lol.

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Thank you all so much!

Yes, the R&S books look darling and I have some of the later ones on hand. He is definitely beyond the "All About Three" books, but the other ones look like they have some skills that could be considered gaps which would be nice to fill in (writing his name), correct letter and shape formation, cutting, etc. The later books in the series actually have some things that he would very much enjoy and some things that would be new to him.

 

He traces very well, but I haven't the nerve yet to give him scissors, lol. I would if he were strapped in his high chair, with me next to him, though :D

 

I've considered ASL and I actually know a good bit myself... but when his therapists (namely his Early Interventionist and Speech Therapist) try to teach/use ASL with him, he just thinks it's hilarious and won't participate (other than to laugh). 

 

I could try him on the Miquon - he already listens in (read: climbs on the table and destroys the paper, and blocks) when Big Brother is doing his Miquon. Until he's more verbal, I'm not sure how to approach phonics - at all - unless he will get on board with ASL.

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[quote name="AimeeM" post="6191692" timestamp=

 

I've considered ASL and I actually know a good bit myself... but when his therapists (namely his Early Interventionist and Speech Therapist) try to teach/use ASL with him, he just thinks it's hilarious and won't participate (other than to laugh

 

I am not surprised if that is pretty much the only time he encounters it, lol. Maybe he thinks she is just flapping her hands a lot:)

The library typically has Signing Time videos, some are on the Two LittleHands YouTube channel, and PBS plays it in some areas. Maybe he will enjoy it (and recognize its usefulness!) if he saw it associated with the written word as well...and for some reason kids seem to really love to see the signs done by other children, which the videos take full advantage of:)

Good luck...

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When mine were pre-school age, I chose weekly themes for our 'school' week.  I research the week before for our daily activites relating to that theme.  

 

If our theme was 'the circus' -

 

* We would go to the library on Monday and check-out picture books with the circus theme or animals we find in the circus.  Our lunch would include circus items - a lion face made out of a pancake face and orange wedges mane, etc.  

 

* We do finger plays or full body actions to poems and learn songs about the circus.

 

* For math, we talk out problems (about the circus) using counters or make animal pictures using pattern blocks.  

 

* We do art projects with the circus theme.

 

At this age, I think parental involvement is necessary, but time-consuming.  This may not all be possible while schooling your older one.  

 

 

 

 

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HWOT PreK or K are both very active, and move from large to small motor, and might be a good fit. I'd definitely focus on the CDs, the door writing, the big body large to small movements, etc more than the workbook, but the Pre-K workbook isn't bad, either. I'd tend to focus on things like the physical wood pieces and roll-a-dough letters over the newer apps, since he needs a lot of physical.

 

In 20/20 hindsight, DD would have been better off if I'd just started doing school with her at age 3 vs putting her in Pre-K and then K at 4. She's not a sensory seeker, but she just plain needed more, more, more.

 

 

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Also, this is going to sound like child abuse but I promise it's not. John's a spaz. He's 4. He does my workout videos with me. He does jumping jacks, lifts weights, can do an insane amount of push ups. It really keeps him calm and keeps our days running smoothly. Just a suggestion.

 

My highly emotional child has always loved to do this with me. It sounds crazy, but it really helped her to have more ways to burn off energy. Learning to read also helped immensely with her language delays and the overall issues with frustration. The most helpful thing overall, though, was having a very structured schedule for her day. I think having that routine helped more than any of the individual things we were doing during the day.

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My 2nd child had articulation disorder and mild expressive delay (though his receptive language was good). I used the Core Knowledge What Your Preschooler Needs to Know program with the activity book when he was in preschool. It's inexpensive and I highly recommend it: http://books.coreknowledge.org/product.php?productid=16296&cat=364&page=1

 

Evan-Moor has a series called Take It To Your Seat ___ Centers that is very hands-on and not writing or speech-dependent. Here's the math: http://www.evan-moor.com/p/19136/take-it-to-your-seat-math-centers-kindergarten

 

Cued Speech might be something helpful to him if he doesn't want to use ASL. http://www.cuedspeech.com/index.asp

 

If he hasn't had a full audiology exam recently, I'd strongly encourage you to get one just to make sure that the speech issues are not due to any kind of physical hearing issue. I learned the hard way that smart kiddos can teach themselves to lip-read and fool even trained therapists & teachers.

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My 2nd child had articulation disorder and mild expressive delay (though his receptive language was good). I used the Core Knowledge What Your Preschooler Needs to Know program with the activity book when he was in preschool. It's inexpensive and I highly recommend it: http://books.coreknowledge.org/product.php?productid=16296&cat=364&page=1

 

Evan-Moor has a series called Take It To Your Seat ___ Centers that is very hands-on and not writing or speech-dependent. Here's the math: http://www.evan-moor.com/p/19136/take-it-to-your-seat-math-centers-kindergarten

 

Cued Speech might be something helpful to him if he doesn't want to use ASL. http://www.cuedspeech.com/index.asp

 

If he hasn't had a full audiology exam recently, I'd strongly encourage you to get one just to make sure that the speech issues are not due to any kind of physical hearing issue. I learned the hard way that smart kiddos can teach themselves to lip-read and fool even trained therapists & teachers.

They tried to do a full audiology eval with him. He sat down and refused to participate after the first half. The audiologist said that it isn't abnormal and that she would like to see him back at 3... that most of the 2 year olds she sees won't sit through the entire evaluation, but that by 3 most can.

 

He has very frequent ear infections and yes, there is some concern that he may have a hearing issue... but the good news is that he doesn't seem to have fluid on his ears (the Audiologist DID get that far, lol).

 

We aren't entirely sure the extent of his speech issues or his receptive language skills. A few weeks ago when he was with his speech therapist she asked him to verbalize whether he wanted an orange shoe or a blue shoe (or something like that - they were playing with Mr. Potato Head); he had just played this game the week prior, so she knew he could. He just kept shaking his head. When she finally said "CAN you say orange (or blue)?", he shrugged and said, clear as day, "I don't know" and walked away from her to sit on the couch next to me. He's never said anything like that, or as clearly as he did that day. ST was a champ and just laughed and said she feels he may be playing us... and while I feel similar AT TIMES, most of the time I can sense how frustrated he is with his inability to verbalize what he wants and needs - he can be prone to self harming when he is trying desperately to tell us what he wants or needs, and we can't understand.

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They tried to do a full audiology eval with him. He sat down and refused to participate after the first half. The audiologist said that it isn't abnormal and that she would like to see him back at 3... that most of the 2 year olds she sees won't sit through the entire evaluation, but that by 3 most can.

 

He has very frequent ear infections and yes, there is some concern that he may have a hearing issue... but the good news is that he doesn't seem to have fluid on his ears (the Audiologist DID get that far, lol).

 

Hopefully she was able to do the electronic in-ear measurements as those don't require participation by the child. If those are within normal limits, then there's less of a chance of permanent hearing loss. Make sure you keep on top of it though because I'm kicking myself for not having done follow-up testing.

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Can you do some CDs? Jim Weiss has some wonderful stories for little kids.

 

Libraries usually have quit a few book/cd combinations, so you can follow along.

 

Starfall is completely wonderful, IMO. If you go on site, you can order extras. I remember getting workbooks, puzzles, and utterly cute stuffed animals for each vowel. So if your ds likes SF, you could go in more depth with the site.

 

I like FIAR, also Family Math (can't recall if this would be too advanced or not), and books by Peggy Kaye. I think the titles are Games for Reading, Games for Writing, Games for Math. K level, but sound appropriate. All these would require work from you though.

 

I am glad someone suggested Core Knowledge. The preschool books came out when my kids were older, but we love CK and find it well worth the cost.

 

Bob Books, if someone has not mentioned.

 

Ed Emberley, Thumbprint drawing book. Absurdly simple. Make a thumbprint with the washable ink pad, draw a few lines and you have wonderful faces, etc.

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I haven't read all the previous posts, but did read some and agree with many.  I have a 4 and 6 year old and would NEVER suggest it is too early.  Each child is different.  My DS6 NEEDED me to teach him early.  He asked for school work regularly at a very early age.  His sister waited until later to start asking for school, but once she did she started she started with gusto. 
My DS also loved ASL and we used many of the Signing time dvd's.  At 6 and with a very advanced vocabulary he still will add in signs for emphasis.  My DD cared little for ASL.  We used a lot of Kumon workbooks.  I think I actually used them longer than I should have with DS as he had gotten bored with them, but the mazes and tracing ones are great in my opinion. 

Something that might not have been mentioned that I have recently found is gonoodle dot com.  You can sign up for it as a parent or teacher.  We don't have a smart TV but do have the ability to hook my laptop up to our TV.  It has great silly videos to sing and dance to that are not specically academic.  They also have videos that are educational.  They have recently added games that use knowledge.  The answer to the game questions are from what I have seen multiple choice so he could say the answer is A instead of having to say the whole answer and that will show he is reading the word, without him having to be able to actually speak the word.

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Guest Bake Shop

My DS4 was challenging at age 3, in a lot of the same ways.  We did (and still do) all sorts of typical preschool kid things; but I do find that a dose of academic learning each day is key to keeping him optimally stimulated (read: tolerable).  

 

I didn't feel comfortable teaching from a curriculum with my 3 year old; so I tried to look for other ways to let him sink his teeth into academics.  We really liked the Starfall app for reading and Dreambox app for math.  I cannot recommend those enough.  We also got a lot of use out of our Leap Reader electronic pen from Leapfrog.  It works with their Learning to Read and Write books; but we got the most use out of the Solar System discovery set, the Anatomy set, the US map set, and the World map set.  For my not-very-expressive, sensitive kid, these impersonal learning tools worked wonders.

 

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My DS4 was challenging at age 3, in a lot of the same ways. We did (and still do) all sorts of typical preschool kid things; but I do find that a dose of academic learning each day is key to keeping him optimally stimulated (read: tolerable).

 

I didn't feel comfortable teaching from a curriculum with my 3 year old; so I tried to look for other ways to let him sink his teeth into academics. We really liked the Starfall app for reading and Dreambox app for math. I cannot recommend those enough. We also got a lot of use out of our Leap Reader electronic pen from Leapfrog. It works with their Learning to Read and Write books; but we got the most use out of the Solar System discovery set, the Anatomy set, the US map set, and the World map set. For my not-very-expressive, sensitive kid, these impersonal learning tools worked wonders.

Welcome, nice first post!

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With my new three year old, I use guides or spines rather than anything scripted. I know what the next concept in each subject he needs to learn is, then look for or create opportunities to teach that during play. I have Right Start Activities for the Al Abacus, BFSU, Artistic Pursuits, Usborne World History, German for Children, and 52 Weeks of Family German. I do the same thing with spelling and reading but I've been rotating texts from the library. I haven't decided on one reference to purchase yet.

 

I'm going to try our first structured lessons next week. I've decided to only do structured for handwriting and piano since those are skills that would really benefit from systematic practice. I have Faber's My First Piano Adventures and for handwriting I found a website that looks sufficient.

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Oh, we did ASL was DS was younger. It was very helpful. We even learned that he could read more than we thought right around when he turned two because he started doing a mix of oral and ASL reading.

 

But if he won't get on board with ASL and you think he might be able to read or has some beginning skills, try having letter magnets or simple word cards or charts handy, like on the wall. Before he was very verbal DS use to point to charts or get a letter from his magnets to give us clues as to what he was trying to say. Even now when he can talk like a normal three year old, but with bad pronunciation, he will make each sound in a word individually when he can't say them together when we can't guess what he is saying. 100 Easy Lessons is a reading instruction book, but the beginning exercises in sounding out and blending has really helped DS with his speech.

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We started teaching my older son at 2.5 for some of the same reasons...mainly he was driving me batty from boredom ;) I instituted 3+ hours outside time daily which helped a lot, and I started Ordinary parents Guide to Teaching Reading. He really liked that honestly and he started reading right away. Like your son he was already starting to blend letters together when we started. I do think the Memoria Press Special Needs curriculum, while awesome, wouldn't be a good fit for him because it wouldn't include teaching to read yet. How are his pencil and coloring abilities? If they're decent I'd say the R&S books would be a good fit for most things. If he's not into coloring/writing (my DS was not) I'd do OPGTR and lots of math manipulatives. I got counting bears, pattern blocks, etc. and we'd just play with them every day. We did nothing else and at 5 he was able to start in with Singapore Math 1 without any problem so I really think the manipulative work was effective. Have you seen the Tot School blog? (1+1+1=1) Her suggestions might help you brainstorm tasks for him, though of course you'll want to look ahead and maybe check out what she suggests for 3-5 year olds for things that would keep him challenged. But over all it's very Montessori-ish and good hands-on work which might be good for a kid who's bright but mostly nonverbal. 

 

I also agree with the above suggestions to maybe pair some sign language with his speech therapy just to reduce frustration and tap into his language parts of his brain. Just in case he's hearing impaired and if he's not it won't hurt. We do sign language with all our babies and it is nice to prevent those early tantrums. My 13 yo is adopted but was hard of hearing for years undetected so she's got serious learning delays from it and I wish every day someone had taught her sign language, even just a bit. 

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The MP SN program does begin phonics/reading in the Core Level C, which is what Tanya suggested I go with. His grip and fine motor skills are excellent... but he dislikes coloring (he like writing and drawing, though).

We started teaching my older son at 2.5 for some of the same reasons...mainly he was driving me batty from boredom ;) I instituted 3+ hours outside time daily which helped a lot, and I started Ordinary parents Guide to Teaching Reading. He really liked that honestly and he started reading right away. Like your son he was already starting to blend letters together when we started. I do think the Memoria Press Special Needs curriculum, while awesome, wouldn't be a good fit for him because it wouldn't include teaching to read yet. How are his pencil and coloring abilities? If they're decent I'd say the R&S books would be a good fit for most things. If he's not into coloring/writing (my DS was not) I'd do OPGTR and lots of math manipulatives. I got counting bears, pattern blocks, etc. and we'd just play with them every day. We did nothing else and at 5 he was able to start in with Singapore Math 1 without any problem so I really think the manipulative work was effective. Have you seen the Tot School blog? (1+1+1=1) Her suggestions might help you brainstorm tasks for him, though of course you'll want to look ahead and maybe check out what she suggests for 3-5 year olds for things that would keep him challenged. But over all it's very Montessori-ish and good hands-on work which might be good for a kid who's bright but mostly nonverbal. 

 

I also agree with the above suggestions to maybe pair some sign language with his speech therapy just to reduce frustration and tap into his language parts of his brain. Just in case he's hearing impaired and if he's not it won't hurt. We do sign language with all our babies and it is nice to prevent those early tantrums. My 13 yo is adopted but was hard of hearing for years undetected so she's got serious learning delays from it and I wish every day someone had taught her sign language, even just a bit. 

 

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Both of my children could spell simple words months before they could blend. Start with simple words like in, an, at, up, on, me, he, hi, go, no, mom, dad. Work on a whiteboard or with magnetic letters on a cookie sheet, but at least 2 sets so you have enough vowels.

 

This book also has fun ideas for a young child:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Minutes/dp/1412015545/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424886092&sr=8-1&keywords=How+to+teach+child+read+10+minutes

 

My kids could also do Read, Write, Type at a fairly young age, the keyboard input is easier than some and more forgiving of mistakes.

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I did workbooks with dd starting at 2 because she was determined. Some of her favorites were Pathway (the Amish ones), MCP phonics, Abeka art workbooks (easy projects with themes), Funtastic frog serieshttps://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=10&category=2327, and a book from the Critical Thinking Company the used manipulatives extensively. She also loved jigsaw puzzles.

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When my girls were little, I did some fun things with all three that bring back so many good memories. If you don't pressure a child, and he has plenty of time to play and rest, there's no harm in a bit of "school work," IMO. My girls all enjoyed it, and we just plain ol' had a good time. You won't get a lecture from me! :)

 

The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (used in Preschool [3-4] & Pre-K [4-5] with all three children, finished before Kindergarten [5-6]; they were certainly ready for a few 10 minute "lessons" with Mommy each week)

 

BOB Books (used in Preschool & Pre-K; I can still remember my oldest JUMPING all over the house when she read through her first BOB book. Sheer joy.)

 

All About Reading Readers (we had Run Bug, Runt Pig, and Cobweb for Pre-K. I gave them away a few years ago, and wish I hadn't. My girls were so sad to find out those books were gone. Sigh. I think that if I'd known about All About Reading back then, I might have used that, but OPG worked fine for us, for much less cost.)

 

Evan-Moor Skill Sharpeners Spell & Write K (we used this in Pre-K, I haven't used any other levels, but this was fun)

 

Evan-Moor Skill Sharpeners Math K (again, we used this in Pre-K and the girls enjoyed it)

 

We had and used some of the ABC books from Rod & Staff. My sister gave me a set, and my oldest enjoyed those, but I didn't buy two more sets for my twins. We had other materials by then. We also had plenty of books on the shelf -- Little Jewel books, Golden books, Franklin, Berenstain Bears, and others that I can't remember tonight. If my girls were awake, they would remember the books!

 

I wish I could remember more of what we did when they were three and four. We played outside a lot, that much I remember! Sand Box 101. Swing set. Park and farm trips. Zoo. Aquarium. A garden. Making butter. Baking bread. Folding laundry. Finger paints. We made peanut butter-pinecone bird feeders (messy, but fun). We sprouted beans. "Art" was watercolors on some old desk calendars my father gave to us. Play dough. Candyland. Naps.

 

We had a fish named Finny. When Finny died, we got Flash. We had several versions of Flash, but we always tried to replace him during naps.

 

We went to the library and filled up a wagon with books -- picture books, science books (animals, mostly), poetry, craft books, audiobooks, Signing Time videos. All good stuff. We came home and read through all that during the week, watched Signing Time (just because), loaded it all up in the van, and went back for more. ;)

 

We went to Grammy & Pop Pop's at least twice a week. I firmly believe that Real People should be a part of a three year old's "curricular line-up."

 

We listened to Jim Weiss storytelling CDs for little ones. We sang and danced to a TON of Wee Sing and Cedarmont Kids CDs. The Wheels on the Bus would keep me wide awake some nights, going over and over in my head.

 

Mine are 8, 8, and 10 now. It's amazing, but three years old seems so long ago... They were wonderfully squishy and warm. Their hair smelled like fresh air and sunshine, and all their teeth were small. I remember that.

 

Have fun with your boy.

 

Edited to add: We are fairly certain that the Signing Time videos helped at least one of our twins with reducing her frustration when she was around 2.5 to 3 years of age. There were no hearing issues, and her speech was coming along well, but there was something about talking that frustrated her. I brought the ST videos home from the library, and she was fascinated with them. It was like watching things "click" inside her head, really wonderful. I am sure that those videos helped her solidify something, perhaps her understanding of individual words and their attached meaning? She had more confidence in pausing to organize her thoughts before speaking. She was bolder and less intimidated by her (more assertive) twin (e.g., refusing to be "spoken for" or interrupted, which we really had to deal with in the siblings). The signing videos were so good for all of us, but especially this child. IMO, they helped her realize that she had plenty to say and boosted her determination to find a way to say it.

 

BEWARE! Once you get him talking, he will never, ever stop. LOL. You have been warned. ;)

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AimeeM  the only thing I can truly relate to is the bouncing off the walls if not kept mentally stimulated.  My daughter will sit nicely for hours if she is given an activity she likes. Right now, color by number printed off the internet, and dot to dots with numbers.  They have ones that do count by 2's, 5', 10 etc.  My son also really enjoyed krazydad.com's website with mazes.  They range in difficulty but are quite fun for a kid who needs a challenge mentally.  At three my son also enjoyed more difficult puzzles, I don't know if that interests your son at all.  

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AimeeM  the only thing I can truly relate to is the bouncing off the walls if not kept mentally stimulated.  My daughter will sit nicely for hours if she is given an activity she likes. Right now, color by number printed off the internet, and dot to dots with numbers.  They have ones that do count by 2's, 5', 10 etc.  My son also really enjoyed krazydad.com's website with mazes.  They range in difficulty but are quite fun for a kid who needs a challenge mentally.  At three my son also enjoyed more difficult puzzles, I don't know if that interests your son at all.  

 

Is there a site you'd recommend for dot-to-dot's?  I am having difficulty finding appropriate ones with enough variety.

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  • 2 months later...

My 18yrs old was exactly like this and I kick myself for not challenging her more. Sending her to school when my ex and I split, I think,  was her downfall. She was so underchallenged that she started hanging with the wrong gang and it was taught that if you were smart in school you were a big L for loser. So she dumbed herself down.  

 

1) Developing the Early Learner

2) Get set for the Code

3) Rod and Staff books/Pathway readers 

4) Phonics Pathways

5) Science 4US and BFSU

6) JiJi math

7) Singapore Math ie Essential Math

8) Story of the World

9) Start having him read the classics

10) Lollipop Logic

11) why not teach him Latin

12) Kumon books

13) I got a big box of craft curriculum sent to our house every month and that kept her pretty happy

14) Musical instruments -he can start reading musical notes 

15) Scratch

16) Science kits

17) Start gardening with him

18) Teach him woodworking

19) Sewing, knitting, cooking

20) Painting, calligraphy, ceramics

21) Sports, gymnastics, martial arts

 

Start it now and keep moving forward, don;t let those age level things deter you from starting things with him. 

 

Be aware once he starts reading pretty well, start hiding some of the adults books that might have topics that are too mature for your child. 

I found my then 4yrs old reading ex-husband's Stephen Kings and Tom Clancy books and at the doctors office she found NEWSWEEK reading about 9/11 and comprehending it. 

 

My daugher never needed me to teach her any phonics. She just picked it up on her own somehow and was asking to do workbooks. I was so busy trying to catch her older brother up I should have spent more time with her and let him follow along and watch her. 

 

I feel so bad because it seems to be happening again. The ones struggling gets most of my time. Sigh! 

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