What are your favorite curricula choices for afterschooling?

[spaceman]

And what makes them good choices for afterschooling?

[Mabelen]

Some things that have worked well for us:

 

The Danica McKellar math books. My oldest read them and loved them.

 

CLE Math 500s. This is supplementing the school math well for my younger one.

 

Hands on Equations. Just got started but my daughter is really enjoying this approach.

 

Grammarland. My younger one asks to do it.

 

We do use a lot of other resources but not consistently. They are more go with the flow, dependent on interest.

[EKS]

Anything that works in a conversation/cuddle on the couch format is great for afterschooling.  MCT is wonderful for this.  Life of Fred might be good (if I could stand it, LOL!).  SOTW, Human Odyssey.  Lots of read alouds.  Actually some K12 materials (the online pieces, not entire courses) would be good as well.

[Mrs. Tharp]

It depends on why you are afterschooling. Are you looking for fun supplements or is it as a replacement for something the school isn't doing or isn't doing well? I've been in both situations. Other posters have mentioned fun supplemental stuff so I'll address replacement.

 

For replacement style afterschooling I've been very happy with Rod&Staff because it is easy & quick to teach. Plus, you can scale back the lessons to make them quicker without sacrificing retention because there is so much review. WWE & FLL are fast. Calvert Spelling is also great for afterschooling. SOTW would be great for afterschooling history if you left the activities for weekends. So far I've been happy with the MP Modern Studies read-aloud list for 3rd & 4th grades for afterschooling American history informally.

 

I've haven't tried afterschooling for science yet, but a discovery led approach would probably be out for me.

[VANURSEPRAC]

I started to "after school" in August when my child started 6th grade. My daughter has always been in public school. I naïvely thought that was all she needed.

I realized that the math instruction was too shallow and not enough homework was assigned to really master the concepts. At the same time, I wanted to see if my daughter could accelerate a math grade in school to take Algebra I in 7th grade. She had to take the TEXAS CREDIT BY EXAMs. So do that.

I had her placed in Mathnasium for the first semester of 6th grade. It was very cost prohibitive and I decided we could we could just do this at home.

So here we are at the end of 6th grade and she is now on chapter 7 of Foerster Algebra I and doing very well self studying.

 

I am going to add Easy Grammar and WWSI to this in the fall and slow the math down.

 

What I have found is my daughter is not getting a rigorous enough education in public school. So I am trying to supplement it in particular areas.

 

 

And she easily passed  the CBEs  to grade accelerate in math.

[pwicks]

I have young kids... 1st and kindergarten (soon to be 2nd and 1st grader)...

 

Math I use three different programs:

Mathseeds: is "lighthearted" lots of colors and songs and is online based... my kids easily do this as a "afterschool" math. It is not rigorous but covers a lot of topics and teaches them in a very easy engaging way. It is a complete curriculum.

Dreambox: is more intense and focused on arithmatic. It is also online based (which my kids are more likely to do "afterschool"). Sometimes my kids find this too intense for afterschool but they will do a little bit at a time which is fine by me.

 

Mammoth math: This is reserved for school holidays, weekends and winter/summer breaks. I do this to tie everything together and make sure they are getting everything. I do this because it is affordable and since my kids do the other two programs, they can do this one relatively independantly.

 

Reading:

For pre-K and Kindergarten I used Reading eggs... its online... and LOVED it. My kids are both one year ahead of their age in reading because of this program. Like mathseeds... lots of colors, songs, games it can get pretty rigorous. If it got to hard for them I would walk them through the hard parts or let them take a break.

 

Now that they are older I am looking for a good language arts program.... I am using Language smarts book by Critical thinking company... its good but it is slow going and we only do it on weekends, holidays breaks. etc..

 

History

SOTW... I read this to they they like that I am reading to them (since now days they are the ones who read to us)

 

Geography/Social Studies:

http://www.macmillanmh.com/socialstudies/2003-5/teacher/workbooks.html

 

Science:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561895016?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

 

I same Geography/Socialstudies and Science for holidays and winter/summer break. 

 

 

 

[truemind]

We successfully did Singapore math for the last three years.  It worked out really well because public school did not do a good job.  Then I showed my DD beast academy books and everything changed.  She is really into BA now and we don't work on SM anymore.  I think success of afterschooling depends on how much time you spent.  The less time you work the better.  We only spent 20 to 30 minutes max every day.  This way it is easy on everyone and you get behind but afterschooling becomes enjoyable.  My DD is in 3rd grade now.

 

So, for us Singapore math worked really well.  BA is working good so far but it is going very slowly.  Be patient when you do afterschooling, Don't try to go too fast or do too many things at the same time.   Keep it simple and easy.

[Tsuga]

Pre-school math was Singapore and we actually really enjoyed the math you can buy at the supermarket, Carson-Dellosa math games. They LOVED the pretty pictures and game style. DD1 (2nd) is now doing Beast Academy and it's been great for her. It's not a ton of explanation but it works in a totally different way than the public school math (which isn't bad, by the way). I hope to start DD2 on it next year or in 2nd.

 

Language: One does one language, the other does another language in immersion school, but they'd both do language. Why? Because public school doesn't teach it until 6th. So, that's why. Language is important. They will do a 2nd language in PS. I just pay for the language school and had paid for immersion pre-school.

 

Music: Private lessons, because public doesn't teach it until 5th, and it's important. They will do a second instrument in PS. I pay for private instruction. It is worth it to me.

 

Geography, because they don't get a lot in school. We read national geographic books together and we also are using Evan Moor workbooks because it's cheap. Evan Moor + Google = lots of good stuff.

 

Language, I read aloud from what I want.

 

Both of my kids' schools are really great with science and have STEM grants from the state and the Gates foundation, so we try to talk about science but they already do a ton in school, raising animals, examining habitats, etc. Language--they both love to read now, and read nonfiction and fiction. I don't supplement much because it's more like I'm prying a book out of their hands to get them to clean their rooms. I think reading comprehension questions are bullcrap and I will just teach them how to take the test when the time comes. It's a game you play, not a life skill. So long as they enjoy reading I'm happy.

 

[Mabelen]

I am not counting extracurriculars as afterschooling because they don't happen at home and basically I just write the checks after the search and selection process. My daughter does ballet, East Indian dance, piano, and Trampoline and Tumbling outside school.

I didn't include Spanish because we have always followed the One Parent One Language approach. I don't use a traditional curriculum. I use all kinds of resources to enrich and immerse my daughter in the language and culture.

[underthebridge]

We use Miquon, Singapore IP and CWP, and a hodgepodge of other sources such as MEP and nrich for math. For logic, we use Mindbenders, Critical Thinking Skills, and Math Analogies. We use read alouds such as A Little History of the World and Mathematicians are People Too for history. We also select copy work from read alouds. It sounds like a lot but we don't do more than 30-40 min a day. We have a lot of extracurriculars to fit in as well!

[kiwik]

At the moment ds8 is doing the Fan Process Skills books. He started at one and is about a quarter of the wat through 2. He is also doing a writing programme - he does each about 10 mins 4 times a week. Ds6 does something similar. We do history once a week for about 15 mins then do follow-up reading the rest of the week. I try and read them a variety of books. We average about an hour and a half a week plus reading. I would like to more - history, geography and languages aren't taught at all here although there are options once you get to high school.

[Guest TaylorIrby]

i'm new to all this...all the acronyms are confusing me. Can you clarify which curricula uses what acronyms and what they mean? thanks! I'm starting after school with my 4th grader this year, hoping to help with her grammar. She goes to a local Bosnian school (we live in Bosnia) They are excellent with science and math but I want to focus on English grammar and history (since she isn't getting that)

 

I also have a 2nd grade son who i'm not sure if i'll after school...he is a little reluctant to learn sometimes! 

 

We will continue to read aloud all the time like we always do :)

[Michelle_NC]

We focused mainly on hands-on cultural, art and science activities.  Traditional schools do a pretty good job of covering the basics, but it takes so much more to be truly educated and well-rounded.  Things like volunteering, having real conversations with grown-ups, going to plays, cotillion, traveling, etc.  Kids need experiental learning as much as they need workbooks and memorization.

 

We also worked on logic and critical thinking activities.

[Spy Car]

i'm new to all this...all the acronyms are confusing me. Can you clarify which curricula uses what acronyms and what they mean? thanks! I'm starting after school with my 4th grader this year, hoping to help with her grammar. She goes to a local Bosnian school (we live in Bosnia) They are excellent with science and math but I want to focus on English grammar and history (since she isn't getting that)

 

I also have a 2nd grade son who i'm not sure if i'll after school...he is a little reluctant to learn sometimes! 

 

We will continue to read aloud all the time like we always do :)

 

 I understand your confusion with the acronyms. Let me try to help:

 

MEP = Mathematics Enhancement Programme. A British program that is based on a Hungarian model that is similar to the Singapore model, but different enough to be interesting. Many puzzles and logical thinking elements. Free to download and print. Includes lesson plans.

 

MCT = Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts. An inspiring "big picture" grammar, vocabulary, poetics, and writing program aimed at (but not limited to) gifted children. Best for kids who enjoy learning though stories, are quick on the uptake with new concepts, and do not thrive on incrementalism and reputation. Not cheap, and shipping costs would be high (many books per year).

 

Singapore IP and CWP = supplementary books that are part of the Primary Mathematics (Singapore Math) program . These are the "challenge" books that make PM a serious program. Intensive Practice (IPs) tends towards general challenge  problems that are much harder than those in the core text, the Challenging Word Problems (CWPs) are geared more to word problems.

 

SOTW is Susan Wise Bauer's world history series for kids.

 

FFL is First Language Lessons. Written by SWB and her mom. The other end of the spectrum from MCT. Dozens and dozens on lessons on "what's a noun?" Very incremental parts-to-whole learning. Works for some, I'd blow my brains out.

 

If there is one I missed let me know.

 

Bill

[MBM]

If we could only have done one, I would choose AoPS (Art of Problem Solving) because it really solidified math concepts. It was sometimes time-consuming but well worth it for my son. He'll be starting college soon and these are the only books we used that he will not allow me to toss or give away after he leaves.

 

Singapore Math also worked well. It was not overly time-consuming so it didn't interfere too much during the school year.

 

Rod and Staff was thorough. We usually did short, oral lessons while sitting together on the couch.