My son has a hard time with pencil grip as well, for now we are just holding his hands in the right position. He would like to write more independently, so I just ordered some pencil grips for him from amazon, I think they will help him to get his fingers in the right places. as for reading, slow and steady. My DD is also very stubborn about her letter sounds, I *know* she can do them, she *knows* she can do them. we dont fight about it, but we still do 15 minutes of phonics work a day, and she knows that I will not go on untill she shows me she can say her ltter sounds with out a lot of ummmm....i think...what letter is that?....ummmm. we would seem to be at a standstill, but I know that if I keep showing her that it is important, and that I will keep working on it everyday, that she will eventually want to move on to actually sounding out words. I know too that as DS keeps reading more and more books, that she will want to do just becasue he is. gentle regular lessons, this is important, and we will do it everyday at the level you show me you can, and we will move on when you show me you can. thats my motto anyway. and yes rewards are not a good idea....can you put the wii away for awhile?

I totally get what you are saying, I get so tired of people telling me to let him play...as if i would stop him. What has helped us...chores, he loves to help, and this makes him be responsible too!....someone else mentioned suzuki, we have started the violin, and it takes a lot of mental power, really wears him out. also if you can double up some of his lessons, we often do 2 lesson in RS A and OPGTR a day. add in Five in a row, very gentle, and easily done. also really follow his lead, if they ask its because they want to do it. Oh and find a friend, now that I have a same age playmate three days a week for him ( I do private preschool with her) he plays better with her, and alone too. also computer games, DS is already using the 1st grade reader rabbit. and some others. just follow his lead he'll be fine!

I am currently planning a geography course for next year, we are using this as the basis; http://www.scribd.com/doc/5622573/Countries-and-Cultures-of-the-World I am very excited about it. I am also going to use a basic mapping unit from currclick.com at the start to help thm understand mapping. http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=33547{1}1&it=1#previews I dont know if we will do the whole book or only parts of it. I havent worked on this in a bit as I actually had to work on some curriculum changes fo rthis year, but I will get to ironed out this summer. Hope this helps!

We do OPGTR, and I am doing HOP, DS hates HOP, DD hates OPGTR. its annoying to teach 2 different programs, but better then fighting with them. I say if you want to and you child wants to, then pick a program and try it out. You know your child, programs like OPGTR and 100 EZ are more "boring" its just text on a page. I would say if you child is more into the text of the books you read these would work great. other programs like HOP are more colorful and have pics and activites on the pages, which work better for DD becasue she likes the pics in books better. I will say that DS is way more advanced then DD. She is more slighlty above average, especially with attention span.

Ds is zooming through RS A. I would like to slow him down a bit and supplement with something. But what? We have been working through generic workbooks from the book store, but he is half way through the first grade book, and it isnt slowing him down any. I want to encourage a love of math, and want him to be good at it, but also want him to really understand it. I'm looking for something that plays nicely with Righstart, isnt exspensive, is reuseable, it can invollve writing, Ill just have him use stamps or tally marks as necessary. also I'm not sure where to put him in a K or a 1st program. He counts to 100, and counts to 100 by tens, counts to 12 by 2's and can do basic add and subtract to ten in his head. he cant tell time, and only knows some money. any help is really appreciated. Thanks so much!

I did a ton of planning and researching, right up untill i found what we are currently using. Once I found the right materials, I had nothing to plan, it all just flowed. I would suggest starting with one subject per child, lets say phonics, and find what works. when you find the phonics program that works for your children planning will be easy. then do the same for math, and it will easier as it goes on b/c you will know better what your children like. I would also not look for material for the younger one, just let her tag a long with whatever you do for the older one, she will pick it up and surprise you. all you really *need* is reading writing and math, and lots of good readalouds, anything else is gravy, and I agree teach them to do it themselves art and playing.

today at the bookstore, when I went looking for a math workbook for my 3.5 year old, who cant get enough math, and had to buy a 1st grade book to find any challange for him. scares me to death.

I struggled with this too, now I use homeschoolskedtrack.com. you put in the courses, and then what you want to accomplish, and ck it off as you go, if you dont do something it gets moved to the next day. it really is all about making it automatic. I would start with phonics, and do it everyday not more then 20 minutes, taje the program she/you likes best and use it everyday and then use the others to supplement as needed. we use 100 ez and then when we need practice or a break we use HOP K. when that is comfortable add in math, and then writing practice. science is gravy, if you get to it do it if not dont worry you will get to it eventually. I personally would schedule your crafting time, when its done in a fun way its a great time to connect with your little ones. schedule it for a quiet time a couple of times a week, I would add this before science as its great for fine motor and time togther, you have years of science ahead of you, it can wait. our schedule looks like this (mind you it took about 7 months to get here) we school 4x a week so day 1-3 ds does violin 30 minutes dd arrives at 9am alternating with coputer time so I can work indivually with each kid is phonics and math Total for both is 45-60 minutes break 30 min unit study (currently space) 45-60 mins including read alouds break/lunch 60 mins cooking/craft/art one each day 30-90 minutes playtime untill dd gets pick up by her mom day 4 is different violin 30 mins math/phonics 30 mins computer/ play time rest of morning lunch more involved craft I hope this helps

A lot of good ideas, Thanks. I probley should have put in my OP that both of them are attempting to write on thier own, they both have excellent fine motor skills, and have been holding a pencil properly for months. We have been doing prewriting skills for about 6 months, and they can write thier names and some other words to varying degrees. I was looking at a program to help get thier handwriting neater. and wondering if I needed one to get there or not. I have decided to purchase the italic, and to copy the pages for lots of practice, Ill do it like i have been doing the free stuff, run through the letters, take a sample from each kid, work on really bad letters, take a sample, work some more, rinse and repeat. Thanks again!

I am struggling with buying a handwriting program, I hate to pay so much to ship a little workbook. Do I really need a handwriting program? The munchkins are little, will it hurt to just use free stuff now and then use a program next year? or do I even need to do that? what are the advantages of using a program? I should add I am looking at HWOT or Getty dubay italic. any thoughts?

he has these, he plays with them often. He wants something more schooly. books, workbooks, things that make him think more.

or so he says. I am definatly having trouble keeping up with my 3.5 yo son. Sometime right before christmas he made some huge mental leaps ( sounding out words, reading the bob books, and adding and subtracting) so we moved up our plans for next year to now, but after we do our school time, and have a break he is ready for more, but he wants it to be something different then what we have already done that day. We school 3X a week doing 100EZ, RS A, interest led unit studies ( currently space), HWOT K, the easy spanish junior, and he play the violin. I am at a loss as to what else to give him. We have basic prek and K workbooks, but he can run through one a day right now. We read lots of good books, even chapter books, but he wants to do something else ( his words) What else is there? I have looked all over, should I find and add a different math? more science? history? (how do you do history with a three yearold?) Geography? we have maps. any ideas? oh we do paint, cook, and take nature walks too. what else is there?

Try and remember that the goal is to raise a happy well adjusted, kind and loving child. In order to keep myself from comparing my son with other children, I remember that my goal is to help him find the job that he loves, to guide him in being a good person, and to give him the best education available, he is behind in some areas, and ahead in others, he is as you descibe your son, loving, well behaved, and willing to learn, will he be a brain surgron? I dont know, If he wants to be one he will, If he wants to be a garbage man, I will support him. I want him to live a clean healthy loving life. I want him be good with the money he makes no matter what it is. its not about beig the "brightest" its about him being true to himself. Just love and educate him, he sounds like a wonderful boy to be around.

This is my thoughts too, i dont want to "ruin" his fun, and I would like him to play by himself more. Its been a tough couple of months, we just moved from ohio to texas, from 4 acres to an apartment, from 2 cars to one,it been an adjustment for both of us, but really hard on him. I did just find a preschool lap book to add to our next body unit, and I think instead of stretching the unit to 10 weeks we will do it in the five that is reccommended, hopefully this will be enough for him, I am consdiering starting EB A, a friend just ordered it, and is bringing it for me to see, then I can decide. Hopefully starting the violin next week will offer a challenge as well. Thanks for all the ideas, I need all I can get!

I am also getting ready to do a unit on the body for my preschooler, I found these two books at our library, the expierments look simple and to the point, and most used household items. Ill be watching this thread too! http://www.amazon.com/First-Science-Experiments-Amazing-Human/dp/1402724373/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IHL6QI2ZUO79Q&colid=3GVVLBVQDN1ZU http://www.amazon.com/First-Science-Experiments-Super-Senses/dp/1402727674/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3SFT7PMYFJDVO&colid=3GVVLBVQDN1ZU

I am unsure what to do with my three year old son. He is really pressuring me:tongue_smilie:to do more school with him. I am not ssure if I should go ahead and move on to what I have planned for next year( HWT K, Opgtr, RS A, and Singapore EB1, also FIAR) or if I should just add to what we are doing. we are currently using evan moor theme units ( stretching them to two weeks for each section instead of one) I do find I have to really supplement these as they are rather simple. also using abc worksheets, math games and doing some simple science experiments. we read for 30 minutes three times a day, we will be adding violin in 2 weeks, that is only 5 mins a day with a goal of 15 minutes a day in the next year. I am adding spanish in January, heres the thing we spend about 1.5-2 hours a day 4 days a week now, and he dosent want to stop, this time dosent include random art and cooking projects. I dont want to be doing too much, and yet if he wants to do more I feel like I should do it, I dont know what else to add, if I should move up to next years stuff, I think he migt be bored with some of the stuff, oh and I tried adding in B4Fiar, and he told me those were baby stories, he wanted real books. which I should have known he would say as we dont read books that simple during the rest of our reading time. also we go on nature walks, go to the library and the park weekly. I just dont knwo what else to do with him. anyways if you made it this far thanks, Hope someone has a good idea. I'm all out of them!:)

Hello all, I have a 3 year old boy, and he keeps asking for more "schoolwork" right now we do about 1.5 -2 hours a day of math games, handwriting, unit study and science stuff. he wants more, so I thought I would add in some spanish, i would like it to be fun, but actually give him so useful spanish, we just moved to el paso, so it would be helpful if he knew some spanish. I do not plan on starting this untill january as I have used our homeschool budget for this year, and will need to wait untill then to have more money available, also he is starting violin in late oct., and I dont want to add too much too quickly. anythoughts on what spanish you like? I am willing to stretch a program that is for an older child if needed. Thanks! Melissa