Hillcrest Academy
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Posts posted by Hillcrest Academy
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OOOO - I like that idea! I already have a used copy of the Animal Worlds TM because I wanted to take a peek at it before taking the plunge. I can use that for some ideas. And I love Jessica's ideas :) Always fresh and fun.
That's definitely a fun possibility that would allow us to continue with LA and catch up on Math, while doing things that capture their interest.
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I'm going to take some time to think and pray. I know the Lord has a plan for the next year, and every time someone mentions fun or geography I feel a big heartfelt, "Yes!" coming on.
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So you're saying:
1: Repeat 1st Grade
2: Adventures
3: ECC
4: Creation to Greeks
5: Rome to Reformation
6: Exploration to 1850
7: 1850 - modern
8: ECC
9: Creation to Greeks
10: Rome to Reformation
11: Exploration to 1850
12: 1850 – modern
So, I'll need to find something for 1st grade. I'll look into FIAR. Or I might do a science-focussed year and catch up on Math. Maybe WinterPromise. Otherwise I do like the idea of state history field trips and exploring.
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Wow...so many great thoughts.
Tabitha, we're currently using HOD LHFHG with MFW1st :) They love it.
Donna, we're currently doing MFW1st now, with HOD LHFHG thrown in for "fun stuff" as they call it. So that's my problem - if I repeat 1st greade, what do I do for the next year? If I bump it up and do Adventures, I guess I could always just report the previous year to the state and just be ahead of the game and have the wiggle room as a constant option.
Lisa, I haven't wanted to do Ancients because I really haven't found the "perfect" curriculum for it at this level. I have wanted to avoid feeling like I'm constantly "repairing" what they've heard. Not sure how to describe how I feel about this. What you've done sounds like a blast, and if I wouldn't have to be constantly explaining away what they just heard in the context of what we believe (i.e. if it's presented in the correct biblical manner) I'd love to hear more about what you've used.
Nutmeg, I had a hard time picking a grade label because we started K early and I didn't want to call her "K" yet. I think I'm going to stick with what you said - officially, K this year. It's my type A personality that wants everything to neatly fit in with the label, and doing 1st LA has thrown me a bit. Don't worry - I'm telling myself to get over it ;) We've been using MFW1st for history and they're bored out of their minds...
Cadam, I like your idea. I had forgotten about doing ECC again. That would be a nice break in between the two rotations. And state history - could just be an excuse for fun fun fun!
I love all these thoughts and ideas. Thank you so much!
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:001_unsure: You have addressed the fear that lies behind my using the 'spare' year at the front of the schedule, not the back! I guess at this point the thought of high school intimidates me. But you're right. I could leave us some wiggle room at the end which I'm sure I'll be glad for at that point.
I could spend the rest of this year letting her read a lot, and focussing on Math, beginning US history next year, with it being a fun year, but making sure we catch up on Math since she's a little ahead in LA.
Hmm. So many options. I'll really have to pray about this one.
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I plan on doing MFW Exploring Countries and Cultures in 3rd grade. Do you think it wold be overkill to do Galloping the Globe in 1st?
I already have the book, so that's a great idea.
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Thanks for all the ideas so far!
I like the idea of state history, except we're in MA so we'd be covering a lot of early US history, which we'll be doing in 2nd grade.
I definitely agree that we have to focus on Math, so no matter what else we do, that will be a big part.
I think it's really a matter of labels and semantics that I'm getting caught up in. I'm going to report her K year to the state in June, so I could just call next year 1st and do it again. Problem is I still have a second grade gap on my plan. If I repeat first grade this year, then I'm actually going to have to fill TWO years - 1st and 2nd grades.
So, if I change it to say that we're on K this year (we've already done a 1st gr curriculum - MFW1st with LHFHG thrown in), then what would 1st and 2nd look like, based on the plan I had previously? I really don't want to do the ancients in elementary. And I do want a year of US history and a year of world geography. That means I cycle through history twice, with two years 'spare'.
We have been VERY casual hs'ers so far, and I would like this next year to be easy enough to ease us into a real routine, but I want it to be structured enough that it gets us onto a steady pace for the future.
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I am struggling to fill in a year on my long term plan. And it just so happens to be next year that I'm having a hard time with ;) This is it so far:
(Started K a year early because she was begging for 'school'. She's supposed to be in K this year but we're doing 1st)
K: Completed
1: Completing first grade LA this year. Behind in Math (far behind.)
2: ?????
3: US History
4: World Geography & Cultures
5: Creation to Greeks
6: Rome to Reformation
7: Exploration to 1850
8: 1850 - modern
9: Creation to Greeks
10: Rome to Reformation
11: Exploration to 1850
12: 1850 - modern
My dd6 and ds5 (who has just started "pre-K") love animals, nature, outdoors etc. They have found history to be boring so far.
Anyway, any ideas would be appreciated!
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Thank you for sharing this - it looks like the perfect thing for my visual learner!
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I have to agree with Darcy on this one. It really does depend. I didn't do any formal pre-k with my daughter, and she learned colors, shapes etc without any concious effort on our part.
My son, however, is one year before his required K reporting begins, and he has only just learned his colors because I figured I better sit down and teach him. It didn't take long at all - I just had to go over it and play games a couple of times, and he stopped calling green "orange" etc. Same thing with the alphabet. He seems to do a lot of learning through osmosis ;) But there are also some things that need to be covered, and a pre-k program is nice to use as a checklist to see if your child is on track, or to give you some ideas of fun things to do.
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MFW hands down!!! Their elementary history is great and they do used SOTW later on. Love it. I think SOTW can be too much for K and 1st. TOG definitely too much. I've looked at all 3 and used MFW and SOTW.
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She suggests that after learning basic phonics children need a fluency stage of 1-2 years in which they are allowed to relax and just "read, read, read and write, write, write."
Amber, what does she mean by "basic phonics"? Just wondering if we're at that "need to take a break" stage ;)
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I didn't think you stuck your foot in your mouth, Jessica ;) I'm still trying to figure this all out with my kids being so young. I have a really hard time figuring what is above or below their level. Physics and Chemistry strike a cord of dread in my teacher's heart because they were my least favorite subjects at school. I ordered this one (the second largest) because I was thinking with the pictures for K and 1st (should they even be doing this? Who knows!?) I could at least say, look - this is gold, etc.
I love the chart you pointed out and I was wondering in particular what grades you were meaning by "lower years" because I was wondering when I should switch from pictures to more text to convey more facts :D So I think I'm the one who stuck her foot in her mouth!
I'm still really curious which grades you would begin implimenting the chart you pointed out. It's a really good one!
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I still like this one for lower years, http://mii.org/PosterPeriodic.htm
That is nice :) What grade do you mean by "lower years"? My kids are only pre-k and 1st so all the writing on that one overwhelms them. I think the appeal on this for my kids is that they "get it". I used it to explain what elements are and how they're organized. Really super-basic stuff.
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I came across this beautiful periodic table poster. I love that it has pictures of the actual elements and is a nice size.
Of course, if I had all the money in the world, I'm thinking the display would be an interesting addition to our school room ;)
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I'm so glad you asked this question! I was going to ask something similar. My dd6 is also a natural reader - figures out the words at a much higher grade level than she's at (2st grade), but when we do phonics rules it tends to confuse her. She'll have a hard time with the exercise, and marking up the words, and then blast through the sentence at the end (no marking, just reading) without any trouble.
I can't wait to see other replies. So far, it looks like phonics is not the be all and end all, especially if there are other challenge areas - we're math-challenged too :D
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In the first year of life, a baby's brain is wired to learn the sounds of a language. Our kids are learning the sounds of English for a whole year before they actually begin using it. During this year, it is also possible for their brains to absorb the sounds of other languages, so exposing them to songs, rhymes, lullaby's etc in another language is extremely beneficial. For the next few years they are language sponges! Any exposure, including intentional or formal, to another language is an extremely beneficial thing. As we get older, our ability to assimilate language decreases.
All that to say, the earlier the better!
Case in point would be those little ones blessed to be raised in a bilingual home. They have no trouble at all separating one language from another, and maintain fluency in both languages all their lives. My nieces are blessed to be raised with English and Spanish (although they won't be home schooled.)
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You're all welcome :001_smile: Robin, you really cracked me up - I was on the site for ages before I even thought about posting it here :D
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Our school year also starts in January.
K for DD was:
MFW K with Janice van Cleave's Science Around the Year and other web resources to beef up the science theme.
Should have used Singapore for Math but we're catching up with all that now.
1st is:
(We have the absolutely must do's - the 3 R's - and the rest is frosting on the cake. You know how much kids like frosting? Well, that's how much my kids like everything other than the 3 R's which is the cake to them - yummy but not as good as the frosting ;) )
Bible: Devotions for the Children's hour + Story Time Bible
Reading: MFW 1st + HOP + Bob Books
Handwriting: A Beka cursive + I'm using A Reason for Writing and a font to create copywork.
Math: Singapore Earlybird (all 4 books...she's flying through the K catch-up that we're doing). Also using RightStart. We're a Math challenged mother and daughter (hubby and son seem to be fine :D ) so we're covering all bases on this one, having already dropped the ball once.
History: MFW 1st, History for Little Pilgrims and History Stories for Children
Science: Things Outdoors, The World God Made and A Beka's Discovering God's World
Thinking Skills: Thinking Skills 1
Foreign Language: I am working up the courage to start Latin or Greek, but for now, we're doing French (French for Babies and Ecouter! Parler!)
Home Economics: Home Economics for Home Schoolers
DS is another story. His K is:
Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven (pre-K) combined with MFW K. He joins in on anything else we're doing that seems fun.
Have no idea what I'm going to do for him for 1st next year, and will asses in November. He's a very right-brained lefty, and is challenging me on how to approach this all. Hmm...that might be worth my asking about it a separate thread!
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I'm sure many of you know about Google's project to digitize public domain books from 5 US universities and to put them online.
The British Library is doing the same with thousands of public domain books and they can be found here.
Hope someone can use this!
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Here in MA, compulsory school age is that you are 6 by Dec 31 of that school year. You have to have turned 6 by Aug 31 to get into K.
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I have only seen the US editions. We have our convention next weekend so I'll look at everything there.
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Thanks for pointing out the forums - I didn't even know they were there.
Hmm.. after a quick scan at the posts, looks like most people are happy about the switch since Standards covers more from a little earlier, with added mental math and more repetition.
Interesting.
I guess with a program as good as Singapore they're not going to "break" it, KWIM? I just got really nervous since I have been having major trouble picking Math curriculum, and not this rocked my little boat ;)
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Long term plan - what would you do?
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
I absolutely agree with both of you. I think that's at the heart of my dilemma. There are definitely so many curricula I could just pick one and go with it. But I lean towards science/geography for fear of burning them out on history (already!) and that won't really address the problem. I think looking at history exactly as you described it with a little reading and a lot of fun is definitely on the cards.
I guess one way to do that would be to take Jessica's idea of looking at our state history from a very hands on/adventure/exploration perspective. Along with that we could look in depth at some animals that we have here - starting with insects, looking at birds, and some of the bigger animals - skunks, foxes, coyotes, bears etc. That would mean a trip to every reachable zoo in the state, and definitely a reciplrocal zoo membership!
I'll also have to look at SOTW because it would be nice to have the activities all laid out for me ;) Only trouble is we'll be doing Ancients in 4th grade. Not using SOTW, though, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt!
Thank you to all of you for helping me to think this out. I definitely want to take advantage of the fact that they're 'only' in 1st and pre-k and use that to have fun and allow them to function at the level they're at. I also want to take advantage of their sponge brains and fill them with facts. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter what we're doing because we will still be focussing on the 3 R's, but I do want to do other things that will make them excited and look forward to school because I believe that along with the 3 R's, the foundation of expection and attitude needs to be created at this point, and will have lasting effects, hopefully in a fantastic attitude towards learning for the rest of their lives. I want to take advantage of being able to just take off and have fun somewhere, or do a fun project or activity, and within that, I want to build our relationships and learn more about them so that I know how to adjust our long term plan for their benefit according to their gifts and needs in the future.