We do about an hour on phonics/reading (R&S) and math (Singapore). This is our main "formal" schooling. We also do Bible, fun history (Little House study) and science (though not the same day as History) but all of these are basically read-alouds, crafts/art, and educational dvds.

Yeah ... not only do I USE my SM workbooks, but I have the spines removed and have them spiral bound -- makes our life easier so it's worth it!!! Love being able to turn the textbook to just the 1 page we want to view & prop it up on in a book holder! I only have 2 kiddos to buy for, though....

Have you looked at the Inductive Bible Studies for Kids? IDK if they fall more into devotional, but to me they seem like a Bible study...

I'm-done-no-more-work! :mad: to This-is-fun-yay!:party: Today's mood-changer? Letting DD write in her R&S workbooks with (gasp!) super-cool markers instead of pencil. LOL, how innovative! But it made all the difference. AND I told DD that she could choose a different color tomorrow and she's excited and looking forward to it! :D Another mood-shifter today? Instead of making a chart for the sa/se/so/su/si (vowel-blending practice)...doing the blending Easter egg, found on Pinterest. Yay, blending is fun, not a chore! And there's a treat inside, double-yay! :D :D It's amazing... when we make just that tiny bit of effort, the whole day is better! I need to write that on a Post-it so I see it each morning!

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll have to mull over it a bit and do some trial & error... :)

I'm curious what others do when transitioning from 1 subject to the next in your daily line-up. Right now, DD & I are hitting math and reading fairly fairly hard (for her) -- we did a very relaxed K year (read: little to no formal schooling) -- and now we're up to around 30 min. for both math & phonics/reading times. Our other subjects are less structured and mostly after lunch. I've scheduled reading and math in the morning, first thing ... though I'm torn as to which subject to schedule first, since she seems to be good for about only one of them (seems tired/out of sorts when I pull out subject #2). SO....I'm thinking I need to schedule some "down time" or breaks between math & reading. What do you do? For how long? Do you have a hard time getting your children "back to school" if you let them "go" in the middle of school time? (Or maybe I shouldn't just let her go play, but maybe give her 10-15 min. scheduled computer play time -- which she loves -- or scheduled hands-on learning toy type play time between subjects). I hope this all makes sense.... I'd appreciate any tips/feedback from those that have BTDT! THANKS! :)

Weird. We subscribe to ClicknRead....so thanks for the heads-up that I need to start screening my calls! :p

Ah, very neat! I might have to look into that for DD2! :)

I'm not familiar with RightStart (we're Singapore folk) but why can't he count the tally sticks? What is the problem with that? (I mean, are there like 293 of them or something? :D) Because that need/desire to count is fairly developmental. I have a 4.5 yr old and she's a counter, too. And I encourage it (um, but not if there's 293 of something...;))

LOL, well at least the word from The Hive was unanimous! (One less thing to have to research & decide on. :p)

I know you didn't want worksheets, but what about Proverbs People: Book 1 by Rick Boyer? You can see it at CBD.

My nearly 4.5yo is *technically* in Preschool this year, but some of the phonics programs she really enjoys: 1. the LeapFrog letter factory dvds 2. Evan Moor Skill Sharpener Kindergarten books (Reading and Spell/Write... I actually love this series, we also have the K Math, too.) 3. Starfall (so glad I also subscribed to MoreStarfall, we've been on there a lot) 4. and we just started with those I See Sam books online. 5. Reading Bear is also good (and free) for practice... I think there's lots of inexpensive/free/fun things you can do to help solidify what your child has learned before picking AAR back up again. :)

Well, it totally sounds like you guys have some awesome resources and are off to a great start! So, perhaps add in some "formal" math and reading instruction and you're set!

I roughly know what DD will be using next year. (I've also mapped out most of our years up through graduation, LOL, but I consider it fluid and open-to-change.) I'll probably start ACTUALLY BUYING sometime in the spring (for next fall)... I like having it ahead of time and packages in the mail will help clear up the end-of-year fidgets. :p :p

We're very happy..... NOW. (But I've already changed our reading/phonics 4+ times, our science completely, our geography completely, and added a few things. So I chose other because we've pretty much started over from scratch, but we're officially 6 weeks in. :p) But, for right now, we are VERY happy with what we're using. :D

There will always be books to read and curricula to research. I don't think you have to know your philosophy of education before even starting (nor will it remain the same as you progress!) *FWIW, I enjoyed reading TWTM. I also really enjoyed reading The Read-Aloud Handbook.* I guess you just should think about what you would like for your DD to accomplish this year. Also, what does your state think that a K'er should learn? (That might give you some idea of what you want to cover.) Think about your style: are you crafty/fun....or not. ;) Think about your child's style: hyper-go-lucky :D or studious-and-diligent? For me, I think a good K program would include: phonics instruction lots of read-alouds crafts and art exploratory math (shapes, puzzles, games) hands-on, living science (nature walks, fun experiments) trips to the zoo, library, museum How you fill in the blanks is up to personal preference. I'll be doing K again next year with DD2 and we'll be using CLE's KindergartenII program (cheap and complete), adding in Singapore Essentials + games, and lots of fun stuff. :)

I'm interested in this for a future year. I think it says it's VOL. 1 of 8? Does anyone know any more info on where and what this series will cover? IIRC, the current volume (Zoology) is only a semester "course." I don't know that I want to start something we can't finish! :p

We're still just starting out homeschooling, but I know when I do/don't like a program. And -- for me -- whether or not *I* like it (and can bear teaching it) is very important. We have hopped through about 6 phonics programs in the past year... BUT I realized within a few days that they would not work for me. (Here's where I should've gone to a curriculum fair this year...there's a lot to be said for seeing something in PERSON!) I'm thrilled with where we are now. We purchased & returned/sold 2 math programs before stumbling upon (and LOVING!) Singapore. I do not anticipate changing this until we have to. So, we're chipping away at our subjects 1-by-1, filling them in with things we love as we find them.

Sure! :) Here's my "Just for Fun" folder. We're just picking 1-2 a week. I also have an art segment with other ideas (that aren't curric.-based, more like fun-art)...

This is the first thing that popped into my mind, too. Ready-to-go and inexpensive. (But yeah, not terribly creative/artistic.) What I'm doing with my 4 & 6yo: pinned lots of fun crafts from Pinterest and we're just working our way through them. :p Planning is all done, just need to do them.

I'll be the other end of the spectrum & say that I chose to NOT include grammar this year. We're focusing on reading for 1st and will add in grammar for 2nd grade.

:iagree: The content and layout of the regular books and the 1/2 books are nearly identical.

Well, my list is in my signature, but I'll expand a bit. Here's what we are using for first grade (6yo DD): Little House on the Prairie year-long study: I mainly wanted our first grade year to focus on READING and MATH... and DDs were into the series, so this study became our Literature, Art, History and Geography for the year. I have been able to find most of our ideas online for free, just needed to buy the set of 9 books. Nothing strict, just fun together with it. (I am glad I purchased The World of Little House, valuable in background, ideas.) Phonics/Reading: Rod & Staff, which I think is very thorough and affordable, especially when you buy it used Math: Singapore Math Standards ed. which my 6 yr old & I love! I do recommend buying the Home Instructor's Guide, textbook and workbook. I also recommend some manipulatives (we use 2-sided/colored counting chips and unifix cubes often.) We also use cuisenaire rods for our Fun-math Friday, which is usually games, oral math drills and c-rod play. Science: I'm using the ACSI Grade 1 student text as a spine/reader. It's affordable when one skips the teacher guide. We study each Unit over 4 lessons (2 lessons a week) and add in lots of library books, dvds, Pinterest-inspired crafts & activities. So basically, I just use the book as a pre-made almost-year-long outline (which you could do for free, but I'm too lazy and like seeing the content laid out for me in age-appropriate doses. Also, if I get lazy/behind/busy and we don't find any REAL books or activities on the topic, the reader/text is sufficient and I just do the experiments in the text.) Handwriting: Just a pack of lined paper and I make up our writing for the week (usually names, days of the week, colors, short sentences, etc) Bible: no formal curriculum, just 1-2 (or 4-5 :D) Bible stories a day. I have several kids Bibles, each increasing in detail/maturity, so once we finish our current Bible (The Beginner's Bible) we'll move up to the next level. (ETA: thriftbooks.com and amazon.com have some AMAZING prices on used--but great condition--kids Bibles!)

If you decide to take out any formal reading, but still want some extra practice...what about adding in some phonics games instead? You could have 1-2 days a week focused just on games that fit what you are currently practicing in the program(s). I like many of these (and they're free): http://www.fcrr.org/curriculum/studentCenterActivities.shtm I also have the Evan-Moor "Take to your seat Phonics Centers" for K and 1st and my kids like them. They also really like Starfall (my girls are 4 and 6) which I consider phonics/reading practice; I let them go on there daily for about 10-15 min.)

IDK about worksheets, but c-rods would be great to demonstrate this...