I think this sounds like a great idea! I'd probably make sure we kept doing math and maybe a little writing, but otherwise, I think just reading for a while is perfect.

I think that Saxon K is "behind" grade level. We use it for pre-K here. By the end of Saxon 1, however, it seems to be at grade level. The first 30-ish lessons are review. I think the assumption is that your kid is just coming back to math after a summer break. Since we school year-round, I just skip/skim the first 30 lessons and dive in where they start teaching new material.

Yea! Congratulations!

This is what we did, too. It was fun and easy and FAST (we finished K in about 2 months). It was great for my son's confidence, and I credit it with his belief that math is fun and easy. Now that I'm teaching Saxon K to my second kid, I've added a little bit of counting practice to the "meeting." We use the 100 chart that comes with the Saxon materials. My son counts as high as he can while touching each number. Then we work on counting backwards the same way. Once he's mastered counting by 1's, we'll start counting by 10's and by 5's.

This is what we do, too. I like the way Saxon forces my kids to really KNOW their math facts. It's "easy" for them, and slow (sometimes boring), but I think the grammar stage of education is the time to really make sure my kids have the basics down cold. We fly through Saxon, getting lots of review and practice. We do Miquon to add some of that "creative problem solving and mathematical reasoning" Bill talks about. I see some value in it, but I still rely on Saxon as my math spine and it's working well.

Good for you! Sometimes I suspect we all over-think our math curricula. While there are a few kids that definitely NEED a certain style of curriculum, most kids will do just fine with most curricula. If you like Saxon, and your kid is learning with Saxon, I see no need to switch.

Why not try Saxon 1? My 5 year-old flew through Saxon K, too. I really think it is better as a preschool math program than a K program. We started Saxon 1, skipping the first 30-ish lessons (which are all review), and it's much better. We still occasionally combine two lessons for one day, but not often. My son is enjoying his math lessons, and I really like how thorough Saxon is. DS knows his math facts cold and really seems to understand what is happening in math. I credit Saxon for this. We'll be continuing to Saxon 2 in a month or so. FWIW, we also have Miquon and C-rods. We play lots of math games with the C-rods (lots of ideas at Education Unboxed), but we haven't cared much for the Miquon materials so far.

:iagree:

We play "Make 10" with C-rods. I remove all the face cards from a deck and place the remaining cards face-down in a stack in the middle of the table. Each player begins their turns with 10 points (represented by an orange C-rod next to the cards on the table). The player draws a card, and whatever number the card has on it's face, the card "keeps." The player has to figure out what number is left, which is what he gets to "keep." For example: I draw a 7. I take a black (7) C-rod from the box and place it under the orange (10) C-rod. Then I figure out that I need a light green (3) C-rod to make ten. I keep the light green C-rod and my turn is over. Whatever I get to "keep" on my next turn, I add it to my light green C-rod to try to make tens within my own pile. The first player to get a hundred flat wins. My kids LOVE this game, and it taught them to make tens at the speed of light!

In our experience, the fewer toys/games available during nap time the better. Both our boys have a two hour quiet time after lunch. They do it in separate rooms, with only books and a handful of stuffed animals available. The point, for us, is to have them calm down, rest, and learn to be by themselves for a while. Whenever I let one bring a toy or two into the room, I regret it because it keeps him distracted and almost always results in him coming out of the room, being loud, being grumpy and demanding by the end of nap.

Welcome! Wow, it sounds to me like you're doing A LOT. I have a 4 year-old and this is what we do: 2 pages Explode the Code (writing/phonics), one lesson Saxon K Math (about 10 minutes), 10 minutes of the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I spend about an hour a day reading aloud, but mostly in small bursts. The rest of the time is free play, games, puzzles, errands, etc.

LOL!

Welcome! You're right: the 3R's are the basics (reading, writing, math)! I think it's great that you read to your son for 20 minutes a day. You're way ahead of many people! But I also think you can never read too much to your kids - so stretching it out (or having two or three reading sessions a day) would be great, too. Personally, I read to my kids for 15 minutes before naps, 30 minutes before bedtime, and whenever they ask throughout the day.

Welcome!

Thanks to all of you! These are some really great suggestions, and I appreciate the advice!

I think Saxon Math K is great. I'm doing it now for the second time. There's virtually no writing (occasional picture drawing), the lessons are fun, the kids LOVE the manipulatives, and it requires very little prep time from me. I also think it does a good job of creating both an enjoyment of math, and a strong basis for understanding later years' advances. ETA: We also have Miquon. My kids like the C-Rods, and we use them to play math games (based on Education Unboxed), but they seem to get much more from Saxon than Miquon.

Thanks to all of you for the advice and suggestions! I'm still not sure I'm ready to commit to a full-scale spelling curriculum, but I feel MUCH more confident in at least helping my son spell words when he needs it. You guys are great!

A little background: DS(5) will be starting KG in our local public school next year. We have no intention of homeschooling him. His true loves are math and science, but he's also reading pretty well (mostly Level 2 beginning readers from the library). Here's my problem: my son is OBSESSED with writing. For the last six months, he's been writing stories, letters to family members, reminder notes, lists, etc. He spends at least an hour a day writing, unprompted by me. He frequently asks me to spell words for him. My sister-in-law, who teaches first grade, told me NOT to spell words for him, that he should be allowed to just guess/experiment. So that's what we usually do, but it's causing problems. When DS shows his writing to people, he gets very upset and embarrassed if they can't easily read it. He works very hard to form his letters properly and use correct spacing and punctuation - so he knows they're struggling because the words aren't spelled correctly. If someone points out a misspelled word, he gets so embarrassed that he'll destroy the entire piece of writing (including stories he's spent DAYS writing and illustrating). It breaks my heart to watch him struggling like this. But I've never actually intended to teach spelling. I've always assumed he'd learn that in school. He likes doing limited "school work" with me at home, but we try to keep it at less than an hour a day. I don't know if I really want to add spelling into the mix. What would you do? Should I just ride this out until he starts school? Should I just spell words for him? If you think I should add a spelling program, which one do you suggest? I'd like to avoid anything with a lot of busywork. The kid doesn't need to fill out pages (he writes ENOUGH!), he just needs short, fun lessons that will quickly teach him to spell. Does such a thing exist? Help!

It looks good to me. I don't see anything missing, based on the photo, from my over-priced "official" kit. Darn! :)

A little background: DS(5) will be starting KG in our local public school next year. We have no intention of homeschooling him. His true loves are math and science, but he's also reading pretty well (mostly Level 2 beginning readers from the library). Here's my problem: my son is OBSESSED with writing. For the last six months, he's been writing stories, letters to family members, reminder notes, lists, etc. He spends at least an hour a day writing, unprompted by me. He frequently asks me to spell words for him. My sister-in-law, who teaches first grade, told me NOT to spell words for him, that he should be allowed to just guess/experiment. So that's what we usually do, but it's causing problems. When DS shows his writing to people, he gets very upset and embarrassed if they can't easily read it. He works very hard to form his letters properly and use correct spacing and punctuation - so he knows they're struggling because the words aren't spelled correctly. If someone points out a misspelled word, he gets so embarrassed that he'll destroy the entire piece of writing (including stories he's spent DAYS writing and illustrating). It breaks my heart to watch him struggling like this. But I've never actually intended to teach spelling. I've always assumed he'd learn that in school. He likes doing limited "school work" with me at home, but we try to keep it at less than an hour a day. I don't know if I really want to add spelling into the mix. What would you do? Should I just ride this out until he starts school? Should I just spell words for him? If you think I should add a spelling program, which one do you suggest? I'd like to avoid anything with a lot of busywork. The kid doesn't need to fill out pages (he writes ENOUGH!), he just needs short, fun lessons that will quickly teach him to spell. Does such a thing exist? Help!

Double post! Sorry.

Can you post the link to the "off brand" kit? I can't find it on Rainbow Resource's website - so I can't see what it contains. FWIW, I bought the full price version from Christian Book a couple of years ago. I was underwhelmed when it arrived and I remain convinced that it is really overpriced. That said, I've used it almost daily with both my sons and they love the manipulatives. Using the manipulatives really makes Saxon K-3 fun, and I'm not sure they would be as excited if I didn't have them.

We like Starfall and Reading Bear.

Do you have any suggestions for games using Cuisenaire rods for fractions?

What a great list of ideas/items to check out from the library! Thank you!