My son will be turning five this winter, so this will be a prekindergarten/ transitional kindergarten year. We will be using Wee Folk Art's Simple Seasons units for themed science, nature studies, crafts, art, and activities. I will be creating our own 'letter of the week' activities based on his interests. I may use MEP Reception for math, otherwise, math will be continuing to follow his interests in our daily activities (addition/ subtraction/ measuring/ counting, etc.). He will also be included as much as he wishes in my third-grade daughter's activities. She will be using Wee Folk Art's Cultural Connections units, Oak Meadow Third Grade, RightStart Math D, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, and other resources. Editing to add that he loves science experiments, so we will be doing lots of those as well. ?

My 5 year old just used it for K. We breezed along for the first one hundred or so pages, and then my daughter started to get less interested in reading such a long block of words. I tried a few games in an attempt to present the words in a different manner. It's not that she is challenged beyond her ability- she actually can read beyond where we're at in PP- but the pages often have long lists of words that just aren't that engaging. We're continuing on, but not at the 'page a day' I'd planned.

I purchased used editions for Prek- 1st grade for a few dollars each. I think they're nice as a guide to see what 'should' be covered if you want to see if you're hitting the marks, and a nice collection of age-appropriate stories, sayings, and poems. I'm sure the information could be found elsewhere online, though. The Core Knowledge Sequence book gives an overview of K-8, with sections for different subjects per grade, poetry/fable/saying recommendations, etc. but does not include the actual stories. It's sort of like the 'What Your Nth Grader Needs To Know" in a K-8 outline version. https://www.amazon.com/Core-knowledge-sequence-Content-guidelines/dp/1890517208/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467939215&sr=8-1&keywords=core+knowledge+sequence

I'm not in Australia, but both of my children like this one. The pictures are very detailed. I'm not too crazy about the kidnapped koala imagery, though. Too violent. We also own the Dr. Suess one. It's a fun read. Animal Alphabet by Brian Wildsmith is lovely.

@Janeway- We're you contemplating OM's PreK for your daughter, or kindergarten for the future? I just wanted to share that the Oak Meadow PreK does not include lessons or schedules of any sort. There's a craft kit, and books for you about Oak Meadow's philosophy on early childhood and academics, as well as a book on what to focus on with preschoolers- storytelling, block play, etc. @TKDMom- We're finishing up OM kindergarten, and really enjoyed it. I loved the creative, story- and craft-filled approach, but was hesitant because my daughter already knew what was covered academically. I did add to meet her where she's at, but there was a lot more to engage her in OMK than I'd thought at first glance. We plan on continuing on with OM1. It sounds like OM would be a good match for your family- I'm finding it flexible enough to use as a stand-alone or modify to meet your needs. I haven't hit the higher grades yet, but I've heard from many that third and up are fairly writing intensive. If you want something detailed down to the day, you might feel like you need to do more work, but the weekly lesson plans worked great for my family- lots of flexibility. less fear of falling behind if you make changes.

I only have experience with RightStart Math A (first edition). It works really well for my K daughter- math is now her favorite subject.

I agree with the hotel, for safety reasons. I'd be worried about the chance of a pedophile pulling a child into their room to assault them. It was my first thought, most likely because a child predator in my state will be living in undisclosed hotels because there is so much controversy regarding which neighborhood to release him to.

Thank you for your replies, I really appreciate your help. :) To be clear, Phonics Pathways seems to be working well, so I don't plan on switching curricula- I was contemplating just trying something else for awhile, like reading games. I think I'll take your advice and just continue on at her pace, and add in games for extra practice when needed. 4bleesingmom, thank you for the suggestion of Happy Phonics- I'll take a closer look. :) I have the book Games For Reading by Peggy Kaye, I think we'll explore a few of its games with our current concepts.

Hello everyone, My daughter is 5.5 years and about eighty odd pages into Phonics Pathways. We do a page a day most days, and she enjoys it. She writes notes and signs every day for fun, and loves to read to her little brother. We're currently on consonant diagraphs ch/tch, and she's doing okay, but not as fluent as the prior material. For example, she'll through an 'n' sound when there isn't one if the prior, similar word had it. I am new to this, and wondering how you would approach it. I'm not certain as to when Phonics Pathways concepts would be more appropriate for a first grader vs. a kindergartener (I know all children are different), or if I should keep moving forward slower with more review, or stop and try other things for awhile- depth not breadth. Thank you for your help. :)

I deliberated between FIAR and Wee Folk Art's Simple Seasons, and decided on WFA SS. Wee Folk Art's Simple Seasons curriculum is geared for PreK-K (ages 4-6), and is seasonally-themed units with storybooks, science books, crafts, recipes, poetry, and art studies. It sounds like you already have the basics covered, but if not, they do give suggestions for phonics and math for a complete K curriculum. I used their summer unit (Puddles & Ponds) before starting K to get into the groove of things, and my daughter loved it. We're now working our way through the other units. The original units are free, and there are also updated printed guides available. Depending on your library, you could probably borrow most or all of the books instead of buying them. Link to the units here: https://weefolkart.com/homeschool-companion-guides/ I also admin their homeschooling group on FB, and we would love to have you if you're interested in using the units or learning more. :) Other ideas, based on what my daughter has loved so far: science experiment kit, we have this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035EQDTU?keywords=learning%20resources%20science%20kit&qid=1456983081&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 Snap Circuits Jr.: http://www.amazon.com/Snap-Circuits-SC-100-Electronics-Discovery/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456983177&sr=8-1&keywords=snap+circuits Magformers: http://www.amazon.com/Magformers-63069-14-Piece-Set/dp/B000II0T5K/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1456983233&sr=1-4&keywords=magformers lots and lots of fairytales, folk tales, storybooks, and music dance classes field trips to farms, zoos, museums, parks, etc.

Thank you all for your replies. :) We're a couple months into kindergarten now, and this is what's sticking: Oak Meadow Kindergarten as spine for health, language/math/science stories and crafts Wee Folk Art Simple Seasons for science, literature, and crafts Phonics Pathways RightStart Mathematics A Evan-Moor Geography D'Nealian Little Books for handwriting I purchased LoF Apples, and it's okay but not great as this point. We've read a bit here and there, and will continue to do so, but it's not an "official" part of our plans. Wee Folk Art suggests journal pages, but my daughter was uncharacteristically reluctant to do them, so we stopped and added in the D'Nealian Little Books. My daughter writes notes all day long, so I'm not really worried about her practicing writing, I'd just like to make sure she learns the correct forms. Again, thank you all for your help. This forum is a treasure.

Thank you....I'm going to go with my gut and skip spelling this year. I'd rather her feel free to write and not worry about spelling.

For anyone who might be interested, there's a new FB group for families using Wee Folk Art curriculum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1042634892415362/

Thanks, everyone...still narrowing it down. I think I'm definitely going to go with Right Start. Still on the fence on whether to add LoF, MR, or MEP because I want them all. ;) I guess it's it's better to have too many options, rather than none..... How important is spelling for K? I'm leaning towards no separate spelling this year, but sometimes I worry that I should. Phonics Pathways seems to get the job done based on reviews, but I see people describing it as dry. In the sample I saw, there were lot of suggested games- any opinions on it being more dry vs. fun for a five year old? Any insight on Phonics Pathways vs. Modern Curriculum Press Phonics? Again, thank you. This board is always so helpful. ;)

Thank you, rwilkenfeld and umsami, for your replies. Umsami, thank you for the tip on RS levels. I will definitely consider B instead. I just tossed the idea of The Reading Lesson, and now Phonics Pathways is a strong contender. Math is the most difficult decision. I don't want to make a huge investment in RS if my daughter ends up not liking it. Any opinions on what would complement the RS math games the best: Math Reasoning A, LoF, or MEP?

My daughter (newly 5) will be starting K in September, and I am waffling over all the math curricula available. Any advice or experience appreciated. :) Our curriculum, thus far: Oak Meadow K as spine Wee Folk Art books and activities to supplement literature, science, art, and/or crafts Health through OM Still deciding phonics/handwriting- daughter loves to write and be read to, comfortable with uppercase and avoids lowercase, minimal letter reversal, can read and write some sight words, all our family names, etc. Top choices right now are: The Reading Lesson, ETC MCP First Start Reading (through Memoria Press, I believe?) For math, daughter can almost always count past 100, can add/subtract predictably to 10, can regroup 9+3 to 10+2, etc. mentally, was writing #s to 20 but recently started reversing most.Top math contenders: Right Start Math A- complete package or at least the math game set Critical Thinking Company's Mathematical Reasoning A MEP (possibly grade 1, not R) Life of Fred Horizons I know you can't predict what will work best for my family, but any advice is welcome. :) I would like my daughter to get a strong start in math and reading, without pushing too hard and killing her enthusiasm. She can sometimes be hesitant to try something unfamiliar or push through if she gets discouraged, but quickly turns around with modeling, shadowing, and encouragement. She loves stories, dramatic interpretations, science experiments, and hands-on activities. I might add in basic geography, history,and logic, but am trying not to get too heavy handed as a first-time homeschooler. :) Thank you for any help to calm last-minute uncertainty.

If your child has an allergy-friendly treat she enjoys, maybe present it in a different way? My daughter likes snack/meal bars cut into bite-size pieces arranged on a tray, foods cut into shapes with cookie cutters, pretty arrangements of fruit, etc. She likes the idea of tea time so much that food is not really the focus. Maybe focus on the beverages, perhaps by sampling different fruit teas? Since you are a fellow Pinterest addict, here's a link to my poetry teatime board: https://www.pinterest.com/knottedflowers/little-ones-poetry-tea-time-tea-parties/

I had a friend who believed that hair grew from the ends, not the root. There was no convincing her otherwise. She also believed that tomatoes were not an ingredient in ketchup. I'm not sure what she believed it was made of.

I just tried to check their website to clarify, but it's down for maintenance. Are you referring to the printed versions available for purchase? From my understanding, they are a bit more polished (less typos, craft supply lists, more activity ideas) but not a truly new, better 'paid' version. I think the hard copies were created for those who prefer that format. Last I saw, they were also in the process of updating the book selections to replace ones that were out of print. I'm currently using the summer unit (e-book version) Puddles & Ponds, with my newly five year old. I subbed a couple of books, and we are really loving the book selections and activities. :) I would definitely pay for a new version if they kept creating these for different ages.

Do you think she'd enjoy making drawings or writing poems based on your lessons, maybe in a main lesson book similar to those created by students in Waldorf schools? Free online art lessons? http://arttango.com/first_grade_art_lessons/first_grade_Lesson_1.html More science experiments?

Hello all, My daughter will be using Wee Folk Art's Puddles & Ponds this summer, and I'm planning to integrate the other seasonal units into her upcoming Kindergarten year, for which we are also using Oak Meadow. If you've used Wee Folk Art's curriculum and enjoyed it, have you discovered anything similar for first grade and beyond with a similar feel? Any literature-based, seasonal/nature-based curricula I may not have come across? I was not impressed with BFIAR overall in PreK, but FIAR looks better. I will most likely keep OM as a core. Charlotte Mason is appealing. Maybe Build Your Library for enrichment (not as a stand-alone)? I am learning so much from this board....thank you for any suggestions. :)

I love the curriculum. :) I'm going to be incorporating it into my daughter's kindergarten. I believe that it's geared for ages 4-6, but I'd imagine a younger child would enjoy the stories and activities even if they weren't quite grasping the non-fiction book concepts yet.

No experience here, but I'm really intrigued by MBtP. You might want to join the Facebook group Differently Schooled With Moving Beyond The Page- the members are very friendly and helpful. This blog has entries with her daughter using the lower levels: http://coastalbreezesacademy.blogspot.com/2014/12/moving-beyond-page-owl-babies.html

1)Quest-Adventure-like with a focus on how the character changes as a result of the quest Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess 2)Adventure The Bremen Town Musicians 3)Pursuit The Gingerbread Boy 4)Rescue Jorinde and Joringel 5)Escape The Old Witch 6)Revenge The Singing Bone 7)The Riddle Rumplestiltskin, or The Riddle 8)Rivalry-usually one character trying to outdo the other Rosanella, The Apple Pip Princess 9)Underdog The Tortoise and the Hare 10)Temptation Bluebeard 11)Metamorphosis-involves physical change The Birdcage Husband, Hans My Hedgehog, The Frog Prince 12)Transformation-inward change The Red Shoes 13)Maturation-your basic coming of age story Pinocchio 14)Love The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Sharp Grey Sheep 15)Forbidden Love Starlight 16)Sacrifice The Six Swans 17)Discovery-usually self-discovery The Stonecutter 18)Wretched Excess The Emperor's New Clothes 19 and 20)Ascension and Descension-one or the other or both The Star Money, Puss In Boots

My daughter enjoyed wooden alphabet puzzles, and alphabet books.