Ideal Kindergarten curriculum choices for Accelerated Student?

[babysparkler]

I have never "formally" homeschooled Kindergarten... I started both of my older children in Second grade. We plan to start K with our son in the fall, and I don't have much experience with what is out there.

 

He is a very bright little guy. He is 4.5 right now and is reading simple CVC words and words with blends (i.e. fish, sheep), and can do simple 2+4=6 type math. We have been using a little bit of everything "informally" because he has been jealous of his siblings' schooling. He is currently working on Alpha-phonics and likes to work in a MCP Plaid Level A Phonics book I picked up for fun. I have just started RightStart A with him and he really seems to enjoy it.

 

What should I use for him next year? I imagine I will continue RightStart and Alpha-Phonics. I also have AAS that big sister is using... should I start that or wait until first grade? Is there something better that I should consider? What am I missing? Handwriting? More phonics? Writing? Grammar? I don't want to overdo it... but I don't want to under-do it either and bore him.

 

Please share your "Ideal" curriculum choices for starting off with a bright Kindergartener. (My 2.5 yo loves to learn along side of the others... he knows all of his letters and letter sounds already and may start reading any day now, so whatever my 4.5 yo does, he will probably join in as much as desired.)

[Cera]

We started K this year with an almost 5 year old. I opted for MCP phonics since that's what she liked and Singapore Math. Other than that we have pattern blocks, lots of games, a ton of logic puzzle and mind bender books, science and history books and she reads.

 

I'm not a huge fan of seat work but this child loves workbooks so I have settled into letting her do them at her pace (usually 2 or 3 days a week she chooses to do school). She is currently finishing up the second lesson of Singapore 1B and 50 pages or so into MCP B.

 

Next year would technically be K if we went by the local schools age requirements and we plan to continue doing math and LA at her pace with formal history and science 2 or 3 days a week.

[Crimson Wife]

If he's reading fluently by the fall, I would encourage you to give the oral grammar work in FLL 1 a try. Don't be afraid to skip any lesson he already knows, and to combine lessons if he doesn't need as much repetition as JW built in to the program. You can hold off on formal grammar work if you prefer, but I like to start my kids in grammar as soon as they're fluent readers.

[LittleIzumi]

We're doing MUS, AAS, NOEO, scriptures, plus singing/art, etc. I will be adding some ETC and Singapore, plus as many library books as we can carry.

[kmacnchs]

we are doing OPG and saxon K (neither one has any writing) and we will to HWT whenever I think she is ready. Other than that, just tagging along for history, science, art, music, etc.

[Dinsfamily]

All I did this year for my advanced K'er was work in each subject at his level. Here's what we ended up doing:

 

We used SWR for phonics, spelling, and handwriting which was a great choice, but could have added FLL to it. We'll use it next year instead. SWR isn't leveled so my ds just worked at his own pace. We done more than a typical K'er would in a year. We're about to finish for the year, learn cursive, and start back up in August.

 

For math we've already finished Horizons K, Singapore PM 1A and 1B. We'll probably finish Horizons 1, CWP 1, Miquon Orange, and Sinapore PM 2A before our K year is over in May. Yet again, we've just gone at his pace. Singapore PM has especially been great for him. I just added Miquon so that he can explore math on his own without having to conform to a S&S. If I had to do it over, we would have skipped Horizons K and just done PM 1A/1B with Horizons 1. Horizons K was too easy for him at 5.

 

We also added Sonlight to round it out, snuggling on the couch reading books and calling it school. We did Core P4/5 so it didn't include any history, just science, social studies, and classic children's lit.

 

Once we got a handle on all of that, we added in science experiments, art, geography, and other fun stuff as my ds asked.

 

I've blogged about how our year is gone. The link's in my siggy.

 

Hope that helps,

[MissKNG]

For us (my big girl is going to begin K in the fall too), in addition to the Bible, I am a "3R" kind of girl. I also ask my big girl what she likes to learn (which is math, science and art). And I keep an eye on my state regulations to stay in line with them. Check out my blog, I ramble a lot about math and such there!

 

I happen to have a seat work/workbook lover so we are a bit more workbook based.

 

For the fall, I THINK our curriculum will look something like this:

 

Bible - CLE 1

Math - Singapore 1a/ either A beka or Horizons supplement

Science - Rod & Staff: Patterns of Nature, projects

LA - Horizons Phonics K and her websites, not sure about handwriting yet, read alouds, etc

Music/art - no formal curriculum just stuff at home

Other - She has been asking for "patterns" school work so I am thinking the MBTP Patterns Concept.

 

Grammar and spelling - I have slated for 1st grade.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

We've been doing K this year and are bumping up to some first grade work now. We started out the year with reading (OPGTR), spelling (AAS 1), handwriting (HWT K), and math (RS A). Your ds is in the perfect situation in that he can tag along with his older siblings' studies for subjects like history and science. I would start with these main subjects (history and science with the siblings being optional) and add more if you think he needs more of a challenge. DD just finished her handwriting book, so we are doing copywork now. She'll begin WWE 1 in about a month. We are also getting more serious about science (BFSU) and are beginning Spanish (had previously done informal work), Latin (SSL), and grammar (a mix of things).

[PeterPan]

Well I was definitely going to recommend RS A, but you're already doing that. :)

 

We enjoyed the SL read alouds from their early cores. I read aloud a LOT to her, and she usually had on quality audio books any time I wasn't reading. Her thing was art, so I gave her lots of time and materials to run with it. Does he have any interests you can nurture? Then you just put the academic richness on in the background while he does that.

 

At that age we loved the Judy Press art books like Alphabet Art, Big Art for Little Hands, etc. LOVED these! FIAR books are wonderful. Galloping the Globe, Audio Memory Geography songs, Cantoring the Country. Lots of scripture memory and poetry.

 

She played a lot at that age, but that play is so reflective of who they are. My dd wanted to sew for her stuffed animals, craft, sculpt, etc., and that's still the stuff she loves. So whatever he seems to like (Legos, Kapla blocks, Snap Circuits, whatever), I'd really run with.

 

We also took lots of nature walks and had field guides. Her K5 year we did the Apologia elementary astronomy book, and that made for so many happy memories. There are constellation books by H.A. Rey that are wonderful. I'd just pick some things like that and pursue them. Someone was just telling me about the Hands-on Science book that includes several smaller books (forces and motion, etc.). Those kinds of things, with simple science concepts and fun hands-on, are PERFECT to start at that age. The ACS sells some terrific, terrific books. Wonderscience is the book for older kids. We did one of the younger books and it was SO wonderful.

 

In other words, find everything fun and amazing and hands-on and plunk out for it, calling it school. :)

 

We did SWR, but you probably don't want that. If I use it, I'll temper it a lot, mercy. Definitely like teaching cursive first. Definitely glad we did FLL1/2 in K5. Definitely glad we did lots of memory work and read alouds, as it's the best age and when you have the most time available for it.

[MaMa2005]

This fall, I started kindergarten with our young 4 year old. I had checked the state standards for Pre-K and he had mastered those so we started with kindergarten.

 

What I didn't expect was actually HOW bright DS was. Within the first 6 weeks of school, we had finished all of the Horizons K Math and were through books 1 and 1.5 in ETC. He had read all three boxes of BOB books and was excelling on the computer programs that were appropriate for kindergartners.

 

I finally had to tell myself that I needed to put some sort of cap on his learning as it was quickly becoming apparent that he was an oddity within his peer group and home school group. At that point, I chose to start SOTW, slow down ETC (I am a huge phonics proponent and want 100% mastery in this area) and just let him move at his pace in math.

 

Right now my plan for next year is mostly Rod and Staff books at a second grade level except for math and SOTW. By the fall, he will be in Horizons 4th grade math and the second book of SOTW.

 

With all that rambling that I just did, know one thing. Be prepared to buy extra curriculum/field trips/co-op/outside classes in order to keep your child from being bored or getting just TOO far ahead of his peer group.

 

I do need to add that I am a retired teacher so school at our home is very structured and goal oriented. We school Monday through Friday from 8:30 until 2:30 with a few breaks here and there (no more than an hour total). My son has the attention span for that type of schedule. Most kindergartners don't have that type of attention span and it would really stress them out.

[matrips]

this is what we're using (they were 4.5 when we started), but I'm viewing it as PreK, and not K (that's next fall for us). the kids are bright, but I was fearful of assuming they understood something and moving too fast. so I really wanted to cover the basics, figuring we could always move quickly. and I also wanted to keep it fun, and not so challenging that they'd get frustrated. my goal is about 1-1.5 hrs on the days we're home. plenty of playtime still for them!

 

- main curriculum - Sonlight P4/5 we all love to read and the books are fun for them. they've been fluent readers- 3rd/4th grade level- for quite a while, but I save these for couch snuggle time books with mommy.

- FLL - just a lesson a week. mostly just oral, but starting with some of the writing as well.

- HWOT K - every day. just finished it so moving on to HWOT 1.

- AAS - Level 1. wanted to make sure we covered phonics somehow since I never taught them to read. once or twice a week, about 15 min.

- Singapore EarlyBird - we do about 10 pages or so a week. on book 3 now.

- MUS Primer - one lesson a week. my kids love the video.

- we read extra science and history books just because

- Classical Conversations - once a week co-op

 

I am really glad I did Handwriting with them. The boys resisted it at first, but the more we've done it, the more they are willing to do it. I think they really just practice with using those muscles. they enjoy coloring now, making cards for people, drawing...all stuff my dd liked but the boys never did, at least not for very long.

[Mom0012]

For K, we did:

 

SWR

Rightstart Math A

Sonlight (without the LA)

Classical Conversations Memory Work

 

 

Lisa

[Tracy]

I am doing K with my dd4 right now. We started with MCP Plaid Phonics and ditched that after the first semester, because her reading level was accelerating so much faster than the book, and I was looking to decrease her writing requirements. I opted to stick with Spelling Workout A, for both phonics and spelling, and we do that orally, and she takes tests on the internet at www.spellingcity.com.

 

We are using Horizons K Math, and it is a good advanced math program, but once again, too much writing. And I still have to eliminate some parts of the assignments as being too easy. Next year, we are switching to CSMP math.

 

Our favorite part of K has been Five in a Row. As part of FIAR, we do weekly geography and narration, vocabulary work every day, daily copywork created from a line from the book. There are also art and science lessons that I rely heavily on in case we don't get to formal art or science during the week.

 

For science, we started with BJU Science, which is a very good program, but I recently came across something much better--Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. It is a quarter of the price (less than $25) and covers three years instead of just one. It is no frills, but I am finding it very easy to implement, and dd is so excited about it. She liked science before, but BFSU shows the child that science is everywhere, and dd is really enjoying that concept.

 

For social studies, we do unit studies. DD chooses either a country or a person, and I get books at the library about it. Next year, we will start Tapestry of Grace so we will start with the ancients for history.

 

In addition, we memorize one poem, scripture or song about every two weeks. I am also teaching dd to play the piano.

 

Tracy

[Heather in WI]

For K4, my accelerated son did:

 

Bible: Leading Little Ones to God by Marion Schoolland and The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine F. Vos

 

Phonics: Phonics Pathways & Bob Books

 

Piano: Music for Little Mozarts Books 1 & 2

 

Math: Saxon 1

 

Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser Handwriting K

 

For K5, he did:

 

Bible: same as K4

 

Phonics: Finish Phonics Pathways; when done with that, then Veritas Press: First Favorites Vol. 2 Reading Comprehension Program

 

Piano: Music for Little Mozarts Books 3 & 4

 

Math: Saxon 2, toward spring we supplemented & zipped through Singapore Primary US ed. 1a & 1b

 

Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser Handwriting 1

 

Geography: Geography Songs by Audio Memory along with National Geographic Picture Atlas

 

Grammar: First Language Lessons 1

 

Science: Rod & Staff "God is Good" series along with Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers; nature walks, planting gardens, and Butterfly Garden Kit from Home Training Tools

[babysparkler]

Thanks for all of the great ideas everyone! There is so much good stuff out there :) This helps to narrow it down a bit.