K'er Curriculum at age 4?

[AMDG]

I have planned on HSing DS from birth, so while I definitely have the "bug" to start, I've really taken a laid back WTM approach and have instead immersed our home life in literacy and learning.

 

The result has been a very bright little guy!

 

He'll be just over 4 in the fall, and while I keep getting the warnings to *stop* and avoid any set curriculum, he really needs something to keep his mind going. He's quite close to reading, loves to do worksheets, easily does 100+ jigsaw puzzles, and has a great vocabulary.

 

My plan (when he is ready) is to start with the 3R's, specifically Right Start and Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. We'll also read a lot of dinosaur books :) .

 

My question is that I don't know WHEN to start the curriculum. I look at preschool curriculums and I'm totally unimpressed and know that DS will be bored out of his mind, and yet when I look at the scope and sequence for the K curriculum I like, midway through the year it seems that concepts will be too difficult for DS to grasp developmentally.

 

I'm really not in a hurry to start him, and even if we did start a K curriculum at 4 I wouldn't mind if it took two years to get through, I just know that I'll bore DS to tears if we have have PreK year of tracing letters and one-to-one correspondence.

[acurtis75]

I have a daughter who turns 5 Friday. I wasn't in a hurry to start formal curriculum either but she was eager to learn so we started over a year ago with a few things. I used explode the code for phonics and handwriting without tears. Both are easy to use for the parent and the child and don't take much prep time. We spent about 10 or 15 minutes each day on those for several months before tackling anything very formal. Later we added Song School Latin and Horizon math (which both she and I didn't care for at all). We've since switched to Math u See which we really prefer. We skipped the Primer because we were done with Horizon K already but the Primer is a great intro to math. My daugher absolutely loves playing with the blocks. This is a long winded post but basically I would say if you feel he is ready start with phonics and handwriting and just move as fast as he seems ready to go. We are now on mostly first grade curriculum and spend about 2 hrs total per day (which still leaves more than enough free/play time) on schoolwork.

[StartingOver]

My son is doing K - 1st work at 3.5. But we only do work when he asks for it, the subjects he wants to do, and for as long as he wants to. We have Sonlight P 4/5, the read alouds from K, TWTM K and most of 1st now. I am still collecting, and he is adding in most of it, when he sees the new books. What he isn't interested in just gets put on a shelf till he asks for it. I don't care if we restart a few times, or take more than the expected time to finish something. At this point it is all up to him.

 

I see no reason to move on with a child if they are happily engaged in learning.

[Donna]

I took a very laid back approach with my dd when she was 3 and 4yo. I had a lot of materials available like math manipulatives, books, workbooks for handwriting, art supplies, simple science kits,her violin, etc...all available for her and within her reach. When she asked, I made myself available to sit with her and do them or even to just sit and play with her with her toys. Numerous times a day we read....she read to me and I read to her. I didn't buy any specific curriculum because none of the preK or K curriculums seemed worth buying when I was able to teach her so much more than that just by following her lead and being creative.

 

When she asked to do "real" school, for her that meant a math program, at 5yo she breezed easily through 1-3rd grade math in less than 9 months because most of the material we had already covered "playing" with her manipulatives. She still loves to learn which was my main goal in homeschooling her. She asks to do more school than I plan every day. She spends all her free time making crafts, writing stories, practicing violin, and reading.

[MissKNG]

My son is doing K - 1st work at 3.5. But we only do work when he asks for it, the subjects he wants to do, and for as long as he wants to.

 

Here too - my big girl is a little over 3.5 and doing K-1st grade stuff. I asked her what she likes to learn about the most and she said math, science and art (craft projects). So I try to have a lot of that stuff ready to go. I actually just bought Sonlight Science K for her. Math is also huge with her, she seems to excel in math. We also have lots of read alouds too.

 

One thing I do is look at blogs with kiddos near the same age/grade level to get some ideas and such.

[Dmmetler]

In some ways I'm jealous. I'd never even thought about starting formal curricula with DD when she was that age. She was reading well, and we read a lot, and did a lot of hands on activities and exploration, but until she started school this year, she never had anything formal. And while she entered K well above K level (and was advanced enough that she was put into K a year early), now, in looking at curriculum for 1st, she's all over, so we're going to have to do some review to fill in gaps that exist because she was learning on her own. In math, especially, I wonder where she'd be if we HAD started something more formal when she was playing with the concepts, instead of just letting her learn on her own?

[Tracy]

We are doing K with my 4yo, and here is what we are doing:

 

Five in a Row: Our favorite! A very gentle way to get a little of everything in each week. We also use it for vocabulary, copywork and narration.

 

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding for K-2: A very in-depth science program but with gentle, age-appropriate activities. An outstanding program! The author really understands how people learn, particularly children.

 

Spelling Workout: We ditched phonics, because her reading level is accellerating faster than her phonics program can teach her. So I am doing the writing on the worksheets, and she takes tests on www.spellingcity.com.

 

Horizons K math: An okay program. It is advanced but gentle at the same time. But it involves just giving the child a worksheet, and dd doesn't like to work on her own. So we are switching to CSMP next year in the hopes that it will give me more opportunity to work together with her on the games and read her the stories associated with the lessons.

 

For social studies, we do unit studies. This is dd's strength, so I let her run with it. She chooses a country or a person, and I get books on the subject.

 

She started reading a year ago with the Nora Gaydos books. We did those for about 4 months, and then she was on to library books. We also do some memorization. And she is learning piano. I give her a short lesson every week (5-10 minutes), and I ask her to practice for just a few minutes about twice per week (which she usually does on her own).

 

Tracy

[Staceyshoe]

If you feel he's ready now, go ahead and start. Especially if you just start out doing a few minutes per day, it sounds like he could start any time. My ds is 4 and because of this, we do very short sessions and usually just if he asks to do "homeschool".

 

If it goes well, I don't see any reason not to start a formal curriculum. I let ds be completely self-taught until last month, and I'm finding that it's caused some real challenges as far as learning gaps and placement. Looking back, I wish I had started him in something structured sooner. (I think I didn't because of my own comfort level. I liked being able to say that he was 100% self-directed when people assumed I was "pushing" him. I ignored his needs and realize now that it was a bad decision for both of us.)

[mlgbug]

we are doing k now at 4. we do alot, sometimes, sometimes a little but ALWAYS something. check my blog, youll see. now its 9am, off to start school and then blog about the day! :)

[MaMa2005]

I started a kindergarten curriculum with my young 4 DS in August. (I had already checked the state standards for Pre-K and he had mastered all of them.) Was planning to go nice and slow - HAHA - just take a look at my signature.

 

He was soooo ready for a formal curriculum so I just let him take the lead. He has a very long attention span so we are covering lots of ground.

 

On top of that, we do co-op one day as well as a day of enrichment classes. He just keeps soaking it up like a sponge.

[TracyP]

My 4 yo loves Essential Math and we are about to start Explode the Code. We are also going to start BFSU later in the spring. It sounds like they can be hit or miss but my ds LOVES the bob books. He is sooo proud to read his own book. We are also using Pathway Readers. You need to be reading fairly well to start but they move slowly and have very sweet stories that my kids really enjoy.

[ktmo]

We started using Singapore Earlybird, Explode the Code and Hooked on Phonics this fall, DD was 4. It has worked out great. We are finished with Singapore EB and HOP for K.

[AMDG]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have all been SUPER helpful.

 

I find that the only reason that I hesitate to do a formal curriculum is because many Hs'ers discourage it b/c "we have so much time." I understand this point and wouldn't push my four year old to do school work, but when I say "formal curriculum" I just mean that I don't want to fly by the seat of my pants for the next three years! Also, I don't see us doing anything more formal than an hour of work a day, maybe less, and definitely divided into two or three sections of time.

 

I went back and read parts of TWTM last night and it seems that what I *want* to do (reading readiness, school preparation, taking advantage of a child's love for information) is very in tune with Classical Education, no? I am eager to teach, and DS is eager to learn, I just want some structure to help me out, so that I'm not leaving anything out.

 

I think we're going to go for it :) .

[AMDG]

We started using Singapore Earlybird, Explode the Code and Hooked on Phonics this fall, DD was 4. It has worked out great. We are finished with Singapore EB and HOP for K.

 

How was HOP K? Did you need to do both Explode the Code and HOP? Did you use supplemental readers. Is DD reading after HOPK?

 

Sorry so many questions...but I haven't actually had Explode the Code or HOP physically to look through, so I'm really curious.

[AngieC]

I liked and used HOP, but I think their grade levels are a little exaggerated. I would say that doing HOP K-2 would put a child at an ending 1st grade level. I don't think HOP K puts a child at an ending K level. They do a lot of beginning and ending blends in the first grade level and don't really move onto things like the silent e and vowel digraphs until the 2nd grade level.

 

Overall, I was happy with the program and I really enjoyed having readers that I knew wouldn't contain words that my dd couldn't decode.

[AngieC]

Adding: My daughter could read simple books after HOP K, but it was books such as BOB books (first couple of sets) and Nora Gaydos type books, not "real" books.

 

Also, we also went through the levels quickly and had the K - 2 program done in about a year. K took a couple of months not working on it every day, we flew through 1st and then 2nd was definitely a lot slower with plenty of breaks. After finishing the program she could read level 2 readers.

[The Governess]

I think it's fine to start early if he is ready. We did K work in pre-k for dd5. The year that she was 4, we used Singapore Earlybird math, Handwriting Without Tears, Explode the Code, and FIAR. She learned how to read when she was 3 and we had finished HOP K-2 by the time we started pre-K and I felt I had to keep going with something after we were done with that, so I started K work with her. It ended up working out well and we both had a lot of fun with it!

[StartingOver]

I have HOP K -2. My son was not interested at all. Letting him listen in helped a bit. But so did the Leap Frog videos, Word World, and Super Why. He wasn't ready for all the words on a page.

 

We are using OPGTR, which I think is one of the best books out there, it is very thorough. It is boring, but my son never sees the book. We use anything and everything else. Blocks, Magnets, chalk, markers, paints, salt, sand, dirt, you name it. Anything to make it fun and change it up. In just a couple of short months he is reading very well, at a 2nd grade level. We about 3/4 of the way through OPGTR.

 

My son isn't really into workbooks, he is more hands on. He loves Mudpies to Magnets, Handle on the arts for Sonlight P 4/5's science book, Saxon math, etc. He needs to be active and moving, and just soaks information up.

[Staceyshoe]

Also, I don't see us doing anything more formal than an hour of work a day, maybe less, and definitely divided into two or three sections of time.

 

 

Don't be surprised if he starts begging for more!:lol: You are so right about their love of learning. It beautiful to see it grow!

[mlgbug]

we are finishing hopk right now with dd 4. it is way below her reading level but its a change from 100 ez. we are at leasson 80 in that and i find the stories extremely long for a 4 year old to sit through and read/ so, i whipped out hopk to finsih up yesterday and then we will move onto hopk1. we also do aas, etc book 2 with 1 1/2 harder pages for reinforcement and hangwriting practice. with will finish horizons k book 1 in a month or so.

[LisaKinVA]

We are getting ready for #4 to hit the pre-school (or K) year.

 

Essentially, this is what we do.

 

We loosely use the Abeka Phonics program (I tried others with my oldest, and they just made him cry... this one was easy for me to accelerate). We concentrate on reading.

 

Depending upon the child, we'll use dot-to-dots, mazes, and other things to work on fine motor skills -- and possibly penmanship IF they are ready (my girls have been, my boys have not).

 

We use FLL, because it is oral. The kids love it. The chants and everything work really, really well. We also use Abeka's Oral Language Exercises.

 

Math... we have been using Abeka's K to 1st grade math work books successfully. But, no pressure. The kids have all loved their own "math books" -- and since they all have gotten math pretty quickly, it's been easy.

 

That's all for "formal" work. Beyond that, there are plenty of opportunities for read-alouds, play doh, math games, etc. that are in our "schedule."

 

When they get to K, we still keep the same basic framework, just change to a 1st grade curriculum (Abeka readers/phonics review, add spelling OR Phonics workbook, continue FLL, add penmanship, next math, which will be number writing practice and TT3, with flash cards or other math games).

 

By 1st grade (age), the children are usually 1+ years ahead in Language Arts, 2 years ahead in math, and we start formal history, science, art and music at that point.

 

I was much more formal with my oldest. He didn't have any trouble with the work, but it was a LOT of work -- more work than was necessary (looking back). So, by the time our 2nd was in K -- we had relaxed quite a bit and took a bit more time for play and a lot less time for formal work.

 

Enjoy your journey.

[MissKNG]

 

 

Math... we have been using Abeka's K to 1st grade math work books successfully. But, no pressure. The kids have all loved their own "math books" -- and since they all have gotten math pretty quickly, it's been easy.

 

.

 

Do you use the Teacher's Guide for the A beka 1st grade math? I bought the math book alone but I think we are going to use it as a supplement - so I didn't think a Teacher's manual would be necessary. I do see there are exercises where the teacher is suppose to dictate stuff but I can either skip it or make something up.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

I have planned on HSing DS from birth, so while I definitely have the "bug" to start, I've really taken a laid back WTM approach and have instead immersed our home life in literacy and learning.

 

The result has been a very bright little guy!

 

He'll be just over 4 in the fall, and while I keep getting the warnings to *stop* and avoid any set curriculum, he really needs something to keep his mind going. He's quite close to reading, loves to do worksheets, easily does 100+ jigsaw puzzles, and has a great vocabulary.

 

My plan (when he is ready) is to start with the 3R's, specifically Right Start and Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. We'll also read a lot of dinosaur books :) .

 

My question is that I don't know WHEN to start the curriculum. I look at preschool curriculums and I'm totally unimpressed and know that DS will be bored out of his mind, and yet when I look at the scope and sequence for the K curriculum I like, midway through the year it seems that concepts will be too difficult for DS to grasp developmentally.

 

I'm really not in a hurry to start him, and even if we did start a K curriculum at 4 I wouldn't mind if it took two years to get through, I just know that I'll bore DS to tears if we have have PreK year of tracing letters and one-to-one correspondence.

 

Your ds sounds a great deal like my first ds at the time. (He also sounds like my ds3--4 in May--right now.) He was an early reader who went from 0-60 in nothing flat. I still get comments about his vocabulary, which I credit to his love of reading and read-alouds. He's still crazy good at puzzles and it is such fun to see his brain at work.

 

That said, I am one of those who did zero curriculum in the early years. Zero. When he did learn to read (well before we started formal schooling), it was a combination of working it out himself and me teaching him phonics from whatever books he brought me to read. We haven't done any phonics in ages because the boy can now read anything you put in front of him. His math skills are well above grade level also. His brain is wired to figure out all kinds of puzzles, I guess.

 

The point of this is not to brag about ds because frankly I don't think he's gifted. I think he's just a result of a free and creative childhood, tons of really wonderful books, and some well-chosen toys. He had plenty to keep his mind going. Life and new experiences provide plenty to keep a young mind going.

 

How can I properly explain school and the pre-school years (everything before the age of 6, as I'm old-fashioned) at our house? I simultaneously have no expectations and high expectations. I have no expectations for the speed of learning or musts and shoulds but I have very high expectations in that I believe my dc are capable of learning everything and anything at any time and that they should be fully capable of entertaining themselves day in and day out in meaningful pursuits (although, we do like a bit of modern electronics here too :D). So, instead of teaching phonics from early readers, I teach phonics from any book that is brought to me whether it is a child's picture book or DH's The History of the American Automobile or any of the DK Star Wars books we now own (yawn for Mom, yippee for dc).

 

I'm now watching my dd and ds3 come alive in their learning the same way my ds7 did. They are following the same path with reading and math even though there are zero requirements in our homeschool until first grade. I generally believe in the WTM framework but it's a pretty mellow process here.

 

OK, too late for long story short here. I bolded above because it doesn't really matter when you start officially. If he's interested in life now, let him go on being interested in life. The one thing you didn't say about him was that he is asking for more. You won't stop him from learning by flying by the seat of your pants. If he's ready to read, he'll learn to read. You can buy something to help but it shouldn't necessarily be an all or nothing venture. We're going to start at 4 or we're just not going to do anything, you know?

 

So then if you didn't start anything and he kept on learning in his own way (which he would, of course), then no, you wouldn't start with a preschool or K curriculum. You would meet him at his level just as we should all meet our kids at their level regardless of age and grade. If you chose not to start until he's in first grade, you don't have to start with first grade curriculum if he's past that. Again, it's not all or nothing.

 

I find that the only reason that I hesitate to do a formal curriculum is because many Hs'ers discourage it b/c "we have so much time."

 

I think we're going to go for it :) .

 

OK, for the record, I'm not discouraging you. :D I think the general thought process from those who discourage is that you probably won't regret waiting. (I know I don't. After what I've seen from ds7 and dd5, there's no way I would start anything formal with ds3, although he will learn to read at his own pace, as the other two dc did). However, you could potentially regret starting formal schooling too early. Many people have seen it backfire and had their dc turn off to learning.

 

If he is asking for more and wanting more and is happy with whatever curriculum choice you make, that's great. The problem I've seen in friends (and from some examples on these boards) is with people who go for it with their young ones and then mom's expectations develop. The people who come on the board and get upset that their ds4 won't sit still for his math or phonics or whatever blah blah blah. Well, if your ds4 will sit still and soak it up, that's fine. But if he won't and you bought all this great curriculum and you're eager and then end up frustrated with ds, that's just heartbreaking, you know? If your bright little guy who used to happily learn on his own all day long is now needing to be cajoled with bribes and "just one more," then starting early isn't accomplishing as much in the learning department as it is undoing in the joy of learning department.

 

I will tell you (from experience with my dd who wanted to do school just like ds who had just started 1st grade) that dc will say they want more and then when the more comes, they think, "Seriously? This is way more than I thought. Can I go play with my blocks?" You have to be ready to say yes and put the books away. But not the picture books, never the picture books. :001_smile:

Edited March 3, 2010 by Alte Veste Academy

[AMDG]

I know exactly what you're saying, and I really appreciate your perspective. I can't guarantee that I wouldn't fall into the category of forming expectations too early or getting irritated that my four year old is acting like a four year old instead of the age of the curriculum is set for, but I'm not a pushy parent.

 

The reality is that I'm super busy and involved in our community and church, have an infant to care for, and a house that is way too big for me to maintain. I don't have the time to push, push, push. That said, I make read-alouds a priority, and DS loves to sit at the table with crayons and paper, making learning fun and natural at our house. My real intention with wanting to do something formal is that DS is always asking me questions about how things are spelled, what word something is, and then asking me to do dotted letters of our address, names, sentences (Happy Valentine's Day, I love you mom, etc.) so that he can trace them, read them, etc.

 

Everything is so "muddled," which is why I describe myself as flying by the seat of my pants, and there is no cohesion between what he's learning from day to day. I only want a bit more structure so that he can apply what he's learning to his natural development and curiosity.

 

I really, honestly have no intention to push him faster than he's willing to go. For better or worse, both DH and I are hard-working, driven people who value education to an extreme (sound familiar?) but we both have enough sense to understand that flashcards and drills mean absolutely nothing without the richness of experience that creative play and hours of read alouds provide. I'm willing to argue even that tower building, track tracks and puzzles are more educationally enriching than book work at this age, but from where DS is right now, I absolutely want to follow his lead, I just want to make the path a bit straighter.

Edited March 3, 2010 by AMDG

[Moonbeam Jones]

I was just wondering as I was reading all the ideas for a "K4", what do y'all do for "K5"? :bigear:

 

Maybe I should start a new thread, but I wanted to hear from some of the ladies that have posted to this one! :001_smile:

 

MBJ

[StartingOver]

We just roll with the flow, doing PreK, K, then 1st. No matter what age the kids are. When they are ready we move on.

Edited March 3, 2010 by alatexan68

[MissKNG]

We just roll with the flow, doing PreK, K, then 1st. No matter what age the kids are. When they are ready we move on.

 

:iagree:

 

(and I see you put the ages back in!! Quince and my big girl must have real close b-days)

[Moonbeam Jones]

We just roll with the flow, doing PreK, K, then 1st. No matter what age the kids are. When they are ready we move on.

 

So, I shouldn't be afraid to start SOTW, spelling (ds4 is always asking how to spell somethig - however, I am a terrible speller and I don't want to teach him any bad habits!) , etc at 5?

 

Thanks,

MBJ

[kmacnchs]

My question is that I don't know WHEN to start the curriculum. I look at preschool curriculums and I'm totally unimpressed and know that DS will be bored out of his mind, and yet when I look at the scope and sequence for the K curriculum I like, midway through the year it seems that concepts will be too difficult for DS to grasp developmentally.

 

I'm really not in a hurry to start him, and even if we did start a K curriculum at 4 I wouldn't mind if it took two years to get through, I just know that I'll bore DS to tears if we have have PreK year of tracing letters and one-to-one correspondence.

 

Everyone is different. My background is in middle school ed. so this learning how to read, count, color, cut...it is really hard for me to grasp how to teach it:tongue_smilie: crazy, I know:D

 

So, I start curriculum early (just something to tell me, play this game - that will work on colors, etc). Others are able to just play games w/their dc and they learn what they need to know for K4/5.

 

You can look in my siggy -dd1 is 3.5, dd2 is 2 (almost 2.5)

 

Reading - OPG all the way!

Math - we do Saxon b/c it is slow and repetitive. If your ds is math-savvy, Singapore and MEP are more advanced (from what I've seen)

Writing - HWT all the way!

[kmacnchs]

So, I shouldn't be afraid to start SOTW, spelling (ds4 is always asking how to spell somethig - however, I am a terrible speller and I don't want to teach him any bad habits!) , etc at 5?

 

Thanks,

MBJ

 

I was advised on here to not rush into SOTW too quickly b/c of maturity (will your child be ready to learn about the holocaust at 7? if not, hold off a year or two).

 

I looked at K12 Kindergarten History scope & sequence and just check a TON of books out from the library (it is geography and US History). I may start SOTW when we are done but I plan on taking it slow (maybe 2 yrs until we catch up, age-wise)...I hear there is a TON of things to do so I don't think that will be a problem

[MissKNG]

 

when I look at the scope and sequence for the K curriculum I like, midway through the year it seems that concepts will be too difficult for DS to grasp developmentally.

 

I had these exact same thoughts when I pulled out the Reader Rabbit K-1st grade math book back in December...I thought "gosh, my big girl will NEVER be able to do a lot of this stuff." A month later in January, I couldn't believe that I thought she would have problems with that book - and she completed about 90% of the 320 pages in just one month!

 

If you start a K curriculum, chances are he will be ready for the concepts that you think are difficult by the time he gets to them. And if you feel he's not, then you can slow the pace.

[StartingOver]

So, I shouldn't be afraid to start SOTW, spelling (ds4 is always asking how to spell somethig - however, I am a terrible speller and I don't want to teach him any bad habits!) , etc at 5?

 

Thanks,

MBJ

 

 

My son will be starting SOTW, spelling, latin, FLL, etc on his 4th birthday. I totally understand and accept that I may have to shelve some or all of it, until later. Or stretch it out, adding in lapbooking, crafts, extra reading, etc. As long as you can take a step back and rethink it, I see no issue with starting early.

 

As to SOTW 1 specifically, we do plan to stretch it out for anywhere between 18 months, and 2 years, and to the same with SOTW 2. So that by the time my daughter is ready to join in we can work together on SOTW 3 & 4. Then we will start the rotation all over again.

[StartingOver]

:iagree:

 

(and I see you put the ages back in!! Quince and my big girl must have real close b-days)

 

 

Quince will be 4 the end of June. :)

[MissKNG]

Quince will be 4 the end of June. :)

 

Yup, my big girl was suppose to come mid-June but decided to come mid-May!!:D

[StartingOver]

I know exactly what you're saying, and I really appreciate your perspective. I can't guarantee that I wouldn't fall into the category of forming expectations too early or getting irritated that my four year old is acting like a four year old instead of the age of the curriculum is set for, but I'm not a pushy parent.

 

The reality is that I'm super busy and involved in our community and church, have an infant to care for, and a house that is way too big for me to maintain. I don't have the time to push, push, push. That said, I make read-alouds a priority, and DS loves to sit at the table with crayons and paper, making learning fun and natural at our house. My real intention with wanting to do something formal is that DS is always asking me questions about how things are spelled, what word something is, and then asking me to do dotted letters of our address, names, sentences (Happy Valentine's Day, I love you mom, etc.) so that he can trace them, read them, etc.

 

Everything is so "muddled," which is why I describe myself as flying by the seat of my pants, and there is no cohesion between what he's learning from day to day. I only want a bit more structure so that he can apply what he's learning to his natural development and curiosity.

 

I really, honestly have no intention to push him faster than he's willing to go. For better or worse, both DH and I are hard-working, driven people who value education to an extreme (sound familiar?) but we both have enough sense to understand that flashcards and drills mean absolutely nothing without the richness of experience that creative play and hours of read alouds provide. I'm willing to argue even that tower building, track tracks and puzzles are more educationally enriching than book work at this age, but from where DS is right now, I absolutely want to follow his lead, I just want to make the path a bit straighter.

 

 

As long as your son is having fun..... enjoying what he is doing, and asking for more. There is absolutely no reason to help your child learn, in whatever way you chose to do that.

 

I work with my son when he wants, how he wants, for as long as he wants. I never ask if he is ready, I never extend a lesson until he is tired of it. I always leave him wanting more. His lessons at this point are in no way mandatory or SCHEDULED !! We can take them or leave them at any time. I have no issue with days, weeks or even months ....doing nothing but reading to him.

 

I am an Better Early Than Late Mother !

[kmacnchs]

Yup, my big girl was suppose to come mid-June but decided to come mid-May!!:D

 

little lady is may 23rd :D

[Moonbeam Jones]

Everyone is different. My background is in middle school ed. so this learning how to read, count, color, cut...it is really hard for me to grasp how to teach it:tongue_smilie: crazy, I know:D

 

 

 

:iagree: I am certified to teach Middle and High school math (I try not to let that get in the way ;)) and I knew I was in trouble when I handed crayons to my then three year old and we both just looked at each other! :lol: So things like OPGtTR are really helpful in subjects I am lacking (LA, spelling, crafts)

 

Thanks kmacnchs, alatexan68 and MISSKNG for the thoughts. I am not going to start anything new until he turns 5 in the fall. We have a baby due in late June and I going to focus on finishing up OPGtTR and out loud reading with maybe some FIAR for the summer. Then in the fall I like the idea of slowing history down and I am thinking of combining VP history with SOTW.

 

Thanks again,

MBJ

[StartingOver]

Yup, my big girl was suppose to come mid-June but decided to come mid-May!!:D

 

Quince was due on August 2nd, he came a bit early on June 28th.

[StartingOver]

:iagree: I am certified to teach Middle and High school math (I try not to let that get in the way ;)) and I knew I was in trouble when I handed crayons to my then three year old and we both just looked at each other! :lol: So things like OPGtTR are really helpful in subjects I am lacking (LA, spelling, crafts)

 

Thanks kmacnchs, alatexan68 and MISSKNG for the thoughts. I am not going to start anything new until he turns 5 in the fall. We have a baby due in late June and I going to focus on finishing up OPGtTR and out loud reading with maybe some FIAR for the summer. Then in the fall I like the idea of slowing history down and I am thinking of combining VP history with SOTW.

 

Thanks again,

MBJ

 

Just take it at his speed, add in fun extra's, and ENJOY !!! ;)

[LisaKinVA]

Do you use the Teacher's Guide for the A beka 1st grade math? I bought the math book alone but I think we are going to use it as a supplement - so I didn't think a Teacher's manual would be necessary. I do see there are exercises where the teacher is suppose to dictate stuff but I can either skip it or make something up.

 

No. I don't use the teacher's guide. I have them. Mostly, they are sort-of-scripted lessons, and I've never really needed them. I usually skip the "teacher" part, or make something up.

[LisaKinVA]

I was just wondering as I was reading all the ideas for a "K4", what do y'all do for "K5"? :bigear:

 

Maybe I should start a new thread, but I wanted to hear from some of the ladies that have posted to this one! :001_smile:

 

MBJ

 

For "K5" we just keep going adding in either phonics reinforcement or spelling (depending upon the child, I've done both). We still don't start with formal history or formal science (not that they don't get exposed to, or do anything... it's just not "formalized.") Now, if they demanded to "do" something more, I'd do it. But usually, my K5er is reading pretty well and is looking at books on any subject that interests them. I have really enjoyed doing K this way, and the two I switched up to this way, have enjoyed it as well. Our only concentrating are on reading, writing (penmanship), and math. Everything else is child-led/directed, part of daily life. Some days, that means listening in as son #1 learns about U.S. history, or participating in the geology experiment for plate tectonics. Other days, it may be learning about Greece and Rome with the older sister... and getting excited about Minotaurs... having fun with the water cycle.

 

When I only had one in school I did use more "curriculum" for these grades, but now that I have the older kiddos, the younger ones just LOVE learning with their older siblings (and it makes my life so. much. easier.)

 

By 1st grade, they are starting to write compositions (we're using 2nd grade LA curriculum, reading is a mixture of 2nd grade-4th grade books, I've dropped phonics -- use spelling as a reinforcement alone). The modification I make for composition is that they dictate their rough draft. We re-read it, make any changes we talk about... and then he re-copies the final draft. Otherwise, it's just a bit too much for my 6yo. They are doing math 2 years ahead... although if my youngest keeps up his pace, he will soon be 3 years ahead.

[StephanieZ]

I'll be one of the old fogeys. . .

 

. . . and beg you to not structure your days too much just yet!! In just a few short years, time will be so precious. . . and you'll never again have the luxury of park days, play days, snow days, cooking days, cleaning days. . . Oh, for those blissful days when my oldest was 4!!!!!!!!! The nature walks, the gingerbread houses, the homemade playdough, the art days. . . oh, oh, oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That said, I think you can do this:

 

+ start teaching your child to read. I used 100 EZL and the Explode the Code workbooks starting at 4. Go at the child's pace.

 

+ Start a K level handwriting program.

 

+ Start a K level math program. Singapore Early Bird is nice.

 

+ Start a suzuki instrument. My dc all started violin at 3 and it is a great diversion.

 

+ Get More Mudpies and Magnets (or similar) and do fun hands on stuff.

 

+ Read all sorts of books all the time. Read! Read! Read!!

 

+ Art, crafts, art, crafts!!!!!!! (enjoy it now, as time gets very limited soon enough)

 

+ Take nature walks. Plant a garden. Grow flowers. Bake cookies. . .

 

+ Drastically limit screen time. No more than an hour a day of videos/tv/computer. (Except when you are ill or have a new baby, then the magic electronic babysitter gets a pass IMHO)

 

In all of the above, my priority is that prior to K age, school is INVITATIONAL only. Nothing is obligatory. If it is fun and interesting, dc will want to do it. If not, then find sth else to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

FWIW, I did teach all my kids to read when they were 4, started math when they were 4, and had handwriting pages to do. . . and they all were playing violin daily by then. . . It is totally do-able, but the thing is to minimize it to FUN stuff and make sure not to press yourself or your child too much.

 

HTH

[AMDG]

I'll be one of the old fogeys. . .

 

. . . and beg you to not structure your days too much just yet!! In just a few short years, time will be so precious. . . and you'll never again have the luxury of park days, play days, snow days, cooking days, cleaning days. . . Oh, for those blissful days when my oldest was 4!!!!!!!!! The nature walks, the gingerbread houses, the homemade playdough, the art days. . . oh, oh, oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That said, I think you can do this:

 

+ start teaching your child to read. I used 100 EZL and the Explode the Code workbooks starting at 4. Go at the child's pace.

 

+ Start a K level handwriting program.

 

+ Start a K level math program. Singapore Early Bird is nice.

 

+ Start a suzuki instrument. My dc all started violin at 3 and it is a great diversion.

 

+ Get More Mudpies and Magnets (or similar) and do fun hands on stuff.

 

+ Read all sorts of books all the time. Read! Read! Read!!

 

+ Art, crafts, art, crafts!!!!!!! (enjoy it now, as time gets very limited soon enough)

 

+ Take nature walks. Plant a garden. Grow flowers. Bake cookies. . .

 

+ Drastically limit screen time. No more than an hour a day of videos/tv/computer. (Except when you are ill or have a new baby, then the magic electronic babysitter gets a pass IMHO)

 

In all of the above, my priority is that prior to K age, school is INVITATIONAL only. Nothing is obligatory. If it is fun and interesting, dc will want to do it. If not, then find sth else to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

FWIW, I did teach all my kids to read when they were 4, started math when they were 4, and had handwriting pages to do. . . and they all were playing violin daily by then. . . It is totally do-able, but the thing is to minimize it to FUN stuff and make sure not to press yourself or your child too much.

 

HTH

 

This sounds like EXACTLY what I want to do. A little instruction, a little less structure, but a lot of learning! From my experience so far, at age four we're going to be ready to do *something* and can't push reading back any longer. An environment immersed in literacy and learning has produced a young boy who WANTS to learn!

 

Again, I only plan on doing minutes a day. I can't imagine making my wiggle worm do much more. This system has worked well so far, as as soon as the ants get in his pants we're done for the day.

[Aurelia]

I put my own curriculum together at that age, since the all-inclusive ones had some things that were too advanced (handwriting) and a lot of other things that were too slow. (Seriously, learning only capital letters at the rate of one a week?) We ended up with FIAR alternated with MBTP, HWT, RS A and some kind of phonics program (I forget which. We've done several. :blush:) I also started Ariel with Spanish and piano, because she really wanted to learn both. K5 has been mostly an extension of the previous year, only on a first grade level (as seen in my signature). Next year Ariel will be first grade aged, but doing second grade work.

[Guest leebingate]

If you feel he's ready now, go ahead and start. Especially if you just start out doing a few minutes per day, it sounds like he could start any time. My ds is 4 and because of this, we do very short sessions and usually just if he asks to do "homeschool".

 

If it goes well, I don't see any reason not to start a formal curriculum. I let ds be completely self-taught until last month, and I'm finding that it's caused some real challenges as far as learning gaps and placement. Looking back, I wish I had started him in something structured sooner. (I think I didn't because of my own comfort level. I liked being able to say that he was 100% self-directed when people assumed I was "pushing" him. I ignored his needs and realize now that it was a bad decision for both of us.)

we are doing k now at 4. we do alot, sometimes, sometimes a little but ALWAYS something. check my blog, youll see. now its 9am, off to start school and then blog about the day! :)