What are your favorite Kindergarten picks?

[lynn]

I plan to do K with my dd this fall. She misses the school cut off but she is so ready to learn. We are doing 100 easy reading lessons. I have some of those big basic skills books that we do when she is in the mood, and we read, read, read, explore, color, paint, and just have fun.

[Milknhoney]

I am just finishing up Kindergarten with my son. We have been going through OPGTR and he can read just about anything now. The most important thing I did this year, besides the reading lessons, was read to him. He always followed along and he picked up phonics rules on his own. Now when we sit down to do a lesson out of OPGTR, he already knows the words. We go through the lesson just so he can learn the rule. The other really important thing he got out of us reading stories together was reading comprehension. We went from short picture books the first half of the year to now reading chapter books. I don't think I could have just picked up "Charlotte's Web" and started reading it to him if he hadn't been developing the skill.

 

The other thing I learned was with math. I started by following the advice in WTM, not to use a formal curriculum and just teach him very basic skills. That lasted about a month. It seemed to me he had it all down and was ready for more. So I decided we needed a structured study and ordered a kindergarten math workbook. We blazed through that in just a few months. So then I decided he must be ready for first grade math and got a math book. That worked out okay for a little while, but we've hit a wall. I finally realized that even though he catches on very quick, there is only so much his little mind can grasp right now. So I've decided to spend the rest of the year doing free worksheets I found on the internet. They're easy for him, so he enjoys it. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have just bought one of those basic skills workbooks from Costco and let him work through it all year, and not worried about whether it was too easy for him.

 

Other than reading, stories, and math, we read bible stories and practice handwriting. He finished the ZB book in just a few months so I have him doing very short copywork now. I learned that I can't let him do that on his own. He will get lazy and sloppy. I have to stand over him to make sure he does it neatly and carefully. At the moment this is causing the biggest pain. He hates it! He drags it out forever. Wish I could give you some advice in that department, but I haven't figured out the magic way to do that one yet!

[2_girls_mommy]

I really liked the Rod and Staff ABC workbook series (the website has them under preschool, but they are aimed at age 5. They call anything pre 1st grade preschool.) Those along with your other plans would be fun. They cover early math concepts and all kinds of other K skills. My dd5 just finished them and really enjoyed them. In fact she cried when she finished the last one!

[Mom-ninja.]

If you want to do math my ds loved Earlybird from Singapore, and I love RS A.

[ele325]

We used OPGTR, ETC and RS A. I would prolly do RS B slowly when I do it again. Otherwise, read, paint, play, cook, snuggle :)

 

Eleanor

[Prairie]

My 4 year old missed the cut off too. In PS he'd go to one more year of pre then a year of k.....aaaahhhh we're doing Spectrum Critters grade K right now.

 

Anyway, I too used the OPGTR and we are just working through it as we can. Some day we do the words, some days we do the sentences, some days we just do review, some days we make up silly words. It's a lot of fun.

 

For math I used the Carson-Dellosa workbooks with manipulatives-everything from Halloween candy to styrofoam packing peanuts. He's now making stacks of 5 wood blocks and counting by 5's-learning the clock (slowly) and LOVES dot to dot.

 

I found www.first-school.ws to have a lot of fun free stuff on it. We did the whole alphabet on there.

 

And like above...we read lots of books too. Beings my ds has an older sister in grade 5, we are reading the Little House series before bed at night....and don't worry if he's fiddling around or acting like he doesn't hear...he hears EVERY word you say, even if he's playing with trucks or whatever.

 

For next year I did get a Singapore KB to work with. Singapore intregues me in the fact that it teaches you to THINK about math, not just the concepts. I hope he 'gets' it.

 

We play trains alot and we are outside as much as possible, letting him just be a KID!

 

Good luck, it's such a fun and exciting age to teach!

[melissel]

Our plan for K is to wander through Five in a Row and Galloping the Globe (which is what we did for my oldest when she was that age, though we didn't complete it). We'll also include RS A and probably ETC and/or OPGTR, though I need to research those more because DD7 taught herself to read long before I was ready to teach her, so I never had to deal with K-level LA!

[SeekingSimplicity]

My guy just misses the cut off date too. I bought A Little Garden Flower K, and I'm going to use the Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter books with it. Oh, and the Waldorf Alphabet Book. Lots of stories, activities, and season stuff.

I got him the R&S ABC series because he likes workbooks. As far as things like writing and such, his motor skill just aren't there yet. Well practice writing his name, maybe doing ABC's and 123 as he likes. He really likes the MEP reception level worksheets. So I'll keep printing those as he's interested.

Hoping it's going to be fun, easy going and child-led.

[Tonia]

We used OPG and RS A. After my dd learned to write all her letters I started making some simple copywork pages. She did Horizons K math or ETC once in awhile when she was in the mood for a workbook. We learned some French, did lots of science experiments (using Sonlight K - dvd, experiment book, and science kits), and a "tour" of countries around the world. We had lots of fun. :001_smile:

[MissKNG]

Here is a recent (and extensive!) thread about what people are using for K:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163969

[lotsofpumpkins]

My 5 year old has just started Kindergarten work (he turned 5 in December). Here's what we are using:

 

Explode the Code phonics/Bob Books

A Reason for Handwriting K

Singapore Earlybird Math

Rod & Staff ABC Workbooks

HOD Little Hearts for His Glory (this covers history, science, Bible, etc)

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Oak Meadow. :D

[Aurelia]

My favorites:

RS A

Atelier Art

nature studies

piano lessons

lots of books - I used pieces of Sonlight P3/4-K (mostly read alouds and science) and some of Ambleside Online's books, plus others I felt shouldn't be missed, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Tikki-Tikki-Tembo.

 

 

If you are Christian, Galloping the Globe is good.

[melissel]

If you are Christian, Galloping the Globe is good.

 

Actually, we did it secularly and found it very easy to adjust for our needs. I just dropped out the missionary stories etc. and filled in gaps where I found them.

[mhaddon]

My son is going to be starting this fall and we will be doing a lot of the things mentioned in other posts. He loves science so I have a few science magazines and we've gone through together and picked out some things to do together. We are looking at ants, worms, butterflys, frogs, a lot with life cycles. Nature journals and walks. Also probably a lot of cooking together and then our family garden we will be working in a lot.

[Tracy]

DD and I are both completely in love with Five in a Row. We include vocabulary, copywork, and narration. It is the only thing she still asks to do when she has a day off.

 

Tracy

[Dinsfamily]

SL P4/5. It was the perfect complement to the 3rs for us. It really made our K year interesting.

[LivingUnderGrace]

My 6 year old is doing K, and here is what we do:

 

Alpha Phonics, A Reason for Handwriting, Oral Narration from Read Aloud time, Family Bible time, informal math learning twice weekly, and all the time he wants for outdoor play, arts/crafts, etc. ;)

[KC in KS]

I swear by their Pre-K and K workbooks. They're fun and definitely catch a young kid's attention. Best of all, they really set a kid up well for entering formal school.

[mom2jjka]

I love the R&S ABC series, as well as the ETC primers.

[TXMary2]

Ds6 and I are on the tail end of our Kindergarten year. In addition to all the fun stuff of painting, playdough, crafts, puzzles etc, etc. we use:

 

Get ready for the code books

starfall.com

Saxon 1 math

Winter Promise Animals and Their Worlds

[curlygirlzx2]

We used OPG and RS A. After my dd learned to write all her letters I started making some simple copywork pages. She did Horizons K math or ETC once in awhile when she was in the mood for a workbook. We learned some French, did lots of science experiments (using Sonlight K - dvd, experiment book, and science kits), and a "tour" of countries around the world. We had lots of fun. :001_smile:

 

Tonia,

 

Your Geography lesson plans are awesome! :thumbup:

[Tonia]

Tonia,

 

Your Geography lesson plans are awesome! :thumbup:

 

Thank you! :D We had so much fun studying the countries. My dd's favorite part was the 'party' we would have after completing each continent. After we finished Central and South America we had a fiesta - made a pinata and found some South American recipes. Very fun!

[hmschooling]

Heart of Dakota is what we're using and it's wonderful! We use Reading Made Easy and Singapore Earlybird K 2A/B. (not the newer one)

 

I've used MFWK also, and it was ok. I also considered Galloping the Globe before I found HOD. It looks great!

[EmeraldGirl]

Haven't read all the posts yet but I plan on starting the SWR phonograms with my dd5, MUS Primer book, and then she will tag along with the others for history and science.

[Guest]

I will have 2 this fall in K. I am considering McRuffy Phonics/Handwriting and Science, and CLE Math 100. I tried, really hard, even bought it twice, to like OPGTR. Just...no.

[Wendy in ME]

I love the Rod and Staff pre-school books. It keeps him busy while I work with the older boys and he loves having his own school books. We are also doing ETC and Phonics Pathways.

[applesing]

We really enjoyed MFW K. The lessons were very sweet and were exactly what I wanted my children to learn from homeschooling. The activities were so much fun and were very meaningful. We also enjoyed all of the books recommended in the TM.

[kdeno]

My Father's World K if you are looking for a Christian worldview. :001_smile: