1st grade advice

[Lulabelle]

Hi,

We finished our K plans ahead of schedule so we went ahead and started what I had planned for first grade. We've been doing pretty well for about 12 weeks and we plan to continue through the summer. My problem is that this is the first year that I have to report and I'm not really sure what to do next since we'll probably be done with this stuff around January. My son has high functioning autism, and he does well academically, but sometimes I wonder if we are doing too much. Other times, we fly through everything, and it seems like it's all too easy. Lol...now I'm not even sure what I'm asking.

 

My son just turned 6. Here's what we're currently doing.

 

-Sonlight Core K with 2 Int. Readers (we actually only have 1 reader left, so we'll just do a bunch of other readers on about that same level)

-Sonlight K Science (this is okay, but we'll probably do Noeo after we finish this)

-FLL (about lesson 45)

-WWE (week 13)

-AAS (book 2 step 6)

-ETC Online (1/3 through book 7)

-MUS Alpha (1/2 done)

-Horizons Math 1 (1/4 done)

-Song School Latin

-Daily Geography 1

-La Clase Divertida 1

-Violin

 

We also have Classical Conversations in the fall. My biggest question is probably about the history/core and the Latin. I'm not sure he'll be ready to go straight into Core 1 with Sonlight. There have been a few things in core K that have gone over his head. I'm wondering if I should just try to go back and hit on the things that we didn't catch so well in Core K? Or maybe use some Veritas Press stuff? By that time we'll be to some of the more modern history stuff in CC, so maybe I could just find some read alouds to tie in with that. As far as Latin goes, I feel like I shot myself in the foot. He loves SSL. But he's too young to go on to LfC, right? So what do I do next? Should I spend a year doing Prima Latina and then come back to LfC? But he'll still only be in second grade then...can I use LfC A with a strong reader second grader?

 

Thoughts? Criticisms? What am I missing? What am I overdoing?

 

Thanks,

Rachel

[Heidi]

I'm certainly not an expert, but at least my response will give you a bump so you can get good advice.

 

I'm sort of in the same situation with my kids. I intend to school year round, but they are quickly getting ahead of themselves: doing next year's stuff this year. And how do I report what they're doing for what grade? I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet.

 

So.... good luck!

 

Anyone else??

[TengoFive]

For Latin, I would recommend going in to Prima Latina or doing what I'm doing and going to Song School Greek. We'll go back to Latin after we finish SSG.

I'm not super familiar with Sonlight, but this would be a perfect time to start using Story of the World Ancients.

[....]

Hi. We know all about the "getting too far ahead" scenario. :tongue_smilie: My 8 yro is on a solid 4th grade level (except math, of course :D). And every year seems to be getting worse. By high school, she'll have her PhD in Fantasy Chapter Books and Horsie Art.

 

So, are you homeschooling long-term? Or is this going to be temporary and you're going to put him in ps later?

 

If you're homeschooling for the marathon, you can just do whatever you guys feel like moving into. I would just move slowly through the coursework without much thought of grade level. I've started to add a lot of "extras", though, to slow them down. For example, I recently bought workbooks that had each state (and you color the state or something) and you read facts about each one. I also bought SnapCircuits, McGuffey Readers and we're making volcanos next week.

 

Yes, these are all clever ploys to create busywork so we don't finish a year's worth of LA in 8 weeks... The last thing I want is my kindergartener working on Level 700 of CLE LA. :001_huh: I'm thankful that my kids really like school and love to learn, but it can really make planning a pain in the :).

 

If you guys are going back to ps later, that's another thing. I would probably slow down and try to follow what the ps kids are doing. Maybe you could tread water for the summer with the other curricula and work on something fun like Konos or FIAR.

 

These are my only suggestions. It sounds like you guys are doing great. Oh, and we did Core 1 last year with a 6 yro and he did fine. He did not like Detectives in Togas (that went way over his head). He just turned 7 and we are in the midst of Core 2 (reading 21 Balloons right now).

[johnandtinagilbert]

It has been my experience that at some point you have to slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up. You tend to expose a great deal in the early years, but you may be surprised how much they forget by the time you come around the 4-year cycle again. We spent a TON of time and energy on many things in K-2, yet when we got back around to the same topics in 4-6, my kids remembered very little when compared to all we did. Don't sweat it. Don't even consider what level, just move forward.

 

You'll notice, as an example, that all of a sudden parts of speech are getting a lil' jumbled in dc's mind, so you slow down and spend a couple of months working through application, instead of introducing new topics. Suddenly, it all clicks, any confusion is gone, you find they have mastered the topic, so you move forward.

 

When you get to places where dc is not quite ready to move forward, but you've completed the materials you have, simply fill in the gaps with different topic areas. You can study animal science, for example, every year and still not cover all the animals :) You can dig deeper and deeper into any topic area where your child is very interested. The opportunities to go outside of the curricula box you design and fill it simply with points of interest are endless.

 

All that to say, keep moving forward, and allow for the unexpected, yet thoroughly enjoyable, to seep into your days. There is so much to learn that you can think beyond levels and simply think Learning.

 

Enjoy the journey.

[pageta]

If you want to slow down a little, I would consider adding more literature to your curriculum. Shorten your lessons in other things and add literature, poetry and other stories and such. There are good lists at Ambleside online, Simply Charlotte Mason, Veritas Press and others. We've found lots of good reading or we would be flying through the academics too.

[kmacnchs]

I'm certainly not an expert, but at least my response will give you a bump so you can get good advice.

 

I'm sort of in the same situation with my kids. I intend to school year round, but they are quickly getting ahead of themselves: doing next year's stuff this year. And how do I report what they're doing for what grade? I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet.

 

So.... good luck!

 

Anyone else??

 

We school year round as well and it has been suggested to me to go deeper and wider so they don't get too ahead before they are ready. For example, instead of doing one math, do two different maths so they learn in diff. ways (many do Singapore & MEP - we do Saxon & MEP). For History & LA, this can be as simple as reading more books about a subject that interests your child. Same w/Science - if he finds something interesting, do multiple experiments, go to the museum, etc.

 

Also, as someone says in another post, just b/c they are moving ahead now, does not mean that they will not need to slow down later on. Most kids don't keep the same pace all year long (neither do you - life happens).

 

Hope that helps!

 

ETA: OH, and as far as grade level goes, just put what grade he would be in if he attended ps (whatever his age is)...that way, if he slows down, you won't feel as though you have to push him beyond his abilities to "keep up" w/his grade.