Has anyone already abandoned ship on their curriculum?

[mama2cntrykids]

We started August 2nd. I had picked out MFW Kindergarten for my 4 y/o dd. Yes, I know she's young for a kindy program, but she knows *most* of her letter sounds and recognizes about all of them. She also has a love of reading and wants to learn.

 

I've looked at MFW Kindy since my oldest boy was a toddler. I didn't use it with either boy because they both went to PS Kindergarten. My little girl comes along and I *know* she is not going to kindy, so I excitedly buy the curriculum. I should have looked at the TM closer before we started:glare:, but we were getting ready to move and then we had to settle into our house. Before long, we were starting school (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)!

 

Ok, are you with me so far? Sorry, I didn't mean to rattle on and on;). To make a longish story short, neither one of us likes the phonics activites. There, I've said it. We just don't. She's ready for the phonics portion and all, she just doesn't like doing what they're saying to. She also isn't ready for so much handwriting and I knew that going into this. That's fine. I've always said that I will follow her lead with this because she really isn't Kindergarten age.

 

So, now my plan. I will put aside the curriculum until next year, but I still need to find something interesting but more ummm...cut and dry (for lack of a better term). I just can't put my finger on the right word. Maybe it's too much busy work in learning the letter sounds (and eventually blending) for her?

 

What to do? She would like to learn to read. I do have Teach your Child to Read in 100 EZ Lessons, but she doesn't like that either. None of my kids did to be honest.

 

I'm thinking of Happy Phonics, because it has fun games. I just don't know how effective it is in getting a child reading. I've been purusing the Rainbow Resource catalog as well. She has a strong desire to "do school" and if it's something she's into, she doesn't want to stop, but with the tears and attitude I was getting from her with MFW, it is time to move on (even though I've wanted to do it for about 7 yrs!!):tongue_smilie:. I need to let go of that longing now, lol.

 

I think for math I will get MUS Primer for her. Hands on and looks more like play time, but gives me a "guide" so I don't have to come up with stuff on my own (I'm bad at that).

 

Any suggestions for phonics that might fit her are truly appreciated!!! I love you ladies (and gents lol) for all your insights on this board. You're awesome!

[cdrumm4448]

I have no suggestions because this is only my second year, but I am also unhappy this year with some curriculum. DS did Evan-Moore's Daily Geography last year for second grade, and it was fine. This year we started it for third and I'm really hating it. He says it's too easy, and it's just about what we learned last year. So, I ordered Beautiful Feet Geography to go in a completely different direction.

 

So, I guess that's my advice. A completely different direction. But I don't really know what that would be.

[melmichigan]

My DS did Get Set for the Code at that age before moving into the Explode the Code series and HOP. He is my fourth DC to use HOP, although we do the sight words phonetically. We used MUS Primer and are now moving through Singapore Essential Math A and B for K.

[mama2cntrykids]

My DS did Get Set for the Code at that age before moving into the Explode the Code series and HOP. He is my fourth DC to use HOP, although we do the sight words phonetically. We used MUS Primer and are now moving through Singapore Essential Math A and B for K.

 

Yea, she was doing the Get Ready for the Code book last year. She finished it and is slowly doing the B book in the series. I really need to supplement it though.

 

What is HOP btw? Thanks!

[TXMary2]

I did two years of K with my little guy....our first year we did MFWK and skipped the phonics stuff and just focused on the science themes and bible verses. It was a lot of fun!

[Teachin'Mine]

What about doing fun stuff like Leap Frog? She can pick it up as she likes, and put it down when she's done. Even those alphabet boards where you press the letter and it says the sound and a word that begins with that letter can work well. :)

[DarlaS]

Yea, she was doing the Get Ready for the Code book last year. She finished it and is slowly doing the B book in the series. I really need to supplement it though.

 

What is HOP btw? Thanks!

 

HOP is Hooked on Phonics.

 

I tried so many learn-to-read programs with my last it wasn't funny. He just learned to read and it was mostly just me messing about with magnetic letters and such.

 

I would get hold of Phonics Pathways or something nice and concise like that and decide which (if any) MFW activities you'd like to add. I've never used MFW, so I don't know how tweakable it is, but maybe it's just too much of the same thing? A lot of programs like this offer you lots of options for getting the concept across when if the child is ready, less is more.

 

Sorry it that's incoherent. I'm running on about 3 hrs of very fitful sleep.

[Earth Angel_79]

Yea, she was doing the Get Ready for the Code book last year. She finished it and is slowly doing the B book in the series. I really need to supplement it though.

 

What is HOP btw? Thanks!

 

Hop = Hooked on Phonics. We used and loved this.

How about some Bob Books? My ds at 4 started to read with these.

If she is adamant about doing "school" I would throw anything your other children are doing at her and say she is doing school, along with maybe some print-off worksheets from the computer that are more her level? How about finding some of the free lapbooks on Lapbook Lessons, or Homeschool Share. There are tons of great ones. That would allow her to do cut and paste activities and maybe some light handwriting.

Kumon workbooks are good for bright graphic workbooks.

Starfall.com is great for introduction phonics games that will keep a younger busy while you are working with an older child.

What about Five In A Row?

HTH and doesn't confuse more. :lol: I will give you links on the lapbook lessons if you want them.

[mama2cntrykids]

I did two years of K with my little guy....our first year we did MFWK and skipped the phonics stuff and just focused on the science themes and bible verses. It was a lot of fun!

I had originally planned to use MFW K and just go at her pace and if it took two years, than so be it. My more recent thought of doing it was/is the opposite of what you did. Do a different phonics now and do the fun stuff next year. OR maybe find a different phonics now and do the fun stuff too. But, then what would I do next year lol?

 

What about doing fun stuff like Leap Frog? She can pick it up as she likes' date=' and put it down when she's done. Even those alphabet boards where you press the letter and it says the sound and a word that begins with that letter can work well. :)[/quote']

We have the Leap Frog dvds. She hasn't watched them in awhile though. We also have a Leap Frog (really old version) of what you described. It's in her room, but she really doesn't play with it much. I think she's gotten tired of the "A says aaa, B says Buh, C says ck" type stuff. I just don't know what else to do with her!

 

HOP is Hooked on Phonics.

 

I tried so many learn-to-read programs with my last it wasn't funny. He just learned to read and it was mostly just me messing about with magnetic letters and such.

 

I would get hold of Phonics Pathways or something nice and concise like that and decide which (if any) MFW activities you'd like to add. I've never used MFW, so I don't know how tweakable it is, but maybe it's just too much of the same thing? A lot of programs like this offer you lots of options for getting the concept across when if the child is ready, less is more.

 

Sorry it that's incoherent. I'm running on about 3 hrs of very fitful sleep.

Thanks! Phonics Pathways...I will check that out. You were coherent, no worries!

[LinRTX]

I have used Alphabet Island for to teach my 4yo letter sounds and blending. It isn't mentioned much but is a fun program for young learners. Two of mine were reading at a 6th grade level at 5, the other two were more like 1st or second grade, but all four did learn to read easily. The program has songs, games, and workbooks. The amount of writing isn't much, especially for the first workbook. It really does not take that much time each day and you can add to it or slow it down easily.

 

Linda

[SkateLeft]

So, you're just looking for a phonics program at this point then?

 

I'm a huge fan of McRuffy phonics. The lessons are short, and there aren't loads of bells and whistles. All you really need is a small dry erase board. :) My 9yo ds has used McRuffy for the past couple of years, and I'm planning on using the K program with my youngest next year. He has special needs and isn't quite ready yet, or I'd be using it this year!

 

By the way, I second the recommendation for Phonics Pathways. It wasn't enough for my other children, but my oldest was an early reader, and learned to blend by using the first part of Phonics Pathways. :)

 

Good luck!!

[maryr]

I had to respond after reading the title to your post. After homeschooling for 13 years (we are starting our 14th) I can honestly say that the one thing I have been absolutely consistent with is abandoning ship on a new curriculum!! :0)

 

I think sometimes we get enamored with the idea of a curriculum or someone is super good at selling it to us so in our mind it seems like just the best fit. When I try a curriculum and have to give up on it, I can look at it with a different perspective and often times I say to myself, "This was never going to be a good fit, what was I thinking?".

 

So I guess all that to say get used to it! :0)

 

As for the phonics program, we taught our kids starting with Sing Spell Read and Write. But then we moved on to the phonics flashcards with Teaching Reading at Home. The SSRW was fun, it had great little pre readers and coloring pages enough to keep the kids excited. THe TRaH was more meat and potatoes and we used those flashcards into the 4th grade as review for spelling.

 

Enjoy the homeschooling journey is my best advice. It goes by way too quickly! Although it sounds like you are already able to laugh at your mistakes which is great for be assured there will be many! :)

 

Mary

[mommaduck]

We use MFW, but only the five year cycle. Abeka is what we use for our phonics.

[cschnee]

Did anyone mention the show Between the Lions? You could watch that with your dd and get games and activities from the website. Starfall is also great!

[HollyDay]

We loved Sing Spell Read and Write!

[siloam]

I See Sam is one of the simplest and straight into reading programs I have ever seen.

 

Heather

[truebluexf]

I really, really love Headsprout. Two kids have now gone through it. They have their first book after like 4 lessons. It's fabulous, engaging, and they learn to read well. :)

[mama2cntrykids]

Hop = Hooked on Phonics. We used and loved this.

How about some Bob Books? My ds at 4 started to read with these.

If she is adamant about doing "school" I would throw anything your other children are doing at her and say she is doing school, along with maybe some print-off worksheets from the computer that are more her level? How about finding some of the free lapbooks on Lapbook Lessons, or Homeschool Share. There are tons of great ones. That would allow her to do cut and paste activities and maybe some light handwriting.

Kumon workbooks are good for bright graphic workbooks.

Starfall.com is great for introduction phonics games that will keep a younger busy while you are working with an older child.

What about Five In A Row?

HTH and doesn't confuse more. :lol: I will give you links on the lapbook lessons if you want them.

I would love the lapbook links. Thanks! We used some Kumon workbooks from Walmart last year. She really liked them. I will look and see if I can find more.

 

I have used Alphabet Island for to teach my 4yo letter sounds and blending. It isn't mentioned much but is a fun program for young learners. Two of mine were reading at a 6th grade level at 5, the other two were more like 1st or second grade, but all four did learn to read easily. The program has songs, games, and workbooks. The amount of writing isn't much, especially for the first workbook. It really does not take that much time each day and you can add to it or slow it down easily.

 

Linda

I will check out Alphabet Island. Thanks!

 

So, you're just looking for a phonics program at this point then?

 

I'm a huge fan of McRuffy phonics. The lessons are short, and there aren't loads of bells and whistles. All you really need is a small dry erase board. :) My 9yo ds has used McRuffy for the past couple of years, and I'm planning on using the K program with my youngest next year. He has special needs and isn't quite ready yet, or I'd be using it this year!

 

By the way, I second the recommendation for Phonics Pathways. It wasn't enough for my other children, but my oldest was an early reader, and learned to blend by using the first part of Phonics Pathways. :)

 

Good luck!!

I looked at McRuffy thanks to a different Kindergarten post. I like the look of it, but after shelling out over $100 on MFW, my dh wouldn't be pleased with another $100 on a different curriculum. Maybe I will try to sell MFW. I don't know, lol!

 

I had to respond after reading the title to your post. After homeschooling for 13 years (we are starting our 14th) I can honestly say that the one thing I have been absolutely consistent with is abandoning ship on a new curriculum!! :0)

 

I think sometimes we get enamored with the idea of a curriculum or someone is super good at selling it to us so in our mind it seems like just the best fit. When I try a curriculum and have to give up on it, I can look at it with a different perspective and often times I say to myself, "This was never going to be a good fit, what was I thinking?".

 

So I guess all that to say get used to it! :0)

 

As for the phonics program, we taught our kids starting with Sing Spell Read and Write. But then we moved on to the phonics flashcards with Teaching Reading at Home. The SSRW was fun, it had great little pre readers and coloring pages enough to keep the kids excited. THe TRaH was more meat and potatoes and we used those flashcards into the 4th grade as review for spelling.

 

Enjoy the homeschooling journey is my best advice. It goes by way too quickly! Although it sounds like you are already able to laugh at your mistakes which is great for be assured there will be many! :)

 

Mary

Thanks for your veteran insight Mary! I'm trying to enjoy the journey. It's good advice. I was realizing with MFW K that *I* was getting upset/stressed with trying to do the phonics portion of it. I think I need to just go with the flow more. She *is* only 4 after all! Oh, and she does tag along with her older brother's school stuff (geography/learning about different ppl/countries around the world).

 

Did anyone mention the show Between the Lions? You could watch that with your dd and get games and activities from the website. Starfall is also great!

I love that show! Unfortuantely, we don't have regular tv and haven't for five yrs. We also don't have high speed internet, so I can't look it up on youtube. Bummer, I know!

 

I have MFW-K for my 4 yo as well so I will chime in here. I have not looked at the MFW stuff enough to decide how much we will do this year but I also got FIAR so that I could alternate programs for the next two years, so I will just use what I want to use from each.

 

On top of that I have HOP and OPG left over from the big kids. OPG is similar to 100ez but it goes to a higher grade level. What i have done in the past is used HOP with all of its fun little books and sticker charts until they finish HOP, and then we move over to OPG. By then they are older and more willing to do a less than colorful and sparkly reading program as long as the lessons are short (which they are). Right now dd is doing HOP and loving it.

 

I love MFW stuff in general, but I don't like that the reading instruction is tied into K and First, because those are skills that develop at such an individual rate. If we put off the K program and she ends up reading before we got to much of it, I will just use their reading program for handwriting and spelling practice.

 

We start in a week so I should probably look more closely at it.....

 

Also, my dd thinks she has done school if she has colored something. We can do HOP and MUS primer and her HWT workbook and she will tell dh that she didn't do school if I didn't also hand her a princess coloring page. Find out what your dd's definition of "school" is and make sure you do that.

I think that I will look into HOP as well. I know it's pricey. Maybe I *will* sell MFW, lol. So much to check out! Sometimes I wish we (as hs'ers) didn't have *so many* options, lol.

 

That's also a good idea, to check with dd about what she considers school.

 

We loved Sing Spell Read and Write!

I've been hearing a lot of good things about this program.

 

I See Sam is one of the simplest and straight into reading programs I have ever seen.

 

Heather

Another program that I will check out. Thanks!!

[Guest momk2000]

Our dd is pretty advanced for her age also. We tried MFW K last year when she was 4, and were not as excited about it as expected. I passed it on to someone else and used Rod and Staff workbooks and the Big Preschool Workbook.

She is now just starting K and we are using CLP Phonics (just as we did for oldest dd when she was in K). I love CLP Phonics, it is a very solid program and reasonable too. :001_smile:

[Guest]

My best friend bought MFW K and was sorely disappointed, as well. She bought Valerie Bendt's book Reading Made Easy instead. I haven't used either, but just thought I'd throw that into the mix!

[G5052]

Take this with a grain of salt from a perpetually broke, experienced mom.

 

A 4-year old not liking a phonics program may be more about her age than the program. I had one who didn't like phonics until he was 8 and "got" that it was important to learn to read. His liking or disliking it didn't play into my decision, we used solid materials and just took things slow. The other one was so eager to read that she sailed through MFW Kindergarten at 4, then did R&S Phonics and Reading 1 and 2 (not a popular program here, but I owned it and knew how to use it) and Phonics Pathways. When she was 4 and 5, I did the writing excises with her looking on and telling me what to do.

 

Mary Pride was a popular homeschooling writer when we started a decade ago, and she used to say that it took most new home school families three phonics programs to get the first child reading. Sometimes it takes that long for mom to learn how to teach her firstborn to read, and sometimes it's a developmental issue such that it just takes that long for the kid to learn to read.

 

MFW Kindergarten is a very solid program. I liked their "Letter of the Week" approach and the phonics portion. Prior to that we used Calvert, and MFW was just as good if not better. We also did a lot of drill with Phonics Pathways and played with letter tiles along the way.

 

I miss those days. So carefree and flexible compared to having to build a transcript for college...

 

Your mileage may vary!

[LynnG in Arizona]

I can sympathize with you because I also have a 4 yo daughter (born 10/2005) who just started kindergarten. She is ready!

 

I can also identify with your post because I looked long and hard at MFW kindergarten, to the point where I had my shopping cart filled and was ready to purchase the curriculum. I know there are wonderful aspects to it, but I just didn't like the phonics that I saw. Too slow, too . . . regimented, maybe? The phonics activities really didn't appeal to me. I realize that it is the perfect curriculum for some people . . . different strokes and all that.

 

We've started with McRuffy and I really like it so far. It is fun, solid, and manageable. The activities are varied and age appropriate. The scripting makes it pretty easy-peasy for Mom, too. ;)

 

By the way, we are doing it without the handwriting right now because DD is doing Handwriting Without Tears instead. I think you could easily work through McRuffy without the handwriting and just do something developmentally appropriate for your 4 yo's fine motor skills. (We were very pleased with HWT Pre-K, and just finished that. Now we're starting HWT kindergarten.)

[Melissa in CA]

We used all Abeka for Kindergarten. It's tried and true. It gave my ds a head start in school and he had a great year. I personally think their phonics/reading program is top-notch. ;)

[MissKNG]

Why not let her play on starfall.com for a while.

 

It's free and not only did it start my big girl on reading herself but it also taught her how to skip count by 10, 3D shapes and more.

[Denise Allen]

Abeka has a great program for k4 and K. My oldest 3 kids all learned to read simple words and sentences before they were 4. By the end of kindergarten they were reading really well. All three of them still LOVE reading and are amazing at it. (My 7 yr. old has been reading the Hobbit). I don't say any of that to brag on my kids~ it is to brag on the Abeka program.

I realize it doesn't fit with everyone, but I love the way they teach phonics. I love that it is straight forward. All 3 of my kids liked their program (phonics & language is all I use from them), and never had one complaint.

 

Hope you find something that works for you. :)

[Jayne J]

Just a quick plug for OPGTR. I bought it, saw how straightforward and cut-and-dried it was and promptly returned it. I thought "booooorrring!" I tried all sorts of crafty, "fun" kinds of things and we both hated it. I looked at Phonics Pathways, and almost went with it, but DS was confused and distracted by the layout (so was his mom!;)) So, I reordered OPGTR and we love it. It is easy, well-laid out, comprehensive, and the lessons are really short. The one and only complaint we had was too much print on the page frustrated ds, so we recopied some of the sentences on a whiteboard for him to read. He is reading on his own now, making the change to the chapter book and doing well. I was once asked by a public school teacher (his Sunday School teacher) what I used to teach him with, and she commented that she wished her students knew their phonics as well as he did. I plan to use it for both of his sisters.

 

It is basic, no frills, straightforward, non consumable, and cheap. My favorite kind.:D

[4besitos]

:iagree: None of my children like 100 Easy Lessons...I finally sold it! OPGTR is what we are using now. There are some really inexpensive workbooks put out by the Mennonites that Rainbow Resource carries (some are cut & color, some skills by age). These are great with that age group. MUS is a great hands-on program, it does move them pretty quickly into adding. Saxon K would probably be good for her....it is all manipulatives and I found it too easy for an average K. You might be able to borrow it if you live around other families.

[Aubrey]

I've got MFW K (just the tm). I don't love it *at all,* but I'm...well, planning to sort-of use it, but adapted.

 

We didn't have many of the books rec'd, which was one of the problems I had w/ FIAR, so I was getting myself ready to go try to find *more* pic books at 1/2 Price, try to get the right ones on the right wk from the library, & the thought just killed me. I *hate* preschool/K stuff, across the board.

 

I got some of the MFW suggestions from the library for prereads, & I didn't like them. At all. But then I looked at my cram-packed shelves. I've got pic books there that I do love. I know my kid's interested in ducks & wants to read about butterflies & can tell me about their cocoons. So I followed a mixture of the letter-of-the week idea & FIAR, & I just planned ea wk around the books we've got. (Library Thing is very helpful for this!)

 

So my big kids are doing 6wks on birds w/ NOEO Bio--some of their activities are simply to find & identify birds in teh back yard, draw them, listen to their songs. My littles can do & enjoy most of that. 2 of those weeks, then, will be N-Nest--& we'll read about all kinds of homes, & B-Birds. They might color bird pics instead of drawing them, but it's a good synthesized idea for all 4 dc. The nonfiction will reinforce the big kids' learning (they like to cuddle, too, for littles' stories)--& when I ask the bigs to read somethign to the littles later, that'll be good, too.

 

And when I make those Easter nest snacks, I'll be a HERO to them ALL! :lol:

 

So basically at this point, I could scrap the MFW tm--I've gotten the structure from it that I needed for a jumping off place, but most of the activities are either too boring or too old for mine (2 & 3). Mine have started reading at about 3, but I don't really do formal phonics w/ them until 5 or 6 (because I don't like to, lol). I've used Alpha Phonics because a) it was avail when I needed one, b) the pages are uncluttered, & c) it's simple & self-explanatory. I don't really want to know the phil behind teaching dc to read. It's excruciating enough to have to DO it w/ them.

 

Have you looked at FIAR? Most people love it, & I think for this age, it's really a great idea--more focused on *stories* than phonics, but still giving that really solid foundation for reading.

 

And for basic phonics, oh my gosh, the Leap Frog videos have been amazing! Spy Car recommended them, & dd3 adores them. She's learned all of her letters & letter sounds from Letter Factory--a torturous task for me to teach, & I'm glad to have it removed. Ds2 watches them w/ her, & he's learned quite a few letters, too--enough to spew them when he's frustrated, lol.

 

HTH!

[campmom]

Like it was written my boys wouldn't have enjoyed it but I did tweak the phonics I made some of the materials into games which I wil be happy to tell you about if you are interested (pm me) Does she dislike cutting and glueing? When you get into it alittle the cut and glue pages are nice because they are "reading" and no writing is involved. We also didn't do any of the writting in MFW K but my boys learned alot and enjoyed it with the changes we made I also used the abeka K workbook ( that is all I purchased not the tm and all of the other stuff) we used it along with MFW k we had done the get ready for the code books before. I also own and use happy phonics for the games and we enjoy and learn from them. I also own and use HOPS the kindergarten program is cheap I think I paid about $30 at sams My boys love the CD rom that came with it and also used the readers but I did not use the program with all of the drill. I also have MUS primer brand new to sell if you are interested I ended up not using it. I'll be happy to tell you more about how I used any of these things since I only pick and choose the parts of the programs that work and change thing around to suit our desires. Just private message me if you want to more info.

[Night Elf]

Hop = Hooked on Phonics. We used and loved this.

 

:iagree: I actually paid the full $300 price for whatever package was current in 2002 and it was worth every penny and more. I hate recommending curriculum so strongly because there are always people out there who come back and say STAY AWAY because it's horrible. :tongue_smilie: Of all the curriculum we've ever purchased in our 9 years of homeschooling, and that's alot of curriculum, HOP was by far the best purchase I ever made.

 

As for wanting to abandon ship: I am not impressed with Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings. I'm so disappointed. DH thinks we should just stick with it but I can tell you right now that my son will learn very little. The one plus is that we're reading The Lord of the Rings aloud as a family and we're all enjoying the story. I wish I had kept ds14 in the traditional 9th grade English class with Keystone National High School. I'm regretting the switch-over.

[Create Your Ritual]

Both of my older kids used Hooked On Phonics Learn to Read program... I bought it at Costco years back and it has 5 levels that they move through. They were each 4 years old when we started, and it was done in the evenings before bed along with reading to them. I remember working on it for maybe 15 minutes each evening and before you knew it they were reading.

 

May I also suggest the Leapfrog Videos. The first one is the Letter Factory, then I think it moves onto Learn to Read and the Letter Factory (it has C - A- T on the front cover). We have all of them. I just picked up a new one the other day called Math Adventures to the Moon. My younger one is two years old and already knows his letter sounds, letters of the alphabet and how to count to 10+ with virtually no instruction from me, just because he loves those videos so much.

 

I also bought him a Leapfrog Learn the Letters fridge magnet with interchangeable letters he could pop in and press the button. I plan on starting the Hooked on Phonics with him in a few years too. That was the best $$ I ever spent as far as I am concerned. Good Luck!!

[musicianmom]

Re: abandoning ship -- I was going to be all Super-WTM-Math-Mama this year and do a wonderful mix of Miquon, MEP, and Singapore. That lasted less than a week. I'll stick with Singapore, thanks. At least I'm not out much money.

 

I am disappointed with Sonlight Core K, which so does not live up to the hype. But dd is enjoying it, so I'm sticking with it. I'm just glad I didn't buy it new, since I'm probably going to have to supplement it. Twenty minutes a day of read-alouds doesn't equal a rigorous literature-based curriculum in my opinion.

[Sahamamama]

When I was looking at K programs and materials for my oldest, the thing that struck me so often was how profitable it is to complicate something simple. All the games and cards and songs and charts and pages and crafts and on and on... will they merely fill up time, or get my child reading? learning? growing? I didn't need gimmicks filling up my time, KWIM?

 

You also have to keep in mind that I had toddler twins... I think that might have had a lot to do with my frame of mind. :willy_nilly::willy_nilly: :toetap05:

 

Anyway, we went with OPG, and this 5.5 year old reads Little House books and the KJV Bible for fun.

 

 

Read Alouds + OPG (10-15 minutes x 3-4 times per week) = READER

 

 

[Guest CharNC]

You can get 50% of Hooked On Phonics from their website using the code SLICK50. Also, if you have an Ollie's near by (discount store) they carry Hooked On Phonics programs sometimes for $14 for the entire thing. They had the K in there the last time I went.

 

We bought it for our son in January and have loved it.

[momto2Cs]

I would check out Brightly Beaming Resources Letter/Sound/Etc. of the Week. Lots of fun books, poems, activities, etc., and if you have a decent library, free!

[mama2cntrykids]

I have to say thank you to everyone who has given me suggestions! I am over-whelmed...thank you!

[skueppers]

Another thing you might take a look at is Progressive Phonics. The Alphabetti books might be just the ticket, and they're free other than the cost of printing them out.

 

My daughter got a lot out of Progressive Phonics when she was about 4 1/2. It's what got her from being able to sound out individual words to being able to read whole sentences. We used the "Beginner Phonics" and "Intermediate Phonics" books.

[robsiew]

I had a "pre-K'er" last year who really did mostly K work. Here are some things we did:

 

Math: counted by 1's to 100, counted by 10's using beads on pipe cleaners, we actually worked through the MUS Primer which had a lot of number concepts and eventually easy addition problems. We worked on shapes, some patterning...

 

Reading: I use Phonics Pathways to teach my kids to read. We also did Bob Books (he loves them). He's reading well enough now to read Margaret Hillert books. We did VERY short sessions each day. (only about 5 min. of the phonics book and one Bob Book).

 

Writing: I did HWT handwriting books with him. We use AAS and he wanted to spell things with the tiles so I would pick very simple CVC words for him to spell with the tiles. He loved this! I think he just wanted this because everyone else does "spelling" though.

 

He would also sit in with us for history (SOTW), science and Bible. I didn't require anything of him (although he wanted to answer questions just like the older kids so I asked him the very easy ones). He did color for science and give me one sentence of what he remembered.

 

School for him lasted no longer than 1/2 hour plus our together things. We had a good year and he basically got K in as a 4 year old. I'm not really upping many expectations for him as an official K'er this year. Pretty much the same stuff... but he is doing 1st grade MM for math.

[Catwoman]

Well, I don't like to brag, but...

 

I haven't abandoned ship on a single piece of curriculum this year!!!

 

Cat

 

Disclaimer: We don't start school until September 12th, so the above statement may no longer apply by September 13th. ;)

[crowscreek]

We started our school year (August 1) w/ Robinson Curriculum and it is currently the 11th. We have already abandoned that ship.

 

I have a 1st grader, a K, and a pre-k this year and it just didn't work for us. I wanted something that didn't require 8 hours per day to complete and, while I know we will use RC in the future, we don't have all of the "students" reading, so we will have to come back to it...possibly next year. :)

[crowscreek]

When I was looking at K programs and materials for my oldest, the thing that struck me so often was how profitable it is to complicate something simple. All the games and cards and songs and charts and pages and crafts and on and on... will they merely fill up time, or get my child reading? learning? growing? I didn't need gimmicks filling up my time, KWIM?

 

 

Read Alouds + OPG (10-15 minutes x 3-4 times per week) = READER

 

 

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean. :) :)

 

We are a very close-knit family and we sing, play, craft all year long--not just when our chosen curriculum tells us we should.

 

It's not just that we are not financially able to shell out $300 for a pre-k/k curric, it is just not necessary in our case. We do LOTS of tracing, handwriting practice, and phonics along with math (money, time, adding, subtracting, less than/greater than, parts of a whole) and we are doing pretty okey dokey with our 4/5 year olds.

The 3 Rs, right? Reading, 'riting, 'rithmatic.

:)

 

(( ETA: I am totally NOT saying that it's wrong to pay $300+ for curriculum for pre-k/k, it's just that we can't do it. We have some used Hooked on Phonics and similar materials and they are good programs, we just go the FREE route. Sure, it's more work for me. :) I just didn't want to offend anyone by saying it's not necessary. ))

Edited August 12, 2010 by crowscreek

[mama2cntrykids]

Just to let everyone know, we went to Toy's R Us today, and lo and behold they had HOP Pre/K. I went ahead and bought it. She's with her grandma and great grandpa until tomorrow, but I'm really hoping she likes it. It looks really nice to me! I paid $40 for it, which I think is ok, considering it's $40 on Ebay with free shipping.

 

Now when she's done with it, will I be able to re-sell it? I realize I could only re-sell the CD-ROMs since she'll be using the workbooks, charts, stickers. Can those be re-ordered somewhere if someone needed to?

Thanks!

[Earth Angel_79]

Well, I don't like to brag, but...

 

I haven't abandoned ship on a single piece of curriculum this year!!!

 

Cat

 

Disclaimer: We don't start school until September 12th, so the above statement may no longer apply by September 13th. ;)

 

LOL:lol: I can't even make that statement...and we haven't started yet either. :tongue_smilie:

[NavyWifeandMommy]

LOL:lol: I can't even make that statement...and we haven't started yet either. :tongue_smilie:

 

We start the first week of Sept. So I am in the same boat. I have thought of dropping 100 EZ Lessons only because my son is starting to zoom thru it so I may just go and switch to ABecka phonics/reading