naturegirl7 Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 DS is only 5, and we are officially doing K - but he reads fluently and is craving stuff that is more advanced than regular K work (he usually picks 1st to 3rd grade work for himself and does well with it). A few months ago he discovered the Pendemonium videos and games on Cosmeo and got hooked on language arts/grammar - he begs to learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs - new kick is pronouns. We read constantly - to himself, and read alouds (him and me) - and while he is a big reader/visual learner, he is also really hands-on too. And only 5 so he has endless amount of super fidgety little boy energy LOL He LOVES his history so I have been copying pages from there and we pick a paragraph and read it and then talk about/circle and label the various parts of speech. He is so into it that it isn't enough to label things "nouns" he has to label them as person, place, or thing. I tried to intro spelling words and set up Spelling City games for him, but it didn't keep his interest yet. I am thinking maybe he would benefit from an LA actual cirriculum at this point. He prefers books, hands-on activities/crafts, or games, but thanks to Singapore math he is starting to tolerate (perhaps even like) workbooks.... Most of what we do is literature based and art or play based. I would love for it to incorporate easily into what we are already doing... Any suggestions?? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 My son was very similar at that age. What fun! We really enjoyed First Language lessons. Back then, we didn't have Writing with Ease but your son might like that as well. Gosh, I sound like an old timer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 I'm a broken record...The Phonics Road. You can whiz through level 1 b/c of his skill, all the while building his spelling skills. Level 2 will pull in a literature study that will give the hands on he craves, reading of a great book and also filling in grammar in a way his mind will receive it. Otherwise, I'd give GrammarLand a try...a free downloadable book with reading of a great continuous story, then activities for practice. Good stuff! And oh.so.fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 FLL is nice because it's very quick and interactive--perfect for fidgety boys! The drawback is that it slow moving and repetitive, and it sounds like your little guy is a fast learner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naturegirl7 Posted October 22, 2010 Author Share Posted October 22, 2010 Thanks for the ideas. I'll check them out. He is a fast learner - he is a total Sponge. What is the phonics program like?? I have tried phonics programs with him, but he is super resistive to phonics - almost like it is too slow for him. Drives me crazy cuz *I* think phonics are super important, but he can read adult level books without much trouble and sees no need for the phonics. He throws a huge fit at the slow drawn out lessons for something he considers pointless, and he really does read fabulously without somehow - so I can't see forcing him to sit thru phonics lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 I would definitely look into The Sentence Family. It sounds right up his alley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 You know, a lot of the moms on the Accelerated Learner forum say that MCT is great for their kids. You might want to search some of the threads there. They have some good ideas for phonics instruction of kids who read way way above grade level too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Thanks for the ideas. I'll check them out. He is a fast learner - he is a total Sponge. What is the phonics program like?? I have tried phonics programs with him, but he is super resistive to phonics - almost like it is too slow for him. Drives me crazy cuz *I* think phonics are super important, but he can read adult level books without much trouble and sees no need for the phonics. He throws a huge fit at the slow drawn out lessons for something he considers pointless, and he really does read fabulously without somehow - so I can't see forcing him to sit thru phonics lessons. You can search Phonics Road and come up with a great bit here. The big plus to the program is about spelling. If you have a natural speller, he may not need phonics since he is reading at an adult level at 5yo (WOWZA). You know, a lot of the moms on the Accelerated Learner forum say that MCT is great for their kids. You might want to search some of the threads there. They have some good ideas for phonics instruction of kids who read way way above grade level too. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Not a curric, but I was just going to suggest getting some MadLibs for him too. I had a dd like him, and she adored them. Sounds to me like he would get a kick out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naturegirl7 Posted October 22, 2010 Author Share Posted October 22, 2010 Sentence Family looks really cool - just perfect for DS. It is a teaching book (like it teaches as they read) or does it have some activities that go along with it?? MCT - what is that?? How repetitive is FLL? Can you skip over some of the exercises if he has mastered the concept? We do MadLibs and Scrambled stories and he LOVES it. And yeah, DS is definitely an acclerated reader. He taught himself at 2.5. I honestly can't take any credit for his reading except for the fact that he was read to constantly ever since he was concieved. I love books and I wanted him to love books too. At first we thought he'd memorized stuff, but at 3 he ws pulling stuff down off the shelves at libraries and book stores and reading them. He attacks DH's new college textbooks like it is Xmas, I swear he gets more excited about ripping off the shrinkwrap on a A&P textbook than over real Xmas present. he does get frustrated with those though, not cuz the words are too hard, but cuz the print is so tiny and crammed onto the page. He has been reading chapter books like Magic Tree House to himself since atleast the spring. And he just loves reference books lately. We go to ecology and environmental centers around us - he skips over the kids books and goes right for the adult reference books. "they have more information than those baby books" LOL He has read the Usborne World History book cover to cover already and carries it around with him....Replaced the kids encyclopedia he carried around since he was 4 LOL He is very bright but also VERY stubborn. Once he decides something is "baby" work he just doesn't do it. That is what happened with phonics. I even got him some computer games since he loves anything on the computer but he declared them "too easy" and "baby games" and that was the end of that. He loves learning, so I don't want to crush that love by trying to force him to work on stuff that he probably doesn't really need. I just sneak it in covertly ;) I am trying really hard to challenge him without going too far ahead too fast...Plus it is hard to find something that challenges his intellectual level but isn't too much for his emotional or physical level. For example, writing is NOT a strong point. He gets so frustrated that he can't make his little hands work as fast as his brain - we do a lot of dictation to reduce frustration. I figure his frustration with spelling is similiar cuz it involved writing, so I tried Spelling City and games like Whats Gnu? I try to remind myself that he is only 5 and only a K student, and not to force anything. It is hard though when he wants to do other stuff that in my mind goes hand and hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Maybe he would be more interested in spelling a la All About Spelling, Phonics Road, or Spell to Write and Read? Not only would he learn spelling but this would make sure that phonics were covered/reviewed as well. Since it would be undercover as spelling (aka not babywork) he might be more interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naturegirl7 Posted October 25, 2010 Author Share Posted October 25, 2010 Thanks! I will check those out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Sentence Family looks really cool - just perfect for DS. It is a teaching book (like it teaches as they read) or does it have some activities that go along with it?? You read the story in the book to them and copy the drawing. They draw along with you. That is the meat of the program. There are a few other exercises too. like having your table conversation entirely in questions or exclamations, or circling parts of speech in "their" color. My son loved it. We did it for both 2nd and 3rd grade, but it is a great multi-grade resource. Non-consumable too, so you can reuse or resell. It's been one of our best schooling purchases! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 "Michael Clay Thompson." He's the author of a language arts program. You can find it at rfwp.com. My DD is 8 now and this is my first year homeschooling. Like yours, she is highly verbal and a self taught reader. Looking back, I suspect that she would have enjoyed Grammar Island (the first level.) It is very appealing to a verbal child and you could do the exercises with him orally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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