First Grade Question

[tuzor]

I am beginning my plan for first grade. Currently our Kindergarten year is well under way. I recently discovered TWTM and feel that this is the method I will use next school year. However I wanted to know for those of you who are using it how is the implemtation going? Is your young student overwhelmed or not? I am wondering how will I keep things fun for my oldest son. He recently told me that we used to do fun things in school and we don't anymore. That got me thinking oh gosh if he feels this year is not fun he is going to hate me next year? Any suggestions

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

What exactly will you be using?

 

For my first grader I am going to use:

Story of the World Vol. 1 (Ancients)

STOW Activity Guide

REAL Science Odyssey (Life)

Abeka Math

Writing With Ease

First Language Lessons

BJU Spelling

Song School Latin

Sonlight Readers 2 Advanced

Artistic Pursuits K-3

and we will do one day a week Nature Study

 

What does your son mean by "fun things"?The SOTW Activity book has lots of things to do to add fun to the day, Just the first week they will make a family tree and do an archeological dig. First grade does not take a whole school day, usually just about 3 hours to 3 and a half, so make sure he has lots of breaks. There is nothing wrong with doing the read-a-loud part at bedtime or during breakfast or even sitting under a tree on a blanket. Also, not everything will be done every day.

 

For us, switching to TWTM way actually made the day lighter and less tense and box check-y. Maybe you and your son will find the same thing.

[Skadi]

I think the key is to just find out what they love and go with that. Does he love worksheets or hate them? How does he do with online flash games, like Starfall.com, that teach reading or math skills? Would the games and hands-on manipulatives of Right Start A give him a better experience with math? When in doubt, tell him to color, color, color. Also, kindergarten is a great time to do unit studies...we jokingly call Kindergarten "The Year of the Dinosaurs" because we focus so much on that (since first grade's ancient history starts with early man, it makes sense to cover pre-history in K). Sometimes just getting out of the house once a week for field trips (local science museum? petting zoo? homeschool co-op?) can help take the pressure off him.

 

For first grade, we help ease the transition of expecting a little more work by supplementing with lots of beautifully illustrated books (Charlotte Craft, Marianna Mayer, etc.) and read-alouds. We do as many projects and crafts as possible (a Roman mosaic made of M&Ms, a Greek feast, costumes, etc.). You might want to check out World Myths and Legends: 25 Projects You Can Build Yourself by Kathryn Cecceri. We really love Elemental Science.

 

To some degree you have to accept that the new, shiny appeal of doing school is going to wear off, no matter how hard you try to keep things fun. That's just part of the process. :)

[kalphs]

I think the key is to just find out what they love and go with that. Does he love worksheets or hate them? How does he do with online flash games, like Starfall.com, that teach reading or math skills? Would the games and hands-on manipulatives of Right Start A give him a better experience with math? When in doubt, tell him to color, color, color. Also, kindergarten is a great time to do unit studies...we jokingly call Kindergarten "The Year of the Dinosaurs" because we focus so much on that (since first grade's ancient history starts with early man, it makes sense to cover pre-history in K). Sometimes just getting out of the house once a week for field trips (local science museum? petting zoo? homeschool co-op?) can help take the pressure off him.

:)

Bump!

Dh and I discovered Dd did better with shorter lessons.

In the early stages you want to instill a "love of learning" in your child.

[2_girls_mommy]

So what fun things have you dropped in one semester of K?? Whatever they are, you may need to find a way to bring them back in!

 

Sometimes, I know there is just no way. We use R&S phonics and reading for 1st grade. My dd got upset when the pages moved away from coloring to other work in the 2nd unit. There just wasn't much I could do about that :)

 

I was like you. I found WTM midway through K and started it pretty much full force in 1st grade. SOTW1 offered us a LOT of fun hands on stuff that year. We did a lot of the activities.

 

I now have a 3rd and a 1st grader.

 

For new "fun" stuff, we started Drawing with Children this year. Both of my girls like art time. They also like other art projects, and typical 1st grade construction paper, glitter, glue stuff, so I work that in. For 1st grader's poetry memorization I try to find age appropriate works. Right now she loves A.A. Milne's The End from Now We Are Six. She also recently asked me to go back to reading a chapter book at lunch time, which we hadn't done in a awhile. So she is very happy that I started reading Farmer Boy aloud during the day.

 

I just try to stay open when they are asking for suggestions. For my 3rd grader, she loves new things. We started Prima Latina this year, and she has truly enjoyed it. She would probably ask for less writing than WTM suggests :), but she is doing very well, IMO.

 

Other than that, I do mix things up, and don't stick to one formula or curric the entire year. Like this past week for handwriting, I had dd8 copying Thanksgiving quotes from a Living Books unit. This week, we are putting away her English book and pronouns to work on a poetry project from SOTW for the few days before the holiday. For art this week, we will put away DWC and work on some fun Thanksgiving crafts, etc.

 

Also, we attend a once a week co-op where my girls take classes that they really enjoy with other kids.

[Farrar]

My disclaimer is that we're not really WTM followers in many ways. However, I think so much of homeschooling in general is about balance - balance between the ideal of what you want your kids to learn and be exposed to versus working with the actual kids you've got and letting them explore and find their way to what works for them. As with any method, you'll find that people implement ideas in ways that work for them so there's a lot of variation.

[sbgrace]

What does he consider fun? I'd do it if I could.

 

I can tell you what is working here for first grade. I make sure certain subjects are engaging and fun. For us that is bible, history, art, music, and science. We typically do bible daily and one of the others (history, art, music, or science) daily as well. My kids love literature/books as well but I don't typically plan hands on stuff (their kind of fun) with that.

 

So things like math, handwriting, reading, spelling are not exactly fun though I make them as tolerable as I possibly can. We also do short lessons for those subjects--15ish minutes each at this point.

 

It's working so far. My kids think school is fun and their over-all "feelings" toward school and learning are positive.

Edited November 21, 2010 by sbgrace

[tuzor]

My son really enjoys hands on things. Science experiments, he loves math games, computer time anything where he can put his hands on it. I can tell that he really enjoys those things. I stopped playing some of the games because I thought I really need to step it up with him. Sometimes I feel like I cant play a game when I have other things I have to do. I know I have to change my mind set but I was wondering what fun things are included.

@Down_The_Rabbit_Hole

So far I plan to use First Language Lessons

SOTW and Activity Guide

Saxxon Math (I think)

Spelling Power(I think)

and I am not sure about anything else yet.

[sbgrace]

I imagine he'll enjoy the activity guide projects (the hands on aspects) for your history and you'll want to make sure you select a science with lots of experiments.

 

FLL should be quick. For math I'm doing Rightstart because it's quick and hands on (and I like Asian math approaches). It requires no planning ahead so I find it very easy to teach. MEP math is free online and also appeals to my hands on kids. I don't know enough about Saxon or Spelling Power to know if they fit a hands on kid well. What are you using for phonics or is he already reading? Some phonics programs do double duty as spelling programs as well. The multi-sensory ones might be a great fit but without knowing where he is in the phonics area I wouldn't know what to suggest. Of course you'll want something that's doable for you as well especially given your other kids.

 

Classic doesn't have to be specific programs so feel free to pick what fits both of you best when making curriculum choices.

 

If you know he gravitates toward hands on you'll want to incorporate that into your daily schedule in my experience if you can. If he's not sit down/pencil and paper type of kid I'd accommodate that with short bursts of work that requires that and the rest verbal or better activity based. Basically, I'd listen to your instincts about him as you plan and try to make it enjoyable as much as possible. There is no reason you can't school classically and he find it enjoyable and engaging. Also, I don't think first grade academic work should take a huge amount of time personally.

Edited November 22, 2010 by sbgrace

[Whereneverever]

First grade should only take a few hours to do- and that leaves quite a few hours in the day for fun things, even if all parts of school aren't fun.

[tuzor]

@sbgrace Yes he is reading. We are working on him becoming fluent now.

[....]

I'm definitely not a homeschooling expert here...and I've already hs'ed 1st grade and will be doing it again next year (I have a K-er).

 

Here's my plan and we've been told that this kid has ADHD tendencies (just keep that in mind) but she is very bright:

 

FLL1

WWE1

maybe Prima Latina (maybe)

CLE Math 1 + Singapore 1A/1B

Sonlight Core 1 Read-Alouds/History

All About Spelling

HWOT

 

some nature notebooking, lots and lots of science unschooling, checking with the Core Knowledge Sequence for things we're missing (like Map Skills or some poems or art), lots of independent reading

 

I think we shot for about 1 1/2 hours of school last year (with the 1st grader). This is a lot for that age - and my kids have late birthdays, so they're actually younger than others in their "grade".

 

If your student is asking about "the fun things"...:confused:...have you looked at the Core Knowledge Sequence? They have an art, music and list of poetry/literature that kids should be exposed to at that grade level. We have been working through these and my kids are having a blast. Last week, we looked at The 28 Views of Fuji (paintings from Japan) and then they painted landscapes...while listening to classic Japanese music. They thought that was awesome. We're also reading through American Tall Tales right now and my oldest kids are addicted to these. :D

 

It's hard to get fun stuff in there when you're just trying to get through your curriculum...:glare: Trust me, I know...lol! Good luck next year!

[phathui5]

All of my kids really like the coloring pages from Story of the World's activity book. We're actually on our fifth year of using SOTW for history, so we're back at ancient history.

 

Lately, I've been letting my 10yo and 7yo take turns practicing math on www.ixl.com We haven't paid to use it yet, but it gives you a certain amount of free practice every day.

 

We also bought pyramid and gladiator activity kits to go along with those chapters in Story of the World, which'll give us something hands-on to do that I won't have to organize.

[Dinsfamily]

We aren't strict WTMers either but our 3Rs are rigorous. To balance that, I keep our electives fun. I also consider everything besides math, language arts, and read alouds elective...even history and science. Electives are also the first thing to get pushed from the schedule. Since they are so much fun, they're usually requested outside of school time and get done anyway. We are actually still doing science and Latin this week due to a special request from my 1st grader even though we 'officially' have the week off.

 

With all of that said, we do everything in my sig along with a few extras not listed and school a couple hours a day not counting read alouds. All three of my boys enjoy read alouds and we could spend hours doing that during inclement weather. On nice weather days or just plain busy days, it might be cut down to 1 hour (including bedtime). This has worked out well for us this year and I don't plan on changing anything for my next 1st grader. However, his view of fun electives might differ and we'll adjust that.

[ScoutTN]

Our tentative plan for 1st grade next year:

Bible

Right Start B

FLL

Literature selections from Veritas Press, Sonlight and others.

AAS

HWT

SOTW (Ancients) along with VP flashcards/memory songs.

Elemental Science

composer study

Drawing with Children

 

DD does dance and choir each once a week, but I do not consider them part of hschool.

 

We consider Bible, Math and LA essential. Everything else is bonus and we'll do it as we can without infringing on time for outdoor play, rest in the afternoons and fun stuff that DS enjoys.

Edited November 22, 2010 by ScoutTN

[jengjohnson]

It takes a lot for my active k'er to sit through her three R's, I need to give her many play breaks which works well since I have two older kids to work with. Even though she rarely listens to a bit of history, she will gladly join in on a coloring sheet, chemistry experiment or history project. We traced her body to make our Egyptian sarcophagus, which she loved. I do a special read-aloud just with her each evening, we're currently reading Beverly Cleary's Ralph Mouse books. She loves them.

 

Next year I'm planning to use MFW Rome to Reformation which will have a bunch of age appropriate projects and I think she'll love the science that's included. She'll have no problem listening in to SOTW 2 with a sheet to color. My plans for her specifically include:

 

FLL 2

WWE 1

Spelling Workout (or maybe continue w/ ETC)

Saxon 2

Sonlight 2 readers

[Crimson Wife]

@sbgrace Yes he is reading. We are working on him becoming fluent now.

 

I would wait on Spelling Power in that case. The student should be working at a solid 3rd grade level for that program.

 

If you really want to start spelling in 1st with a child who is not yet a fluent reader, I would go with All About Spelling. This is what I'm using for my 2nd who is working at about a 1st grade level in LA. The lessons are short, the program is scripted so it's pretty much open & go, it's hands-on, and it does double-duty as a phonics & a spelling program.