curriculum that will grow with him

[MSNative]

Hope you can help me with my 3 year old. I haven't wanted to push him but realize now that he would do very well with some structured academics. He loves reading (at k-1 reading level), writing (better than mine), math (multiplication), art and science (interest led). I'm looking to find a curriculum (or websites) that will keep his interest and allow me to add depth or pull back as he needs. However, since he is only 3, I'd like it to be fun. Any ideas?

[MissKNG]

Have you looked into Sonlight P 3/4 or P4/5 ?

Edited December 28, 2010 by MissKNG

[mammaofbean]

for reading i love 100 ez lessons without the writing. this helped my dd become more fluid in her reading when she was working on level 1 readers and gave her the confidence to move on to things like frog and toad and magic treehouse. i am using it with ds who is 3 now and it is going well.

 

epgy could be good for math if you sit with him, or if he is very good with a computer mouse on his own. my 3 yo can't do it on his own because of the computer skills required. the math whizz website he can do on his own with just a little technical support from me.

 

we love the materials from better chinese, ds is completely able to us the cd-rom on his own once the disc is in the computer.

 

if his writing is on an adult level already, maybe just see if you need to refine his grammar or explore composing poetry. my dd has used the english grammar 101 website and found it fun and easy. possibly it would be too basic for your ds.

 

for science i LOVE the world book young scientist series. i bought and old set for cheap, and they are available at my library. for animal study we use the national geographic encyclopedia of animals. read the section, draw or color a picture, write down important information.

 

for history we love the good times travel agency books. for american history the betsy maestro books and brown paper school books.

[Dinsfamily]

For math, you might try Miquon. My oldest loves the freedom, exploration, and creativity that is built in. He was older (5yo) when we started it so he often changed the labs around to reflect what he wanted to explore (ie, using the addition pages to demonstrate the distributive property of multiplication). He calls it his fun math. I'm now using it with my 4yo who is precocious but doesn't display the same level if math intuition as his brother. It's still working great.

 

I like SWR for my guys as far as phonics and spelling because they can grow into it. We do phonogram and motor skill work until they can write well enough to start the spelling lists (around 5yo here). My 4yo learned his phonograms and began reading fluently at 3yo just from listening to his brother and we'll probably have to accelerate the first few spelling lists because he already has those concepts down. It is an easy program to accelerate and I don't need to buy any additional material.

[2smartones]

I agree with giving Miquon a try. I liked Explode the Code for reading. It was very fun, and it was easy to speed up or slow down. Is there a particular type of science that seems more interesting than the others? We started Apologia at 3 and it went very well. I like how it's topical, because it allows science lovers to dig way deeper into a subject than most science textbooks or websites allow.

[Aurelia]

How about Five in a Row or Peak with Books? They cover all subjects with a variety of different activities for different levels. Miquon or MEP might be good for math. He'll probably zoom through MEP Reception, but I hear it's a lot of fun, and would have done it if they had come out with it before Ariel was already doing/ready for Year 1. Another option is Right Start. There are lots of manipulatives to play with and you can go as slowly as you need to.

[musicianmom]

McGuffey readers, MEP math, and a good handwriting program.

 

Suzuki music lessons if you can afford it and have a good teacher available.

 

http://www.suzukiassociation.org

[love2read]

Take a look at Moving Beyond the Page. One of my dd loved it. While it is designed as a gifted curriculum, I found we had to work in the level a few years above her age.

[trying my best]

I am a READINGA-Z.COM girl :) Downloadable books that will grow with you. The subscription is $100 a year but you can download ALL the books (k-5th grade) they have comprehension tests for each book. And some activities.

About 30 books per level.

aa A B C - K level

D E F G H I J - 1st grade

and so on.

[TracyP]

I agree with pp's, Miquon sounds like a very good choice for him in math.

 

I also agree with ETC for phonics instruction. We did a lot orally when kids were younger and just skipped ahead if all the practice wasn't needed. If your ds is anti workbook then I would look into AAS.

 

Pathway Readers are really great for reading practice. It is hard to find reading material for young readers but these have sweet stories about farm and family life. My kiddos LOVE these - and I don't mind listening to them either.;)

[MSNative]

Loving all the suggestions. Already got him the cuisenaire rods, so I followed your advice and got him a miquon book. Cannot wait for it to get here. :) Am having way too much fun checking out all the other rec's. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Appreciate any other ideas you have!

[trying my best]

Also check into ALL ABOUT SPELLING :)