AnnieM Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I have a 3.5 year old who had read through the first set of Bob books. I am not really pushing her to do this, it's just something that she picks up easily and is wanting to learn. I have focused on phonics by some instruction, leapfrog videos, and starfall.com. I recently noticed her writing on the whiteboard, or at least attempting to write. I don't know much about the curriculum but I heard that All About Spelling could be used with preschoolers. I don't know if this is too advanced or if I should go forward? Again, I am not trying to make her a super reading and spelling by age 4:) I just want to maintain her interest and follow her lead. Any advise and recommendations would be appreciated. Annie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 You might be able to use it in a casual, game-like fashion. Let her play with making words with the letter tiles, teach her some beginning handwriting etc... You can probably do all of Level 1 with just tiles, but by the time you get to Level 2, the dictations are longer and you'd want her to be writing (or have 1-2 extra tile sets!). I think if you follow her interest as you are now you'll be fine. Some of the later lessons that talk about rules like when to use C or K might be too much (or not, you never know with some kids!), so just be willing to take a break if you try it. Here's AAS' article on readiness. HTH some! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieM Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Thank you Mary! That is helpful and confirms what I was thinking. Any suggestions on the handwriting approach? Annie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Handwriting Without Tears Pre-K is a wonderful "hands-on" introduction to penmanship. I'm a strong believer in keeping things informal during pre-K. You *COULD* start AAS but what's the big hurry? If your child is reading at 3 1/2 then she's likely a "natural speller" (my oldest is like that). I'd recommend saving it for K5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Kirsten~ Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Honestly, I'm with Crimson Wife on this. My eldest was an early reader and is a natural speller. We tried AAS in K for her, as she really, really wanted to spell everything "correctly," (her phrase, not mine), and she disliked it. She was beyond it as far as what she could spell, and she wanted to write rather than play with the letters. Yes, you could do AAS right now, and it would probably be fun and game-like. But truthfully? It's a very pricey program for what essentially is going to be more of a letters-on-a-whiteboard game. I think in your shoes, I'd go with refrigerator letters, or better, the Leap Frog magnetic letters that sing/spell. I'm not trying to discourage you at all, and you certainly know better whether your little one is wanting actual spelling vs. handwriting, but even if it is spelling that's desired, AAS just wasn't the best fit in our home. Now, I'd definitely do a separate handwriting program. We had some issues because my daughter was writing on her own, and I didn't want to formally start a program with her. As a result, it was very difficult to correct the way she made many of her letters. No fun! I started an actual program with my youngest as soon as she started writing letters and notes, just to avoid that problem. Many love Handwriting Without Tears. I didn't like the font :tongue_smilie:, so we use Zaner Bloser instead. The workbooks are pretty inexpensive, but you'd probably want to get the K book rather than Pre-K. It's very gentle and practices loops and shapes as well as forming each letter. Pre-K (I think) is mostly games and such rather than a workbook. Or, you could just print free handwriting sheets, and practice together. I do think little ones love writing on dry erase boards, so that can be a fun thing to do with handwriting as well. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieM Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 You are all SO helpful!! I agree, I don't think my daughter needs to learn a spelling program yet. We are having so much fun with the free curriculum from 1+1+1=1 and confessionsofahomeschooler.com Both of these have been the main activities we have been using. However, as recommended, I think I will consider some handwriting program. Again, it means so much that you all would take the time to respond to my questions in such length. Annie:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.