How do I simply slow down...

[Tsutsie]

Hello All

 

I don't know if it's just because it is February, but I feel very ready for this year to be over. I'm suprised at this, because really, our school is going great.

 

My son just turned 6 and we are almost done with Sonlight P4/5 with Readers 2. He is also doing MUS Beta, Singapore 1B, Horizons 1 Phonics, Reading and Spelling, Noeo Science Bio 1 and then little odds and ends, like mapskills, artistic persuits, etc. He does not struggle with anything.

 

Even though he is using mostly grade 1 books, and thriving, I want to slow down for next year. I'm counting this as our Kindergarten year, as he turned 6 just 2 weeks ago.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to balance hands-on learning with Sonlight. How do I make LA more "real world" for a 6 year old, and how to keep math fun. Marcus does not care to do workbook after workbook. This is also easy for me, as I just turn the page and there he goes.

 

The thing is I feel sorry for my son. He does not know otherwise, which is good, I guess, but I'd love for him to be excited as I know he can get about things.

 

Come September, my little girl will be 4 and I'll have to do more with her than just let her roam the house while we do school.

 

I do have Sonlight K ready to do, but I'm hesitant. We love the books and the topics, I just need to do more with it. Any ideas?

 

Then again, if I do more with Core K, I need to find time. We are already working around 3 - 4 hours, if we do all the readings, some added writing, and art. It seems like a lot of time for a little guy.

 

I'm contemplating FIAR. But then again, after Sonlight P4/5, the book choices seem so "young". My daughter will love it, but I'm not sure if it will be enough for my strong 6 year old. Any ideas on this?

 

We speak english as a second language, and it is extremely important to me that my kids will be able to speak it fluent - as good as any first language speaker. The Horizons program has not been bad, but I'm not sure I want to continue with it. Grade 2 is still more phonics instruction, and my son is a very strong reader. Even now, we are just doing the workbooks to get it done. Any ideas as to a more interesting LA program? Comprehensive, if possible, and good for a strong, but young, student.

 

I know that Moving Beyond the Page seems to be more hands-on, but I'm not to crazy about the topics or the hand drawn images. Any ideas as to other programs which follow a similar approach? Winter Promise will not work, as Marcus is not an animal fan, nor are we American (Canadian over here).

 

Is it possible to combine a new 4 year old with a 6.5 year old (Come September)? Or is it just easier to run 2 separate programs?

 

I really want to do things different next year (this was our first year homeschooling). This year was good in terms of what we accomplished, I'm just looking for something different. This was not IT, IYKWIM.

 

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Yvette

[Aurelia]

If you already have SL K and want more hands on, why not add some activities from Galloping the Globe? It is a world geography themed study, and you can do projects from the countries or geographical regions you are studying with SL. Also, if you like the idea of FIAR, you might like GTG, because it was written by moms who like FIAR but wanted a world geography focus. In fact, if you do this, you can even drag it out over 2 years so you don't feel so rushed to get through everything, and he and his sister will have a strong background in geography and world cultures.

 

As far as math, you can try a discovery-type program like Miquon, or books like Family Math or Right Start games manual to make it more enjoyable.

 

I like Oak Meadow's LA style for younger grades. Essentially either you or the student reads a story, they summarize it orally or draw a picture with a sentence about what happened, or act it out, or create a sculpture or painting about what they understood in the story. We're using Jolly Grammar for grammar because it has color and motions for the parts of speech, and different worksheets (some cutting, some coloring, etc) which are more likely to keep my workbook-averse visual/spatial child happy than, say, First Language Lessons or CLE.

[texasmama]

I've always combined my two boys on content areas like history, read alouds and science. We use SL. (This is our third year doing SL and combining the two boys.) I also have a 5 year old and am concentrating only on teaching her to read and doing some beginning math and handwriting. She sits in on the read aloud portions of our curriculum as she desires and plays starfall (or just plays) the rest of the time. Next year will be her official kindy year.

 

My advice would be to keep things simple while your kids are little.:001_smile: