What to use for kindergarten for advanced readers?

[Mrs. Lilac]

Wondering what would be good to use for kindergarten.....my boys just turned 5 in January (so we're not looking at starting till this fall.) However, they're both really good readers- through no fault of my own, :)- I have an autistic child who started reading at 3 and his typical twin brother just picked up on it. They can both probably read at a 1st grade level, and I don't know where they'll be by the time we start 7 months from now.

 

I love the look of something all inclusive and simple like MFW kindergarten, but they definitely don't need to review letter sounds, etc., that I see in most K programs. Not sure what I need to do, any ideas?

[ElizabethB]

Webster's Speller! Here is how it is going with my son for K:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208407

 

With my daughter, she was reading at the 12th grade level by the end of K using this. My son will most likely not get to that level until 1st grade.

 

You could also use OPG or PP, both of those teach to the 4th grade level.

[Scrub Jay]

My daughter was a proficient reader at the start of K so what I have her do is read chapter books out loud and I help her on any words she may have trouble with.

 

Seven months is a long time - I would guess she was around 1st or 2nd grade reading level 7 months before Kinder...

[kristinannie]

I am skipping K phonics and moving to 1st grade phonics. We are doing MCP Plaid Phonics with Kolbe Academy and kindergarten was review of letter sounds, reading from left to right, etc. He is way past that. He easily reads CVC words.

[skueppers]

I'm not an all-in-one curriculum kind of person, so I have no thoughts on that, but how about just picking:

 

A math program

An approach to reading (could just be getting books from the library and having them read out loud)

A handwriting program/approach

Some kind of theme for the year, like world cultures, geography, habitats, American history, etc. Then just get library books about it and read them.

[historically accurate]

My oldest was reading on about a 3rd grade level when she started K. I used Five in a Row, Singapore Math, and just had her read out loud some to me to check for comprehension.

[Tracy]

My oldest was an advanced reader, and there is every indication that my next one will be also. After our first round of K with my eldest (where I tried to do too much), here is my plan for my next round with ds when he is in K:

 

• FIAR: Includes Social Studies/Geography, Vocabulary/Language Arts, Art, Science, some Math
  
• SWR/Cursive First: Includes Phonics, Spelling, Handwriting, some grammar (I especially like this program, because it is a reading and spelling program all in one. I don't have to worry whether my advanced dc is ready for it. If he is not reading, we use to learn to read. If he is already reading, we just use it for spelling.)
  
• Math: Since at 3yo, he can already count nearly to 100, I don't think we will do any formal math unless he wants to. If we do something formal, it will probably be CSMP.
  

 

[blondeviolin]

My oldest is 5 at the end of May. She's just finishing up Funnix which proclaims to have them at second grade level by the end of the program. I'm not sure how accurate that is...but I am planning on doing All About Spelling level 1, then finish up Funnix 2 for her K year.

 

I am also planning Five in a Row and Right Start Math and maybe Handwriting Without Tears.

[kristin0713]

My DD is just turning 5. We are currently using and plan to continue:

 

RightStart Math Level A

Spell to Read and Write and Cursive First for phonics, writing, and spelling

Sonlight 3/4 and 4/5 read-alouds for literature, history, and science

 

Sonlight has different readers you can choose with a core depending on the reading level of the child.

[Mommy22alyns]

You're likely to have to piece things together and avoid all-in-ones until they pass the "teaching to read" stage. Both of my girls are pretty high-level readers. I thought I was accomodating Sylvia by using SL readers 1, but she's zipping through the 2 adv. selections. :001_huh:

[boscopup]

Skip any "K program" and just piece things together. It's really not that hard, and it's so much easier to match your kid to the right level. When I first started looking at all-in-one programs, my son was too advanced in reading and math and not advanced enough in writing, so it just wasn't going to work. Instead, I picked the basics (he's first grade, so there is more here than what a K would do). Make sure you are teaching phonics in some manner. We're using AAS for phonics/spelling combined. For reading, we're just reading good chapter books and talking about them. Look at the Sonlight reader lists for some good ideas. We're doing Charlotte's Web right now. He reads aloud to me for a bit, then he can read the rest of the chapter on his own (which he much prefers, but I make him read aloud some anyway).

 

Basically, you just meet your children where they are. Give them appropriate reading instruction for where they are at in reading. Don't make them do a K program that is teaching them the letters. My son went to K at school and was soooooooo bored during that part of it (he was reading at a 2.5 grade level when he started K, after having only been reading for about 6 months, so yeah, your boys may easily be reading that level or higher 7 months from now).

 

K is easy when the kids are already reading. Teaching reading is most of what K is for, right? :D

[JennyD]

My son is a very accelerated reader. For K we have done Singapore Math, FIAR, and Handwriting Without Tears. And go to the library a LOT.

[applesing]

Both of my daughters were reading at the 4th grade level or so when we started K. I chose to do MFW K with them because of the wonderful Bible lessons, literature, science, math and craft activities. We LOVED MFW K!

 

We did NOT do any of the MFW K phonics activities. In fact, I ordered only the teacher's manual and the letter cards for the curriculum. There are several game ideas included with the letter cards; we really enjoyed those.

 

For my younger child, I actually had her work through the MFW 1st grade phonics workbook during her K year. She enjoyed that, and it provided a good foundation for spelling skills. I also had her do the math workbook that MFW recommends for 1st grade.

 

So in effect, you can piece together your own plan using MFW K. You should feel free to call the MFW office if you have questions. They were very helpful to me and did not pressure me to order things I didn't need.

[Chaqar]

My children have all been proficient readers by Kindergarten also. Their handwriting skills have been all over the map, though. I agree that a program is not needed; daily reading together is the easier, more enjoyable, and more effective way to go, IMO.

 

I would suggest starting with the list of readers from the Sonlight catalog. You should be able to find the level that seems appropriate for your child and go from there. That's what we do, and all of my children are growing into avid readers!

 

Also, we wait on spelling until 2nd grade. :001_smile:

[jengjohnson]

My kids have all been early readers too. We all enjoy the Pathway readers, which make me feel like they're making progress that I can follow. Additionally, we use Sonlight readers and, more recently, we follow the HOD recommendations for Drawn Into the Heart of Reading. We're not using HOD, just her book selections. We've always been pleased with the stories from these three sources.

 

I too found it impossible to use a K program with any of my kids. If you want something put together, Sonlight might be a good option. They seem to cover more content than skills. That way you can teach the reading, writing, and math at the level they need.

[Rivka]

We use FIAR too and find that it works very well for our bright child who is an advanced reader. I think FIAR sometimes has a reputation, especially around here, as being a sweet fluffy preschool program, but I think it's a great match for advanced and active learners.

 

For reading, we just use a basket of books. I keep rotating them trying to keep up with her reading level. (I think I need to make them harder again, because she pulled out Little House in the Big Woods yesterday and read fluently, without any pronunciation errors.) My goal with the reading basket is to find books that are a little bit challenging, where she may need my help with a few of the words or where the concepts might take a bit more inference and benefit from discussion.

 

She also reads quite a bit on her own, for fun.

[Tracy]

We use FIAR too and find that it works very well for our bright child who is an advanced reader. I think FIAR sometimes has a reputation, especially around here, as being a sweet fluffy preschool program, but I think it's a great match for advanced and active learners.

 

:iagree: I have definitely found that to be the case with my dd.