My pre-k dd has really pulled the rug out from under me....

[Kfamily]

Hi! I am not sure what I am asking-maybe just ideas or support but my pre-k dd has really thrown me. I have watched my dd who just turned 5 go from not reading to reading at an early second grade level in only 6 months. I have ditched a formal plan because honestly she is moving to quickly for a plan. She is determined to read whatever she picks up. She and I buddy read books like the Boxcar Children and Magic Treehouse books and other early chapter books. Her phonics skills are all over the place. She seems to simply memorize everything but I have taught her phonics rules "as we read" and she seems to be using these well too. If we come to a word that she wants me to help her with and I think she can handle it I ask to sound it out or ask her "What does the silent e do to this word?" She immediately sounds it out and we move on. If I read to her and read a word like somebody and I say someone she will correct me. LOL!!

This is what I have been doing (and it's eclectic):

 

We work through Alphaphonics orally (I already owned this and it seemed like a good book to use orally only-her handwriting is on level)

 

I use Montessori phonics cards to work on vowel sounds.

 

I own a set of first grade readers and we are nearly finished with those. I did put her through the Bob books and early readers first.

 

These are all things we do during our lesson time but she reads all day. She attempts books WAY above her level and struggles somewhat determinedly with them. She reads signs and ads everywhere. She spells words at night just because she is fascinated with them.

 

I already have her in first grade math. I had picked Rod and Staff to start because it seemed a good middle ground for her. She can write her numbers quite well for her age. I have also just purchased the Singapore math grade 1books and workbooks. I thought that if we hit a wall in one book we could work from the other for awhile. She already seems bored with R&S and I am glad I have Singapore. I think we should work from these for awhile. We have also been keeping a bulletin board style calender all year. I use this as a chance to integrate some math as well.

 

I feel unprepared and because of that I am worried I am overlooking something (plus this is happening at a pretty good pace) and also that I might not be challenging her correctly. If anyone can relate I would love some reassurance and any advice or issues I am not seeing. Thank you!!

[Carol in Cal.]

I would say that it is really important to keep reading to her, even if she reads a lot. It is especially important to keep her reading a range of different kinds of books--science, biography, history, as well as fiction. And you should read her a range as well.

 

It is crucial not to assume that because she is able to read well she is also able to write. It is pretty common for early readers to be pushed into writing assignments that are too long, and kill their potential for actually liking to write because they are not physically ready for the fine motor control for good writing mechanics and drawing.

 

Encourage her to dictate at least some of her writing to you, and have her do copywork daily. I would consider purchasing Writer's Jungle now so that you can get ahead of the curve of encouraging her in a language-rich environment. Still don't go with formal writing until she is about 8.

 

Make sure that she still plays hard outside and runs around. Just because she is a brain does not mean that she doesn't have a body, and it needs to develop as well.

 

This should be fun!

[Sarita]

My oldest daughter sounds really similar to yours. I feel like I struggle with knowing what and how much to do with her. We can try to push her really fast academically and get her "ahead". Or we can approach her education with a little more freedom, letting her move at her pace (which might be a little accelerated) but mostly b-r-o-a-d-e-n what we we learn about. We've actually settled on the latter. We're plugging away with math, reading, handwriting (the basics) this year (she's in K5). But we're also studying countries of the world...their cultures, artists, etc. (using Galloping the Globe). My girls (5 and 3) have learned a TON this year. And I'm enjoying that we can do that extra FUN stuff with our time, since the basics aren't nearly as time-consuming as they might be with a Kindergartener who is struggling with those basics.

 

That said, I would say that emotionally and physically, she's a normal 5-year-old, so we spend the majority of our time each day playing outside, making cookies, listening to music,...having fun. As I've learned from lots of other posters on this board, they grow up far too quickly...I don't need to rush them!

[Kfamily]

I have already take much advice to heart. I have felt behind in the variety of reading I was reading to her and letting her read. She loves to create themes with our books at home and today it was "America books". I helped her collect as many books that looked patriotic (like The First Independence Day and the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.) and she proceeds to read them. She stacks them into I have read them and I have not read them piles. Yesterday it was art books and before that weather books. LOL! So today she read a reader "Red, White and Blue: The Story of the American Flag and The Pledge of Allegiance. She reads them when I am busy with older sister and her math lesson. At that moment I simply tell her the words she has trouble with and has her finger under. I actually cannot keep up with all of the books she reads or attempts to read.

I try to keep her writing as limited as she wants it to be and I will start the Singapore soon. I do plan to do "Around the World" geography lessons in the fall using FIAR and other great picture books to represent different countries. I think she will enjoy this. I will try to improve the types of read alouds I do with her.

Thank you so much. I do feel better although I still keep seeking a plan. We really do "wing it" most days even though we do this with a small plan in mind.

[nmoira]

I would say that it is really important to keep reading to her, even if she reads a lot. It is especially important to keep her reading a range of different kinds of books--science, biography, history, as well as fiction. And you should read her a range as well.

 

It is crucial not to assume that because she is able to read well she is also able to write. It is pretty common for early readers to be pushed into writing assignments that are too long, and kill their potential for actually liking to write because they are not physically ready for the fine motor control for good writing mechanics and drawing.

:iagree: I keep reading to my advanced 6yo even though she can read faster than I can, and, truth be told, reads more than I do. However, I don't ask her to read specific books because I think that 6 is too young to have assigned reading. I have similar feelings about writing.

 

Edited to add: We also do a lot of work orally or on a white board.

[Mommy22alyns]

Hello there! She sounds a lot like my oldest DD too. Becca has that same determination to plug through something that seems "too hard." I started her out in Saxon 1, but we lasted only a few lessons before I figured out that the approach was too slow for her and just made her bored. I'm taking Cadam's recommendation of Singapore math too. I'm also going to check out Miquon - I've seen several people use it in tandem with Singapore.

 

I know just how you feel, so maybe we can pick things up together along the way while we try to keep up with our DDs! I just try to keep it at a challenging enough level for her without pushing her too hard at this age. I'm loosely planning a first grade curriculum for her, but I know that it also doesn't matter if she wants to meander and go slowly or move faster. I'm declaring her a kindergartener, so there's no pressure and no problem if she doesn't "do" all of first grade by the end of the school year.

 

For writing, I just have her do one or two sentence copywork, or even just writing answers in Spelling Workout. She's focusing on neatness and spacing but she just doesn't have the attention span to drag it out. I have started FLL with her, but watch out - Becca's mind is like a little steel trap and she had "The Caterpillar" memorized in a day! :001_huh: I'm thinking of getting out some Shel Silverstein's short silly poems for her to learn.

 

BTW, Becca just turned 5 too. When is your daughter's birthday?

[Kfamily]

DD had her 5th birthday Feb. 23rd. A lot of this comes from having an older sister. Even now both girls are reading (separately) together. One issue that keeps coming up is that I must often remind dd11 and dh and myself too that she IS only 5 and her actions while usually mature for her age are sometimes just simply age appropriate. I sometimes hug her tight and remind her that she does not have to keep up. Sometimes it seems she puts a lot of pressure on herself. I try to get her and those around her to lighten up for her sake. Her personality and teaching challenges are soooo different from her older sister. It's amazing sometimes.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

My dd 6 is reading The Crucible right now- and we did exactly what you are talking about. No formal plan. I would listen to her read aloud (still do) and help her out with any problem words or wait until she came to me with a question. The increase in reading levels has always come seemingly overnight. 6 months ago she had no interest in anything off the "adult" shelves in our house, and no one ever taught her enough to be able to read at this level.

 

Now, the sight reading thing did hinder her a little bit with new words now and then- but I notice with experience she is quite capable of decoding most of the word patterns on her own. She gets "phonics" through spelling.

 

I agree totally in that writing expectations and other language arts goals should be kept separate. Also, you might find yourself tweaking things a lot as far as doing assignments orally, skipping things you don't need, or going deeper into concepts. I wish someone would have reminded me starting out that just because you have to do a lot of tweaking to the curriculum, does not necessarily mean you have picked the wrong curriculum. It is just plain hard to get the levels right for some kids regardless of what curriculum you choose. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

[Pata]

My dd has done the same thing. We finished all of HOP in about six months. I'm beginning to realized that my plan is not going to work for next year, so we are going to throw it out the window! I'm just going to make a list of readers in increasing difficulty that I want her to read and work through those at her pace, while allowing her to chose whatever she wants from the library to read for fun. We are also doing the Singapore/Miquon combo. This has really helped to solidify what she is learning. I found that she was moving through concepts so fast that she was forgetting what she had learned, we had to go back and do 1A again. So we are going to study it in Singapore and then do the work in Miquon, so far it's working. Anyways, just wanted to share that you were not alone and when you figure it all out, could you let me know?:D Hope that helps!

[Sahamamama]

1. WRITING: ... especially about the writing not necessarily lining up with the reading. Writing independently is a complex process/skill, so I would (a) give your daughter time to really learn to form her letters and symbols correctly, (b) maybe next year begin some simple copywork (first words, then model sentences), © the year after that (2nd grade?) continue copywork and add dictation (simple sentences that you say and she writes), (d) and continue with this until about 4th-5th grade -- then begin to teach and practice simple outlining and summarizing.

 

2. READING ALOUD: I also agree with Carol about reading aloud to this little girl. For one thing, she is still little and needs "laptime/snuggle time." :001_smile: Emotionally, she is five, right? So, go on reading.

 

3. AUDIOBOOKS: One thing that I have truly found helpful with my oldest daughter (bright/verbal/loves books) is to utilize audiobooks. Right now we are listening to A.A. Milne's works -- The House at Pooh Corner, Winnie the Pooh, When We Were Very Young, and Now We Are Six -- all read in a lovely British accent by Peter Dennis, and absolutely delightful. I laughed and laughed at "Busy" -- so true. Last month it was Little House on the Prairie, Little House in the Big Woods before that. The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew was good, once Mommy got into it. Audiobooks seem to go into these children, without any sweat on your part, ha ha, and build vocabulary and literary sense. You might think that nothing is sticking, but then a month later, she will tell a stranger at Walmart ALL about it, and you'll stand there with your mouth hanging open....

 

4. RELAX: I do think that, with a 5 year old, it really is OK to "wing it," as you stated. She is 5. She loves to read. These are wonderful things, being five and loving books. Enjoy it, enjoy her. HTH!

[Kuovonne]

You daughter and Mommy22alyns's Becca both sound a lot like my daughter. My daughter will turn 5 this summer and will also start kindergarten in the fall, but will not be doing typical kindergarten work.

 

My DD4 is reading way above grade level if there is such a thing for pre-K. She picks out several early readers from the library and read all of them in a row as soon as we get home from the library, then re-reads them throughout the week. I'm looking forward to when she makes the jump to chapter books so that I won't have to keep track of so many books.

 

I feel that she is too young for assigned reading, but we do "shared reading" (you read a page, I read a page) of a book I choose so that I can monitor her reading ability. I'm going to start SWR in the fall so I don't need to worry about phonic gaps. I'm also reading aloud to to her to help build up her vocabulary and broaden her horizons.

 

I've done lots of informal math with her, but haven't done formal math lessons. In the car today, she informs me that 9, 10, and 10 together are 29! I'm planning on using RightStart math with her in the fall. I'll start her in level A, but if it really drags, I also have level B.

 

She has pretty decent handwriting, but I recently noticed that she has a pinched knuckle when she writes, so I am backtracking with handwriting to fix that problem.

 

I also plan on doing FIAR with her in the fall.

 

I'm also generally choosing to piece together curriculum, rather than an "all-in-one" curriculum. That way I can choose math, writing, reading, science, social studies, etc. which are each on her level, and progress independantly. Although HOD and Sonlight both really intrigue me, I think that they would be too hard to adapt to her various levels.

 

However, mostly she just plays with her sister, draws, colors, plays with play-dough, builds forts, runs around, etc.

 

This will be my first year homeschooling, and it is comforting to know that I could totally screw up things for kindergarten, but as long as she doesn't forget anything, she won't be behind for first grade.

[Marie in Oh]

she is 6 and finishing 1st grade. She read way beyond her phonics instruction-- she knew things I never taught her. We finished 1st grade phoics before she turned 6 (even though she could read anything I put in front of her) because I just thought she still needed phonics to spell well. She is an a amazing speller. I think in some ways she is photographic. She picked up sight words with one introduction. It was crazy-- she tested 3rd grade 3rd month at the end of K when she was still five and that was because she maxed out the test. She's also way ahead in math too. Like I said, she is photographic. When she does math, she sees the problem once and has the fact memorized. All that to say, I see no reason to push these little ones to do more than they need to. It is easy to push a child too hard and burn them out, so I give her plenty to read, and plenty of play time. She loves to draw, is in gymnastics, sings, etc. She is very much our sunshine. Very chatty even as a baby. Is she gifted? Maybe. But, I still want to see her enjoy school, being a kid, etc. I worry about challenging her too, but I know too she has lots of time for books. HTH.

[Lovedtodeath]

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