LifeLovePassion Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 We are looking into homeschooling in the fall w/kindergarten. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I am in the same boat. I decided in Dec to HS for K this coming year. I have found this board to be VERY helpful. Just look in on some of the posts and ask questions. People are very willing to help. Here is what I am doing for K if it helps: McRuffy Color Math K (and Miquon Math) Little Stories for Little Folks (CHC readers) Handwriting for Little Folks K Games from Strugglingreader.com to learn phonics, phonemic awareness and sight words RSO Earth and Space KIKUS German History and Geography (I am doing it on my own. We will just learn about a country, what kids do there, look at maps and atlases, get library books, cook food, etc) Please feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. I would highly suggest getting some books (WTM, books about Charlotte Mason, etc to see what kind of homeschool you want to have and then go from there). Best of luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 The great thing about starting in kindergarten is there is not much needed :) A solid phonics program, handwriting, and some math are the focus. Many add in science and history but it is not necessary. This year, we have used: Abeka phonics k Handwriting without tears K Saxon 1 (math) Heroes for Young Readers (history/geography) and some random science when we get to it from Usborne books :) We read a lot and have had a fabulous year. It has been just enough for us. Not too much to stress us out, but enough to keep her challenged and learning. I am super happy with where she is at this point and very much looking forward to first grade :) Good luck as you begin this awesome journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kchara Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 For us, the main thing for K is finding a phonics program that works, and running with it. Math can be done on the side, and you don't really need a curriculum for it. It's mostly numbers recognition, shapes, more/less, bigger/smaller, things like that. History, science, all that is just icing on the cake if you and your K'er want and have time for it. Reading well, that's the huge thing in K. For us, we're in PreK at the moment, or K4, not sure what the real difference is between the two. We're using Funnix, and when we're done with that, we're moving to The Phonics Road. I might buy him Math U See's Primer, just because if he doesn't have his own like the big kids, he's liable to have a fit, but only if I can find the extra money. We also use Rod and Staff's workbooks. Right now, we're in the 3 and 4 year old Workbooks, but he's zooming through those, so we'll be in the Preschool ones in no time, which are designed for 4 and 5 year olds going into K at 6 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I would begin by reading The Well Trained Mind, particularly the part about Kindergarten. :D Curriculum I'm tentatively planning (DS2 is 4, and doing some K stuff now and some later, as he's supposed to be K fall of 2012): Reading/phonics: Webster's Speller (using now), maybe Explode the Code, lots of library books once he's reading well enough, and we'll probably throw in some Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading again soon Handwriting: Getty-Dubay Italics (I also like Handwriting Without Tears) Math: Singapore Essential Math K (will start book A this summer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sweet Georgia Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 :bigear: I may HS K this coming year with my DD. I've been reading & learning so much from this forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Personally, I love Oak Meadow for Kindergarten, but it's a more non-academic, gentle, Waldorf-inspired kind of approach. If interested, see: http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/124071.html (Oak Meadow review with more info on their philosophy etc) and http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/125979.html (A sample Kindergarten week with the schedule I used and some pics) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flux Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/125979.html (A sample Kindergarten week with the schedule I used and some pics) :banghead: There should be a "bang-head" smiley for when you aren't angry, but are having one of those, "I am SO stupid! Eureka!" moments. One of the things we took away from Waldorf when exploring different methods, was the nature table. My daughter was always bringing in rocks/sticks/leaves/dead bugs anyway, why not give them a place? Doesn't work in my house. Toddler manages to spread the rock and leaf love to every corner of our dwelling. I am IN LOVE with your aquarium. I love that you can decorate the back and that everything is CONTAINED. Really. I could go on and on. I can't wait to steal, um, implement your idea. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I would begin by reading The Well Trained Mind, particularly the part about Kindergarten. :D :iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: Not only will it give you a view of K, but it will set a trajectory for you for your child's entire education. Honestly, this is the one resource I go back to time and time again! Invaluable if the classical model fits you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 :banghead: There should be a "bang-head" smiley for when you aren't angry, but are having one of those, "I am SO stupid! Eureka!" moments. One of the things we took away from Waldorf when exploring different methods, was the nature table. My daughter was always bringing in rocks/sticks/leaves/dead bugs anyway, why not give them a place? Doesn't work in my house. Toddler manages to spread the rock and leaf love to every corner of our dwelling. I am IN LOVE with your aquarium. I love that you can decorate the back and that everything is CONTAINED. Really. I could go on and on. I can't wait to steal, um, implement your idea. Thanks! Loving the aquarium also!! I have a rule "no nature in the house" because our house would look like a bird's nest if I allowed each of the 4 kids to bring in what they want! An aquarium is perfect!!! Putting that on my list for garage sale finds!! Thanks! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 If you haven't done so, I would begin by exploring homeschool methods/styles/philosophies. In addition to classical, look into Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, unschooling, and unit studies. After that you can come ask for a list of books and websites about whatever methods seem to work for you. For K I personally like to focus on reading, writing, and math. IMO, everything else is extra and should be fun. There are a lot of curricula out there. For K you are safe just doing the basics and taking time to explore your options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Now that I have a few more moments, here are some details about us. I have been doing a bunch of reading I love the classical concept, but don't think it fits my teaching personality at all. I need to get a copy of TWTM to read still (it's on the list) DD1 (will be 5 in June)has been receiving preschool services under the Autism heading for about a year now. She is socially shy and behind in areas of pretend play, interaction and using language age appropriatly (will scream if she's upset vs saying "stop it" "you took my toy", etc. and also has some idiosyncratic language going on). She is on track or ahead with things like knowing letters, sounds, memorizing a new book after 2 times reading it, counting. Given her personality a workbox style will probably work best for her since it would be a visual indicator of what we have to do in a day (more work for me, but that's not a new thing). I think Unit stiudies would be fun for her and she'd respond as she has several interests we could explore (outer space, racecars, dinosaurs, birds, flags (geography), maps). I would like to be able to stretch her reading options a bit. We have tried to start the Little House books, but she's only 1/2 into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 :banghead: There should be a "bang-head" smiley for when you aren't angry, but are having one of those, "I am SO stupid! Eureka!" moments. One of the things we took away from Waldorf when exploring different methods, was the nature table. My daughter was always bringing in rocks/sticks/leaves/dead bugs anyway, why not give them a place? Doesn't work in my house. Toddler manages to spread the rock and leaf love to every corner of our dwelling. I am IN LOVE with your aquarium. I love that you can decorate the back and that everything is CONTAINED. Really. I could go on and on. I can't wait to steal, um, implement your idea. Thanks! LOL you're welcome! In my case I just didn't have a spare "table" hanging around, or a place to put one, but we did happen to have this empty tank... and yeah I like that it's all contained, too- even has a screen lid and everything. It doesn't get messy, it's easy to pull something out and examine it with a magnifying glass or some such and put it back, fun to decorate the back and sides, if family or friends with toddlers come over, it's not so tempting for them to just start grabbing and moving and crumbling things, etc. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoffeeChick Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Don't forget to get a bunch of math "toys" - my dd loves her bucket of them. Our bucket has: Pattern blocks with printed out patterns (there's 2 downloads on this page) Geo Boards with Rubberbands Bucket Balance Geometric Shapes Counting chips Counting Bears with Cups - We also made some "graphing" paper for her to sort a handful of bears by color and then I ask basic questions like, "which color has the most"... Linking Cubes Abacus - this is the one we have, but I unscrewed it apart and moved the beads around so that there were 2 groups of 5 on each row instead of all 10 being the same color. Baggie full of real coins Atribute Blocks I also printed out and made a few file folder games from Kelly's Kindergarten Math Games (same link as the pattern block printouts) She has some great resources not related to math too. Welcome to the boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Now that I have a few more moments, here are some details about us. I have been doing a bunch of reading I love the classical concept, but don't think it fits my teaching personality at all. I need to get a copy of TWTM to read still (it's on the list) Ah, well "Classical" is a very broad term. Most people on this board mesh Classical with their own style.:001_smile: No one follows TWTM (especially specific curric recommendations) to a "t," but it's a very clear road map for the trip from K to graduation. Take what you know works for your dd, and add to that little by little. Reading, writing and math. K in my house takes 20-45min for those 3 skills. Read aloud all you can. Let her play quietly while you read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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