Curriculum help for accelerated 5 yr old

[nellecv]

I have a very bright 5 1/2 yr old daughter who desperately needs to be challenged. The kids in her pre-k class are learning to write their names, which she's been doing for over two years! The problem is, although she is academically on at least a first grade level, she still very much has a preschool attention span and interests. She's also a perfectionist who gives up easily. Can anyone suggest any good curriculum materials that would match both her knowledge and (im)maturity?

[Skadi]

We really like Right Start Math because of the manipulatives and games. You can find out what level is right for your child by going to this page and clicking the Starting Level Questionnaire link.

 

Elemental Science is a curriculum developed by one of our very own forum members, and Intro to Science caters to a kindergarten level student. Lots of coloring pages and short experiments.

 

For handwriting practice, Zaner Bloser Handwriting K might be helpful to you.

 

Oh, and have you checked out Starfall?

[SnegurochkaL]

Hi, RightStart will be a good choice for a young child who likes manipulatives or Singapore math is good for someone who wants to move faster.

 

For history we did Junior History Portfolios which targeted to 5-8 years old. We used SOTW and Kingfisher History Encyclopedia.

History Portfolios link:

http://www.homeschooljourney.com/ My daughter liked it a lot(a lot of things to color or make)

 

For LA I would suggest Primers from Classical Writing. They incorporate LA, Science, Reading, Art.

http://www.classicalwriting.com/Primer.htm

 

For science we did Living Learning Books http://www.livinglearningbooks.com/newllb/index.php and R.E.A.L. Science

[Donna]

Miquon Math is another option besides the ones already recommended. We used a combination of Miquon with Singapore when dd was that age.

 

REAL Science for Kids and NOEO for science are good. NOEO has a lot of hands on experiments included and also teaches science through "real" books.

 

 

We used SOTW for history and read books using Suppose the Wolf Were an Octopus type for discussion questions.

 

For increasing attention span and helping with perfectionism, Suzuki violin was incredibly helpful for my dd.

[MSNative]

We enjoy Five In A Row because we can pick and choose activities and my ds likes the books.

 

For free options - http://www.homeschoolshare.com has tons of free lapbooks and unit studies

http://www.dltk.com - has a school section for good printables (handwriting sheets, etc.)

Book adventure - kids read books, take a short quiz on them and earn points. Great resource for looking up new books for your child.

ambleside online is also a free Charlotte Mason curriculum that gives great ideas.

 

You also may want to spend your money on supplies rather than curriculum - art supplies, building supplies (legos, blocks, snap circuits jr., etc.) and interesting kits.

[Tracy]

Sounds a lot like my dd6. Things that have worked for us:

 

 

• CSMP math: lots of higher level stuff, but very little writing. Last week, we worked on multiplying fractions, and it is only a 1st grade curriculum!
  
• BFSU science: Very meaty stuff, but designed for this age range. So the activities are geared toward children that have limited writing skills and attention spans. If you need more challenge, you can beef it up with the optional writing and reading assignments. It is teacher intensive, but that lets you have control over how challenging to make it.
  
• SWR: This is a very challenging program, but very good for a gifted student. My dd is very rule-oriented, so she loves knowing the spelling rules.
  
• FIAR: We did this at 4.5yo, and it was wonderful. I added challenge by doing a vocabulary study with each book. It could work for a 5.5yo accellerated child, but you may end up having to do more prep work to make sure you have enough material. And there will be times that you will just have to skip a day, because there is not enough material there. (For example, there is often only one math lesson, and it is usually about counting. Those days, I either doubled up on the other topics or skipped the day altogether.)
  
• My dd loves geography and history, so we spent a year letting her explore the map. She would tell me what country she wanted to study, and I would find the books. Then we played games where I would give her clues and she would guess the country. I keep a list of books we used (living books) on my blog.
  
• We started TOG at 5.5yo, and it has been a wonderful investment for my accellerated, history-loving dd.
  

 

[nmoira]

Each lesson in MEP math is broken up into five or more distinct activities. It is rigorous and has proven to be a good fit for my super-squirmy 6yo. There are dozens of MEP threads on the K8 board.

 

At about what level is your DD reading?

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

What ever you use, do the school day in very short steps. 5-15 mins, through out the day. At this age any school you do will only take about an hour to 2 total, so break it up in small bites.

[LMD]

that is one reason we didn't send DD to school this year. she's far beyond writing her name or sounding out 3 letter words...

 

you've got some great advice so far, you can see what we use in my sig. One thing I can suggest is something like learning an instrument. We have found DD doing violin lessons so valuable (for over a year now).

[StephanieZ]

Explode the Code for reading/phonics.

 

Miquon and/or Singapore Math for math.

[Ritsumei]

What ever you use, do the school day in very short steps. 5-15 mins, through out the day. At this age any school you do will only take about an hour to 2 total, so break it up in small bites.

:iagree::iagree:

 

I've got a 4.5 yo that does work ranging from K to 1st, and the main thing is to do it in small chunks. For instance, we were learning about Barn Owls today, which is part of a larger study of birds. We did a little reading about them at lunch time, later we looked up the sound on All About Birds, and watched a video of the nestbox mama laying her 1st egg, then later watched her sitting on it a couple of times. We also did a narration, and some extra reading in our Raptor! book. All total, it was probably 45-60 minutes of instruction, but I don't think we spent for than 15 min at a time on anything. Birds are pretty interesting (we're studying them by his request), so he was happy to do it, but it has to be broken up and well mixed with other topics, legos, we also did some snow shoveling:glare:, a playdate during DH & I's date, and a nap.

 

The best idea I ever ran into in Miss Mason's philosophy was the idea of short lessons. We sometimes will come back to a topic if I don't feel we did enough the first time, or if the interest is there, but not the ability to sit (like today), but we seldom work past his attention span's expiration. Except in phonics. Sometimes he decides he doesn't want to, but I do that for at least 5-10 min almost every day.

[suzf242]

Ambleside Online -- http://www.amblesideonline.org/

 

Take care,

Suzanne

[happymomma]

Both of my kids are ahead in grade level. For kindergarten we used:

Singapore Math kindergarten and 1st grade (did both years in kindergarten but didn't skip easy pages--that way they would continue to increase their confidence in their math abilities)

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (get through the first 20 lessons and then after that you will LOVE it--gets the child to a 2nd grade level) then move on to Hooked on Phonics Master Reader program

Classical Conversations (my son became a Memory Master in kindergarten--cannot recommend CC enough!)

Writing from Teach Your Child to Read

TONS of field trips

 

1st grade we've added more subjects

[Sassafrass777]

CSMP math: lots of higher level stuff, but very little writing. Last week, we worked on multiplying fractions, and it is only a 1st grade curriculum!

 

• BFSU science: Very meaty stuff, but designed for this age range. So the activities are geared toward children that have limited writing skills and attention spans. If you need more challenge, you can beef it up with the optional writing and reading assignments. It is teacher intensive, but that lets you have control over how challenging to make it.
  
• FIAR: We did this at 4.5yo, and it was wonderful. I added challenge by doing a vocabulary study with each book. It could work for a 5.5yo accellerated child, but you may end up having to do more prep work to make sure you have enough material. And there will be times that you will just have to skip a day, because there is not enough material there. (For example, there is often only one math lesson, and it is usually about counting. Those days, I either doubled up on the other topics or skipped the day altogether.)
  
• We started TOG at 5.5yo, and it has been a wonderful investment for my accellerated, history-loving dd.
  

 

[Sassafrass777]

I'm new to Homeschooling and curriculum searching. I've been trying to find the meaning of the above acronyms and am having a hard time. Could you spell them out for me? I would appreciate it so much. Thanks!

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I'm new to Homeschooling and curriculum searching. I've been trying to find the meaning of the above acronyms and am having a hard time. Could you spell them out for me? I would appreciate it so much. Thanks!

Here is a link to a lot of the abbreviations you will see on this board

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1503

[Tracy]

I'm new to Homeschooling and curriculum searching. I've been trying to find the meaning of the above acronyms and am having a hard time. Could you spell them out for me? I would appreciate it so much. Thanks!

 

CSMP: Comprehensive School Mathematics Program

BFSU: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (see my blog)

FIAR: Five in a Row

TOG: Tapestry of Grace

[Sassafrass777]

Thanks so much!!

[LittleIzumi]

I second the BFSU!

[KC in KS]

We used a lot from Critical Thinking Company. Building Thinking Skills, Can You Find Me?, Visual Perceptual Skill Building, etc.

 

I like the idea of first giving her a solid foundation in thinking, before we got into skills.

 

Plus, a lot of the skills types books (phonics, math, etc) started requiring more in the way of writing than she was capable of at her age. So by spending a year on thinking skills, we fed her brain without letting it run too far ahead of her body.

[Storm Bay]

I have a very bright 5 1/2 yr old daughter who desperately needs to be challenged. The kids in her pre-k class are learning to write their names, which she's been doing for over two years! The problem is, although she is academically on at least a first grade level, she still very much has a preschool attention span and interests. She's also a perfectionist who gives up easily. Can anyone suggest any good curriculum materials that would match both her knowledge and (im)maturity?

 

As others have mentioned, keep things short. I agree with the suggestions for Singapore math, MEP (below) and Miquon. Explode the Code can be fun, as can Phonics Pathways. Lots of library books that she likes are good, and you can do some learning that way. Go as fast as she likes

 

Lots of play time with toys such as Legos, play do (or other modeling clay), etc. My dc liked to play with manipulatives we bought for the Critical Thinking books. Lots of time with phsyical play that uses the whole body. Dance, swim lessons and some martial arts are very good for helping the body learn and develop. You don't have to do all at once, of course. Many brain connections important for academic learning, even in the gifted, develop this way.

 

Each lesson in MEP math is broken up into five or more distinct activities. It is rigorous and has proven to be a good fit for my super-squirmy 6yo. There are dozens of MEP threads on the K8 board.

 

At about what level is your DD reading?