Apples and Pears, WWE, Kindergarten?

[Sherry in OH]

What do you do for language arts when your k-er is reading well?

 

I had originally intended to continue working on handwriting using HWOT and copywork and have him read aloud. I thought I would order the first WWE workbook but not start it until at least January. Now I am second guessing myself.

 

Should I start WWE in the fall? Order a spelling program? If we do spelling, it must be an open and go program. Just the thought of AAS makes my head spin.

 

I am considering Apple and Pears, but have a few concerns -

1. The font is different than HWOT. Would that confuse him?

2. How many words are spelled differently in the UK than in the US?

3. I really want to start WWE either in late K or early 1st grade. Would using both programs be too much writing?

[boscopup]

I would wait until first grade on WWE. Go ahead and do HWT/copywork for k, but keep it light. You'll know if it's too much ("My hand hurts!" means it's too much). Even with my early reset, I'm glad we didn't start until first. I'll wait with the next kid too, and he'll certainly be reading well by K.

 

Can't help you on A&P. AAS is completely open and go and scripted. Very easy to use, as long as you leave your letter tiles on the board. I have a board dedicated to AAS, and I keep it behind my dresser. The cards are all kept neatly in a file box (the one from AAS), and extra tiles we're not using yet stay in a ziploc bag until we need them. A lesson involves pulling out the TM and file box, plus our baggy of markers. I open the TM and start teaching. We write with the marker instead of spelling with tiles.

 

I don't think you need a spelling program for K. Has your child done a phonics program? Even if he's a good reader, I'd do one if you haven't already. Phonics are really helpful when you get to the 4th grade multisyllable words (we tackled that this year).

[skueppers]

My language arts approach this Kindergarten year has been to continue practicing reading, and to do handwriting and copywork. We do handwriting and copywork in German, so I supplement that with additional copywork in English.

 

We've talked a little bit about nouns and verbs, and the very most basic things related to capitalization and punctuation have come up in copywork. I only talk about those things if my daughter asks about them.

 

We have not done a separate spelling program, and I think her spelling is entirely acceptable for her age/grade. ("The name of this storee is the litle kiten.") She normally asks me for help spelling any words she isn't sure of, so the example here is the kind of thing she comes up with when she writes on her own.

 

I don't plan to use a spelling program next year, in first grade, either. I'm planning to do copywork and studied dictation.

[FO4UR]

My dd just turned 6 in March.

 

She started Apples & Pears recently, and I will add in WWE in a few months. This is a lot of writing for the average 6yo, which is why I'm not starting both at the same time. (She was born with a pencil in her hand, but even she can only take so much mommy-led writing.)

 

Apples & Pears starts off *very* gently! We do one page per day, which is 1/2 a level. Around level 15 it really picks up the pace and I want to make sure we get through that point easily before adding WWE.

 

The font doesn't bother us.

 

Oh, and dd will use her favorite storybooks for copywork. She started doing this for FUN without my even mentioning it.:svengo: She makes cards for everyone in our family (I've had about 25 birthdays in 2011 so far...), and just generally enjoys writing writing writing. She can be resistant to mommy-led assignments though, so that is another reason I'm waiting on the WWE. I chose to start A&P first b/c she drives me nuts asking "how do you spell????":blush:

[The Governess]

I had an early reader also. We used WWE1 her K year and are going through WWE2 for her first grade year. So far, the progression has worked fine. The copywork in WWE1 is (if I'm remembering right) three sentences per week. I think the question you need to ask before starting this program early is if your son is ready for the narrations, and if he will be ready to start doing dictation the following year. You might want to look at some samples before you decide. If you think you should wait on these skills, then you might want to simply do copywork during his K year and start WWE in 1st grade. My dd was reading at a 4th grade level and comprehending at probably a 2nd grade level when we started WWE, if that helps.

 

I have used AAS for three levels now, and I love it. It takes little to no preparation, if that is what you are worried about. Once the board and cards are set up you don't really need to prepare anything else. I think it is the perfect program for early readers. My dd blew through her phonics program very quickly and I think that going through AAS is helping to cement in all of the rules that she wasn't interested in hearing about the first time around (she just wanted to read!).

[Terabith]

We just continued to work on reading and handwriting. I had her read out loud and on her own. We read Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. She did Rod and Staff reading second grade (first semester). But I figured that regardless of skills in reading and handwriting, she was still only kindergarten in age and development, so I didn't want to go overboard in language arts. We did a lot of math and a lot of listening and memory work.

[Aurelia]

The font difference has not been a problem for us at all. We used WWE last year,when Ariel was kindergarten-aged, and started using A&P several months ago. The biggest difference is the lowercase letter K, and even that is small.

 

Very few words are spelled differently. I never counted, however.

 

I don't think both programs would be too much, you can always try it and back off if he complains. That said, we only do a level of A&P a week (I'm trying not to rush, though once we finish Dancing Bears I may ramp up the spelling lessons to take the place of learning to read.)

[FairProspects]

The issue with WWE (at least in my opinion) is that the thinking skills are challenging. Listening intently, zeroing on the answers to specific questions, stating these answers in complete sentences, and learning to narrate & summarize the relevant information, are primarily thinking skills that are developed as the child matures and ages, not just when they can physically write a sentence.

 

I was a PS History and Writing teacher before kids, and I think that many people underestimate WWE in terms of difficulty because it doesn't require a lot physically from the child in that it is not a lot of seat work; the lessons are short, and the child writes fairly short sentences. That does NOT mean that the lessons aren't very challenging in terms of teaching thinking skills when done properly.

 

A few advanced children are probably ready for these thinking skills in K, but most are not even if they are advanced readers/spellers/writers - the tasks are very different. The caveat to this would be if you have red-shirted and have a significantly older K'er that is really the age or development of a 1st grader.

 

Just my 2 cents. Feel free to take it or leave it!