Getting it all in

[3peasinapod]

Another what to do thread! Help! I'll start with I work from home 24 hours a week, so I need as streamlined school as possible.

 

Next year I'll have a 4PK, 2nd grader, 3rd grader. Here is what I have planned:

 

3rd grader:

SL Core 1

SL Science 2

TT3

AAS2

WWE2

FLL3

SL grade 3 readers

Phonics? (have to finish OPGTR and MCP C - don't really like this)

HWT3

 

2nd grader:

SL Core 1

SL Science 2

MM2

AAS2

WWE2

FLL2

SL grade 2 readers

Phonics (OPGTR, ETC)

HWT2

 

4PK: (THis will all be as I can tolerate! I don't know if I can tolerate any yet! :confused:)

Singapore Earlybird A

HWT PK

Library books

 

Does a 4yo PK need reading readiness activities? I did a book for each of our olders called Wow! I'm Reading and Alphabet Art. They have silly crafts and such that irritate me to no end (making cotton ball C's, etc. and paper plate animals and reading readiness activities), but I was going to do it with her because she will think it is FUN and she is always wandering around aimlessly.

 

I am really dreading doing these things for PK. What can I do to engage her? I am moving from teacher intensive math to the less intensive maths above. Will that be enough to spend some time with the little one? :001_huh: Am I being overly repetitive with the olders???

Edited April 13, 2011 by 3peasinapod

[boscopup]

If you're doing AAS, you can drop OPGTR for the 2nd and 3rd graders. AAS covers phonics.

 

I wouldn't bother doing anything but reading to the 4 year old and letting her help with chores around the house, cooking, etc. No, reading readiness crafts are not at all necessary. If she's not asking to do school, don't bother. Just read read read. :)

[texasmama]

I work part time (out of the home) so need to do some creative scheduling to make it all work. What we use is in my siggy, but my suggestion is to put the bulk of schoolwork on 2-3 days a week when you don't work (even if this means two week days and a weekend day). We double up on WWE and FLL lessons, and I schedule our math per week, so I plan on spending two solid days on math with Friday as a catch up day after we return from co op (in the morning). I read double history on Mon/Wed,and we do two Sequential Spelling tests on those days, as well. We school mostly on Mon and Wed, with some on Friday, as well. No school is done on Tuesday and Thursday because I am working those days.

 

Each semester my schedule changes due to my adjunct professor job. Last semester, I did my therapy job on Tuesday afternoons/evenings and had a three hour block class which I taught on Wednesday afternoon so we schooled Monday, Tues morning, Thursday and Friday afternoon (as needed). This semester, I am doing therapy on Tuesdays again, but I teach a Tues/Thurs class, so I have adjusted our schedule accordingly.

 

I have had to "think outside the box" in terms of scheduling, and we will do "light" school in the summer to fit in the things we needed to skip during the year, but this has worked for us, and we have kept up with all subjects with strict scheduling.

 

In your position, I would not do anything with the 4 year old but read. I have a 5 year old this year (preK, officially) whom I have taught to read, worked on SM Earlybird A and B and done handwriting with...otherwise, she is along for the ride, which has worked well for all of us.

 

It is very possible to homeschool and work part-time. It just requires a bit of creativity.:001_smile:

Edited April 13, 2011 by texasmama

[The Governess]

No reading readiness crafts in this house. :D

 

If you want to keep things really simple for your Pre-Ker, just use the Leapfrog videos and let her play on Starfall.com. There are some printable ABC worksheets on the Starfall site if she likes to trace and color. In the car, play games like "what words start with the /b/ sound?" and "what words rhyme with cat?" etc. When you read to her, track the words with your finger so she understands that words go from left to right, etc. Have your older kids read an easy book to her a few times a week.

 

All of the above will take up almost none of your time but will give her a good foundation. I think I spent about 20 minutes of one-on-one time a week (on average) with my dd4 this year covering phonics skills and she is now starting to read CVC words.

 

If she enjoys crafty stuff, by all means get out the cotton balls and glue and construction paper, but I would just let her play with it on her own while you teach your older students. :001_smile:

[3peasinapod]

Thank you all for giving me permission! I just don't see the use of making a paper plate animal a week. I do all the work! I may have DD8 do that stuff with her if she wants. She likes making it, and she can easily read and follow the directions in a book.

 

Anyone else?:001_smile:

[3peasinapod]

bump:bigear:

[MerryAtHope]

Thank you all for giving me permission! I just don't see the use of making a paper plate animal a week. I do all the work! I may have DD8 do that stuff with her if she wants. She likes making it, and she can easily read and follow the directions in a book.

 

Anyone else?:001_smile:

 

The bolded part is exactly what I was going to suggest! I don't think crafts are nearly as important as developing phonological awareness skills for pre-readers. If your program focused on that, maybe you could do those parts and make the crafts optional.

[3peasinapod]

The bolded part is exactly what I was going to suggest! I don't think crafts are nearly as important as developing phonological awareness skills for pre-readers. If your program focused on that, maybe you could do those parts and make the crafts optional.

 

Thank you Merry! I feel better doing this book if I don't have to make a paperplate bear again! I asked DD8, and she said she would help, but only if she gets to make one too. :tongue_smilie:

[JudoMom]

I would consider dropping phonics, or if they need the phonics, I would put AAS on hold until they are done with phonics.

 

I'd also drop HWT and use the copywork in WWE2 to work on their penmanship.

 

Let your 4 year old watch the Leap Frog videos to prepare for reading. That alone is enough, but I think it's great that your older dd will help your younger dd with the crafts from your program--that should be fun, and will help fine motor skills as well :001_smile:.

[Chris in VA]

You can do the same type of reading readiness stuff by turning it into art instead of craft. Make it process instead of product. For "C," let her use a cotton ball on a clothespin to paint anything she wants on construction paper. For "B,"

have her crush berries in a mortar or with a fork and spread it on bread. Get the idea? You can explain it, then set it up and basically walk away. She gets to do the whole thing.

Would that be better for you?

[NanceXToo]

My son is 5. He wasn't ready for (interested in/focused on) K this year so I held off until next school year and we're doing another year of informal pre-K right now.

 

He is watching the Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD, playing around on starfall.com, and we're making an "ABC Book"- using a scrapbook, we write the upper and lower case letter on one side of the book/page, and then glue or tape or make something that starts with that letter on the other side.

 

So for A we did apple prints (cutting an apple in half and dipping it in red and green paint). For B we glued on buttons. For E we glued on egg shells. For F I gave him an ink pad and we did fingerprints. And so on and so forth. We're still working on it.

 

And, of course, I read to him a lot.

 

Other than that, I do nothing formal with him. We play board games sometimes. He plays games on the computer (he loves the computer). He plays with his toys- legos and pattern blocks and playdoh and musical instruments and dress up clothes and a geoboard and building blocks and so on and so forth. He goes outside. He watches educational TV shows. He goes on most of our field trips with us. We chat a lot. He helps with things around the house here and there. We play conversational games, sometimes at home, sometimes in the car.

 

He likes to do simple mazes, so sometimes I print those. Sometimes I'll spread butcher paper over the kitchen table and leave out markers and crayons and stamps and let the kids play during their meals or while they wait for them.

 

None of this is on any formal or strict schedule, it's just sort of as we get to it or as it comes up.

 

I wouldn't worry about any formal curriculum stuff at ALL for a 4 y/o.

 

As for your second and third graders, I don't know what most of those programs are but it seems like an awful lot of "initials" for second and third grade lol. Are you sure you need ALL of those things? Like, when my son gets to second grade, his curriculum will be:

 

OM2.

 

(That's Oak Meadow 2... and that's IT). That and continuing to read for fun, play games for fun, go on field trips for fun, talk, do things around the house, watch educational shows and so on. It's all in one, it's not overly time consuming...

 

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide!

[Irishmommy]

You know, I love the AAR Pre-level one because I feel like it has everything my little wants/needs right now in one book. AND, the "crafts" are really simple, unlike the alphabet art ones, imho. I did use something that I liked this year (before AAR came out), that was a book by Mailbox magazine called Phonological awareness. I'll see if I can find the link. It is more cut and paste type of book. It isn't nearly as fun as AAR, but it is a lot less expensive and is very independent.

 

https://www.theeducationcenter.com/tec/afc/books/TEC60913/detail.do?productId=TEC60913&OID=536932925&contentTypeId=0

[robsiew]

Another what to do thread! Help! I'll start with I work from home 24 hours a week, so I need as streamlined school as possible.

 

Next year I'll have a 4PK, 2nd grader, 3rd grader. Here is what I have planned:

 

3rd grader:

SL Core 1

SL Science 2

TT3

AAS2

WWE2

FLL3

SL grade 3 readers

Phonics? (have to finish OPGTR and MCP C - don't really like this)

HWT3

 

2nd grader:

SL Core 1

SL Science 2

MM2

AAS2

WWE2

FLL2

SL grade 2 readers

Phonics (OPGTR, ETC)

HWT2

 

4PK: (THis will all be as I can tolerate! I don't know if I can tolerate any yet! :confused:)

Singapore Earlybird A

HWT PK

Library books

 

Does a 4yo PK need reading readiness activities? I did a book for each of our olders called Wow! I'm Reading and Alphabet Art. They have silly crafts and such that irritate me to no end (making cotton ball C's, etc. and paper plate animals and reading readiness activities), but I was going to do it with her because she will think it is FUN and she is always wandering around aimlessly.

 

I am really dreading doing these things for PK. What can I do to engage her? I am moving from teacher intensive math to the less intensive maths above. Will that be enough to spend some time with the little one? :001_huh: Am I being overly repetitive with the olders???

 

Here's my suggestions... take them for what they are worth! I'm looking at taking a 15 hour/week job and needed to streamline too!

 

I absolutely love AAS, but have found that I need to make spelling a "git-er-dun" subject. My younger two are doing SWO and I haven't decided if I can finish my older two out on AAS or not. I'm debating switching them over to SWO only because it's independent and one.less.thing. I would suggest doing a more independent spelling program.

 

Again, along the lines of teacher time... FLL is completely dependent on you. If you do something like R&S it can be done independently. I give a little mini-lesson up front, making sure my older two understand the concept and then they do all the written work independently. We don't do anything oral. If you'd rather have a secular curriculum Growing with Grammar is similar and very independent.

 

I personally use WWE and won't give that up for anything. It's a teacher intensive curriculum, but more than worth the time we put in. I made the cut in spelling instead since I have good spellers.

 

We use MM and I think you'll be happy with that. My kids are mostly independent with math.

 

One last thought would be with your 4 y/o. My suggestion would be to just start reading with your dc. After you get into things if you want to add in something else you can. I think it would be easier to add in more than to start something and have to quit it.

 

I hope working goes well for you. I'm a little nervous about this 15 hours a week, but I think it will be okay... we just have to keep in mind school needs to be simple, but effective... making the most of our time! :D

[laughing lioness]

I would suggest investing in some CD's. SOTW world, of course. IEW's Language Aquistion Through Poetry. MoH is nice and Classical Conversations Cycle CD's are good.

Even if the kids don't memorize the poems and CC's memory work, they are being exposed to info making it that much easier when it comes up.

Also, the SOTW CD's are just so good. If you play them in sequence and with regularity you'll be surprised at how much history your kids pick up.

We play CD's in the car and in the afternoons. The kids can play quietly as long as they can narrate back the gist of what they've heard.