Independent work for a 1st grader?

[Wabi Sabi]

Public school starts in less than three weeks here, so that will also mark the beginning of our official homeschooling. The issue at hand: I work nights. Dh will be busy in the morning getting himself up, ready for work, and getting our dd ready for school. Dh has to leave the very moment I get home from work in order to get dd to school on time.

 

Due to our very hectic mornings I need something that can be set out the night before for ds to do on his own in the mornings. Ideally I'd like to have him work for one hour each morning on his own while dh is leaving and I'm getting settled at home after a night at work. Ds can read, but he is not yet fluent and needs assistance. And also, ds is VERY worksheet averse. One semester at public school last year really has made him hate worksheets/workbooks and he loathes to do any work that resembles a worksheet so leaving out handwriting sheets, copywork, etc probably isn't the best way to start off the morning.

 

Suggestions? I'd like to develop a good list of independent things for him to do so that I can mix it up and not have him doing the same couple of things every single day.

 

ETA: I know that if I don't have something for him to do first thing in the morning that he'll instead park his rear on the couch watching cartoons and then it's a huge power struggle to tear him away from the TV, so I really think it'd be best for him to just get into a more academic mindset, ready to learn and motivated for the day. He's more fresh and alert in the mornings as well.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Wabi Sabi

[TXBeth]

Educational puzzles (maps, alphabet, etc.)? Or maybe listening to an audiobook that goes along with whatever you are studying and drawing a picture of what he remembers. Or playing with base10 blocks or pattern blocks.

[bbmom]

I think a computer program or learning games are a good idea- ODS could easily spend that amount of time on readingeggs daily.

[ChristusG]

My first grader wasn't able to do any independent book. And now that she's going into 2nd grade and not reading well, she still can't really do any independent work.

[Grover]

Could you have a 'choosing time' for that period, from shelves or an area where you have some things set out. Maybe some puzzles, sensory tub, spooning / pouring activities (Montessori style), art / craft exploration, an audio book to read along with, a browsing box of books to look at/read, maths equipment to play with (sorting, scales, etc... maybe have a timer and a visual timetable so he knows he starts the timer and looks at the books for ten minutes then when it goes off he can move on to another activity. Good luck, it sounds like a challenge.

[Emmy]

I think it depends on how well your child is reading. I think your best bet is to have some sort of workbox system where your child goes from one activity to the next. Coloring page, play with math blocks, dot to dot page, computer time, look at books, easy craft, free art time, etc.

[myfunnybunch]

Let's see....if he's awake and you're about to get up, how about Beginning Coffee Making and Elementary Breakfast Service? ;) (Actually, my dh taught our oldest to make coffee when ds was 7. He still makes us coffee if he wakes before we do!)

 

Drawing program, free reading (at his level), educational puzzles and games (shape puzzles, Rush Hour, pattern blocks, Scrabble Flash), block-building challenges, art books like the Can You See It? series. I might leave a short stack of 2-3 items, then let him do a computer learning program or watch educational videos (Bill Nye, for example, has a huge selection of videos you could get from your library) once he's completed those items.

 

Cat

[Wabi Sabi]

That is going to be very difficult. I think I'd look for some sort of computerized something or other for that hour. Neither one of my boys would work independently at that age and definitely not for that long.

 

My first grader wasn't able to do any independent book. And now that she's going into 2nd grade and not reading well, she still can't really do any independent work.

 

Luckily ds has spent the last three years in Montessori where working independently is just what they do. So, I really think that since he's accustomed to working on his own he'll do fine as long as he has some interesting and appropriate choices of work.

 

I think a computer program or learning games are a good idea- ODS could easily spend that amount of time on readingeggs daily.

 

Yes! I could certainly leave my laptop on the table for him with something already loaded and ready to go. He would rather enjoy it, I think, as long as we could find an appropriate website/program. We did a trial to readingeggs once and it didn't seem to grab his attention.

 

Are there any other online sites or software packages that others would recommend?

 

Also, we do have the first two Miquon workbooks. Although workbooks aren't his thing I'm hoping he'll do okay with these since they're more "homey" and handmade-looking, not the traditional Xeroxed busywork. Has anyone had much success with their child doing some of those pages on their own?

[Doodle]

Doodle wakes before I do and last year I frequently put out some work for him to do in the mornings. He was able to do pages in his Handwriting Without Tears books (print and cursive), Explode the Code book and worksheets from Miquon.

[Wabi Sabi]

Could you have a 'choosing time' for that period, from shelves or an area where you have some things set out. Maybe some puzzles, sensory tub, spooning / pouring activities (Montessori style), art / craft exploration, an audio book to read along with, a browsing box of books to look at/read, maths equipment to play with (sorting, scales, etc... maybe have a timer and a visual timetable so he knows he starts the timer and looks at the books for ten minutes then when it goes off he can move on to another activity.

 

I think that he's progressed past the spooning/pouring type of works that he did at Montessori, but I would certainly like to incorporate some more Montessori-ish works into his morning but since I've never had a child in the elementary class I'm not sure what kind of things they have that are appropriate for his age/ability. I'll have to look more into that.

 

 

I think it depends on how well your child is reading. I think your best bet is to have some sort of workbox system where your child goes from one activity to the next. Coloring page, play with math blocks, dot to dot page, computer time, look at books, easy craft, free art time, etc.

 

Yes! I've certainly thought that maybe some sort of workbox system might work for him. At Montessori he had a weekly work plan of things that he needed to accomplish through the week. He could pretty much do them whenever he wanted, but just needed to check off every item by the end of the week. I believe that in the elementary classroom they have daily workplans and that might be something we implement as well.

 

Let's see....if he's awake and you're about to get up, how about Beginning Coffee Making and Elementary Breakfast Service? ;) (Actually, my dh taught our oldest to make coffee when ds was 7. He still makes us coffee if he wakes before we do!)

 

Love it! In reality I'll probably let dh continue to make the coffee but ds will probably be on his own for breakfast- simple stuff like muffins, yogurt, a bowl of cereal, a peanut butter sandwich. I also just taught him how to clean the bathroom and will probably have him do a wipe-down of the sink/toilet every morning with disinfecting wipes so that should also occupy some of his time. I might find one or two other chores that he can complete and have him do those as part of his morning routine- feed the cat? Gather any dirty laundry from the house and take it all to the main hamper?

 

Drawing program, free reading (at his level), educational puzzles and games (shape puzzles, Rush Hour, pattern blocks, Scrabble Flash), block-building challenges, art books like the Can You See It? series. I might leave a short stack of 2-3 items, then let him do a computer learning program or watch educational videos (Bill Nye, for example, has a huge selection of videos you could get from your library) once he's completed those items.

 

 

Good ideas. I'll file them all away. And no, I certainly don't have any problem with him watching an education movie in the mornings especially since he can work the DVD player/instant download Netflix all by himself. I just don't want him getting sucked into two hours of Beyblade episodes each morning, LOL.

[K&Rs Mom]

Have you tried starfall.com? It's free and has 4 different levels of teaching reading, from letter sounds through sampling different genres. Once he's more fluent, there's also bookadventure.com, which has quizzes on a lot of different books (also free). Mine have just started using Khan Academy, and a lot of it is over their heads, but it starts with basic addition, plus he might get something out of the history videos even though they're targeted at an older audience. Also, Liberty's Kids is (or was recently) on Netflix instant - fun American Revolution series.

[LittleIzumi]

Hmmm. What my 1st grader can do independently.... She is NOT used to working independently like your ds, but she will:

 

work on more.starfall.com

play other computer games & apps (ETC Online, Rocket Math, Stack the States, etc)

do her ETC workbook

educational puzzles, like linking word parts

play with Cuisinaire rods

fill out her part of copywork

draw, draw, draw, draw :lol:

[AK_Mom4]

HoodaMath.com is a good free math site

 

At first grade age, my kiddos also liked the Jumpstart games. I think they are available now for a monthly subscription, but you can usually find the games in the $10 stack at Walmart.

[Chris in VA]

I'd encourage you to explore the elementary curriculum from Montessori. He could do some moveable alphabet work, some object boxes, triangle work, etc. You can make many things yourself! I would add in a little book for him to trace and write a word or two on each page--there's lots of interesting stuff to print on Enchanted Learning--well-worth it for first grade. I'd also add in a few computer games.

 

Can you have breakfast with him when you get home?

[ChrisN in NY]

Does he like dot-to-dots or mazes?

 

In researching reading readiness, wow... 6 years ago, I discovered that these two things were recommended for building brain connections that help reading.

 

My then 1st-grader wasn't ready for phonics in the fall, so he did two pages of those each day along with the rest of his schoolwork.

 

Just a thought.

[Lara in Colo]

I use funnix for this time. http://www.funnix.com/

 

We have both the reading and the math.

Since I have 4 children, having one one the computer occupied and learning is a blessing which allows 1:1 time with someone else--wish I had 4 computers!!.

[staceyobu]

Just wondering... if you are working nights and homeschooling during the day, when will you sleep?

[SonshineLearner]

Legos and a cd? breakfast and a SchoolHouse Rock? He's pretty young to be independent first thing in the morning. Just a thought :) If there's a time to watch a Veggie Tales or something... this might be it :)

[Wabi Sabi]

Just wondering... if you are working nights and homeschooling during the day, when will you sleep?

 

I actually get a good amount of rest at work, plus I usually take an afternoon nap with the preschooler. I don't have to be at work until midnight, so I also go to bed early with the kids and get several hours of sleep before I have to wake up at 11:30 pm. I've been doing it for years and it's really not as bad as one would initially think. I'm used to it by now.