momma aimee Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 did you use anything for Kindy - or just spend your time on phonics and reading? I chose just phonics and reading -- saving First Language Lessons for first grade, but i keep panicing i am forgetting / missing something. Aimee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 We started FLL in February of my dd's "kindergarten" year. Prior to that we focused on phonics (Phonics Pathways switched to OPGTTR) and basic math skills. I included her in the older dc lessons when she was interested but didn't force anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 We focus on phonics in K (Phonics Pathways) and save FLL for 1st/2nd. My oldest four have all done great with that plan of action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritsumei Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 OK, maybe I'm a freak this way, but I have a terrible time telling pre-k from K from 1st. Maybe it's because we school year round. Maybe it's because Monkey's definitely got some asynchronous development going on. He still can't write all this lowercase letters, is nearly finished with the K math we're doing, and does better quality narrations than the SOTW1AG suggests 1st graders might offer. Sometimes his narrations are just too funny and I have to giggle a bit. I guess I'm saying that I'd worry less about "grade level" and more about is your child ready for the material. If he's not then wait. If he is, then FLL1 is nice because it's easy to do orally & takes all of 5 minutes 2-3 times a week. No kittens will die if he doesn't learn about nouns & pronouns in K. His earning power 30 years from now will likely hardly notice either way. It's just not worth loosing sleep over either way, IYKWIM. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I think most schools don't start grammar until 1st, and even then, it's VERY little (like nouns and action verbs). You don't need grammar in K. You need to focus on learning to read and write letters. Without that foundation, you have no use for grammar. ;) FLL1 is very gentle and perfectly suitable to a K'er, but if the child isn't reading and writing yet, I wouldn't bother. You have plenty of time to do grammar. You could easily wait until 2nd grade or later and be just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Well, I'm going to go in another direction. FLL gave us a great way to work on oral/auditory language development when vision & SPD/fine motor delay issues prevented ds from making headway with reading & writing. I don't see this discussed often, but there is only so much :banghead: you can do with teaching reading and it is fantastic to have a different way to approach language instruction. I think I saw from your siggie that your ds is in some therapies too, so I'm going to suggest you try it for the above reasons. With these kinds of kiddos, the brain development is there but some of the other issues can get in the way, and having an oral method of teaching language keeps them progressing while their bodies learn to compensate with the therapies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 (edited) We switched from unschooling to classical when my oldest would have started kindergarten last fall (he was 5.5), and he started FLL at that time, no problem, but he was way beyond ready for a more formal curriculum and raced through kindergarten in about two months. We skipped the "enrichment" activities at the ends of the lessons. My daughter is just finishing kindergarten now (she's 4.5), and since she was almost a year and a half younger when she started, we focused on letter recognition and sounds (Leapfrog Letter Factory took care of that), number recognition (Leapfrog Numbers Ahoy) and beginning math skills (RightStart Math Level A). She loves workbooks, so I had her fine-tune her motor skills with those in preparation for beginning penmanship. Once she had the letter sounds down we started OPGTR. We only just started FLL with her last week, when she'd acquired most of the first grade skills. So long story short: it depends on the kid and their development. You can always try it and see if it seems to be going well; if not, hang it back up for a while. Edited August 27, 2011 by go_go_gadget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 We did FLL 1 in K and had no problem. I read everything to dd since she couldn't read yet. We didn't do the writing parts. She loved it and enjoyed memorizing the poems. The grammar was gentle, but it stuck with her. You could see if your kiddo is ready now. If not, just wait for 1st grade. Don't worry about getting behind. Every kid is different at this early stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Well, I'm going to go in another direction. FLL gave us a great way to work on oral/auditory language development when vision & SPD/fine motor delay issues prevented ds from making headway with reading & writing. I don't see this discussed often, but there is only so much :banghead: you can do with teaching reading and it is fantastic to have a different way to approach language instruction. I think I saw from your siggie that your ds is in some therapies too, so I'm going to suggest you try it for the above reasons. With these kinds of kiddos, the brain development is there but some of the other issues can get in the way, and having an oral method of teaching language keeps them progressing while their bodies learn to compensate with the therapies. This is intresting -- I may try it -- I plan it for 1st if not this year, so no harm in getting it. I like it can be done orally -- his handvritting is still a struggle, more for unease trying than a real delay -- he is delayed some, but also fustrated by it. I lik the idea of approaching things from many sides -- covering the same "learning" in more than one style or manner -- if not, bokkshelf till 2nd semester or net fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 the one book is all you need, correct? no teacher book or additional materials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Just focus on phonics and reading and learning to write for k. I had kept my boys together for LA for a couple years and so technically DS2 was kindy when I did FLL1 with him and it was hard for him. We did FLL2 when he was in 1st grade (me still wanting to keep the boys together) and now he's repeating 2nd grade grammar with R&S. He just needed the extra time. Especially being a boy, I think. I'm learning not to push boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted August 29, 2011 Author Share Posted August 29, 2011 Just focus on phonics and reading and learning to write for k. I had kept my boys together for LA for a couple years and so technically DS2 was kindy when I did FLL1 with him and it was hard for him. We did FLL2 when he was in 1st grade (me still wanting to keep the boys together) and now he's repeating 2nd grade grammar with R&S. He just needed the extra time. Especially being a boy, I think. I'm learning not to push boys. that is my mantra -- 'he is a boy, he is young, do not push' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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