First post here...

[Clear Creek]

My youngest child has me at a loss, and I am hoping that you all can give me some advice. He is 4.5 years old. Until his fourth birthday he did not show any signs of being advanced or gifted or anything. In fact, he was a little behind on most things (normal for a preemie). But several days after his birthday he began to ask me the sounds that letters make, and insisted that I teach him how to read. Since then I have been teaching him, using first 100EZ and then Phonics Pathways. He is also in the middle of ETC 1 (which is way too easy, but he thinks it is fun). He only needs to hear a phonics rule once for it to stick, so lessons are pretty easy. I never taught him consonant blends, he has picked them up just from exposure. I am not sure what his reading level is.

 

This is my question...academically, he is ready for first grade material. The problem is, his handwriting skills are typical of a four-year old. I used R&S with my older children, but there is no way he could do the writing that is required with that curriculum! I think I have phonics covered...Phonics Pathways looks very complete...but what about math? What else does one teach an advanced four-year old? He loves to learn and is curious about everything!

 

BTW I am not trying to force anything on him...he *wants* to do school with me every day, has asked to do every single reading lesson that we have ever done, and is constantly asking for more things to learn (he learned to tell time to the hour the other day after a 10 second explanation, quicker than either of my older kids did when they were in first grade).

 

So...if you have any advice on how to present first grade level material to a four-year old (in other words, without requiring any writing from the student), please tell me. Six weeks ago I had pre-k level work set up for him, then I switched to more K level, now I need 1st grade level stuff...help!

[SKL]

My daughter is a similar age. For math, right now we are working on counting money (actual coins) and telling time (actual clock/watch). We talk about things we see around, in terms of fractions, volumes, and so on. I read to her kiddy books that have math themes, even some number books that have simple equations and stuff toward the end. We count in the car by 10s and 5s and will expand that. I did buy a couple of 1st grade workbooks that have math fact equations in them, but I am waiting to start using them until the concepts are pretty well formed mentally.

 

For science and health, we read books from the Rookie Read-About Science series and various easy-reader books with science themes, as well as visiting the zoo and natural history museum and just studying what we see happening outside. We get on the internet to answer questions that go beyond our books.

 

For social studies, we use the globe and study books that touch on geography, history, different cultures, and individual differences. We've also used the internet and visited museums, as mentioned above.

[Karenciavo]

You could do some (most) of the writing for him. That's what I did for my ds9 when he was that age. He also used his math shark, flash cards, and computer based math.

[poetic license]

Sounds just like my son. He was essentially ready for gr. 1 material so we did gr. 1 math. I started by teaching him how to write his #s and he would write as much as he felt comfortable. He did the rest orally and I acted as a scribe. We did a lot of math games and hands on activities to learn the # bonds up to 10 (since that's what much of the first half of gr. 1 is). When ready we did place value as well, all with manipulatives.

 

For LA, we did reading using Ordinary Parent's Guide and then guided reading with me on the side. We did some Five in a Row as well. I had DS do some narrations during religious study using invented spelling. Now that he's almost 5 he's developing an interest in learning correct spelling and his motor control is improved, so we'll slowly add in spelling later this year (maybe, that's the plan at least).

 

Those are the main skill subjects, other than that, we listen to plenty of audiobooks, and DS does a lot of interest-led science reading. Once in a while we'll do a poster or model based on some science topics he's reading. More input, less output.

[Tracy]

This is a hard age, because even if they can read, they often still need interaction from you for their learning experiences. For math, I really love CSMP. It teaches much higher math skills to younger children. I cannot speak to the K curriculum, as I started with 1st grade with my then 5yo. I love it because it engages the child with interesting stories and games, and focuses on mental math skills. Although there are worksheets, they are only for assessment, so they are easily omitted. And, of course, having it free online is pretty handy, too.

[Clear Creek]

This is a hard age, because even if they can read, they often still need interaction from you for their learning experiences. For math, I really love CSMP. It teaches much higher math skills to younger children. I cannot speak to the K curriculum, as I started with 1st grade with my then 5yo. I love it because it engages the child with interesting stories and games, and focuses on mental math skills. Although there are worksheets, they are only for assessment, so they are easily omitted. And, of course, having it free online is pretty handy, too.

 

Thank you!!!!! I don't know how I missed this! The K level is perfect right now...it teaches math through stories, songs, and manipulatives, and it includes lesson plans. I shouldn't need lesson plans anymore (he is my third kid, after all), but if I do not have a daily lesson laid out for me it won't get done. I have had grand plans to use all sorts of math manipulatives with my older children for years, but since they have never fit into the lesson plans, they have never been used. I am a bit ashamed to say that I have geoboards, tangrams, counting bears, pattern blocks, and the entire Math Made Meaningful kit with cuisenaire rods...all of which have never been touched by my older children. :blushing: This program actually incorporates all of them! :hurray:

 

Thank you to everyone else who responded, as well. My son does get a lot of exposure to a variety of topics since he often listens in on his older sisters' science and history lessons, and we do make an effort to go on lots of field trips, so I needed the reminder that a lot of what I am doing with him is actually educational for him. Not to mention all the interest-led stuff...I am off now to find out how to tell time in Spanish. He asked me how just a few minutes ago, and since I don't speak Spanish, I haven't the foggiest idea how to tell time in Spanish!

 

Oh, and I really appreciate this board...I have no one in real life that I can ask these sorts of questions...none of my friends have remotely advanced kids, and I am not going to pipe up with questions about teaching my four-year old child who reads better than their second and third graders. It is nice to meet people who can relate to my situation and don't think I am forcing academics on an unprepared preschooler, but rather trying desperately to feed a child's hunger for knowledge (a hunger that will spiral quickly into a huge tantrum if it is not met).

[Clear Creek]

You could do some (most) of the writing for him. That's what I did for my ds9 when he was that age. He also used his math shark, flash cards, and computer based math.

 

This was my first thought...but if it involves writing, he really wants to do it himself, he will not let me do it for him. This is why we are still in the middle of ETC 1...every time we reach a page of spelling words, he insists on painstakingly writing each one himself, and his writing is very slow and shaky. Since it looks so poor he gets very frustrated with himself, so until his fine motor skills have developed a little more I am hoping to use materials and activities that don't require much writing on his part, in order to eliminate unnecessary frustration.

[Storm Bay]

How about Miquon for math? Or find a way to do math without writing. We loved Singapore Math and my ds started with SM 1, but my middle dd started with 2B (in her case we were switching from something else). I find the textbook visually distracting as did my dc, so I usually just used the workbook & the teaching method (teaching only where needed) for the first few levels.

 

I don't have the link on the computer, but someone once posted a link to an interesting article on math. The gist of it was to do a lot of things such as estimating & measuring. eg you can show him what 1 foot is and have him estimate how tall/long/wide something is, then help him to measure it. If you are interested in learning math facts, there is nothing wrong with learning them by rote along with learning the concepts, and if you do it with songs or flashcards, you don't need to write them to learn them.

 

All children that age are kinesthetic learners, so learning the rote stuff with movement could be a fun game (but that depends on your son.)

 

Something I highly encourage you to do is to get him into some kind of group music class such as Musikgarten or Kindermusik, starting at the 4 & up class. This is what I really, really wanted to do with my kids, but there was nothing around, and that's one of the areas that is great to start in young even if a child isn't gifted or accellerated.

[Runningmom80]

My son is the same, I just have him answer orally. He has little desire to write, so he is happy to skip it. :)

[LittleIzumi]

This was my first thought...but if it involves writing, he really wants to do it himself, he will not let me do it for him. This is why we are still in the middle of ETC 1...every time we reach a page of spelling words, he insists on painstakingly writing each one himself, and his writing is very slow and shaky. Since it looks so poor he gets very frustrated with himself, so until his fine motor skills have developed a little more I am hoping to use materials and activities that don't require much writing on his part, in order to eliminate unnecessary frustration.

 

HWoT is fabulous for teaching letter formation to stubborn kids, IME. :D The Drama also insists on writing her own stuff and the HWoT helped a lot. I got her number stamps when she was overwhelmed at first in her math (Singapore), but she only used them for a few days. ETC has an online option, if he is better with a mouse? The Drama uses both at the same level as your son.

[Tracy]

This was my first thought...but if it involves writing, he really wants to do it himself, he will not let me do it for him. This is why we are still in the middle of ETC 1...every time we reach a page of spelling words, he insists on painstakingly writing each one himself, and his writing is very slow and shaky. Since it looks so poor he gets very frustrated with himself, so until his fine motor skills have developed a little more I am hoping to use materials and activities that don't require much writing on his part, in order to eliminate unnecessary frustration.

 

This really the time to be practicing writing using large motor skills. I so wish that I had understood this when my dd was that age. Here are some ideas:

 

1. White/chalk board

2. Wet towel on a chalk board

3. Sidewalk chalk

4. Shaving cream on the table or baking sheet

5. Bathtub crayons

6. Air writing

7. Salt box

8. Window crayons

 

[go_go_gadget]

The curricula we use don't require much writing until halfway through first grade. RightStart Math has the student learn to write numbers, and the student writes a few numbers per worksheet until about halfway through, and First Language Lessons provides optional writing activities that are fine to skip. All About Spelling mostly uses manipulatives instead of requiring writing, and Story of the World has lots of coloring and crafty activities for non-writers. We used OPGTR, which requires no writing, and we don't start Writing With Ease until the halfway mark. My four year-old first-grader writes for her penmanship lessons and is beginning very short copywork (her full name, our address, etc.), but that's the extent of her writing most days. In January-ish I'll up the amount of writing I require of her, beginning WWE and narrations for history. For now, she illustrates her history narrations rather than writing them. So there are lots of ways to begin first grade gently. Have fun!

[acurtis75]

I also recommend HWOT. I had the exact same issue with my daughter. She was loving ETC but the lack of handwriting skills was slowing her progress and frustrating her because she wanted to write herself but really couldn't. Wasted my time on other handwriting programs first but when we finally found this we were both happy.

 

Also, for math I love MUS Primer for younger children who want to do "school" like older siblings. It's a very gentle intro to numbers and basic addition but with the coloring and blocks it's fun. I didn't discover MUS until we were past the Primer stage but I have three friends who used or are using it with 3 & 4 year olds and love it.