dragons in the flower bed Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I have homeschooled every grade, now, either myself or my stepkids or my older boys, and here I am with a five-year-old again. This boy is different from all the rest. He is very much our baby. He is sweet and big-hearted, intuitive and sensitive and smart about people, and not the slightest bit academic. Doesn't read. Doesn't care for math. He doesn't have any problems, he just doesn't maniacally chase knowledge, parents running to keep up, like his brothers did. Here I am with what I feel is my first actual kindergartener. Before I had brainiac weirdos who ate cold hard physics for breakfast and begged for Latin drill for dessert. Now I have the boy for whom teachers invented weather charts with smiling suns. Here is a kid who wouldn't mind a unit study on police officers or the four seasons. I might mind that, but I want to meet him at least halfway. So what the heck curriculum do I use? What does a very gently academic kindergarden look like? Don't say just the basics. We're doing just the basics but he needs more structured mom time. FIAR? SL? WP AW? What are my other options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelissaMinNC Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 My Father's World Kindergarten is a very gentle and fun program. A mini unit study for each letter of the alphabet that includes lots of stories and activities (art, science, cooking, etc.), but most activities are not so complicated they can't get done, and it doesn't take a long time day-to-day. Tweakable. It includes phonics and math, but if you've already got that covered, you can omit theirs and still have plenty of things to do. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I'm a big fan of FIAR for sunshine-and-roses kinder. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 FIAR is a fun, cuddly program which can be as academic as you want to make it. I like the way it gives small tastes of many, many topics and keeps moving on. I think it gives kids the sense that there's a vast world out there full of interesting things to learn about. It's also relatively low-stress for the parent, if you row conversationally and ignore all the fiddly lapbook stuff that people add. (Okay, that may just be my bias. You couldn't pay me to make a lapbook.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairyMom Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Well, I'm partial to Oak Meadow. I've bought, sold and returned almost everything out there the past three years (SL, HOD, WP, MFW, FIAR, etc.), and made a full circle back to Oak Meadow. I'm doing their K program for the second time with my youngest this year. I post very frequently on my blog if you are interested. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I am using Heart of Dakota - Little Hearts for His Glory, with my 4 & 5 year olds. We are having a great time with it! It is very flexible for different levels (my 5 year old has been reading for a while & my 4 year old isn't reading yet), and it is also a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyL Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Since he is not reading yet, you might take a look at "An Ant - Learn to Read" by Kallie Woods. It starts at the very beginning and teaches reading through illustrated stories that are attractive to kids who like "smiling suns" as you said, or other cute characters. Other phonics books are mostly just lists of words or isolated sentences that are not going to appeal to a child who isn't highly motivated to learn. This one is a lot more fun, and even the adults that I have shown it to want to page through and look at all the pictures! We used it with a very academic-minded child and she LOVED eveything about it and wanted to keep going past the allotted lesson time. The book has a slow steady pace that doesn't leave kids behind, so they are able to develop confidence. You can download the first few lessons at http://www.brodenbooks.com before deciding to order the book. Best of luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 FIAR is a fun, cuddly program which can be as academic as you want to make it. I like the way it gives small tastes of many, many topics and keeps moving on. I think it gives kids the sense that there's a vast world out there full of interesting things to learn about. :iagree: And in the midst of that vast array of topics, you may run across some things that your ds is interested in or even passionate about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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