Planning WTM Curriculum with Accelerated Learner

[imagine.more]

I am wanting to follow the WTM suggestions pretty closely, we'll do Miquon Math for 2 years before moving to Singapore math but other than that I really like the WTM overall scope and sequence.

 

But, how does that work with an accelerated learner. I have a 3 year old who taught himself to read last year and is currently halfway through OPGTR and beyond the Bob Books kind of phase really. He does well with early readers like the Little House On The Prairie picture books, Dr. Seuss, those sort of books. We haven't done much with math, due to start this winter since he's begging me for more to do. He's just learning to write his letters and we do some memorization work though no narrations yet.

 

So with him being at a roughly Kindergarten level now (I taught K and 1st in PS and honestly he's on level with 1st for reading, K for math) should I assume he's in Grammar Stage starting next year and kind of go from there? Did you guys ever just start the 1st grade recommendations 1-2 years early? Or maybe do an extended Grammar Stage?

[acurtis75]

I'm sure there will be varied answers but here's what I did. I used the wtm outline for subjects to cover but just moved at our own pace and added some subjects early for extra challenge. When dd was your son's age we did bible, explode the code, math (we used horizons but have since switched to mathusee because I find it much easier to accelerate), song school Latin and handwriting without tears. I also added some stuff from critical thinking company. We didn't do everything everyday and didn't spend more than an hour and a half on school stuff. Dd moved through everthing quickly so as her reading improved we started adding additional subjects. She was probably 4 when we started the sotw history cycle but we took a little longer than a year to go through it and read lots of supplemental library books since we weren't in hurry. We added FLL and WWE around 5. Later that year we added apologia science. I've had to skip levels in FLL & wwe to keep her from being bored and we move through math at a much faster pace than the curriculum schedule.

 

Everyone's child is different but you'll get a feel for what needs to be done as you start working on more subjects together. Here's what our current curriculum plans look like at age 6

 

Kay Arthur inductive bible study for kids

ETC bok 8

FLL3

WWE3

MCT sentence island & practice island

MUS Delta (we finished Gamma already this year and will finish Delta & probably a good portion of Epsilon)

Life of Fred elementary books at her own pace

Singapore challenging word problems

HWOT cursive (at her request..I was postponing it waiting for her to improve printing but she started teaching herself cursive so I got the book so I could teach her properly)

spelling - we recently ditched the curriculum because I moved up multiple levels and she still spelled everything right on the pre-tests. Now we do a weekly list from the 1st-3rd grade homeschool spelling bee study guide.

Apologia elementary anatomy & physiology

Sotw year 2

Latin for Children A

Song school Greek

Geography songs

Mind benders

 

That looks like a lot but but we still don't do everything everyday. We spend about 2 hours a day on school. She normally spends at least another hour reading independently.

[TracyP]

I think TWTM works fine with an accelerated learner. WTM lays out such a nice progression of skills that you can just start at the beginning and work through at your dc's pace. The only catch is that I use WTM (the book) but do not feel tied to WTM recommendations. They are two different things. So, if your dc is ready and willing you could go ahead and start the grammar stage WTM. The only change I would make is that I would just follow interests in history and science for now.

 

I would not assume an "extended grammar stage" is ahead of you. You will most likely move into the logic stage at different times in different subjects. I do not follow WTM grade levels. We work on mastering the skills asked for in each grade and then moving on to the next. This means we could be working at, below, or above grade level as needed for each subject.

[The Governess]

My dd7 was similar. When she turned 4 she was reading and comprehending 3rd-4th grade books like Little House on the Prairie, etc. I started kindergarten work with her in all subjects shortly after her 4th birthday, and we just kept moving ahead at her own pace. Now at a young 7, she is doing 3rd grade grammar and writing, and reading and spelling at a 6th grade level. I just keep going at a pace that works for her, and bump her up when I see that she is not being challenged. Even though she is working at higher levels in many subjects, I will not bump her up to logic stage type work until I see that she has made that developmental leap. So, although she is reading bigger, more complex books, we still discuss them at a basic, grammar-stage level, etc.

 

So, with your son, you may be doing some preschool skills, some K work, and some 1st grade work...but I would still call him a preschooler. When he is K aged, call him an accelerated kindergartener. :001_smile: Just let him work forward in each subject at his own pace and teach him based on where he is at.

[nitascool]

We didn't start the WTM rotation with history and science until 6yo. I just wanted to expose him to everything before age six. In retrospect I would have done even more writing (penmanship) skills work to prepare him for the upper level work. Ds is not gifted in math so we just began at K level with him when he was 4 and slowly moved on from there. It took a while to find a program that worked for him.

 

When he went through year 1 of the rotation (at 6) I got books out from the 1st and 2nd rotation list. So ds did SOTW 1, all the books suggested in the Activity Guide, the 1st grade and the 5th grade book list in WTM. We did this through the entire 1st rotation.

 

Now that he is in the 6th grade he is rereading some (not all) of the better set of materials about 1/3 of the list (to his 1st grade brother) and about 2/3rds of the 3rd rotation books (10th grade list).

 

We also expanded the list using Ambleside Online and skipped a few we couldn't find. This worked mostly for us except for some asynchronous development that gave us some trouble here and there.

 

I think the best thing is to keep your plan flexible and be sure to move at their pace. Oh and remember that some days your 4yo will be able to do x,y,z grade work and other times she wont and that that is normal.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I am wanting to follow the WTM suggestions pretty closely......But, how does that work with an accelerated learner. .... Did you guys ever just start the 1st grade recommendations 1-2 years early? Or maybe do an extended Grammar Stage?

 

My daughter is always working at various levels. She was ready for logic stage work in many subjects before fifth grade so we started those when she was ready. Remember, it's not set in stone. The stages are guidelines.

 

An extended grammar stage wouldn't be necessary. Just move to logic level in each subject as he is ready.

[Crimson Wife]

Don't be surprised if you find you use a mix of grammar- and logic-stage recommendations the first time through the cycle and a mix of logic- and rhetoric-stage recommendations the second time. Our family probably will outsource high school to an online or brick & mortar private school, but if I do end up HS, it would presumably be with a mix of rhetoric and college-level materials.

[serendipitous journey]

 

Apologia elementary anatomy & physiology

 

 

... not to hijack; but can I ask how old your little one is? Button wants to do more human body, and Apologia seems so clear and thorough, but I know people have had trouble with that anatomy/physiology for younger elementary ...

 

EDIT: sorry, I didn't see that she was 6 :blush:

Edited November 15, 2011 by serendipitous journey

[imagine.more]

Thanks for your responses! Okay, so I guess my big question right now is when to start History/Science with him in the 4 year cycle.

[boscopup]

What I have done, am doing, and will do with future kidlet... Focus on the 3Rs until 1st grade. With reading, writing, and basic math down pat, they're ready to learn all kinds of things. :) In 1st, I start the history/science cycle (youngers are jumping in where oldest is in the cycle). I don't worry about what grade is grammar/logic/rhetoric stage. That doesn't really apply as much to gifted kids. SWB mentions in her lectures that gifted kids hit the stages earlier. Kids can also hit the stages at different times in different subjects. For example, a child may be ready for logic stage math (algebra) but not be ready for logic stage literary analysis... or vice versa. I teach each subject to the stage that my child is in in that subject. For the most part, my son has usually needed higher level input, grade level output expectations. This may change when the physical act of writing catches up with his brain. His oral narrations are excellent, but he's not able to write a 2-3 sentence narration on his own yet. We just started yesterday having him write one sentence on his own, and he did very well (even put the comma in the right place when I said, "I think there should be a comma somewhere in that sentence."). He's just still slow right now because he's thinking about how to form the letters, how to spell the words, etc. That part will get better.

 

As far as history and science go... Unless you plan to graduate early, you don't really need to go "off cycle" (unless you want to, of course - I'm doing 2 years of American history for 3rd and 4th grade :D). Just give your child appropriate level reading materials. You won't run out of things to read. You can always go deeper in those topics.

 

The nice thing about having an accelerated learner at this stage is that we aren't spending a lot of time on phonics/reading and learning basic math, and thus we can relax and let the kid play more. As ahead as my son is, I have no qualms about saying yes when he asks to "go adventuring" in the back pasture (DH cut some maze-like paths in the tall grass for the kids :001_wub:). Climbing gates and running around the pasture using imaginative play is more important than getting farther and farther ahead. I feel comfortable letting him go out there and play for hours because we did an hour or 2 of school work and are ahead. His mind is stimulated, he's reading plenty, and he has time to play with his brothers most of the day. :)

[acurtis75]

... not to hijack; but can I ask how old your little one is? Button wants to do more human body, and Apologia seems so clear and thorough, but I know people have had trouble with that anatomy/physiology for younger elementary ...

 

EDIT: sorry, I didn't see that she was 6 :blush:

 

We really like it but it is pretty meaty. It's not a problem for us because she's a really strong reader (in the last week she's read most of Black Beauty, The Hobbit, The Girl Who Could Fly & is half way through Anne of Green Gables). She reads the text on her own and we discuss the narration questions. I really like the notebook too. We have both the regular one and the jr version. The jr version has a lot of coloring pages she likes but we mostly use the regular one. The books and illustrations are beautiful.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

What I have done, am doing, and will do with future kidlet... Focus on the 3Rs until 1st grade. With reading, writing, and basic math down pat, they're ready to learn all kinds of things. :) .........

 

 

:iagree:

 

Lots of good advice in the whole post! For many reasons, I wouldn't rush into starting the formal cycles of science and history.

[TeaTotaler]

WTM has worked very well for us. It provides the framework but I have no problems switching to different materials than those specifically recommended if they would be a better fit for my son and his interests.

 

Ds begged to start with the Ancients in Kindergarten (he was ready) so we went ahead. I do not regret that at all. It gave us an extra year to stretch out the last 2 volumes of SOTW with more US History.

 

We have no problems with working at different levels in different subjects. Homeschooling has worked well for us. It has given ds more time to pursue musical interests and other hobbies.

 

Of course, as we move into the upper grades my brain gets worn out faster and I am exhausted at the end of the day :-)

 

P.S. I have an only so take what I say with a a few tsps of salt!!

 

 

 

I am wanting to follow the WTM suggestions pretty closely, we'll do Miquon Math for 2 years before moving to Singapore math but other than that I really like the WTM overall scope and sequence.

 

But, how does that work with an accelerated learner. I have a 3 year old who taught himself to read last year and is currently halfway through OPGTR and beyond the Bob Books kind of phase really. He does well with early readers like the Little House On The Prairie picture books, Dr. Seuss, those sort of books. We haven't done much with math, due to start this winter since he's begging me for more to do. He's just learning to write his letters and we do some memorization work though no narrations yet.

 

So with him being at a roughly Kindergarten level now (I taught K and 1st in PS and honestly he's on level with 1st for reading, K for math) should I assume he's in Grammar Stage starting next year and kind of go from there? Did you guys ever just start the 1st grade recommendations 1-2 years early? Or maybe do an extended Grammar Stage?

[StartingOver]

We started the 4 year rotation for Science and History this year. My son is now 5.5 years old, and doing very well. He is over half way through the year.

[The Governess]

You can start history and science any time. In fact, you could spread the first two years over four years. There is so much great stuff for these time periods/ science topics (knights and mummies! plants and outer space and the human body!) that you could easily stretch them out. Then you could start year 3 in third grade and continue with the normal timeline. I spread ancients over two years (K and 1st) and wish I had had that much time to spend on medieval history.

[Donna]

I waited to start the formal history and science rotations until dd was 5yo and the past two years we have detoured into US history alone rather than do modern history very young.

 

Prior to that she sat in on her brother's history and science when she wanted and we read tons of books on different history and science topics. I saw no need to hurry into the rotations and once in the cycles, we covered everything much more in depth than the average 1st grade child would cover it.

[beaners]

Here is what I'm planning at the moment for my current 4 year old. I'm waiting until my daughter hits first grade age to start a formal history and science plan. We have been doing a lot of natural history/prehistory reading. We read stories about different periods of time or famous people or various cultures, but without any unifying plan. Right now we are just filing away stories, instead of assembling them in sequence. I'm waiting for now because, while I think that my daughter would truly enjoy working through material in a systemic manner, I think she will get more benefit and long-term retention if she is slightly older when we do our first formal cycle. (Who knows if that's the right decision, though.)

 

We are working through math and reading right now. We mostly read aloud together, and we've been reading through the McGuffey readers to hit correct pronunciation of more advanced words. My daughter will write lists and sentences that she makes up, with help on some of the spelling. We write letters to relatives. As long as she does a little bit of writing every day, I'm planning on holding off on formal copywork for another year. I'm counting learning songs and lines for children's choir as memory work for now, but we will add that in at first grade age too.

 

We have added in French, and we read stories or listen to things in French most days. It's not formal, but she enjoys it. We spend a lot of time painting, coloring, building, and going outside. That part of our day looks very age-typical.

 

I'm hoping that we will actually be able to stay more relaxed during the early elementary years because my daughter is already reading well and understanding math concepts. Even if we are doing more in-depth or advanced work, there is less pressure because we are already ahead of where we need to be. It might all be wishful thinking, because I'm already getting requests for more books about fossils and marine mammals. Plus, I was completely brushed off after a 30 second explanation of place value. My plans will probably be different in another 3 months, too.

[acurtis75]

I started the history cycle when dd was barely 4 but we took more than a year to do year one. History was immediately her favorite subject and she loved reading all the library books about Egypt, Greece & Rome. IMHO it doesn't hurt to start early because young children love stories about mummies, mythology, etc.

 

We started science at dd's request when she was about 5 1/2. I will say it is what gets skipped most often if we don't have time to complete every subject. I'm not concerned about it because I don't think formal science is necessarily a must until later elementary age.

[lewelma]

Thanks for your responses! Okay, so I guess my big question right now is when to start History/Science with him in the 4 year cycle.

 

I would think it through for your family as a whole. I see you have a 10month old. So I would plan to start the first rotation when child #1 is 6 and child #2 is 4, or child #2 will be too young to remember anything, and child #1 won't finish 3 times around the 4 year rotation before she graduates.

 

So for child #1, between age 4 and 6, you could:

 

1) just read to child #1 anything in history and science that catches her interest.

2) just read fiction to her

3) do a mini-rotation over 2 years. Just dabble, but start more seriously when she is 6 and child #2 can join.

 

Ruth in NZ

[higginszoo]

My oldest was about 5 when we started the history and science cycles. My others were 3 and 4 and following along from there. One thing that i really need to keep in mind with accelerated learners is to get rid of the timeframes. Miquon could take 2 years, it could take 6 months, or they could lose interest halfway through and leave you looking for something else. It worked much better for me once I adjusted my thinking to 'we'll do Miquon as long as it works, then move on to Singapore' ... similarly, the '4 year' cycle of history has taken us anywhere from 2 years to 5 years, depending on the depth that the kids seemed to want to accommodate at the time (we're 2/3 of the way through our 4th time through). The nice thing about this kind of learner is they're usually pretty capable of taking the lead as far as pacing is concerned -- they'll run until they're tired, then stop for a while, and let you know when they're ready to run again. The most difficult part of balancing 4 like this is they don't all have the same run/rest cycles.