pitterpatter Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 DD and I started our home-school journey together this past fall. She's 4.5 years old and working on the kindergarten/first grade level. We are planning to home-school year around. We don't take many breaks. We save them for when DH has vacation time. We do take weekends off and will take most of the month of July off. Among our curriculum, we use HWOT, Singapore Math (Early Bird A & B) and HOP. All of these are leveled. We will be finishing up HWOT Kindergarten in a couple of weeks. We will likely finish up HOP Kindergarten by March and the entire Singapore Math Early Bird program the first part of April. Do you all just keep on trucking, if you're using a leveled series, or do you stop and practice or something in between? It blows my mind to think that DD could be working on the second grade level (according to the aforementioned programs) by the time her peers are just entering kindergarten. I assume there will come a point where she just won't be ready to truck along, but I don't really know for sure. This is all new to me. She's done very well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waa510 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 My dd is 5, and I found myself in a similar situation with her. Yes, I've just continued on in the series. There are times where I've had to 'tread water' in the sense that she really needed level 1.5 after finishing level 1..and reading through level 2 I could see she wasn't quite there yet. Some curriculum make a huge leap between levels. But overall this approach has worked very well for her. I still call her Kindergarten, but we work on her level in each subject. It's the beauty of homeschooling :001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Keep trucking, but keep her age in mind for output expectations, and don't be afraid to set something aside for a bit if it's starting to get too much. The nice thing about being ahead is that it makes it easier to say "Let's take a break for a month!" She may stay ahead, or she may even out at some point. You just can't tell. Follow her lead. And feel free to hop on over to the Accelerated Learner board. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 That's what we've done. As others have said, it's one of the greatest advantages of homeschooling and can go both ways: you can keep going when it's developmentally appropriate to do so, and slow down or even stop for a while if indicated. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 I'll basically echo what the others have said. In some things we keep trucking, but if Ariel wasn't quite ready for the next level, we'd tread water for a bit, or change directions (doing creative writing instead of the next level of WWE, for example) when doing so would be a better fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 Thanks for the insight! :001_smile: Can't imagine DD not getting to a point where we'll need to tread water for a bit. If/when we get to this point, would we just take a break from that subject (can't imagine taking a break from a core subject, would be afraid of regression) or find some additional resources for that level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lluv Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 This is our first year homeschooling as well, and I started DS(5) with Singapore 1B. He used Abeka the year before and passed the placement test, but 1B was still above his head and he was getting frustrated. I put the book away. I didn't want to stop math completely, so we just worked on math drills. A couple months ago I found this site, and when I found out about Miquon we started using that in addition to the math drills. He loves using the c-rods. I didn't want to give up on Singapore though, so I decided to back track and bought 1A, which we just started working on during our "Christmas Break". Even though it is relatively "easy", he seems to enjoy doing both programs so far. I've come to believe what the other seasoned homeschoolers on this board have said- take a break if you think your child needs it, step away from the book, "tread water", or if it's not a good fit, get a different book. It took me a while to realize that the main benefit of homeschooling is that I get to tailor my child's education to whatever I think he needs. I was so stressed out in the beginning that we weren't doing enough or that he wasn't getting concepts fast enough that we were both miserable. Reading this forum has really helped me gain perspective and now I'm more confident and def. much more relaxed!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 We keep trucking along. DS will be on 2nd grade work while still Pre-K age. My plan is just to go at his pace and when he needs a break or more time on something we take it. It is the beauty of homeschooling. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 We normally take a week or 2 off from "formally" studying that subject (we have been there with phonics and math) play games in that subject area and then move on. A few times we have gotten to a point where I thought we needed a little more time, we slow down, add more games, tread water a little and before you know it, we are moving on again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Generally, yes, but I take breaks every few months where we do review for awhile, usually when there's a lot going on in our everyday lives. We try to do at least a small amount of school daily year-round, but that doesn't mean that we do our full curriculum using our regular texts daily. The other thing to keep in mind is that K/1 materials tend to be lighter than higher grades,and as the kids move on, it's easier to find meatier content where they'll be challenged and slow down a little. I think I finally found a decent balance this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 It depends. Usually we would keep on going, but sometimes we would take time out to do something related but a bit different for a change. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 If they start getting too ahead I have a 2nd curriculum that I alternate with to stretch it out while still reinforcing concepts and skills. We also homeschool year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 If they start getting too ahead I have a 2nd curriculum that I alternate with to stretch it out while still reinforcing concepts and skills. We also homeschool year round. I was going to suggest this too. MEP, CSMP, and a few other programs are available for free online to browse through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 It depends. Sometimes we'll keep going. Usually in math and some LA subjects. But for the most part if they finish something and I feel that they have learned it and have a solid grasp on it, I'll just add something else. Take that time to add in some more science, history, arts or music etc. If they finish something but I feel they could still use more practice or work in it, then I'll try to find something else. Especially when they are young, keep in mind that kids need downtime to let everything they are learning marinate so to speak. And younger children do need lots of time to just play and work with hands-on manipulatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Just keep going. You might find that she slows down at some point, when she gets to something that is truly challenging to her. And if it's truly too difficult, you'll know, and you can just go sideways for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Thanks for the insight! :001_smile: Can't imagine DD not getting to a point where we'll need to tread water for a bit. If/when we get to this point, would we just take a break from that subject (can't imagine taking a break from a core subject, would be afraid of regression) or find some additional resources for that level? We use additional resources, like MEP or drill sheets for math, or reviewing phonograms and reading easy books for fluency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 The other thing to keep in mind is that K/1 materials tend to be lighter than higher grades,and as the kids move on, it's easier to find meatier content where they'll be challenged and slow down a little. I think I finally found a decent balance this year. :iagree:Even within K/1 materials I feel there is quite a variety of difficulty in terms of output and thinking skills. If you finish HOP, you could move into something like OPGTR, which takes students to a 4th grade reading level by the end. The HWOT books are also known for being quite short and both of my guys have needed additional practice before moving onto straight copywork (2nd ds is almost there now, but HWOT book only took us about 2 months). Grade level is somewhat subjective at the beginning as kids are usually all over the map so you may find that a different K or 1 program is much harder or takes longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Yes, we just keep going, though my dd does best with two math programs so we switch back and forth between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 How does this work? Do you choose two that cover the exact same concepts and then cover the concept in one one day and then cover the same concept in the other the next day? :confused: Two ways of doing the same thing? Yes, we just keep going, though my dd does best with two math programs so we switch back and forth between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Pitterpatter, is that you? :seeya: Welcome to the boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 For ds9, we're adding in the next level without additional curriculum. I do supplement with games and CWP (Challenging Word Problems). I plan on continuing through each level until SM 5B. Then, he'll start pre-algebra, but I expect this will take longer than the basic arithmetic. If I don't think he's ready for algebra after going through a pre-algebra textbook, I'll add in another pre-algebra textbook and work on the concepts until he's ready. For dd5, she's completed Earlybird but is moving through SM1 at a slower pace. I'm supplementing with Miquon as well as games and MEP. Once she's completed the first level, I'll consider her math mastery. If she's not ready, we'll work on facts and skip counting, probably using EP then CWP before moving on to SM2. As others have said, you will know if your child is ready. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can educate at your child's pace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 LOL! Probably. ;) -pitterpatter ;);) PS - And, thanks...I love it here. So much great info. Pitterpatter, is that you? :seeya: Welcome to the boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.