friendlyjas Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 My daughter is transitioning from her Kindergarten work to First Grade type work. I've noticed she really needs a little more school each day than I have been doing. (As a Kindergartener, they do reading, math, and we just read books.) She has started writing on her own and is reading. I'm wondering if it is time to start Writing With Ease and First Language Lessons. What skills do they need to have before beginning those two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I think you could definitely start FLL. Is she able to form all of her letters correctly? I would shore up handwriting before moving onto a writing program. Once she can form all letters with ease, then you can move into copywork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendlyjas Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Yes, she can write all her letters. She writes all the time, actually. Little notes. Just words she knows over and over. She does some copy work on her own. (I'll go into her room and she'll be sitting with her notebook and a book, copying the words.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I'd start with FLL now. It's very gentle. WWE copywork is doable now, but the narration questions may be difficult, and getting a year ahead in WWE may not be what you want long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendlyjas Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thanks. Our goal isn't to get ahead or anything. We're just trying to press on. It seems our years don't divide out like public school and they move at their own pace through their work. I just didn't really know where WWE would fit into all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 You could start adding the WWE principles. If she's not ready for dictation, you could use short sentences for copywork. I usually pick a 4-5 word sentence from dd's phonics reader. I've also started asking simple questions about her reading to build up narration skills: Where were the whales? What were they doing? What did they eat? My dd is still working on her writing skills, so she traces her copywork sentence 4x a week (I write it out using a highlighter) and writes freehand 1x a week. The tracing has helped her focus on her letter formation without worrying about losing her place in the sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classically Minded Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 In the FAQ on the WTM website at the bottom of this page, she gives rec's of when to start what (penmanship, spelling, FLL, etc.): http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/frequently-asked-questions?___store=default Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I agree, at least start First Language Lessons 1 (FLL1) now. You can TRY doing Writing With Ease 1 (WWE1) right now and see how it goes. I would definetly add in ETC, any of these levels may work depending on where your child is at in reading: Preschool Get Ready for the Code (Book A) teaches consonants b, f, m, k, r, and t. Get Set for the Code (Book B) teaches consonants p, j, h, s, n, and d. Go for the Code (Book C) teaches consonants c, j, g, w, y, v, z, and q. Kindergarten Explode the Code Book 1 (ETC 1) starts with a consonant pretest to check to see if your child knows the consonants covered in the primers (A,B,C). Then it goes on to cover the short vowels Explode the Code Book 1 1/2 (ETC 1 1/2) provides further practice in the skills learned in Book 1. We use this because I want things cemented in, however some people skill the half books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thanks. Our goal isn't to get ahead or anything. We're just trying to press on. It seems our years don't divide out like public school and they move at their own pace through their work. I just didn't really know where WWE would fit into all of it. Completely understand. ;) Nothing we do fits into the 36 week school year, and we school year round. We started homeschooling halfway through first grade, and WWE1's comprehension questions were challenging, despite DS being capable of reading and comprehending the material himself. Frankly, sometimes *I* couldn't remember the details being asked for, and I was the one reading the passage! :lol: There is also a jump between WWE2 and WWE3, and possibly another one from 3 to 4? We haven't had much issue going from 1 to 2. Actually, I think the narrations have been easier for us, but DS also had a leap in comprehension from grade 1 to grade 2. The dictation is reasonably difficult for 2nd grade. In WWE3, you get into paragraph length dictation. SWB recommends starting WWE at age 6, and it's interesting to note that CM also recommended starting narration at age 6. You can always test the waters with your regular picture books and longer read-alouds, asking some questions and such. See how she does. FLL1 includes some easier narrations - they're whole stories, not just snippets like WWE has. That makes it even easier. If she finds the narration in FLL1 easy, you can try starting WWE1. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendlyjas Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 She has pretty good comprehension skills. We're reading Oliver Twist right now and she can tell you the entire story up to this point, which I was pretty impressed with. I wasn't really thinking she was listening very much, but apparently she is. Thank you for the link. I'm going to check it out right now. My 4 year old is using some of the ETC stuff. It really wasn't up my DD's alley. She prefers TOPGTR. My son likes ETC more than TOPGTR. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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