Guest happyhippymama Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Hi! I'm Alicia. I will be homeschooling my children (beginning the fall). Right now my oldest is in 1st grade at a Public Magnet School. He is doing very well, but he was recently diagnosed with Asperger's and Sensory Integration Disorder and we feel like homeschooling may work better for him. I'm not pulling him out of first grade, so he will continue through the end of May. We will probably start HS near the end of June, so we can get a good feel for it. So, I'm looking at 2nd grade stuff for him. He is above average in most things. He was bench marked on a level N guided reading level (because they can't go higher than a grade above). He is pretty strong in math as well. My daughter will be 4 and I wanted to do some Pre-K with her. We also have a toddler and my main objective is to keep him out of trouble. Initially, I wanted to do a complete curriculum, but after reading reviews, I don't think it will work for us. So, I'm a little intimidated going into this doing as a first year HSer with a big variety of things. Here is what I'm leaning toward: English/Grammar/Spelling/Penmanship: Rod & Staff Reading: ?? Math: Singapore...but considering Saxon Science: Apologia - Zoology 1 Social Studies: SOTW???, I'm also thinking of adding a weekly country to study. Health: ?? Art: ?? Music: he is going to start piano lessons Foreign Language: He does Spanish in school now, so I want to stay consistent...just not sure what. Pre- K: no clue, really. I was actually just thinking of doing work books, letters, shapes and have a really laid back approach. So, I'm definitely looking for advice on reading, health, art, & Spanish. We love to read and love literature. For our reading, I'd prefer secular material. I also welcome any advice! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) You could try Artistics Pursuits for Art. Edited February 8, 2012 by lailasmum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happyhippymama Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 You could try Artistics Pursuits for Art. The link isn't working. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Sorted it out, not sure what happened first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ummto4 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Reading: Sonlight has different packages for independent reading plus a guide to go w/ it or just get books from your library regularly. Other possibility: get a graded reader from r&s or free from googlebooks, e.g. elson reader, beacon reader, mcguffey reader, etc. At the beginning, I use graded readers from googlebook to monitor my dc's reading (for school) , and tell them to get any books from the library (for free time). PreK: w use before five in a row w/ print out from homeschoolshare and homeschool creation. Otherwise, you can try out this approach for free using materials from homeschoolshare. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I used What Your First Grader Needs to Know for art in 1st grade along with the projects from Story of the World which are very artistic in the first volume. The WYFGNTK also has lots of poetry and stories to read, along with history to supplement and science biographies. It is just a good book to have on hand. But specifically, I used it for music and art studies. For reading for my 2nd grader, I have used readers like PP suggested that I have picked up at used book sales and lists from Sonlight and Well Trained Mind. I just pick up the books from the library. For health, we just do it in real life: fire safety, how to not talk to strangers, brushing teeth, healthy foods and exercise, etc. P.S. I don't think you need to add to SOTW. You will cover many countries each year. You can always look for books that show the country now while you are in the ancients. Some titles like that are listed in the A.G. ETA:: PreK. With my last preKer we used Rod and Staff's ABC workbooks and Bible stories and Letteroftheweek.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happyhippymama Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Sorted it out, not sure what happened first time. Thanks! That looks promising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happyhippymama Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Reading: Sonlight has different packages for independent reading plus a guide to go w/ it or just get books from your library regularly. Other possibility: get a graded reader from r&s or free from googlebooks, e.g. elson reader, beacon reader, mcguffey reader, etc.At the beginning, I use graded readers from googlebook to monitor my dc's reading (for school) , and tell them to get any books from the library (for free time). PreK: w use before five in a row w/ print out from homeschoolshare and homeschool creation. Otherwise, you can try out this approach for free using materials from homeschoolshare. HTH thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happyhippymama Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I used What Your First Grader Needs to Know for art in 1st grade along with the projects from Story of the World which are very artistic in the first volume. The WYFGNTK also has lots of poetry and stories to read, along with history to supplement and science biographies. It is just a good book to have on hand. But specifically, I used it for music and art studies. For reading for my 2nd grader, I have used readers like PP suggested that I have picked up at used book sales and lists from Sonlight and Well Trained Mind. I just pick up the books from the library. For health, we just do it in real life: fire safety, how to not talk to strangers, brushing teeth, healthy foods and exercise, etc. P.S. I don't think you need to add to SOTW. You will cover many countries each year. You can always look for books that show the country now while you are in the ancients. Some titles like that are listed in the A.G. ETA:: PreK. With my last preKer we used Rod and Staff's ABC workbooks and Bible stories and Letteroftheweek.com Awesome, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Hi! I'm Alicia. I will be homeschooling my children (beginning the fall). Right now my oldest is in 1st grade at a Public Magnet School. He is doing very well, but he was recently diagnosed with Asperger's and Sensory Integration Disorder and we feel like homeschooling may work better for him. ! My son was diagnosed with the same 2 things when he was 4. Therapy has been AMAZING! SID is all but gone. We still see it when food is too mushy, like pancakes with too much syrup (gagging), but that's about it. We don't see any of the behavioral issues that we were really struggling with for a long time. As the SID disappeared, the autistic symptoms significantly decreased as well. The average person who doesn't have close, extended interaction with him probably has no clue that my son has anything wrong. Honestly, I'm not sure he'd get the diagnosis if we had him retested now. Just wanted to throw some hope your way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Atelier Art has been awesome for us. I would do a basic forum search for early ed math programs and you will pull up some monster threads debating Saxon/Singapore. Those threads should help you make a decision! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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