What does a Kindergartener need to learn?

[Dissent]

My daughter is 5. We will be home schooling this coming fall for the first time. She doesn't know how to read so that is my first thing I need to teach her but I am at a loss as to HOW to teach her. She has been read to since she was born and loves books to death. Sometimes she just makes her own words up when she reads according to what she sees in the pictures in the book. Also she knows some spanish and I want to embrace that and expand her vocabulary on that front. Other than simple math,reading,spelling,and spanish what else does she need to learn in Kindergarten? I have seen these little work books at wal mart I thought about getting the ones for her age group and just using those and seeing how it goes...I really can't afford a curriculum and I think that these would work well. Anyone else tried to do that? Good or bad decision on my part to use these?

[PeterPan]

You might try the library, as you can often get copies of OPGTR, WRTR, PP, and other popular curricula. You'll be able to check them out and renew for a couple months, which will give you a good feel for whether they're working or not. Then you can return and either check out again or buy.

 

Your library will also have a section of books on homeschooling including books like Homeschooling on a Shoestring.

 

If I were to suggest, I would put what money you do have into *skills* and use the library for *content*. Between the library and stuff online (PBS, free kindle downloads, etc.) you can keep busy plenty for science, history, geography, etc. When you talk math, I would suggest you get a curriculum. Those walmart workbooks are fine for K5 and 1st, but at some point what they're *not* doing is making sure she understands the concepts. Those workbooks are $5-7 -ish, and for $8 a semester you can have a Horizons workbook. Sometimes you can find tms used on amazon for even less than that. BJU tm's will often be very inexpensive used. (I'm selling my grade level kits for the grade 5 and 6 BJU math right now for $12 ppd on the sale board! That's 2nd edition, but they're fine and work great.) So it's not like all curriculum for this age comes in currencies of $100, lol. You have options that are affordable.

 

As far as learning to read, well like I said I would get that at the library. I taught my dd with SWR, the sister program to WRTR. WRTR is free at the library, as are numerous other programs. Won't cost you a dime that way.

 

WTM will probably also be at your library btw. :)

[ssavings]

For reading, look at the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, or Phonics Pathways. All simple to use, and you can find them used to save money.

For math, maybe Singapore Essentials? It's cheap (about $20 for both workbooks), and easy to use. You can use household objects as manipulatives.

I'd wait on spelling till she's reading fluently.

No idea about Spanish, sorry.

I'd recommend getting her started with handwriting. You can make printable sheets online, or buy a little workbook.

Other than that, a library card. Lots of good read-alouds on.science/history/social studies topics.

[melbotoast]

For phonics, try http://progressivephonics.com/ It's a free phonics program.

 

For Spanish, you could try Salsa Spanish. http://www.gpb.org/salsa My kids love it! There are also free lesson plans online, but I will have to post those later. (currently on my phone)

 

Also, you can just try googling free curriculum. There's a lot of stuff out there.

 

ETA: http://edu.wyoming.gov/Programs/standards/foreign_lang_content_and_standards.aspx

I've done some of these. The activities are designed for a classroom, so I find that a lot of the review is unnecessary. DS seems to pick up the focus words after watching the episode a couple times. I'm not sure what level your daughter is at but you could just breeze through or use it as a fun review.

Edited May 21, 2012 by melbotoast

[kesmom]

I would put what money you do have into *skills* and use the library for *content*.

 

I agree. You can do the 3 R's for under $50 in my opinion. An example set would be Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, Singapore Essential Math B and Handwriting Without Tears K. Then I would use the library for quality literature, interest based science, music CD's etc.... You will probably use some basic school and art supplies, but those can be picked up during the sale season and as needed.

[Dealea86]

I feel your pain. :) We're tight financially, too. We have a few more years before Kindergarten, but I've been looking at some of the free programs out there in case we need them.

 

I would skip spelling until she's a fluent reader.

 

I second progressive phonics! For a 100% free curriculum, it's really well done. That's our plan for reading right now.

 

We did buy Singapore Math's Essential Math program for Kindergarten, but a free option is MEP math's reception year. MEP is generally considered an excellent program. Personally, MEP confuses me. But I know a lot of people on these boards love it, and it wouldn't cost you anything to use. It's my backup plan in case Singapore doesn't work for me.

 

HTH. :)

[Dinsfamily]

Singapore Essential Math is a great way to go but if even that is too much $$, check out What Your Kindergartner Needs To Know from the library and work from that. You can introduce most math topics with manipulatives you find around the house.

 

I've also found Alpha Phonics, Phonics Pathways, and The Writing Road to Reading at the library. The Writing Road to Reading also includes instructions on how to teach handwriting.

 

Check out Sonlight and Amblseide Online for great booklists. All I did for K my first time besides the 3Rs is read aloud...a lot. We occasionally did fun science experiments that used household items that I found on the Internet but nothing formal.

 

Another great way to find inexpensive curriculum is a used bookstore. My mom found one in her area that is well-supplied by homeschoolers and has been able to find a lot of gems for cheap.

[alisoncooks]

For my next Kindergartner, I'm using CLE's new Kindergarten program (already have it purchased, LOL, and we're still a year away from K). For not much more $$ than the generic workbooks you can buy in a store, it's a solid & complete program with beginning reading and math instruction. I think it was around $30 total; I've previewed it and I think it looks really good.

 

I'm also doing a Letter of the Week program beforehand (fun, crafty activities, stories).

 

I think something like that + some fun art activities, science read-alouds, and plenty of playtime makes a great Kinder year. :)

[kalanamak]

My goals for my boy were:

Numeration (he went beyond and did adding and subtracting), aka "number sense". You can do this for free. Counting games, go fish, very simple math facts bingo (my son loved this ... make a board with squares that say 2, 7, 9, 4, etc and cards that say 1+1, 5-1 etc, and you each draw one and discard if you can't cover one of your squares), dice games (you throw down three dice and the object it to grab the one of highest value first ... you go at child's speed so she wins at least half the time). I found a bright, big IKEA abacus at Goodwill and did counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. etc.

 

Phonics. Hunt around the web to find all the phonograms, make SWR-like cards with your representative words on the back, and drill. My son was VERY proud of being able to name all the sounds of -ough when he was not quite 6. We started with fridge magnet letters (found at goodwill). I'd put up an -AT and move consonants in front of it. Someone gave me some paper wheels they'd make with a brad in the middle so you could turn a circle of F, C, TH, M, S etc to line up with the -AT at the edge. Or put the consonant in the middle, e.g. S, and have -AY, -AT, -EE rotate. This was eyecatching to kiddo.

 

Our library had Bob Books and other early readers.

 

You can print out letter practice sheets from Zaner-Bloser and teach the letters yourself, without the book.

 

We did More Magnets to Mudpies for K5, but your library might have other hands on things. Start some seedlings. We read about prehistory for K. The web has zillions of art ideas. For music we LOVED the Vox Music Masters, which are 5 bucks each on Amazon with a 4 for 3 deal, last time I looked. The stories are great.

 

But really, my goal for K5 was to have a child accustomed to sitting, by the end of it, for 15 minutes at a time and following a lesson. For the rest of K5, it was MY education, and I read Liping Ma, Ruth Beechick, SWR, and whatever educational text I could find at Goodwill for a buck. Oh, and if you want to teach reading and spelling REALLY on the cheap and make your own resources, I'd get the ABCs and All Their Tricks. The intro info is great for learning what we have done for so long it is automatic.

 

Welcome, and ask as many questions as you like, the more specific the better.

[desiraejb]

We're wrapping up kindergarten right now. We started OPGTR last year and it has done well with some tweaks (there are other threads about that...). We started with MEP math Y1 and it started to wear on my not-writing-well son, so we dropped it and started covering the basics from our state guidelines. I think we could have done it with more success at the mid-point of the year when he was writing better. They have a MEP reception year for before Y1, but it was too baby for him, if that makes sense. You can do a manipulative-based math on your own, I think, and there are worksheets for learning how to write your numbers on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. We also used HWT for handwriting and I love it.

 

I feel like I should add, my son is what teachers call an 'August baby'. I felt he was behind at the end of home preK, but all my PS teacher friends said that is expected with him being born in August. At first I felt I was making excuses for him, but after talking to them, I felt better. So, because of this, I probably did not do a very rigorous Kindy with him. So, we just picked up where we left off on prek for kindergargen and kept working. But he has learned all he needed to, and we're on track for first grade in the fall.

 

Sorry, went on a tangent, but you can do a simple kindergarten with her using online things and a few other things like HWT and OPGTR, IMO. You could do lots of unit studies, too about things she's interested in (like animals, flowers or tractors, like my son).

[LearnLaughLove]

I would make sure the 3Rs are covered. You can work on reading with Starfall and Progressive Phonics, both free. You can use MEP for math, also free. And there is http://www.handwritingworksheets.com for free custom writing pages. Throw in nature study for science, and use the library for social studies and read-alouds and yoh have an yearvof homeschooling for the cost of paper, ink, and gasoline!

[sewingmama]

www.lessonpathways.com is free and they have a complete phonics program on there. We use Phonics Pathways which is cheap and www.progressivephonics.com which is free.

 

If you want a free Math program but MEP looks like too much work then you can use http://www.eduplace.com/math/hmm/practice/lp_k.html

 

For literature studies you can use www.homeschoolshare.com - again free

 

 

http://readinglessons.com/index.php Has free readers

 

There is also http://www.abcthekey.com/

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/newstudents.html

[Jpoy85]

well the first thing would be to look at your states HS laws for what is required. HSLDA.org and search by your state.

 

Then, there are free resources out there, some were mentioned. Id check on here for cheap curriculum. There are legit grants/help for getting curriculum.

 

http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/p/how-does-it-work.html

http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/

 

are 2 i know of. Check Craigslist too!!

 

For K we are using Rod & Staff and Horizons. R&S is cheaper ;)

Edited May 21, 2012 by Jpoy85

[twoxcell]

My goals for K have been:

 

Phonics/Reading at least up to CVC, Silent E, Combos like TH, SH, CH, ING, etc.

 

Basic Math skills, Numbers, Counting, Shapes, Patterns, 1 Digit adding and Subtraction etc.

 

Listening skills, Learned through being read to from interesting picture books and some chapter books.

 

Early Narration, telling me back what they have heard.

 

Copywork/Handwriting, Learning to form letters and numbers correctly and able to copy short sentences.

 

History and Science from living books and pictures books.

 

Appreciation of Nature and the world around them.

 

Basic Spanish through songs and videos.

[Dissent]

You might try the library, as you can often get copies of OPGTR, WRTR, PP, and other popular curricula. You'll be able to check them out and renew for a couple months, which will give you a good feel for whether they're working or not. Then you can return and either check out again or buy.

 

Your library will also have a section of books on homeschooling including books like Homeschooling on a Shoestring.

 

If I were to suggest, I would put what money you do have into *skills* and use the library for *content*. Between the library and stuff online (PBS, free kindle downloads, etc.) you can keep busy plenty for science, history, geography, etc. When you talk math, I would suggest you get a curriculum. Those walmart workbooks are fine for K5 and 1st, but at some point what they're *not* doing is making sure she understands the concepts. Those workbooks are $5-7 -ish, and for $8 a semester you can have a Horizons workbook. Sometimes you can find tms used on amazon for even less than that. BJU tm's will often be very inexpensive used. (I'm selling my grade level kits for the grade 5 and 6 BJU math right now for $12 ppd on the sale board! That's 2nd edition, but they're fine and work great.) So it's not like all curriculum for this age comes in currencies of $100, lol. You have options that are affordable.

 

As far as learning to read, well like I said I would get that at the library. I taught my dd with SWR, the sister program to WRTR. WRTR is free at the library, as are numerous other programs. Won't cost you a dime that way.

 

WTM will probably also be at your library btw. :)

 

I don't understand all the initials for things. I am new at this so gotta bare with me...Library would be great if I knew what to get I am actually going there today to get some books.

[Acorn]

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1501

This might help with some of the abbreviations.

 

My K student has been reading OPGTR this year

http://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Parents-Guide-Teaching-Reading/dp/0972860312

 

I did find it at my library and used it for a few weeks before buying a copy.

[Dissent]

Thanks for all the replies. Got a ton of stuff bookmarked and ready to look at. I can't wait to get started with all of this.Very anxious and hope I don't screw it up..my daughter likes to learn so hopefully she is understanding when it comes to me trying to teach her.

[Acorn]

The free portions of starfall.com have been fun for my kids.

[phathui5]

I don't understand all the initials for things. I am new at this so gotta bare with me...Library would be great if I knew what to get I am actually going there today to get some books.

 

Have you read The Well Trained Mind yet? That lays out what to do for kindergarten and many of the books here are in the book.

[umsami]

For Reading, I've used two online curricula--Click-n-Read Phonics and Reading Eggs. My DD really loved Reading Eggs--and we had so many free trials...probably had at least 3 months worth. I then found a deal on Mamapedia for a one year subscription for $36 or so.

 

For my other kids, I've used a variety of things. We go by Sonlight's book lists in general, but just take the books out from the library.

 

I used Handwriting without Tears for my two eldest. You can just buy the workbook, but I really liked the teaching guide. I do not think you need the wooden letters, etc. Your kids can make letters out of play dough or whatever. I've also heard lots of good things about other handwriting curricula.

 

For science, we were out in nature and read lots of books. My kids also liked "Wild Kratts" on PBS and the Magic Schoolbus.

 

For math, I had Right Start level A which is expensive. Many many Moms like SIngapore Math--and it's much cheaper. I've found I can always make do with manipulatives I have--I've never really felt I had to buy anything (except the abacus was key for Right Start). Miquon Math is also very affordable and well liked.

 

Honestly, what you stress will depend on whether or not you plan to home school for first grade. If you are planning to HS, then, you can be more gentle. If you're planning to attend 1st grade in public school, then you'll probably want to stress writing and reading skills more. (Although I believe your child will get there any way.)

 

Read together...play together....bake together.... go on field trips... etc. Have a daily and weekly rhythm if you can. I found that homeschool Kindy was maybe an hour max--and usually it was through out the day. If something seems tough, put it away, and come back to it. We went through periods where we'd do a bunch of math.... or a bunch of science...and then slack off a bit. Seemed to work well. Only constant was reading daily.

[Audrey]

You don't need any costly curricula to give a full and rich kindergarten education. One could argue that for every grade, but I think it most appropriate in regard to pre-K and Kindergarten. Work on the 3 R's, and don't forget physical development skills, such as cutting, tracing, colouring, etc. Add in a craft time. If you are not crafty (as I am not), there are tons of websites with tons of free craft ideas and instructions out there.

 

On top of the following, keep reading to your child every day. Choose interesting literature with age/maturity appropriate themes. Choose both fiction and non-fiction.

 

Reading:

Here are 2 free learn to read lessons/programs online:

http://www.learntoreadfree.com/

http://www.starfall.com/

 

Writing:

Here is a free online handwriting worksheet maker. http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/

Use it to create basic handwriting worksheets, starting with learning the alphabet. You can choose from a couple of different fonts (or styles of handwriting). Once you pick a style, don't change it. Stick with it.

 

Math:

You don't need worksheets. Start with number concepts. Get a jar of buttons or other coloured objects. Start by counting. 1 button is the number 1. Write the number 1 down so the child can see the button and see the number and associate them together as meaning the same thing. And so on, with the rest of the numbers to 10. Don't forget the concept of zero. That's a tricky one for some kids, and as adults, we tend to forget about it. Move up to math stories -- if one button is playing at the swing set and 2 more buttons join him, how many buttons are playing at the swing set now? Let your child start creating some stories of her own as well. Then, start learning to write numbers.

Edited May 21, 2012 by Audrey

[ElizabethB]

There are a lot of great free things out there, especially for K.

 

I have 20+ phonics programs from tutoring since 1994, but with both my children, I used free online phonics programs because they were the best thing out there!!

 

Here is how I taught my son in K with Webster's Speller, free online from Don Potter:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208407

 

Blend Phonics and Word Mastery are other good free choices, also available from Don Potter.

 

Whatever you pick for phonics, I recommend my phonics concentration game as a fun, free supplement:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[umsami]

Another great math resource at home is an egg carton. With the dozen and a half cartons, you can go up to 18.

 

Write the numbers in order in the little cups. You can start by going up to five, ten, or whatever number you're comfortable.

 

Then work with your child counting Cheerios, M&Ms, chocolate chips, etc. and putting them in the cups. The "1" gets one Cheerio. "2" gets two, etc. After a week or so, you can give your child the correct number of Cheerios to fill up the numbers--and then it becomes sort of a self-correcting Montessori Activity.

 

Don't forget singing songs, listening to music, etc.

 

If you google Toddler or Kindergarten art, you'll get tons of free art projects.

 

So much is out there. :)

[Irishmommy]

We use FIAR (five in a row) for K. It covers all the subjects except math and phonics. If your dd loves books, she might like it. It is very conversational and easy to implement.

[Dissent]

Have you read The Well Trained Mind yet? That lays out what to do for kindergarten and many of the books here are in the book.

Not yet will put that on hold at my library,I have been trying to use a game I found online to help my daughter read but that child is hardheaded and gets bored very fast. She wants to skip around when we are supposed to go in order...lord its gonna be a long school year.I finally just had to take a break and let her run around.I am thinking something like leapfrog or some other phonics where she sits and listens to it on the computer or tv would work best for her. She has used a computer since she was 3 so she knows how to use it.

[umsami]

Not yet will put that on hold at my library,I have been trying to use a game I found online to help my daughter read but that child is hardheaded and gets bored very fast. She wants to skip around when we are supposed to go in order...lord its gonna be a long school year.I finally just had to take a break and let her run around.I am thinking something like leapfrog or some other phonics where she sits and listens to it on the computer or tv would work best for her. She has used a computer since she was 3 so she knows how to use it.

 

All of my kids learned their letter sounds from the Leap Frog "Letter Factory" DVD. Painless. The other videos are good as well. :)

[Dissent]

Is leapfrog a video game or are there just dvd's as well? Be great if there was something on the computer we could teach her with.

[beaners]

I don't know that I'd use that as a guide. At least not going by what was required in 2 states I've lived in. In one nothing was required. In NY the only thing required is safety.

 

I wouldn't use it as the defining guide, but it may be important to check for reporting/legal reasons. At 5, I don't think most states require anything. If the state does have specific requirements for that age, I'd like to know that going in. I'm assuming the OP is in the US based on the mention of Walmart.

 

OP, once you've read The Well Trained Mind, you will be back with even more questions! :D

 

I'm not sure what reading game you were playing, but is it something where she could do the stuff ahead as a reward for working through with you? For example, if she does the lesson or game 11 nicely with you, can she pick any one as a reward, then go on to lesson 12 the following day? Sometimes I "bargain" with my daughter by telling her I need her to do something my way (meaning follow the directions!) for the moment, but she can do it her way as soon as we are done. Taking a break and running around isn't a bad thing to do either! :001_smile:

[Dissent]

Does anyone know of phonics my daughter can do on a computer and it will talk to her? I tried reading to her/getting her to sound words out and she HATES me helping her lol so I know she enjoys games on the computer so maybe I can find something like that to help her learn to read.

[MeganW]

Reading / Phonics - we like Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (OPGTR)

 

Handwriting - we like Handwriting Without Tears

 

Math - we like RightStart A (which is very teacher-intensive), and Miquon (which is much more student-led / discovery based)

 

Readalouds - we are using Sonlight's P4/5 reading list

 

 

 

Common advice is not to start spelling until they are reading well.

[ElizabethB]

Does anyone know of phonics my daughter can do on a computer and it will talk to her? I tried reading to her/getting her to sound words out and she HATES me helping her lol so I know she enjoys games on the computer so maybe I can find something like that to help her learn to read.

 

Starfall

 

and

 

Read, Write, Type

http://www.talkingfingers.com/readwritetype/RWT-learning-system.html

[umsami]

Is leapfrog a video game or are there just dvd's as well? Be great if there was something on the computer we could teach her with.

 

They have DVDS ("Letter Factory" is a DVD), as well as cartridges for the various Leap Frog gaming systems.

 

Online there are tons. Sign up for a free trial for Reading Eggs. Your DD might like it.

[beaners]

We used Funnix which is a computer program. Unfortunately, it's not free right now. It was available to download for free during January this year and the year before. You are still involved in the lessons, but there is another voice giving the directions. I think it's very similar to 100 EZ Lessons, but you do it on the computer.

 

We play with the free material on Starfall occasionally. Reading Eggs seems pretty popular, but I have no idea how expensive it is. I found a ton of results when I googled phonics blending games, but I'm not sure if they would fit where your daughter is.