NatashainDFW Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 DD will be 4 the first week of September. She already knows her letters, the sounds, in both upper and lower case. She recognizes the numbers 1-10 and can count to 15. She is begging for school on a regular basis. I want to provide her with some hands on stuff to help get her reading and with math and have it on hand for when she asks. I am not talking about making her sit at the table all day and work but something I can quickly pull out and get her started with throughout the day. What suggestions do you guys have for me? FYI I am not crazy about RightStart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroppinIt Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 She sounds like she's ahead academically, and that's wonderful. However, at her age, I would still lean heavily toward the play-learning approach rather than a bunch of worksheets in a book. We really liked Sing, Spell, Read, & Write for the music and games aspect of it. I think it has too much writing for a 4yo, but she could start learning words and blends with their games and songs very easily. MUS with its blocks might be good, but there's an awful lot of worksheet-ed-ness for a 4yo. I would play, play, play. One idea is to get one of those underbed storage boxes and fill it with sand or rice. Use your fingers to write whatever you like: math, words, whatever. Gross motor skills and literacy too. Do you have access to a computer for her? Jump Start Math might be good. I don't know about anything else... we only have one computer for such things so I tend to shy away from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QTMom Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 My kids did Time4Learning for a while and they loved it. It is online and they can work at their own pace. We also did a curriculum called The Learning Box Preschool when they were 3 and 4 and it comes with all your supplies needed for your lessons in a box each month. It has art projects and comes with all the supplies. It goes over numbers and letters and has a different theme each month. It was a lot of fun for them. I know Sonlight also has curriculum for preschool too. I haven't ever used them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Really liked Saxon K for that age. It gave us a "circle time" structure to start the day with--it's the "meeting" in Saxon. We didn't use the meeting book, but used all the elements of the meeting; we had a large and attractive poster-sized "calendar," sentence-strip pattern strips, index-card-based number of the day line, etc. We used pretty post-it notes in seasonal and flower shapes for writing the numbers for the calendar. There's fun manipulatives, playing "store" activities, etc. Very little writing. I also used a Bible curriculum that isn't available, but we did devotions with Leading Little Ones to God (didn't sing the hymns) and that was really nice--we used it twice in a row. I also like Phonics Pathways (very simple, very quick) and some of the Montessori Object Boxes and Command Game when she began to actually read (right before she turned 4). Total time was about an hour, maybe 3 days a week (she went to preschool two mornings a week). Don't forget fun art experiences, a sensory bin and nature table, puzzles, very simple games (Uno, Snail's Pace, path games like CandyLand, Battle/War, Old Maid, matching games, etc)...Just fun stuff that teaches thru play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 DD will be 4 the first week of September. She already knows her letters, the sounds, in both upper and lower case. She recognizes the numbers 1-10 and can count to 15. She is begging for school on a regular basis. I want to provide her with some hands on stuff to help get her reading and with math and have it on hand for when she asks. I am not talking about making her sit at the table all day and work but something I can quickly pull out and get her started with throughout the day. What suggestions do you guys have for me? FYI I am not crazy about RightStart She sounds similar to my DDs. For K-level math, folks here recommended Miquon for my mathy 4yo. I was really pleased with how that choice worked out -- it ended up revolutionizing all of our math! :001_smile: (You can check out Education Unboxed to get a feel for how that works.) This kid was also worksheet-crazy, so I picked up Singapore's Essential Mathematics for her, which she worked through when she felt like it. For reading, once my daughters knew their sounds, I started reading with them a little bit every day, whether they felt like it or not, just to keep those skills up. :001_smile: We started with about 5 minutes a day, blending words, and gradually increased it as their stamina increased. (By the end of K4, my DD now reads for about 10 minutes a day, give or take.) I found the AAS readers to be a good fit for one of my girls. I also loved doing Five in a Row with my girls at that stage. It was a fantastic way to read books together and explore related geography and art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatashainDFW Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 I didn't even think about War or CandyLand. Thank you for that. Anyone else got any ideas? I limit computer time because if something where to happen to my computer we would lose the ability for me to work so I am extremely careful with it (as in I don't turn either of the kids loose on it)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swiegers Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I started Math U See Primer when my ds was about 4 and a half. I like that we can go as fast or as slow as required. Some days he did a lot of the problems, other days only 2 or 3. I sometimes do the writing for him. The blocks are great to work with. We also did HOP K and he flew through that. And we use Handwriting without Tears K. All of this we do if he feels like it. If he doesn't seem interested, then I put it away and I give him some puzzles to build or games to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Things we used at that age: RushHour and similar games Montessori-like numerals and counters Montessori-like addition work Various geography puzzles The basic levels of "mommy, it's a Renoir" Fine motor skills work (lacing, stringing beads, coloring) Writing letters in sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenleafknitter Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 My DD is in the same place (except she'll be 4 the first week of October) and I'm planning on keeping things playful and fun. I plan on introducing her to phonics with OPGTR and Bob books and math with Kumon books (and maybe Singapore), but only if she's up for them. We'll be doing lots of math games, as well as stories, arts and crafts, baking, etc from the homeschool guides at Wee Folk Art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three4me Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 If she's wanting to "do school" you could have her do things like cutting, gluing, mazes and other fine motor things. Kumon books are great for that. Otherwise she could string beads, or sort them, or count them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatashainDFW Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Thank you for the ideas. I think we will do some Miquon even if it is just introducing the rods and letting her play. We love games so I will be finding some games for her. Have any of you used or heard of Happy Phonics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 My son is the same way! For him we are using PAL reading, McRuffy K math, and Rod &Staff ABC workbooks. We just take all of them at a relaxed pace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatashainDFW Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Where is the best place to find the rods? I am thinking I want to get wooden ones AND let both the kids work with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmomjacquie Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Abcjesuslovesme.com has a program free for 2-5yo. It looks like fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 We bought rods from amazon. For my ds4, we are using Saxon K. It's totally hands on and play-oriented, but feels pretty simplistic even for a new 4 year old! We also use OPG for a few minutes daily, Handwriting Without Tears, Explode the Code and Five in a Row. Five in a Row is our alone with mommy cuddle time! We don't do many of the extras, just read the book, place the story disk on a map in a binder and talk about some of the discussion points from the manual. Once a week we do a related art project, and usually I have ds dictate a story of his own creation to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Where is the best place to find the rods? I am thinking I want to get wooden ones AND let both the kids work with them. If you are getting c-rods, I'd suggest getting at least the small group size (I think it has 155 rods in it). I ended up buying mine in fits and starts as our needs grew, and I find it slightly annoying how the shading in different batches of wooden rods varies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosesinsummer Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Memoria Press recently came out with a Jr. Kindergarten program you may want to glean ideas from.... just FYI. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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