New Homeschooler..Advice Please!

[Guest sweetorchid]

Hi everyone...

 

I am new here but I am really needing some advice from some seasoned homeschooling parents! A little about my situation.. My son is 6 years old (young 6 birthday in June) and I have started him on first grade curriculum this year. We did My Fathers World Kindergarten last year and he seemed to do very well. After much research and a trip to a homeschooling fair I decided to go with Sonlight this year for first grade. I have liked some things about Sonlight such as some of the easy readers and the handwriting without tears. However I have hated some of it such as the controversial books that seem much too mature in my opinion and the math.

 

My son is very hyper and could possibly have a touch of ADD. He always says things like "this is hard" mostly talking about his handwriting. He has such a hard time with handwriting in general. After thinking about it I have decided to stop using the Sonlight. As crazy as it sounds he seems to do much better by just sitting with him and using objects for math and teaching him simple math skills. The math we were using with the Sonlight was Horizons(alpha and omega) first grade. He did okay but it seemed too advanced for him. As of now I am using different things for different subjects.

 

So I guess my question is does anyone have any suggestions for a math curriculum we can use? I have thought about Rod and Staff since it looks more simple and doesn't seem to jump around as much as the spiral learning of the Horizons. This year has been very stressful on both my son and I. I have even thought of just giving up on homeschooling all together. I just really want this to work. The days that he is learning well are so great. Any advice would be wonderful. We have also looked into a more non traditional like Miquion. Thanks so much. Sorry this was so long!!!:auto:

 

Renee

[lexi]

My kids are right above and below the age of your son. It's a tough age because they don't have a very long attention span. Don't give up yet just because it can be difficult. And don't be discouraged because something didn't work for you. I've had to try multiple different things to find something that works for us. It can be frustrating at times. Keep at it! It will get better!

 

For math we use Right Start Math. It's very hands on and it is working very well for my daughter. She needed to be able to "touch" the math to get it. I'm going to be starting the first level of that program with my son in the spring.

Miquon is another good program that is very different from a traditional textbook approach. There are a lot of people on the forum that use it and love it, so you'll probably get some helpful feedback from them. I'm not confident enough in my math skills to try it though.

You should look at education unboxed (google it) and it has some videos about using C-rods. I think you'll find it helpful.

There is also Math-U-See that is more hands on and a mastery program. And Singapore is a different style of math as well.

 

Handwriting is a tough skill and some kids just aren't ready yet. Take a break from a subject if it's causing too much stress. Come back to it in a few months and things are often better. :001_smile:

[Plateau Mama]

Hang in there! The first year is the hardest. The first thing to do is figure out your childs learning style. Once you figure that out you can narrow down your curriculum choices.

[dereksurfs]

Welcome to the forum Renne. :)

 

Because your son is on the younger side and a bit hyper I wouldn't worry too much about his math skills yet, especially so early on in the year. Their brains and overall maturity level are changing so quickly at this age.

 

We actually waited until our youngest daughter was 7 before starting first grade math. Prior to that we used MUS Primer which seemed to prepare her well for CLE 100 which she is using this year and likes.

 

There are a lot of box curriculums out there. But once you actually start you will begin to discover as you are now that 'one size' doesn't necessarily fit all. It is at this point that you begin the tailoring process which is perfectly natural to do. As was mentioned don't feel bad if you have to try a few different things first. Its really one of the beauties of homeschooling. You get to discover what works best for you and your son.

 

In some cases you will find that what works great for one child in your family isn't the best option for another. For ours mastery works better for our DS11, while spiral works better for our two DDs.

Edited November 3, 2012 by dereksurfs

[LittleIzumi]

My ADD girl thrives on Miquon and MEP. They both have a lot of puzzles and logic and move around a lot--not much reptition in a row, but in MEP things spiral back around in different and harder ways to cement the knowledge. Full disclosure, she is on the lowest dose of ADD medication now as well. She needed it.

[alisoncooks]

I have a very busy 1st grader, also (6-yr. old with a June birthday, too). For my DD, Singapore has been awesome. Each lesson has a hands-on element -- game or manipulatives (HIG), then we see a visual (textbook), and then she gets to do some problems (workbook). It really has eased her into that way of thinking.

 

At one point this year, I thought about adding in R&S Math 1, but I got it and just thought that DD would be bored out of her mine with all the repetition and drill.

 

Hope you find something that you guys love! There are lots of great choices out there.

[lea1]

Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to follow the traditional school year or grades. My sons have birthdays at the end of October and the beginning of November, which would make them the oldest in a class at public school, according to their definitions. I adjusted based on what they were ready for so now we are running our school year from January through December. They are getting ready to start 2nd grade material in January, although if they were in public school they would be in 1st grade for this school year.

 

Since your son is on the younger side, you might want to take things slower and keep him more at the K level in some subjects for a bit longer. Also, I have read many times on this forum where people use MFW K for their preschool so it may run a little young and may make for a big step from that to regular 1st grade material. You might take a look at some other K programs and see how they compare.

 

One of my sons has had more difficulty with handwriting than the other so I have cut back on his assignments a bit compared with my other son. He still makes good progress but just at a little slower pace than my other son.

 

As for math, after reading tons of threads on the subject on this forum and having gone through trying to find the right math for my teaching style and my sons' learning styles, I find it to be a very personal decision to make. I tried Right Start and it did not fit my teaching style at all, although it probably would have worked well for my sons. I tried Singapore and it did not fit my sons nor me. I tried Math Mammoth and I really liked it but my sons really did not, at all. Now we are using Christian Light Education Math and I think we have finally found something that works for all of us. This may be one of those subjects that you have to try a few different ones before you find the right fit.

 

Hang in there and keep trying. Once you find what works it is really wonderful.

[Karen in CO]

Welcome.

 

Rod and Staff First grade math is slow and easy. It doesn't jump around and the teacher's guide is very helpful. It is also relatively inexpensive. If Horizons jumps around too much and he likes to model problems, the it is fine to dump Horizons and just play with math for a while too.

 

You didn't say which handwriting you were using, but fine motor skills will come with time and practice. It is okay to slow down and let him write less. Writing with chalk on the sidewalk is a lot of fun so is writing on a big white board.

 

It is okay to skip books you don't like. Don't feel like you have to read every book because the important thing is to read, learn and enjoy.

[Marie131]

My short attention spanned, work book hating second grader absolutely LOVES RightStart math. It is the perfect fit for him, math went from being his least favorite to most favorite subject when we made the switch in grade 1.

[LaraH]

Your son is very young and at that age my son wasn't ready for a lot of schoolwork. We did some phonics, lots of read alouds (me or audio), games for math, simple art activities, and lots of outdoor time, at the zoo, etc. When we did eventually settle on more formal math, CLE has been a good fit. Good luck! The first year is definitely the toughest but it gets easier!

[Lale]

Hi! First time posting here, though I lurk quite a bit. Just wanted to add my 2 cents. :001_smile:

 

I don't know if it was stated above, but Horizons math seems to be above level a grade. My 1st grader is still working on the K books, and my 3rd grader is in the middle of the 2nd grade books. So it is quite possible that it is a little too advanced. While the 3rd grader has done really well with Horizons, I am noticing that my 1st grader is starting to struggle some and just isn't getting it. After reading many math related threads here on this forum, I am adding Miquon to the mix to see if it helps her.

 

My 1st grader also really struggles with handwriting (didn't have the same struggles with big brother!) and I finally eased up and relaxed. For so long I just thought it was her being stubborn as all I had to compare her to was her brother. I finally realized that she just doesn't have the fine motor skills to do more than a sentence or two a day. I just make sure that she does it well and then we move on. :001_smile:

[AmericanMom]

With a June birthday boy, you might want to consider giving him that extra year. It's generally better to be older than your classmates than younger, especially for boys, and it doesn't always show up until middle school. For my summer birthday boy I called it K when he was 6, but did whatever 1st grade stuff he was ready for. (I didn't want him to graduate from high school at 17, and handwriting and sitting still were difficult for him then.) Now, he is in 8th and is confident and ready to start high school -- he would not have been a year ago. He was still advanced in math (he's taking geometry now), so it's not an academic thing, it was a maturity thing. I have several friends, however, who did not hold back their summer birthday boys, and when they got to 7th grade regretted it. They wanted that extra year of maturity before high school but couldn't do it at that point without it being a big deal. However, I had another friend who did as I did and officially held back her summer birthday boy, and when he got to 7th grade he was ready to go on so she skipped him a grade.

[Hunter]

Welcome! :grouphug:

 

Some boys are not ready for a typical private school scope and sequence at age 6. So many boys are "late bloomers" that I think the typical private school scope and sequence is a flawed model to use as a default model. You can pick a curriculum based on typical child development, or you can use a private school model below grade level.

 

Many "late bloomers" catch up and surpass their peers. Late bloomers often bloom bigger in both the garden and the classroom.

 

Delayed Academics Advocates

 

Waldorf doesn't start 1st grade until 7, following the model used in many European schools. Free curriculum here, including a pdf on child development.

 

The Bluedorns advocate a slow start, before engaging in some very rigorous studies.

 

The Moore Formula advocates learning to work before engaging in serious academics.

 

Paces are based on a quality public school scope and sequence, and are numbered without grade levels on the cover, so a child can move through the curriculum as they are able.

 

My oldest was a late bloomer to start, but then caught up and surpassed his peers. At 12 he was working for store credits and selling the merchandise for cash, because he didn't have working papers. At 14 he was working almost full time while completing American School Correspondence Course in the early morning and evenings. At 16 we was putting himself through College. At 19 he was graduated and living in Las Vegas in his own. At 24 he was married and built a house.

 

On the other hand, my youngest was an early bloomer. I believe he had the right to an early accelerated education. I don't believe in forcing delayed academics on all children. Both the precocious and the late bloomers have the right to an appropriate education.

[CatholicMom]

The first couple of years can be rough while you're figuring out your expectations, your method, and developing your daily routine. I have said that, for me anyway, the change from not homeschooling to being a homeschool family is similar to the change you go through from being single to being married and living with another person. It's a different way of life, different routine, and hard to get used to (at least for me). Just a random note of encouragement that it is not an easy adjustment and takes years for some to get into the homeschooling groove.

 

That said, it is also easy to get overwhelmed with choices, philosophies, curricula, and while it's good to read about these things, sometimes you just need to clear your mind and take a big old step back to Simplicity Land. I have tried Sonlight twice and found it incredibly difficult to keep up with the IG and the rest of our subjects, so I feel our pain there. Sonlight looks great (and can be great for some people) but for a lot of us, it is a big old step toward Complicated Make My Life More Miserable Land. So don't feel bad about giving up on it even though those darn pictures in the catalog look so sweet! In real life, it is a lot to cover with little kids... and mostly content stuff when I have come to realize that what I need to focus on most in the early grades is the foundation skills (reading, handwriting, math). So I would step back, give yourself a break, and focus on those things.

 

Make sure you are covering:

 

1) reading practice every day

2) phonics program of some sort (I use explode the code which is simple)

3) handwriting

4) math

 

Call it good. Once those are done it's very easy to add in fun science books from the library, Netflix videos, or just talk while gardening together, etc to cover the "content subjects" like science & history.

 

I spent way too much time on content subjects (Sonlight!) when my boys were 4, 5, 6, 7 and not enough on the fundamental skills. And, thankfully, it's a lot EASIER and simpler to focus on the fundamental skills as well.

 

As far as math, I agree with others who have said that Horizons math is known to be difficult in K / 1st grade. My SIL is struggling with the same thing. She thought it was great at first because it's "advanced" but now she sees that perhaps she's having to push too much and it's a struggle when other programs aren't even expecting that of a 6 yr old!

 

For math, both because it's a good program and because you sound like you're on the burnt-out side, I would look at MCP Math.

 

Modern Curriculum Press Math Level A

 

Yeah, there are no bells and no whistles, but it's an old-school, simple, ultra-straight-forward math workbook. You still have options of having your son do the problems on a whiteboard with colorful markers, or helping him visualize with simple manipulatives. But the program itself is simple, easy to use, solid, and will get your child the first grade math skills he needs. It also has the benefit of expecting you to teach in a way that we easily "get," having gone to public school ourselves (I'm assuming). There is a real benefit to that when you need it.

 

The ONLY problem I know of with MCP Math is sometimes there are a lot of problems on a page, but I would simply draw a line where he could stop if he didn't need more practice. And it's good that they're there if they are needed (you can even go back and do them for review).

 

I think MCP Math is well-done as well in terms of separating concepts into bite-sized pieces and building concept upon concept so cleverly that kids end up adding and subtracting without realizing it. It's also actually good for visual kids who benefit from learning abstract concepts through pictures. The pictures aren't colorful and flashy, but they are cute and demonstrate the concept well.

 

Hope something in that long-winded response helps. :)

[kalanamak]

I wanted to add that I gained expertise and confidence by educating myself first.

 

I went through the math books (e.g. Miquon) as if I were a child and played all the games myself. Lore Rasmussen's First Year Diary gave me my beginning steps for math.

 

Learn the spelling rules yourself (I love Unlocking the Logic of English and the ABCs and All Their Tricks ...this latter book has a couple dozen introductory pages I have read 20 times).

 

Learn or brush up on grammar, science, history.

 

This way you can be grab those teachable moments you might not even have SEEN if you weren't up on the topic. My shortcut to many topics was the read 5th-7th grade books on the topics. As an adult you can click through these while learning the terms, so you can use them in daily conversation as well when it comes up in lesson.

 

If your child is wiggly, do wiggly work whenever possible. At 5 and 6 we ran around the house touching nouns, acting out verbs, and then eventually naming the adjective modifying the noun ("the BROWN couch"), acting out prepositional phrases, and doing actions in an adverbial way ("run QUICKLY"). Heck, we still do this on distracted days. :001_smile:

 

For physical math we hopped up and down the stairs doing addition and subtraction. Or he'd stand on one step and I on another and we'd calculate the difference between us. Slap Jack, for identifying at a glance higher and lower numbers, is physical.

 

So, my philosophy at that age was trickling in an underlying SENSE to math and language and history and science rather than sticking slavishly to a book. We started on the page by page books at 7.5 years of age: Growing with GRammar 1 and 2, which we did in 9 months, and Writing with Ease 1. I saw no point in starting these before he was ready. What is that saying: don't try to teach a pig to sing-- you'll fail and you'll annoy the pig.

 

HTH, and don't forget to come back and ask as DEtailed a question as you like.

[Hunter]

I wanted to add that I gained expertise and confidence by educating myself first.

 

I went through the math books (e.g. Miquon) as if I were a child and played all the games myself. Lore Rasmussen's First Year Diary gave me my beginning steps for math.

 

Learn the spelling rules yourself (I love Unlocking the Logic of English and the ABCs and All Their Tricks ...this latter book has a couple dozen introductory pages I have read 20 times).

 

Learn or brush up on grammar, science, history....

 

:iagree:

 

Before I decide if I want to use a series with a student, I look at and work ahead as far as I can in it, doing the lessons myself.

[Pen]

... As crazy as it sounds he seems to do much better by just sitting with him and using objects for math and teaching him simple math skills. ...That doesn't sound crazy at all. That is fine to do. You can also do math while cooking (measuring things, doubling recipes, etc.) As of now I am using different things for different subjects. That is what I do. First year I got a whole curriculum set. But after that I have learned what works better and used things a la carte/ eclectic.

 

So I guess my question is does anyone have any suggestions for a math curriculum we can use? I have thought about Rod and Staff since it looks more simple and doesn't seem to jump around as much as the spiral learning of the Horizons. This year has been very stressful on both my son and I. I have even thought of just giving up on homeschooling all together. I just really want this to work. The days that he is learning well are so great. Any advice would be wonderful. We have also looked into a more non traditional like Miquion. Thanks so much. Sorry this was so long!!!:auto:

 

Renee

 

Check Math U See. The start of HS tends to be stressful and it tends to get easier.

[Peplophoros]

Ditto with the waiting on handwriting. It was also very difficult for my son, who is advanced in all other Language Arts areas. Don't be afraid to take it slowly! If there are other subjects (besides handwriting of course) that require him to write, try them orally for a while. Or have him write the first two or three words and move up from there. Little hands need time to mature!

[kalanamak]

Ditto with the waiting on handwriting. It was also very difficult for my son, who is advanced in all other Language Arts areas. Don't be afraid to take it slowly! If there are other subjects (besides handwriting of course) that require him to write, try them orally for a while. Or have him write the first two or three words and move up from there. Little hands need time to mature!

 

Even now my son knows if he puts a good effort into his handwriting, I will switch to oral answers in a lesson. It is a real motivator. Another is printing beloved words for practice on the Zaner-Bloser website. My son loved the Greeks, so words like Medusa, Chiron, Achilles, etc were his practice words.

 

I also encourage, for HW challeged kids, art and projects. My son didn't like doing art, but I found it I did it with him, he would, and he loved watching the (to me mindlessly simple) vids from Atelier Art. Seeing the other kids gave him ideas.

For hand coordination, find some built it things (Zoobs, K'nex) etc your son can manage without frustration and have at it. They are also good Papa activities, for Papas who aren't comfortable teaching spelling.

 

HTH!!

[texasmama]

Ditto with the waiting on handwriting. It was also very difficult for my son, who is advanced in all other Language Arts areas. Don't be afraid to take it slowly! If there are other subjects (besides handwriting of course) that require him to write, try them orally for a while. Or have him write the first two or three words and move up from there. Little hands need time to mature!

 

Yes! My oldest ds has some fine motor issues. Handwriting is truly laborious for him. We still do a great deal of language arts orally, and he is twelve.