1 grade curriculum

[Coco_Clark]

I'm trying to put together a plan for my 6 yr old (barely) 1st grader next year. We haven't done a lot of kindergarten this year, though he does know his letters/sounds, can count to 30, basic add. and sub. just from osmosis and the occasional impromptu lesson :) I'm wondering if this plan is too "much" for a kid unused to sit-down studying, or maybe it's not enough! And also if maybe we should serious up our kindergarten year before we arrive at 1st grade!

 

He will be attending a homeschool co-up run by the PS 2 mornings a week. Its a 2 hour "Learning Time" class designed for K/1 kids. And I have a 3 yr old and 1 yr old running about our heels.

 

4x a week Math- Haven't decided. Suggestions? His co-op does singapore with older kids and I'm leaning towards that so its an easy transition in case I ever want him to do his Math there.

 

4x a week Reading- Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

 

4x a week Writing- HWOT. Then after that pulling copywork from science, math, ect.

 

2x a week History- SOTW, a page a day and then some narration/copywork/something along those lines, with a fun project thrown in from time to time.

 

2x a week Science- Read about 1 animal from library books each week and add in a documentary or project from time to time.

 

7x a week reading together as a family (we already do this).

[CatholicMom]

Sounds pretty good. I would nudge you toward a different phonics program like ETC or MCP and then add readers for him to read like Bob books, or Usborne phonics readers. But that's only because I had a bad experience with 100EZ. Some people like it. But I offer you a friendly warning. lol

 

Other than that, sounds good to me. I might add some health books to the "science" category. How we digest food, about germs, hygiene, that kind of thing.

[DandelionPrincess]

we had a bad experience with 100 EZ, too, at first. We started it when my son was 4 or 4 1/2, and he HATED IT. just sitting that long was not an option. now that he is a little over 5 (and we did level 1 of AAR), we are doing AT LEAST lesson a day. If you have a particularly wiggly child, 100 EZ is going to be quite frustrating, as you sit shoulder to shoulder "reading" for 20-40 minutes a day, depending on how fast (and focused) the kid is.

 

AAR was AMAZING. very hands on and fun. easy for me, becasue it was simply open and go. we didn't do all of the activities from the book because my son just isnt into games and coloring like that.

[texasmama]

Another vote against 100EZ. Used it and didn't like it. Loved Bob books. In your shoes, I would start the phonics/reading program now...or rather, in January. Kindy at our house is mostly about getting my kids reading. Everything else is gravy, though my youngest dd did a lot of that "gravy". :)

[Clarkd]

Just to balance things out, I really like 100 easy lessons. The first lessons take just a few minutes I think we generally do the first ten lessons on day 1. Once we get further along in the book we split each lesson in half, sounds and words one day story the next. Some folks who don't like it but want something scripted sometimes use The Ordinary Parents Guide. I tried that but felt weird about singing the vowels/over emphasis on articulation. AAR is a great program, but organization is not my strength. It has all those tiles and cards, I have several kids who were in the program all at the same time. I was completely overwhelmed with the materials management. We do still use the AAR readers, along with readers from Go Phonics and Hooked on Phonics chapter books. I think it all depends on the family and what they are comfortable doing. If I don't feel comfortable with a specific curriculum then I'm not going to enjoy it as much and my kids may not get as much out of it.

I really liked HWOT for my boys but they were younger, it may be your dc doesn't need so much as that program. I didn't feel like my girls needed it, but my 4yo boy has benefitted.

Singapore math wasn't our best match, but Miquon has gone well mixed with a few other workbook based programs.

I think the four days per week for some topics is good. We do 4 days per week but hs year round. Will you be following a more typical school calendar or going all through the year?

The only other items I might think about are art and physical activity. We put our kids in a variety of structured sports activities to be sure they are advancing and being challenged in their gross motor skills. I'm sure others feel differently and avoid traditionally structured sports. We do arts/crafts both to begin an appreciation of art but also enhance fine motor skills. will they be doing that at the coop? Hope this helps. Let us know what works out.

[jennynd]

Sorry.. Another 100ez hater..my dd hates it. We used hooked on phonics and ogptr.

[Arboreal TJ]

Yet another 100ez lesson thumbs down. The only thing that generated more protests was Bob Books. AAR is the greatest invention since the lightbulb!

[duckens]

1) Thumbs up for ETC as supplement to another phonics program or replacement for HWOT.

 

2) We did 100EZ Lessons. It was adequate and did the job; I plan to use it for dd2, but there are MANY good curriculum out there that will do the same job, if not better.

 

3) We are doing a K/1 year this year. Dd is a Ker age-wise, but some of her curriculum is higher. She just turned 6. So we are just a little ahead of you. We also have a 2yo in the house.

 

This is your friendly warning to not get bogged down and discouraged if you don't get around to doing lessons every day. Some days the toddler needs me most. She just needs to nurse and nurse. Some days we just can't seem to get traction to get stuff done. I'll have been up late (2:30am) with the toddler or insomnia, the cat throws up on something, and we have no clean dishes for lunch (so they need to be washed before anything else is done). Or when Loverboy has a day off from work...I just know that traditional homeschooling is going out the window.

 

This is also your friendly reassurance that it will be fine if the schedule is not strictly kept. We do best with a stable schedule, but at this point, the big goals are reading, writing, and arithmetic.....but especially reading well. These are the things we work on if we get a good start in the morning. On days that we don't get a good start, we just read (and evaluate the books), do ETC, Maps, State Study, or Unit Study. Sometimes we just play educational games.

 

There are days that we do piano and flashcards and then watch a lot of PBS KIds. :blush:

 

Welcome aboard!

[Coco_Clark]

Hrm, sounds like maybe 100 easy lessons might not be the best program. Any thought on Phonics Pathways? I ask because those two programs are available at my library so I'd be able to try it out for a month before purchasing. Our budget for HS is nearly non existent.

 

Just to balance things out, I really like 100 easy lessons. The first lessons take just a few minutes I think we generally do the first ten lessons on day 1. Once we get further along in the book we split each lesson in half, sounds and words one day story the next. Some folks who don't like it but want something scripted sometimes use The Ordinary Parents Guide. I tried that but felt weird about singing the vowels/over emphasis on articulation. AAR is a great program, but organization is not my strength. It has all those tiles and cards, I have several kids who were in the program all at the same time. I was completely overwhelmed with the materials management. We do still use the AAR readers, along with readers from Go Phonics and Hooked on Phonics chapter books. I think it all depends on the family and what they are comfortable doing. If I don't feel comfortable with a specific curriculum then I'm not going to enjoy it as much and my kids may not get as much out of it. I really liked HWOT for my boys but they were younger, it may be your dc doesn't need so much as that program. I didn't feel like my girls needed it, but my 4yo boy has benefitted. Singapore math wasn't our best match, but Miquon has gone well mixed with a few other workbook based programs. I think the four days per week for some topics is good. We do 4 days per week but hs year round. Will you be following a more typical school calendar or going all through the year? The only other items I might think about are art and physical activity. We put our kids in a variety of structured sports activities to be sure they are advancing and being challenged in their gross motor skills. I'm sure others feel differently and avoid traditionally structured sports. We do arts/crafts both to begin an appreciation of art but also enhance fine motor skills. will they be doing that at the coop? Hope this helps. Let us know what works out.

.

 

I think HWOT is a good option for us because he really struggles with his fine motor control. He is barely forming letters right now and gets quickly frustrated when they dont turn out right for him. Its a spendier program but I made or found nearly all the "extras" so we just have to purchase the book. We are following a typical school year, with summers off. But we are starting right at the beginning of September, and leaving off late June (when our local weather improves) to get a few extra days in.

 

He will be doing a lot of arts and crafts at co-op, and he hates sports of all kinds ;( Mostly because he is very, very, shy. He runs and plays outside 3-5 hours a day though. We are big outsiders and he is always building something outside, or up a tree, or inventing some game, or on his bicycle. So I'm not too concerned with him getting physical activity.

 

1) Thumbs up for ETC as supplement to another phonics program or replacement for HWOT. 2) We did 100EZ Lessons. It was adequate and did the job; I plan to use it for dd2, but there are MANY good curriculum out there that will do the same job, if not better. 3) We are doing a K/1 year this year. Dd is a Ker age-wise, but some of her curriculum is higher. She just turned 6. So we are just a little ahead of you. We also have a 2yo in the house. This is your friendly warning to not get bogged down and discouraged if you don't get around to doing lessons every day. Some days the toddler needs me most. She just needs to nurse and nurse. Some days we just can't seem to get traction to get stuff done. I'll have been up late (2:30am) with the toddler or insomnia, the cat throws up on something, and we have no clean dishes for lunch (so they need to be washed before anything else is done). Or when Loverboy has a day off from work...I just know that traditional homeschooling is going out the window. This is also your friendly reassurance that it will be fine if the schedule is not strictly kept. We do best with a stable schedule, but at this point, the big goals are reading, writing, and arithmetic.....but especially reading well. These are the things we work on if we get a good start in the morning. On days that we don't get a good start, we just read (and evaluate the books), do ETC, Maps, State Study, or Unit Study. Sometimes we just play educational games. There are days that we do piano and flashcards and then watch a lot of PBS KIds. :blush: Welcome aboard!

 

Thanks! I think I needed that! I dont have a lot of support from family yet, so I'm trying to seem as "professional" as possible right now. Problem is this is my shy, not very up on social skills child. So I just know I'm going to get a lot of "that's because you are keeping him at home." comments when he would be shy either way!! My second-born social butterfly will be my saving grace.

 

Thanks everyome!!!!

[mamato3]

Sounds like a good plan. I tried both phonics pathways and 100ez and neither of them worked. If you think reading might be a challenge, AAR is worth the investment. Too late for us to switch now but we use AAS and the is what finally got my dd reading. It is brilliant!

 

Good luck, have fun, and expect some challenging days so that they don't get you down :)

[reign]

Just wanted to say that 100ezl did work for us. We then moved on to OPGTR. If you have inter library loan you might want to check out OPGTR too. Math mammoth is similar to Singapore but lots cheaper. We are loving it and even added in some of the Singapore extras.

[blondeviolin]

My oldest learned to read with Funnix, which is basically 100EZ adapted for the computer. My second oldest has done a few things, but mostly 100EZ. They will have a COMPLETE phonics review via AAS. I think you should check out what your library has and decide from there. Also, see if your library has a copy of The Well-Trained Mind. It really is a good read, even if you don't agree with suggestions made.

[Esse Quam Videri]

We love The Reading Lesson. It is less than $20 brand new on Amazon. I tried PP from my library too, but have never used 100 EZ lessons.

[PentecostalMom]

We tried (and wanted to love) OPGTR but it didn't for us. We borrowed 100EZ and dd liked it much better, we are nearly done! We will switch back to complete OPGTR once we finish the last few lessons in 100EZ. If you have both available at no cost from the library, I think it's worth checking out both 100EZ and PP. If one doesn't work for you, the other might. My dd will do at least one lesson, usually two each day. It takes about 20 minutes for us to do two lessons.

[Peregrine]

We started with 100EZ and liked the first half or so of the book. After that, it became a chore and a dreaded part of the day. We plugged through, but I probably should have stopped. It did get my DS reading, though! Next we got OPGTR and started around lesson 50 or 60 and have been going from there--it is liked much better!

 

The first 20 lessons of 100EZ are really great. My advice would be to get that from your library now, and go through as much as you can until it becomes a chore. Then, think a little more about what you want for next year.

[duckens]

OP Coco_Clark says:

I dont have a lot of support from family yet, so I'm trying to seem as "professional" as possible right now. Problem is this is my shy, not very up on social skills child.

 

I'm sorry that you don't have the support you need from family. :grouphug: Since that is the case, your first assignment as a homeschooler is to practice the phrase, "Please pass the bean dip." 1000 times over the next month.

 

"Please pass the bean dip" is a common refrain for changing the subject whenever others comment with negativity about your homeschooling. I think the phrase has even been copyrighted by the homeschooling community. :laugh:

[elizsharp]

We had similar aspirations and it didn't work out with our schedule. I needed to do most of school in the morning in one sitting due to my work schedule and I found that I was trying to cram in too much to a wiggly five year old and I have a three year old and eight month old similar to you. He is now at a first grade level and we are currently only doing Singapore Math and LLATL. I really like AAS and will probably bring that back at some point. But that's it! I'll probably incorporate some history and science next fall but for now we're focusing on the basics and keeping the extra stuff out to avoid burnout for him and to keep his interest high in LA and math.