Recommendations on budget and user-friendly, Montesorri-ish Pre-K and K?

[Guest raesun]

I know that the questions on curricula are all over the board, but I have some specific and maybe impossible (?) requirements and we are struggling. This is going to be a long post, please forgive...

 

We are planning to homeschool our daughter (pre-k) and son (k) next year. Our son is a few months younger than the traditional K start age in most states, but we are going to go ahead and start so we can test drive the thing. When I say, we, it will mostly be my husband. I will be on my residency next year and pretty busy. But there are some issues, and I want to help him.

 

My husband has MS. He is well-educated, but his job is one that is not protected by the ADA (federal law enforcement), so he had to retire in his early 30s due to MS symptoms. He has a pension and wonderful health benefits, and he is a phenomenal dad. He has in good shape, and physically healthy. Most people don't know a lot about MS and they always think about the physical, but it is the cognitive issues that affect him, and that's why he had to retire. Sometimes people with MS call it "brain fog." My husband has a really hard time organizing, staying on track without getting distracted, and time management, and forgetting. He works really hard to correct. The primary remedy we have seen is structure, lists, alarms, etc. But in the end the main thing is structure. However, despite these difficulties, he is great with the kids - especially in terms of depth. He is a natural at narrating to them: "I like the way you are stacking those blocks" and teaching and creative endeavors. It's just that he may teach them reading for 2 hours and forget everything else that they need to learn, that they need to eat lunch, etc. That kind of thing.

 

Sorry about the personal saga, but I wanted to explain the problem.

 

I am looking for a curricula that will help him stay on track, but help him be true to what he wants to do with them which is to do something child-inspired and more Montesorrish. It may be that there is nothing like that out there. Maybe I can take something and package it for him so he knows what to do each day? I don't know. I'd love any thoughts and suggestions that might help us.

[lea_lpz]

Have you checked out my thread on the Wee Folk Art Companions? It's Wardorf but would work for both kids, the companion guides are free and you could get most of it at the library. You'd have to Lang and math but she includes recommendations for that. Or you add your own for the k'er, if you like, because he could be pre-k.

[mommymilkies]

http://www.newchildmontessori.com/

 

http://www.montessoriathomebook.com/Home.html/

[bakpak]

I think you're on the right track with Montessori-inspired concepts. I also think it's okay if he spends 2 hours reading to the kids instead of doing whatever else. That's part of the beauty of home-schooling. It can be more child-led. In that vein, it's handy to have some projects ready-to-go ahead of time so that he doesn't get lost in the details (you may need to help with this). If the family is okay with a little less set schedule, it would work just fine. I think you should have a plan to help make the key subjects easy to get to and obvious what's next, but also use the first 3-4 months as a test case. He won't 'screw anything up' in that time period. Your kids are little and absorbing like crazy, so they'll be learning regardless if it's exactly 15 min of spelling or just playing hopscotch. A routine will likely develop naturally after awhile and tweaking. About once a month you could re-evaluate ways to alter your school structure so that evenually aligns with your preconception. He may decide to be more of a project-based teacher (combining math, english, science all into one project), so this is where some extra prep might be handy (materials out for building a volcano, books/videos about volcanos, art project about volcanos etc.). If your kids like workbooks, you can just leave those out on a specific shelf.

 

As for timing, alarms for lunch/nap sound good. Your kids are also getting old enough they can be taught to tell time and as they mature they'll naturally help keep him on track. If they need to be at the pool for swim lessons, he may need a stronger, repetitive reminder.

 

As for Montessori, this e-book is awesome and VERY affordable: http://www.montessor...om/Home.html/ . I've used it a bunch with my preschooler. It tells you exactly what to buy and often where you can buy things inexpensively.

 

Best of luck!

[Um_2_4]

If you want to make sure "basics" get covered, are you interested in any computer lessons? abcmouse.com or starfall.com or similar...

Use lots of spreadsheet schedules with timers(set up on a mobile or the like for each day) and do the next thing type of curriculum would help.

Picture clue schedules on the wall for kids.. then they can say "Dad. it's time for lunch..."

In my KG class I used a picture schedule at the beginning of the year to help kids get used to the routine.

Montessori might be a lot of prep work, but you could still do "living books" and lots of hand on ideas if you get them ready in advance.

[Spryte]

You might also consider asking about this on the General board - if not for specific curricula, then for ideas on managing everything while dealing with brain fog. There are more than a few of us with this issue, due to various reasons. I am fairly sure there are some board members with MS, and there are many with on-going chronic issues.

 

I, too, have brain fog (in fact, lived with an MS diagnosis for several years, but my neuro issues were due to another chronic problem)...

 

When we started homeschooling in PreK and K, I used workboxes. If you google Sue Patrick workboxes, you will find a lot of info. It was a good way to organize and manage our day - no matter what curriculum is used. It was *very* helpful in getting me on track, and keeping our day moving forward. You could help him decide what to put in the boxes, and load them at night (or weekly). I used a laminated sheet with pictures of things like snack, lunch, playground, etc to break up our day and our lessons, too. You could easily integrate that with Montessori inspired activities. Also check out Tot School, if you haven't already, and Tot Trays - for the Pre-Ker. Very workbox-ish, and you might be able to integrate the two ideas.