K/1st Plans

[k8c]

I am super excited I was able to buy all my materials for this upcoming year last night online, and I will be hovering over the front porch for the next week or so. DD is 5, and this will be our first "real" year doing homeschool, even though we have been doing a number of things (like math and handwriting, introducing phonics) since she was 3 1/2. I am still not sure what grade we should officially call this, as much of what she is doing is 1st grade level, but for age purposes she is in K. At home we are calling it K because we have a few friends who are "going" to K (PS) in the fall and DD understands that she should be "going" to K as well.

 

My list is going to be long and I have probably doubled-up on things because we will be giving a number of things a try, to see how they fit us. It is too bad that many of the "gifted" curriculum items are not available to look at hands-on at the homeschool book fair, the local Christian/homeschool store or the local homeschool supply/co-op.

 

So, here is the list. Any advice/feedback on things we are trying out is appreciated, and I would love if others doing K/1st would list what they are going to be doing as well.

 

LANG ARTS

-Reason for Handwriting A

-All About Reading, Level 1

-All About Spelling, Level 1

-Explode the Code 3, 4, 5 (used just as reinforcement)

-Jr. Great Books "Read-Aloud" Dragon Series, Sailing Ship Series (K-1)

-Jacob's Ladder Primary 1 (Reading Comprehension)

-Grammar-Land (plus worksheets I found online)

-Primary Language Lessons

 

 

MATH

-Life of Fred starting with Apples (I am not sure how many we will get through)

-Singapore Primary Math 1B, then 2A in spring

-Process Skills in Problem Solving Level 1 & 2 to go along with Singapore Challenging Word Problems

 

 

LOGIC

-Lollipop Logic Book 2 & 3

-Connections: Activities for Deductive Thinking (Introductory)

 

 

HISTORY

-History Odyssey: Ancients (Level 1)

 

 

SCIENCE

-Water Works (physical science)

-Survive and Thrive (life science)

-How the Sun Makes Our Day (earth and space science)

(these are all William&Mary products for K-1)

 

 

BIBLE

-PositiveAction "Learning About God" (K)

-Telling God’s Story Yr 1 (w/ dad as a family study)

 

 

SPANISH

-Songschool Spanish

-plus activities from Spanish 100+ Activities, Teach Them Spanish!, Grade K, The Complete Book of Starter Spanish, Grades PK - 1

-Muzzy DVDs from library, Little Pim DVDs from library, "Oh, Noah" on PBSkids

[craftyerin]

I wonder if she'll be past AAR 1 if she's ready for ETC 3-5?

 

Otherwise, looks good!

[k8c]

We are having huge struggles with getting her to participate in reading, especially sounding words out. She will do it in her head, but if she doesn't think she will say it correctly the first time, she will just shrug her shoulders and refuse to say anything. When reading off the sight-word list, she goes well into the 3rd grade list before she even starts to struggle, but pulling out a new book earns whines and crying. For example, we read a book together and she could read the words "powerful" and "beautiful" and "wonderful" without any help/prompting, but then had a meltdown over the word "many." I know she might really be past AAR1, but I am hoping if we just do it, it will build her confidence when it comes to reading on her own. So, we may go through it really fast and move on to AAR2. Also, using it in conjunction with AAS1 will give her extra practice with the way things are supposed to sound, etc (I hope). This area is all new to me as I was gifted in LA as a child and taught myself to read at age 3, so I never learned phonics, etc, and it has been hard for me to meet her where she is and get it figured out. Any advice in this would be appreciated!

[Mergath]

I think your language arts plans are overkill, if you do end up trying to use all of it at once. Using AAR, AAS, ETC, and two grammar programs is going to be way too much for any five year old, even an accelerated one.

[Five More Minutes]

The first "official" year is fun! And I know all about hovering on the front porch waiting for the next delivery! :001_smile:

 

In looking over your list, I was struck by two things that I'll comment on: (1) number of phonics programs accompanied by spelling and grammar; and (2) the volume of formal work for a 5 y/o.

 

You shared that you have a daughter who is decoding some words at a high level, but, if I understand correctly, is not yet reading fluently or eagerly. Enabling her to find the delight in reading together and independently would be my main priority for the year. I personally would forgo the reading comprehension activities (although admittedly I haven't used the resource you're getting) in favour of just reading lots and lots of great books together and talking about them. And I think you're wise to start at a gentle level of AAR with her to build confidence, bracing yourself for a possible quick race through the different levels.

 

I would wait to begin formal writing until she's comfortable with reading, but I know that others have had success with starting it earlier. I just found that copywork made so much more sense when my daughter could read the sentence. Also, a 5 y/o usually doesn't have the stamina or fine motor skills to write much. Same with grammar. I would leave that until she's reading fluently.

 

As for logic, history, science, Bible, and Spanish -- if she's chomping at the bit and needing the extra stimulation, by all means go for it. But these will all be so. much. easier. once she is reading well, that I'd be tempted to use these sparingly. For example, I'd consider dropping the Bible programs for a while longer and just reading a good children's Bible together.

 

These are just my ideas -- take what is helpful and leave the rest. You've obviously put a lot of thought into your plans. It seems like you have a fun year ahead!

[Tanikit]

I would say that if your child is managing as she has been and is accelerated that she may suprise you. It sounds to me on the reading that what you need to do is one of the following:

 

1. find something that really excites her so that she will read it (this is the ideal option) - what worked with my DD was to let her read recipes to me while we baked in the kitchen or write her treasure hunt clues and hide them around the house letting them end at a small treasure - if you are smart when making the clues you can test certain phonics skills this way and also use words you think she wouldn't normally read.

2. Insist on a routine of reading where she knows she will read a certain amount (start with very short pieces and very gradually increase how much you expect. My DD(5.5) - halfway through K - is now reading a chapter at a time (6-8 pages) but when I started her with evening reading we read less than a page (sometimes only a sentence or two).

 

Some children do want reading to be easy - but if the content is not interesting and entertaining then being too easy can kill a love of reading even worse than it being too difficult but exciting can.

 

I have called this year with my child kindergarten (or Grade R as our schools call it) simply because those are the classes she attends for gymnastics and Sunday school. She works though at many different levels.

 

My DD would be starting K in many American states only this fall. Here where we live she would have started K this past January. This is what she has been doing for K since January and where things had to change rapidly.

 

Math: Horizons 1 and Singapore 1b with CWP - she has recently finished half of Horizons 1 and all of Singapore 1b and CWP and we are doing some MEP now as a break before starting 2A in Singapore and the second book of Horizons 1.

 

Language Arts: Reading: she started K at about a 2nd grade reading level as far as stamina went and a 4th or higher grade level as far as phonics went. Around March her stamina increased greatly and she is now reading at a 4th grade level (again she can read almost anything, but the 4th grade books are about the level she is comfortable with) - I have been left jumping trying to find books for her.

Reading Comprehension: we use the WWE Textbook and also Reading for the Gifted Student Grade 1 for comprehension for now.

Spelling: I teach this myself with dictation based on the most common words, words she misspells when she writes herself and phonics based spelling (using the ABCs and all their tricks) Her spelling is coming on well and the difference in it from the beginning of the year is easy to see - I have had to try to keep up figuring out what she needs to learn next with regards to spelling as she learns it very fast.

Writing: I have not really decided where to go with this yet - she does narrations easily and will write lists and sentences of her own accord, she did copywork a lot last year. Have been looking at curricula but still undecided.

Grammar: we did some and I didn't like it so we stopped. I will probably introduce more when I decide what to do about the writing. She knows what nouns, verbs and adjectives are so far.

Read Alouds: I collect books so give her a list of about 5 to choose from each time we end one - We have read

The Indian in the Cupboard, 5 Children and It, Enid Blyton books, Ginger Pye, Pippi Longstocking in the recent past.

Handwriting: I taught this myself when she was 4 and we moved this year to writing in lines so took a bit of time getting that right. If I see it deteriorating we go back to copywork that I watch.

 

History: we have been using SOTW1 and will be finished in a couple of months. Not sure what I will do after that - could start SOTW2 or just use some library books on anything she shows an interest in.

 

Science: BFSU K-2: she enjoys science and this has worked for us. We are taking our time and exploring anything that interests her in greater detail.

 

Bible: www.abcjesuslovesme.com - the 5 year old curriculum (only the Bible parts)

 

Geography: much of this we have done as an extension of BFSU topics and we also did a book on World Explorers and tracked their journeys on the map.

[MinivanMom]

If I were you I would hold off on AAS until she has completed AAR. I'm not sure that you need Explode the Code on top of AAR either. You really don't need grammar until she is reading fluently, and then it's probably best to choose just one program. You seem to have several overlapping programs here where it would be easy to get burnt out. I think you have to remember that even where the mind is jumping ahead by leaps and bounds, your daughter's attention span, output, and emotional maturity will still be at a kindergarten level.

 

I have always kept the K year gentle and light (regardless of how high above grade level my kids were working), but I definitely went overboard with my oldest in 1st grade. I had too many overlapping programs, because I was super-excited. I was warned, but I had to learn the hard way. I have now narrowed it to a single well-chosen, rigorous program in each academic area. My kids will sometimes choose additional work or programs in their area of passion, but I am careful to only require one program.

 

For K this coming year I am planning for dd5 to use:

Math: Singapore Math (starting in 1A and we'll see how fast she moves)

Phonics: Reading Reflex (she is reading, but I want her to finish up some of the advanced activities to establish a phonetic knowledge base)

Reading: Variety of books based on current reading level

Writing: Journal writing and copywork

 

That's it. I will be reading aloud to her, but I don't have any kind of plan for the readings. We will mosey along following her interests, which may mean a lot of Little House on the Prairie. We are also going to do a lot kindergarten-style projects and field trips, but I don't have any kind of plan for that either. All dd wants to do is bake bread, churn butter, and make cornhusk dolls like Laura, so we will do a lot of that kind of stuff. I'm going to try to entice her into other sorts of projects, but I don't plan to force it. She will be covering the basics, and I believe that everything else for a kindergartner should be fun.

[boscopup]

I'll post what I've done/plan to do...

 

Kid that just finished "K" (November birthday, so he was 6 most of that time) who finds math easy and reading a struggle did the following for "K":

 

Reading: Phonic Pathways

Handwriting: Pentime 1 (first book)

Math: Singapore 1A/1B, Life of Fred Apples through Dogs and started Edgewood

Other: Sonlight P4/5 (basically, a bunch of good stories as read-alouds)

 

His first grade will be this:

 

Reading: Phonic Pathways

Handwriting: Pentime 1 (second book)

Math: Singapore 2A/2B, continue with Life of Fred

Grammar: FLL1 (and if that's too easy, we'll move on to 2)

Writing: WWE1 (while he's not reading fluently yet, I do think he's ready for this, and the copywork will probably help his reading)

History: tag-along with US history library books loosely correlated with DS1's history.. not much emphasis on this though.

Science: Magic School Bus videos, library books

Spelling: If his reading takes off, we'll start R&S Spelling 2

 

My oldest's first grade year (pulled him out of private school halfway through first grade) as an accelerated reader:

 

Reading: Handed him good chapter books

Math: Math Mammoth 1-3

Handwriting: HWT1 until we had corrected his bad letter formation - then we dropped handwriting

Spelling: AAS1-2

Grammar: FLL1 and 2

Writing: WWE1

History: SOTW1 with plenty of library books

Science: library books

 

The main difference between my kids' first grade years (and I label grade by age, regardless of the level they're working at) is that my oldest was reading at a 4th+ grade level, so I did a lot more history and science via library books that he could read himself daily, whereas the younger kid won't have much emphasis on history/science for 1st grade. My focus for him is getting him reading. We'll still do history and science books as read-alouds, but until he can read them himself, it won't be a huge formal part of our day. I'm correlating his history with big brother's history, but if I don't get him something from the library one week, or if we don't get around to reading history books one week, I'm not going to worry about it. In my mind, he's officially starting history the next year in 2nd grade, when we come back around to Ancients. I think he'll be reading well by then. His then-K'er brother will also probably be reading well by then, so they can read the same books. :tongue_smilie:

 

For the reading issues... Give her plenty of books *BELOW* her current reading level to build up confidence and fluency. When my oldest was moving to chapter books, we did just a very small amount of chapter book reading at his reading level, then the rest of his day he was reading books at a 2nd-3rd grade level. That worked fabulously for him, and now he reads anything and everything (and reads faster than me :rolleyes: ).

 

I agree with everyone else that you don't need to use multiple programs for the same subjects. One grammar program is enough (and honestly, I wouldn't bother with grammar for her K year), one phonics program is enough (just go with AAR to start). One thing I usually keep in mind with my accelerated students is that they have a level of input to match their ability, but the amount of work and output matches their age/maturity. Now some kids are ready for more at younger ages, but so far, my kids have been pretty typical of kids their ages in terms of how much work they can handle. So my K'er only had an hour a day of work (including read-alouds - so probably 30 minutes of "seatwork" on the 3R's). That was good for him. I've also experienced that my preschoolers, while quite bright, don't like to "work" at academics. They do better when they're closer to age 6 or 7. My youngest just turned 4 last weekend. He's been reading short vowel words for several months (truly reading - sounding them out and determining what they say, not just sight reading/memorizing). He is mentally capable of passing my middle son in reading, but he doesn't want to work hard, so I keep him in the "easy" section of Phonics Pathways as long as he wants. When he's ready, we'll move forward more. For now, he's well ahead of his same-age peers in reading, writing, and math. His K year will look much like my middle son's K year, except that we may be done with Phonic Pathways by then. We'll see.

[k8c]

Thank you all for the advice. However, I don't think I was very clear in my original post. We are NOT going to be using all of these things all at the beginning and all at once. In fact, after getting to look at them, I may send some back without even trying them. Otherwise, we will start with one program, see how it works, and if it doesn't work for us, we will switch to the other I have listed. I know this is way too much for a 5 year old to do all at once. You guys are right, though, I did get so excited I didn't make this all clear! We also probably won't start AAS1 until we are well into AAR1, and honestly the ETC is an easy worksheet for her to do while at church (we family church, so she gets to do lots of worksheet-type things). The grammar is something to try and just give her an introduction to, and I don't know which program would be best to do that. I had read that PLL and Grammarland were more introduction friendly than something like FLL. I am not looking for mastery. She just really likes classifying things, including words.

 

Thanks also for the suggestions about helping get her to read. I think part of our problem is we have so many books, it is hard for her to chose those that might be a comfortable fit for her. I think a reorganization of our books is in order this summer! We also have a number of books that are very interesting to her, but at this point she would rather I read them than she read them herself.

 

Thanks again!

[Tanikit]

Definitely reorganise the books. What I do with my DD is keep some books back (in a separate space) that are for her to choose from to read to me (she still reads aloud to me daily), then she has easier books in her bookcase that she can read whenever she chooses and finally there are harder books in there too that she can read if she chooses, but that I will read to her during a separate time.

 

I also never just let my child choose from the bookshelf (unless it is a bedtime story she particularly wants) - there are far too many books there for her to choose - I usually pick out 5 or 6 books that I want her to read or that I want her to listen to and then let her choose from those. If you keep a pile that she must read to you then make sure ALL of those books are very high interest books so that even if you have to insist that she read the first of them, she will grow to like reading time because the stories are great - I have found Sonlight readers have been very good for my DD as far as interest goes.