Stphoebe Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Ok...here goes. I am all over the board with deciding on our homeschool plans. This will be my first year homeschooling. I have a daughter 5, who did last year in a pre-k in a parochial school. Also have a 4 and 2 1/2 yr old. Plan on doing Math In Focus (already purchased at a convention) w/ 5 yr old Progressive Phonics, TCTR IN 100 HWOT- Letters & Numbers for Me with 5 yr old & My First School Book with younger two? Earlybird or Mathematical Reasoning 2 with 4 yr old..? A to Z Early Childhood Curriculum for two youngest? I would do Sonlight P 4/5 if it wasn't for all the bunny books...my 5 yr old says yuck! I've read her Beatrix Potter and while she did enjoy them she just loves picture books like Angus Lost, Blueberries for Sal, etc. I do have FIAR but as a new homeschool Mom I think I need lesson plans...hence Sonlight. If p 3/4 had a structured day I think I would do this. I like the looks of Sonlight Core A but the advisors say the little ones will always be left behind. Ugh...just don't like half of the books in p 4/5. Yes I guess I could just read a book or story a day but I really want a structure at least for the first year...even if I end up scraping it when I get my groove. Easy Classical Kindergarten looks good too, swapping out math..I even have Getty & Dubay handwriting series I picked up dirt cheap and also have Teach your child to Read, etc. Literature pockets look cute too, daughter loves, loves crafts! Which brings me to my next option...Memoria Press. I'm thinking about just doing my individual math & phonics with the kids and bringing them together with MP Kindergarten Read-Aloud Program with the Enrichment guide! Ahh I never dreamed there would be so many great options, I want to do it all! I'm also thinking I could bring the kids together to do MP JR K (with JR K read alouds) and do the age appropriate math & phonics. Then last night I stumbled upon Timberdoodle and ok I really need reeled in, my husband would be grateful! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Wow, I would say. You don't need to do all that. HWOT would be appropriate with the 5 and 4 year old. I wouldn't suggest doing handwriting with a 2 year old. A 2 year old can learn some letters with the wooden letter pieces, but I don't personally think it's appropriate for a 2 year old to work on actual writing. Best to work on fine motor skills at that age that are pre-writing activities. (lacing, puzzles, shape sorting, buttons, zippers, pouring, scooping, tongs, etc). Honestly I don't think you need lesson plans for the ages of your children. A typical pre-K homeschooling morning would be to do a few handwriting pages (1-3), some phonics work (typically the next lesson in what you're using), a maths lesson. And then just play, read some books aloud every day, and so on. FIAR is a really cool program. You already have it, just do your HWOT and phonics and math and FIAR will cover everything else nicely. That would be your structure. I believe there are even blogs and Pinterest boards dedicated to FIAR to give you an idea how that structure works. I'm going to tell you something I've learned from all my years of homeschooling. Preschool and K materials will suck you into a never ending black hole of options. There are literally a ton of options and resources for early learning. You already have some programs that will serve you really well. Best to just jump in and do them, you'll know real soon if something doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 FIAR is a really cool program. You already have it, just do your HWOT and phonics and math and FIAR will cover everything else nicely. That would be your structure. I believe there are even blogs and Pinterest boards dedicated to FIAR to give you an idea how that structure works. Yes! This is what I tried to say when I replied in your other thread. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I agree - it seems like you are covered with FIAR and then Math and handwriting and phonics. Your 4 and 5 year old should be able to be combined with almost everything - the handwriting you will have to be more patient with the 4 year old and possibly go slower or allow that child to use blank pages and no lines/blocks depending how old a 4 year old he is. While structure always sounds nice for the first year, if you just keep at it for a month you will find that you develop your own structure. I used Sonlight P3/4 my first year homeschooling and it worked very well for my then 2.5 year old - we have used those books over and over with her as well as with my second child. I believe that there are now more hands on activities than there were when I did it so while still not a structured curriculum it would definitely be enough for your younger ones. Maybe if you need structure you should write some loose plans for what you do have (ie FIAR and the Math, phonics and HWOT) and then follow that for a few weeks and see how you feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Miquon done gently for the 4 year old. It is a much more interesting, effective, and developmentally appropriate way to introduce Singapore style math concepts to young children than Earlybird. Mathematical Reason is OK, but is really the "good kind" of busywork. It is fine if you need something colorful to keep one occupied and learning something, but it is not game-changing. Miquon is. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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