WWE for a five year old.

[Staysea]

DD is four this year.  I started explode the code with her, and she is over halfway through book two right now.  She asked to do some math, so I just bought a math curriculum (mcgruffey), and she is doing awesome.  We are working on handwriting too.  So, basically, I'm trying to put together a curriculum for her for next year.  Would writing with ease be too dificult for a bright 5 year old?

[AmandaVT]

I have a bright five year old son and I bought WWE for him this year but am holding off until at least after the new year and maybe until next year. He's getting there with writing, but is still pretty slow with it and though I know he can do the work, I don't want him to get frustrated or overwhelmed with the writing piece. I'm scribing most of his math answers still because his brain is faster than his hands. I am doing FLL and AAS instead of WWE for now and will add in WWE when I feel he's ready. 

 

FLL is good and has narration and some writing. AAS has a good bit of writing, which I have him do on the dry erase board (he loves it).  Between those, HWOT and the pen pal project he's doing, he gets plenty of writing each week. And if you're looking for a spelling program, I'll put in a plug for AAS. I love love love it!

[The Governess]

I started WWE with a five year old, but only because she was very accelerated. She was reading at a 2nd grade level by her fourth birthday and was ahead of the curve in spelling and grammar too. It was a good fit for her. My second Dd is reading and spelling at or slightly above grade level and WWE at grade level is a good fit for her. The reading passages get pretty tough by WWE 4, so I would be hesitant to start a child early unless they were a couple grade levels ahead in language arts. It is a wonderful but challenging program.

[AmandaVT]

Hmm. Maybe I should re-evaluate then. DS is currently reading Cricket in Times Square to me. Not sure what the reading level is on that, but I'm guessing it's more than a couple levels ahead of K. 

[SilverMoon]

From what I've seen WWE readiness is more about hand strength than reading level. You might consider getting the hardback WWE instructor text instead, and just gently working on the skills on your DD's terms.

 

For my 5yo copywork is her penmanship. At first she just practiced letters, then whole words, then small sentences.

[Staysea]

Thanks, her writing is probably the only skill that isn't up to level right now, so I might just hold off until next year.  She probably writes more at like a beginning K level.  I'm not really sure, since I don't really know how to gauge how well or how much she should be writing.She can write short sentences, and still has problems with a few of her letters.  I write half of her answers in ETC right now, because she gets bogged down by the amount of writing, but lately she has been taking over and writing it all about half the time.  She will probably be finished with the ETC series by the summer. I don't think the rest of the curriculum is writing intensive at all, but I don't want to overload the writing.  Mcgruffey Math so far has had very little writing, it is mostly manipulatives and games.  I'm doing AAS, mosaics, piecemeal unit studies for science, reading, and HWT.  I think I might buy it and if it doesn't work, we will just use it the next year.

[redsquirrel]

Correct, WWE is about writing ability, not reading ability. WWE is about turning incoherent thoughts into words and putting words onto paper.  The child doesn't need to read beyond grade level at all. In fact, they listen and narrate. They don't read the passages themselves.

 

I have two boys who were reading well beyond what I would expect for their ages who worked a level behind in WWE due to hand strength. We finished WWE4 in 5th grade and went into WWS1 in 6th grade and it was a rather smooth transition. In 8th grade he is writing essays. It will happen and there is no need to rush things.

 

 

She's five. I would think something more like Handwriting without Tears would be more useful to her. Let her read what she likes and work on handwriting and ETC. And I think if you are only having to write half of her ETC then she is doing very well. I didn't have my kid write in ETC at all because ETC is for reading and he couldn't write well enough to manage it.

 

You might want to consider downloading/buying SWB's lecture "A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the Elementary Grades". It is sold by Peace Hill Press.

 

[CrunchyGirl]

I would focus on narration right now and building her oral narrating skills. Once her handwriting ability catches up you'll be in a great spot.

[Kerileanne99]

I have an accelerated dd who will turn four this December, and we are doing WWE now. I had actually purchased it for later, but she had been reading Little House on the Prairie at the time--WWE was on the table and she opened it. She was so excited to see the first passage based upon the book, and begged to try.

 

She absolutely loves it. We are at week seven, and have only just encountered something she had yet to read for read-alouds or buddy reads, so it was like finding old friends for her. This has been wonderful. I do let her choose which sentence she wants to do, and she generally chooses which one she likes the best...regardless of length.

 

That being said, she is writing quite well, reading at a very high level with comprehension, and has been through the first level of AAS. And more than that: she LOVES it and asks to do it. As long as that continues, we will motor on.

I am not concerned with keeping to the schedule, and there are times when she prefers to do DWN. Great.

 

So yes, I absolutely think it can be done and that your kiddo may well love it, if she is reading and somewhat comfortable with writing...if she is not comfortable with writing, you might buy the book and focus on narrations, and possibly reading more great literature that she might recognize when her writing is ready!

[boscopup]

I have a 4 year old who is reading at a mid-1st grade level and able to copy a sentence pretty well. He won't be doing WWE next year in K. I don't think it's necessary, and I don't feel in a rush to get him writing like that, even though he probably could handle it. In fact, my oldest, who was quite advanced in reading, is doing WWE a year behind. My middle son is going to do WWE a year behind (he is still learning to read - he's more advanced in math and a late bloomer in reading). We'll skip WWE4.

 

WWE1 is certainly easy enough to do with a young child, but I just don't really see a point in starting it super early. And I've seen benefit in actually doing it on grade level or a bit behind. The questions can be frustrating for a young child. Then in level 2, you start to actually summarize (level 1 just has you say one thing you remember - a child any age can do that). In level 2, you start taking dictation, and the dictation is NOT easy, nor is it using words that typical 2nd graders know how to spell. I personally wouldn't want to hit that early.

 

My youngest will be doing the following for K next year:

Reading/Phonics

Handwriting

Math

Tagging along with big brothers in history and science

 

That's it. That's plenty. It's just K. :)