extendedforecast Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 My older children are thriving in PS and will remain there next year, however my DH is really pushing for DS, who needs to start K next year, to stay home for school. I'm really on the fence about it, and I've told him that the only way I'd consider it is if we used a curriculum that is all planned out from the start. I want something that comes with everything I need, down to the manipulatives. It needs to be easy for me to implement, or else it won't get done. We are Catholic, so Christian curricula is fine, as long as it is Catholic-friendly. On the other hand, I don't want anything like R&S that has Christian references jn everything. Secular is good too. Is there anything you could recommend right off the bat? Oak Meadow is out for this kid. I don't think it would work for him, though I might look it over again to confirm my feelings. How difficult do you think it would be to build my own package to have ready to go by the summer? I can't believe I'm considering this, but I already have Saxon 1, MM 1-6, and MEP is always on option. I don't have any of the manipulatives for Saxon 1 though, and I'd need to buy the workbooks and meeting book again. OPGTR has been used in the past, but we've always dropped it along the way. I have had mixed results with funnix as well. I would probably want to try something new. AAR looks good. I wonder if it's planned out. I'd have to buy letter tiles and other materials as well. For handwriting, I have two brand new copies of HWT K. I would need to plan and purchase read alouds. I have SOTW. Maybe we could go slowly or just wait for next year. I also have BFSU Vol. 1. It would require a lot of time to plan out and if have to buy materials. I have nothing for religion. Is have to research and buy that. What else am I missing? My goal would be to have everything planned out on a master sheet and then a detailed weekly or daily sheet with checkboxes. Am I crazy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Calvert seems like the logical choice if you're looking for a complete curriculum. Why is your husband wanting you to homeschool him? Is he advanced? In that case you might want to put in the effort to piece things together yourself. If you already have Saxon, MM, BFSU and SOTW, then it would be pretty easy to choose a solid phonics program and some literature to go with them. Buy some manipulatives and art supplies (and some bins to organize everything) and you would be all set. Maybe you could take a few weeks in the summer to map out a plan for the year. Having it organized on a spreadsheet ahead of time could help keep you organized and accountable while still letting you be flexible about meeting his academic needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Not crazy! For reading, consider phonics pathways. It's very open and go. There are a few games you can photocopy out if the book, but its not mandatory. My plan for K is - continue Phonics Pathways - start Miquon Orange and MM1 (DS is well versed in cuisinaire rods) - handwriting workbook... Of some kind. :) - I've recently decided to get the Usborne Internet Linked Book of Prehistoric History. It starts with the Big Bang and ends where SOTW vol 1 begins (which we'll do in 1st grade). It goes through how all the animals developed, so I hope it'll double as a science that way (I'm not too concerned with content subjects in K). For religion (we're Catholic also) we're just going to Mass, teaching prayers/how to pray. Talking about saints if there's a popular feast day (like St. Pat's). Nothing formal. Some boxed Catholic curricula include Seton Homeschool and Catholic Heritage Curricula. You can get the whole program for either or just pick and choose books. Sonlight is another boxed Christian curriculum. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Why not Kolbe Kindergarten? Or Calvert as posted above; or for a lot of hands-on and everything in the box, Timberdoodle's K or 1st package? Kolbe is probably the most cost-effective of those. It looks like a fairly lean & clean K year, with the basics covered well and science and faith/religion included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Calvert and Kolbe look decent. There are a few texts that I'm not familiar with that I'll have to research. Timberdoodle looks fun, but apologia in 1st grade won't work for us if we continue with it. I like the idea of using usborne prehistory. I would love to get a set of cuisinaire rods. How do you like Miquon, gwenem? Is it pricey? MinivanMom, the reason DH wants to homeschool DS is mainly for selfish reasons, lol. He wants him to stay home a little longer to spend more time with him (and our youngest). Essentially we would be homeschooling until they decide they want to go to B&M school. A new Catholic school is opening next year. If I don't homeschool, he would most likely attend there. DS is very bright and loves numbers; he naturally gets some pretty abstract concepts already. DH and I have jumped on this and have been teaching him Math. He is reluctant in learning to read, though. I need to find a way to make it fun, and come this fall, he won't have a choice, lol. He does love to be read to, just no interest in learning to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Not gwenem, but Miquon is cheap and we like it. You can go through 2 or even 3 books a year, but they're only around $7 each. There's a teacher's book, but you might see if you can borrow that from somebody and read it over, and then you're not likely to need it once you get how things work. (I got mine secondhand.) Phonics Pathways is a good option for a reluctant reader. Logic of English Foundations is even more appealing, but it's markedly more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 I actually have yet to start the actual Miquon program... Maybe this summer. We have a wooden cuisinaire rod pack I bought from Amazon for $20ish. It's the small group pack, not the intro set. We've done a lot of the early exercises found on EducationUnboxed.com - which is all free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Oh, and the cheap Miquon workbooks do not have explicit instructions on them. I had to get the Lab Annotations book to know what to do. I don't recall the Lab book being too much, but its more than the workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teneo Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 My thoughts for you are Kolbe, Memoria, and Angelicum. Angelicum is Great Books Academy with Catholic insteuction added. I think AAR I'd a good fit. It doesn't say day 1 day 2 etc in the lessons. However they are set up so you could easily do one section of a lesson each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Calvert or Living Books Curriculum. Logic of English over AAR or OPGTR for sure Memoria Press has a lot of writing in it. {I have done MP K -2nd.} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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