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[Fghij]

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Edited February 27, 2022 by jrmmj
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[Mommy_of_4]

My 5yr old is in the middle of her K year. So far it is going great. She is making great progress with handwriting and reading. I would like to add in some more fun stuff but not exactly sure what to add. She is using horizons k math, Abeka phonics and BJU handwriting.

[73349]

I'm happy with how things have been going. He's made great progress in handwriting (which was definitely needed), and he's coming along nicely in reading and math. Learning the names of all the states is a stretch for him, and we may skip Canada and keep at the US for a while, but I think having done some geography now will pay off in the future. I've done better with staying on schedule for music and art appreciation than experiential art.

 

When he first read me a little book, I took him to get his own library card. That's turning out to be great, because I can request books that he wants on his own card without worrying about running into the maximum on my own.

[ajfries]

I'm pretty happy with how this year went. I do wish I had been more consistent. We ended up taking nearly all of November & February off. DS misses the PS cut off date, so he wouldn't be starting PS kindergarten until this coming Fall, so I kind of looked at this as a trial run year. I feel like I curriculum hopped too much for phonics, but ended up falling in love with LoE, so I feel good about that.

 

I am struggling a bit when it comes to deciding to move him into RS B even though we haven't finished A (it was just too scattered for me) or wait a little while. I might feel comfortable moving him on come September, though. Since we're homeschooling year round we still have a good 4 months of school left.

 

I'm also trying to decide if we should do a writing curriculum next year or wait. Are you gals planning on using a writing curriculum next year?

[Momof3]

I'm as happy as I thought I'd be. :) 

 

Ds5 is in a private school right now... I afterschool him in the 3Rs. We've been *very* consistent with the math and reading. The writing has been more sporadic. He keeps a journal, and has just started insisting on doing the writing himself. He journals maybe a couple days/week. The piano practice has been pretty consistent.

 

I would *love* to do so much more with him. I'm probably happiest about K ending. :) I'm excited for him to rejoin our Bible time, and to add some fun science, history, Spanish & sign language to the mix! :)

[BarbecueMom]

We are having a blast!

 

The only thing we dropped was Miquon. I think I was about a year late starting it with him, plus we use the c-rods for Singapore already. It was overkill, and I never could find the right place for him in the books.

 

Prehistory was a great idea this year. The Charlie's Playhouse timeline and creature cards were a huge hit! We learned about the Big Bang, fossils, evolution, and dinosaurs, then went back to the Precambrian to study the pre-dinosaur creatures (and next time I'll wait until here to start evolution). Next week we'll start the early mammals and people, and go on a fossil hunt in the next month or so. Honestly, he's passing me up as far as science knowledge at this point. He's explaining stuff to me when watching Cosmos!

 

We haven't had as many read alouds as I would have liked, mostly due to illness. Lots of respiratory junk and pinkeye.

 

We're going year round, but our "year" technically ends in June. We'll officially end K in the middle of June, with a week of summer camp before starting first grade.

 

And no, I was never able to follow any written schedule, just like all the veterans said, but I'm glad I did at least try to plan, because it gave me a chance to look ahead at all the materials and gauge how much prep I needed to do.

 

It's a gorgeous day, lessons are already done, and he gets to spend the rest of the day outside digging and playing. Love homeschooling!

[Korrale]

4 months in of our K year. All is going well ahead of what we planned. Except handwriting. But that is okay for us.

[Tanikit]

We finished K in December last year and are now 3 months into first grade. It seems ages since we were in K.

 

I think it went well. I think I would have liked to do more experiments and building and playing with blocks. Her reading we did consistently and she advanced multiple grade levels. Her writing improved enormously though I think we should not have stopped practising single letters as soon as we did. We did Horizons 1 and Singapore 1a/1b in K and they went fine and towards the end of the year we started LOF which has gone down very well with my DD. We had fun with SOTW1 and also BFSU1 - and I see now how things have changed with BFSU now that she is writing better and is older, however it all fits together well and she does remember most of the experiments and concepts we did last year which has helped with this year.

 

There were times last year though when I thought I had no clue what I was doing or wasn't at all sure what the next step was. It is only now looking back that I realise it was all fine - and now I worry about the next set of things.

 

 

[craftyerin]

We're having a wonderful K year! I did get to everything I had planned (and maybe even a little more?).  We have done Five in a Row (continuation from PK), plus 3Rs.  Everyone is progressing in reading and math, some faster than others, but that's OK.  Overall, very pleased with our progress.  

[....]

Our K year has been great.  She really took off with reading this winter!  Her handwriting looks better than mine.   :tongue_smilie:

 

Things that have worked really well this year:

 

1.  Reading one picture book a day from the library (we read The Twelve Dancing Princesses yesterday)

2.  Math dice

3.  All About Spelling

4.  Draw Write Now workbooks (she really likes these for some reason)

5.  More Mudpies and Magnets - science experiments

[....]

Are you gals planning on using a writing curriculum next year?

 

Only copywork/narration for us and writing spelling words or short sentences from All About Spelling... 

[craftyerin]

I'm also trying to decide if we should do a writing curriculum next year or wait. Are you gals planning on using a writing curriculum next year?

copywork & narration 

[Rachel]

This year has gone really well. I was really stressed before we started but my main goal was for my son to learn to read, he is reading very well now. His handwriting has improved immensely and he's doing fine in math even though he doesn't particularly enjoy it. We've done lots of reading and I've loved watching how the different books have expanded his vocabulary and creativity.

[LatteMama]

This year was sort of a trial run for us because DD didn't make the birthday cut off for ps kindergarten.  I followed the all-in-one homeschool to get her up and reading - MEP reception year for math - various workbooks we got from Costco - lots of fun Charlotte Mason-type things like read-alouds, poetry, music and art appreciation.  Nature study didn't happen very often even though she loves it. 

 

DD has done so well I will definitely move her on to first grade this fall.

[MinivanMom]

Our year has been wonderful, and we got to everything I had planned! Dd had some speech delays so I had put off any reading instruction until this year. To my surprise, she just took off and is now reading fluently. Her speech has improved significantly at the same time. She now has just a slight lisp compared to 18 months ago when she was still completely incomprehensible to anyone outside our family. We have had so much fun with reading this year. We've had some wonderful moments curled up with books, either me reading to dd or dd proudly reading to me. Great year!

[Fghij]

On 4/10/2014 at 11:17 AM, ajfries said:

 

I'm also trying to decide if we should do a writing curriculum next year or wait. Are you gals planning on using a writing curriculum next 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by jrmmj
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[craftyerin]

We are going to start WWE this fall.

 

From SWB:

http://downloads.peacehillpress.com/pdfs/samples/wwe/wwesample.pdf

 

 

I am still trying to decide on a spelling program, since we are halfway through OPGTTR. What are you all planning to use for spelling?

 

Bekka

My twins are reading fluently and well above grade level, so I've already stated them on spelling, using Spalding. It's going well for them, so I plan to just keep on keeping on.  My 6yo DS struggles more with reading and spelling. I am using AAS with him. 

[Seeking Squirrels]

It's gone okay. We had a rough first half due to medical stuff with me. I think we'd only logged about 30 days by Christmas break. But we've been much more consistent since starting back in January. I know she could be so much farther in math if I'd done it more, but she's finishing up SM1a soon so still fine. Her reading has really taken off. We're still plugging through OPGTR because I don't want her to have any gaps, but she's way ahead of where we are in the book. She humors me and does her lesson anyway.

 

Writing has improved though we're still not through HWT k. We'll finish by normal summer break. I think we're going to keep going as much as we can through summer to make up for our slow start.

 

Science has been fun. I put together an astronomy unit which she loved. She asked for dinosaurs next so that's what we're doing now. We also do various MSB kits here and there.

 

I meant to do geography but we don't do much. Brush up on states and capitals and do a few pages in Evan Moore when we think of it.

 

Critical thinking was a flop because I didn't like building thinking skills primary at all. So we just play logic games. Which I decided is better anyway so I guess not a total flop.

 

Where I feel I've failed is read alouds. I love reading. Dd loves reading and being read to. But we get busy and sidetracked and go days without reading (aside from bedtime. We always read 2-3 stories at bedtime.) I was using SL p4/5 as a book list and we're only about a third of the way through.

[Mommy_of_4]

I'm pretty happy with how this year went. I do wish I had been more consistent. We ended up taking nearly all of November & February off. DS misses the PS cut off date, so he wouldn't be starting PS kindergarten until this coming Fall, so I kind of looked at this as a trial run year. I feel like I curriculum hopped too much for phonics, but ended up falling in love with LoE, so I feel good about that.

 

I am struggling a bit when it comes to deciding to move him into RS B even though we haven't finished A (it was just too scattered for me) or wait a little while. I might feel comfortable moving him on come September, though. Since we're homeschooling year round we still have a good 4 months of school left.

 

I'm also trying to decide if we should do a writing curriculum next year or wait. Are you gals planning on using a writing curriculum next year?

 

I think we may start Winning With Writing lvl 1 in the fall. It really depends on how well she is doing with penmanship though.

[Guest]

We're having a blast, but it certainly is different than I expected it to be. :D

 

One highlight I want to remember is that, although I HATE phonics worksheets and would never recommend them to anyone, ds loved them, so I let him have his fun even though I'm secretly smiling that he's starting to get tired of them just as he got tired of Latin, SOTW, and all the other fun things he tasted that we will get back to at a more age-appropriate time.

 

This is how I learned that 6-8 week units for Science next year should be just about right for him, and that is also my "Plan B" for History if he looses enthusiasm for SOTW again.

 

I am very happy with my curriculum purchases and my own learning curve about the changes in the homeschooling world since ds1 "jumped ship" to PS.

 

He would be eligible for my local public school's first grade program this fall, so that is when I will start calling him a "first grader" but most of our goodies are marketed as "ungraded elementary" and I don't intend to finish them, check them off a list, and put them up for sale in June.

[tjlcc]

K is going well here and we'll end in late June.  My student is working through the Reading Lesson and McGuffey's Primer.  Also, McGuffey's Speller and LLTL very slowly as my goal was just to finish the Beatrix Potter books before 1st.  Copywork is taken from McGuffey or LLTL.  We are about halfway through Singapore 1B and are taking a break to focus completely on The Verbal Math Lesson.

 

Those are the basics and we enjoy many picture books from various book lists, Bible story books, poetry, character building books, daily Scripture reading and a chapter book read-aloud.  

 

Home Art Studio is loved here as well as the Magic School Bus DVDs (although I returned them all to the library as they were driving me nutty).

 

No writing program planned for 1st.  Narration from My Book House and LLTL will meet my goals.

[SilverMoon]

.

Edited September 8, 2023 by SilverMoon

[....]

Critical thinking was a flop because I didn't like building thinking skills primary at all. 

 

I have older kids (I have 4 total) and Building Thinking Skills was probably our worst curriculum flop ever.  So, don't feel bad.  It's expensive, too and I had bought several levels.  :(  

[susanfh]

This was my first real year as a homeschooler, with my oldest in K.  We've had our ups and downs.  He has a speech disorder (apraxia), fine motor delays, adhd (diagnosed this year by neuropsych), and maybe dyslexia.  

 

At the start of this year, I had the idea that I was going to teach him just like any "normal" kindergartener.  That did not go over well.

 

We started with 100 EZ lessons.  Couldn't get past the 1st lesson.  Then we went back through the phonemic awareness activities in AAR pre-1.  Then tried First Start Reading by Memoria Press. He couldn't blend, at all.  He just guessed all over the place.  Weird guessing, like saying meat for ham, etc.  That's what prompted me to get him the neuropsych eval.  So now we're getting ready to start LiPS.  

 

Handwriting has definitely improved with HWT and OT.

 

Horizons K for math, although we're only through book 1.  He has no struggles with math, although I'm not sure Horizons really gives a good conceptual understanding of math.  

 

That's really all we focused on.  Science and social studies were just some read alouds.  Art was at co-op.  And music was just listening in the car sometimes to and from speech therapy.

 

I think the biggest lesson I've learned is to readjust my priorities -- helping my child enjoy learning and find success, not progressing through prescribed skill levels.   And I'm so happy that I found my way to homeschooling, I never thought this was something I would do.

 

I'm excited to see what it's like to do K next year with a neurotypical child.

[smarson]

I'm also trying to decide if we should do a writing curriculum next year or wait. Are you gals planning on using a writing curriculum next year?

 

Just a question as I haven't started LOE Foundations A yet but plan to this summer/fall... but if you're doing LOE and enjoy it, doesn't it cover writing for the time being?  I would guess it would provide you enough and you can add in more down the road?   :)

[emmaluv+2more]

It went well considering I started the school year with 4 months of horrible morning sickness and ended the year with a newborn :)

 

We do K very lightly. We used 100 EZ Lessons and dd blossomed in reading. Other than that, we focused on handwriting (HWoT), math (various workbooks...she lives them for some odd reason), and Bible. She tagged along with my 3rd grader for science (habitats and zoology).

[ajfries]

Just a question as I haven't started LOE Foundations A yet but plan to this summer/fall... but if you're doing LOE and enjoy it, doesn't it cover writing for the time being?  I would guess it would provide you enough and you can add in more down the road?   :)

 

It covers handwriting (which honestly, I could take it or leave it) but it doesn't cover the dynamics of writing. No narration or copy work. Just letter formation.  :)

[RootAnn]

This is my fourth time through K but this kid was already 6 when we started K vs. not-quite-5 and two just-turned-5 year olds. I think I was more consistent with this kid than with the first three. We covered more math, less handwriting, and I was more "relaxed" with where his reading is vs. the first two. 

 

I've learned to just keep going on the skill work without worrying where they are in it at a specific "grade level" and to try to make time for the fun stuff.

 

Mine isn't nearly as far along in reading as most of the kids in this post - and he's probably older than most of them. But I'm resigned to my "late readers" just as I eventually figured out I had a batch of late talkers. I just try to enjoy my little people every day. I know he's looking forward to some time off (of reading & handwriting at least). 

[jnaj]

It has been a great year. I didn't get to everything I had planned because we ended up moving across the country, and also my 5th grader has not been as independent as I had hoped, so I spent a lot of one on one time with him also (plus the 2 year old :) .) BUT, we got to all the "important" stuff, and had fun with McRuffy language arts and math, along with doing fun enrichment programs, occupational therapy, and things like that.

 

I have our 1st grade stuff planned out, and we are going to start the basic stuff + FIAR for summer, and then transition into the rest of the curriculum I have chosen in the fall. 

 

Someone asked about spelling- we are going to be using All About Spelling. I had considered Spelling Workout, but I really like the hands on aspect of AAS, and I think my daughter will get the most out of it that way.

[HappyClassical]

Kindergarten for us is ending in June and then we starting up again early August. Kindergarten for my DD was my first year homeschooling - I spent 1.5 years researching and supplementing preschool prior. Overwhelmed by curriculum, I ended up buying Sonlight and within 3 weeks realized it was a complete flop. I sent it back, took a week off school and came back with a curriculum I built. We did AAR1, Singapore 1A/B with MathUSee, HWOT, a little SOTW and R.e.a.l science biology, plus lots of readying etc. Nothing with SOTW will be returning for 1st, though we will be doing AAS1 for Spelling.

 

My daughter started kindergarten advanced in Math and has barely progressed at all. I've discussed my views on Singapore and MUS on other posts. We will be doing Rightstart B for 1st. So math was frustrating and unsuccessful.

 

We started kinder just knowing basic phonograms and not reading really at all. I plugged away in AAR1, even after my DD decided she didn't like the games anymore. Very recently - it just all clicked and now she is flying along. So, even though we won't be using AAR2, bc I dont think the format is right for us, reading has been success.

 

REAL science odyssey is a big bummer. A lot of people love it - but I feel like I could have just put the same thing together myself with 20 minutes a week on PInterest in front of my printer. There is nothing inherently wrong per se - just that we think it's boring and still requires a lot of supplentation. I'm keeping it to integrate some lessons for next year. We have Sassafras and Elemental (both bought used) to pull from to make my own next year. Kindergarten science was neutral... My DD is excited for real science next year.

 

They really love listening to SOTW audiobook - we are really looking forward to Next year for that.

 

Kinder has been an OK success. I'm glad I started for K because I learned a lot... And ready for the big kid stuff (hehe) and will also have a PK5-er DS, a 1.5 yo DS and a newborn DS (in September). 😳 :-)

[Guest]

ds loves Math and talks about it incessantly, asks questions, etc. in the same spirit he loves Minecraft and My Little Pony. He enjoys grade level work for school so I see no need to accelerate him.

 

As far as reading goes, I think he's above average for a boy kindergartener born in January by 1970's and 1994's standards and that 2014's Common Core standards are not developmentally appropriate.

 

He knows the sounds of all the letters, some digraphs, reads words but not books spontaneously and in the course of his daily life for utilitarian reasons, and has done a lot of curriculum surfing but is now enjoying the first set of Bob Books and a more relaxed schedule.

 

 

 

 

[Heathermomster]

We had a great, laid back year.  My DD is amazing.  My DS requires a lot of my time and attention, so I was concerned about how to fit DD in.  We managed it, and I really started to enjoy her by mid-January.  DD struggles with handwriting, but math and reading seem to be fine.  We are nearing the end of LOE B.  We will continue over the summer, and I'm super excited about first grade! 

[Guest]

We seem to be fizzling out instead of gloriously reaching for the finish line, lol. ds and I have a bad bug that's been going around and four lessons left in his Saxon K math book, one of which required a shiny new manipulative that has the distinction of being the smallest order from Rainbow Resource center I (and I imagine anyone on the face of the planet) have ever made. ds adores math and I refuse to spoil these last four lessons by plodding through them while hacking a lung and feeling like they are an onerous chore to check off a list.

 

His reading has been taking off, so we've been maintaining that at least, and when my adult child saw us languishing on the couch with a Bob book and asked, "Are you working hard on your lessons, dude?" I informed him that we were too sick for lessons and were just reading to each other and playing games.

 

Somehow that solidified what I want our summer to look like. It's more a change of attitude than anything, because ds will still be reading the same phonics books I called "lessons" and I've got all of Peggy Kaye's "Games for (insert academic subject)" books on order, Ruth Bechik's 3Rs, and many other homeschool classics that will tell me how to turn a $0.54 pack of index cards into more fun than you can download off the Pirate Bay from your worst enemy's wifi connection.

 

IMy Great and Glorious plans for Fall aren't looking very Classical right now and I'm thinking that ds will enjoy some of our preexisting bargains and goodies that he nibbled on during Kindergarten a lot more in 3rd grade than he will in the Fall.

 

It's still been a great year and I appreciate all the time people spent listening to me and sharing their wisdom on this board. It's also been fun gossiping about cats on the chat board. ;)

 

Thanks, SWB. This is a very special place on the internet.  <3