Help me think through this....Moving Beyond the Page now or wait.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Dd5 is going to be turning 6 in December.  She's a bit behind the typical 5 year old due to some developmental and speech delays but lately she's been making some big leaps in ability and skill in addition to getting better about focus and being still.  She doesn't necessarily want to be doing more formal school stuff, but she needs to have more structured activities and short bursts of direct instruction in order to keep her out of trouble during the day and so that she can start making some academic progress. I have a few things I'm doing with her now - she's just learning to count to 20, do simple math, and we're working on letter recognition and sounds.  She LOVES hands on activities in fact they are necessary for her to learn, but I'm running low on time and enthusiasm for searching out and pulling together activities.  

 

I've looked at several options and think I'm leaning towards Moving Beyond the Page.  I'm struggling to decide on if I want the 4-5, or the 5-7 to start in January, or if I want to hold off until her 1st grade year to start the 5-7.  I love the book selections in the 4-5, but we've already been working on letters by making big letter posters for each.  They have cut and paste lapbook activities, tactile things, and readers that focus on the specific letters. So, I don't really want to pay for something that is going to be repeating what we're already doing. However, I'm afraid that the 5-7 would be too advanced for her in the skill area come January (I saw in one sample lesson that it asks the child to write a sentence about a book and we will be no where near being able to do that), although I think the content would be just right for her.  I just keep flip flopping around. :P

 

Here are the options I see:

 

1.  Stop what we're doing now and go ahead and start the 4-5 (We're only on letter D with our posters, but I have the entire alphabet printables printed already - about 100 pages). 

2.  Continue with what we are doing and then start the 4-5 in January.  She'll be repeating learning the alphabet but it may be different enough from what we are doing that she won't get bored. 

3.  Continue with what we are doing and once we finish learning the alphabet start the 5-7 around January. I would just go at her pace not worrying about finishing it by the end of the school year. 

4.  Make due the rest of her K year with various things I can pull together and then start the 5-7 next fall when she's in 1st. 

 

And I'm going to stop typing because I've got a migraine and feel like I'm typing gibberish. LOL!  Hopefully I've made enough sense that someone can decipher what I'm asking. 

 

 

[marynamo]

Go at her pace.

 

Perhaps consider reading the book Better late than early by Raymond Moore.

[bluedarling]

If she has developmental delays you will want to be on the upper end of the grade range for MBTP, since the lower age is for academically gifted children.  It does sound like 4-5 would be a waste of money.  However, regarding the 5-7, the content to academic requirements may never quite "fit" with an atypical learner.  That said, if your are comfortable adapting the curriculum, you could possibly make it work (by doing the writing for her, for instance.)   Based on what you've said, I probably recommend option 5, or like the previous poster said, don't press academics this year. You really don't need a full program for K....a little bit of math maybe, and some phonics...that's it.  Look at MBTP again next year, and decide if its a fit then.

[Saraswati]

Actually, it sounds like 4-5 might be exactly what you're looking for. It does go letter by letter through the books, yes, but the main focus isn't identifying letters. MBtP is writing intensive, and you'll find a lot of writing in 5-7 level. In the 4-5 level, You're able to customize every unit to suit your child's needs - if you want to practice handwriting, it's there. If you want more hands on, the kit includes clay and sand for different types of practice. All materials are included and separated into labeled baggies, so you just grab the book and baggie for the week and go. The box is HUGE! I was shocked when I got it - tons of goodies in there to play with.

 

4-5 is based on a book per week. There are hands on projects and handwriting practice for each book. For example, unit 11 (Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree) starts out with math using a big printed apple tree and little red pom-poms as apples. The child 'picks apples' to create different types of addition and subtraction problems. You then learn about the change of seasons with a little science project and locating the equator on a map. The second day starts out with another science project where the child observes the weather, and they get to make a big painting of trees in different seasons with tiny pieces of tissue paper and brown pipe cleaners to create the correct looks for the seasons. Some more math games, and a learning a poem for day 3... day 4 they get to make their own apple pie while listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. And on the last day they get to retell the story in their own words so it can be dictated into their own little journal, which they illustrate.

 

There is a great facebook page called Differently Schooled Who Use Moving Beyond the Page. There is a large number of families that use 4-5 and they frequently post photos of the kids doing their projects. It would be a great place to get an idea of what you'd be doing with the different levels - not to mention, hundreds of families that use MBtP that can answer any question you have.

 

Excuse my typos - I'm on my phone 😊

[5LittleMonkeys]

Saraswati - thank you for the detailed description!  That is very helpful.  All of the hands on projects sound perfect for this dc.  She's always wanting me to give her projects like those you mentioned but I don't always have them pulled together or have the time to pull them together.  I'd LOVE to have something all prepped and coordinated. 

[5LittleMonkeys]

Go at her pace.

 

 

 

 

 don't press academics this year. You really don't need a full program for K....a little bit of math maybe, and some phonics...that's it. 

 

Totally agree with going at her pace.  I've been doing this long enough to know that to push just causes issues.  I don't really want anything overly challenging - I'm needing something to occupy and interest her.  She NEEDS to be occupied during the day with structured activities otherwise she gets into things and causes issues with my other dc. She's so done with puzzles, playdough, rice, tanagrams, etc.  She seems, and I might just be projecting, that she's wanting more meaningful activities. 

 

Thanks for your feedback. :)

[sewingmama]

If I was you I would start 4-5 now. It won't be repeating what you are already doing and its really fun. My 5 yo knows all his letters and sounds and is reading CVC words and 4-5 is still challenging for him. There are a few handwriting letter sheets but thats good for reinforcement. The program doesn't really teach letter sounds...it teaches writing the letters and you can skip that part if your DD doesn't need it.

 

It's really all about the books and developing comprehension.

 

This week we are doing the Halloween unit and the book for it is Goodnight Goon. Some of the activities we have done include

 

learnt what a parody is

compared the pictures and story to Goodnight Moon

Coloured a skeleton and learned about the different bones in the body

Learnt about bats, watched a video and made a bat mask

Learnt about real mummies from Egypt, wrapped the kid up like a mummy and have them estimate how many wraps of toilet paper it will take

"wrote" ( the child writes maybe a word or even just lines if they can and then you scribe) in his writing journal about his favourite part of Halloween and drew a picture

Made some ghosts and then used them to count and make number sentences with.

 

As you can see...it is not directed at learning letters. MBTP does not teach reading or phonics in any of its levels...you need your own program for that.

 

I am probably going to wait till my DS is in Year 1 to do 5-7. I started in K with my older two and it was too much for them. We only just finished that level earlier this year and they are 7&8.

 

Don't skip the 4-5. it is really fun and your DD will learn a lot.

 

I've posted a few photos of my little guy and his projects over on the Facebook page...go join up

[5LittleMonkeys]

Thanks Sewingmama!  I think I will go ahead and get this and just let her work on it at her own pace.  I was looking at it again last night and I'm really excited about all the books.  She has always, since she was born, had to be moving and making some type of noise so reading aloud to her has always been extremely frustrating - she's not disobedient, just a little ADHD maybe.  She's just started to be able to sit relatively still and not sing or make humming noises for about 20 minutes so I can finally do some reading with her.  I'll go check out that facebook page. :)

[ondreeuh]

Oh man, I wish I had had that when my kids were little! There are lots of similar ideas out there, but having everything streamlined and organized is priceless. Things like this make me want to open up a preschool.

[sewingmama]

Thanks Sewingmama! I think I will go ahead and get this and just let her work on it at her own pace. I was looking at it again last night and I'm really excited about all the books. She has always, since she was born, had to be moving and making some type of noise so reading aloud to her has always been extremely frustrating - she's not disobedient, just a little ADHD maybe. She's just started to be able to sit relatively still and not sing or make humming noises for about 20 minutes so I can finally do some reading with her. I'll go check out that facebook page. :)

My DS 5 is just like that naturally...he doesn't have ADHD. The activities are short but meaningful and we often do an activity...take a break..do another etc. Lesson time varies according to what activities there are that day but I would say 30 minutes a day is average. MBTP is multi sensory..so there are quite a few movement activities involved.

 

The books really are great. I like that they are a break from the traditional classics that most programs use...we have already read so many of those over and over already. My DS has pretty limited tastes in books at the moment ...loves Spiderman, Lego books and books about cats and dogs...thats pretty much it....but he has loved every one of these books and even has a couple favourites he has asked me to reread many times...which never happens for him.

 

The owner is fabulous and gives excellent customer service. He is always open to quest,ions and suggestions.