My4arrows Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Can someone tell me about this? I was thinking of doing FIAR for my K4 DS, but I'm starting to feel things will be overwhelmed with planning and implementing since he has two older and younger brothers. I was looking at memoria press and am interested in hearing about their K curriculum (I would do our own reading and math). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keirin Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I'm planning on using MP Kindergarten with my twins next year, so my experience with the curriculum is based solely on looking at it online plus looking at the books that have already come in the mail. And to clarify, I'm talking about kindergarten not junior kindergarten as my twins will have turned 5 before we start. I've ordered and I plan on using their reading program - First Start Reading - because it was recommended to me as a sort of more gentle introduction to phonics if a child might need more practice with blends/rhyme and onset/etc. I was originally going to start my kids in All About Reading, and I think that would have been a great fit for my daughter. But my son is lagging a bit on blends, etc. so I thought I would try this program. I am happy with it having gotten in all the books and looked through them... There IS handwriting built in to this program as well as phonics, but I will probably let my son orally do the handwriting sections with me while letting my daughter who is ahead on handwriting go ahead and write on her book. We'll see when I actually start implementing it. As a reference, we used the AAR Pre-Reading program and both of my kids liked it a lot. And I plan on moving them over to AAR after we finish First Start Reading. I'm not using the MP math so I won't comment on it. I also ordered the kindergarten enrichment and I must say I find it very impressive. I'm excited about using it with my kids. If you want something easy, open and go, that will fill in art, music, science, geography/social studies...this is a great program. I'd look at the book list and see if you can get most of the books from the library. I ordered the enrichment book and lesson plans, but if you wanted to schedule the enrichment yourself the lesson plans aren't necessary, just a nice extra. Note that the enrichment book order is here: http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/enrichment-booksbut the book list is here http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/kindergarten-read-aloud-program They also reference the book of crafts and art cards which are on the main kindergarten curriculum page in the enrichment book, so you might want to pick those up. I suppose I'll have more to say after I've been using this for awhile this fall, but that's all I have right now. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) I have used it twice. In a word-- boring as watching paint dry. Buy the Enrichment guide and pass on the rest. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited April 16, 2016 by Paradox5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) I love, love MP K Enrichment. I just wrote about it in the Pre-K thread. It's great that it's all laid out so it's very easy to plan. I just try to order the books from the library every week in advance so that they're ready when we need them. It's easy to make it short and simple or you can expand it. Short and simple is just doing the main book and showing the art card and reading the short info in the book or you can order extra books on the topics from the library to make it more in depth. Of course you can vary it week to week depending on how much time you have or how interested you are in the topics. Obviously there are more children's books on some of the artists and musicians than others so that can dictate how much you do. It's very fun to see what interests your child. DS was captivated by Da Vinci so we read a lot on him. The only other thing I've done of MP's is First Start Reading which is excellent. It's a great beginning phonics course that is very gentle and begins with simple CVC blends. It also gently ramps up short reading selections with questions to begin reading comprehension which is really great. You can buy additional recommend readers to practice with. For us they were probably too much since DS was reading faster than the books were going. I've been so impressed I think my next order will be their 1st grade reading program. I've been looking at Veritas Press' version too so I might be confusing the names, but one is Storytime Treasury. Edited February 21, 2016 by ExcitedMama 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggieMama Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I looked into it and thought about using it for a long time, but by the time my DD reached kinder age she was already so asynchronous that I knew I couldn't use a canned curriculum. I'm still eyeing the science supplemental books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I looked into it and thought about using it for a long time, but by the time my DD reached kinder age she was already so asynchronous that I knew I couldn't use a canned curriculum. I'm still eyeing the science supplemental books. One of the nice things about MP is that you can customize a package. They have a customize feature on the website and if that isn't enough customization you can call or email to make additional changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I love the K Enrichment. We used it all last year, utilizing the weekly read-aloud, music, poetry, and art appreciation. Sometimes we'd do the Science or History (which is also in the Enrichment guide). We tried the First Start Reading program and I liked it. We didn't finish though, so I can't speak to the entire series. It wasn't a good fit for my DS at the time, but seemed to be good. We're using their First Grade Enrichment this year, and I plan to do second grade enrichment next year. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My4arrows Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Thanks for all the thoughts. I was leaning towards just doing the enrichment since he will sit in on the other subjects as he wants with his older brothers. He's ready for K work, but will be younger so the enrichment looks like a good fit for us with some FIAR I think 😀 Thoughts on he craft book? Or is it just as easy to just search Pinterest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 The Craft book is super simple. For Stellaluna the craft book had and outline of a bat to cut out, color and attach the wings with fasteners. I forget the book about lions but that one involved gluing orange yarn to the picture of a lion's face. The craft book is mostly short directions and simple outline of something to cut out. Again I'm a craft flunky so for me it means I might actually do it (still averaging about 50% here depending on if I feel like doing whatever it is). I copied the book so that DD can do it along with DS and they enjoy it so for us it was worthwhile. If you are at all crafty or inclined to google or check Pinterest than you don't need it and could probably very easily do more interesting projects to go with the book of the week and the artist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 We are currently using MP K Enrichment and handwriting alongside AAR and MM. We love love love MP Enrichment-- its a perfect fit for K for us. We used FIAR last year and enjoyed it, but I really like how MP is all laid out, and I love the weekly art and music. The books have been wonderful. I like the craft book. Sure, Pinterest might have better crafts and projects but I would never get to them. I often simplify even the MP crafts :lol: I like simple ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 If you are doing your own reading and math program I would only get the enrichment book! We love the enrichment books here from MP! It has everything nicely laid out and all you really need to add in is your reading and math along with practicing your writing (if you want to start that in K). The enrichment book also has suggestions for history and science! My son has loved all of the book choices! We did not do the craft book since he attends a local coop and does art once a week. HTH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexandramarie Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 I have used it twice. In a word-- boring as watching paint dry. But the Enrichment guide and pass on the rest Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I agree.. We found it very boring. We used it for about four weeks, I sold most of it on ebay. And we went with the Reading Lesson book, copy work, singapore math, and storytime. The only thing we loved were the art cards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine89 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Next year will be my first year homeschooling and the MP enrichment guides also got my attention. We don't want the math and LA so it doesn't make sense to buy the manual. What exactly does the enrichment guide include? Does it have the science enrichment books listed in the lesson plans as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Next year will be my first year homeschooling and the MP enrichment guides also got my attention. We don't want the math and LA so it doesn't make sense to buy the manual. What exactly does the enrichment guide include? Does it have the science enrichment books listed in the lesson plans as well? Try clicking on my name and looking at my posts because I've answered this one a couple of times recently with longer posts so it might give you a better idea. The enrichment guide for K followed the traditional fall-spring school schedule so consider starting it in the fall if you want to match up with holidays. Every week generally has a loose theme, like pumpkins, frogs, Christmas, etc. but some weeks are more obvious than others and will tie the book of the week into the art and music and poetry. There is always a book to read and great comprehension questions for the child to answer. Sometimes additional books are recommended on the topic or a science topic. There is always a poem, song and art piece which are listed and a short paragraph on each. I highly recommend it. It's definitely something that you can add onto as well if you are interested and have the time. I get a lot of extra books on the topics each week. Some are more interesting to us and accessible to a child than others. Like some of the lesser known artists have less books at the library and none written for kids whereas we spent extra time on Da Vinci. Definitely consider getting the art cards. They've been fun to have up and spark great conversations. It's also very interesting to me what interests DS from week to week and even DD chimes in. The science is pretty light and includes a topic some weeks like planets but it's really up to you to add to it. For me it's a great reminder to get books and talk about it. I'll definitely do the 1st enrichment next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine89 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Thanks for explaining ExcitedMama! I will check out your other posts too! My daughter will be in 1st and my son in 2nd and I have a pre-k as well. What year should we start with? Can I combine my kids into K, 1st or 2nd and then just keep cycling through if we like it or should I use a different level for each child? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Yes. You can start with any year you would like, K, 1st, or, 2nd. You can combine your children for the enrichment and cycle through. MP has a great forum as well if you have other questions too. http://forum.memoriapress.com/forumdisplay.php?3-Classical-Curriculum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Thanks for explaining ExcitedMama! I will check out your other posts too! My daughter will be in 1st and my son in 2nd and I have a pre-k as well. What year should we start with? Can I combine my kids into K, 1st or 2nd and then just keep cycling through if we like it or should I use a different level for each child? Yes, combine and start with K! Then you'll have the opportunity to use all 3 if you love them. That's what I did. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you end up wanting to purchase I have the curriculum up for sale just PM me. :-) Good luck in your decision!! I know the dilemma and the decision making! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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