HELP! Kindergarten/1st grade curriculum ideas?

[Homeschoolmom3]

I am in need of assistance.  :-P  I am just not sure what to do for my 5 1/2 yr. old this fall in regards to where to go, what to use, what grade to "put" him in?  He is not a typical kindergartner and I don't want to bore him, don't want to push him.  I am just at a loss!

 

A bit of a background he learned to read at 3yrs. old (I did not teach him) I have two older boys and they have gotten most of my attention. The only thing I have done for my youngest is READ.  He has always had such a LONG attention span at such a young age.  He would sit and look at books for hours when he was only 2.  He would sit and let me read to him an hour at a time (and would probably sat longer but I always capped it at 1 hr at a time) and has been that way since then.  He will go in his room in the morning after our Bible time and he will sit and read his books for about an hour.  He loves to play outside and we are outside for most of the afternoon after lunch time.  Right now we do a morning time, recitations, readings (many diff. subjects), he reads to me a bit, we play some math games together and he is into Reading Eggs these days (and probably where he learned special sounds,etc. to read) we dabble a little with foreign language, writing when he wants to and takes piano lessons and attends an art class.  He is currently reading 2nd grade readers.

 

The only thing he wants to do "school wise" is read his books, play math games, or any games.  If I try to add other stuff he isn't too interested.  So that is where I am out how much should I make him do school wise?  Where should I put him at?  I want to make sure there are no gaps in his reading, I started with OPGTR which he balks at a bit.  Will that be enough?  I am so out of my realm, I was able to use a straight curriculum with reading with my older boys and added things to the mix.  I need something easy to implement and don't want to invent the wheel since I have my older boys to tend to as well.  It would be nice to have a full curriculum where I can just tweak it a bit to my liking but basically all done.

 

He writes his letters pretty well, I would say he has Kindergarten math down.  Should I start him at a 1st grade level?  I have looked at every curriculum out there and of course nothing will totally work for where he is at.  I am big on good classical books and would consider myself a true Charlotte Mason follower with a throw of the new "classical" view thrown in.   :tongue_smilie:  Now who is willing to take a stab?  Thanks for all of your help!  I am still debating which way to go with him I feel I will be going a different path than my older two.  I hope I am making sense at this point my head is spinning!  :001_unsure:

Edited March 9, 2016 by Homeschoolmom3

[Slache]

You're making sense. I can't tell what you actually want though. I think OPGTR, math games and books galore pretty much covers it. Most 1st grade curriculum starts at square one so I would keep doing what you're doing and begin formally in 1st grade. Do you not think that's a good idea?

[Homeschoolmom3]

You're making sense. I can't tell what you actually want though. I think OPGTR, math games and books galore pretty much covers it. Most 1st grade curriculum starts at square one so I would keep doing what you're doing and begin formally in 1st grade. Do you not think that's a good idea?

 

I guess I would love to have a set curriculum so I am not missing anything or there are no gaps.  That scares me so!  Would love to have an all in one, I have looked at MFW, Ambleside Online, Memoria Press, etc. but the phonics/reading always throws me.  Could do that separately I guess but where to begin?  uhh!

[Slache]

Have you looked at Peace Hill Press School In A Box?

[Homeschoolmom3]

Have you looked at Peace Hill Press School In A Box?

 

Yes, I have....just not sure if it is for me, and where would I put him?  K or 1st?  Thanks for the suggestion!!

Edited March 9, 2016 by Homeschoolmom3

[wendyroo]

If he is reading well and you are only looking to patch possible phonics holes, then I wouldn't bother with a reading program (other than Reading Eggs if he enjoys it); instead I would start All About Spelling which will provide a thorough review of phonics.

 

If he writes his letters well, then he probably doesn't need a formal handwriting program.  I would start him on copywork as handwriting practice.  He might be ready for Writing With Ease 1.

 

If he understands the basics of kindergarten math, then I would start him on a first grade program.  Personally I prefer Math Mammoth because it is a strong, conceptual program that is easy to implement, but there are lots of other great choices like Singapore, Rightstart, Miquon, etc.

 

All that said, I would keep his required school work short and sweet.  With my kids I try to always view the difficultly of the work and the quantity of the work as completely separate variables.  I have a first grader who is ready for the difficulty of fourth grade math topics, but certainly is not ready for the attention span, handwriting or memorization that I would expect from a true fourth grader.  That's fine - I keep lessons short, I let him use a multiplication chart, sometimes I scribe for him, etc.

 

My second son will be almost 5.5 come fall, and I plan to require 10ish minutes of math (Math Mammoth 1), 10ish minutes of handwriting and 10ish minutes of phonics...all four days a week.  He will also be welcome to join my oldest for all the content subjects, but they won't be required.

 

Wendy

[wendyroo]

DP

Edited March 9, 2016 by wendyroo

[Hobbes]

Another vote to enjoy the learning he is doing naturally, keep up what you are doing, which sounds gentle and effective, and wait on using more formal stuff! :)

Edited March 9, 2016 by indigoellen@gmail.com

[Kiara.I]

The problem with boxed, all-in-one curriculum is it assumes a certain level of development existing in all areas.

 

I prefer cobbling together my own, with the understanding that there WILL BE holes no matter what curriculum you use.  I mean, what if there are holes in that all-in-one?  LOL  (Hint: There are.  There will be.  It's inevitable.)

 

He'll be in kindergarten.  If he's not ready for much in the way of formal lessons, wait until grade 1.  You can do reading next year, though it does sound like he's well on the way.  If he shows interest in art or science, grab something that you can do in bits and pieces, as he's interested.

[Homeschoolmom3]

Thank you for all of your replies!  Part of me so wants to just let him be since he will only be in Kindergarten and part of me is needing that assurance of covering all the basis and moving on.  (My type A control personality coming through). I totally burned out my middle son in elementary grades and I hate I didn't give him more time to just play.  I guess I need reassurance and it is hard to break old habits!  I want to know that if we don't do anything formal in K it is not the end of the world.  Ha!!  Thanks everyone!

[Tumbatoo]

Sounds like he is doing pretty well on his own! He'll be fine if you don't have a formal K year. My second child didn't. She wasn't even reading or doing math, and she turned out fine.... Even a little ahead for "grade level" at the end of third so far.

[smarson]

One thing that came to mind when I was reading your post and responses, is that you would like a curriculum set up for you.  What if you decided which box you like best (for it's methodology and such) and then fine tune what you get.  For example, if you want to get a K program but he needs 1st grade math, just sub out the math for a higher level.  And do that for all the subjects.  Take a peek at what's covered, consider where he's at and go from there.  

 

Or use a 1st or K program as a guide - see what they include and what they exclude.  Use that as a guide as to what to buy and build your own bundle.  

 

But do try to remember that he's young.  Let him explore, read him lots of books, let him be a kid.  There's plenty of time for 'formal' schooling down the road. :)  I wouldn't try to push too much on him - just the basics, reading and math.  And let everything else go by the way side. :)

 

Best wishes!!!

S

[Mommy_of_4]

You might look into Heart of Dakota.  You could put him in little hearts and adjust the phonics and math to his level.

[Ellie]

I am in need of assistance.  :-P  I am just not sure what to do for my 5 1/2 yr. old this fall in regards to where to go, what to use, what grade to "put" him in?  He is not a typical kindergartner and I don't want to bore him, don't want to push him.  I am just at a loss!

 

A bit of a background he learned to read at 3yrs. old (I did not teach him) I have two older boys and they have gotten most of my attention. The only thing I have done for my youngest is READ.  He has always had such a LONG attention span at such a young age.  He would sit and look at books for hours when he was only 2.  He would sit and let me read to him an hour at a time (and would probably sat longer but I always capped it at 1 hr at a time) and has been that way since then.  He will go in his room in the morning after our Bible time and he will sit and read his books for about an hour.  He loves to play outside and we are outside for most of the afternoon after lunch time.  Right now we do a morning time, recitations, readings (many diff. subjects), he reads to me a bit, we play some math games together and he is into Reading Eggs these days (and probably where he learned special sounds,etc. to read) we dabble a little with foreign language, writing when he wants to and takes piano lessons and attends an art class.  He is currently reading 2nd grade readers.

 

The only thing he wants to do "school wise" is read his books, play math games, or any games.  If I try to add other stuff he isn't too interested.  So that is where I am out how much should I make him do school wise?  Where should I put him at?  I want to make sure there are no gaps in his reading, I started with OPGTR which he balks at a bit.  Will that be enough?  I am so out of my realm, I was able to use a straight curriculum with reading with my older boys and added things to the mix.  I need something easy to implement and don't want to invent the wheel since I have my older boys to tend to as well.  It would be nice to have a full curriculum where I can just tweak it a bit to my liking but basically all done.

 

He writes his letters pretty well, I would say he has Kindergarten math down.  Should I start him at a 1st grade level?  I have looked at every curriculum out there and of course nothing will totally work for where he is at.  I am big on good classical books and would consider myself a true Charlotte Mason follower with a throw of the new "classical" view thrown in.   :tongue_smilie:  Now who is willing to take a stab?  Thanks for all of your help!  I am still debating which way to go with him I feel I will be going a different path than my older two.  I hope I am making sense at this point my head is spinning!  :001_unsure:

 

 

If he would enter first grade in the fall because of your state's cut-off date and his birthday, then of course you would call him a first-grader. That label has nothing to do with what you are planning to teach him, or what he is able to learn and do. it is merely a label. Embrace it and move on. :-)

 

[daveswife]

With a boy who loves books and has his letter formation down, I'd do lots of read-alouds, keep supplying him with books he likes to read for enjoyment, play lots of math games, have a composition book available for days he may feel like writing and illustrating, and maybe add some Kumon cutting and pasting books into the mix.  It sounds like you have a really great routine going already! :)

[EmseB]

If you are interested in Memoria Press, their customer service people are VERY helpful at customizing packages based on where your kid is at.

 

That said, at 5.5, I don't think you are at risk of messing him up by "missing" stuff.