Favorite Kindergarten Curriculum? {Need Phonics Included}

[mommy5]

I've been homeschooling for a several years but now my oldest is heading into 8th grade and my other two will be 6th and 4th.  I have an upcoming kinder (he will be 6 in the late Fall) and a 4.5 year old daughter who likes to tag along.  Neither of those two are reading or writing (other than some practice letters...) we did not do preschool other than one day a week and my son is showing interest in learning to read but we would need to start from scratch.  

 

 

For two of my older kids I used IEW PAL but my daughter knew all of her letters by age 2 (and she started PAL R/W at 4.5) and my son had gone through preschool and new all of his letters and most sounds to begin with.  It was a great program but I feel that it would be best to wait another year and start it with him when he is in 1st grade (age 7) and daughter is in Kinder (age 5.5).  Now, I think I need to work on letter sounds ... I'm not sure but I was starting to lean toward MFW Kinder and work with both of them.  

 

I also thought of Memoria Press Junior Kinder because I wasn't sure if regular Kinder was too difficult for their levels.  I love Memoria Press for some other stuff but in general lean more Charlotte Mason with a bit of classical.

 

My other option is working with them without a formal curriculum but I'm afraid I will get off track.  

 

Opinions?  

Edited June 2, 2016 by mommy5

[ReadingMama1214]

For letter sounds, I really love LeapFrog letter factory. My kiddos both learned the sounds from watching this. And the other movies in the series have helped with certain phonics principles.

 

You could do a letter of the week style thing. Pinterest has tons of activities and teacherspayteachers.com has lots of free and cheap printables. You could do it at a quicker pace than a letter a week if needed.

 

I'm teaching dd to read with Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading. It's pretty basic and straightforward. I use it alongside of readers such as BOB books, Nora Gaydos readers, Usborne Phonics, Progressive Phonics (FREE online) and leveled readers.

 

I'd also suggest using Progressive Phonics website. It is fantastic and as I noted above, free. My daughter loves the readers from that site

[TX Native]

Leap Frog phonics videos were great for my children. MFW K can easily be beefed up or trimmed down as needed. I liked using it as a guide to keep me going at a steady pace and for variety in science topics. I loved the weekly character studies. I added in McGuffey Primer and some hands on math lessons to the program. We did weekly topic related crafts suggested on various online blog sites when time permitted. A few years later, my children say they loved MFW K.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

I think LOE Foundations would work well. It includes phonemic awareness, reading, writing, spelling & grammar. Very fun, with lots of games & active lessons. The writing can be done in a sensory box, on a whiteboard, or on paper depending on readiness.

 

What are you planning for math?