Unsure about our curriculum

[mom of 2 boys]

Hello! I just finished up my 3rd week of homeschooling my Kindergartner and I am already feeling like I may have chosen the wrong curriculum. We went with My Fathers World, and right off the bat I am finding that we have to skip all of the phonics work. My son has high functioning autism and started reading when he was two years old. I do want to formally teach him phonics, because I know there are gaps, but I am certain that he has mastered all of the materials in this package already. I'm not loving the handwriting pages either, and even though we're using them, I'm also supplementing with a reason for handwriting, which we really like so far. The math is OK, but so far it is just too easy for him, and I'm strongly considering supplementing that as well. I probably would have purchased a math curriculum by now, but I'm kind of having a difficult time figuring out which one might be a good fit for him. He keeps saying that he enjoys cuisinaire rods, but then when I actually take them out to use them, he seems distracted and like it's a chore. He doesn't respond that way to math worksheets though (dollar store). He is very visual and tactile in many ways, so I feel attracted to Math U See for him, but I'm kind of getting the sense that he might do better with just regular old numbers on paper. I do love the bible in My Fathers World, and even though I'm not sure that my son is really grasping the metaphors, he does seem to be understanding the basic principals being taught. I can't help but wonder if he might benefit more from a different kind of bible curriculum though. Maybe something a little bit more straight forward. I guess I like the science the best, and I think that's what really attracted me to My Fathers World because my son is very interested in science and engineering, and this entire program is built around science concepts. But again, I can't help but wonder if there might be something better. Most of what we're learning is coming straight from library books that they suggest as well as just books that I add in myself. I was looking at the "a reason for science" first grade curriculum, and that looked like it just offered SO much more than what we're doing now. 

 

I guess I feel like we're just not getting very much out of My Fathers World. My son is asking for MORE work. He's even asking to do school on the weekends! He wants to learn, but I just don't have enough materials at the moment. I could speed up the curriculum, but that will not make up for all that it's lacking for us. It will also bring us through Kindergarten much faster than I had anticipated, and I'm not sure if that's really the answer here or not. I could keep just the bible and science and supplement the rest with individual subject curriculum. I kind of liked the idea of everything being tied together into a neat little package, but maybe that's just not a good fit. Maybe I should consider choosing a different curriculum for each subject? 

 

Also, on that note, if I do decide to go that route, does anyone have any suggestions for a phonics curriculum? We tried supplementing with "explode the code", which I loved, but for some reason my son absolutely hated it. I also tried "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" a while ago (since he was reading early) and to be honest, I was the one who hated that one. He didn't seem to love it either though. "All about reading" looks kind of expensive to me, for what it is. We have a set of phonics flashcards, would it be a terrible idea to just use that as a guide and simply TEACH him the phonics and then practice with a bunch of readers from the library? I've never done this before, but I just feel like for this particular child, maybe this doesn't have to be so complicated. 

 

Anyway, if anyone could give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

 

 

 

[HomeAgain]

What's it going to hurt if you do it your way, with the flashcards and readers?  You have the stuff, it's no extra expense.  I officially give you permission. :D

 

For math..one thing we used in the beginning was an app called Archimedes' Roost.  I think it was about $5?  It's a virtual Montessori math classroom. It only goes up to end of K work, but it is absolutely wonderful.  I introduced the material with hands on pieces (either printed or gotten from the craft store and painted) and let him play with the app while he still had the material right there.  I'm not a huge fan of virtual manipulatives but this was a great compromise for us both and introduced him to "tools" not "toys".

[Kiara.I]

See, and what you're describing is the reason I always shied away from "all tied together" curriculum.  I prefer just picking a math, and a science, and a spelling, and whatever else I figure we need...

 

Anyway.

Is he reading fluently?  If so, I'd skip a phonics curriculum, really, and just do a good spelling curriculum later on.  Or if you really want to do phonics, do http://www.thephonicspage.org/.

 

If he's ahead for math, would Math-U-See serve him well?  It's a very, very clearly laid-out program, but for children who love math it goes a bit slowly, I think.  Does he like playing with mathematic concepts?

If you want a very tactile one, Rightstart is also tactile.  

 

Other good science curricula that I've found are Science in the Beginning, and Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding.

[Jackie]

In short, my daughter has curriculum at 3-4 different grade levels, the range has been larger at times, and much of the stuff we use isn't grade-leveled at all. There is no way an all-in-one would fit us, so we don't use one.

 

Try your flash cards. In a couple/few years, it turns out his spelling isn't good, then consider using a phonics-based spelling to shore up the skill.

 

If he likes the C rods, maybe take a look at Miquon.

[wapiti]

You might poke your head over in the Accelerated Learning forum.  It seems that kids with LDs and/or who are 2e are unlikely to find a good fit in an all-in-one curriculum.

 

I second the suggestion of Miquon.

[SarahW]

He's already reading? He has all the basic letter sounds down?

 

You could skip AAR and do just AAS. 

 

AAS begins with simple phonograms and simple words. You could fill in with what you already have, and your own smarts (trust yourself a bit  :) ), and go from there.

 

Have you looked at Kitchen Table Math?

[SnMomof7]

Does he do well with verbal instruction? I know my HFA girl was HARD to teach anything to verbally. She much, much prefers independent materials with words to read so she can avoid verbal teaching. Just throwing that idea out there. A lot of early materials are designed for non-readers in K-1, and rely heavily upon parental instruction.

[Needingdirection]

I'm not an experienced homeschooler, but my daughter I suspect is a visual and kinesthetic learner and I'm looking at snap words (child 1st) in the future. But since he is reading, and has been for years, you could also teach the gaps on the fly if you wanted.

 

If you see him struggling with say "ay" endings, teach that sound then give examples of other words that use that rule. I believe that method is actually advocated for in snap words curric as well (I somehow remember tasting it somewhere).

 

For math I would say you know your child best. If he likes manipulatives like math u see has, why not check out if you like the scope and sequence of math programs that use manipulativesome. Then us that to learn what math concept you want to teach. Especially at the younger grades, finding printable work sheets shouldn't be overly difficult. Then after you get through most of the year and have seen him working on it you can pick which way you feel he learned better and plan that for next year.

 

I don't know for bible curric

 

And for science and engineering, it sounds like you already have a handle on it, but in case you still wanted more options, my daughter is loving timberdoodle. I believe the maker is an engineer. You can customize the kits too (which we did cuz I only am in love with their thinking skills and stem portions, but I can usually find enough cool stuff in other areas).

 

Idk if that helps out not, as I'm just figuring things out as well for my preschooler, but so far she loves what I do with her...

[MeaganS]

Yeah, sounds like you need different curricula for different subjects. 

 

For math, what you are describing sounds a lot like Miquon. C-rods with worksheets. Miquon didn't work well for my HFA daughter, but she has some extra math-specific issues.

 

I would also start doing a spelling program rather than a phonics program. AAS does sound like it would work for you. If you wanted to solidify reading, continuing with what you have but just tweaking it sounds good too. It really isn't that hard. If you feel comfortable doing your own thing, I think that would work as well.

 

You might look into Mystery Science. It is new, but supposedly similar to BFSU and should be solid and fun. For science at our house, we do more unschooly stuff. Lots of science apps, books, shows (Zula Patrol, Magic Schoolbus, Bill Nye, Nature documentaries), and science toys like snap circuits, butterfly kits, making a MyBody, etc. So far, they are solidly exposed and retaining tons. You might also look into the Happy Scientist.

[luuknam]

My oldest has HFA and was an early reader (actually, learning to read helped him learn to speak around the time he turned 3yo - he had a major language delay) and reading above grade level in K, but despite phonics instruction in public school preK at 3yo, 4yo, and K at 5yo, he still really wasn't sounding words out - he just had a very strong visual memory for words. So, in the summer after K (the summer he turned 6yo) I started Toe by Toe phonics with him, and that helped. At some point I had to put it away for a while because the words were getting too hard for a kid that age, comprehension-wise, so we finished it this past year when he was 8yo.

 

So, if your son is sounding words out, I agree with the previous posters who suggested just doing a spelling program like AAS, but if he's just a very good sight word reader, then I would do a phonics program with nonsense words to work on sounding things out.

 

For math my son played with some math apps on my phone when he was in K. He had addition/subtraction/multiplication/division down by the end of K (not long division or multi-digit multiplication though - we did those this past year, in 3rd grade - would probably have gotten to those sooner except 3rd grade was the first year he was homeschooled and public school was too tiring in 1st and 2nd grade and with too much homework to boot). In the summer after 1st grade I started reading some Life of Fred books to him, more to sneak in a bunch of language by telling him it was a math book, lol. The math in the first LOF books is easy, but the story is not, so they may or may not be too hard for a beginning kindergartner with HFA.

[Tracy]

I think you are going to find that boxed curricula are not going to work well for any child who has special needs.  I have one child that is 2e, and it is especially hard to fit her into a box.  The problem is that these kids are asynchronous, meaning that they are at different levels for different subjects.  So I have to piece together everything I do with her.  I especially avoid anything that has a lot of busy writing work, because her writing is behind everything else.  I have used some programs that integrate more than one subject with some success.  For example, SWR teaches reading, spelling, handwriting and some grammar.  TOG teaches history and literature together, and this year we are going to try adding the writing portion.  

[kaxy]

Yeah...I started with MFWK for my eldest's kindergarten year, and quickly came to the same conclusion that I needed to remove their 3Rs and do my own. Kind of a waste at that point, though there were some books and activities we ended up enjoying. Still, I suspect grade-in-a-box won't be a good fit for you.

 

I'm not sure what would be good fits for your son, perhaps Logic of English, perhaps All About Spelling, perhaps Rightstart Math? Perhaps the bits and bops of those programs might serve as too much distraction, though.

 

Anyway, your gut is right that MFWK didn't end up being a good fit as-is. Whether you keep some of it or scrap it all together, good luck!

[mom of 2 boys]

Thank you so very much for all of these responses, everyone! I am feeling SO much better about this now. I wish that I had the time to respond to each of you individually. There are a lot of suggestions in here that I have never even heard of, so I am definitely going to take the time to research each of them. I have heard of Miquon math before, and I know that their books are very affordable, so I don't think it would do any harm to just try it out and see what happens. I wish that Math U See was more affordable, because I feel like that is either going to be a huge hit, or a complete waste of money. I just can't put my finger on which direction it will go yet. My son does read fairly fluently, and I know that he's sounding out words pretty well considering his limited exposure to any kind of formal phonics. I think he just pieced a lot of it together in his mind using the Endless Alphabet app. I am feeling really comfortable with the idea of just going through and officially teaching him phonics on my own, identifying any trouble areas and just working through them without any kind of formal program. I hadn't considered All About Spelling, but now that I think about it, that makes perfect sense. This is right where he's at right now. He's been starting to spell words just for the fun of it, and asking me how to spell certain words. If I don't teach it to him, he'll just teach himself, and then I'll be in the same boat with filling in the spelling gaps later on as I am now with the phonics. 

 

I think that what I'm going to do for now is just use the MFW for science and bible, completely switch over to a reason for handwriting, do our own phonics/reading, add a spelling curriculum (possibly AAS, I have to look at it), and experiment with free/cheap math resources until I can figure out which curriculum is most likely to work. He's getting a bunch of science toys for his birthday in two weeks (microscope/slides, snap circuits, gears kit with interlocking chain), so that should help beef up the science for a little while too. 

 

I see pretty clearly now that a box curriculum is just not going to work, so we'll transition out of that by first grade. 

 

Also, one more question - does anyone happen to have a link to a list of good Kindergarten literature? Something that includes all of those books that you just wouldn't want your kid to grow up missing out on. 

 

Thank you so much for all of your help! This looks like a great forum, by the way. I will check out the accelerated learning section when I get a chance. :) 

[Soror]

K lit- Five in a Row for excellent picture books and The Read Aloud Handbook for chapter books and more for all ages.

[kaxy]

I think the MFWK library list and lit pack is still very good, so do those in addition to science and Bible if you want. I liked all but The Rainbow Fish.

 

Those are GREAT science toys he'll be getting for his birthday!

Depending on his reading comfort, it might make sense for you to do All About Reading in addition to AAS. Or, if you want to save $$ and think that AAR might be a big overkill, do AAS, and also get the AAR readers if you can. They are well done and help build fluency. All About Spelling is a complete phonics program, coming at it from the encoding perspective (vs. decoding with AAR). Before AAR came out, some folks used AAS to help teach their kids how to read. I do think it makes sense to go through phonics intentionally, even though he's reading some.

 

Agree with suggestion for FIAR titles and Read-Aloud Handbook.

[kaxy]

One other thing to add -- unless you have legal requirements to do so, don't worry about scrambling around getting your new choices finalized right away. Take your time with it and compare options, look at samples, and see what your local group can maybe show & tell or lend.

[Mrs. Tharp]

Sounds like you're heading in a good direction. I wanted to add a recommendation for Rod & Staff. All the Bible you may want, plus extremely straightforward instruction & plenty of review. I tried my HFA son on Math U See at the same age for the same reasons as you--and it was not a good fit at all. Turns out he just needed a lot of structure and practice, which R&S provides in spades. It's inexpensive too!

[Tracy]

Also, one more question - does anyone happen to have a link to a list of good Kindergarten literature? Something that includes all of those books that you just wouldn't want your kid to grow up missing out on. 

 

Check out this list of 1000 classics that is divided by reading level.

 

Other Book lists

Five in a Row

Sonlight

 

Books that have book lists in them

Honey for a Child's Heart

The Read-Aloud Handbook

Home Learning Year by Year

Some of My Best Friends Are Books

Books Children Love

 

Also, www.livingmath.net has a book list that is especially good for young kids that love math.  

[Needingdirection]

For my daughter's books that I read to her, and generally we both live the choices, I pick and choose from:

 

Ambleside online lists

Mater amabilis lists

Mensa for kids lists

100 greatest picture books list

Build your library lists

[TX Native]

We did MFW K for science, Bible, book lists, and crafts only. We watched science videos each week to go along with the topic. We learned a hymn or kids' Bible song each week that somewhat matched the Bible theme. For W/water we learned I've Got a River of Life, for H/horse we learned Trust and Obey, for A/apple we learned a catchy fruits of the spirit tune, for J/Jewel we learned More Precious Than Silver, and so on. I googled craft ideas from blog sites of other MFW K users.

 

3Rs were completely different. My kids loved the MFW K things we did, but I liked piecing together the other subjects and going at their pace. MFW K seemed somewhat a waste of money except I purchased it used and sold it at a slightly lower price. My oldest was advanced in math and reading. My youngest was slower at math and reading. I don't have curriculum suggestions for the 3Rs except to only buy one level at a time of anything that you think will work.

[lanalouwho]

Man, I know how you feel. I am a month and a half into kinder with my oldest, and have already changed our phonics program and decided that the math will do for now, but next year I am doing something else.

We got a custom Timber doodle kit, which uses Math-U-See. It's a solid program that covers the material sufficiently, but my son is so bored with it. It does nothing to spark his interest.

The Reading Lesson is the phonics that came with it, but the book irked me to no end. In an attempt to allow the child to focus solely on the phonics, they don't capitalize letters and some sentences are incomplete. I believe a big part of learning proper English is to be consistently exposed to good writing. So we switched to Reading Lessons through Literature and we both like it a lot.

The rest of the kit has been a perfect fit though

 

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