koko Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 My 4 yo son (turns 5 next month) is doing kinder this year. We're doing a Bible study (very simple, 10 mins a day), Get Ready for the Code, and a math workbook I picked up at the school supply store...plus of course reading (at a different time of the day). Although I'm trying to keep things low-key and interesting, he's getting frustrated and refusing to "do school". NOT what I want! So....looking for suggestions. I'm thinking of just taking a break and playing letter- and number-oriented games for awhile, and increasing the reading we do. Maybe he's just not ready for sit-down "school" time. Although this is our 4th year h/sing, he's the first I've taught from the very beginning. My next oldest one had had a year of early kinder in a Christian school. We did spend the first semester finishing up kindergarten stuff before he was ready for 1st grade, but he at least knew his letters and numbers and was a beginning reader. As well as suggestions for what y'all may have done in similar situations, any suggestions for games/websites would be welcomed. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 great 'game' books/ideas: _Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and Onto Learning_ is awesome. It's written for ADHD'ers but is great for anyone who prefers a more active/involved learning style. Peggy Kaye's books are great too. You can find all of them at the library or amazon. :) Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracesteacher Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 starfall.com teaches letters sounds and then reading. For my LO who hates to sit for more than two three seconds we play lots of games. We have a big felt tree with letters on it and she picks a letter off of it in the morning and we talk about the letter. the sounds the color and then we make a game out finding that letter on anything and everything. We have a number felt thing on the wall where she does the same thing. She is two and knows all of her letters/sounds and can count to 20. (minus 7) We have music CDs in the background while she is playing or the TV on leapfrog DVDs but the picture not on so she doesnt get stuck sitting watching and that way she is playing blocks or tinker toys or whatever she is into for the moment still learning. We have loads of board games. Candy land chutes and ladders hiho cheeryo lets go fishing bedbugs twister dominoes connect four yahtzee memory scrabble and the list goes on that we play that have some sort of educational value. Whether is it learning colors or counting or sportsmanship. Then I also keep a box that she can reach that has workbooks and coloring books so when she wants to do school she can and typically she will tell me its time for school and she wants to learn what ever they are teaching in those books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koko Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 thank you both...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Maybe, for his sit-down time, you could incorporate more varied, hands-on learning. Maybe an activity-type workbook that incorporates a lot of cutting and pasting would be more fun for him? I second starfall.com if he still needs to learn his letter sounds - it's a very fun, interactive website. For writing letters, you could try using different materials: painting them, writing them with shaving cream on a mirror, flattening some molding clay on a paper plate and writing in it with a pencil, etc. You could cut letters and numbers out of magazines and have him sort or order them and paste them onto pages. Anything that makes his sit-down time feel like more of a project. If you find an activity that he loves, you could save that for the end of sit-down time after he has done a page of writing or phonics, and maybe that will help motivate him. I've also found with my dd2, who doesn't like to sit still for more than 30 seconds, that if she gets in a lot of physical playtime (swinging, running, jumping, tickling, etc.) that she can sit for much longer periods at a table to do quiet work, and can really concentrate. Maybe you could try scheduling his sit-down time after he has been very active and see if you notice a difference? I hope you find something that works for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Even if you're going to be using a different math program, I highly recommend getting the Right Start Mathematics Card Games set. It has games from kindergarten through about 4th or 5th grade level. The "Family Math" series of books are also good for hands-on math activities. The "Math Start" series of picture books from Stuart J. Murphy are entertaining introductions to math concepts. For Language Arts, check out Scrabble Jr., Boggle Jr., and Leap Frog Alphabet Go Fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzf242 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 What about the Year 0 booklist on Ambleside Online? Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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