What does your K4 morning look like?

[Kjirstyn2023]

I'm curious...for those of you who do school your 4yos, what does that end up looking like? When I see a post that mentions a K4 or K-er spending 1.5 hours on school before lunch-- what does that look like? A couple long breaks? Continuous plugging along with two minute jumping jack intervals? We do phonics every day, handwriting most days (he's capable and enjoys it) and math on the days we feel like it (because he's capable but less so than with phonics/handwriting). I don't think we could spend 1.5 hours on school at this age if we tried. We essentially do 10-15 of phonics, 5-10 handwriting. And those are usually separate events. 

Edited February 22, 2019 by Kjirstyn2023

[LindsayLou]

JMJT

I only do 10 minute increments with my 4 year old.  So we start with prayer and religion, then it's off to play for at least half an hour.  Then spelling or math, and throughout the week I'll mix in solfege, nature journal, poetry teatime, and sensory tub.  My 4 year old is so active it would be painful for all of us to have to sit still for a long period of time.  Plus my 3 year old can easily do the same topics (if she wants to) with us without losing focus. 🙂

[jrhodes]

No way! I only do 2 core subjects (math, handwriting, reading) and 1 extra for 4. While I'm not a big CM follower, I do agree with habit of attention, so I focus more working and expanding that then worry about the overall subjects. That's my goal for first grade! Next year will probably take longer (I will have a 4 and 6 yr old) since I'll be sometimes having my attention divided and doing 1-1 work. 

[sweet2ndchance]

My youngest is a k'er this year. He is capable and willing so we do maybe 30 minutes of Logic of English which has lots of movement built in. Sometimes we break it up into 10 - 15 minute increments, some days he is willing and able to go 30 minutes straight. He's 6 years old now, coming on the end of kindergarten by the paperwork we have to turn in to the state, and he is able to spend at least 20 minutes in a sitting most days now. Math goes about the same way.

He can spend hours playing legos and listening to a read aloud or audio book. He also loves watching the bird feeder and animals of all kinds (we live in the country so it's not unusual to see deer and other animals wander through our property). He enjoys anything you call a 'science experiment' and asks lots of great questions that lead to some pretty advanced conversations about history and science topics. He watches bits and pieces of documentaries we watch and has some pretty amazing retention even when he doesn't look like he's paying attention.

None of my kids at 4 years old would have been able to spend 90 minutes doing what most people consider to be school work, as in sitting at a desk paying attention and doing written work. Most of the time, my 4 year olds are doing well to spend 10 - 15 minutes doing something school-y several times throughout the day, for a total of maybe an hour a day when you add up all the little increments.

[2_girls_mommy]

I have been trying to answer this question in my head, but realized, I still have no usual/regular routine for our four (just turned five actually,) preker. 

I would say I "do school" with her about 3 days a week, one of those days in a co-op preschool or in our homeschool group. For us those rotate. One week she attends the co-op preschool and the next week we go to the homeschool group that is for all of us. Each has its own theme for the year. We follow up on those themes at home. The specifically preschool co-op follows a letter of the week. Since we only go every other week, the week that we are at home, we have to cover that letter at home only. The weeks that we attend, I do the same letter at home on top of the preschool activities. The homeschool co-op for the whole family has a nature/animal/habitats theme this year with activities for all age groups. 

SO... that is hard enough to explain, much less to try to say what a typical day at home is like. But today for example: Monday. I usually don't do a lot of school with her on Mondays. We are generally getting the week started with my high schoolers and getting the house in order from the weekend and getting ready for a busy week. I spend the morning looking at schedules, menus, bank account, etc. on top of wanting to get the laundry started, change the sheets,  and getting the girls' schedules for the week going etc. But today I was on the ball. 

I got up and got stuff going, and since the weather is warming up lately, we are trying to institute family walk for 15 minutes before the school day as often as possible. So we all got out for that. Now she has been watching DVDs ever since. That is not a usual activity. During the school day I don't allow that, but I just got a big stack used at the Friends of the Library sale last night, so she is having fun watching them all this morning. It is just because they are new and exciting. I have been getting school and therapies going with the teens this morning.  And I got out her school basket. Her actual school, when her latest video, a Leapfrog on Numbers, so really counts as school anyway video, finishes, will look like this: 

Review the alphabet with our letter flashcards. I will only review up to last week's letter today. Tomorrow I will add in the new letter since she won't have the preschool lessons this week. We often play a little fine motor skill game with index cards and clothespins that I made. All of that is a few minutes. Then she has a Bible story and a coloring sheet, again about five minutes. And we will look at her letters in another context like in her Washington, D.C. ABC book or her Frozen, Elsa ABC book. If she is agreeable and wants to, she may practice writing her letters. I don't push this yet, but she has recently gotten interested and can write her name and letters going the right direction. 

We are up to the Counting with Numbers Rod and Staff workbook. Sometimes we do this. Other days I play mathy games from Preschool Math at Home. And that is about it for her school time. She will kind of decide if she is up for the writing, coloring, cutting/pasting activitites in her workbooks. I follow her lead. 

At her actual preschool it is more  formal. They do preschool songs and music/movement, then the letter, story time, craft related to letter, snack related to letter, then center time with activities related to the letters. We sometimes will carry those activities home and recreate them or do something similar here. But not always. I help plan things there, so I can incorporate what I want and create activities using things I have at home and plan to carry on like sensory activities that I might not take the time to create for just at home, but that I then can bring home and continue with her.

Then the nature theme from the other group gives us lots of things to do. We do field trips related to the theme monthly. We do art with that group as well. So we will just carry those lessons home.  I get videos and books from the library on the topics for her. And we will occasionally do a bigger project. That stuff is just interspersed into the day after lessons with the olders and often at night as bedtime reading or before bedtime video time when videos are typically allowed here. She has learned so much about animals this year.  She also has learned a lot at her age level about presidents and Washington D.C. after visiting there last summer and then us carrying things out throughout the year that we started there.

So her formal at home school with me is less than thirty minutes of letters and numbers and game work. But I bring the crafts, the games, the field trips, the books in throughout the day for the content or reinforcing of the lesson time.  She spends a lot of time playing imaginative games and/or doing crafty things during her sisters' school time as well. 

[Xahm]

My two oldest are 17 months apart but would be two grade apart in formal school: 1st and pre K. We start off the day together with read-alouds that include history, grammar, health, geography, literature, Bible, etc (not all every day). This probably takes 30 minutes to an hour depending on how well we are concentrating, whether we are in a rush, etc. I expect more from my first grader in terms of memorizing poems, answering questions, but they both participate, and the toddler occasionally does as well. Then one child goes off to play and entertain the two year old while I do skill subjects with the other, then switch. With my December birthday five year old, we do a reading lesson, a handwriting lesson, and a math lesson. I wouldn't demand all that every day (and even "all that" takes 30 minutes or less) except that it cuts down on sibling rivalry and helps things feel equitable. This kid was very handwriting/craft averse back over the summer and he still doesn't love crafts or coloring, but making it a daily expectation has helped him gain enough skill to have more confidence, which means it's now his favorite of the three activities.

[TheAttachedMama]

My son is 5, but he is a young 5...so I am sharing in case it is helpful.

 

We eat breakfast around 7:30AM to 8:00AM.

My **plan** is that I would take him up for some self care training after that.  (Brush teeth, etc.) and then we would transition into school.   What **actually** has been happening lately (if I am completely honest with you) is that I end up checking email and helping with older kid's school until 10AM and then start school with him.  This is not great because usually he starts playing and I have to drag him away from his toys which feels awful.   But I am going to *try* to do better in the future.   I really want school to feel fun and light at this age, and transitioning midmorning is not helping.

To start, I lure him over with some library books and offer to read aloud to him.  Then I read him one bible story.   We do that for about 30 mins.   Then, we start out doing the Memoria Press pre-k recitation.   (Alphabet, Days of the week, name the seasons, etc.)   We put a weather sticker on the calendar.  

Next we do Logic of English level A.   It probably takes 30 minutes?   It just depends on him.

Then, we do a lesson from Right Start Level A.   (or quit if he is done, and then start with math the next day.)

Then, my PLAN is to do a read aloud and craft from the Memoria Press book of crafts.   He is often done by then.  So we often skip this and go and eat lunch.  

 

[momofabcd]

8 hours ago, TheAttachedMama said:

My son is 5, but he is a young 5...so I am sharing in case it is helpful.

 

We eat breakfast around 7:30AM to 8:00AM.

My **plan** is that I would take him up for some self care training after that.  (Brush teeth, etc.) and then we would transition into school.   What **actually** has been happening lately (if I am completely honest with you) is that I end up checking email and helping with older kid's school until 10AM and then start school with him.  This is not great because usually he starts playing and I have to drag him away from his toys which feels awful.   But I am going to *try* to do better in the future.   I really want school to feel fun and light at this age, and transitioning midmorning is not helping.

To start, I lure him over with some library books and offer to read aloud to him.  Then I read him one bible story.   We do that for about 30 mins.   Then, we start out doing the Memoria Press pre-k recitation.   (Alphabet, Days of the week, name the seasons, etc.)   We put a weather sticker on the calendar.  

Next we do Logic of English level A.   It probably takes 30 minutes?   It just depends on him.

Then, we do a lesson from Right Start Level A.   (or quit if he is done, and then start with math the next day.)

Then, my PLAN is to do a read aloud and craft from the Memoria Press book of crafts.   He is often done by then.  So we often skip this and go and eat lunch.  

 

The things you are doing with your son is exactly what I'm planning in the fall for my soon to be 4 year old.  However, I'm deciding between Right Start A, Good and Beautiful K or Abeka for math.  How are you liking the MP pre-k?  Are you only doing recitation, read aloud and craft?  I've been slowly collecting the read aloud books. Also, how is LOE going?  I'm just waiting for the correct time to begin.

 

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by momofabcd

[TheAttachedMama]

12 hours ago, momofabcd said:

The things you are doing with your son is exactly what I'm planning in the fall for my soon to be 4 year old.  However, I'm deciding between Right Start A, Good and Beautiful K or Abeka for math.  How are you liking the MP pre-k?  Are you only doing recitation, read aloud and craft?  I've been slowly collecting the read aloud books. Also, how is LOE going?  I'm just waiting for the correct time to begin.

 

 

I have used (and LOVED!) Good and Beautiful Pre-K last year.   So I think you will be happy with their K program.   The Good and Beautiful isn't what I would call a "strong" math program, but do you really need a strong math program at this age?   Probably not.   I like it because it is open and go, gentle, inexpensive, and does enough drill and review so that the kids actually retain the information.    I also like how much variety is included.   Mostly, The Good and Beautiful is what I call a  "Get 'er Done" program.   And honestly, that is the most important thing at this age.   You need a program that you will actually use.   

 I've only looked at samples of Abeka, and I ruled it out for my family (personally) because I think there are other better options out there.   (I am really picky about math programs.)   I know lots of people who love it though!

As far as what is the "best" math program?   If you ask 50 people, you will probably receive 50 different answers.  🙂   I personally think that RightStart A/B is one of the best preschool/kindergarten programs out there.   Your kids will be doing amazing things in math at a very young age with this program.     It has its downsides:   It is way more expensive than the other options you listed, it contains a lot of different manipulatives/parts to keep track of, and it also takes way longer than any other preK/K math program.   However, I think it sets up a wonderful mathematical foundation, so all of that is worth it to me.   I switch my kids to Singapore Standards 1A/1B after we finish RightStart A because it is less teacher intensive.   After that, I move them over to AOPS for upper-level math.   

You also asked about MP pre-k.   It is such a sweet little program.  I love it.   It basically gives you a rough plan for a gentle non-academic pre-k day.   If you are a box checker, but you still strive to give your kid a relaxed day filled with play and a little learning sprinkled in, it might be the program for you.   It says stuff like "Read your child this nursery rhyme, go for a walk today and talk about the birds you see, read this picture book and complete this craft."  That type of thing.   I know most people might not need that, but I have older children and often forget to do all of those things with my youngest.  We started it and quit most of it halfway through.  That wasn't due to the program, it was due to me placing my son at the wrong level.     MP pre-k just reviews the letters and their most common sounds.   Plus it teaches writing numbers and basic counting. My son was already reading simple CVC words.   After a while, I begin to feel like we were actually not really making much progress.  So we just are using their craft books and read aloud suggestions.  You could probably plan better crafts yourself with Pinterest, but I appreciate just having a plan.  So it was worth it to me.

We also have dyslexia in our family.   So I also knew that I wouldn't stick with MP phonics long term...or The Good and the Beautiful.   We needed way more heavy duty phonics instruction based on the OG method.   I also knew that early intervention with dyslexia is really important, so I wanted to start sooner vs. later. 

I originally taught my other kids to read using All About Reading and the I See Sam Readers.   However, this time around, I decided to try LOE Foundations.   I am so glad that I made the switch for several reasons.   1)  I have a CRAZY 5-year-old little boy who wants to move, move, move.   LOE is all about, "Say the phonogram sound as you jump off the couch" or "crouch down low if the sounds are the same, and jump up if they are different".    Simple ideas that I could probably have added to AAR myself, but I am often sort of brain dead from teaching so many subjects...I need a book to just tell me what to do.   2)  It teaches cursive first.  Cursive was a game changer with my older kids in getting past spacing issues, inserting random capitals, reversing letters, etc.  I really believe that cursive is great for kids with learning challenges.   3) I love how much fun drill and practice is scheduled in.  Kids really need that with phonics I think.  4)  I love the regularly scheduled review lessons.  They give you some tests (disguised as fun games) so that you can monitor your child's mastery of certain concepts.  If they haven't mastered, they suggest other ways to add additional practice in for these skills.

 

[momofabcd]

9 hours ago, TheAttachedMama said:

I I've only looked at samples of Abeka, and I ruled it out for my family (personally) because I think there are other better options out there.   (I am really picky about math programs.)   I know lots of people who love it though!

As far as what is the "best" math program?   If you ask 50 people, you will probably receive 50 different answers.  🙂   I personally think that RightStart A/B is one of the best preschool/kindergarten programs out there.   Your kids will be doing amazing things in math at a very young age with this program.     It has its downsides:   It is way more expensive than the other options you listed, it contains a lot of different manipulatives/parts to keep track of, and it also takes way longer than any other preK/K math program.   However, I think it sets up a wonderful mathematical foundation, so all of that is worth it to me.   I switch my kids to Singapore Standards 1A/1B after we finish RightStart A because it is less teacher intensive.   After that, I move them over to AOPS for upper-level math.   

 

I never did a formal pre-k with any of my older kids. But, I used Right Start A and B with my now 8th grader when she was K & 1st, and we liked it.  The thing holding me back now is the up front cost.  I made some Montessori beads to look like the beads on the AL Abacus and am using those for quantity and number sense right now.  She won't be 4 until the end of April, but identifies 1-10 and can count as many objects, but I realized she was still not understanding one to one correspondence, so we are working on that.   She is my 5th child by almost 8 years, so we are essentially starting over.  I just found it interesting that you are using the exact same line up I have been thinking about for her pre-k year.  I was thinking Good and Beautiful Math K for the very reason that it doesn't look advanced, so very doable for a 4 year old.  She also knows her initial letter sounds, but isn't quite ready to blend. I have LOE Foundations A in hand, so in the meantime, I've started teaching all the sounds of the single phonograms.  We were/are successful with CLE to Principles of Mathematics 1 & 2 to videotext for math with my two middle dd's.  We tried Singapore early on.  It just wasn't our cup a tea.  lol.  I'm not sure I will go any further than pre-k homeschooling my youngest, though.  

[TheAttachedMama]

13 hours ago, momofabcd said:

I never did a formal pre-k with any of my older kids. But, I used Right Start A and B with my now 8th grader when she was K & 1st, and we liked it.  The thing holding me back now is the up front cost.  I made some Montessori beads to look like the beads on the AL Abacus and am using those for quantity and number sense right now.  She won't be 4 until the end of April, but identifies 1-10 and can count as many objects, but I realized she was still not understanding one to one correspondence, so we are working on that.   She is my 5th child by almost 8 years, so we are essentially starting over.  I just found it interesting that you are using the exact same line up I have been thinking about for her pre-k year.  I was thinking Good and Beautiful Math K for the very reason that it doesn't look advanced, so very doable for a 4 year old.  She also knows her initial letter sounds, but isn't quite ready to blend. I have LOE Foundations A in hand, so in the meantime, I've started teaching all the sounds of the single phonograms.  We were/are successful with CLE to Principles of Mathematics 1 & 2 to videotext for math with my two middle dd's.  We tried Singapore early on.  It just wasn't our cup a tea.  lol.  I'm not sure I will go any further than pre-k homeschooling my youngest, though.  

We must have similar taste in school materials.   🙂  

I have a 5-year gap between this child and my next oldest.   It is a strange feeling to start over!   Both joyous and difficult at the same time.

Edited March 14, 2019 by TheAttachedMama

[Hilltopmom]

We did minimal “school work” but if I added up the seat work stuff, plus letter play, themed sensory bins, read alouds, board games, finger plays, math manipulative play, nature walks, puppets, etc- it was actually quite a bit.

I now teach preK in a public school and have 4 year olds for 6 hours. Lots of learning happens but very little chunks of sitting doing what “looks like school”. We play games, read a lot, craft, experiment, play outside, play inside in planned activities, sing, move, write, draw, do the calendar, check the weather, eat, talk... and have some short large group instructional time daily.