New here ... and to homeschooling have a question

[bbsweetpea]

My name is Rachel and I am VERY new to the HS thing. My oldest daughter we held back this year do to developmental delays. She is finally almost caught up in speech, OT and PT. I have been working with her this year on some basic K stuff and decided to continue to homeschool. My middle child has been doing everything with us and at 3 can write all his letters and numbers. He does get distracted easier and does not hold attention for as long but he is actually quicker at his work than his sister.

 

My thought is to do Sonlight K next year with some adjustments. Here is where my questions come in. Should I continue to teach my 3 year old (he will be 4) at the same level as his sister who is 2 years older? I think he could keep up right now.

 

Would this adjusted program cover everything we need for Kindergarden? I am using Sonlight because I really am overwhelmed. I think after this first year it will be easier for me to adjust and add other things. Like I like MOH and Apologia Elements of Science but am not sure how to get it all to fit together right now.

 

From Sonlight I am going to buy the bible, science, geography, History, Homeschool Family Fitness, Come look at me books (art) and then I will still have them read all the books listed on Sonlight (most I am getting elsewhere)

 

For Math- MEP (what we are doing already) and then singapore (skip saxon)

Think I will still get MathTacular because I have heard good things about it

Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons - BOB books instead of FUN stories (because we have these already)

I already have started Writing without Tears so we will continue that

 

Activities-

PE- Soccer One semester

Art- Pottery 2x a month

Music/Theater Arts is a class they will take that puts on a performance at the end of the semester.

Church group activities and my 3 year old still has Mothers Day Out 2X a week

 

I am not getting lots of the hands on things because we already use playdoh to create letters and numbers, we have a lot of manipulatives for Math and we have a dry errase board and chalkboard for the kids already.

 

I guess I just need reassurance that I am not going to mess this up and I can do this.

 

I do teach at our Church Mothers Day Out 2 days a week but my mom said she would work with my oldest during that time with any school work I give her. I also manage a 2x a year consignment sale that takes up 15 hrs a week 40 weeks out of the year. Luckily I create my own schedule other than those two weeks but I still am afraid I will fail at Homeschooling. My husband is on board but he will not be teaching.

[hsingscrapper]

Rachel,

 

First off, I'd like to say welcome! You've found yourself amongst a wonderful bunch here!

 

My two cents on the 3yo is this. I wouldn't put him on the same level as your 5yo. Now if he comes and bugs you to no end while you're working with her, I would include him to a point but his attention span, as you said, just isn't there. Some "official" K programs require quite a bit of an attention span from little ones. There's a monumental difference, I think, between the attention span of a 5yo versus a 3yo.

 

As for curriculum, I'm not entirely familiar with Sonlight but from what I've learned from the boards here, you could possibly look at Old Fashioned Education or Ambleside Online and get similar results. I love Handwriting Without Tears and would gleefully recommend it to everyone as I think it makes an easier transition between print and cursive compared to traditional handwriting.

 

As for my ds5, he reads at about a 1st or 2nd grade level. Everything else is about on par for a Kindergartener. Except for math, he could probably hold his own with his brother who is 4 years older and working around a 3rd-5th grade level.

 

Don't worry about failing. I've been down that road. You are starting from the ground up and there will be quirks here and there. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can change things up if something isn't working. You can take a month to cover something that most teachers only spend a week on if your dc needs it. If you can set your own schedule in your working situation, then you are lucky! Unless your state law mandates that you "do school" on a certain schedule, I would go year around. This way you can take breaks as you need to. I live in Indiana. We have to do 180 days of attendance and beyond that the state doesn't care.

 

Stick around and you'll learn a lot here!

 

Heidi

[Closeacademy]

Welcome to homeschooling!

 

First, I think you are trying to do too much.

 

For K and 1st, all you really need to focus on is math, phonics and penmanship. Everything else you do is gravy.

 

History can wait until 2nd or 4th grade unless she loves history stories.

 

Geography can wait or you can have a large map on the wall to point where stories take place in the books you read together.

 

Bible can just be covered through Sunday School or during devotional time together. Sonlight does have some good Bible stuff but don't beat yourself up if you don't get to it.

 

Science can just be spending time outdoors looking at things, reading books about animals or collecting stuff and looking them up in a field guide.

 

Physical education can be running around on the playground with friends and playing duck duck goose at birthday parties. It does not have to be structured at this time.

 

Keep things fun and simple this year. Don't try to do too much. Don't stress out and have FUN.

 

As for the little one, give him math manipulatives to work on math concepts on his own (a balance scale, counting bears, cups and buttons, small cars to run races, etc.) Playdough to make letters or other stuff out of.

 

Give them both access to paper, colored paper, stickers, scissors, crazy sissors, magazines, glue sticks, markers, crayons, colored pencils and regular time with paint. Have fun and create what they imagine. It may take a while for them to get creative even a year or so but eventually the scribbles will turn into "masterpieces."

 

Have fun during these early years. :001_smile:

[Aurelia]

Welcome!

 

It sounds like you have everything pretty well planned out and all your bases covered. I have heard the Sonlight cores are pretty advanced, so your daughter will likely have everything she needs for K and probably even 1st grade if you use it.

 

I wouldn't worry about trying to put your son on the same level as your daughter, since he really isn't in the same place developmentally, but I would include him in the activities he shows interest in.

[brehon]

Welcome to homeschooling!

 

First, I think you are trying to do too much.

 

For K and 1st, all you really need to focus on is math, phonics and penmanship. Everything else you do is gravy.

 

History can wait until 2nd or 4th grade unless she loves history stories.

 

Geography can wait or you can have a large map on the wall to point where stories take place in the books you read together.

 

Bible can just be covered through Sunday School or during devotional time together. Sonlight does have some good Bible stuff but don't beat yourself up if you don't get to it.

 

Science can just be spending time outdoors looking at things, reading books about animals or collecting stuff and looking them up in a field guide.

 

Physical education can be running around on the playground with friends and playing duck duck goose at birthday parties. It does not have to be structured at this time.

 

Keep things fun and simple this year. Don't try to do too much. Don't stress out and have FUN.

 

As for the little one, give him math manipulatives to work on math concepts on his own (a balance scale, counting bears, cups and buttons, small cars to run races, etc.) Playdough to make letters or other stuff out of.

 

Give them both access to paper, colored paper, stickers, scissors, crazy sissors, magazines, glue sticks, markers, crayons, colored pencils and regular time with paint. Have fun and create what they imagine. It may take a while for them to get creative even a year or so but eventually the scribbles will turn into "masterpieces."

 

Have fun during these early years. :001_smile:

 

:iagree: The "3R's" is where you should spend the "bulk" of your time. And don't even stress with writing. Phonics and math are of primary importance, I think. I'm not saying don't do handwriting; just don't press either of your dc. Sometimes, even without the developmental delays you and your dd have dealt with, the brain and fine motor skills take time to develop. I think your dd should spend maybe half an hour or less on formal seat work.

 

Science -- nature walks in your backyard/park; trips to the zoo/children's museum/whatever might be available in your area

 

History -- nothing formal at this stage. Read alouds are your friends here.

 

Math -- I use Singapore with my eldest ds and RightStart Math with my eldest dd. Both are good programs and teach math conceptually (as opposed to algorhythmically [pardon the spelling; it's early here and I haven't had my morning pick-me-up, yet]). RightStart A (what you'd need) is gentler, I think, because it has less emphasis on writing/worksheets and more emphasis on using manipulatives to understand the concepts. Don't get me wrong -- RS isn't fluff. In some ways, my dd has a much firmer grasp on mathematical concepts than does my ds.

 

PE -- LOTS of running around outside. My parenting philosphy (I have 4 kiddos) is "sweaty and tired".

 

The theme here is less is more. You don't need a formal K program. Please don't stress either yourself or your dc. Have fun this year. Keep repeating ad infinitum "She won't be behind." "She won't be behind." Enjoy these years -- they pass way too quickly. Good Luck and welcome to the boards.

Edited February 10, 2009 by brehon
must - have - my - morning - drug...

[YHZNS]

Hello and welcome! I have been homeschooling for almost a year now. When I first started homeschooling, I felt more comfortable with a complete boxed curriculum. I wanted the security of having our lessons laid out, etc. As time went on, I felt as though the program was weighing us down. It felt as though we were just doing school at home. I can see where you are coming from but honestly believe you could probably cut out some of the Sonlight curriculum. We have actually moved to a 4 day homeschooling week before Christmas and use Friday as our art class/library day. I have found this much more relaxing. All of those courses plus the outside activities might start to get overwhelming. Right now, I am focusing on phonics and math. We do get a little bit of social studies and science from Moving Beyond the Page but we have adapted the program to suit our lifestyle. My daughter also takes swimming, skating, art, and piano lessons so I think I have everything covered. You already have your phonics, handwriting, and math programs so I think you are off to a great start. Just trying to save you a little money. :)

[Highland61996]

Welcome, Rachel!

 

I want to echo what Christy said. Back when my oldest was in K & 1st, we did keep it pretty simple. For example, I did have him working from an Abeka math text. However, we played lots of games together -- Memory, Yahtzee, Chutes & Ladders, checkers, Battleship, stuff like that. We also would read lots of library books for science & history, and then do a hands-on to go with it. The younger ones were just included in what we did, and we had fun with it. We read, read, and read some more together.

 

I know that it's easy to look at everything that's out there and think it should all be done! Pray & seek what God wants for each of your children, and then go with that, trusting that He will show you what to do. Then have fun with your precious children!

 

(As a side note, I've never used Sonlight, but I have looked at parts of it, and they do have your lessons all planned out -- saves a step in planning.)

[coralloyd]

HELLO! Welcome.

I am doing SL K with dd6 and dd4 right now and it is going great! However, we are going to take a break fom SL this next term (going to do my own thing). After looking at SL 1, I feel it will be too much too soon for dd4 (will be 5) when the time comes. I wish I would have started with SL P4/5. It would have still been plenty for dd6. Dd4 wants to do school with us and I want to keep them together in the History and Science. So, my suggestion is either do SL P4/5 or stretch SL K to two years instead of one, if you want to keep them togeher.

[Lovedtodeath]

My DD is just now to the point that I can do the SL K with her (at 6 and a half, she was done with MFW K at 4 and a half, just for comparison). It is a big load, and the books are very advanced. Some of the SL K read alouds are in my Beautiful Feet Guide for the 4th grade!

 

If you go with SL I recommend the P4/5 as well. I think you should also look at MFW and Winterpromise, they have amazing Kindergarten programs (they take less time, there are hands-on activities, they are not so advanced). You could have both kids do WP I'm Ready to Learn or Animal Worlds.

 

And if you go with SL, you are trying to do too much! There is no way we could do half that, but feel free to get it all and use it later. There is some great stuff. :)

 

The biggest leap in SL is when you start on Core 3. Most people want their kids to be 9 and a half to 10 years old for that core from what I have seen on the SL forums.

 

Of course, you can also stretch out cores 1 and 2 so that it takes you 3 years to get through them.

 

The three Rs are not hard to plan at all. You open the book and do the next thing. You'll do great!

Edited February 10, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[bbsweetpea]

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will pull back on the sonlight for this first year and focus more on the 3 "R"'s.

 

We already read a ton (or I do to them) and do some science study with "Magic Schoolbus" books. My kids seem to LOVE science and exploring so I may keep them active in this area and just wait on History, Geography and formal Bible for another year.

 

This will save me money and time as well.