I'm looking ahead to kindergarten. I know some of you did not use a purchased program...but I have discovered I like to have the purchased program,,,and then supplement if I want to/need to. My question to you is in your research what are the top couple of curriculums that you have found for the following subjects: (It is overwhelming sorting through all that is offered...so I thought I'd at least narrow it down.) Phonics/ Reading Math -- (I've purchased Math U See, and love it thus far) Science Social Studies Also, for the kindergarten year...do you focus on phonics and reading mainly...or would you need a language arts program like Five in A Row or such???
I would say Phonics/Reading -ETC (you can't go wrong) Readers -Bob Books, Nora Gaydos Math -Horizons, I know you like yours Science -Fun with Nature, walks, your big backyard magazine
Thanks Nellie! It is helpful to just have a few opinions on what you others have found to be the top rated. I have had difficulty identifying one in the phonics area...so I will look into ETC and any that others recommend.
My K'er does the 3 basic R's and other other subjects are hit and miss (mostly thru watching Planet Earth DVDs and field trips). Math - Horizons K Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting K (although he's done with it) Phonics/ Reading -- HOP, ETC, Bob Books, and a random assortment of things. However, if my son had been a bit more "into" reading earlier, I would have used Horizons Reading and Phonics K. I liked it but knew it wasn't a good fit for him. I already owned HOP (all 5 levels) and he likes it and its a better fit for him (although my girls hated it and never used it despite it sitting here....although they were in ps at the time). We really do like Explode the Code (ETC) and it could be used as part of a penmanship course...that's what we're doing now that he's done his K handwriting course. If we were doing Horizons though, we would probably not need ETC (since it has workbooks to go with the readers). Hope that helps. Rhonda
Your welcome! You really can't go wrong with ETC. Lots of fun. As far as social studies/history for K. I just do not see it as important as reading and writing. This is a time for exploration and lots of fun activities. Good luck
If we'd homeschooled the entire K year we would have gone with more of a set curriculum. I would have used Horizons for Phonics/Reading- we are using them this year for first and have loved it. I did get Singapore K bookB and Miquon 1 for dd after we pulled her last year. Had we homeschooled the entire year I would have ordered Singapore K for the whole year. For handwriting we did A Reason For Handwriting Science was field trips, a couple books my pastors wife gave us that had a bunch of expirements and science units in them. History- never even touched it. We didn't really do social study stuff either because social studies in K was pretty much what she'd one in pre-k. That was basically it. For reading/phonics I used www.letteroftheweek.com along with Dick and Jane readers, other phonics and easy reading type books from the library, and those step into reading leveled readers. But dd went INTO K reading at a mid 1st grade level so a strict phonics program wasn't really needed. Only reason I went with a program this year is because I wanted to make sure she learned all the phonics rules.
Thanks for all the feedback. I am also using Draw Write Now as a fun addition (and to improve him hand coordination)...I also want to purchase Handwriting Without Tears..but need to wait since our purchase of Math U See pretty much ate up my hs budget for the month.
Phonics/Reading. . .I agree. . .ETC Math. . .We are dedicated Saxon users. . .LOL my dh says so! Social Studies. . .This really goes with social studies/literature, etc. but I love Ambleside Online and Sonlight. For science here are a few of my favorites: a membership to a local science museum and/or to the zoo or botanical gardens, mnh--you get the idea subscription to Your big backyard, and National Geographic for kids Usborne, DK Eye Witness & Magic School Bus
I didn't do phonics/reading per se. I used the materials from www.starfall.com for free. You can download the workbooks and such. My kids loved it. I would just do one book a week in the "Learning to Read" section and download that sections workbook pages. We'd do a page or two a day. My middle didn't ever do the pages, but loved starfall so much he was reading on his own without me doing anything! I concentrate mostly on reading and math in K and 1st. I added the other subjects in towards the end of 1st (science & History/geo).
Hi! This is what we do: I use FIAR for my core curriculum. I use it for Social Studies/Geography, Lang Arts, Science, Art and Applied Math. I add Horizons math. Quick, easy and cheap. For phonics, I use Reading Made Easy by Valerie Bendt.
I have been in the same boat. We started homeschooling our ds beginning with 5th grade, so choosing Kindergarten curriculum has been a new experience! I was looking for some structure, but with lots of hands on activities. I have decided on these: Rocket Phonics (from www.criticalthinking.com) It is recommended by John Taylor Gatto; and I think he is brilliant! $99 SAXON K Math (mainly because this program has been very good for our ds) ~$50 KONOS unit studies (www.konos.com) for everything else! $99 This is after hours and hours of going through websites and catalogs, what I remember seeing at past hs conventions, etc. This is IT for us!
I bought Reading Made Easy - because I am a Valerie Bendt fan! But unfortunately, my dd isn't. She's not very interested in this approach. Just our experience.
Sorry - one more post. We have Handwriting Without Tears stuff, and we really like it. Especially the wood letter pieces, and the small chalk board. Also, their method of having only 2 lines on the page instead of 3 (you know with the dotted line in middle), and the practice pads with the gray rectangular blocks - have really helped with my dd letter formation.
Math - Math U See Phonics- Abeka handbook for reading and readers Everything else- FIAR for Ds, Konos for DD
I am going to do K starting in the fall with ds. Here is my wish list Math u see 100 easy lessons (we will just finish up with it) Starfall I already have lots of abeka K stuff (mom bought it at a garage sale yeahhh) So I will pick and choose that stuff. We will also be doing lap books with bible stories. I would love to do Konos, or sonlight but they are way out of our budget.
I have some questions for everyone! What else can I use with 100 easy lessons? Or is that enough? I don't want to confuse her by teaching her with two different methods. Is there something that I can use that would compliment the lessons? What are the bob books? Also, What is the difference between Konos and FIAR. Because right now I'm using FIAR, but I like to switch things up a little bit (the beauty of homeschooling, right). Also, can anybody give me a good website for science experiments for K? wheew. that was a lot of questions!
FIAR is based on literature. Konos is based on godly character traits- obedience, endurance, attentiveness, orderliness, trustworthiness, etc. I liked FIAR for younger children butr felt it was lacking for the older. Konos can go through highschool.
I'd start a new thread with this question and you'll get more responses....I haven't used either so can't help you out but a new posting would get you opinions than just folks subscribing to this thread. Just an option you might ponder Rhonda C.
