Who here has done first grade ??? Grace will be in first next and I have never hs'ed this age before. I began hs'ing Sam in 5th. We will have MUS which by then she will probably be on a 2nd grade level, we also have Hooked on Phonics which she is doing great with as well, we also do handwriting. This so far is all we have done formally for kindergarten. Informally we have done other things like field trips and growing a garden and other simple things where she doesn't realize she is learning stuff. What all else do I need to do for a complete first grade?
we did math for 1st, as long with phonics, we also learned cursive writing, but we took it slower than our curric had planned. we did get a good base with it, and are doing much better in 2nd. my dd wanted to learn all the curly pretty writing so that is why we went a head with cursive. we also practiced reading aloud, and reading for comprehension. we did a little spelling, but as i noted in other post, only a couple months bc it was over her head. that was the have tos. if that was done we did some fun science stuff, and learned a little history here and there, around diff holidays, etc. i dont believer you can really screw up first grade, jmo, but my curric goes over practically the same stuff in second, so they will always get a review to be sure they "have it".
We did first last year. We did grammar, phonics, reading, math, spelling [partway, wish I'd done it all year], handwriting, history, science, and Bible. It sounds like a lot, but it actually went pretty fast.
have you looked at the worldbook site? I didn't do 1st at home, we started with 2nd. I think first is a good time to focus on things like the community (why the baker is important [eta.. can you say chololate chip cookies.. what a field trip!], and what the firemen do when they aren't resucing cats from trees, oh and what cops do when they aren't at dunkin donuts), time to focus more on writing and simple math. Some basic science can be thrown in... the parts of those plants in your garden, growing seeds in clear containers so you can watch them, rooting some plants that root well in a glass of water, looking for wildlife and then learning about it. I'm sure you know what you are doing, just have some confidence in yourself!!! You will do GREAT!!
I think your plan sounds great. . .I'd just add reading out loud--but I'm kind of assuming you probably knew that. ;-)
Oh boy, I hate thinking back to first grade. That was my son's first year at home. He did a lot and he met every mile stone I set, but wow homeschooling was so much harder in the beginning. We barely did any math because the whole year was spent concentrating on reading. He's an excellent reader though! Here is what we did - My Father's World Kinder (We had to backtrack) Plaid Phonics Pathway Readers First Grade History Pockets Fact Families for math (Homemade cards) That was IT.
We're doing first grade now. We only started in September but this is what we do... Saxon Math 1 ETC random copywork - usually a paragraph or two from a book (she loves to do this for some reason) Start Up Science books (love these!) and we watch a ton of The Magic School Bus the free spelling that was posted above we read a lot to each other and she reads to her siblings every night I think that's it. Since this is our first year HS and we recently moved to a different state away from all friends and family I wanted to keep it simple.
I would continue with the math and phonics if they are working for you. Be sure to add in unit studies when you can. I liked to alternate between science and social studies with the units. Some ideas are... Butterfly life cycle Gardening 5 Senses Human Body Transportation Holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc) Space Native Americans This is such a fun age for exploring and learning! Good Luck!
Sasha is halfway through first grade and here is what we are doing.... She "Does Class" for a couple of hours (Not all at one time) per day. She sleeps in, brothers wake up early and we can work on their grammar and math alone..... then when she wakes up, I can work with her, while they go play for an hour. Etc.. Here is what we use with her.... Sasha has a journal (The black notebook kind from walmart with the 1st grade lines and the 1/3 blank space at the top for drawing what she writes about.) She writes in it every school day. It is completely ungraded and is an oportunity for her to write freely with no constraints, just to get the practice of writing without someone over her shoulder... I do let her write about whatever she wants, but we have a journal idea list if she needs some ideas.. she may write in it in the morning, she might wait till later in the day.... She has a spelling notebook (A regular spiral notebook with her fav character on it, right now, Disney Princess). We got our spelling words from the zaner blozer list mentioned above in another post)..............(I pick the list from whatever phonics rule we are working on) She writes her spelling words three times each one one page on mondays, that she puts the date on the page, too. ............Tuesday we play flash cards.....On Wednesdays she goes to the next page and we make up sentences for her three favorite words......Thursday is games online at spellingcity.com and ....friday is the test..... She has a "Word Book", which is a little flip book of common words used at this age listed alphabetically for her to reference when writing. She learns how to look things up in a dictionary, only on a smaller, more manageable level. (It also has blank spaces to write new words) >>>>>>>>>> You can make one of your own out of a blank spiral notebook. She has Spectrum Phonic 1st grade. We use this as a suppliment for whatever phonics rule we have designated for this week. (Sheet work) She has hooked on phonics and is about to finish level 2. She has Singapore math (She will finish 1A this month and move on to 1B) She is starting (This month) to write simple basic book reports about the books she reads. From this site: http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/BookReports/BookReport.html She is with us in history and geography and science and bible... when it comes to writing things down for these subject, I will find something for her to do, beside the boys. (Color page AND write something about it, etc....)
We're doing 1st grade this year with our son. He went to preschool and Pre-K elsewhere but was homeschooled starting in K (when we moved and started homeschooling all 3). I LOVE that he's homeschooled from the beginning. Not that I regret the time they spent in school because hubby was deployed but it was AWESOME to see him learn to read. He has just taken off. He went from barely knowing his letter sounds in March 2007 to being able to read at a 2nd/3rd grade level before Christmas 2008. Can't say it was my instruction but once it clicked, he was off and running. We used Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read and Explode the Code. He's finished HOP (in Nov 08). I bought HOP Master Reader for him but he hates it and just wants to read Magic Treehouse Books so that's what we're doing. My middle daughter LOVES HOP Master Reader and needs the phonics review so it wasn't wasted $$. I told him if he could read the last excerpt to the last section of the HOP Master Reader, then we'd skip it. That little rascal only missed 4 words on 2 long pages of text. His issue is more understanding the words he reads. He'll decode long words but might not be mature enough to know what they are, kwim? So we'll just work on that while he reads his beloved Treehouse books and continue in Explode the Code (almost thru Book 4). We've used Horizons for math from the beginning. He has A Reason for Handwriting A for penmanship. And we're reading through Abeka History Reader 2 (finished 1 before Thanksgiving...it's so short). He does science with his sisters (Apologia Zoo 2). We mostly just focus on reading and math and penmanship. He seems to be a natural speller at this point but planning to start something a bit more formal soon (I have All About Spelling level 1 and 2). As long as you work on the basics, she'll be fine!!!
I agree, I think first grade is all about learning basics and mom learning to not kill the love of learning.. hahha (I have to work on that everyday...hahah)
Exactly. My son has more of a "love" of certain "schooly" things that were sucked right out of my girls early on. They're getting it back but it's a longer road for my middle one in particular.
Thanks ladies! Sometimes I just need reassurance that I am doing enough and not too much ya know. I mean she isn't officially in first yet. Right now she is about to complete MUS Primer and is almost finished with HOP Level 1 and we do copywork and read alouds. She helped me plant an herb garden last year and in the spring I plan to get her a butterfly kit. So I guess I just need to expand on that and add in a bit of science and field trips? We go camping and hiking a lot and always check out new animals and plants we find. I count that as science - nature study? I like the idea of journaling once she feels more confidant with her writing. I am also considering FIAR but not sure about that yet. I also want to read some parables and fairy tales with her.
Well, I for one, gave up on the whole "Grade" level thing. I had too.... The twins would be in second grade, right now, if I did what the school told me to do, hold them back because of thier tiny size, at the time. But they would be in third grade, if allowed to continue through at the legal age they were supposed to go in... Right now, all of their work is third grade, with the exception of their writting skills (Which I hear is normal for most boys). So we work a little more n that. Sasha, is technically a kindergartner, but I don't hold her back. My rule is, if she wans to do the work we keep going till she reaches a point that she starts to get lost... And I only measure her school work on what a kindergartner could do, not a first grader.
Honestly, it is going to depend on what state a person lives in and what the requirements are. In California we are required to cover every subject the public school covers. Still, it was easy and fun. We are able to teach the subjects the way we want to teach them. So we covered Math, Reading, Language(English), Science, Life Skills, PE, Spelling, Health, Penmanship, Art, History, Geography, and Music. We also covered Bible. Being that you live in Texas, you can have a ball with your freedom!
We have no requirements really. I just want to not screw her up. This is the first and only child I have the chance to hs from the get go. Jen - I am trying to do the same thing with Grace as you are with Sasha. Not hold her back. So I struggle with this ........... if I keep letting her go and not do the grade level thing then her and Samantha will be on two totally different schedules which is hard on me. Grace has one lesson left in her MUS Primer and I have no funds to buy the next level at this time which sucks. However I have 5 levels of Hooked on Phonics so I am set there. We just go at her pace and each days she gets better. I have been doing amblesideonline with Sam but I'm not sure if that is gonna be right for Grace or if she needs something else which is why I am thinking of FIAR. I feel so confused right now over this. I want to do Prairie Primer too but I think that is for kids a bit older. I just dont' know. I feel kind of lost.
You will do great! I have schooled Ems from the beginning and have loved it. There is always going to be trial and error. When you error on what to do or use, just change it. This is the only way to find out what works. Again, you will do great!
What I have so far Tell me what you think. Honestly please. Math - MUS (begin with Alpha and continue at her own pace) Phonics - Hooked on Phonics Handwriting - continue copywork Bible - read aloud a few Bible stories a week ( I have a great illistrated book for this and I plan on letting her do a coloring sheet that matches the story while I read) Literature/poetry - read daily stories from these various books changing it up each day: A Child's Garden of Verse, Now We Are Six, The Aesop for Children, Just So Stories, Parables from Nature History - Fifty Famous Stories Retold & Viking Tales (also add in a couple American History Biographies on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, etc.) Natural Science - The Burgess Bird Book ????? (this one I don't really know about but I know Grace LOVES nature and birds and animals have always been something she likes to read about) Okay so what do you think? Most of these books I got from the website I have been using for Sam (amblesideonline). Is this complete enough for first grade? What else do I need to ad? I would like to her do daily journaling as well like Jennifererix suggested as well as keep a nature notebook. She loves nature and loves to draw. Be honest with me. If this isn't good I want to know!
I think that sounds like a good plan. Here is what I am doing for 1st right now: Bible - read aloud one short chapter in our book each day and discuss it. Calendar, weather and number of the day - large calendar and weather chart on the wall we add a number to each day. We also write the number of the day on a hundred chart on the wall and ds writes that number on a handwriting sheet. We use popsicle sticks to count the number too, that helped with place value. Math - Horizons Phonics - Explode the Code Reading - Printed books from places like www.starfall.com and easy readers checked out of library Writing/Grammar - http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghbgrd1.html#, just started this after Christmas and DS is loving it. He is a kid that actually LIKES worksheets Science and Social Studies - Unit studies, right now it is dinosaurs. Our evening read aloud usually goes along with our thematic unit, but not always.
We did readingatoz, Houghton Mifflin math (USELESS) Bob Jones Spelling social studies from GPS Intranet science from CPS intranet BJUP English Saxon Phonics cursive
