My oldest son and I have been playing around at "schoolwork" at home, on days that he is not in preschool. I am preparing to homeschool him next year (I keep wavering on this decision, though. I'm terrified of not being patient enough to teach him, and I'm trying really hard to work on being more patient). Anyway, I have an old set of HoP with the audio cassettes that I've been trying to use to teach him phonics sounds. He hates it though! The repetition bores him and he just shuts down after a couple of rounds through the flashcards. I have been very good about not pushing him since we're still just playing at it, but after he has done the flashcards once or twice he says he doesn't want to do it anymore. I feel like he's not going to make any progress this way if he doesn't want to practice. Another concern is that he doesn't really seem to be paying attention when I am reading to him. He bounces all over the place and often starts messing around with his younger brother. I don't want to force him to sit and listen if he doesn't want to because I don't want to make being read to a bad thing, but if being read to is so important for language development and learning to read himself, then how can I know he is benefiting from me reading to him if he doesn't even seem to be paying any attention? A third concern is that he also doesn't like coloring or drawing. Is that normal? Even in his preschool he doesn't really focus much attention on the coloring pages or on actually drawing pictures the way the other students in his class do. He mostly scribbles for a minute or two and then he's done. I'm trying not to compare him to other kids, but I thought all kids loved coloring and drawing. I know I spent almost all of my time drawing at his age! But I've always had artistic tendancies, and he seems to be following more in his daddy's footsteps as more mechanically inclined (he likes to take things apart. Not just things, but everything.) Last question. I am planning to do MFW kindergarten with him starting after preschool is over. I have heard that the math isn't very strong in that particular curriculum. Should I supplement with another math program or workbook? What would you suggest? Thanks for any help and insight you can give me. I am really feeling a huge lack of confidence as time gets closer to him starting Kindergarten. We are actually up in the air as to where we will be living this fall also, and whether I will have to go back to work, so that's adding to the overwhelming feeling. I do have him registered already at the local elementary school for Kindergarten starting this August, and I hated every second I was there filling out the paperwork. It just doesn't sit well with me. But if I have to work then I don't have much of a choice. My DH is going to try looking for a job in WI where his family lives and if he finds one we will move there and I will be able to continue to stay home with the kids. But we will be leaving my whole family and our church behind and that makes me sad. Wow, I didn't intend for this post to be such a bummer lol. Guess I'm just getting it all off my chest. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far!
He sounds to me like a very normal boy. Neither of mine like drawing/coloring. Neither of mine like flash cards & repetition. Who does? He sounds to me like an active, hands-on learner, who likes to learn through exploration... and more importantly, he sounds like a 5 year old. I don't think he's ready for phonics instruction yet, at least not with HOP. What does he love? What does he talk about all.the.time? You can pick up any book... like Star Wars... to engage him and help him read. It might be boring material for you, but reading through it together while pointing to the words and pictures will really help spark the interest in him to read. If he knows he can learn about ______ if he learns to read, then he'll be much more self-motivated. Until then, relax. You're not going to ruin him by not submitting him to audio cassettes and flash cards. Quite the opposite, actually! Oh, and I'm not really THAT familiar with MFW, but if I remember correctly, it either doesn't come with math, or it comes with Saxon. I'm not a fan of Saxon, especially before 5th grade (it gets better after that, but I still don't really like it). Maybe I'm mistaken. You might be better off with something hands-on for math, anyway. Look at Math-U-See, Miquon, RightStart, or something like that.
My answers are in red. We all struggle with the whole confidence thing. You have to remember that you will not mess up your kid. There may be things you do not cover in history or science or the arts... in fact there is no possible way that you could cover everything. As long as by the time he graduates he can read and do math and has been exposed to the real world, then in the end, he will be fine.
Hi! We have completed MFW K and 1st! I wouldnt say so much that the Math is weak, but it doesn't provide a lot of "handholding" for the parent. Math is included in these two grade levels, but not in 2nd grade and up ( there they recommend appropriate placement in Singapore Math). For K, they include some of the following for math...it's been almost three years since we did it, so I'm a bit foggy! ---straw and coin cup...to teach counting by ones and tens and basic mone skills ---one hundred chart ---simple work pages where they write the numeral and then draw that number of objects MFW in general follows some of Charlotte Mason philosophy, so you might google "living math". To get a feel for how they approach this topic. We have enjoyed MFW, and plan to continue using it until it doesn't fit us...if that ever happens! It is not spot on for us in every topic, but I've really appreciated it's flexibility that allows us to do the adequate basics or go deeper as our time, talents, interests and needs dictate! Hope that is helpful! I'll be happy to answer in more detail...I can go dig out our K portfolio!
He sounds like a normal boy to me. I have three of them. They are all VERY different. My oldest didn't care much for coloring or workpages at that age either. It's been in the last year that he's really gotten more into drawing. But then handwriting was a real struggle with him and I just think that the whole combo of things was about his muscles not being ready for that particular fine motor skill. As for listening and reading - I'll admit, I don't read aloud much because I feel frustrated when I feel like they aren't listening, it feels like a huge waste of time. If they bring a book to me I read to them then. One thing that helps is having something for them to do with their hands while they listen. We're doing a family unit study of Charlotte's web right now and while they listen I try to have coloring pages or SOMETHING for them to work on with their hands while they listen to the story. It really does seem to help. Learning to read - don't even stress it. It WILL happen. When he is ready. I don't personally pursue approaches that my children don't like. I tried 100 easy lessons with my oldest son and he hated it so I stopped. Of course then he went and taught himself to read while playing on starfall.com so eh. I tried three or four different approaches with my current kindergartener and FINALLY hit on one that clicked and YAY! But I didn't stress the ones that didn't. I put them away. My father's world will work to teach him reading phonically. Honestly don't stress. I don't do a lot of math with my kindergartener. He gets living math and whatever comes along naturally in life. I wouldn't stress it. He'll start a formal math curriculum in first grade. Kindergarten should be fun and laid back - this is of course my opinion. I'm pretty lax about the whole thing which isn't necessarily the style that some others would take but I see that it works and so I stick with it.
I didn't read everything so forgive me if I repeat. When I read aloud to my 6 year old (girl - but pretty hyper).... I give her a coloring page which MAY or MAY NOT have to do with what I am reading. It's amazing how much she retains that way. In the car - she and I listen to books and short stories.... I print out worksheets here and there... but she will be my "learn by doing and watching" kid. The library is awesome for having great science DVD's and things like that.... Magic School Bus, Bill Nye the Science Guy, animal adventures.... dinosaurs...... we are going through a "butterfly" stage which is driving me nuts - but I'll live with it (I'm just tired of her being a butterfly and running around the house)
Thanks for the reassurance and great advice, everyone. The HoP set is the colored boxes set. I will put them aside for now since he's not enjoying it. He does like Starfall.com but he doesn't stay on it for long. I will try to find those Leapfrog dvds. I found one on Netflix that is the Phonics Farm and he liked that one, so he might like the factory ones also. I'm also going to make it a point to take him to the library more often to pick out books. I haven't taken him in a long time because our local library doesn't have a large kids' selection, so I have to drive to the next city over. Not really an excuse since we go that direction often, but it's not something I ever really think about doing. Anyway, I'm glad to know he sounds like a normal boy to you guys. He's my oldest so I still have those first time mom moments even though he's getting older lol.
There are several on Netflix I think, but they are newer and have a different feel than the first ones... the Letter Factory ones. The HOP colored box set is a good set.. but let him learn his letter sounds somewhere else. Once he is ready he will move through the books that begin putting the 3 letter words together pretty quick I bet. My 7yo had a hard start to reading, we did find he needed glasses, but he did struggle. Once he started picking it up he went through box 1 (3 letter word, called K now) and is almost through box 2 (he's done beginning blends and is now on ending blends, called 1st now)... all since September! Oh and starfall, my kids like to play there, but they also don't stay there long and I don't think they learned anything there. If you can afford it check out www.readingeggs.com. My kids LOVE it and it helped soooo much.
How is he when it comes to things like LEGOS? With boys especially, they sometimes need to be "doing" something while you read. Often it's coloring pictures, but you've already said he's not into coloring or drawing. Playing with LEGOS might be an option. My middle child liked working puzzles while I read. I personally rarely watch TV or a movie without doing some sort of cross stitch or quilting. Putting aside HOP for awhile sounds like a good plan. Does he like cutting/pasting? If so, have him make Word Books. My son really liked these (which is no promise that yours will, lol!). Pick a letter, such as B. Then go to your Word program, and look for clip art that starts with the letter B...BAT, BOY, BABY, BOOK, BED, BALL, etc. If anyone in your family starts with B, you can put their picture in, too. Print and cut these out. Then take some manila paper (or construction paper, but heavier than regular paper and lighter than card stock works best!). Cut this lengthwise, and then fold them in half. Glue these together to make a book. Title it "Jimmy's B Book". Glue one picture on each page, and then depending on the kid's ability, he can trace or copy the word for each picture (with that initial B very big!). We also did the same thing with word families, like an "-AT Book", or an "-AP Book", etc. And Phillip would proudly "read" it to anyone who would listen!
Netflix has several leap frog videos. I agree that they have a different feel from the originals but my kids love them all equally. My 2yr old learned all her letters and their sounds just watching the netflix ones. And I have to say that it doesn't work on phonics at all but I really like the Getting ready for school leap frog one. I didn't think I would but I did. It's probably one of my top five leapfrog movies. Check your library for the original movies - Letter Factory, Code Word Caper, those were really good I thought.
Sounds like my 5 year old son! Your son sounds very normal, in fact, a lot like my very active 5 year old son! He is mechanical, too, and does not like to color or draw! When I taught him the sounds of each letter, blends, etc... I often taught them by going around the house or his toys and teaching them by what his things started with. We did a lot of oral teaching and practice before/simultaneously using flashcards. We had Sesame Street flashcards, by the way. We also did a workbook that I believe I found at Barnes and Noble bookstore. We sometimes did a scavenger hunt around the house for things that started with the "t" sound, or whatever you are working on. He is my 3rd son, and they are all different! Be encouraged!
He sounds normal to me too mama! Calm down, breath. I'll tell you what was told to me that was my "ah-ha" moment that I could do this homeschooling thing... What does a 5-6 year old need to know that you can't teach them? Really? Because the government who can't even balance a budget said at this magical age, you are no longer qualified to teach your child what they need to know? You've taught him so much, how to walk, manners, how to talk, that he is loved, how to dress himself, how to feed himself, his colors, numbers, etc So what makes you so unqualified once he reaches this magical age (which the government keeps lowering!) Not all 5 year olds are ready to read. And that's okay. They push the issue in public school because they a room full of kids to teach, and it's easier to teach the masses if the masses can read instruction and questions on worksheets, etc. It's well within the range of normal for kids to learn to read much later, especially boys. Just like not all kids walk by their first birthday, not all kids read by age 5 or 6, and that's okay. I agree, keep lessons short. No more than 15 minutes at a time, though you might have to work up to that. I also give my kids coloring pages while I read aloud, often I find ones that pertain to what I am reading them. Or let them quietly play with play-dough or legos or cars or whatever. I make sure to use voices and accents and sound effects as needed LOL and stop for big words they might not know and define them and stop on occasion and ask them to narrate back to me what I've just read. But, all kids are different, like Sommer said, her kids don't like read alouds, mine love them, we don't even read picture books at all anymore, only chapter books. But Sommer's kids do and like things mine don't. And that's okay. Think outside the box! Your homeschool doesn't have to look like a public school classroom! I'm also a fan of no curriculum for this age. My oldest is 9 and we just got our first math curriculum because he wanted one. I went with one that has a multi-sensory approach (MathUSee) because that's what works best for him. Read to him outside, teach him that if he has a question you will answer it, even if you don't know the answer, google it, go for nature walks, go on field trips to the post office, fire station, police station, a river or pond or lake, get him books and magazines for subjects that interest him (we get Lego magazines for free and one year we got a reptiles magazine), let him help you cook, buy a book of science experiments, take him to an animal shelter to play with the dogs, etc. All those things count as school at this age. Just yesterday, I asked the kids to unload the dishwasher (their daily chore) and they said they were busy, I told them "you're not busy, you're playing." my 9 year old says to me "But I'm a kid, playing is my work" I laughed and told him "You are exactly right, I tell people that ALL. THE. TIME. online! And you can get right back to your work after you unload the dishwasher." We unschool, I don't have a teaching degree, in fact I never finished my degree at all, I'm not any more special than you or any other mom on this board, we all just love our kids and want what's best for them. If we can all do it, so can you! And my kids are just as smart as any public school kid. Without the boxed curriculum, with the hours of book work, with the forced learning, etc. People are always commenting on their large vocabulary, how my 6 year old uses such big words that my mom will call me to ask what the word he's using means, my 9 year old can do mental math like nobody's business, and their scientific knowledge is astounding.
I haven't been on here for awhile, but I was just browsing and your thread caught my attention. We started homeschooling when my son started K and my oldest was in 3rd. One morning I was reading a Little House book aloud to my oldest. My son was doing acrobatics on the floor and my toddler was playing nearby. After a chapter I was quizzing my daughter on what I had read and my son chimed in on all the answers before my daughter could! He had listened and understood all I had read. When I asked him to sit still and listen to me read he comprehended nothing because he was concentrating so hard on sitting still he wasn't listening! LOL! Sometimes I think kinesthetic kids need to move to learn. Their brain is wired that way. I also have to second (third, fourth?) the Leap Frog videos. My youngest was blending sounds at three because of those videos.
There is a new resource called Pleygo.com, its netflix-for legos! Iv been getting lego sets for my little ones and they never get tired...i can just return and exchange. I hope this helps!!
