What did/do you use for Kindy? It's looking to me like my first decision is which approach to take: Piece it all together from free stuff online (requires learning what a K curriculum should look like and, I'm guessing, lots of time finding/downloading/printing it all. Buy a few key programs (math and writing/reading) and do art, music, etc. on our own Buy school-in-a-box (something like Calvert) (For that matter, are the choices much different for other grades?) Is that about right? Where do y'all weigh in on these approaches? Thanks in advance--
Nothing really. We unschooled. i just made sure there were a few drugstore workbooks around, lots of games and books and toys like beads and dice and it seemed to take care of itself. Kindergarten was started as a time to get kids ready for real school in terms of behaviour and socialization and keeping that in mind there's not a lot of need for curriculum.
I just did kinder with my oldest last year (at age 6)and we had a great time. I used a mostly thematic approach, we picked something that interested him and found every book we could at the library, read those, did a few craft projects etc... We did things like ocean creatures, apples, pumpkins, seasons, polar animals, lizards, and space. To me kindergarten is mostly about having fun and learning to love learning. For young kids everything around them is a learning experience. For the first half of the year I used the little workbooks you can get at Walmart, Costco or other stores. They are great for learning to write numbers, letters, shapes, colors and stuff like that. Then I read alot about Horizons Math and decided to start using that. It seems to be quite advanced at the kindergarten level and for my son I was glad that I gave him some easier number stuff first. I think Horizons would have been overwhelming to him at first, but now he is flying through it and learning so much. He is continuing to work in the K books for first grade and I will buy the 1st grade books when he is done. My son is just starting book 1 of Explode the Code for first grade, but I know alot of people use that in kindergarten (I am just very relaxed about learning to read, my son wasn't ready last year, but I think he is this year, now I just have to convince him that he is, LOL). I think I will probably use the Get ready, set, go for the code books with my younger son for kindergarten, but then I may take the cheap route and just use printables from the internet and store workbooks like I did with the older. I am just starting lapbooks and think they will be a major part of my kids' learning from now on. I guess what I am trying to say is that there is no right or wrong way to do kindergarten, just do what works for you and your child. We have had several discusions about kinder recently so do a search and you will find lots of fun stuff. But here are a few of my favorite links, hope you find something that is useful to you: http://www.learningpage.com/ (handwriting sheets, seasonal worksheets and unit worksheets, my boys both love these. You must sign up, but it is free) http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ (great source of units based on books, lots of lapbook stuff) http://www.starfall.com/ (online reading fun and also worksheets you can print that go along with teh stories) http://www.first-school.ws/theme/alphabet.htm (lots of alphabet activities)
Here is a site to look at that is a scope and sequence for ALL grades http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum That is where I went when I started and wanted to create my own curriculum. Now I don't bother with standards, and we are doing just fine. Here are my favorite pre-k and K sites: www.letteroftheweek.com www.preschoolbystormie.com www.starfall.com www.learningpage.com www.schoolexpress.com www.first-school.ws www.enchantedlearning.com www.abcteach.com www.dltk-kids.com http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/ www.preschoolprintables.com http://www.thevirtualvine.com/room.html http://www.bry-backmanor.org/ www.pbskids.org some of these may be repeats in this thread.. but that just means they are good This list just touches on what I have used! We have to live on a tight budget to keep me at home, I see no point spending a ton of money on any grades curriculum.. esp the primary grades!
We are doing kinder this year...and so far this is what we've used and weather or not it worked for it. First let me say I second all the websites that Sommer suggested...they are all great and we use them all. Also add to that list http://www.noggin.com http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/ http://www.kinderthemes.com/ http://www.littlegiraffes.com/ http://www.kindergartentreehouse.com/ http://www.edhelper.com/ Secondly the curriculum we did buy this year and loved were: Math U See http://www.mathusee.com - The boys adored the manipulatives, the concepts were simple to understand and they always wanted to do more math! We also used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and that worked until about lesson 50 and then they started to hate it so we changed it up at that point and we are now using Starfall.com and some workbooks and activities we found at a book store and a game I made up myself. The other curriculum we bought this year and didn't like was Homeschool Huskies (for history) it was too advanced and they didn't get it. Also we used Peterson Directed Handwriting and hated that also. Everything else we either bought a book of ideas like for science experiments and projects, or we are just making it up as we go along. Also we do LOTS of crafts and art projects...lots of coloring sheets, printable worksheets, painting, clay, cutting and pasting...all things to help with motor skills.
My youngest did K last year. We used Hooked on Phonics (perfect for his particular way of thinking), Explode the Code, Bob Books, Horizons K Math (loved it!), A Reason for Handwriting K. He also memorized verses for AWANA. The rest I threw together or he joined his older sisters for science, history, field trips. He also participated in a co-op at church which included PE, Health, Animals, and some geography and science stuff. He played soccer and took swimming for PE too (plus just chasing his sisters around). Rhonda C.
Let me back up and start before K. When ds was 2/3 Before Five in a Row Handwriting Without Tears Wood Pieces & Letter Cards Alphabet Art (it's a book) Read tons of books! Read alphabet books. He learned all his letters/sounds (without me pushing it). When ds was 3/4 Five in a Row Volume I Handwriting Without Tears Get Set for School Montessori Activities (from Teaching Montessori in the Home Pre-K Years) Phonics Games & BOB Books Read tons of books! When ds was 4/5 Five in a Row Volume II & HSS Unit Studies Handwriting Without Tears K (stopped 1/2 way through); gray block paper Abeka Phonics K5 & continued with BOB Books Nature Walks I read tons of books to him- started chapter book read alouds. When ds was 5/6 (KINDERGARTEN) Five in a Row Volume III & HSS Unit Studies Lapbooks Delight-directed studies (whatever ds was interested in) Handwriting Without Tears K (finish up) and copywork He read tons of books on his own (10-30/day) Worked our way through A Handbook for Reading (Abeka), but didn't buy anything else I still read tons of books to him Rightstart Math Level A Nature Walks Tea Time with Poetry I can't recommend Rightstart enough. Please check it out! Also, FIAR is fab! This is my 5th year with it. We are doing parts of Volume IV this year and continuing on with more delight-directed studies. What it did for my child was give him anchors (the children's books) to remember information. It also gave him a curiosity about all kinds of subjects that now he wants to explore in depth. It has been good. I don't worry about what anyone says he should know or be doing; we've just done our own thing. It has worked out very well. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the curriculum...I haven't changed at ALL since I started! LOL
We used A Beka for K and I really liked it. But if ever taught K again, I would probably go with more of an unschooling approach. Kindergarteners are still so young and a lot can be taught without a boxed curriculum.
I have to agree that most of Kinder. you can teach without the curriculum. When we pulled my son mid k year I purchased a $50 set of workbooks/ flashcards/ dvd and games from sam's club that was nice, but we went through it too fast, lol. I think we needed to slow down a bit. But I totally agree, a lil ole cheap $5 workbook or some pages printed from online would go perfectly fine for it! The main thing I focused on in K was reading. My dd just finished k last year and that was my focus with her and then I tossed in bunches of fun workbook pages so she could be like her big brother (at her demand of course!). Best of luck and relax, don't forget to have fun yourself!
I use these books Math.............Horizons(K) Phonics..........Phonics Pathways Reading..........Library Books Spelling..........Words from reading Handwriting....Zaner Bloser(K) I think I spent about $40 for everything so I consider that to be very reasonable for one year. Amy
We did FLL 1, Early Bird Math (Singapore), A Reason for Handwriting K, and Explode the Code. By this age DD was reading well, so we moved into Grammar a year early. Our main focus was handwriting because her handwriting skills were (and still are) not great.
GREAT suggestions here! I'd only add a suggestion to be conservative in whatever books you buy, because you will probably change your mind a few times! Schoolbox ( www.schoolbox.com ) has stores in GA...if you have time, go look around at some books and materials.(leave your Discover card home though) Lastly, my two cents...I have said this before, but...IMO, the three biggest things to address in a K curriculum are: 1.READ, READ, READ! 2. Take every kind of Field Trip you can think of or imagine, as often as you can. 3. Give her an introduction/exposure to Spanish Miller
Our favorite workbook was by Abeka and it was called "Letters and Sounds K" My ds learned so much from that workbook.
I didn't read responses. We bought a few programs (math and phonics), are using a few programs with older brother (science and history, for as much as they care to hang around), and otherwise use free resources online that I've organized into themes.
I did Kindy with my oldest all pieced/free from internet. I borrowed a lot from my library. And I did use Vol 1 of FIAR There is SOOOOO much out there. www.edhelper.com ($20/year) www.enchantedlearning.com ($20/year, I think) www.schoolexpress.com (free weekly newsletter/units) www.learningpage.com (free signup) www.abcteach.com (most of kindy level stuff is free anyway but I think like $20/$30 a year?) www.worksheetworks.com (currently in "beta" so it's free, they will start charging soon and they say it won't be much) www.starfall.com (this program taught my son to read without me having to do ANYTHING - he's going to be 7 in two weeks and reads on a 4th grade level) I know there are more....can't think of them all! OH...if you want to follow a classic/Charlotte Mason type model www.amblesideonline.com
Also Charlotte Mason-y www.oldfashionededucation.com this one is a free curriculum that you can follow pretty much from k-12 and school for practically free.
Teacher Mom, Our kids are the same ages, except my 4 yo is ds, and my 2 yo is dd. We did a practice run at school last year. I bought the cheapy workbooks from walmart ( walgreens has them on sale often for cheaper) then made a list from the worldbook website about what they should know, and we took field trips, or read books about it from the library, or did art projects. I hate using the printer ( I count the cost for each one -5,10,20 cents .... I am a cheapo) so I didn't print anything. I also used starfall, and 100 easy lessons, and bob books. Mostly because I freaked out and worried to much about reading. I think starfall would have just worked fine. This year we are being a little more organized (dh wanted to see what we were going to do and make sure I was on top of it) I am using Genesis 1 as a spine for Science. Then I just check books out of the library that focus on what God created that day. We ask questions and do little projects if I think of them. Like we made a model of the solar system, a sundial, and well thats as far as we have gotten so far. I also used the scope and sequence from Math u see, and Singapore to put together a list of math objectives. I actually feel like I made the math a little to intensive. And we will not get through them all this year. But that is ok with me. I looked at a few websites for ideas on games and such to teach math, I bought Kumon workbooks for learning numbers 1-31. Mainly because ds needs to work on writing the numbers, and likes workbooks. I picked up some books that help you with using libray books for a theme. Kind of like Five in A row. but these are little books from Scolastic that were only a $1. One is called using Caldacotts. I could have done it without the book, but I picked it up so I am using it. I would suggest just picking a book and using it as spine theme. You can find samples from FIAR, or lapbook ideas from them which will show you what they are teaching from them. For art I was going to use an Abeka art program I picked up at a garge sale for .50 cents brand new. but I think we most likely will not and will just end up doing art that somewhat matches the books we are reading, or that have to do with the month etc. Read is kind of strange for us right now. I think ds is having some issues (like reading words backwards) so we are reassesing what we were using and trying some copy work, and words on the fridge to remedy that. We are required to teach "civics" so each month we read a book about some person in the community, stranger danger etc. That is about it. i am going to post a question about who to teach bible, because I can't seem to figure out what I want to do. I would also make sure that what ever you do include the little one. Let me know if you have any questions since our kids are the same age.
