I was thinking through how to help a friend with her oldest starting out in homeschooling, when I remembered I had a document of early childhood resource recommendations. Several people in a row sent me e-mails asking what I would recommend, and I ended up creating a file that I could e-mail, instead of typing the same thing multiple time. Of course, this was before blogging was mainstream (all of, oh, five years ago or so), and that's one of the main reasons why I have this blog now, so here it is. Enjoy. :-)
Life: Unless your children are clamoring for something earlier than Kindergarten (or even, dare I say, 1st grade), you do not have to worry about doing anything other than live life with them. I promise. I have an education degree; you can trust me. Just read books to them, take them places and play with them.
Wal Mart (type) workbooks: For children who are wanting something to do (perhaps, because there is an older sibling doing school work) or for parents who really want to do something with a preschooler, often a smattering of basic workbooks from the book section at Wal Mart (or Sam’s or Target) is the easiest/best thing. I particularly like being able to pick and choose what skills the child is ready to cover in the smaller books, rather than buying a large “preschool skills” book, although some prefer these for just that reason: it takes the decision-making process out of the equation (note: I originally wrote this when only Malachi had been through this stage. Guess which type of books I purchased for Jonah and Magdalyn this last time we were in the States? The all-in-one type for their levels. I didn’t have time to decide on individual skills! :-P). Also, it is easier to ask for a larger general skills book to be brought overseas, since it would not force someone else to have to choose which individual skills to buy. The brand that we like best out of the options is School Zone, particularly their “Whimsical” series, which has very interesting, intricate illustrations. Another advantage to these type of workbooks is that they are colorful. Most of the other general resources I have listed are black and white, partially so that they can be reproducible. Update: I have found it more and more difficult to find books that are available only in English, most are Spanish/English. If you are having books brought and someone else is purchasing them, you might want to specify English-only, if you’d prefer that (nothing against Spanish, we’re just trying to limit to one extra language right now).
Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready: A birth-to-age-five book with learning activities for each week. I got this book at a pretty tumultuous point in our lives and so was too busy to use it, but I’ve heard great things about it and need to get it out and take a look at it again.
Sonlight Pre-K: A great set of authentic books (as opposed to textbooks) to read to your children and some good workbooks, as well. My opinion: you can’t go wrong with reading your child great books. It’s the best preparation for learning. Be aware: the age range for this set is 4-8 years old, so that close siblings can be combined. There are homeschooling mothers who use this as a Kindergarten and even a 1st grade curriculum (with Math and Language Arts on the students’ level).
- The link above is for their comprehensive package, but you can buy bits and pieces, if you go to www.sonlight.com and click on “go shopping.” There’s a place to “build your own” package.
(- Update: they now have an Earlier Childhood package suitable for 2-4 year olds. I'm planning to purchase what we don't have from it for ZL next spring. I know, though, that everyone up MS will enjoy the components of it, so don't hesitate to consider getting it, even it your child make be a little above the recommended age.)
Before Five in a Row: A book/curriculum designed to be used with 2-4-year-olds. The book covers lesson plans for 23 classic children’s books (which you must buy separately). The intention is for you to read one book each week, once each day (hence “five in a row”) and do an activity/activities related to that book each day. Activities will vary from language exercises to art to science, etc.
- This page contains a description of the book and pictures of the covers of the majority of the picture books used.
- And here is an Amazon list with the book itself and all 23 children’s books.
- There are several “follow-up” books that can be used through with progressively older children. See the official Five in a Row website.
Amish Preschool Workbooks: A series of four workbooks that takes a child from very basic skills, such as drawing a line from one object to another (with guidelines on either side of where they are supposed to draw) to introducing colors and numbers (but not letters). Includes a good amount of tracing practice. The recommended age for these books is 3-4, although I would think some older 2-year-olds might be ready for the first book. This is for a “workbook loving” child. I would not push these on any preschooler.
Rod and Staff Preschool Workbooks: A series of six workbooks that are progressively harder to take a child through about the kindergarten year (or even early 1st). These start with a “typical” preschool level (as opposed to the Amish books, which begin earlier than age 4, although some 3-year-olds would do well with this series) of tracing, cutting, pasting and coloring. Malachi loved these books, especially the cutting and pasting. I bought him a R&S art and music curriculum for Kindergarten just so he could continue with the same type of activities. The directions for both these and the Amish books instruct you to require more out of a young child in terms of carefulness in coloring than I would recommend, but you can ignore that part. If you buy these, be sure and get the set of seven that includes the Bible story book and not the set of six without it. We used this story book and pictures to color as the basis for our local Gathering kids’ time at one point.
- You can purchase these books from the above link or from Rainbow Resource.
Ruth Beechik’s “Three ‘R’s’”: Handbooks of sorts for teaching all subjects in the early years by one of the “mothers” of the homeschooling movement. Definitely worth reading and not expensive. Comes with a chart or charts of some sort, for phonics or math instruction, but I haven’t seen them (I bought mine used). If you’re wondering about the vagueness of this description, I just bought these and have not read them yet.
- Also available from Amazon
Learning to Write
Wal Mart workbooks: Yes, them again. Many children do fine with just some handwriting workbooks from Wal Mart (or a similar store, of course). Beginning handwriting is included in most K level basic skills workbooks and in some preschool ones. Workbooks that teach letters and their sounds usually include practice tracing then writing them (caveat: so far, this has not worked for my kids; they were ready to read long before they were ready to write).
StartWrite: A software program with which you can create your own handwriting worksheets. There are multiple “handwriting fonts” to choose from, including Getty-Dubay (traditional stick-and-ball and cursive) and D’Nealian (a more recent type of print and cursive). If you are using the Handwriting Without Tears program (see below), their font is included, as well. StartWrite also includes both color and black & white (for the child to color) images for each letter of the alphabet that can be inserted into the worksheets you create. Supposedly, you can import your own images (like your child’s picture), as well, but I have not tried this. One advantage to using this program is that you can decide what your child practices handwriting on, using his/her memory verses, for example.
Handwriting Without Tears: Touted as the first and only handwriting program written with a child’s developmental progress (as opposed to phonics learning) taken into account. It was written by a physical therapist who worked with children. Now includes a preschool “crayon-only” workbook that works on pre-writing skills. Offers such manipulatives and hands-on helps as a set of blocks with which all letters can be formed (with large and small curves and long and short lines), a Magna-Doodle with stamps (the same options as the blocks) to form the letters on, etc., and a CD with songs that help with preparation for writing. This program is particularly helpful with a child who needs help getting ready to write (struggles) and is also highly recommended for left-handed students. If in doubt, I would say this program would definitely not hurt and most likely would help.
- partially available from Sonlight (without some of the manipulatives and the CD)
Explode the Code: Teaches writing of letters, as well as phonics (see below).
- Also available from Sonlight and Amazon
Learning to Read
The following is what I've written up so far; however, I have a post coming soon (hopefully within the next couple of days) that lays out what I've used with JW and MA. It includes some of what's listed below with some dropped and some added. These are a good start, though.
Phonics Pathways: What I used to teach MS to read, so I’m most familiar with this approach. It was perfect for a no-nonsense, tell-me-what-I-need-to-know-and-let’s-move-on, memorize-it-the-first-time kind of kid, but you also repeat each lesson until it’s mastered before you move on, so it can be easily paced for any child. With just one book to buy, it would be a good place to start before moving to something that required more parent-prep and more time. If you’re in the States, this could probably be browsed at a Barnes & Noble. Note: for a child who enjoys more parent/child social interaction and/or different kinds of activities, this would not be the route to go. Look at Sonlight Language Arts K, instead.
- available from Amazon
Bob Books: Simple beginning-to-read books boxed in sets of 8-10. If your child knows his/her letter sounds or is ready to, you might could teach reading with just these books. I used them in conjunction with Phonics Pathways, and we started them after he got to the right point in the progression of lessons (ready to sound out three-letter words). When things seemed too hard, we would go back a set or two (there are five sets) and repeat. We worked all the way through all five sets, eventually, and then moved on to simple Dr. Seuss like Hop on Pop (that helps you know where these will get you to).
- available from Amazon and at book stores & teacher supply stores in the States
Leap Frog letters and words videos: Useful for impressing people with a two-year-old who knows all of her letter names and sounds. Okay, so that’s just a side benefit. These videos painlessly teach all of the letter sounds and how to put them together (and when I say painlessly, I mean that the kids request the videos). I recommended them to my sister-in-law and they took my 4.5-year-old niece from knowing most of her letter sounds to ready for Bob Books in a matter of a couple of weeks (I sound like an infomercial, but they really did do this). Both Jonah and Magdalyn learned their letter sounds from these, and Jonah began to sound out words after watching them, although he is not putting the sounds together fluently, yet. We got a set that included both DVD’s and a plush “Leap Frog” who plays a key role in the videos, which makes a nice gift option.
- If possible, get the DVD version(s), because it includes games.
- available from Amazon and at Wal Mart, Target, etc.
Explode the Code: A series of workbooks beginning with the “pre-code” books Get Ready, Get Set, and Go For the Code, also known as A, B & C (the books from there on out are numbered). Offers a variety of activities that familiarize kids with each letter’s sound first and then move on to short words and then blending. These books can be used with a student who is not ready to write by the child dictating the answers for the parent to write. We have used them this way.
(-Update: I would use the A, B, & C books simultaneously with the LeapFrog Letters DVD. WIth both JW and MA, I waited until later to use them, and they were just busy work. MA liked that, because that's her style. It didn't do much for JW, so we dropped them and went straight into the numbered ones, which start with early reading.)
Reading Reflex: Another all-in-one book that is highly recommended for teaching reading. I have not looked at it in quite a while, so I’ll just link to on-line descriptions.
- You might want to use this site (www.homeschoolreviews.com) to look up any other programs you’re deciding between.
- available from Amazon, Sonlight, and US bookstores
Sing, Spell, Read and Write: A more kinesthetic, sensory-oriented approach to teaching reading. Again, since I don’t have personal experience, I’ll defer to on-line reviews.
Sonlight Language Arts K: I will be using this program with JW, as he would seem to want “more” out of a program than Phonics Pathways. It introduces the letter sounds, one per week, but has the student reading three-letter words after only about six weeks. While the program is completely laid out for you in the Instructor’s Guide, it is very interactive between child and parent with such activities as making a “letter book” with examples of words that start with each letter using pictures they provide.
(- Update: Okay, so this program did not teach JW how to read. Bob Books and Sonlight's Fun Tales, plus another similar set did. We still did parts of LA K, but not the learning-to-read parts. With MS, I made the mistake of jumping to LA 1, because that's where his reading level was. We ended up circling back around to do parts of LA K for the grammar foundation it lays. Didn't make the same mistake with JW.)
The Writing Road to Reading: An approach to teaching reading that has been around for quite a while. It involves learning reading through writing (just in case that wasn’t apparent), so would need to be used with a child who is developmentally ready to write or it would need to be done using typing.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: Many people really like this program and have great success with it (it’s another all-in-one book). Others hate it and find it unnecessarily confusing and complicated. I was in that latter category (if it needs to be complicated, I’ll wade through it, but…). I wanted to include it as an option for those who might fall into the former category.
- available at Amazon and US bookstores
Early Childhood Math
Cuisenaire Alphabet: I bought this originally for MS when he was learning letters and sounds. It had some limited application at that point but was a lot of work. Some kids who are more fine motor oriented might be able to do it more independently at that level. Basically, Cuisenaire rods are math manipulatives starting with a cubic centimeter cube that is a certain color with a separate color representing each value past that up to ten. I myself have not used them to learn or teach math, so I’m going through this journey with my kids. I’ve heard/read from many that it is a very valuable tool for teaching children to think mathematically/figure out mathematical challenges for themselves. In this book, the child builds a letter of the alphabet given a set of parameters (less than six, all one color, only two colors, etc.). There is also a page where he/she builds different pictures representing that letter of the alphabet. I am now using this program for MS as a pre-Miquon (see below) intro to the value of the different rods and to some basic problem solving skills using them.
- You will also need a set of Cuisenaire rods. I think I got the basic plastic set of 155 (forgive me if I don’t go count). Plastic was recommended to me over wood.
(- Update: They now have ones that link and are marked by denomination, which I think are much cooler than what we have, and now I want some. :-)
Miquon: A math program that allows children to explore mathematical thinking on their own using Cuisenaire rods (see above) and workbooks that offer parameters for different exercises. We are using this in conjunction with Singapore Math (see below). I think it would be an ideal program to supplement math in a national school, because in most places children would be getting only an education in rote math there. The first two books (orange & red) are supposed to be 1st grade level, but many parents use them as early as age 4. They can be repeated.
- carried by Sonlight and Rainbow Resource
- You need to buy the Lab Sheet Annotations to be able to guide your children through the process. This is a large book that covers all of the workbooks, which go through grade 3. The “Notes to Teachers” book is not necessary, unless you want to know more of the theory behind the program.
Singapore Earlybird: The math program used in Singapore, of course. While closer to a traditional math program in that it teaches facts and processes rather than leaving a child to discover them, Singapore also excels in producing math-thinking students (or so everyone says; we’re still in the beginning stages). If you’re wanting a more traditional program to supplement national school math, this would be good. We’re using it solely with Miquon right now. We may add a more rote program (like Rod & Staff) lightly to emphasize fact-learning at some point, since our kids aren’t in national schools.
(- Update: We're a little past the beginning stages now, and I don't know whether Singapore math is completely to credit or not, but MS is an incredible mathematical thinker and JW is developing into one. I highly recommend this program, especially in conjunction with Miquon.)
Saxon K: A large, manipulative-based package that involves using a calendar to teach counting and some time concepts. For those wanting a more traditional approach but would like something hands-on, this would be a good fit. In the later grades (starting around 3rd or 4th), Saxon is less cumbersome (just text- and workbooks) and is really good for those children who struggle with math and need extra repetition. It can be wearying for those that don’t.
Science Options
Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science and Nature: A basic overview of seasons and other simple science and nature topics done in rhyme format featuring the bears from the popular children’s books. Great for pre-K, but would be useful up through early elementary.
- As far as I can tell this book is out of print and only available through Sonlight (they have certain books reprinted just for them).
(- Update: still a very popular book with all of my kids, especially my 1st grader, so don't write it off, if your kids are older.)
Sonlight Science K: A basic introduction to the scientific principles of God’s world perfect for K up to 2nd grade (maybe some pre-K’ers, depending on their bent). One of the great things about purchasing science from Sonlight is that you can buy a science supply kit that includes all of the little things you need to do the experiments (okay, maybe you know where to buy a teaspoon of iron shavings where you live, but…). They are also now in the process of creating a series of DVD’s that show the experiments in each of their science programs. So far, K, 1st & 2nd are available. The DVD’s alone might be a good purchase.
(- Update: We have, so far, used Sonlight's K and 1 science programs, and have been very pleased with them.)
Magic School Bus: Now, having said all that great stuff about Sonlight Science K, I have to confess, we’re not doing it until JW's K year (MS’s 2nd grade, MA’s pre-K), because I really want to have more than one child benefit, if I’m going to go to all the trouble to do the experiments, etc. (others might really enjoy it). So, for now Ms. Frizzle teaches science at our house. For those that aren’t familiar with the Magic School Bus books or TV show, Ms. Frizzle is the crazy teacher always taking her class on field trips where the bus turns into, say, a frog to learn about animal habitats or a space shuttle to learn about the planets.
- There are the original books that are more complex (mid-elementary level, but enjoyable below that) and have lots of extra info in the margins (all presented interestingly), like this. There are only about 7 of these.
- Then, there are ones based on the TV show, which are simpler (read at an early elementary level, enjoyed earlier) like this. There are many, many of these.
- And then, there are the DVD’s of the TV show, which are available in a collection like this and some as individual episodes. You might ask relatives to tape them, as well. Originally, they were on PBS, but they might be on other channels now, as well.
General Thoughts
Because many people I know are in situations where it is difficult or just a pain to get school books, I recommend having bound copies made of anything reproducible, if it is fiscally possible. Where we are, this is cheap to do. Basically, we just take the workbook to a copy shop, and they comb-bind it with a clear (or colored, see-through) plastic cover and a card stock back.
If you are using a book like Phonics Pathways, Reading Reflex or 100 Easy Lessons, I recommend having a section (decide on a cut-off point) copied and bound at a time. Two reasons: 1. This gives the child a feeling of accomplishment as he/she completes each smaller section (we have a family “party” with a special dessert at our house; read: we actually have dessert :-). 2. This preserves the original book through the end of its use, either with this child or with future children.
Many of the learn-to-read options recommend (or demand) that you teach writing at the same time. From experience, I have learned that this is hogwash (that's an official educational opinion). Most, if not all, options can be modified to have the child give oral answers or just skip the written portions.
I would suggest getting a few basic homeschool catalogs to browse. Being a “Sonlight family,” that’s certainly one I would recommend. Timberdoodle is kind of a mid-level catalog that carries a broad array of products, many of them both educational and fun, and Rainbow Resource, as you can probably guess by all of the links above, is like the five-and-dime of homeschool retailers. They carry everything. If you stick to just a section or two or if you are looking for something specific, it would be useful. It would be quite overwhelming to just browse, though. And, although their catalog is available for download, even the smallest sections require a lot of paper and ink. That said, there’s something for everyone in their catalog (maps, science books, manipulatives and everything else). The print version is the size of a phone book for a major metropolitan area (really, it is).
Another very useful resource, especially for those of us not in a larger context of homeschoolers, is the Sonlight discussion forum on line. There is a forum for asking questions about which Sonlight level(s) is right for your child(ren), one for each Sonlight level for those currently teaching that level, general parenting forums, special needs forums, and even a forum for international Sonlight users. Those like the parenting and international forums don’t stick to Sonlight-only topics and the international one can cover things like, “What should we see during our layover in Thailand?” Also, those on the international board tend to be/are supposed to be careful about using “sensitive” words that might be picked up by anyone “looking over your shoulder” as you browse, although there are slip-ups.
(Update: Some of these forums are now only available to people who have paid a one-time fee or have purchased a certain amount from Sonlight. The “choosing” forum is still free to all.)
Think that’s it for now (“just” nine pages in a Word doc). Please, feel free to post any follow-up questions. I’m sure I have not exhaustively covered what everyone might need to know (although you might be exhausted by it all right now :-P).
Showing posts with label Curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curriculum. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Thursday, December 13, 2007
MA 2007-2008
Why do I have a list of current schoolwork for a 4-year-old who is technically only in Pre-K (and not a first-born, which would explain a complete curriculum for a 4yo)?
Two reasons:
1) She wants to do schoolwork. She is highly disappointed when it's not a school day. I would be denying one of her greatest pleasures if I did not give her schoolwork.
2) She's ready for it. Really. I'm not just saying that. All in all, I don't think 4yo's need to be doing schoolwork (and really, she doesn't do that much, even so). Just read to them. And play with them. And let them play. And give them jobs to do around the house. And involve them in what you're doing around the house.
But MA? Well, I realized with JW that he missed a lot of the fun, confidence-building learning-to-read books and activities, because I hadn't realized that he was learning to read. :-p
With MA, one day she wanted to play on the computer, so I thought I'd do starfall.com with her. I knew she knew all of her letter sounds (from LeapFrog DVD's), so I thought I'd poke around the beginning reading level with her and show her how words are put together to make sounds. Um, turns out she already had that down and was actually reading the words. Hm, check that off my to-do list (teach MA to read: done). So, I pulled out the Bob books and had ML take the Explode the Code 1 book to the copy shop and away we went.
So, here's her list for this year:
Two reasons:
1) She wants to do schoolwork. She is highly disappointed when it's not a school day. I would be denying one of her greatest pleasures if I did not give her schoolwork.
2) She's ready for it. Really. I'm not just saying that. All in all, I don't think 4yo's need to be doing schoolwork (and really, she doesn't do that much, even so). Just read to them. And play with them. And let them play. And give them jobs to do around the house. And involve them in what you're doing around the house.
But MA? Well, I realized with JW that he missed a lot of the fun, confidence-building learning-to-read books and activities, because I hadn't realized that he was learning to read. :-p
With MA, one day she wanted to play on the computer, so I thought I'd do starfall.com with her. I knew she knew all of her letter sounds (from LeapFrog DVD's), so I thought I'd poke around the beginning reading level with her and show her how words are put together to make sounds. Um, turns out she already had that down and was actually reading the words. Hm, check that off my to-do list (teach MA to read: done). So, I pulled out the Bob books and had ML take the Explode the Code 1 book to the copy shop and away we went.
So, here's her list for this year:
- Explode the Code 2 (and probably 3)
- Sonlight's FunTales boxed set of readers (completed)
- Bob Books and Now I'm Reading! boxed sets Level 1 (completed)
- Bob books and "Now I'm Reading!" boxed sets levels 2-3
- possibly get started on Sonlight's I Can Read It books
- Singapore Earlybird 1A&B (I started these too late with JW and had to rush him through because he was below his capability level, so I didn't want the same to happen with MA.)
- Usborne preschool workbooks (Opposites, Shapes, etc.)
Monday, December 10, 2007
JW 2007-2008
JW is using the age-appropriate version of many of the things MS is, so I won't go into the reason I've chosen most of this, but here's his list.
- Sonlight LA 1 (newest version)
- Sonlight Intermediate 2 readers (old system)
- Handwriting Without Tears Letters and Numbers for Me
- Singapore Math Primary Mathematics 1A & 1B
- Miquon Orange (and possibly beginning Red)
- Rosetta Stone Arabic (like MS, if I ever get it set up)
- Rod & Staff Beginning in Music 1
Sunday, November 18, 2007
MS 2007-2008, Part 2
Along with our Core 3, MS listened to the Geography Songs tracks that relate to what we're reading about (I left some for this year when scheduling last year), and has now moved on to the relevant History Songs.
For handwriting this year, MS is re-doing Handwriting Without Tears "My Printing Book." His handwriting is probably typical for a rushed, first-born 8yo boy, but I wanted him to get more concentrated practice on correctly forming the letters (he did not do a handwriting book last year). It's helping a little, but I think this is something that I'm going to constantly be reminding him about (and letting go of).
When I looked at the math curricula Sonlight carries way back when (and researched other math options, as well), their pros for both Singapore and Miquon options fit very much my desire in teaching math: introducing mathematical thinking (Singapore) and math self-discovery (Miquon). I also knew that the repetitive nature of several other curricula (like Saxon and Abeka) was not a good fit for MS.
So, this year, MS is working through Singapore Primary level 3 this year. We do the textbook pages when he hits a snag in the workbook or when it teaches a new mental concept.
He is also doing Miquon Blue, which is a decent amount below his level. I made the mistake of scheduling too few Miquon pages over the past couple of years for him, so he has not progressed in the books at the pace he is capable of. I don't want him to miss any of the concepts covered, so I have both stepped up the pace of what I've scheduled and offered him an extra incentive to complete the book quickly. I have the first few books in the Keys to... series for after he completes Miquon.
Continuing on the topic of math, MS is working his way through a second round of the multiplication memorization songs on the Multiplication Vacation CD. We also have the accompanying DVD. It is one of the lowest-budget, goofiest, 90's-feel, bad-special-effects productions I have ever seen...and the kids absolutely love it, and they're learning from it (geography and history concepts thrown in, as well), so I do not regret the purchase one bit. MS has a good deal of visual in his learning style, so I think having the images from the DVD as pegs to hang the song lyrics on helps. I put together a workbook of multiplication drills for each set (1-13 x's) from free options on the web, so the last day of each week, he demonstrates his knowledge from the song listening by doing those.
[Speaking of song memorization, I've made a note to post soon about the system we've settled on for making sure this happens.]
A final math item that MS is working through is a Rod and Staff math drill tablet for 3rd grade. It begins with a review of addition and subtraction and moves on to multiplication and division. It is consists of 30 or so problems on each sheet with room on the back to re-work missed problems. I have him check his own using the calculator on the computer and circle and re-write those missed. He does these three days a week. Just a little extra practice for math facts.
Speaking of Rod & Staff, I'll go ahead and review what other products of theirs MS is using.
I purchased the 1st grade level of one of the R&S music programs (Beginning in Music) for MS to do in 1st grade, because it had the cut-and-paste aspect he enjoyed from some of their preschool books. I continued to use it basically on the it-can't-hurt principle. However, this year with the 3rd grade program, I am seeing that what seemed like mindless cutting and pasting actually had a very tangible purpose in slowly introducing students to concepts (the Do-Ti scale, which is called something like "sofedge," but I never remember seeing it written down, just spoken in high school choir, so I don't know how to spell it; sorry) that they would later cover in more depth. I am pleased I stuck it out and am seeing a little of what I'm missing out on by not being able to go to curriculum fairs where I could have thumbed through books and figured this out a lot sooner.
I also ordered MS the R&S Artpac 1 in 1st grade but abandoned it after a few projects as being too time-consuming for me and a little above his motor skill level. He is firmly on grade-level in his motor skills now, so I decided to give the line another try. However, I ordered the Level 2 pack, instead of jumping to the one for his grade level. I am very pleased with that decision and will to continue with the next couple using this series a year below grade level. Even for those on-par in motor skills, using a year below enables them to do the projects much more independently, something I highly value, since I am a project-impaired homeschooling mom. (There, I said it.)
This year, MS is working through the R&S 3rd Grade Social Studies textbook. I try to pick one R&S subject like this each year to the end of a goal I have: that my children will know how to learn from a textbook. Strange goal, I know, but I think it's valuable. Really, the rest of our learning is centered around authentic books, like SOTW and Usborne science texts, where they are engaged by the quality and layout of the publication. I have nothing against R&S's textbooks, because this could, in a round-about way, sound like a criticism of their textbooks in particular. I like them, as far as textbooks go. It's just that I'm not a fan of textbook-based learning in general. But I won't go into that right now.
The point is that, at some point, my children may have to learn from a textbook in a graded, classroom situation. It may be in college. Or it may be that at some point we choose to or need to put them in school. To that end, I am having them use a read-and-answer-questions (and, this year, take-tests-that-review-the-material) set to learn this skill. To boot, MS is learning a lot about a farm-based community (R&S is a Mennonite company :-). And last year, he learned some important facts about "health," such as how to carry a knife. I'm pleased with how the set-up is working.
In a world that is increasingly computer-based, I see typing as an invaluable skill, so I set out about a while back to find a typing program that would work well for our kids. For a while we used Read, Write and Type!, which is a phonics-based, combination reading and typing program. It was okay, but MS didn't need the phonics aspects of it, and the graphics were extremely dated. When we upgraded our operating system, and it wasn't compatible anymore, I decided to find another program altogether (everybody say, "I decided to find another program;" extra points to those that get the reference).
I wanted something game-based, because I didn't want to have to push this subject, and, bottom line, I just wanted MS to have fun. What we ended up with is Typing Instructor for Kids, and we recently upgraded to Version 3 (only available, as far as I can tell, as a download, unless you're running Vista; not available for Mac, unfortunately). MS absolutely loves the game. I need to get him to blog about it. It's amusing how enthusiastic he is. But the ultimate issue is: the kid can type. Correct finger positioning. Roughly 17wpm. 93ish% accuracy. Pretty good for a fun game, I say.
MS has been using Rosetta Stone Arabic, Level 1 for over two years now. Only this year did the vocabulary seem to be sinking in. However, that may just be the cumulative effect of him using the program. We bought the updated version of the software and brought it back with us this summer. It took a while to get the computer set up just right to install the software, and now we've hit a user snag. A mommy-user, that is. I need to sit down and set up the program to run and progress the way I think is best for MS, and so far, that hasn't happened. So, for now, his Arabic learning is coming from his lessons, and Mommy is going to get to that task soon. :-/
For handwriting this year, MS is re-doing Handwriting Without Tears "My Printing Book." His handwriting is probably typical for a rushed, first-born 8yo boy, but I wanted him to get more concentrated practice on correctly forming the letters (he did not do a handwriting book last year). It's helping a little, but I think this is something that I'm going to constantly be reminding him about (and letting go of).
When I looked at the math curricula Sonlight carries way back when (and researched other math options, as well), their pros for both Singapore and Miquon options fit very much my desire in teaching math: introducing mathematical thinking (Singapore) and math self-discovery (Miquon). I also knew that the repetitive nature of several other curricula (like Saxon and Abeka) was not a good fit for MS.
So, this year, MS is working through Singapore Primary level 3 this year. We do the textbook pages when he hits a snag in the workbook or when it teaches a new mental concept.
He is also doing Miquon Blue, which is a decent amount below his level. I made the mistake of scheduling too few Miquon pages over the past couple of years for him, so he has not progressed in the books at the pace he is capable of. I don't want him to miss any of the concepts covered, so I have both stepped up the pace of what I've scheduled and offered him an extra incentive to complete the book quickly. I have the first few books in the Keys to... series for after he completes Miquon.
Continuing on the topic of math, MS is working his way through a second round of the multiplication memorization songs on the Multiplication Vacation CD. We also have the accompanying DVD. It is one of the lowest-budget, goofiest, 90's-feel, bad-special-effects productions I have ever seen...and the kids absolutely love it, and they're learning from it (geography and history concepts thrown in, as well), so I do not regret the purchase one bit. MS has a good deal of visual in his learning style, so I think having the images from the DVD as pegs to hang the song lyrics on helps. I put together a workbook of multiplication drills for each set (1-13 x's) from free options on the web, so the last day of each week, he demonstrates his knowledge from the song listening by doing those.
[Speaking of song memorization, I've made a note to post soon about the system we've settled on for making sure this happens.]
A final math item that MS is working through is a Rod and Staff math drill tablet for 3rd grade. It begins with a review of addition and subtraction and moves on to multiplication and division. It is consists of 30 or so problems on each sheet with room on the back to re-work missed problems. I have him check his own using the calculator on the computer and circle and re-write those missed. He does these three days a week. Just a little extra practice for math facts.
Speaking of Rod & Staff, I'll go ahead and review what other products of theirs MS is using.
I purchased the 1st grade level of one of the R&S music programs (Beginning in Music) for MS to do in 1st grade, because it had the cut-and-paste aspect he enjoyed from some of their preschool books. I continued to use it basically on the it-can't-hurt principle. However, this year with the 3rd grade program, I am seeing that what seemed like mindless cutting and pasting actually had a very tangible purpose in slowly introducing students to concepts (the Do-Ti scale, which is called something like "sofedge," but I never remember seeing it written down, just spoken in high school choir, so I don't know how to spell it; sorry) that they would later cover in more depth. I am pleased I stuck it out and am seeing a little of what I'm missing out on by not being able to go to curriculum fairs where I could have thumbed through books and figured this out a lot sooner.
I also ordered MS the R&S Artpac 1 in 1st grade but abandoned it after a few projects as being too time-consuming for me and a little above his motor skill level. He is firmly on grade-level in his motor skills now, so I decided to give the line another try. However, I ordered the Level 2 pack, instead of jumping to the one for his grade level. I am very pleased with that decision and will to continue with the next couple using this series a year below grade level. Even for those on-par in motor skills, using a year below enables them to do the projects much more independently, something I highly value, since I am a project-impaired homeschooling mom. (There, I said it.)
This year, MS is working through the R&S 3rd Grade Social Studies textbook. I try to pick one R&S subject like this each year to the end of a goal I have: that my children will know how to learn from a textbook. Strange goal, I know, but I think it's valuable. Really, the rest of our learning is centered around authentic books, like SOTW and Usborne science texts, where they are engaged by the quality and layout of the publication. I have nothing against R&S's textbooks, because this could, in a round-about way, sound like a criticism of their textbooks in particular. I like them, as far as textbooks go. It's just that I'm not a fan of textbook-based learning in general. But I won't go into that right now.
The point is that, at some point, my children may have to learn from a textbook in a graded, classroom situation. It may be in college. Or it may be that at some point we choose to or need to put them in school. To that end, I am having them use a read-and-answer-questions (and, this year, take-tests-that-review-the-material) set to learn this skill. To boot, MS is learning a lot about a farm-based community (R&S is a Mennonite company :-). And last year, he learned some important facts about "health," such as how to carry a knife. I'm pleased with how the set-up is working.
In a world that is increasingly computer-based, I see typing as an invaluable skill, so I set out about a while back to find a typing program that would work well for our kids. For a while we used Read, Write and Type!, which is a phonics-based, combination reading and typing program. It was okay, but MS didn't need the phonics aspects of it, and the graphics were extremely dated. When we upgraded our operating system, and it wasn't compatible anymore, I decided to find another program altogether (everybody say, "I decided to find another program;" extra points to those that get the reference).
I wanted something game-based, because I didn't want to have to push this subject, and, bottom line, I just wanted MS to have fun. What we ended up with is Typing Instructor for Kids, and we recently upgraded to Version 3 (only available, as far as I can tell, as a download, unless you're running Vista; not available for Mac, unfortunately). MS absolutely loves the game. I need to get him to blog about it. It's amusing how enthusiastic he is. But the ultimate issue is: the kid can type. Correct finger positioning. Roughly 17wpm. 93ish% accuracy. Pretty good for a fun game, I say.
MS has been using Rosetta Stone Arabic, Level 1 for over two years now. Only this year did the vocabulary seem to be sinking in. However, that may just be the cumulative effect of him using the program. We bought the updated version of the software and brought it back with us this summer. It took a while to get the computer set up just right to install the software, and now we've hit a user snag. A mommy-user, that is. I need to sit down and set up the program to run and progress the way I think is best for MS, and so far, that hasn't happened. So, for now, his Arabic learning is coming from his lessons, and Mommy is going to get to that task soon. :-/
Thursday, November 15, 2007
MS 2007-2008
So, what are the kids doing individually this year? We'll start with MS, because, well, it's an oldest child thing.
Last year (2006), when we were in the States, I brought back this year's (2007) school books. We already had our 2006-2007 books, because a group of volunteers had brought them for us. I just knew that if I came back with school books over a year ahead of time that we'd end up evacuating, and I'd have to haul them right back to the States (think I've had similar things happen too often? :-/ ).
This, fortunately, did not happen. We only had one small repercussion from buying so far in advance: SL re-vamped their Language Arts program. So, I had to re-buy 3 levels of LA, 1 & 3 for JW & MS for this year and 2 for JW for next year. (We came back this summer with our 2008-2009 books, hoping that our "no evacuation" "luck" will hold up.)
So, MS is doing the new SL LA 3 for language arts this year. We got off to a late start, because FedEx made a shipping mistake and had to send our SL order here to us in the Middle East (shout out to SL customer service; they were great in helping us get this figured out).
That left us playing catch-up. We were almost caught up when I had the bright idea for the kids' school blog, which I've been using as MS's creative writing assignments for the past couple of weeks. I guess we'll catch up again at some point.
I pulled the Grammar Songs assignments from the old LA 3, because I wanted him to work through those, even though I'm assuming they're included in the new Grammar Ace program. With all of the "Songs" sets that we're using (Addition, Multiplication, Geography, History, etc.), I'm hoping to have the kids review them at least once after the first run-through to shore up the information.
MS is also doing the Core 3 Adv. Readers. We do our readers a bit differently, though. We don't read them as scheduled. I put their level of readers on their shelf along with all of the extra period-related history readers that I've bought for them and let them have at it. I keep a checklist of the readers, and I put one in their independent assignment folder (guess I should explain that; I'll do that soon). Occasionally, I sit down and ask them which books they've read. We don't do comprehension questions, but I usually hear enough about the books in casual conversation to know that their comprehending what they're reading (I don't let a kid loose on readers without being confident of their ability to read for comprehension anyway).
He reads these books during our daily "rest time," for at least 45 minutes and at night after the other kids are in bed if I feel like rest time has been too disjointed recently or if we've missed rest time for a day or more due to other activities. [Side note: after his 45 minutes and at bedtime, MS usually does "free reading," which is reading one or more of the myriad of other books we have in our house for the kids.]
For those interested, here is MS's checklist for his readers. We've added some period-related readers since then from a shipment of books we received (RIP M-bag service), mainly several books from the Mandie series, and a few of the Core 3 read-alouds, but this is most of what he's reading.
For Bible, our tradition has become to buy kids their own NIrV (the NIV with vocabulary changed so as to be at a 3rd grade reading level) Bible once they reach independent reading. [MS received a "Super Heroes" Bible in which major Bible characters are highlighted as heroes or villains along with their powers/downfallings.] I then have them read the daily Bible readings from the SL core themselves. I make a spreadsheet (of course) with the year's readings divided into six different columns. I put a small column to the left of each list. Cut apart, these become a bookmark for their Bibles where they can keep up with their reading by making checkmarks in the small column. Here is MS's Bible reading sheet for this year. I blacked out all put what appears on SL's website on the sample IG pages.
[I'm going to add a post at some point for what we do for art and music appreciation, because I just realized that I didn't include that in what we're doing for all of the kids.]
I just realized that this post is going to get really long, and I should have just gone ahead and put it up when I stopped working on it the other day, so I'll put it up now and probably get the other half up tomorrow.
Last year (2006), when we were in the States, I brought back this year's (2007) school books. We already had our 2006-2007 books, because a group of volunteers had brought them for us. I just knew that if I came back with school books over a year ahead of time that we'd end up evacuating, and I'd have to haul them right back to the States (think I've had similar things happen too often? :-/ ).
This, fortunately, did not happen. We only had one small repercussion from buying so far in advance: SL re-vamped their Language Arts program. So, I had to re-buy 3 levels of LA, 1 & 3 for JW & MS for this year and 2 for JW for next year. (We came back this summer with our 2008-2009 books, hoping that our "no evacuation" "luck" will hold up.)
So, MS is doing the new SL LA 3 for language arts this year. We got off to a late start, because FedEx made a shipping mistake and had to send our SL order here to us in the Middle East (shout out to SL customer service; they were great in helping us get this figured out).
That left us playing catch-up. We were almost caught up when I had the bright idea for the kids' school blog, which I've been using as MS's creative writing assignments for the past couple of weeks. I guess we'll catch up again at some point.
I pulled the Grammar Songs assignments from the old LA 3, because I wanted him to work through those, even though I'm assuming they're included in the new Grammar Ace program. With all of the "Songs" sets that we're using (Addition, Multiplication, Geography, History, etc.), I'm hoping to have the kids review them at least once after the first run-through to shore up the information.
MS is also doing the Core 3 Adv. Readers. We do our readers a bit differently, though. We don't read them as scheduled. I put their level of readers on their shelf along with all of the extra period-related history readers that I've bought for them and let them have at it. I keep a checklist of the readers, and I put one in their independent assignment folder (guess I should explain that; I'll do that soon). Occasionally, I sit down and ask them which books they've read. We don't do comprehension questions, but I usually hear enough about the books in casual conversation to know that their comprehending what they're reading (I don't let a kid loose on readers without being confident of their ability to read for comprehension anyway).
He reads these books during our daily "rest time," for at least 45 minutes and at night after the other kids are in bed if I feel like rest time has been too disjointed recently or if we've missed rest time for a day or more due to other activities. [Side note: after his 45 minutes and at bedtime, MS usually does "free reading," which is reading one or more of the myriad of other books we have in our house for the kids.]
For those interested, here is MS's checklist for his readers. We've added some period-related readers since then from a shipment of books we received (RIP M-bag service), mainly several books from the Mandie series, and a few of the Core 3 read-alouds, but this is most of what he's reading.
For Bible, our tradition has become to buy kids their own NIrV (the NIV with vocabulary changed so as to be at a 3rd grade reading level) Bible once they reach independent reading. [MS received a "Super Heroes" Bible in which major Bible characters are highlighted as heroes or villains along with their powers/downfallings.] I then have them read the daily Bible readings from the SL core themselves. I make a spreadsheet (of course) with the year's readings divided into six different columns. I put a small column to the left of each list. Cut apart, these become a bookmark for their Bibles where they can keep up with their reading by making checkmarks in the small column. Here is MS's Bible reading sheet for this year. I blacked out all put what appears on SL's website on the sample IG pages.
[I'm going to add a post at some point for what we do for art and music appreciation, because I just realized that I didn't include that in what we're doing for all of the kids.]
I just realized that this post is going to get really long, and I should have just gone ahead and put it up when I stopped working on it the other day, so I'll put it up now and probably get the other half up tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
What we're doing this year
Some of what I have to say about the organization of our school day/year relies on what it is we're actually covering, so I thought I'd go ahead and lay that out. I'll save what each child is doing individually for separate posts and just focus on what we're doing together.
For the past two years, we have been following a modified Sonlight core schedule. We did Cores 1 & 2 but I rearranged them around the timeline of Story of the World Volumes 1 & 2, rather than Child's History of the World that Sonlight uses. I prefer the tone of SOTW and it has an Activity Guide and tests available for each volume, which we use to varying degrees.
My plan for this year was to use SL Core 3 and overlay SOTW 3 on top. They cover roughly the same time periods, but I wasn't going to bend over backwards to get them to line up perfectly. I did re-arrange Core 3 where we were alternating reading a read-aloud with a history read-aloud (the novels, not the Landmark text) so that we were reading larger chunks of one at a time, rather than having two going at the same time, because we prefer it that way.
It takes me several hours to do all of this modification at the beginning of the summer, and I lay it all out in a spreadsheet that I refer to each six weeks when I do my lesson planning for that period (more on those later). You can see that spreadsheet here. I've blacked out what I think is the only copyrighted info, the pages of the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History that we read which correspond to each chapter of SOTW. These are listed in the SOTW AG, and I wouldn't want to just give away what they put a lot of work into. As a plug, reading those pages, with their extra information and great visuals (as is typical for Usborne) lend great extra depth to our SOTW reading. Plus, the boys will actually pull out the UILE to just browse (as do many guests in our home :-).
So, with our school year all planned out for us in a format that's worked great for two years, we plunged in.
Only, the read-alouds from Core 3 were just not doing it for us. The boys were following the storyline, but were not that enthused about it (JW's been in on read-alouds for the current Core since the last bit of Core 1). Hm, maybe I should have listened to the chatter on the SL boards about there being a big jump to Core 3. I was prepared to address the mature issues; I just wasn't quite ready for them to be so ho-hum about the books. Especially since a friend had gone on and on about how this was the favorite Core she'd done with her kids. At an older age, of course.
I was already contemplating making a change of sort. The clincher: MA said to me one day, "Mommy, remember when I used to sit with you guys when you did read-alouds, and I got to listen to what you were reading?" Back to the drawing board forthwith! (This really surprised me, because read-aloud time was when MA got to play on the computer, one of her favorite things to do. For her to suggest something different was a big deal.)
Around this same time, we were doing some storage juggling (when you have no closets and all of your out-of-use things are in trunks that you use when you travel, this has to happen at times) and our Core C books were out. I had been contemplating pulling some of the higher level read-alouds for us to use, and as I looked through them, I realized that there were a lot more meaty books than I'd remembered. Between that and the new books SL had since added to Cores B & C that I'd purchased this year (haven't looked at those cores since Core A was introduced, so I'm sure there are plenty more now), I had enough read-alouds to lay out the rest of the year.
So, I added a column to my spreadsheet (because life revolves around spreadsheets, right? or is that just my life...) for Core C read-alouds. We dropped the Core 3 ones, some of which I added to MS's readers for the year, some of which will become read-alouds at some later point, and some of which I'll just let the kids read on their own as they get older, so none are wasted, just reassigned.
In addition to the read-alouds scheduled on the spreadsheet, I laid out the chapters/sections of Hero Tales and Grandmother's Attic from Core C for us to read daily and weekly respectively.
Our read-aloud times since then have been precious. MA joins us, everybody's loving the books, and we're all commenting and discussing much more now that the boys aren't struggling to just keep up with the storyline. Of course, I'm having to fight them off of the read-alouds for independent reading, but that's a problem I don't mind having.
Oh, and MA still gets her computer time when we read history and science after the Core C read-alouds, so it's a win-win situation for everyone. :-)
For the past two years, we have been following a modified Sonlight core schedule. We did Cores 1 & 2 but I rearranged them around the timeline of Story of the World Volumes 1 & 2, rather than Child's History of the World that Sonlight uses. I prefer the tone of SOTW and it has an Activity Guide and tests available for each volume, which we use to varying degrees.
My plan for this year was to use SL Core 3 and overlay SOTW 3 on top. They cover roughly the same time periods, but I wasn't going to bend over backwards to get them to line up perfectly. I did re-arrange Core 3 where we were alternating reading a read-aloud with a history read-aloud (the novels, not the Landmark text) so that we were reading larger chunks of one at a time, rather than having two going at the same time, because we prefer it that way.
It takes me several hours to do all of this modification at the beginning of the summer, and I lay it all out in a spreadsheet that I refer to each six weeks when I do my lesson planning for that period (more on those later). You can see that spreadsheet here. I've blacked out what I think is the only copyrighted info, the pages of the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History that we read which correspond to each chapter of SOTW. These are listed in the SOTW AG, and I wouldn't want to just give away what they put a lot of work into. As a plug, reading those pages, with their extra information and great visuals (as is typical for Usborne) lend great extra depth to our SOTW reading. Plus, the boys will actually pull out the UILE to just browse (as do many guests in our home :-).
So, with our school year all planned out for us in a format that's worked great for two years, we plunged in.
Only, the read-alouds from Core 3 were just not doing it for us. The boys were following the storyline, but were not that enthused about it (JW's been in on read-alouds for the current Core since the last bit of Core 1). Hm, maybe I should have listened to the chatter on the SL boards about there being a big jump to Core 3. I was prepared to address the mature issues; I just wasn't quite ready for them to be so ho-hum about the books. Especially since a friend had gone on and on about how this was the favorite Core she'd done with her kids. At an older age, of course.
I was already contemplating making a change of sort. The clincher: MA said to me one day, "Mommy, remember when I used to sit with you guys when you did read-alouds, and I got to listen to what you were reading?" Back to the drawing board forthwith! (This really surprised me, because read-aloud time was when MA got to play on the computer, one of her favorite things to do. For her to suggest something different was a big deal.)
Around this same time, we were doing some storage juggling (when you have no closets and all of your out-of-use things are in trunks that you use when you travel, this has to happen at times) and our Core C books were out. I had been contemplating pulling some of the higher level read-alouds for us to use, and as I looked through them, I realized that there were a lot more meaty books than I'd remembered. Between that and the new books SL had since added to Cores B & C that I'd purchased this year (haven't looked at those cores since Core A was introduced, so I'm sure there are plenty more now), I had enough read-alouds to lay out the rest of the year.
So, I added a column to my spreadsheet (because life revolves around spreadsheets, right? or is that just my life...) for Core C read-alouds. We dropped the Core 3 ones, some of which I added to MS's readers for the year, some of which will become read-alouds at some later point, and some of which I'll just let the kids read on their own as they get older, so none are wasted, just reassigned.
In addition to the read-alouds scheduled on the spreadsheet, I laid out the chapters/sections of Hero Tales and Grandmother's Attic from Core C for us to read daily and weekly respectively.
Our read-aloud times since then have been precious. MA joins us, everybody's loving the books, and we're all commenting and discussing much more now that the boys aren't struggling to just keep up with the storyline. Of course, I'm having to fight them off of the read-alouds for independent reading, but that's a problem I don't mind having.
Oh, and MA still gets her computer time when we read history and science after the Core C read-alouds, so it's a win-win situation for everyone. :-)
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