It's spring again. This is traditionally when I've planned the following year and tradition holds firm here.
It's been a while since I've included weekly wrap ups or anything but since my eldest is going into 6th grade I would like to again for posterity.
I don't have a perfect plan, yet, but I think I have the basics set.
My kids in the fall will be 11, 8, 5, 2 (turning 3 in October).
Math
I have the younger kids doing CLE, Eldest is doing Khan Academy, second doing Khan and CLE.
Language Arts
In order of youngest to eldest is probably easiest. #4 will do the Rod and Staff preschool books. This will be my fourth kid doing these! #3 will finish firming up phonics, handwriting, and grammar using a combo of Cursive First, Memoria Press, and some CLE. #2 will use CLE and Memoria Press. #1 is still somewhat up in the air. She has been using a combo of Memoria Press and CLE. I'm not sure if we will continue to use both together or use just Memoria Press, I need to really look at the samples and what is covered.
Foreign Language
Kids are doing Spanish. Big two are using Duolingo. Continue on.
Science
Still determining. Lots of nature study with field guides, more work on the Scientific Process.
History
Memoria Press, Child's History of the World, historical fiction to match time periods at carious reading levels.
Religion
I still really like Lutheranism 101 for kids, in a continual loop. Catechism. CPH's Story Bible. Hymn memorization.
I have the content areas roughly grouped together so the kids can work in a group at their own levels. Skill areas separately since those are impossible to really group at the varied levels.
And I think that's that.
Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2015
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Hello!
Change is in the air.
We are expecting another baby! This is very exciting for all of us.
My three kids all have birthdays rapidly approaching and will soon be 2, 5, and 8. Where does time GO?
I have my fall lineup set, mostly purchased, and I am beginning to put it all together in neatly ordered rows.
I'm still amazed that soon I'll be teaching kindergarten again. And third grade. Yikes!
And in a short year my toddler will be preschool aged. It'll be my first time teaching preschool to a little boy and I am so excited to see how that works.
Mostly, I'm happy. And excited all around.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Reading progression explained
I'm on my second run through from the ground up teaching reading.
My general method goes something like this:
I spend lots of time teaching the letters, their sounds, various ways they look, and getting the child really comfortable with them. This stretches from toddlerhood to about 3-4.
We spend lots of time reading out loud. Picture books, chapter books, anything and everything. We attend story time at the library for more oral reading exposure. Infancy- childhood.
I also spend time on oral blending games and rhyming. For example, "C AAAAA T says what?" When they can hear the separate sounds and blend them together, we're ready to move on. I also think that rhyming is very important. Lots of silly songs and nursery rhymes help develop the ear for this. We work on this from the time they talk well until it clicks- about toddlerhood- 3/4.
After they can do the above easily, without stress, we start working on reading words on paper. I start with short vowel words, specifically short A words. I also introduce a very few "helper" or sight words, but I also explain the phonetic sense behind them. I believe that too many sight words leads to troubles later on. This has happened between 3/4 for both of my girls.
When they can confidently read CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words, we move on to digraphs and more complicated words. This is the most variable part- Sweet Pea blew through phonics as a whole in less then a year and was able to read on a meaningful and good level in that time. Little Bird hasn't moved to this phase yet, so I don't know how quickly she'll progress.
After this I address reading a little differently- I enforce reading time throughout the day. This falls in three categories- books I read to them (even after they are fluent readers), books they read silently to themselves, and books they read out loud to me.
Having a child read out loud allows you to keep up with combinations that they are having issues with. It also lets you catch sloppy habits, mistakes, and can clue you in on vision issues. I think it also helps self confidence.
Reading out loud to a child who reads well allows you to read books together that they might not pick up on their own. It also allows you the chance to stop frequently and discuss vocabulary and themes, look things up on maps and check comprehension without tossing out worksheets.
Silent reading is important here, too. It lets you assign school reading, helps reinforce the idea that reading is pleasurable and a worthwhile use of time, and builds the volume of ideas that they carry around. A widely read child has images and vocabulary bouncing around that will benefit them indefinitely.
When is a child reading? This is pretty hotly debated. Some people say their child is reading as soon as they sound out or recognize that first word, others wait until a child can pick up a book, decode the letters and tell you what they just read. I fall kind of in the middle. I don't call a child who can pick a few words out or blend a few words a reader. That misses the nuances of being able to use language. I also don't wait until they are able to pluck a book from the shelves and use it meaningfully, either. I would say that my four year old can read- she can pick up an easy reader, sound through all the words, and then retell the story.
But this is the beginning, not the end.
My general method goes something like this:
I spend lots of time teaching the letters, their sounds, various ways they look, and getting the child really comfortable with them. This stretches from toddlerhood to about 3-4.
We spend lots of time reading out loud. Picture books, chapter books, anything and everything. We attend story time at the library for more oral reading exposure. Infancy- childhood.
I also spend time on oral blending games and rhyming. For example, "C AAAAA T says what?" When they can hear the separate sounds and blend them together, we're ready to move on. I also think that rhyming is very important. Lots of silly songs and nursery rhymes help develop the ear for this. We work on this from the time they talk well until it clicks- about toddlerhood- 3/4.
After they can do the above easily, without stress, we start working on reading words on paper. I start with short vowel words, specifically short A words. I also introduce a very few "helper" or sight words, but I also explain the phonetic sense behind them. I believe that too many sight words leads to troubles later on. This has happened between 3/4 for both of my girls.
When they can confidently read CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words, we move on to digraphs and more complicated words. This is the most variable part- Sweet Pea blew through phonics as a whole in less then a year and was able to read on a meaningful and good level in that time. Little Bird hasn't moved to this phase yet, so I don't know how quickly she'll progress.
After this I address reading a little differently- I enforce reading time throughout the day. This falls in three categories- books I read to them (even after they are fluent readers), books they read silently to themselves, and books they read out loud to me.
Having a child read out loud allows you to keep up with combinations that they are having issues with. It also lets you catch sloppy habits, mistakes, and can clue you in on vision issues. I think it also helps self confidence.
Reading out loud to a child who reads well allows you to read books together that they might not pick up on their own. It also allows you the chance to stop frequently and discuss vocabulary and themes, look things up on maps and check comprehension without tossing out worksheets.
Silent reading is important here, too. It lets you assign school reading, helps reinforce the idea that reading is pleasurable and a worthwhile use of time, and builds the volume of ideas that they carry around. A widely read child has images and vocabulary bouncing around that will benefit them indefinitely.
When is a child reading? This is pretty hotly debated. Some people say their child is reading as soon as they sound out or recognize that first word, others wait until a child can pick up a book, decode the letters and tell you what they just read. I fall kind of in the middle. I don't call a child who can pick a few words out or blend a few words a reader. That misses the nuances of being able to use language. I also don't wait until they are able to pluck a book from the shelves and use it meaningfully, either. I would say that my four year old can read- she can pick up an easy reader, sound through all the words, and then retell the story.
But this is the beginning, not the end.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Little Bird
Teaching a four year old to read requires a lot of patience. Mine is sweet, but wiggly and silly. When I can get her to sit and snuggle, she's doing really well!
I am using a combination of Hooked on Phonics K and the Ordinary Parent's Guide. I think I've said that a few times :) but I really like the combo! Neither program requires handwriting which I prefer at this stage.
She's also working on Cursive First. Right now we're working on properly writing numbers.
We are also slowly working through Saxon Math K. Little Bird has a good sense for numbers and increasing and taking away. We have a book from the library right now that uses M&M's for math- it's really cute!! She enjoys being able to eat the problems. :)
She also really enjoys the Little House on the Prairie (our current read aloud).
She's right on track for my goals for her pre-Kindy year. Go, Little Bird!
I am using a combination of Hooked on Phonics K and the Ordinary Parent's Guide. I think I've said that a few times :) but I really like the combo! Neither program requires handwriting which I prefer at this stage.
She's also working on Cursive First. Right now we're working on properly writing numbers.
We are also slowly working through Saxon Math K. Little Bird has a good sense for numbers and increasing and taking away. We have a book from the library right now that uses M&M's for math- it's really cute!! She enjoys being able to eat the problems. :)
She also really enjoys the Little House on the Prairie (our current read aloud).
She's right on track for my goals for her pre-Kindy year. Go, Little Bird!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
How to teach reading
I'm on my second run through and it'd going quite well, if I say so myself. ;)
Neither child has intuitively picked it up without instruction. I am a firm believer in phonics, so that's how we are addressing it.
I like teaching reading. It's fun seeing it click and how much opens up to your children when they can read!
I take some of my cues from how I teach writing- divide the skills.
First, we work on letter recognition. Names of the letters, different ways they are written, the sounds they make. Both of my girls learned their ABCs far in advance of learning to read.
Next, we play blending games. There are a lot of suggestions online and it's good to find a lot since it can take a long time for kids to make the leap from knowing letters to blending sounds! I think that this is one of the most frustrating and confusing parts of the process. Kids know their letters, so they should be able to read, right?
No. Not really.
I think that decoding and blending are developmental, and kids need time for it to all sink in. It's so hard sometimes when it seems like they have the skills and information but can't put it together. I think every mom or dad during reading lessons has listened to a tiny person say, "CCC AAA TTT" and been surprised or baffled that they couldn't put it together to make CAT.
It's easy for us, as readers.
Don't be frustrated, though. It'll happen!
My favorite way to practice blending is to NOT use written words for it. Looking at writing requires them to remember the letter, the sound, the order, AND to try to blend it. It's a LOT!
Instead, when we are in the car or playing in the yard, I ask Little Bird (my current phonics pupil), "What does CCC AAA TTT say? Can you guess? Listen to the sounds! Now, CCC AAA NNN. What's that one?"
At first, it's hard. But once my daughters could connect the sounds just hearing it, and do it well, then I brought it back to books.
It seems to be working well. Little Bird can read short words. Lessons are short and fun and once anyone is antsy or frustrated, we are done.
She gets the benefit of experience, there. I used to get upset with Sweet Pea and push on, even when she wasn't ready. I've learned my lesson, and it's made the process much lower key.
Neither child has intuitively picked it up without instruction. I am a firm believer in phonics, so that's how we are addressing it.
I like teaching reading. It's fun seeing it click and how much opens up to your children when they can read!
I take some of my cues from how I teach writing- divide the skills.
First, we work on letter recognition. Names of the letters, different ways they are written, the sounds they make. Both of my girls learned their ABCs far in advance of learning to read.
Next, we play blending games. There are a lot of suggestions online and it's good to find a lot since it can take a long time for kids to make the leap from knowing letters to blending sounds! I think that this is one of the most frustrating and confusing parts of the process. Kids know their letters, so they should be able to read, right?
No. Not really.
I think that decoding and blending are developmental, and kids need time for it to all sink in. It's so hard sometimes when it seems like they have the skills and information but can't put it together. I think every mom or dad during reading lessons has listened to a tiny person say, "CCC AAA TTT" and been surprised or baffled that they couldn't put it together to make CAT.
It's easy for us, as readers.
Don't be frustrated, though. It'll happen!
My favorite way to practice blending is to NOT use written words for it. Looking at writing requires them to remember the letter, the sound, the order, AND to try to blend it. It's a LOT!
Instead, when we are in the car or playing in the yard, I ask Little Bird (my current phonics pupil), "What does CCC AAA TTT say? Can you guess? Listen to the sounds! Now, CCC AAA NNN. What's that one?"
At first, it's hard. But once my daughters could connect the sounds just hearing it, and do it well, then I brought it back to books.
It seems to be working well. Little Bird can read short words. Lessons are short and fun and once anyone is antsy or frustrated, we are done.
She gets the benefit of experience, there. I used to get upset with Sweet Pea and push on, even when she wasn't ready. I've learned my lesson, and it's made the process much lower key.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Little Bird
I'm planning Little Bird's year out right now. She turns 4 in about a week! When Sweet Pea was 4 she had a lot of workbooks. I'm not planning to do the same thing with Little Bird.
She is currently working through the Explode the Code primer A. We also have B and C for her, and when she's done with those I think we're done with the series. She's slowly working through Hooked on Phonics K and the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I'd like her to be fluently reading CVC words by Christmas.
She's in the early lessons of Saxon Math K. We'll work through that this year and hopefully finish by spring.
Once I find the box ;) I'm starting Cursive First with her. She knows all her ABCs and is starting to write letters and I want her to have proper form.
She listens in on big sis's science and history.
She's doing really well in French.
Bible and Catechism- this year is the New Testament and continued memorization.
We'll also read through the Year O books from Ambleside as found here.
Cost of new curricula for the year? $0. :)
I call that a Pre-K year well planned!
She is currently working through the Explode the Code primer A. We also have B and C for her, and when she's done with those I think we're done with the series. She's slowly working through Hooked on Phonics K and the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I'd like her to be fluently reading CVC words by Christmas.
She's in the early lessons of Saxon Math K. We'll work through that this year and hopefully finish by spring.
Once I find the box ;) I'm starting Cursive First with her. She knows all her ABCs and is starting to write letters and I want her to have proper form.
She listens in on big sis's science and history.
She's doing really well in French.
Bible and Catechism- this year is the New Testament and continued memorization.
We'll also read through the Year O books from Ambleside as found here.
Cost of new curricula for the year? $0. :)
I call that a Pre-K year well planned!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Future planning
It's that time again- we're midway through the year and that seems to be the normal time to start mapping out curriculum paths and even purchasing items.
For Little Bird- we bought the book, "What your preschooler needs to know" and we are using it with her current preschool program. When she turns 4 I will introduce Earlybird Mathematics. This will be all that I really want her to do book work wise. Other skills to work on for her include things like being quiet when asked, continuing to work on narrating skills and coloring.
Sweet Pea is a little more involved. :)
Language Arts
Spelling- we are on track to finish Rod and Staff Spelling early 2011. After this we will go through more lessons in McGuffey's Eclectic Speller and the probably start level 3 of R&S's program.
Penmanship- the Well Trained Mind calls to introduce cursive in second grade. We did Cursive First in Kindergarten, so this year we will do the opposite. Sweet Pea can write in print but has some letter formation and neatness issues. Spot correcting should solve this, we're not going to use a special program.
Reading- we are not using a reading program and don't plan to introduce one next year. Sweet Pea is an excellent reader and we discuss her books as she's reading them. This will continue on next year.
Grammar- I don't know what we are going to do for grammar. I have some ideas knocking around but nothing for sure. We could do Rod and Staff English 3, Growing with Grammar (although I have no idea what level), or some other program. I don't know. I don't know at all.
Memory work- we are currently doing no school memory work outside of Bible/Catechism. I'd like to introduce other memory work things this next year, probably tied into both LA and history. I haven't narrowed down lists or anything yet.
Writing
We are between writing programs. We will probably follow the WTM outline on this for second grade- writing letters, dictation 3 times a week, and writing across the other subjects.
Mathematics
I expect to begin Primary Mathematics 2A at the beginning of next year. We'll continue to supplement with Math Mammoth.
History
Second grade is medieval- early Renaissance (400-1600). I think at this time we will continue with Story of the World. This summer we are going to go out of order and do US History.
Science
Basic earth science and astronomy. I plan to start working with Sweet Pea on outlining chapters this year.
Religion
We will be going through the New Testament. Sweet Pea should have a good portion of the Catechism memorized by the beginning of the year, so we'll continue to hone and improve her comprehension.
French
We will continue with Le Francais Facile. Once both girls know all the vocab we will work on usage more.
Art
We will continue working through Artistic Pursuits. It's easy for mom- which makes it a winner.
Music
We have been listening to classical music. I'd like to have Sweet Pea start piano lessons this year.
Obviously this is a work in progress, but it's good to start looking. And planning.
For Little Bird- we bought the book, "What your preschooler needs to know" and we are using it with her current preschool program. When she turns 4 I will introduce Earlybird Mathematics. This will be all that I really want her to do book work wise. Other skills to work on for her include things like being quiet when asked, continuing to work on narrating skills and coloring.
Sweet Pea is a little more involved. :)
Language Arts
Spelling- we are on track to finish Rod and Staff Spelling early 2011. After this we will go through more lessons in McGuffey's Eclectic Speller and the probably start level 3 of R&S's program.
Penmanship- the Well Trained Mind calls to introduce cursive in second grade. We did Cursive First in Kindergarten, so this year we will do the opposite. Sweet Pea can write in print but has some letter formation and neatness issues. Spot correcting should solve this, we're not going to use a special program.
Reading- we are not using a reading program and don't plan to introduce one next year. Sweet Pea is an excellent reader and we discuss her books as she's reading them. This will continue on next year.
Grammar- I don't know what we are going to do for grammar. I have some ideas knocking around but nothing for sure. We could do Rod and Staff English 3, Growing with Grammar (although I have no idea what level), or some other program. I don't know. I don't know at all.
Memory work- we are currently doing no school memory work outside of Bible/Catechism. I'd like to introduce other memory work things this next year, probably tied into both LA and history. I haven't narrowed down lists or anything yet.
Writing
We are between writing programs. We will probably follow the WTM outline on this for second grade- writing letters, dictation 3 times a week, and writing across the other subjects.
Mathematics
I expect to begin Primary Mathematics 2A at the beginning of next year. We'll continue to supplement with Math Mammoth.
History
Second grade is medieval- early Renaissance (400-1600). I think at this time we will continue with Story of the World. This summer we are going to go out of order and do US History.
Science
Basic earth science and astronomy. I plan to start working with Sweet Pea on outlining chapters this year.
Religion
We will be going through the New Testament. Sweet Pea should have a good portion of the Catechism memorized by the beginning of the year, so we'll continue to hone and improve her comprehension.
French
We will continue with Le Francais Facile. Once both girls know all the vocab we will work on usage more.
Art
We will continue working through Artistic Pursuits. It's easy for mom- which makes it a winner.
Music
We have been listening to classical music. I'd like to have Sweet Pea start piano lessons this year.
Obviously this is a work in progress, but it's good to start looking. And planning.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Little Bird
I feel like this blog is almost all about Sweet Pea. My poor Little Bird! Sweet Pea is the only one school aged right now, and somehow the preschool type stuff seems a little less interesting for me to blog about.
I know that there's a lot of people homeschooling and still with toddlers, though, so that does seem a little silly.
So! Here's some musings and what we do for late 2/almost 3 year old preschooling right now.
Literacy/phonics: We're going easy here. Right now we sing the ABC song and when she wants to she listens in on Sweet Pea's structured phonics lessons. She watches the videos on Starfall. We read to her a lot- she's in the lucky position of having three readers in the family now. Sweet Pea helps when mom and dad are busy- it's really sweet to see the two girls snuggle together while enjoying a story.
Math: I have this set of books from when I was little- they are from Discovery Toys. I'm not sure if they are still in print or available, but I love them. They are simple, cute, and focus on 1-10 by telling stories about the same little monster. Little Bird is already familiar with the basic shape groups and colors, in large part from playing with our pattern blocks.
History/cultural awareness: lots of nursery rhymes and hymns. We read books about different holidays and liturgical seasons. Right now we are ending Epiphany and getting ready to start pre-Lent.
Otherwise my focus is on writing readiness through working on fine motor control. This means lots of playing with modeling dough, lacing beads, coloring, and working on buttons, zippers, and other little manipulations. She sits through a lot of lessons with her sister and I.
My goals are to start our handwriting program and our math around age four. Around that time we'll also start adding in systematic phonics. And then we'll roll into what we're doing this year with Sweet Pea when she's ready.
Now that I'm looking at it- it is a little exciting, and it's a lot fun on a daily basis.
I know that there's a lot of people homeschooling and still with toddlers, though, so that does seem a little silly.
So! Here's some musings and what we do for late 2/almost 3 year old preschooling right now.
Literacy/phonics: We're going easy here. Right now we sing the ABC song and when she wants to she listens in on Sweet Pea's structured phonics lessons. She watches the videos on Starfall. We read to her a lot- she's in the lucky position of having three readers in the family now. Sweet Pea helps when mom and dad are busy- it's really sweet to see the two girls snuggle together while enjoying a story.
Math: I have this set of books from when I was little- they are from Discovery Toys. I'm not sure if they are still in print or available, but I love them. They are simple, cute, and focus on 1-10 by telling stories about the same little monster. Little Bird is already familiar with the basic shape groups and colors, in large part from playing with our pattern blocks.
History/cultural awareness: lots of nursery rhymes and hymns. We read books about different holidays and liturgical seasons. Right now we are ending Epiphany and getting ready to start pre-Lent.
Otherwise my focus is on writing readiness through working on fine motor control. This means lots of playing with modeling dough, lacing beads, coloring, and working on buttons, zippers, and other little manipulations. She sits through a lot of lessons with her sister and I.
My goals are to start our handwriting program and our math around age four. Around that time we'll also start adding in systematic phonics. And then we'll roll into what we're doing this year with Sweet Pea when she's ready.
Now that I'm looking at it- it is a little exciting, and it's a lot fun on a daily basis.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Little bird's plans
I keep meaning to get this down and I haven't. No time like the present, right?
We'll be starting with the Letter of the Week Preparatory Curriculum. I haven't tried this before, or any of the Letter of the Week stuff, but it looks good and I've heard a lot of good about it.
So that's the plan. It's mostly to try to keep her happy and connected while Sweet Pea is doing her work.
I've also decided that this Monday will be our start date. I had planned to wait until the day after Labor Day like all the schools here, but that's feeling late and Sweet Pea is ready. She's been longingly looking at her new books and wanting to start, so that's the sign I needed.
We'll be starting with the Letter of the Week Preparatory Curriculum. I haven't tried this before, or any of the Letter of the Week stuff, but it looks good and I've heard a lot of good about it.
So that's the plan. It's mostly to try to keep her happy and connected while Sweet Pea is doing her work.
I've also decided that this Monday will be our start date. I had planned to wait until the day after Labor Day like all the schools here, but that's feeling late and Sweet Pea is ready. She's been longingly looking at her new books and wanting to start, so that's the sign I needed.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
About preschool
We did preschool at home last year with a combination of materials. My main goals and focus was on building confidence and general skill groups.
I chose Rod and Staff's Preschool A-B-C series as our spine and later added in Earlybird Mathematics 1A and 1B as well as Hooked on Phonics Kindergarden.
I plan to use a similar sequence with Little Bird, as well. The Rod and Staff books provide a lot of fine motor exercises- cutting, pasting, coloring and were in general relaxed and fun. They introduced all 26 letters and numerals 1-10 over the course of the year. I think it's well laid out and was wonderful for when Sweet Pea wanted to sit and "do school". There's no preplanning needed which worked well, too.
There are things I really like about the Earlybird and somethings that I don't like. It's gentle and still moves at a good pace. It's solely workbook based, though, and any hands on moments need to be planned out. None of the concepts were really difficult so it let Sweet Pea feel like she was mastering things quickly.
Reading was a huge area of obsession for me. I felt in many ways going into homeschooling that whether or not I could teach my children to read, and read well, that that was the barometer for how the rest of homeschooling would go. I'm not saying that's the whole case, but it was a huge make or break for me, mentally. I spent a lot of time researching different reading methods- sight words, phonics, whole language. And then all the curriculum choices! It seemed like everyone had a system that was the one true way. There's all the debate about ages to start and readiness signs.
I think that the learning to read area of homeschooling is close to a mine field. We initially tried Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons, or the DISTAR program. Sweet Pea hated it. I hated it. I felt like I was using operant conditioning on my child. She didn't like the rhyming exercises. It was a flop. She couldn't understand the way they explained blending and digraphs and we took a break.
Shortly after Christmas we started Hooked on Phonics and while I was predisposed to it being hokey Sweet Pea loved it. She got to start reading books right away. It's slow and steady and introduces sounds methodically. We completed the Kindergarden level in just over three months and have now moved into the First Grade level.
One criticism I do have is that it doesn't introduced long vowels and vowel combinations until the Second Grade level. I've started just telling Sweet Pea some of those phonics rules so she can read words with the silent -e ending and double os, for example.
Overall, I'm really pleased with what we accomplished in "preschool". I plan to reuse many of the same materials and methods. And I'm excited to keep moving forward.
And so is Sweet Pea- and really, that's the best part in my eyes.
I chose Rod and Staff's Preschool A-B-C series as our spine and later added in Earlybird Mathematics 1A and 1B as well as Hooked on Phonics Kindergarden.
I plan to use a similar sequence with Little Bird, as well. The Rod and Staff books provide a lot of fine motor exercises- cutting, pasting, coloring and were in general relaxed and fun. They introduced all 26 letters and numerals 1-10 over the course of the year. I think it's well laid out and was wonderful for when Sweet Pea wanted to sit and "do school". There's no preplanning needed which worked well, too.
There are things I really like about the Earlybird and somethings that I don't like. It's gentle and still moves at a good pace. It's solely workbook based, though, and any hands on moments need to be planned out. None of the concepts were really difficult so it let Sweet Pea feel like she was mastering things quickly.
Reading was a huge area of obsession for me. I felt in many ways going into homeschooling that whether or not I could teach my children to read, and read well, that that was the barometer for how the rest of homeschooling would go. I'm not saying that's the whole case, but it was a huge make or break for me, mentally. I spent a lot of time researching different reading methods- sight words, phonics, whole language. And then all the curriculum choices! It seemed like everyone had a system that was the one true way. There's all the debate about ages to start and readiness signs.
I think that the learning to read area of homeschooling is close to a mine field. We initially tried Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons, or the DISTAR program. Sweet Pea hated it. I hated it. I felt like I was using operant conditioning on my child. She didn't like the rhyming exercises. It was a flop. She couldn't understand the way they explained blending and digraphs and we took a break.
Shortly after Christmas we started Hooked on Phonics and while I was predisposed to it being hokey Sweet Pea loved it. She got to start reading books right away. It's slow and steady and introduces sounds methodically. We completed the Kindergarden level in just over three months and have now moved into the First Grade level.
One criticism I do have is that it doesn't introduced long vowels and vowel combinations until the Second Grade level. I've started just telling Sweet Pea some of those phonics rules so she can read words with the silent -e ending and double os, for example.
Overall, I'm really pleased with what we accomplished in "preschool". I plan to reuse many of the same materials and methods. And I'm excited to keep moving forward.
And so is Sweet Pea- and really, that's the best part in my eyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
