Sep. 17, 2008 - First School Days - Kindergarten

Posted in First School Days Series '08-'09

I would like to turn our “First School Days” to focus on my kindergartener.  There is much debate in the homeschool world as to whether children this age should be doing school.  After I have been homeschooling for several years now I have come to the conclusion that this is a silly debate.  I don’t think it necessary for children this age to be in a classroom all day.  This is the now the trend in most public schools.  Kindergarten has gone from a fun and easy half day experience to a grueling full day.  But for some children, starting a little early is a good thing for them.  For most of my children, so far, starting “early” has been beneficial. 

My focus, today, is to be on my 5 yod and our kindergarten.  I must also add that she is about to turn 6 yod in 4 weeks.  So although she would have missed the official cut off date for our state, we still find it necessary to begin just a bit of work with her.  (I have always waited until my children were past 5 ½ yod to start any type of formal learning with them.) I also need to preface all of this by saying that Schmoo had to attend a preschool designed for speech therapy last year.  It was all we could afford and it was truly all she needed.  I was initially very nervous about sending her off to school so young.  But I left it in God’s hands and He truly blessed that time for her.  Not only did her speech issues correct BUT she also grew to appreciate being home with mom.      

My 5 yod, Schmoo, has not been the most eager learner.  For a very long time, she could take school or leave it.  I ran with that and didn’t force it.  Just this past summer, though, she started to show a significant interest in learning to read.  Again, I wasn’t in a hurry.  We just started to go slow.  I realized a couple of months ago that this was moving faster than I was expecting.  She is making stories up as she looked at the pictures in books so I knew it was time to really dive in.    

I found Scaredy Cat Reading System last year at the annual book fair in Arlington, TX.   I bought it originally to do a bit of review with my older two readers but this has turned out to be a lifesaver for me.  The only draw back to the editions I bought is that there isn’t any specific plan for the week.  I have followed the workbook mostly in the beginning.  The newer additions to this curriculum have changed drastically.  For one thing they will be using a DVD to help teach the vowels.  I love video school.  It often leads me in what to do next.  We will start the Vowels portion of the curriculum next week actually.  I wanted to make sure she had her sounds for each consonant letter before we moved on.  She’s ready now so we start next week.  I am excited for her.  I think she’ll pick it up fairly quickly. 

For Math we are working slowly through the Primer of Math U See.  I love hands on learning for this age but I struggle on a personal level to be able to pull stuff like that together.  This has been a nice balance for me.  She loves to use the blocks and color in her book and it guides in what to do with her next.  And she’s learning it.  Just today she finally had a break through and remembered how to say a number in the 100’s.  Yea!!!!!!!  Since a lot of the last part of the Primer will be learned in Alpha I am considering going ahead and moving on to Alpha with her.  But I don’t want to overwhelm her so I praying about it to make sure I make the right decision.  (Oh, she’s also taking lead from her brother and sister and will often start her next Math page before I ever make it upstairs to start reading with everyone.  I am proud that she’s learning to take initiative in this area.) 

I found a language arts book this summer that I just LOVE for this age.  Language Lessons for Little Ones is so perfect for this age.   (You will have to scroll down on the left side of the linkd paged to find the Language Lessons.)  Sandi Queen wrote this for her children and he follows a Charlotte Mason approach.  I think CM is perfect for little ones this age.   We do follow a classical style of homeschooling but for the early years, I prefer most of Charlotte Mason’s ideas.  So this book fit us perfectly.  Here is a description of the book from the website: 

This sweet collection of lessons for preschoolers (ages 3-5) introduces the young child to the Charlotte Mason method of language arts with a simple, child-friendly feel.
180 daily lessons guide a child through picture study of full-color paintings, narration, introduction to the letters of the alphabet (capital and lowercase), copywork of letters, writing their name, poetry and story appreciation, creative expression, and more. Lessons are the perfect length - about 5 to 10 minutes per day on average, and give a nice variety along with a sequential review of concepts.

My daughter loves this book.  I think her favorite is drawing pictures to help her narrate.  I do not start grammar with my children until at least 2nd grade and is ONLY if they are truly ready.  I don't think Schmoo will be ready like her older brother and sister but she could surprise me.

We are also using a new handwriting curriculum called Peterson Directed Handwriting.  I made some HUGE mistakes with my older kids and their handwriting that I didn’t want to make with everyone else.  So I found a curriculum that would give us specific guidance in making the letters and in teaching proper pencil grasp.  She has enjoyed learning this although she does get most frustrated when I have to correct her pencil grasp or start her over when she starts a letter at the bottom.  She’s eager to learn cursive writing and I have promised her when her manuscript looks GREAT we’ll move on (as I started cursive with my 7 yod when he was 6 yod as well.  I couldn’t stop him.  He started to teach himself the wrong way and now my dd is doing the same thing.)

On most days this takes us all about 45 minutes to complete.  There are days when she’s asked to be done early.  Depending on the day we’ll either put it all away or we work on the character quality of perseverance.  J  I will definitely NOT continue on any day when she’s emotional and crying.  She’s only had a few of those though.  For the most part, she loves school and gaining a love of learning through her time with me right now. 

I almost forgot the most important part of any Kindergarten curriculum.  READING!!!!  This is an absolute MUST for this age.  If we do nothing else all day we always read.  Right now, Schmoo and I are working our way through On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Schmoo loves these books.   She will also read with me when I read to my Little Boys.  Reading is such an ingrained part of our family.  We are even reading through Stewart Little in the afternoon before nap.

I am trying something new with Schmoo this year.  She’s participating in co-op classes with our church group.  She is in a science and PE class in the morning.  Then she joins us in the afternoon (all of this is on Friday) for our Tapestry of Grace co-op.  She struggles a bit through the TOG co-op but all the mom’s are very willing to allow her to work through the teaching portions of the class as she would at home.  At home, while we are reading, she will color, build with blocks, and sometimes brush my hair while I read.  She also does some of the projects.  Next week we’ll be working on making her War of 1812 American flag (she’ll be painting it).  She’s also going to work on making several pages of our family South American book that we will present during our Unit Celebration in Octobers.  Again, I don’t force much of this on her.  I want it to be fun for her and not a burden.  There are some days when she ends up in my room with the LBSK to play with him while I finish reading to the Bigs.  She tries hard to stay with us and I am proud of her for that. 

My next post (when there is time) will be focused on my older children.  I am going to combine my focus on them because they are using the same curriculum just at different levels. I may wait a few weeks so that I can feature some of their hard work for their Tapestry of Grace over the past 9 weeks.  I am really proud of their work.