Jul. 2, 2009 - Kindergarten and a Half
Category • Preschool and Kindergarten
DD#2 and I have been planning her school year for this coming year, which will begin for her no later than August (just after she turns 6). Although she would be old enough to officially begin formal school this year, so that we could start AO Year 1, I think she will benefit from a more gentle and relaxed year of working on skills before starting in on the more difficult work of Year 1.
To that end, we've planned out a year's schedule with books that are not on the AO list. I expect this schedule to be adjusted as we go along and see what works and what doesn't. We may end up beginning Year 1 in January, or we may wait until our new school year begins next summer. Officially she is going to be in first grade this year, but the material we're using I'm calling Year 0.5.
Here is our booklist for this year, keeping in mind that this list reflects where we are and the materials we have around, not necessarily the best list that could possibly be made in preparation for Year 1, and also that we read many other books that aren't scheduled. I did not intend to create a formal list that others should follow, but I hope our schedule will help you in creating your own if you find the need.
- Bible (and Bible memory)
- Poetry
- Reading/Phonics
- Math
- Instrument practice (lap harp)
- Handwriting (there are YouTube videos where the author demonstrates each letter)
- French
- Soup Should Be Seen, Not Heard
- Stories of American Life and Adventure
- Flower Fairies / Burgess Flower Book
- Animal Stories (I have not yet read all of these, so can't speak for them yet.)
- Strawberry Girl
- The Great Bullocky Race
- Sarah Whitcher's Story
- Sarah, Plain and Tall
- Johnny Texas
- Little Lord Fauntleroy
To all of this we will add planning and cooking a weekly supper, learning household cleaning tasks, regular nature study, and possibly drawing lessons if I can manage to get them together (using Mona Brookes' Drawing with Children).
Comments
Jul. 3, 2009 - hi :)
Posted by orangepekoe
I've been following your blog for a while and have found your posts both useful and insightful. I am thinking of homeschooling too and am very convinced of the CM method. Thanks for sharing all this useful stuff!
B
http://fruitloop.org/
Jul. 16, 2009 - :-)
Posted by Phyllis
I am so happy to see this! I had forgotten that your daughter and my Jaan are so close in age. I'm planning a year mostly focusing on "The List of Attainments." I'll be very interested to follow along with anything you have to say about how your year goes. You reminded me that I do need to add in some more books, too. We really need the English language practice around here!
http://fylliska.blogspot.com/
Jul. 16, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Sherry
Hi...I just stumbled upon your blog and am looking forward to reading more. :)
http://livingandlearningnow.blogspot.com
Jul. 18, 2009 - List of Attainments
Posted by lklivingston
Phyllis,
I really should follow your lead and focus on the List of Attainments this year, at least the ones that aren't reading-based. The readings will be covered in Y1, so I don't worry about those, but the other areas I need to cover myself. Somehow I always find that difficult to implement, though. . .
Oct. 29, 2009 - Kindergarten and a Half
Posted by Anonymous
Hello! I just wanted to say that you inspired me. I am going to bookmark this page and think on it over the next few months. My daughter is 5 this year, and we're doing basic blending, handwriting and math with her. She enjoys it. She definitely won't be ready for year 1 next year, but I'm already doing some of year 0. This gave me much food for thought. Thank you