Homeschool curriculum that is fun and very hands-on

[KristyKricket]

Hi,

I am looking for some suggestions for a homeschool curriculum for my 5 year old son that will be very fun and hands-on for him. Do any of you have any suggestions? He enjoys learning through arts and crafts, nature, cooking and many other hands-on activities.

We will be starting him with homeschool Kindergarten this fall so I am looking for some suggestions that will help me choose something before then.

Also, I would love to find a curriculum that plans each day out for me as that is a big help for me in our homeschool

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have for me.

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (15) and David (5)

[LuxPerpetua]

Well, I'm really interested in Enki. It's hands-on, whole-body, arts/crafts/nature/stories kind of thing for kindy-2nd grade. I haven't used it yet, just heard reviews.

[KristyKricket]

Hi Allison,

Thank you for the suggestion. I will google it and see what I can find out about it for us. It sounds like it is just what we are looking for. Thanks again for your reply.

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (15) and David (5)

[kanga2roo]

Check out Oak Meadow. It sounds like just what you are looking for. There has been lots of discussion about OM/Enki so you could search here too. OM is TONS cheaper, and you can get it used. It is layed out by a weekly lesson and you can do what you want when. Enki is left up to you to schedule and plan, and they both have lots of seasonal lessons/stories to help....

[elizawill]

the first thing that comes to my mind is "five in a row". it is eveything you described. you can visit their webiste or forums for more information. hth.

[spruce]

We're using 3 different levels of Moving Beyond the Page w/ my 4, 6, and 8yos this year (all the kids are doing all levels), and it's really fun. You can skip the stuff they plan for you if you want, or go with their recommendations and planners.

We also enjoyed our years of using Story of the World for history (and literature, and some science!), because of its many hands-on ideas.

Good luck!

[KristyKricket]

Wow! Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. I will definitely check them all out. I love the idea of the seasonal curriculum too. My son loves doing seasonal nature studies and crafts. Again, thank you.

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (15) and David (5)

[linclane]

We will use the New Child Montessori guides - they give plans for each day, but it's very flexible in what you choose to do with it each day. And lots of hands on activities and movement incorporated into each lesson.

[KristyKricket]

Thanks Jess! Sounds very interesting. I have always loved the concept of Montessori. I will google it.

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (15) and David (5)

[KristyKricket]

Hi again Jess,

I love, love, love the New Child Montessori curriculum. But I was curious if you could tell me if the guides change from year to year and do they publish new guides each year to change the activities that you do so that you are not repeating the same activities each year?

Thanks again for posting about the New Child Montessori curriculum.

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (15) and David (5)

[linclane]

Kristy,
As far as I know and understand, you use the same guides over and over. Each week in the guide there is a list of more books than you could ever read - so we will do some this year, and some next year, and so on. Also the crafts and projects done can be simplified for younger children, then made more complex for older children. There are a lot of options to make it usable for several years.

The education is cyclical and is designed so that you can introduce topics briefly at younger ages, then go deeper each proceeding year. For example, when we come to continents now (age 6) we are learning names and shapes for them, and a little about each area - so the base is there - then when we get back to this section next year we will learn more about the geography of the land and the people.

I do plan to supplement with math (we'll do singapore) and spelling (we'll do All About Spelling) and also computer time.

I hope that helps!

[KristyKricket]

Thanks Jess! That helps a lot in how you explained it all to me. I appreciate your help and thanks for taking the time to reply to me. I love the curriculum and the whole concept of doing the different nature studies during the changing seasons.

Have a great day!

Kristy
Mom to Rebecca (15) and David (5)