Non-religous program for smart 3yr old?

[leighi123]

Im looking for curiculum for my ds, who will be 3 in July and is very smart.

Right now Im just randomly 'doing school' with him, mostly montessori type stuff. But I'd like to get an actual program to help me organize things while I finish working on my own curiculum for him (Im writing one!)

It needs to be good for a 3yr old, non-religous (or something I can easily cut the religion out of), and he really likes hands on activites, and active play, but he LOVES books and will sit and do workbooks as well. (we do kumon ones sometimes).

Another thing is that it has to be cheap!

any ideas?

[kgianforti]

Peak With Books and use the library to obtain the books used. I just ordered the PWB guide to check out.

ETA: Here is the info on it from Rainbow Resources, the book is just cheaper on Amazon:

http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist....3&category=551

[lach]

I'd look into the Critical Thinking Company workbooks, as well as the books published by Gryphon House: particularly their math and science books.

[sbgrace]

You might look into BFIAR or FIAR, whichever seems more appropriate. I'd focus on exploration and fun and creative play/imagination more than academics. Those things are higher order thinking skills so better for his brain. Just because he can do stuff doesn't mean it's best or ideal for him.

[be11ydancer]

He's pretty young. At that age, we focused more on planting a little garden, identifying bugs and birds in the yard, riding a little bike, play dough, pretend play, and reading together. I personally don't want to mess with a curriculum until 1st or 2nd grade. Little children can gain an amazing amount of information just from being read to. My 4yo is very bright and likes to identify letters. She is obsessed with animals and bugs so we read a lot of books about those and she collects bugs from the backyard. Easy.

[AKfamily]

My DS1 is almost 4 and I've been using montessorifortheearth.com's montessori homeschool curriculum somewhat (very inexpensive) as well as working with David Gettman's Basic Montessori: Learning Activities For Under-Fives book.
There's also a pre-homeschooling thread on MDC that seems to have a lot of info on materials I've never heard of

[leighi123]

Originally Posted by be11ydancer

He's pretty young. At that age, we focused more on planting a little garden, identifying bugs and birds in the yard, riding a little bike, play dough, pretend play, and reading together. I personally don't want to mess with a curriculum until 1st or 2nd grade. Little children can gain an amazing amount of information just from being read to. My 4yo is very bright and likes to identify letters. She is obsessed with animals and bugs so we read a lot of books about those and she collects bugs from the backyard. Easy.

We do all of this already -
He has a small garden at our house and we do a large co-op organic garden which he works on every week
He helps cook dinner every night and often makes his own lunch (when its a sandwitch or something easy!)
We read a zillion books a day and do library story time
we go to our local zoo often
he rides his bike around the block every day with the dog (skuut bike)

And I do homeschool type activites with him like kumon workbooks, montessori ideas I've found online, etc.

The thing is, I think we are beyond that already, he REALLY wants to learn to read, and acts like he is older than he is. Im not going to stop doing the other stuff, I just want to suppliment with an actual curiculm, which I will follow his lead on.

[pigpokey]

Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons

Board games

"What time is it" game by eeboo

Card games

http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/print-1/make-p.htm

http://www.math-drills.com/

[nov05mama]

I would suggest Peak with Books or BFIAR as well. It sounds like you are already doing lots of great stuff and he may not need a specific curriculum just yet...those programs are great though b/c they are based on literature.
I have a 'curriculum' list of what we use on my blog, but we have taken a HUGE step back from doing any of that and have been playing outside and doing nature walks and I even have him enrolled in a nature class.
We take LOTS of trips to the library and read all the time...and whatever he's "into" that day (or week) is what we study!

[hotmamacita]

Originally Posted by leighi123

Im looking for curiculum for my ds, who will be 3 in July and is very smart.

Right now Im just randomly 'doing school' with him, mostly montessori type stuff. But I'd like to get an actual program to help me organize things while I finish working on my own curiculum for him (Im writing one!)

It needs to be good for a 3yr old, non-religous (or something I can easily cut the religion out of), and he really likes hands on activites, and active play, but he LOVES books and will sit and do workbooks as well. (we do kumon ones sometimes).

Another thing is that it has to be cheap!

any ideas?

I wrote my own curricula as well.

At three years old, i would play with him, go on lots of outings with him and stir his wonder and delight for learning and the world around him. I would not encourage workbooks, etc. That is just me!

[justthinkn]

I've used both BFIAR and PWB with my DD, about to turn 3, if you're interested in my take on the differences... Other than being so intentional about the library books I gather for her, we're pretty relaxed, playing, doing house stuff, getting outside, etc... But I do find that having the great books to read and talk about and just to inspire us makes a big difference in our days together!