Where do I start? (Kindergarten)

[three&me]

Hi! We're new to homeschooling. DS just turned 4 and will be starting Junior K this year. We've been planning to homeschool for a while now and as we're getting more settled and I'm looking into it more, I realize I have no idea what I should be focusing on right now.

Which subjects do Kindergarteners usually get into? I think DS is at more of a Grade 1 level, if not, then pretty close, but I'm not sure.

I don't want to overwhelm him, but I also don't want to miss anything.

Thanks!

[cc_mama]

[cappuccinosmom]

Honestly, at 4, it's not something you need to stress over. If you talk with him, read to him, point out letters and numbers to him, give him opportunities to write and draw...he's going to pick up what he needs to know for his age.

We have a formal curriculum for K4 but it is *very* basic. And most of what's in it my kids already knew because it's stuff that a child could naturally gather if his relationship with his parents is interactive and he has a few resources provided to him. Shapes, letters, number, completing patterns, that kind of thing.

[three&me]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

We have a formal curriculum for K4 but it is *very* basic. And most of what's in it my kids already knew because it's stuff that a child could naturally gather if his relationship with his parents is interactive and he has a few resources provided to him. Shapes, letters, number, completing patterns, that kind of thing.

That's what I was guessing, (shapes, letters, etc) but he's known all of that for a while and seems to want to move on. He's been talking about and doing math non-stop, on his own. He reads very well. He's got all of these other interests that I'd love to explore with him. He's very eager to learn and picks up on things so easily, I don't want to hold him back.

[karemore]

At 4 (or almost any age) you can focus on what he's interested in.

DD went through a long dinosaur phase at 4. We went to the library and the thrift stores, used books stores etc and got all the books we could find. We played with little dinosaur toys, sorting by different characteristics, we built them "habitats" out of legos, we did art projects with dinosaur patterns. We did dinosaur dot to dot, mazes, coloring pages. Dinosaur puzzles....

By allowing her to indulge her interest in dinosaurs we were able to cover SO much and she didn't even realize we were learning. She was just having fun.

For K, I don't think it's necessary to try to cover all the subjects each day or even each week. Some kids need to focus on one set of skills at a time.
DD just went through a long math phase, and now she's getting back into reading all the time. I think she learns SO much better when we follow her interest. If I was trying to focus on reading a couple months ago when she was learning to skip count it would have frustrated us both. Once she mastered what she was ready to master, she was ready to come back to the reading.

Have fun! This is an exciting and fun time for both of you. Don't stress or overthink it.

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by three&me

That's what I was guessing, (shapes, letters, etc) but he's known all of that for a while and seems to want to move on.

Natural learning is awesome for four-year-olds regardless of what level they're at. My kids at 4 were all reading, adding, subtracting and beginning to do simple multiplication, and developing really intense interests in things like paleontology or world geography or whatever. It's not so much about what level they're at, it's about their developmental imperative. Four-year-olds are driven to learn through play and social interaction. They're not held back by not having a curriculum. And that's true of whatever level they're at.

We introduced a bit of math curriculum at the late 2nd grade level (age 4 to 5-ish). That was the first bit of other-structured learning we tried. It worked well for two of my kids, passably for another and not so well for the other. Other curricular resources we waited on until they were closer to 7 or 8 years old. They certainly weren't held back by this; on the contrary -- I think the fact that their learning was self-structured and self-motivated left them free to fly as high as they wanted, with no limitations imposed by age-leveled expectations.

We also focused on stretching them in non-academic ways, through plenty of field trips, second language exposure, sports and physical activites, and music education. It was clear the academic things were looking after themselves, and I wanted to help broaden their worlds with things that required (for us at least) a little more intentional exposure.

I will recommend Miquon Math and Singapore Math as good curriculum resources for math-savvy young children. We didn't use Miquon in structured ways, and I'm only familiar with Singapore from the 2A level on, but the two programs are conceptually advanced, low on repetition, and promote solid mathematical thinking.

Miranda

[Red Pajama]

I've purchased items to help me guide the learning this year, but we haven't had a formal curriculum. We've got unifix cubes and pattern blocks, phonics stamp set, sight word stamp set, flannel board stories. Catalogs for educators (like Lakeshore learning) is a good place to start.

We try to do something each day to "grow your brain". That might be journaling, working with the math manipulatives, or fine motor/writing skills.

[EmmysMama]

I know how you're feeling. I'm torn between letting my DD be (she's just 2) and offering her what I think she wants/can handle (which makes me afraid of pushing her). She already knows what preschool would cover. Shapes, colors, the alphabet, she can identify all the letters and the sounds they make, she can count to ten, etc. I can tell she's close to reading.

I've looked into some Montessori things, and that's encouraging. Check out the blog Chasing Cheerios for example. We've started doing some things from there. DD loves matching, puzzles, sorting into groups, and so on ... and it makes me feel good about her learning AND just having fun!

I've also kept doing what I was doing before. Point out numbers, letters, read out in the real world, etc. I'd also recommend the book Teach Your Child to Read, Easily and Naturally, Before the Age of 3 by Timothy Kailing. Even though he's already reading it has great ideas for games to play with letters and words, and a lot could be applied to numbers since your DS likes math. Helping with cooking/baking is life skills plus math and science, would he like that if you pointed out the math and science concepts in it?

I would also look at things like Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row. Simple and easy for you, and covers a lot, but I don't think anybody would object to using it for fun with a 4yo.

And to take an idea from Charlotte Mason about narration, DD enjoys telling me about things and making a book out of what she says. We might take pictures during a zoo visit, then glue them into a notebook, and write a little about each one underneath. DD loves to tell me about pictures, and really likes the books we make.

She also loves Signing Time. I would encourage you to start watching this if you don't already ... there's no limit to what they can pick up from these! The explicitly taught signs of course, but you can pick up more during the songs and such. DD loves Signing Time and ASL, and I love that she's learning a new language in such a FUN way!

What we try to do on a daily basis:

read a book
play letter games
play outside (point out animals, weather, etc and make it "nature study", but also just free play)
help mama with some cleaning/cooking
puzzles
some idea from Chasing Cheerios or another Montessori-inspired type of thing
watch Signing Time

We also try to make two weekly "field trips". One to the library, and another to a different place ... zoo, aquarium, children's museum, a new park, the beach, a hiking trail, etc. At the library I let her pick a few books on her own, and I choose a few based on things she's shown an interest in. I don't really screen these based on her age ... we've read about electricity, the water cycle, trains, England, whatever looks good. She picks up a lot that I would think is above her level. I don't quiz her on it or anything, I just let her soak it up.

Long and disjointed, sorry, but I'm NAK. I hope you find something useful!