A new unit study program that you can use with multiple ages at the same time.  Have fun, in a relaxed way!  Your child will hardly realize they are learning.

***If you are new, simply scroll down to the level you feel your child is at and work your way up***

(To get all the way to the beginning, you will need to click on 'older posts' to get to the beginning level. Scroll to the bottom, it's in very small print toward the right side)

You have made it!

Your child can read! :)

They know all/most of their kindergarten sight words!:)

They can add/subtract even when borrowing and carrying :)

So...what is next?

Good question...

There are a lot of different takes on this age. 

What do they need to learn?

Why should they use this?

I will tell you what I see and leave you to make your decision.

Currently, your child can add and subtract to the point of carrying and borrowing.

If you started at preschool, do you have any idea how advanced that is, already?

Many math facts will be learned  in regular life. 

A great example:

3>1   

This takes about 3 minutes to explain, if that.  There is no need for a whole lesson on this, let alone reviews or worksheets.

To put it a little more clearly, I'll explain it this way.  There is so much review in graded math  a gap here and there will not make a difference.  A 5 minute explanation will not leave anyone behind.

Basically what I am trying to get at is dodge the curriculums and textbooks.  You know what your child needs to review, take charge!

So what's next?

Well, for math: 

Why not teach them multiplication?

Their little sponge minds will soak it up!  They can understand it later.

The online math book I introduced earlier is great at introducing fractions.

I am going to leave you with multiplication.  Don't forget to review the sight words, but also introduce multiplication to the games as well.    Every once in a while add a review sheet on carrying and borrowing just to make sure they don't forget.  If they get the question correct, I wouldn't worry about it.  If they get it wrong, however, give them a question a day till they get it right again.

Make it fun!

Happy Homeschooling!!

****If you're coming here for the first time, scroll down to see where your child is at and start at that stage.  We don't do grades, so much as stages.  There are no ages.  Simply start at the stage your child is at developmentally.****

Before you start this stage, your child should be finishing up their letters or at least mid-way through.  At this point you can introduce them to writing out numbers.  While you're doing this, why not introduce them to adding as well?

Now if you started at the beginning you will know they have already been introduced to the concept of adding, especially if you are working on the math textbook I included. 

Now it is time to introduce them to writing it out!

I found this on a Montessori site years ago:

Why bother with 1+1.....just dive in!  This is a little difficult to type on a computer but I will do my best. 

8745323456654323456

1234323432344444442

Get a piece of graphing paper and line up the numbers. 

Add them together.
http://www.donnayoung.org/math/graph-paper.htm

That will be their one math problem a day.

It's that easy!
(just make sure there will be no carrying, not there yet!)

When they grasp the adding, they'll get two problems, one adding the other subtraction.
(again, no borrowing)

What's next?

Yes, carrying and subtraction!

NO

24

-19

DO

787766578

56787848

I like there to be at least 6 or 7 numbers, but you can write as many as you like.

It may seem like they'll get overwhelmed, but since they have done this from the beginning they really won't know the difference.  When their peers are in school spending a month introducing one additional digit at a time, they will be that far ahead. 

Keep doing the math book I gave you from the early 1900's, just a lesson a week or so.  That book moves quite fast so there is no reason to rush through it. 

Make this step your priority.

Happy Homeschooling!



At this stage your child should be reading and doing their other lessons regularly.  They should be comfortable where they are, no reason to introduce everything all at once!

Now...to move on:

Time to write!

Unless you're in a state that tries to control you, I wouldn't start this until age 7 or so.   Writing perfectly is not as important as writing legibly.  Here is a great online site to start at:

http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/index.htm

Don't worry so much about the numbers just yet.  Start at the bigger spacing, and when your child is writing good, make your way down to the spacing that is a little more narrow.  Just as in reading, start with Aa, and make your way down to Zz reviewing regularly. 

No reason to stress about writing words.  They will all be connected later.

Happy Homeschooling!!

******

For those of you just starting off, simply scroll down to the stage your child is at and begin.  I start all the way at the beginning.  There is no age, simply start when you feel they are ready. 

******

Once you're in the routine of doing your work, try adding on a few other subjects.  For elementary, I wouldn't really take history or science very serious.  Let me explain.

In grade 1,

(and I'm not saying this is where you child is now, but just as an example)

they study history.

In grade 2 they do the exact same thing they did in grade 1, but a little more in depth.

In grade 3, they do the same as grade 2, but a little more in depth.

Science is the same. 

Why waste your time???

That's not to say you should drop the subject entirely.  But don't feel like you need a curriculum.  Go the the library, get books!! 

Just make it fun.

My favorite approach is "learning through TV".  I'm not discouraging reading, but maybe watch one show during snack, and another during lunch.  It's what I call, 'accidental learning'.

(For a complete set, click link attached to pic)

https://www.youtube.com/user/LibertysKidsTV

Watch these in order. 

This is a fun cartoon.  Kids will learn history with out even realizing they are doing school.

For science, I would recommend 'Magic School Bus'.

(for dvd click link attached to pic)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=liberty+kids

If you're going to add the library into your practice, you could also get a book that has a common theme as the show.

For example:

You watch Magic School Bus for snack.  The show is about rocks and gems.

Before bed, you sit down with your child and look at a big picture book of all the different types of rocks.

Or maybe the show was about butterflies.

You read a fun, colorful picture book on butterflies together.

Still not enough?

Here are pics of some of my favorite  activities.

Butterfly Garden

Order the larvae, and watch the butterflies grow! 

Grow a frog

You can order your own frogs and watch them grow.  Best of all, if you have tadpoles anywhere in your yard,  throw them in there and do it again!



Yes, they have it:
(the pic has changed, but it's the same) 
Raise your own Chickens/ducks!

Have eggs delivered and watch them hatch.

****Just remember to have a plan of what you're going to do when they hatch.  A local feed shop will probably be able to take them if you can't raise them on your own.

Grow Ladybugs

You guys get the idea.  These are all ideas to get your children more involved in their science show.

Keep this in mind.  Kids learn best through what interests them.  How much more do you retain when you are interested.  I remember several tests in school.  I studied, I remembered all the facts.  I took the test.  How much did I retain? 

Next to nothing.  I had no interest in it.

Make it fun.  Accidental learning is the easiest way to teach!

Start with these two.  I will list actual books a little later.  There is no reason to overwhelm your child with a bunch of subjects.

Happy Homeschooling!!



Congratulations to all that are keeping with it!!

I would just like to add that those of you that are wanting to send your children to school, they do expect them to write.  Unless you live in a state that still has the 'play as you learn' lifestyle for kindergarten, with recess and a fun, socialized lunch, they do expect them to write nicely even to pass.  It wouldn't hurt to give them a head start.

I didn't do this with my youngest, and I thought all the stories couldn't be true about kindergarten.  They must do some fun, right?  I soon got a message on her penmanship.  (In all fairness, her writing was much better than mine at her age, but to them it was failing.)   It didn't look perfect.  Why would it?  She was 6!  But schools these days want robots, and if it is not perfect, they will toss them aside.  Enough with that, though...I could go on for hours!

It is important that you teach your child to spell and write their name.  That is the top priority.

Teach them your phone number.

Teach them your address.  Some schools will expect them to write it as well.

Teach them to write all numbers, correctly.  Unless you live in a state that understands that age, there is no 'close enough'.  There is only one way to write a letter and number. 

I am not sure how to make this fun.  In all fairness, I don't feel a 6 yo is ready to learn writing as part of their curriculum, let alone have it critiqued by someone who more than likely didn't write much different than your child is doing at that age.  So I will leave this up to you.

Copy work is a common class in some home school families.  Simply have them copy a word three times.  You could even give them a little candy or sticker for the words they do correctly.  When they get all their letters corrected, or maybe even a short two, promise to take them to the park or something.  This may have them practicing on their own.  Give them a reason to want to learn themselves.

If you're interested in my suggestion, and this is for you that feel the need to send your child to school, do kindergarten at home.  That way you can start the writing process when they're ready, and it will only take a few months to catch up with their peers. 

I will leave this up to you.

Happy Homeschooling!!

(If you are new here, scroll down to 'Let's Get Started'  to start at the beginning.  Begin on the state your child is at)



Your child is reading now,

YEAH!!

Reading on their own, with little help from you, is a great start.

But we can still do more...

Why put your child through the work of sounding out each new word they come upon.  Sure, sounding out words is something you need to do in just about every subject, but some words, lets face it, they're sight words!  Why not give sight words a stack in the games?

You can find many lists online, but if you want to just go by list, I have made a list of the most common words:

Note, the words I have here are from kindergarten lists.  These are what students are learning in kindergarten, so do not stress on how difficult some are, whether they learn them or not they will be more than ready to start K. (whether you're doing it at home or public/private school)

Start with two or three words at  a time.  As they learn them, add a few more.  Throwing this many new cards will overwhelm your child.  Gradually introduce the words, and watch their little minds absorb!  I have started off with some easier ones first.  After they learn that list,  move on to the next list and gradually work in words from that list.  I have separated the lists into categories.  Once they are done with one list, move onto the next list.  Although  they are not separated so much by difficulty, I did try to include the easier ones first.  Just make sure to keep the easier words in the stack until you are sure they know the words. 
Review is the key here.

a   an   am   all   any   play   at  and   are   can   do   for   go  has   have   he   in   I   will   I  is   it  no   so  the   to  up  we  on   me   be   you  was   of    or   when    off   air  by   out  well   now   our  

 
 

here   there   their  like   look   my      said   see    with      she   that      yes  good   tall   her   they   want  must     into     what   went that   too   who   hour  could   would  call  small   should   found   new   say   way  eat  than  were  part   down   sound   which

little   under       saw   soon     this   ate        they   four   black   ride   there   brown   white   which   been   first    such   great   about   people   even   long   used   same  only   very   much      one  two  three over     old  young  girl   boy  add   food   

  


things   came   from   other   many   most   also   where   were   into   time     made   make   water   say   help   line   right   mean       small   large   went    try   kind   hand  
before   use  work   back  take   show   farm    house   point    still   learn     




through   because      year   came   know   another   around   work   back  take   place   sentence   think   follow   land   different   home   move   picture   again   change  away   animal  page   letter   mother   answer      study  America   world   high   every   near   between   own   below   country   school   father   keep  

 tree   never   start   city   earth   eye   light   thought   head   under   story   left   don't   few   while   along   might   close   something   seem   next   hard   open   example   begin   life   always   those   both   paper   together   group   often   important   until   children   side   feet   car   mile   night   walk   mile  night  

sea   began  grow   took   river   carry   state   once   book   hear   stop   without   second   miss   idea  enough   watch   far   Indian   above   girl   mountain   soon   song   leave   family   afternoon   pretty


Worried about math?
I wouldn't worry about writing problems out just yet, but reviewing story problems can be fun.  Just remember to keep reviewing the addition and subtraction facts in board games.   

Below is a textbook, available online, from the late 1800's.  It begins with story problems, and writing is not necessary.  These will give you ideas as well, story problems you can use while in line at the grocery store, or even on long car rides.
An example:
I have 2 cheeseburgers,  I eat one, how many are left?

Your child will not even know they are doing math!
It really is that easy.
https://archive.org/stream/raysnewprimarya00raygoog#page/n10/mode/2up

Start on lesson 7. 
Remember to move at your child's pace.  This book moves very quickly so there is no need to rush.  Do not worry about writing problems out just yet.

I will leave you with this.  Work on the story sight words and begin to work with the story problems for math.  The math can be used anywhere, which will make it fun.  An idea for sight words, and to incorporate spelling, is, "h-a-t, what word is that?"  It's a fun game, and they will learn to spell with out even knowing it!  Both are great for long car rides.

Happy Homeschooling!

Stage 3: Now that you are reading...

Your child is reading now, congratulations!  It is time to move onto the next step.  If your child has not quite grasped sounding out words, do not feel a need to rush.  This will come with time.  There is no need to move on.

In this next step you have a series of options open to you.

You can use the library.

There are plenty of phonic level readers there that will be perfect for your child's interest.

Bob books, (purchase/library)

These phonics, level reader books are also perfect and very reasonably priced.

We are going to use Mcduffey Readers.  These are older books, free online.  The reason I am using these books is because of how they work.  Let me explain.

Years ago, our educational system was not 'dumbed down'.  Things were not 'simple' to keep up with the rest of the class.  You simply learned the material, struggled through it, and got it.  Books were not boring, they were challenging.  They progressed quickly.

I will use this example:

This is from book 5 in the 'Bob' series.  They are working on long vowels.

Here is an example from McGuffey, lesson 25, of the primer.

LESSON XXV.--REVIEW.
Come, boys, and feed the cows. The sun has set, and they are at the barn.
Sue has a bell on the neck of her pet cat.
One hot day Ann and Nell sat on the grass in the shade of a big tree. They like to rock their dolls, and sing to them.
The brave men in our boat are on their way to the ship. They will save the men in the ship, if they can. They will not let them drown.
What bird has big eyes? The owl. Can an owl see at night? Yes, an owl can see best at night.

 The first one is from book 5 in a series.  Bob books were not meant to go through... in one month!  This is lesson 25.  This means that is the students second (or so) month of school.  Already they are at this point, not learning one simple sound at a time, but multiple sounds, all at once.

My point, there is no need to dumb down your child's education.  Start where they are, slow down when you need to, but welcome the challenges.  You'll be surprised how fast they go!

Now, I ask you to go to this site and download the pdf for primer.

http://www.learn-to-read-prince-george.com/McGuffey-readers.html

Start with lesson one and move on.  Pay attention to the sight words listed.  You can also use these as vocabulary words and if there are any your child finds challenging, put them on the index cards. 

This is also a good time to start making phonics cards.  Write down anything you can find.  They do not necessarily have to be a phonics term, just anything your child may need review on.  Here are a few:

ar   er   ew  sh  ch  st   th  ow  ph  oa ee  ing   oo  ice  y at the end says ee
when there is an e at the end, the vowel says its name
one consonant, vowel is long, two, short (example timing, vs. timming)
ir  ur   aught   ough   ace

These are just to name a few.  Put in as many as you can come  up with. 

You have a choice here.  You are going to begin accumulating a lot of cards, many of which will be different subjects.  There are several options.

Shuffle them

It is always fun to see what subject you will get

If you land on red, you  choose from the math pile, yellow sight words, etc.

If you have older children, make cards for them and play Monopoly.  Each color represents a stack to draw from.  If you get it right you have the option of buying a house for that space.  A house is the same price as the same amount as on the space.  (rent is the same, however)  When they get 4 houses, they automatically get upgraded to a hotel.  (There just aren't enough houses!  ha!)

Another reminder, try not to tell your child the words, have them sound it out.  Of course you don't want to have them sound out every word.  But start with certain sounds.

An example would be lesson 7

Your child is introduced to 'ee' in see, and 'fr' frog.

You have two choices here:
1. Tell them the word, after all it is a small word.  For the most part, a sight word.
2. 'ee' says eeee, sound it out.   'fr' says fr, sound it out.

The second one teaches independence.  When you are not there they know they will need to sound out words, and not rely on you so much.  I, personally, would go with the latter.


Now I know many are saying, "what about writing?"  Writing will come eventually, and will be taught when your child has the coordination to hold a pen or pencil more easily.  At around age 7, your child's coordination will be better.  That letter 'B' you spent countless hours on at age 5, by 7 he or she will probably be writing it by him or herself with little help from you.
It doesn't hurt to wait.

Leaning on the classical, I take advantage of this age of curiosity!  Fill them up with information while their little minds soak it in.  Give them a good grasp on reading and math.  If they want to, feel free to let them write.  But writing will come more naturally when your child is older.  Why waste so many hours?

For math, continue with the math games.  Also start to introduce them to the idea of   1+1=2   Introduce them a  little at a time, but continue the story problem questions you present to them. 

Do not have child write them out. 

There is a different plan for this.  First I want them to get a good grasp on addition.  If you would like to introduce your child to subtraction at the same time, go for it!  Just make it exciting and fun and watch as their little minds soak it up.

I leave you with this.  By now you should be set to start your reading adventure!!
Just remember, there is no need to rush.  If your child is running into issues with more than one word, perhaps it may be a good idea to review those words and read the same story the following day.  If the story is too overwhelming or long for your child, break it into paragraphs.  Read one paragraph the first day.  The next day you can read the first and second, the next day tack on the third and so on..

Don't forget to continue to read to your child. 

Join me again, and I will lead you through the next stage of math.
Happy Homeschooling!


*************If your child is not yet reading, scroll further down to 'older posts' and click there.  It will go all the way to learning letters, and make your way up.  Sorry about this!  When I wrote this, I had no idea it would be this long, LOL*****************