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Back At It: UPDATED Kindergarten Curriculum 2011-2012

September 26, 2011 By Kristina Brooke 2 Comments

spacer After deciding to halt the Kindergarten progress back in July because we were just not ready (the beauty of homeschooling), we dove in this past week and have made so much progress. Our day is pretty much outlined here, but we are flexible. This week has proven that while daunting on paper, our schedule is doable on most days!

Truthfully, we did not start out too well. The Tornado was reluctant and defiant at the beginning of the week. I am still in awe of how independent and stubborn she is despite her age. She fights me on everything which is odd because she begs to do schoolwork but then wants to do anything but work when we start. She is really testing the boundaries because in the past I was extremely flexible. Unfortunately, I had to pull back on that flexibility to maximize the hours in the day. I also work from home as a social media manager for several large brands and I have reports and other things due almost daily. With the stressed out days of last year behind us, I am fully determined to get things in order. The Tornado would rather play video games, watch tv, and be under me all day. Of course, that is so not going to happen. I don’t have the strength to allow her to lead her education in full as of yet because I don’t believe she is capable of making those decisions… at least not yet. In other words, unschooling is not an option in our home.

At any rate, things took a turn for the better after I decided to change-up our schedule and do some of the more fun things earlier in the day. Being flexible although stern is something that I am learning but have yet to master. I have mastered, however, the art of revision. Having the sense to know when something is not working is half the battle. With that in mind, we made a few revisions to our first version of the curriculum and I wanted to update our progress so far:

Please note that when possible we use affiliate links because Momma’s gotta make money! If you choose to buy any of the resources here, please do so by clicking through using our links…. Thanks a bunch!

Phonics (Reading)

  • Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (TYC) – 5    3x/week; main coursework- We’ve cut back to make room for All About Spelling.
  • Explode the Code (ETC) – 3x/week; We do one letter sound a day, roughly about 12 pages. We have completed Book A and are about half-way through book B. She loves this and we have paired it up with TYC and Progressive Phonics.
  • NEW: All About Spelling- 5x/week; We love this. It is fun simple and is helping so much!
  • Progressive Phonics: For everything! Completely free and full of phonics goodness. The Tornado loves these books so we have added this to the regular rotation. She is completely through Book 1 and almost done with Book 2.

Supplements used on occasion:

  • Various Early Reader Books
  • Jumpstart.com - Subscription based service that provides a plethora of learning games.
  • Your Baby Can Read – really good books, flashcards, and video supplements. We will use the books and flashcards for on the go sight word practice.  We’ve decided to only use these if we have to and only after all work has been completed.
  • Starfall.com – free site that we will use when I need to work. The Tornado does not like this at all! She is bored with the games.

Literature

  • Calvert: We have the Calvert Curriculum for Pre-K but it has a lot of good material for literature. We will use this as our primary curriculum.
  • LibriVox: Free Audiobooks (recordings of books in the Public Domain)
  • Various Read-alouds

Handwriting

  • HWT K – “Letters and Numbers For Me”: 5x/week Mya has known how to write her letters since she was 2 but she needs a lot of help with writing neater in between lines. We are going to use HWT because it seems like it is the best program. We also already have the chalkboard thanks to my sister-in-law who is a Teacher’s Assistant. This is a necessary evil. The Tornado is not really a fan of the work book stuff, but she loves copy-work on the 2-lined paper. We are plowing through it because it really is helping, but it’s not fun and unfortunately, it’s filled with tears because she is a perfectionist.

Supplements used on occasion (List remains the same)

Math

  • NEW: Mathematics Enhancement Programme (Year: Reception)- 5x/week: It was so difficult to choose a math curriculum but when I came across this program, I instantly fell in love. It is free and provides full lessons and worksheets for all grades. The Tornado enjoys it and I think it’s building a good foundation. We started with the Reception year are blasting through it and hope to start Year 1 in January.
  • RightStart Math A – 3-4x/week. $45 for the lesson book and $5 for the worksheet book.  No need to by the kit since we have most of the manipulative and/or can buy from teaching store.  Will give an outline for what must be accomplished and will tailor lessons based on strong/weak points.
  • Singapore EarlyBird – 1-2x/week. Textbook A & B $22 ea.  Activity book A & B $16.50 ea. Highly rated homeschooling resource that again can offer backbone outline and lesson plan.

Supplements used on occasion  (List remains the same)

Math Reading Books (List remains the same)

Science

  • NEW: GeoCaching: geeky treasure hunts
  • Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2spacer  by Bernard J Nebel – 1-2x a week. Offers an organized sampling of the many different areas of Science.
  • Mudpies to Magnets: A Preschool Science Curriculumspacer
  • More Mudpies to Magnets: Science for Young Childrenspacer
  • Everybody Has a Body: Science from Head to Toespacer
  • Science Discovery- 1-2x a week. Free Web Based Pre-K and Kindergarten Science Lessons.
  • Nature Walks

Supplements used on occasion

  • Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences (Bright Ideas for Learning)spacer , by MaryAnn F. Kohl.  $12.89 great lesson ideas that teach art and science at the same time.
  • Activities for Kids free web site that provides Kindergarten Science Activities
  • Educational Toy Factory another free web site that offers Kindergarten Science Projects.

Logic

  • Lollipop Logic: Critical Thinking Activities, 1x a week. $10.36. Worksheets and activities that focus on 7 different thinking skills
  • Early Learning Skills (Master Skills)spacer - 1x a week. $6.95 Workbook that used to strengthen thinking skills
  • Virtual Perceptual Skill Building Book 1, 1x a week. $25.

History

  • Kindergarten Prehistory by Raising Science – this is a $6 curriculum that guides us through what The Tornado will need to know before we delve into history.
  • Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History

Physical Education

  • Nature Walks and Scavenger Hunts
  • Swimming (Seasonal)
  • Sports Skills and Gymnastics @  The Little Gym
  • Bike Riding
  • Zumba and other dance classes
  • Wii Active Life Outdoor Challenge
  • Wii Dance Dance Revolution
  • Wii EA Active and More EA Active
  • Wii Michael Jackson: the Experience

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Filed Under: Kindergarten 2011 -2012 Tagged With: curriculum, kindergarten, teaching. homeschooling

Comments

  1. spacer shelli : mama of letters says:
    September 26, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    This is great, Kristina! You are really paying attention to what your daughter likes/dislikes. I see a few things I’m going to click on too! Still looking for a good math curriculum for my 5yo.

    Reply
    • spacer Kristina Brooke says:
      September 26, 2011 at 6:15 pm

      Thanks so much Shelli. We have to revise as we go along, right! Let me know how you like the MEP if you try it! I am curious if others will enjoy it as much as we do.

      Reply

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