This year my oldest son, Wyatt, will be starting kindergarten. I will be using a different curriculum for him than I used for my daughter when she was in kindergarten. Over the years we have tried a few different home school curriculums. I have found that mixing and matching a few different resources are what work best for us. My goal is to complete 3 days of schoolwork with him each week possibly four days if he is interested. For our fifth day of school, we enjoy a fun day. This might look like a venture out for a field trip. A holiday party depending on the time of year, run errands as a family or attend scheduled appointments. My main focus is to get him into the rhythm of doing school more than forcing him to complete lessons every day as my state requires attendance and records to be kept beginning in first grade. Curious about what our home-schooled kindergartener is learning this year? Then please keep reading.
Bible & Character Building
After breakfast we begin each day with reading a chapter from the Bible. Followed by reading a few pages from with Christian Heroes for Younger Readers by Renee Taft Meloche or reading a Teach Me to Be Good book by Joy Berry. We then recite our monthly memory verse together as well as go around and have everyone share something they are thankful for. We end with prayer.
My boys ages 5, 4, and 3 years old may not always sit still during this time. If they need to wiggle around while I read that is fine as boys learn better this way. They may not however bother each other and get too rowdy. I do require that they participate in quoting scripture as I use hand motions to make this fun for them. I also require them to share what they are thankful for each day even if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the repeated response I get 🙂
Handwriting
We are using The Good and The Beautiful Handwriting Level K this year. As long as he completes one page every day, and at least attempts to follow the instructions then I am pleased.
Language Arts
In addition to using The Good and The Beautiful Language Arts Course Set I will also be using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. Wyatt has been showing signs that he is ready to learn to read such as asking what words say, can he “read” certain parts of a book to me, or putting letters together and asking what they spell. I used this book with my daughter and had great success. I am hoping it works for Wyatt as well, but if not then we will try another approach.
Math
The Good and The Beautiful Math K Course Set is what we will be using this year. I am planning on having him complete two maybe three lessons a week depending on his interest level.
Read Aloud
Every day after lunch and clean up we sit together as I read aloud from a chapter book we are working through. This year we will be reading through The Growly Books by Philip and Erin Ulrich. I usually aim for one chapter a day, but we may read more or less depending on how the kids are behaving. For some read aloud ideas read my post on Fun Read Alouds for Kids Ages 10 and Under.
Loop Activities
I am more structured with loop activities for my daughter, Olivia, who is in 2nd grade than the boys. However, if Wyatt, Luc, or Asher want to participate in either Health, Nature Study, Arts or Handicraft then I let them. I always plan on them to participate, and have the supplies necessary on hand, but don’t require them too. Loop activities for the boys may involve playing with playdoh, coloring or painting. Working on a KiwiCo crate. Digging in the dirt, going on a nature walk. Playing on a playground, visiting the Zoo or Aquarium, etc.
What are you teaching your home-schooled kindergartener this year? Share with us what you are working though in the comments.
Leave a Reply