New here and trying ot figure out the curriculum for this year...

[sarahberry]

Hello Everyone,

My son will be five next month and I am trying to decide on a way to go with him in his schooling. He has already finished Calvert schools k-2 grades but Calvert really wasn't working well with ds's style. We have for sure decided on Singapore math. We had done Saxon in the past but it was boring for ds and he didn't need repitition. I am seriously considering using Sonlight's core 1 with second grade intermediate readers and Language arts even though ds reads far above that level on his own. I am also thinking to try Sonlight's science 1 as well. Then for the second half of the year, since we homeschool nearly everyday of the year (or else I would lose my sanity), I was planning to start core 2 with second grade advanced readers and science 2. He is also studying Arabic right now and I am thinking about starting him with Latin in the fall.

I am curious as to what others are doing with their five year olds. My ds has no problems with writing and can write in both print and cursive (though I think his cursive is better than print because he finds it easier and faster to get it out than print). He learns so quickly (should read absorbs and applies instantly) that it is difficult to keep him from becoming bored and driving me nutters. He is a child that definitely needs to moved forward while concurrently going deeper with subjects we have already covered. He started reading with phonics last August and now reads on at least a fifth grade level.

I truly feel that to keep sanity in my house I need to keep him busy all day long. So far no matter what I give him and I think the academic load he has been taking on over the past few months has been what the average ps school child accumulates in about 2-3 years of schooling with a whole lot more depth and understanding...not to mention the application! This is really difficult for me to accomodate and he is my first of four children so having other children to work with and meets the needs of makes it just that much harder really. He is mature enough to handle topics at a higher level so I am not concerned with maturity issues.

I would really appreciate any constructive advice and support.

Thanks,

Sarah :)

[elizabeth]

Story of the World by our board host Susan Wise Bauer is an excellent history source. You cannot go wrong with The Well Trained Mind for suggestions for every subject and the book lists are amazing. Frankly her book convinced dh that hsing was the correct course for our highly accelerated learner who is still a precocious reader. If you have 4 children the book is a goldmine and will be a great investment. Have fun-I love designing schedules, selecting books, writing lesson plans etc can you tell I love hsing???

[JenneinAZ]

You are trying to keep him busy *all day long*???? With 3 other younger kids in the house????

I am amazed that you have any sanity left at all.

I don't know what to tell you. I can't keep my kids busy like that. They would love it if I did, but it just isn't possible for me to do. I would be dealing with burnout in the extreme. Have you thought about getting him involved in some sort of music class or an art class or chess or something, anything that he can do and practice for as long as he wants?

My oldest (dd 9) reads books, draws pictures or practices recorder to fill the time when I am unavailable. My middle (ds 7) sometimes reads, sometimes works on his piano, sometimes plays legos or knex. My little guy (ds will be 4 next month) plays legos and knex and tries to get one of the older kids to play with him.

All of them have learned how to entertain themselves and find something to do that doesn't require my attention. I wish you the best of luck.

[sarahberry]

Sometimes I wonder if I am still sane! LOL :P

He does entertain himself but he also always wants more and more and more new information. I am glad that I had decided to homeschool well before having children because I have amassed a very large in-home library that is still growing. We literally have one of the bedrooms filled with wal to wall bookshelves and somewhat overflowing now. That really helps a lot though it is a pain to reshelve and shift!

DS is into art so he does this a lot throughout the day as well as reading. My big thing is that when I do work with him I always feel that no matter what we start studying that he is often 20 steps ahead of me and somehow has already accumulated the knowledge of what I am about to share with him. In the times when something is actually new he masters it in minutes. I never though I would ever feel like a nearly five year old child is more brilliant than I am but I have only found him stumping me and correcting my errors twenty times a day. It is annoying but he is right when he points out an error. Then again even though I am above average he is on a plane well above that and the way he thinks and processes and the way I think and process is so very different that I don't always get it.

Right now while we are trying to figure out more materials for him to devour I am doing read alouds with him (currently the orignial unabridged version of Pinnochio), Handwriting/copywork, Sinapore math, draw 1-2-3 art series, arabic, Having him read books to me, Core skills language arts 2 (which is not at all a challenge to him), and we are doing Islamic studies as part of our social studies. This is actually light at the moment because we are preparing for guests and a few other things that popped up.

I had thought about the Story of the World but after reading the reviews on Amazon that were not good reviews I decided maybe not to get this. There are amny who seem to suggest that Ms. Bauer's book is not fully accurate...? Someone reccomended a Child's History of the World as being better so I am in the processing of finding out more about this.

I don't have a problem planning my curriculum and doing lesson plans but finding materials for ds is a challenge. With my two year olds I am starting the ABC book series from Rod and Staff publications along with read alouds form both Sonlight and GBA. The baby sits in on everything and is particularly enjoying the reading of pinnochio...really he is more attentive and eager at 2 months to hear all the literature being read in our house than ever our first child! In some ways all the chldren are benefitting from each other's programs...most especially since there is a lot of reading outloud goign on in our home and thus a lot of stimulation fo rthe younger ones.

[Mommy22alyns]

Wow!! It probably wouldn't help too much for me to tell you what I plan to do with Becca since your DS has zipped way past that. :) Serious props to you in any event - I'm trying to figure out how I'll maintain my sanity hs'ing Becca with only one younger sibling!

[nmoira]

We have for sure decided on Singapore math.I'd highly recommend using the Intensive Practice workbooks and CWP. We also supplement with Primary Challenge Math (http://www.challengemath.com). For most topics, DD only does the IP problems. They are more challenging and engaging for bright kids than those in the Primary Maths workbooks.

I am seriously considering using Sonlight's core 1 with second grade intermediate readers and Language arts even though ds reads far above that level on his own. I am also thinking to try Sonlight's science 1 as well. Then for the second half of the year, since we homeschool nearly everyday of the year (or else I would lose my sanity), I was planning to start core 2 with second grade advanced readers and science 2. He is also studying Arabic right now and I am thinking about starting him with Latin in the fall.I evaluate 6yo's DD's needs on a subject by subject basis, preferring those curricula with built in flexibility. With History, we've chosen History Odyssey (http://www.pandiapress.com) and supplement heavily with advanced read alouds (I try to swing at least one novel of historical fiction per lesson). You can see some of our other subjects in my sig, though we keep days short, so some things are out of rotation. The Michael Clay Thompson LA materials in particular were a great find for us. I suspect that most k-3 curricula will quickly become boring to your son for lack of depth. Being able to race through elementary material may be fun or fill up time, but if there's no challenge other than the speed he may never learn perseverance.

DS is into art so he does this a lot throughout the day as well as reading. My big thing is that when I do work with him I always feel that no matter what we start studying that he is often 20 steps ahead of me and somehow has already accumulated the knowledge of what I am about to share with him.It may help to view yourself as a facilitator rather than a teacher. :)

Core skills language arts 2 (which is not at all a challenge to him)I know you're looking for ways to fill his time, but IMHO if it's not challenging at all, he shouldn't be working at that level. It's a waste of time.

I had thought about the Story of the World but after reading the reviews on Amazon that were not good reviews I decided maybe not to get this. There are amny who seem to suggest that Ms. Bauer's book is not fully accurate...? Someone reccomended a Child's History of the World as being better so I am in the processing of finding out more about this.This is a common assertion. SOTW is no worse than any other young children's history, and in many ways considerably better. There was one error in the first volume I made BIG deal of when covering it with DD (Native Americans did not have wheat -- this is a big deal because Europe's having wheat, a good agricultural source of protein, was one of the key factors in its development). SWB does not suggest that you use only SOTW; it's healthy to get different viewpoints, and to learn to critical question the idea of what "facts" are.

[nmoira]

Oh, I forgot... Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths, Horrible Science and Horrible anythings (http://www.horriblebooks.com) are a lifesaver. They will eat up hours of your son's time.

[sarahberry]

Core skills language arts 2 (which is not at all a challenge to him)
I know you're looking for ways to fill his time, but IMHO if it's not challenging at all, he shouldn't be working at that level. It's a waste of time.

Well, I don't disagree with you but I need to know where to start with him and what he does and does not know so as not to miss anything.

Thansk for the other info as it is helpful. This year will have to be a little more pre-packaged, unfortunately since I really have my handsfull with two two year olds nad a baby!

[sarahberry]

Thanks! I checked out the links that you have for what you are doing with your children. The Latin program looks very good, the history looks like it may be a better fit for us than sonlight, and the MCT site also looks worth exploring some more time with.

[Cadam]

The book lists in WTM are great. Along with everything else just keep throwing books at him. For many kids the sheer volume of the lists would be to much but I bet your ds could handle them and then you and he could talk about the books while you were doing more of the hands on care of the younger kids.

It sounds like you are doing a great job. mine is no where near that advanced and she is very challenging so my hat is off to you. It is tough to give them what they need and it sounds like you are doing well.

[triadofchaos]

if he is really interested in art also, I would suggest checking out Art Adventures at Home. It comes in 3 levels and has much more advanced art lessons than most material for younger kids. It teaches about basic art concepts, different media and has good quality projects. We've gotten a great deal out of it here. Art in Story is also another good one and ties art into history really well- that one I was able to find at my public library.

[Karin]

Another idea for art at home that is multilevel and fairly independent is that sold by Masterpiece Art Instruction at http://www.teachartathome.com For children with a strong natural ability in this area you shouldn't need to teach anything more than how to avoid making a mess.

Lots of reading is good, perhaps something independent, too, if that works, because you still need time for your other three! Are you doing any Latin? You may wish to find a video/DVD taught one. We have done this with Latin Primer, but there are some others that do this. Or some other foreign language.