Various Afterschooling Materials

[mommatlaw]

Good morning! Have any of you worked with Rocket Phonics, the "Games For" series, Family Math or materials sold by the Critical Thinking Co.? As you can see, I'm all over the place. I'm just getting started, and I was thinking about planning for a different topic each day (math/counting, reading/phonics, writing, etc.). I'm also planning to read to her from SOTW. Realistically, I have about one hour each evening to spend on afterschooling with my DD (turning 5). My DD's attention span is brief and she is wary of sitting down in front of workbook pages, so I hope to keep it fun and somewhat unstructured (at the advice of ladies of the WTM). We are just getting our feet wet. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Michele:)

[Kathy in MD]

variations of that on a computer. Some of their programs are more like computer games, though.

Personally, at that age I'd stick mostly to games, nature walks or read alouds. The one exception is that I'd make sure her pencil grip was correct. In large classrooms, that's sometimes missed. If the school wasn't teaching phonics, then I'd also teach that. Otherwise I'd just let her practice them when we were reading a book together.

When you do read aloud, don't do what my dh and I did. We'd read right through to the end without stopping for discussion or questions. Do stop and think out loud about what you've just read. Do ask for your child's thoughts. Let her read the occassional line or paragraph if the book is simple enough.

There are lots of games you can do at that age to reinforce school, but I wouldn't let her know that at age 5. Our favorite was Jr. Monopoly - Dinosaurs. Ds learned about money (bills) and dinosaurs. We also made a number line so ds would figure out payments and make change. To work on speed and logical thinking, try the card game SET. Jr Rush Hour would also work with logical thinking. Check out a lot of the junior version of logic games for the 8 and up crowd.

I'd also do a lot of nature walks at that age and teach her how to observe the world around her. Have her keep a nature journal with pictures and some words if you want to practice writing. Sharing Nature with Children is one good book to go to for ideas. Also check out local nature centers for special programs.

This would also be a good time to start teaching her how to cook. Teach her about about fractions as she get's a half cup of flour for you. Teach her about how heat changes things as you fry an egg or disolve sugar in water.

At that age you don't want to bog her down with "school". She's been there already. What you do want is to give her fun time with you and daddy.

[Claire]

Were you planning on spending an hour at a time? The attention span of a 5yo would more typically be 10 to 20 minutes at a time. I'd probably start with just one topic for 20 minutes and see how it goes. If at all possible, I would feed her a snack and have her do some physical exercise to rest, refresh, and blow off steam before sitting down to do some after-schooling. If she does really well with the 20 minutes at a time, then you could consider adding in another activity (perhaps 2 activities 15 minutes each). I really think planning on 60 minutes with a 5yo could be frustrating for both of you. You can always build up to that gradually, though, if she is having fun.

[mommatlaw]

I really appreciate the feedback. I'm going to take a step back (and put some of the workbook materials I've purchased on the shelf). We have plenty of time in the future for structure, and (as you suggested) she really doesn't have the attention span for it. We do our afterschooling before bedtime, so she has had time for relaxing (a little tv, I admit it), dinner and a bath. It is a long day. A few kisses for Daddy, and we're off to her room. I'm going to aim for more playful activities. I do think we need to incorporate phonics now, but we can do that in 10-20 minute or so sessions. I love the idea of cooking as a learning activity - she would love to help me in the kitchen!

Michele:)

[skimerinkydo]

Definately keeping it fun and games... I use some family math ideas...many of their ideas are playful. Some other books I like are math games and writing games by peggy kaye. You could pick some games you think your daughter would like, write them on slips of paper and put them in a jar. When you have some time, have her pull one out and play.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

If I were afterschooling a K child here is what I would do:

Explode the Code, 2 pages daily
Singapore Earlybird Math, 2 pages daily

Read Aloud from books such as:
Burgess Bird Book
Little House On the Prairie series
Winnie The Pooh (not disney! :D )
The Blue Fairy Book

[AuntPol]

When I afterschooled my dd in Kindergarten (full day), I used FIAR afterschool. I did some math games on weekends and read aloud a lot and let her read whatever she wanted.