New to homeschooling -need advice for Kindergarten curriculum?

Question

I have an advanced almost 5 yr old and I am considering homeschooling. He can write his name,last name, started reading , count to 30 ,easy additions , etc. He is very much visual learner . I was googling and found CLASS {Christian Liberty Academy } My son will start homeschooling for the first time this year and I would like to know if this is a good program. I heard about k12.com that is very good too . I would prefer something Christian , but it's ok if it is secular , as I can suplement the Christian teaching from Bible and other books.

Answer 1

Tex... you are crazy to say that "most" HS kids end up in public or private institutions if you are talking about K-12.  College is a "Give-me" on that as MOST HS kids go on to "higher education" (meaning college in my neck of the woods)

Dear question asker:

I will give you the opposite of what you asked for.  I will steer you away from a product (even though WE LOVE IT)  We used Horizons from AOP for Phonics K and Math K.  For a normal child who needs some repitition  and thrives on the "spacing-effect" these are fine.  But for gifted children you would litterally be skipping pages becuase one concept is taught VERY slowly and repeated SO often that even us "normal" people end up crossing out half the problems assigned for one day.   We will stick with this program for 1st grade because it is a GREAT confidence builder for one of my VERY emotional children but will start to look for others (Rod and Staff most likely) as we get older and master our skills.

I DO recommend Rod and Staff ( christian) because of HOW advanced and non-gimicky it is....

Answer 2

I teach in a public school, but I know many parents prefer to homeschool. Be sure to check out local homeschool associations. They can give you insight and networks of resources for your children. In addition, as kids get older, it sometimes helps to pool resources with another adult. If you truly think your child is gifted, then the conventional curriculum available for homeschool may not be challenging enough. Schools are required to give gifted kids access to such programs and some districts even write IEP's to make sure that gifted students get the support they require. One thing I would suggest as well, since most homeschooled kids end up in a regular private or public school, please be sure that when you teach your child to read that you teach context and not just  vocabulary. I have had many students come into my class after several years at home and they read beautifully, but they don't comprehend. Writing is also very important. Don't allow your child to just do computer generated work, insist that they write as often as possible. Texas tests for this in TAKS tests. Other states do as well.  Many kids who have used such computer based programs only scratch the surface of subjects. Also, seek out programs at museums, galleries, and such. There are many opportunities out there for the parent who wants to take on the challenge, and there's a great deal of support as well. Good luck!

Answer 3

I found that A- Beka books have a great homeschooling program... you can find them on-line

Answer 4

Check into the Robinson Curriculum at www.robinsoncurriculum.com

We have used it for 10+ years.  It is a self-teaching program.

The early years are spent on the basics:  Phonics for reading, handwriting practice and flashcards for math-facts.  When the child has all of the above mastered he is ready to begin Saxon 54 for math (4th thru 5th grade level).

The parent teaches the phonics, writing skills and original math facts and the student progresses into a natural method of learning.

It was put together by a Christian family; six children and their father after the mother passed away from a sudden illness.  The children were 12 and younger.  Now they are all either in college or beyond.  They learned by self-teaching under the supervision and encouragement of their father.

It really is a great plan of education. It allows each child to learn at an individual pace and interest level.  I know many people that use the Robinson Curriculum and can help you to meet many of them.  There is a yahoo group specifically designed for christian families that use the curriculum --- everyone is welcome to join and learn whether christian or not.

Answer 5

I use k12 for my K and soon to be 2nd grader.  I love the program...and so do they.  From what I have read about the higher levels...it is very unbiased.  So inserting your own Christian view point is easy.  I just do it when we read stories...we tend to figure out the moral or whathaveyou and apply it to Gospel Teachings.

Answer 6

My Mom homeschooled all five of her children through Abekka, it's a good Christian homeschooling program. All my friends did it as well! Up untill a few years ago we have made the big switch to CCA (Comwealth Connections Academy) Which is an online cyber school, it isn't Christian sadly =[

I would recomend Abekka!

Answer 7

It's paperwork intensive so that you have to send work back and forth.  Most homeschoolers that use it stop after a year or two because they want more freedom of choice. It is a good program.

I like Hewitt really well. They have K-2 full curriculum programs that are nice.  Here's a link to the 1st grade.  You may want to try that if your child is already reading.

http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/...

Homeschoolers are very individual.  Some want a textbook for every subject.  Some like unit studies. Some want a full service program like CLASS that takes all the record keeping  responcibility away from them.

If you like textbooks, I would look at ABEKA.

http://www.abeka.com/

Abeka is an accelerated curiculum, so you would want kindergarten to start.  I like some of the books, but don't like others. You will just have to look for yourself.

Another good suggestion is to simply go to your local barnes and nobel bookstore and look at the McGraw Hill spectrum workbooks or other workbook programs. That has the advantage of picking and choosing what book you want for each subject, and you get to look it over before you purchase.  I like Barnes/Nobel because they give a teacher's discount to homeschoolers, and they are good about ordering what you want.

Another favorite company of mine is Timberdoodle.  It is a different kind of products than schools use.  But I love them. The Body Book is great. And my son loved the Pathway readers.

http://timberdoodle.com/

Timberdoodle believes in hands on learning.

Answer 8

I have used Abeka for my older daughter and she loves it. We do not use them for math though, I make most of the math curric. myself (she is second grade now) My little one is starting K this year, and I plan on doing the same. Also, making use of the library often. At this age, I think reading a bunch of different books is the best thing. We have family story time at our library that my younger one loves...while the older one searches for new books.

Answer 9

i think class is better then k12

Answer 10

I also am considering homeschooling my daughter and have found that the K12 program seems like a great option.  In the state where I live there is a a virtual academy which is connected to the public school system so that everything is free of charge - all the texts and other materials, plus a computer, printer, and internet access.  I think this combines the best of both worlds and still allows for flexibility and creativity for your child, but keeps them on a stricter schedule and makes sure they are up to the standards, plus you always have the help of a certified teacher, which I find to be a great resource!

Answer 11

I have a 2nd grade son (cognitively gifted) who I began homeschooling shortly after the start of his 1st grade year.  I would highly recommend Christian Liberty Press; it is excellent and affordable.  They have phonics workbooks called "Adventures in Phonics" for Kindergarten through 2nd grade.  There is nothing fancy about the workbooks, but they definitely do the job.  They also have kindergarten phonics readers with diverse characters and phonetically controlled stories; my son enjoyed these immensely.

Shortly before I began homeschooling my son, I tried "public school at home" via a virtual school that used K12 curriculum.  K12 curriculum did not work for my son; he complained of boredom.  I, myself, found the texts to be extremely dry.  

Following are some other recommendations:

Time4Learning.com (affordable online home education program)

What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know (can purchase used off amazon.com)

Classic Children's Literature (local library)

Singapore Math

Abeka

Also, I own/moderate an online Christian resource/support group in which I have links for free/low cost homeschooling resources.  Currently, there are over 130 links; please see below:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christianh...

To join the group and remain an active member, it is necessary for members to post at least a couple of times per month.  Also, if you can share links to resources/articles, that would be great too.  

I hope this is helpful.

Answer 12

To Texastru - I don't know where you get your stats, but most home schooled kids do not end up in the school system.  Indeed, many gifted kids are removed from the system because their needs are not adequately met.

Answer 13

I'm part of the Konos Yahoo! Group, and most of the people on there have suggested I not jump head over heels in with a particular curriculum for a kindergartener at all, just work through the basics with him (my youngest is also fairly advanced, and is about that age).  Because you're homeschooling, you have the benefit of taking things at a pace that is good for your son and for your family, not the typical public or private school system.

I do plan to look into using Konos, though, because my son does well with a variety of learning styles, particularly visual and kinesthetic.  It's a Christian unit based curriculum, and is based around various character traits (Obedience, Attentiveness, Orderliness, Honor, Trust, Stewardship, Patience, Inquisitiveness, Responsibility, Generosity, Courage, Wisdom, Loyalty, Cooperation, Determination, Honesty, Self-Control, Resourcefulness, Joy/Cheerfulness -- over the course of three different volumes).  You pick and choose which unit you want to work on and spend a certain amount of time on it, then move on to something else.

It is Christian-based, and I do know the family who started it all.  No person, method, curriciulum or anything else is perfect, so that's not what I'm saying.  But I can vouch for the spirit and godliness of the original authors and founders.

There are some subjects not included, so you'd need to supplement those.  I can't remember offhand what they are, though.

Look into a homeschool group or a co-op in your area to draw support and ideas from.  DON'T allow your son to spend his time on the computer or the couch all day doing schoolwork, take advantage of the fact that you have the freedom to teach him OUTSIDE the classroom.  Use the library, the museum, the park, everything at your disposal to teach him in ways he's just not giong to be able to get in a standard classroom.