Homeschool Chat Part III

[Happyinwonerland]

We started our sonlight pre-k this week and I am astonished at how little time it takes up. It takes us maybe 30 minutes to get through it. We also have reading eggs that we do every other day and she likes workbooks so we spend about 15 minutes on some workbooks I found at Target, but wow, it isn't much time at all. What do kids in public pre-k spend their time on all day? I feel like I must not be doing enough for her education but I really don't know what to add. It was my understanding that Sonlight was a complete cirriculum. We will be adding Handwriting Without Tears in January, so that will add some time to our day. But most of the day is free for her to play/do art/ and run out and about.

Does that sound reasonable for a 4 year old? We are not experienced homeschoolers and I really don't want t mess this up!

 

[quandrea]

That sou

We started our sonlight pre-k this week and I am astonished at how little time it takes up. It takes us maybe 30 minutes to get through it. We also have reading eggs that we do every other day and she likes workbooks so we spend about 15 minutes on some workbooks I found at Target, but wow, it isn't much time at all. What do kids in public pre-k spend their time on all day? I feel like I must not be doing enough for her education but I really don't know what to add. It was my understanding that Sonlight was a complete cirriculum. We will be adding Handwriting Without Tears in January, so that will add some time to our day. But most of the day is free for her to play/do art/ and run out and about.

Does that sound reasonable for a 4 year old? We are not experienced homeschoolers and I really don't want t mess this up![/QUOTE
That sounds about right. I'd add some more reading. I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It's a simplified version of the Reading Mastery program. Reading Mastery is excellent for reading to grade five if you are willing to invest in it.

 

[stobaugh6]

We started our sonlight pre-k this week and I am astonished at how little time it takes up. It takes us maybe 30 minutes to get through it. We also have reading eggs that we do every other day and she likes workbooks so we spend about 15 minutes on some workbooks I found at Target, but wow, it isn't much time at all. What do kids in public pre-k spend their time on all day? I feel like I must not be doing enough for her education but I really don't know what to add. It was my understanding that Sonlight was a complete cirriculum. We will be adding Handwriting Without Tears in January, so that will add some time to our day. But most of the day is free for her to play/do art/ and run out and about.

Does that sound reasonable for a 4 year old? We are not experienced homeschoolers and I really don't want t mess this up!

That sounds very reasonable. My youngest of 7 children is doing pre-k this year and it takes about 30 minutes. If you want to add more, I would suggest nature walks and craft activities. Have fun!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

That sounds very reasonable. My youngest of 7 children is doing pre-k this year and it takes about 30 minutes. If you want to add more, I would suggest nature walks and craft activities. Have fun!

Thanks. We do go on outings every day, whether for a walk around the neighborhood or to story time at the library or the children's museum or the zoo. She also goes to dance, tumbling, soccer, and a homeschool co-op once per week.

It just seems weird that the actual cirriculum takes up so little time. Conventional school pre-k students spend 6 hours a day 3-5 days a week in a classroom learning environment. I don't want DD to get short ended on the learning. But I guess all of our activities count as learning too, just in a different way.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Have any of you ever done any of the big homeschool trips? I've found a fee companies that seem to offer them. Some of the classes they offer are very interesting. I was thinking maybe when DD is 6 or so we might give some of it a try.
Are they truly educational experiences or just a chance to get cheap disney tix?

 

[Honeybee83]

Hi there! I also from the Houston area. What part of Houston are you from? I'm familiar with most of the groups and co-ops on the northeast (humble/Kingwood) and northwest (Katy, cypress, jersey village, The Woodlands). I've been homeschooling 15 years. We just started our 16th year. My oldest is in college and my youngest is only 3. I have a 1st, 3rd, 6th, 10th, and 12th grader as well. We use Sonlight and Teaching Textbooks, along with some other stuff mixed in. Lol! After 15 years, I've used most curriculums at least once over the years. A Beka is a very solid program. Feel free to private message me if you'd like information on local groups and activities. And welcome to homeschooling!

Heather

Hi Heather! I am from the Northeast/Kingwood area. We just joined the HEART group and I'm excited to see what they offer. Do you ever participate in the field trips/activities offered? I work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (13 hour shifts) so My mom or husband would participate in activities on those days. My husband is a pilot so it just depends on his schedule as well, as far as who is free. Do you do any programs that meet weekly to help the kiddos build friendships?

Thanks so much for reaching out!

 

[Honeybee83]

Thanks. We do go on outings every day, whether for a walk around the neighborhood or to story time at the library or the children's museum or the zoo. She also goes to dance, tumbling, soccer, and a homeschool co-op once per week.

It just seems weird that the actual cirriculum takes up so little time. Conventional school pre-k students spend 6 hours a day 3-5 days a week in a classroom learning environment. I don't want DD to get short ended on the learning. But I guess all of our activities count as learning too, just in a different way.

When my mom started homeschooling us (and this was 20+ years ago) she had helped in each of our PS classrooms prior to pulling us to homeschool. She noticed that per subject, in each of our grades, only about 10 minutes was spent per subject on actual work. A lot of time was wasted. She also found that she was able to do our coursework in very short time by comparison to public school methods. I guess if it isn't broken don't try to fix it.

 

[Honeybee83]

We are planning a Disney trip in the fall of 2017. What are some ways that you have been able to incorporate learning into your trips without sacrificing the "vacation" aspect?

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We are planning a Disney trip in the fall of 2017. What are some ways that you have been able to incorporate learning into your trips without sacrificing the "vacation" aspect?

Have you looked into doing one of the big homeschool trips? They go every fall and the educational opportunities seem amazing. We've never been but I am looking forward to trying it out.

 

[Honeybee83]

Have you looked into doing one of the big homeschool trips? They go every fall and the educational opportunities seem amazing. We've never been but I am looking forward to trying it out.

I didn't know they did homeschool trips. Do you know when they go and where to find the info?

 

[jahber]

Thanks. We do go on outings every day, whether for a walk around the neighborhood or to story time at the library or the children's museum or the zoo. She also goes to dance, tumbling, soccer, and a homeschool co-op once per week.

It just seems weird that the actual cirriculum takes up so little time. Conventional school pre-k students spend 6 hours a day 3-5 days a week in a classroom learning environment. I don't want DD to get short ended on the learning. But I guess all of our activities count as learning too, just in a different way.

It's totally reasonable for a pre-k kiddo to finish in an hour, total. That's plenty for someone that age. The rest should be play and the activities you mentioned. We typically add about an hour a day (maybe 45 minutes) per school year, up to a max of maybe 5 hours through middle school. So, typically my fourth through 8th graders do 5ish hours of work a day. But that includes the time we read aloud, which is typically 30 minutes. Very often, it takes my kids less time if they are focused.
I'm a former classroom teacher, so I can attest to the fact that there is a great deal of time spent on non-curriculum-related activities. Attendance, collecting and passing out papers, switching classes, etc. And these can happen seven times a day when kids change classes. For littles, most of the school day *should* be spent in play, but it's not anymore in Florida. If your kiddo is learning a little every day or showing progress from week to week, you are doing great!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Have any of you used the Math -U-See curriculum? What age did you start? I've seen a lot of reviews that say they started with the primer in pre-k. I had intended to start with this next fall at age 5. DD however has shown great interest in math. I bought some $1 workbooks from target and her favorites are the math ones I purchased. I was thinking she might ready to start on the primer. I might just get it and try it out. If its above her level of skill then I'll put it away until next year.

 

[JoanneDisFan]

We did primer for k last year. We finished it in half the year. Then moved on to Singapore math 1a. I liked math used but wanted to try something different.

 

[OnlyDisney]

Have any of you used the Math -U-See curriculum? What age did you start? I've seen a lot of reviews that say they started with the primer in pre-k. I had intended to start with this next fall at age 5. DD however has shown great interest in math. I bought some $1 workbooks from target and her favorites are the math ones I purchased. I was thinking she might ready to start on the primer. I might just get it and try it out. If its above her level of skill then I'll put it away until next year.

I bought Math U See Primer a couple years ago, but my kids weren't that interested at the time. This year one kid is using Primer (she has dyslexia and this program is GREAT for her!) the other is using Beta. He's cruising through Beta. The online evaluation on the Math U See website gave conflicting results so we went with Beta instead of Gamma.

 

[jahber]

Have any of you used the Math -U-See curriculum? What age did you start? I've seen a lot of reviews that say they started with the primer in pre-k. I had intended to start with this next fall at age 5. DD however has shown great interest in math. I bought some $1 workbooks from target and her favorites are the math ones I purchased. I was thinking she might ready to start on the primer. I might just get it and try it out. If its above her level of skill then I'll put it away until next year.

We tried Math U See with my eldest daughter, but it isn't a good match for my goals in math. My kids work better with spiral instruction (where multiple concepts are reviewed regularly, as opposed to each lesson focusing on only one specific skill). There are other reasons too that apply to my specific kids, but it's always worth a try if you already own it. Start with the primer and do exactly what you suggested: if she takes to it, keep going. The primer is pretty easy, though. Most pre-k kids who have had some formal instruction should be just fine.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I am a little suprised to see the negative reviews of math u see, many of the reviews I read seemed to think highly of it.

What do you all prefer instead?

 

[Honeybee83]

We have a year before our next trip to Disney and my oldest is only 4. I'm trying to focus on classic literature and such that I can tie in when we go on our trip. I'm renting classic early readers from the library like Swiss family Robinson and the adventures of Tom Sawyer. I'm also watching the corresponding movies with her. I'm trying to have several of these covered before our trip so that when she goes to Tom Sawyer island, the Swiss family treehouse, etc we can tie it back into our lessons. I also wanted to do some early readers on the founding fathers/birth of our nation and do the hall of presidents and the American adventure.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[kohlby]

Have any of you used the Math -U-See curriculum? What age did you start? I've seen a lot of reviews that say they started with the primer in pre-k. I had intended to start with this next fall at age 5. DD however has shown great interest in math. I bought some $1 workbooks from target and her favorites are the math ones I purchased. I was thinking she might ready to start on the primer. I might just get it and try it out. If its above her level of skill then I'll put it away until next year.

We don't do any formal math until legal first grade age, so 6. My eldest started with MUS Alpha at the start of first grade and loved it. He got through Beta, Gamma, and half of Delta that same year! He did switch out of MUS part-way through Algebra I as it was no where near challenging enough for what he needed. But - the early levels gave him an excellent foundation for later on. (He does Art of Problem Solving).

My middle child started at the start of first grade with Alpha and really liked it. She liked Beta. She started not liking it half-way through Gamma, but refused to switch. It was half-way through Delta that she allowed me to switch her to Life of Fred. She loves Life of Fred and is now doing Advanced Algebra and LoF is still working well for her.

My youngest started out with me trying both LoF and MUS - since I now owned both. He didn't like LoF so he did MUS Alpha and Beta. But - he wasn't wanting to do math anymore. So, he some Life of Fred and enjoyed it. Then he did Beast Academy 3A and decided he liked LoF better. So, he's back in Life of Fred. However- we're hitting a point where I don't think it's explaining it in enough detail for him. So, I'm thinking about going back to MUS until he gets his basic multiplication facts down.

I had looked at MUS Primer at one point for my middle child - as she was the only one who would have accepted a worksheet at that age. But it didn't look necessary. I didn't want to spend the money on something not needed so we just waited until first grade and started with Alpha. She did want worksheets so I bought her a cheap book of them and then treated it like any other toy. It wasn't formal math but another toy she could play with it when she wanted. It worked out well for us.

 

[kohlby]

Have any of you ever done any of the big homeschool trips? I've found a fee companies that seem to offer them. Some of the classes they offer are very interesting. I was thinking maybe when DD is 6 or so we might give some of it a try.
Are they truly educational experiences or just a chance to get cheap disney tix?

I've done the Carolina Homeschooler one and will be doing it again this year. The educational program part is educational. But, the rest is just a normal Disney trip. They do allow you to sign up for more educational classes for a fee but we just do the one required one.

 

[Tinker06]

Hello everyone. I just saw this thread by chance. We are homeschoolers from Texas. I have two daughters (1st and 4th grade) We have been homeschooling for 3 years and love it. We also LOVE Disney and will be going back the second week in December.