Homeschool World Forum

[Mom2Princesses]

Hi all,

I have a few questions about homeschooling just for Kindergarten (in Michigan). I hope you all can help me.

If I choose to homeschool Paige for her first year of Kindergarten, where can I get my hands on some sort of curriculum? Is that something, in your experience, you can obtain readily from the local public schools? Also, if I follow that curriculum, does she have to test out or something in order to go to 1st grade? (I don't think I would send her to 1st after homeschooling her for K, I would probably send her to public K...but, I thought I would ask just so I know).

Thanks!

[Lily]

So you want to do kindergarten twice?

I wouldn't suggest any curriculum, just a lot of enriching activities and following her lead at this age. There's plenty of time for bookwork and formal learning later.

If anything, I would suggest Enki or Oak Meadow for such a tender age.
_________________
"The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist."
- M. Montessori
Proud non-member of the HSLDA

[Ramona]

Honest to goodness, I base our K "curriculum" around the Little Golden Book We Like Kindergarten by Clara Cassidy.

We say hello and talk about the day. We take care of other people, animals or plants. We play with dough. We play instruments and sing. We paint and draw. We run and exercise. We have snacks and naps. Mommy reads aloud. We dance and display our work. We pretend a lot.

Ramona

[Mom2Princesses]

[WWMama]

Sounds good, and is a lot like what we do. What in the world else do young kids need to know? I think there are a lot of kids that are in public school that are so bogged down by being able to identify a certain shape or make their letter a certain way or identify a certain town on a map that they miss the stuff they really need to figure out...like taking care of their pet cat. I would say at this point, and what we have chosen to do, is let the kids be kids. There is so much to be learned in everyday life at this point without having to worry about curriculum!

Good luck and have fun!
_________________
Peace:
It does not meant to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

[Theodore]

Nothing wrong with introducing letters and numbers in kindergarten. It's preparation for phonics and basic math instruction in first grade. Shapes? Circle, square, and triangle aren't difficult. Geography? That should definitely wait until a later time.
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[WWMama]

I agree, I was just referring to the school district here that has kindegarteners "needing" to identify a rhombus, make their letters in a ridiculously perfect way, and other such things I thought were a little strict for a five year old. Didn't mean to imply that numbers, letters, and basic shapes weren't important.
_________________
Peace:
It does not meant to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

[Ophelia]

[WWMama]

Don't feel bad...I had to look it up too!
_________________
Peace:
It does not meant to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.