Bear's Kindergarten Curriculum

It's finally happened.  All three girls are officially in school!  **Trying to not hyperventilate and reminding myself that I can do this.**  This year Bear enters Kindergarten and is so excited to be a "big girl" and take classes at the local home education program.  She is hilariously confident that she will rock Spanish class because she knows how to count to five and say "Hello" and "Help me!" from watching Go, Diego, Go! episodes.

Little Bear getting ready for Kindergarten.

Veteran homeschool parents, can you relate to this?  You find a program that works beautifully with your child, your family values, and your teaching style.  You say to yourself, "This is the best program ever!  I will keep everything in pristine condition because I will use this with each child coming down the line!  My days of searching for curriculum are over!"  And then a child comes along who doesn't work with that curriculum.  She freezes up and clenches her fists and tells you that it's too hard, when you know that she could read the page if only she would relax.  You find her in the playroom writing out her ABC's, but when asked to write a "F" on her worksheet makes wobbly lines and says that she can't write letters.  And then you find yourself back at square one and wondering what on earth are you going to do with that preserved curriculum on your supply shelf.  Please, somebody else tell me that they have been there.

That's where I was at last year.  It wasn't a big deal because it's only preschool and if she didn't do anything that would have been okay in the long run.  However, I was thinking the whole time, "What am I going to do with her next year?  Sonlight K is going to frustrate the two of us and leave us in tears."  My solution was not one that I would have foreseen, but I'm thrilled that I found it.  Bear did a free two week trial of Time4Learning, and suddenly she was making patterns, identifying letters, and begging to do lesson after lesson.  My husband and I signed her up and I had my answer.  She blew through the preschool program and completed the kindergarten program last week.  There are easy readers that you can print from the site and she loves to print up the books and read them to Daddy when he comes home.  I honestly don't know what it is about her personality that makes her a "computer learner," but that is what she is.  I do know that Time4Learning is a well thought out program, incorporating all the best practices that I was taught to use while pursuing a degree in education.  Phonics is approached from a variety of perspectives and every lesson closes with a summary of what was learned.  The first grade program includes a language arts extension that covers social studies and science topics while providing book lists for you to read aloud to your child and even some hands on activities.

I'm not as thrilled by the math program, and suspect that they hired different people to put it together.  I will use it as a supplement, but purchased Singapore's Earlybird A&B for Bear's math.  Hopefully with so much time on the computer, Bear won't balk at a couple workbook pages.

So that's it.  Reading, social studies, and science are all covered by Time4Learning, and then Singapore for math.  What more does a Kindergartener need?  Oh yes; extracurricular activities.  Bear will take Spanish and art classes, as well as participate in the Kindergarten club through our local home education program.  This program also does monthly field trips aimed at the K-1st set and we are looking forward to those.  As for PE, Bear will take swim lessons at the Y, goggles firmly affixed lest a drop of water get into her eyes, and I have yet to decide if she will do a ballet/tap class or beginning gymnastics.  It's going to be a very busy 36 weeks!  ("Thirty-six weeks" sounds more managable than "school year" to me. lol)

I'm linking up with Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers for her annual Curriculum Wrap-Up.  I have also linked up with the Not Back to School Blog Hop.   So many curriculum choices, so little time...  :o)